Are you doing anything for the July 4th weekend?

Yard work and dog soothing. Poor pup.

@canidmajor What’s wrong with the dawg?

All the loud banging makes him very nervous and unhappy.

Yes. We just watched The Pentagon Papers.

There are two more we will watch over the next couple of days.

There will be boats and barbecue on Wednesday.

It’s gotten so busy in the tourist area that I live in that July 4th weekend is just a nightmare. I’m mainly hanging at home after a walk to the farmer’s market yesterday morning. I might walk to the beach tomorrow evening to watch the fireworks in a nearby city but like where you are @jca2, I think they’ll be postponed. Iam going to neghborhood friends tonight for takeout Chinese.

Can’t say I’m crazy about holiday weekends any more.

@canidmajor I’ve already seen in some local groups where dogs have run off and gotten lost due to the noise. I try to follow those posts because I’m always hopeful that the dogs will be found, but it’s heartbreaking when they’re not.

@janbb When my mom was alive, the holiday weekends would almost always include something at her house but she’s not around now, so they tend to be more mundane. I would be very content just to be able to lay on the deck under the umbrella but everything is wet from the rain.

@SnipSnip Boats and barbecue sounds great. I was watching Maine Cabin Masters this morning and I have fond memories of visiting family in Maine at their lake cabin. I live on a lake and it would be considered rural by most but it’s not rural like Maine Cabin Masters version of rural. My ideal version of this would be no neighbors for about a half a mile in all directions hahaha.

4 day weekend here. Hanging with friends. Gym, Hikes, Pickleball, Card Games, laughter, food, fireworks, boating.
Music filled with Elvis Costello last night, Robert Plant and Allison Krauss tonight, James Taylor on the 3rd. All at Tanglewood.

@Forever_Free Wow! Busy! Berkshires are great this time of year. We’re a few hours south of there. We used to stay at a resort in Hancock a lot. So nice. Add Elvis Costello to it, perfect.

Stay home and chill. Or maybe go to the park and watch fireworks if it doesn’t rain. We shall see.

@jca2 Hancock is one town over from me in Richmond. The weather is iffy this weekend but perfect for Elvis last night.

Lol no.

@Forever_Free We’re about two hours south, and I always loved the ride through the country (the eastern part of NY to the western part of MA).

Stayed in a cabin in north Georgia to do some fly fishing with my nephew and BIL. We are grilling on our boat for fireworks on the 4th.

I will be in Lindisfarne.

^^Besides an island, one of my favorite old folk groups!

IDK.
As an aside fire works don’t bother Cato but they freak Vanta out! She runs to Cato

No way, we live next to the Jersey Shore. You should have seen all those cars coming off the parkway…..tourist season is here lol.

We skipped the local fireworks because of the heat. I could see some from my house. The family came over today for grilled steak and corn on the Cobb and spent much of the day in our heated pool, which has a lot of shade from nearby trees.
We are celebrating a birthday tomorrow at Golden Corral, which everybody loves.

I’m cooking a club package jumbo frozen lasagna in my oven now.

Dog sitting the neighbor’s two dogs.

Not really for the 4th, but we are away for my FIL’s birthday. We decided to incorporate a couple of days at DisneyWorld.

Thursday in the late afternoon we drove to the Disney area and checked into a hotel. My husband finished out his work day and then we headed over to the Polynesian resort. We ate at a bar there and it was great! Afterwards we went to EPCOT, got some goodies for being Annual Pass holders and went on a couple of rides. One was the ride in Mexico and my husband was upset that when it showed places in Mexico there was no explanation. Lol. I actually agree it should have explanations, but half of it is cartoons and Donald Duck. Later we saw the fireworks so I’m counting it for July 4th.

The next morning a few hours in Magic Kingdom and then drove to my inlaws. We leave to go back home tomorrow, which will be Monday the 3rd.

