Damon's parents live in a great spot on California's central coast and we spent Independence Day enjoying some of the local offerings in the communities near their house.
After raiding Grandma's supply of scrunchies (leftover from her years as owner of Watercolour Dancewear), the kids were super-decked out in their patriotic colors.
Our first stop was Avila Beach for the dog parade. We're not dog people. Damon's parents aren't dog people. But, how could we resist the phenomena of the locals dressing up their dogs in patriotic costumes and marching them down the street? That's the sort of hometown 4th-of-July fun I look for.
Damon's mom and I agreed that music (or maybe a marching band?) really would have stepped up the holiday feeling. We also talked about them getting a dog just so they could join the parade next year. Unlikely.
Next we strolled down the Avila pier for a prime viewing spot for the boat parade. More hometown fun.
The kids loved waving and yelling at the boaters. Gunnar kept yelling, "Hello! My name is Gunnar!"
After the parades Grandma treated the kids to some shaved ice.
From there we returned to the house to quickly pack a picnic and head into Arroyo Grande for a concert of patriotic music. It was a Norman Rockwell kind of event with the volunteer (but well-practiced) band set up in a gazebo and the audience enjoying the music from their lawn chairs and blankets. My 4th of July is not complete without a good dose of John Philip Sousa marches, so this was just what the doctor ordered for me. Unfortunately....no photos of the gazebo.
The park was near this awesome suspended bridge that's been in the town for over a century (if I remember the plaque correctly). We wandered across it and then discovered the stairs and path down to the creek over which the bridge crosses.
A little bit of shady water splashing was just what the doctor ordered for these kids who'd just been sitting out in the sun during the concert.
We ended the afternoon with some downtime back at the house and then some dinner before heading out to view the Pismo Beach Pier fireworks from a park near Damon's parents' house that's basically on a cliff above the ocean. It's a beautiful place at anytime of day and would have provided a perfect view of the fireworks....had the clouds not rolled in and filled the sky during the evening. It was the first time that we really kept all the kids up for fireworks and were trying to make a fun evening of it. They were a little impatient, and Holly, especially, was tired and ready to go home. We kept telling them to just wait and they'd see something cool. However, all the fireworks exploded up in the clouds. We could just see the glow and hear the cracks. Sigh. The kids were pretty unimpressed. Oh well. Next year.
I won't tell you about the private fireworks display we may or may not have enjoyed on the back patio for the next two nights since such hypothetical displays are illegal in the Pismo Beach area.
Happy Independence Day!! (a few months late)
Happy Independence Day!! (a few months late)
