America's Birthday!

It's always hard to come back to work after a fairy-tale vacation.  It's even HARDER to come back to work after that fairy-tale vacation is followed up by a weekend in the Hamptons.  So I was extremely grateful that my first week back was a short one.  The BEST day of the week to have the 4th of July is on a Thursday.  This year, the holiday afforded us a 1/2 day on Wednesday and TWO WHOLE vacation days on Thursday/Friday - followed by the weekend.  So that means I returned to a short 2.5 day work week followed by a long 4.5 day weekend!  What could be better?

So we packed quite a bit into those 4.5 days.  Our first trip was out to Princeton, where we have spent a few other 4th of July holidays.  Winston loves the Buck's house because there is always a ball somewhere to play with and the backyard is his playground.  WE love the Buck's house because every time we go there, we eat like kings when Chuck & Mr. Buck treat us to delicious home cooked meals, and hand made juicy cocktails.  Every trip to Princeton involves enjoying the great outdoors - this could be a game of bocce ball, a leisurely bike ride, or in this case, a cut-throat game of tennis doubles. 

We dressed in our Wimbledon whites, per the country club rules and battled it out on the courts.  It might have been 90 degrees and we played for well into 3 hours, and I still lost, but that made our plunge into the swimming pool and a cold glass of wine THAT much sweeter when we were done!  The main event of the night was a return to the tennis club to enjoy some good ol' fashioned American BBQ, in our finest American attire, of course.

The next morning, we were on to our next adventure - out to Huntington, Long Island for the next backyard bash!  My mom & dad were in town to attend a good friend and work colleagues annual 4th of July celebration, so Mike and I made sure to see them, even if it was just a few hours.  After a quick wardrobe change and dropping off little Winston, we were Huntington bound for some family time and some more home cooking!

Unfortunately, when we got to Princeton, we arrived in time to witness an amazing thunderstorm that rained out the Princeton fireworks show....something we've been trying to see for a few years now.  So it was a good thing that we got to Huntington in time to see an awesome show from the greens of the golf course.  Sadly, I can't remember the last time we got to see fireworks...that weren't bootlegged...or sparklers - so it was a real treat. There really is something magical and special about fireworks on the 4th of July, that is not to be ignored.  When it was time for the show, the entire party grabbed brightly colored flashlights to walk through the property in a festively-lit single filed line that opened up onto the golf course.  We all sat staring into the sky on the fairway of the 14th hole, watching the amazing spectacle - ooh-ing and ahh-ing at each giant burst of fire that lit up the sky.  It's extremely awe-inspiring, ridiculously festive, yet incredibly romantic at the same time!

Even though we spent a total of 4 hours with my parents, it was absolutely worth it - and we flew back to the city from Huntington in record time (not because we were driving recklessly, because there was no traffic, and we booked a car service!) to tuck Winston in before bed. Over the four Independence Days we've spent while living in New York, we seem to spend the holiday different every year - but this year, seeing my parents was the icing on the cake to a four day weekend!  Mike and I spent the remainder of the weekend recovering from our two weeks of travels and over three consecutive weekends away from home!  We needed a little apartment and city time (and laundry time, yikes!).  We hope you all enjoyed a happy and festive Fourth of July holiday & can't wait to do it all again next year (this time with less vacation days, sigh!).  Happy Birthday America!