Happy 4th of July!

Even as an adult, the 4th of July is my favorite day of the year. I can only think of three times when I've been unable to celebrate the 4th with my family and friends at some sort of patriotic celebration. This year is one of those times.

My 4th of July memories start with our move to Lopez Island when I was nine years old. Lopez Island is the third largest of the San Juan Islands off of the Washington State coast. The Island's population was only about 1500 in the winter and nearly tripled in the summer with summer visitors and tourists. Lopez is reached by a 45 minute ferry ride from the mainland of Washington State.

The Lopez community organized a really great day of activities for the 4th that put most other cities to shame (including Lynden, which is a bit surprising because they're very patriotic the rest of the year). Even after my family moved off the Island to Lynden, we all went back to Lopez as tourists for the 4th to experience the festive, patriotic atmosphere and especially the two big attractions: the parade and the fireworks.

This is a description of a typical July 4th celebration on Lopez Island for my family.

The first and foremost event of the day was the parade which usually began at 11am. The parade started a couple of miles down the road winding itself along the scenic Fisherman's Bay Road into the village which would be lined with tourists and locals specifically gathered to watch the parade. My family had a lovely waterfront piece of property in the village which was within a stone's throw of the end destination of the parade route.


Actually, the parade ended about 200 meters down the road at the local bank and so the parade passed right by our house before it dispersed. For many years, the parade judges sat on the lawn right across from our house which forced parade participants to be on their best behavior even at the end of the parade when they were tired and nearly out of candy.

My parents had an open invitation to friends and family to sit on our lawn to watch the parade and every year we had quite the gathering of people over to join in the festivities. My parents would put flags in the yard and set up a table with coffee and donuts. The weather would often threaten to rain, but in the 17 or 18 years that my parents lived on the Island, we can remember only one or two times when it actually rained during the parade.

The parade itself was an eclectic mix, reflecting the diversity of the population who called Lopez home. Nevertheless, as kids, we never really noticed the underlying political statements or messages that were demonstrated in the theme of the floats. All members of my family have participated in the parade at least once. I've personally walked the parade route at least 3 times: with the girl scouts, with the church advertising Vacation Bible School, and with my volleyball team.

After the parade was over, we'd clean up the front lawn and have a BBQ - sometime with another family or in later years, with our boyfriends/spouses. For many years we'd have friends from off-island come visit just for the 4th of July festivities, except in recent years when the ferry traffic became too bothersome, not to mention expensive. Getting off the Island on the 5th is probably the worst headache you'd encounter. We used to marvel at how long the ferry line up was every year.

One of the local Island groups - I can't remember if it was the Grange or the Lion's Club or something - would sponsor a Salmon BBQ every year to raise money for their group. Other Island events include the annual 4th of July "fun run" which was a 10km run or walk on a specific course on the Island, the Library annual book sale, and a variety of restaurants would feature local bands for live music throughout the day.

Keep in mind that all of these events were scheduled around the parade since the whole Island basically stops to watch the parade. If you weren't at the parade, you were missing out because it drew a huge gathering of locals, tourists, and ex-locals who'd come back just to see everyone they knew - it was common for those that had moved off the Island to come back for the 4th.

Another of our family traditions was to go to the local marina and walk on the docks admiring the boats that were tied up there. The marina was in a prime location because from there boaters could watch the fireworks display later that evening. And if you couldn't get a slip in the marina, you could moor your boat almost anywhere in the bay. So the bay was usually filled with a conglomeration of boats all angled towards the direction of where the fireworks would be fired off.

It was always fun to see which boat had sailed the furthest, who had the biggest boat, and which one was the favorite. The size of the yachts were amazing some years. Since we lived on the water close to the narrow mouth of the bay, all of these boats had to sail past our house to get out into open water. Many of the boats parked in the marina would be ones we'd come to recognize over the years. One such boat was called the Nancy Ann and it had a seaplane on its top deck and an impressive power boat as its dingy. It was always fun to marvel at it up close.

As I mentioned, the other big event of the day was the fireworks. The fireworks are renowned throughout the state as being extremely well done, especially considering the modest population of Lopez. Again, my parent's prime real estate provided a great place to watch the fireworks. The same crowd that joined us for the parade would often come back to watch the fireworks from our yard as well. We'd all cuddle in blankets out in the cold waiting in anticipation for the fireworks to begin.



During our last 10 years on the Island, my dad volunteered for the local fire department and was assigned on duty down at the site where the fireworks were being launched. The fire department had an ambulance and at least two fire trucks on site to prevent any brush fires from igniting as a result of the fireworks display. Thanks to Dad, we had an "in". The hose truck not only provided a soft place to sit, but the location was probably the best view of the fireworks on the whole Island. We were pretty lucky to have our dad in the department for so many years.

The fireworks display lasted about 30-45 minutes and had an amazing finale at the end. The location where the fireworks were launched was on a narrow spit connecting one part of the Island with another to make up what we know as Fisherman's Bay. The road would be blocked off at either end and the fireworks would be launched straight up over the water. The boom from the fireworks would be so loud as it echoed over the water. And the reflection on the water really added to its magic.

So as you can see, when my parents finally moved off the Island and discovered that Lynden barely celebrated the 4th at all, it took us only one missed Lopez 4th before we decided to go back and rent a cabin with our whole family just to be part of the festivities again. It cost us an exorbitant amount of money to get on the ferry and rent the cabin, but we couldn't bear to miss out on the fun. Plus, as I mentioned, it was a great time to see all of our old friends.

This year my family is staying in Lynden and having a BBQ with friends. Since the birth of the twins, Meg and Jason are definitely unable to make the trip, fight the ferry, and spend all the money. And my parent's wouldn't go without them. What I do know is that we wish we could be back on the Island together this year if it were possible. And we look forward to the years ahead when we can resume our traditions for ourselves and our children.

Here are more photos and details about this year's events if you are interested in seeing more of what I'm talking about.