I probably won’t do anything on the 4th. We don’t have fireworks right where I live because we have so many veterans. I could watch the show in the town square, but I don’t think I’ll bother.

Packing and preparing to move.

Still hungry. Had a pint of blackberries, and a banana. One third of my lasagna. Also cooking chicken wings with Himalayan Pink salt.

I’m going to Canada, because it’s in the Constitution.

Or the Bible.

The part where they talk about Pursuing Happiness. Or smiting your enemies.

~ @JLoon Just don’t tell the French border guards that you are looking for a(n) happiness.

@RedDeerGuy1 – I’ll distract them with contraband.

@JLoon Ok. I always wonder what is the meaning of the (NES) video game called Contra? Also if it is related to the bookkeeping Contra account?

I would be careful going over the border. The border guards can look through your tech without a warrant.

Thanks Red.

All will be well :D

I’m hosting our usual July 4th party. But this year it is going to be smaller and quieter. Only 20–30 people and I did not put together my usual large fireworks display. Our grandkids will be here, and there will be other kids running around. It is too hard to control the critters safely.

We will do some experiments, however. We have some airbags that need to be set off. a carbide cannon made in one attendee’s home town in Pennsylvania, and a Revolutionary War reenactor will bring his musket. And we have the usual array of potato cannos using different propellants. Every engineer has his own design.

@jca2 Robert Plant, Allison Krauss and JD McPherson was amazing last night.

I am about 15 miles south of @janbb this week, at the Jersey Shore for my girlfriend’s family gathering. We arrived last night

I have to work today as it is the first day of the new quarter (first work day after the end of the last quarter). But I am off the rest of the week.

@Blackwater_Park that sounds like a really great weekend!

@flutherother What is Lindisfarne like?

@Blackberry @zenvelo When I was little, my grandparents used to rent a house at Ship Bottom which is at the shore. I have such fond memories of visiting there. I want to visit soon just to check it out. I remember they had a souvenir shop which was on an old ship, and you’d walk the plank to get on it. I doubt it is still there – would probably be a huge insurance liability to keep a location like that.

@YARNLADY It’s so muggy here too – storms all weekend, on and off. Ugh. We don’t go out to see fireworks, either. Too many crowds, too much stress.

@kritiper make sure to keep them on the leash. Every year, so many dogs get lost when they freak out, hearing the fireworks. It’s sad.

@JLeslie don’t you have to reserve what day you’re going or is that not for residents? I see it looks like more work than ever now, to have to preplan so much with having to reserve what day you’re going to what park.

@filmfann I always say next time I move, I’m going to have a nice, cozy nervous breakdown because it’s so stressful, and I have so much stuff, even to go through the stuff and get rid of it is going to be so much work. I don’t envy you.

@RedDeerGuy1 Lasagna sounds great!

@JLoon What part of Canada? I’ve been to Toronto, Quebec and Montreal. I hope one day to get to the Rockies and the western part. Seeing “The Last of Us” makes me really want to check out the part right above Glacier National Park (Waterton Park I believe it’s called).

@LuckyGuy You know one year all the Jellies are going to crash the July 4th party!

@Forever_Free Oh, I thought they were three separate concerts, a concert every night. I can imagine it was great with them all together!

@jca2 I really like seeing fireworks too but I’m not going either this year. Stress, crowds and parking issues.

@janbb and carrying food, drink and chairs, and using public restrooms or porta-potties. No thanks!

@jca2 To go to the resorts to eat you don’t need a reservation, except it’s worth noting a dining reservation gets you free parking at the resort. I ate at a bar, so you can’t make a reservation it’s just a walk-up, but I get free parking at the parks, because I have an annual pass. We parked at EPCOT and took the monorail to the Polynesian and then back to EPCOT afterwards to spend some time there.

As an annual passholder I don’t need a reservation for the parks after 2:00 except Magic Kingdom on the weekends. In other words, don’t go to MK on the weekends if you ever plan a trip. If I go before 2:00 I need a park reservation all days of the week.

