Independence Day Weekend 2010



Continuing a tradition that dates back to 1999, I went on a hike for the 4th of July. See here for a history (1999 is previously unrecorded, but I took someone not named Meg that year to Cape Lookout). Meg invited some friends from church to come with us; they have two boys, one of which is a peer of Aaron (the other is 12). Aaron was pushing to hike Silver Falls again, but I like to explore new places (and frankly, I'm a little sick of Silver Falls). A co-worker had mentioned that Latourell Falls is pretty close to town and a nice, easy hike for kids. Fortunately we arrived early enough to avoid seeing too many people, but the parking lot was full when we returned to the van.


Also, later that night, Aaron, his friend from above, his dad, and myself all went to a Portland Timbers game at PGE Park. The game itself wasn't all that great (are 0-0 ties every much fun?), but it was fun to watch the crazed fans across the stadium singing and chanting and jumping around for the game's duration.

For Sunday the fourth, we experienced fireworks Sellwood style. It felt like the whole neighborhood was out partying and lighting off fireworks--there were literally thousands of people outside, most gathered along Sellwood BLVD, which sits on the edge of a bluff that overlooks the Willamette River, the Portland city skyline, and Oaks Amusement Park, which hosts a pretty large fireworks display every year. Meg had reserved a spot on the bluff, which just happened to be next to some friends from church, so we had a place to take in the action. I think Ian actually fell asleep before the show was over, but Aaron and Eddie seemed to enjoy the show (although while we were walking home, Eddie got scared when some people launched some loud fireworks, and he bolted the opposite direction; fortunately, I was able to track him down amongst the throng).


Monday was my official day-off-from-work, and Aaron and I went on long bike ride (around 10 miles total) into downtown (via the Springwater Trail and the Hawthorne Bridge), stopping at the ADP plaza for a short sunbath, and then continuing towards home on the west side of the river till we walked our bikes across the bike-unfriendly Sellwood Bridge.

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