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Jul. 5th, 2007
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Jul. 5th, 2007 10:44 am![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif){kind=small}
gillyp
Happy Fourth
Jul. 5th, 2007 10:55 amA belated Happy 4th to the Americans and Canada Day to the Canadians.
I had an amazing Fourth. Normally I don't do much for it. My sister Lorraine and I had never been to Mount Vernon, so she drove us down for the afternoon (It was the home of the first Commander in Chief and President George Washington). The weather was perfect - not too hot or humid and nice breezes off the Potomac River. There were lots of reenactors around being Revolutionary War soldiers and wives. They showed off some musket volleys and cannons with loud, satisfactory booms. We toured the Mansion and grounds. The attention to detail in the restoration is magnificent. We walked down to the wharf area and discovered they had boat tours of the Potomac. Perfect! Forty minutes of cruising on the river. There were lots of boats heading upriver to watch the fireworks. I saw a couple of osprey nests and an osprey diving for fish in the river. The visitor's center had several movies, including one where they made it snow on us. Very refreshing on a hot day.
On the way home, we ran into a sudden thunderstorm, which is actually quite typical for DC this time of year. I heard on the news later they had to evacuate the Mall for several hours for a tornado watch ?!? But they did let people return.
Afterwards, we decided to see the fireworks on the Mall. Not being foolhardy enough to actually venture into DC, we watched them from the new Air Force memorial. Gorgeous views, even though it was a bit hazy. The fireworks were really impressive. Watching them on TV just isn't the same. There were hearts and stars and lots of bright colors.
I took lots of photos. I'll download the best.
I had an amazing Fourth. Normally I don't do much for it. My sister Lorraine and I had never been to Mount Vernon, so she drove us down for the afternoon (It was the home of the first Commander in Chief and President George Washington). The weather was perfect - not too hot or humid and nice breezes off the Potomac River. There were lots of reenactors around being Revolutionary War soldiers and wives. They showed off some musket volleys and cannons with loud, satisfactory booms. We toured the Mansion and grounds. The attention to detail in the restoration is magnificent. We walked down to the wharf area and discovered they had boat tours of the Potomac. Perfect! Forty minutes of cruising on the river. There were lots of boats heading upriver to watch the fireworks. I saw a couple of osprey nests and an osprey diving for fish in the river. The visitor's center had several movies, including one where they made it snow on us. Very refreshing on a hot day.
On the way home, we ran into a sudden thunderstorm, which is actually quite typical for DC this time of year. I heard on the news later they had to evacuate the Mall for several hours for a tornado watch ?!? But they did let people return.
Afterwards, we decided to see the fireworks on the Mall. Not being foolhardy enough to actually venture into DC, we watched them from the new Air Force memorial. Gorgeous views, even though it was a bit hazy. The fireworks were really impressive. Watching them on TV just isn't the same. There were hearts and stars and lots of bright colors.
I took lots of photos. I'll download the best.