The Switches had Sparks Coming Out...It was like the Fourth of July Man!

So...my first fourth in Boston was rockin. Not only did it rain but we had a huge bonfire of a BBQ in a small weber grill on my brothers roof. You know you had an awesome party when there isn't any food left (at least in dry party terms). I actually woke up early(!) on the fourth to go the parade at government center, the reading of the declaration of independence, and hear an oration in Fanueil Hall. I felt like a genuine TOURIST...I swear no one was an actual Bostonian, but thats okay, I knew I had to do it once.
And losing sleep was definitely worth it...even though I complained a lot about the humidity that morning. So they had these cool fife marching bands all dressed up in red coats (wait a second...) and they shot old rifles (yay guns!) and I felt very American. Here's my roomie Riva in the morning at City Hall Plaza. She runs on very little sleep but always manages to be happy and smiley. Trust me, if I had four hours of sleep when this picture was taken, I would not be smiling.

Aanyway, in all honesty, I did feel very proud to be American after the reading of the declaration. My parents told me a long time ago that I'm related to John Rutledge, a signer of the declaration from S. Carolina...but it never quite set in till the fourth when I heard the declaration read in the spot where it was first read! That was a moment that I'll remember for a while.

After following the parade around and hearing the guy who designed the current 50 star flag speak, my roommate Riva and I did a little shopping around Fanueil Hall. Here's a pic of Tom (NOT ted, thanks susan!) Menino...Bostons mayor. He does a good job on checking the ceiling tiles of the big dig. By that point I was pretty sticky...it was insanely humid and we were ready to go back to the apt and chill for a bit. Then it was time to wind up for the next party...a classic American BBQ at my brothers apt in back bay. Best part was we had a mini weber set up on his roof...and when we lit the coals we started quite the fire. Good thing the fire dept was a half block away just in case. We had plenty of dawgs, burgers, and even boca burgers thanks to Ms. Martinez and LP2 activities and Thank you costco! We had waves of BBQ guests...one big wave for the Germany-Italy world cup semi-final and then one wave for the after party -- complete with a view of the fireworks from 111 Huntington, thank you Mr. White and Bain Capital. :-) We walked on the Esplanade in the sea of people which was way fun. Rachel and I bought those glow in the dark flourescent rings and wore them around. Here are some random pics from after the fireworks. I have no idea what we're doing in these pictures...but here you go. I just HAD to post these. SO anyway, my fourth was fanTABulous. :-)