It's been more than five weeks since we returned from England—almost double the time we were actually there. Finally I have overcome the blogger gremlins and posted my final England post, with pictures. And surprise, it shows up in its chronologically correct position, based on the day I began working on it, not when I posted it.
What that means is that to read it, you have to scroll back to the June posts in the blogs (before all my posts promising that I was working on it).
Or you can just click right here, and I will magically send you back in time to June 17 (the date of the post). I believe Harry Potter has a spell for that....
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
A Glorious Fourth
Today celebrates the 231st anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the document declaring the United States' independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. Ever since then, people like me have been spending their money and vacation time trying to go back!
The Continental Congress actually voted unanimously for independence on July 2, but it was on July 4 that twelve colonies voted to adopt the text of the Declaration of Independence (New York abstaining), and a copy of the document, signed only by John Hancock, was released to the printers.
The Declaration of Independence was, of course, famously written by Thomas Jefferson, statesman, writer, farmer, third president of the United States, and really a renaissance man of the 18th-19th century. Jefferson died on July 4, 1826, on the same day as John Adams, second president of the U.S., who Jefferson had defeated for reelection in 1800.
Independence Day, the Fourth of July, is our only big holiday of the summer, between Memorial Day and Labor Day, and I think despite the emphasis on food, fun, and fireworks, most people remain cognizant of the origin of the holiday, as indicated by the flags sported all around, on hats, clothing, and decorations, as well as the front porches of many houses. (Except for my house, because I didn't even think to put it out. Darn.)
Our friends in England, while they do have a fourth of July (hahaha) are probably not celebrating our Independence Day. Early July is Wimbledon, and today, I believe, were the quarter finals. Strawberries and cream are a traditional Wimbledon treat, and every year about 27,000 kilos of strawberries are eaten during the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, together with 7,000 litres of cream! English strawberries are extremely delightful and delicious, and I enjoyed them a couple of times while we were there. Even more delicious, however, are our local Marysville strawberries (in season right now, but not for long!) and I plan to keep the English tradition by eating plenty of strawberries today (albeit with ice cream instead of cream, since we don't have any of that amazing English cream here).
My Fourth of July began with the Everett YMCA Yankee Doodle Dash 10K this morning. It's a gorgeous day today, although that made the run a bit warmer than might be optimal! Perhaps I can blame the heat for finish 16 seconds slower than last year (at 55:02 today). I do realize that I would have been under 55 minutes if I hadn't taken a few seconds for a drink of water partway through... but given the heat, I voted in favor of a little hydration. A big congratulations to the woman who caught up to me at that water break (just before the four mile point), and ran with me the rest of the way up to about half a mile from the finish, then pulled ahead to finish in front of me!
Entering the final stretch...
The Continental Congress actually voted unanimously for independence on July 2, but it was on July 4 that twelve colonies voted to adopt the text of the Declaration of Independence (New York abstaining), and a copy of the document, signed only by John Hancock, was released to the printers.
The Declaration of Independence was, of course, famously written by Thomas Jefferson, statesman, writer, farmer, third president of the United States, and really a renaissance man of the 18th-19th century. Jefferson died on July 4, 1826, on the same day as John Adams, second president of the U.S., who Jefferson had defeated for reelection in 1800.
Independence Day, the Fourth of July, is our only big holiday of the summer, between Memorial Day and Labor Day, and I think despite the emphasis on food, fun, and fireworks, most people remain cognizant of the origin of the holiday, as indicated by the flags sported all around, on hats, clothing, and decorations, as well as the front porches of many houses. (Except for my house, because I didn't even think to put it out. Darn.)
Our friends in England, while they do have a fourth of July (hahaha) are probably not celebrating our Independence Day. Early July is Wimbledon, and today, I believe, were the quarter finals. Strawberries and cream are a traditional Wimbledon treat, and every year about 27,000 kilos of strawberries are eaten during the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, together with 7,000 litres of cream! English strawberries are extremely delightful and delicious, and I enjoyed them a couple of times while we were there. Even more delicious, however, are our local Marysville strawberries (in season right now, but not for long!) and I plan to keep the English tradition by eating plenty of strawberries today (albeit with ice cream instead of cream, since we don't have any of that amazing English cream here).
My Fourth of July began with the Everett YMCA Yankee Doodle Dash 10K this morning. It's a gorgeous day today, although that made the run a bit warmer than might be optimal! Perhaps I can blame the heat for finish 16 seconds slower than last year (at 55:02 today). I do realize that I would have been under 55 minutes if I hadn't taken a few seconds for a drink of water partway through... but given the heat, I voted in favor of a little hydration. A big congratulations to the woman who caught up to me at that water break (just before the four mile point), and ran with me the rest of the way up to about half a mile from the finish, then pulled ahead to finish in front of me!
Entering the final stretch...
...Pushing toward the finish line!
I did come in third for my age group (women 40-49), and won a cool medal! (The results later posted on the YMCA website put me in second place for my age group.)
The woman to my right in the last picture (in pink) came in first for her age group (50-59) (and a better time than me).
I think for the rest of my day, I will celebrate independence from any more running! Cheerio!
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