Independence Day 2011

It was not raining when we went to bed last night or when we got up this morning, but it began raining before the parade.  Actually, we don’t mind the rain at all! We walked downtown and bought a cap for me to wear under the poncho as the hood keeps covering my glasses.  With the cap it keeps the hood back and the bill of the cap also keeps the rain off my glasses!  :-) Why are men’s clothing items more functional than those for women? After our big purchase of the day we found a good place from which to watch the parade. The locals really look forward to this event and we did enjoy it very much. It was pretty amazing to watch the helicopter fly the huge flag over head as a sign the parade was about to begin.This has apparently been tradition each year.  We heard from a local that the fireworks are canceled tonight due to the weather. If we’re still up at 11pm we should  be able to see them from our living room window. 

We went home and ate lunch after the parade, hot dogs, chili, and coleslaw.  We relaxed a bit, watched TV, did dishes, emptied trash, etc.  We planned to go to the Duck Race at the top of Creek St. as we bought a ticket for it, but it was quite windy and raining a lot so we passed that up. The Duck Race is  an event where they put plastic numbered duck up the creek and the first one to the finish line is the 1st place winner getting $2,500, and then lesser prizes as well. No one called to say I won, and worst of all I apparently didn’t win the skiff either!

Anyway, we went directly to the Ironjack competition.  It was covered in the usual lumberjack show area, and mostly locals because all the ships were gone by the time it started. It was a fun event and we had some nice conversations with several locals as well.  Oh, I might mention we passed several people fishing off the bridge on the way to the Ironjack and the fishing seems pretty darn good! I can’t wait to get a license, pole, and try our luck.  I was tempted to offer to buy one of these fish from the fellow as they were so fresh, still flopping about and what a great meal they would make.  Now that the holiday festivities are over we will find out more about our surroundings tomorrow.  I need to get my library card as well.