Fabulous Fourth

What a beautiful day it has been!  Got to sleep in and had cinnamon rolls and coffee for breakfast.  Later morning, the roommate and I headed out for Independence Day celebrations downtown.  First we heard the drum and fife band and watched them march up to the palace doors...

 

 

We parked ourselves in the grass and listened to a reading of the Declaration of Independence...

Then we walked around the gardens and took lots of pictures...

What I imagine to be the entrance to a secret garden

 

 

Gorgeousness all around!  It was fantastic.  After our little self-guided tour of all the grounds, we headed further downtown and walked the streets.  We went into a little store, and I had my first ever ice cream float.  We visited a friend working at a local outdoors shop.  We passed a group on the street handing out mini American flags that had been in the ground at a local memorial for fallen soldiers.  Each flag represented a life lost in Iraq, and I almost teared up hearing the story as I was handed one.  I really am lucky.

Just as it was getting almost too hot to bear, the slightest sprinkling came down to cool us off, continuing our local streak of at least (gotta be by now!) two weeks straight of rain every single day.  It's been ridiculous.

But today has been fabulous, and I've highly enjoyed it.  I'm hanging with the ex-bf this evening and trying to convince him to go see fireworks with me.  I haven't been to a display since 2009, I believe.  Although I'm not sure if I want to be out in all the heat again waiting for darkness to fall.  We shall see.