"Saturday In the Park, I Think It Was the 4th of July..."

Beep! Beep! Beep

I opened one eye. The bedside clock said "7:00." I closed the eye. I'd just rest for five more minutes...

I open my eye again...and the clock reads "7:38." I had work at 9. Needless to say, I just barely made it. Not the best way to start a holiday.

Work was mostly on-and-off busy. In fact, we really only had long lines because we lacked help all day long. You'd think they'd have enough sense to schedule most of the store for the biggest holiday of the summer. (You can bet no Acme employees in Cape May County made plans for today.) I was lucky I was able to get off when I did. Another person left when I did...and there were no reliefs for either of us and very long lines. It was a really good thing I got the flour I forgot yesterday during my break!

I rushed home to grab my bathing suit and the cake I baked for my cousin Samantha's 4th of July Pool Party. My sister Jessa and her school buddy Rich beat me there. Her huge Buick was already parked in front of Miss Ellie's side of the house when I arrived. It didn't take me long to change, hit the bathroom, grab the cake, my bathing suit and towel, and my purse, and head out. Thankfully, there was no traffic on the Black Horse Pike, and we made it there in a little over 20 minutes (barring getting lost in Sam's every-house-looks-the-same neighborhood).

It was the same party I went to at my grown cousin Samantha's house last year, only this time, I remembered my bathing suit. That might not have been a good idea this time. Unlike last year, today was sunny but a little cool for this time of year, only into the lower 80s with a nice breeze. The pool was chilly, about 79. I've felt worse (I used to swim in sea water in June when it was still in the 60s), and my little cousins Ethan and Matt and the two other boys there probably didn't even notice. Karen fussed - apparently, hers and Jim's pool is not only heated, but there isn't a tree in 10 miles of their backyard. CJ probably wouldn't have noticed a typhoon appearing in the middle of the pool. He loves swimming.

There was lots of food - shredded pork, steamed crabs, and shish-kabobs in addition to the usual barbecued chicken, hot dogs, and hamburgers, along with a carrot salad, vegetable crudites, macaroni and potato salads, deviled eggs, and an unusual "red, white, and blue" ambrosia made from blueberries, strawberries, and mini-marshmallows. There were tons of desserts, too - my Berry Banana Snack Cake, a blueberry-blackberry pie, a cookie tray, a tray of mini-cupcakes, and a plate of brownies Matt had apparently made himself. I stuffed myself silly.

Jessa drove me home. Dad and Jodie had driven up in Dad's classic Mustang convertible, which would have been a little crowded for me, and were leaving later. We made a brief stop at Rich's house in nearby Laurel Springs while he changed into dry clothes (he took a clothes-and-all dip in the pool), then headed for the White Horse Pike. Another buddy of Jessa's called while we were passing Audubon. He was already waiting for her at Dad and Uncle Ken's house. I told her we could just go there, instead of stopping at my place. No use in wasting gas, especially if there were already people there. Jessa and her guy friends left for the fireworks and Cooper River Park, and I walked over the tracks to my apartment.

I switched purses, put my wet things out to dry, and headed back to the White Horse Pike. I stopped at PNC Bank to deposit yesterday's paycheck in the ATM machine, then walked down to Newton River Park. It was only about 7:30, way too early for fireworks, so I thought I'd go the long way around the park to the stump I sat on last year, starting out on Beechwood Avenue and going around to the area across from the Heights condos.

It took longer than I thought it would. The area around the Collingswood High School, where the fireworks are set off, were taped off. I had to walk around several blocks and past the high school. There were already people pouring into the high school stadium to watch the fireworks. I considered joining them, but I really didn't want to get caught in the crush going home, and I didn't feel like wandering around Collingswood in the dark, either.

I finally made my way over to Newton River Park. It was only about quarter after 8, still too early for fireworks. I settled down at one stump, but it was crumbling and too close to the noisy playground, so I moved back and found another stump closer to the White Horse Pike. I laid back for an hour and watched all the families settle down on their blankets. One family set off small fireworks in the grass. Another family consisted of young teenagers who happily chased each other. "They're like puppies without the cuteness," as one of the girls described her brother and his friend as they played catch with a tennis ball.

It was almost 9:30 before the fireworks appeared, but they were well worth the wait. They were just as spectacular as previous years. I especially loved the two red rings together, and the ones that seemed to explode twice.

I made sure to leave during the finale...and even so, the traffic on the White Horse Pike was still crazy. I crossed with grandparents and their young grandchildren, stopping at CVS for one of those new Dasani flavored waters. The fireworks seemed to continue behind me as I walked up the hill alongside CVS and the (closed for the holiday) car wash. I saw the people who live next-door to the car wash watching the second set of fireworks as I passed. I have no idea who set those off. Haddon Township had theirs last night. Maybe Pensauken?

Well, at any rate, I hope all of my American readers had an equally fun Fourth of July!