Day 14

Saturday, July 04, 2009

Fourth of July. Got some more painting done. Got the lawn mower fixed so it will mow TALL. It shows, too, Most of the lawns are starting to turn but ours is still green. Need to water the trees.

Mowed the lawn. Went to the Baltimore Museum of Industry with the Rowens. Took our folding chairs. They forgot theirs. Brought an old beach towel, just in case. They forgot their blanket. Brought some peanuts and cashews. It turns out Martin LOVES peanuts.

You sit right at the edge of the Inner Harbor almost directly across from the Aquarium. The barge that all of the fireworks launch from is only 200-300 yards away. You can see all of it clearly.

The fireworks were as impressive as always. We've seen fireworks like this so many times, however, that it's hard to say, "Wow".

One of the neatest parts was the weather. There was a breeze out of the West and the temperature and humidity were so much like Istanbul that I could tell the Rowens this is what it's like.

There was a musical group (A banjo, a guitar, a mandolin, and a couple--sometimes three --violins). They were sitting in lawn chairs 15-20 feet over playing all kinds of old American Folk Music.

So it all felt a bit like sitting next to the Bosphorus in the evening and a little like sitting on the Pont Neuf bridge in Paris all rolled into one. Very nice. I was really wishing you all were there.

Love...