This is clearly the summer of catch-up posts but to my dismay, I honestly thought I had already posted about this and shared pictures. Which is why I am sadly blogging about the Fourth of July in August. But seriously folks, where has the summer gone and how is it already August already?
Thanks to my side of the family and Andrew's side of the family, we tend to spend the whole 4th of July weekend in Plymouth and it's truly one of the highlights of the year. This year was especially fun since Camie and James stayed with us for the weekend and were able to join in on the festivities.
The 3rd of July is always spent with my family - John and Janet (cousins of my dad but really more like uncle/aunt figures to me and Amy) always graciously host a large group of family and friends at their house which is just steps away from the beach.
Look at this spread, we preactically elbowed the other guests out of the way and claimed the appetizer table for ourselves. From L to R, my cousins Jaimi and Andrew, James and Camie and my cousin Andrea are enjoying things like pigs in a blanket (drool), barbecue wings, spinach dip, seven layer dip, pretty much any dip that you can think of!
We also had the chance to catch up with Amanda, who was home for the holiday weekend.
Boys being boys, Rich and Phu were more interested in comparing their iPhones than joining us in chowing down:
More for me!
John and Janet have a beautiful home with a sprawling backyard, complete with their own vegetable garden and a pond. Needless to day, it was a joy to just sit back, relax with a beer at hand and a full stomach, and taken in the fresh air and the view.
When the sun sets, it's time for the another time honored tradition (excuse the blurry picture, I took the picutre without a flash which seems to make the images more shaky):
Time to don on the glow in the dark necklaces so we don't lose each other in the dark:
This was the first thing we saw once we made it down all the stairs and onto the beach - a flare falling over the water:
To our right, you could see other bonfires lit along the coast and the dark outline of our bonfire, waiting to be lit:
Once lit, the bonfire was a total monster - I'm not sure if it was breezier than usual, but we shifted back to avoid some of the falling/floating embers.
We found perches along a sea wall and made ourselves comfortable, watching all the different activity around us. I had tried to describe how wonderful the 3rd of July is on Manomet Beach, and I think Camie and James got a good taste of it.
After waving some sparklers (I never get tired of them), I caught something new being lit on the beach. If I recall correctly, they're called Chinese wish lanterns It's basically like a mini hot air ballon that is lit from within:
As with all firework related things, it seemed a little dangerous to me. You light something on fire in the middle of the lantern, and have to hold it for a while until enough hot air is generated to lift the lantern.
I have to admit though, watching that lantern float upwards and out of sight over the water was pretty magical. I just hope the fire completely extinguished itself before it fell back to Earth!
After that, it was back to the house for desserts (no picture, alas) and dragging ourselves home, smelling like the beach, sunscreen and woodsmoke. The perfect ending to a wonderful summer day.
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