Most regular tickets you need to reserve your park day, but there are a few exceptions.

Because of dogs and all the other things mentioned, I really don’t care about the fireworks any more. Besides, I was on a boat in NY harbor on July 4, 1976. Tall Ships and the fireworks show to end all shows. A helluva time!

Not much on the weekend, just working around the house and avoiding the heat. On Tuesday my wife and I are going to a very nice hotel right on the river for our anniversary. We’ll get a nice dinner, some drinks, etc. They shoot fireworks off right outside our window in the river. Best seats in the house.

I might, however, make a cake and sing a song to celebrate the birthday of that great American, Hawaii Jake!!!

@jca2 I know some of these things about dogs. I had one once for 16 years When he was frightened he would hide in the closet or the tub.

@jca2 It is an island off the Northumbrian coast in the north east of England. It only becomes an island when the tide comes in. It has a castle and a walled flower garden and lots of sea views.

They’ve been setting off fireworks for the last 3 nights. Even the city is in on it. Longest 4th of July I ever experienced! (Today is July 3rd)

@canidmajor I always feel bad for all animals who are outside on July 4th and the days prior. The cake and the birthday for HJ sounds fun!

@seawulf575 that sounds like a really beautiful celebration. Happy anniversary!

@flutherother I’m going to google it. It seems like a charming place!

@JLeslie When I heard about the new rule that guests have to reserve their days at MK, it just seems to prohibitive, so much planning. I mean, without flexibility, if there’s going to be rain on a certain day or something else comes up that the guests can’t attend that day, it just seems like too much of a headache. It’s bad enough that the restaurants all need to be reserved months ahead of time. I always say WDW is not a relaxing vacation.

@Dutchess_III Here, we had rain on and off for the past three days so there really haven’t been the usually days of fireworks. Tonight we had a huge storm with big thunder and lightning, and then right after that, they did the fireworks, around 10 pm. There was an ourdoor fireworks thing with music about 40 miles south of here, where people were hanging out all day with blankets and food and having their spot for the music and fireworks, and they had a microburst and got drenched and probably had to leave, soaking wet. That’s another reason why I don’t do those big public events like that.

@jca2 If you don’t go to the park the day you reserve then it doesn’t count. If you don’t scan into the park then your ticket is still good for another day. It’s nice to cancel the reservation instead of just not showing up.

The good thing about the reservations is if a park is full, you know it was very crowded, so probably better to go to a different park anyway. What I wish is that we could see how full a park is since they have reservation data. Like is MK at 60% July 7 and HS is at 90% the same day? I will reserve go to MK. People would self-regulate the crowds if they had that information.

The bad thing is if people don’t reserve and then they cannot get into the park they really want to go to.

People can hop to any park after 2:00, so at worst they can buy a hopper ticket (more expensive) and go to one park in the morning and then hop to the park they really wanted after 2:00. People plan what day they are going to do which park anyway, but yes reserving is just another thing to have to deal with when Disney is already a ton of planning.

You can still do minimum planning like the old days though. Just pick the three rides you really want to do most in a park and then whatever else happens happens. Even 40 years ago we looked at parade schedules and show schedules and waited an hour and a half to get on a ride that was popular. You can still do that. Disney is trying to reduce wait times with the new system, but 2022 was insanely crowded. I think this year will be less crowded, because there are a lot of specials being advertised.

I think 2025 will be much less crowded at Disney if the new Universal Park opens as planned. If you have any interest in going back to Disney while you are still ruled by the school schedule, 2025 might be the year. I have friends who sometimes go to Disney just to stay at a resort and don’t even go into a park.

During the height of covid I went to Disney Springs a few times for a change of scenery. Another time we ate in a resort and rode the skyliner for fun and looked at some of the new resorts. An added bonus that time was the Christmas decorations were all up. All of that you don’t need any tickets.