Waiting for the Independence Day Parade on Constitution Ave.

There is nothing quite like spending the Fourth of July in our nation's capital. For the last ten days or so, we've been on a family vacation, checking out various cities and sights across the southeast. We've had lots of great adventures (you'll hear more about them in the coming weeks), but the highlight of our trip was a few days in Washington D.C. for the Fourth of July. With only a few days, it was a whirlwind of a tour, and it was wildly hot. The days we were outside checking out monuments and memorials, it was 98 to 99 degrees, with a feels like up in the 110s. Kim's phone kept dinging with extreme heat alerts (funny that we don't get those here in Florida!) But we still managed to see a lot in our time there. We drove in on the third, got settled in our hotel and had dinner at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant with hand-made noodles. Then on the Fourth, we had plans to walk the mall and check out the Smithsonian museums that are along it. As we made our way up to that area (we were just 6 blocks or so away) we realized that they were setting up for the Fourth of July parade and the girls were insistent on waiting for it, so we started off with the parade and then got in some time at the Air and Space Museum and the National Art Gallery. To top the day off, we got to watch a spectacular firework show, sitting out on the mall, halfway between the Washington Monument and the Capitol building. It was perfect, because we were close enough to enjoy, but not so close that the noise scared the girls.

Fireworks on the mall.

The next day, we continued our whirlwind tour, visiting monuments, memorials, more museums and taking a tour of Arlington National Cemetary. One of the highlights on this day was seeing the Star-Spangled Banner - the actual flag that flew over Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor for the Battle of Baltimore during the War of 1812. The flag that inspired the words to our National Anthem. Seeing the flag and learning its history was interesting, but reading about what the words in our National Anthem mean, in relationship to the flag that flew over that particular battle was eye-opening. It's easy to forget how fragile our nation was at its start. We take it for granted today that America exists, but in 1812, we were still considered rebels and an insignificant nation. But in the light of the rockets that night, Francis Scott Key was inspired to write what would become our national anthem:

And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air. Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there: Oh, say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave? O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Powerful. And if you've never read or sung them before, look up the second and third verses to the Star-Spangled Banner. It might give you chills.

We hope that you had a great Fourth of July holiday and are enjoying your summer! It may be hot, but it is still a great time to update your gardens. After all of the gorgeous flowers and landscapes that we saw on our travels, we've been inspired to update some of our own landscaping, so we've spent the last few days changing and fixing irrigation, as well as planting new plants. In fact, I'm writing this during an afternoon rainshower that has gotten me out of digging a few more trenches. But it looks like the sun is coming back out so time to get out and have a little more fun in the garden.

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