#4thofJulyIsleStyle

I mentioned last week how much I love the 4th of July. It’s my favorite holiday. I have the fondest memories of getting together with our big family, sleeping downstairs in the basement of the bay house with all of the cousins, decorating bikes for the bike parade and making cardboard boats for the boat race. I remember vividly “camping out” for the day at our spot under the tree down at the swimming beach- the same spot we’ve been using ever since I can remember. Blankets and beach towels, books and magazines, kayaks and water toys. I love the traditions that come with the 4th- some that the whole country shares, some that are special to our family. Entering the pie eating contest, cashing in on the “Blue Plate Special”, walking down to the marina the night before the big day to watch some early fireworks, a big family dinner, ending the night with sparklers. I love it all. Every single bit.

Let me back up some… let’s start with the Bay House. My grandparents have owned the Bay House ever since I was born… actually, I think we were both “born” in the same year, if I’m not mistaken. It’s right outside the town of North East, MD and a short walk from our neighborhood swimming beach, the marina we’ve always docked our boats at, and the Turkey Point Lighthouse.

My family grew up spending a good bit of our summers and quite a few holidays there. It’s a place where we all come together and the 4th of July is no different. Every year, the whole family (or whoever is able to make it) comes down… usually a day or two before the actual 4th. These days are usually spent by the water, or getting ready for the big day- after all, there are cardboard boats to be made and bikes to be decorated in time for the next morning! Here’s a throw(way)back to the boys and I with our patriotic pedals all ready to ride…

There are fireworks in town on the 3rd that we might go to if we’re feeling up to braving the heat, crowds, and mosquitoes that year. Here’s a shot from the fireworks the first time Mitch came to visit the bay, the summer after our freshman year of college!

If we opt out of going into town for the show, we’ll all just throw on some long pants and a sweatshirt (helps to ward off any night time bug bites) and walk down to the marina to watch the fireworks across the river.

The morning of the 4th is a flurry of making finishing touches on bike decorations (the Bike Parade starts at 9:30am!), eating breakfast, and claiming our spot down by the water where all of the festivities take place. The community throws a 4th of July party every year, complete with games for adults (horseshoe, shuffleboard, volleyball tournaments) and kids (bike parade, cardboard boat race, crafts, potato sack race), a silent auction, and tons of food! We’ve been coming here for this celebration for as long as I can remember and it has turned into one of the highlights of my year… in fact, I think I’ve only missed it twice in 25 years. 🙂

This year was a little bit different than others. Still great, but different. For starters, all of us cousins are growing up… some of us even have kids of our own now! Usually, we can bank on there being one kid “of age” who is young enough to participate in the kiddo events… this was the first year that we had no contenders!

No matter, though; we still took up our position on the rocks to watch the race and cheer for our favorite boat (this year, it was one that looked like a tiger).

The other difference was the weather. In all the years we’ve been here, none of us could remember another 4th of July that it rained! In the spirit of all things red, white, and blue, we stuck it out and camped under our tree with umbrellas in tow. And eventually, the waiting paid off and it cleared up!

At about 1:30pm, we cashed in a few bucks each in exchange for the much-anticipated Blue Plate Special. It comes with a hot dog, a bag of chips, a drink, and a dessert… yum!

Oh, and Brooke and I also stopped for some roasted corn with Old Bay. Because there are not many things that are better than corn on the cob and Old Bay seasoning. 🙂

After a great day at the beach, enjoying the festivities, we all headed back up to the house for showers and relaxing until dinner. Dinner was truly a family affair, ending in some birthday cake and blueberry pie to celebrate my mom and dad’s (his is the end of June) birthday.

We played games and hung out the rest of the night, before turning in to bed. I should warn you: this is an event in and of itself. The adults sleep upstairs in the bedrooms and the kids (yes, all of us cousins still count ourselves as the “kids”, no matter how old we are) all sleep downstairs in the finished basement. The rules are: BYOB(bed) and sleep where you fall. We’ve got people sleeping on the bunk bed, the pull out couch, while the entire floor is littered with air mattresses. It’s a happy kind of chaos and one we’ve come to love. In fact, it’s kind of lonely sleeping at the bay when you’re not stuffed in a room with a dozen cousins! We’ve grown pretty close… getting ready and brushing teeth, while clamoring over each other to get to your stuff is not uncommon. 🙂

The next morning was a hurry to get ready and out the door for a church service in the local state park. After church, we spent the day lounging at the swimming beach. In contrast to the day before, Sunday was sunny and warm and we soaked up one last day all together, playing in the water, reading books, and evening out those tan lines. 🙂

When it’s time to go home, everyone pitches in to clean up the house and pack the cars before eating a quick dinner of leftovers and then heading home. Real life starts again in the morning, but what a great weekend we have to look back on.

What about you? What are your 4th of July traditions? I’d love to hear how you celebrate with your own friends and family!