Howl At the Moon, Shoot Out the Light

I haven't been back to Indiana for the 4th of July in what must be a decade. And as good as the beach cities of Los Angeles' South Bay are on this holiday in particular, I do miss it a little bit. Of course I miss being with my (ever-expanding) family, but I also missed the little things about Indiana and rural, small town life in particular.

It's nice not worrying about where to park, and adding the time to your outing required to actually find the aforementioned parking. It's nice to sit in and enjoy the quiet (and space) afforded by a less congested landscape. It's nice to see a blue sky with white fluffy clouds every day (to be fair you are getting better LA sky); it's even nice to get a little summer rain to cool you off a little. It's nice to unexpectedly see friendly faces you haven't seen in years.

Most of all, though, it's about seeing loved ones and catching up. In the midst of all the baby cooing, we did manage to find time to visit all of the famous Cass County eateries: Mr. Happy Burger (best Cokes on the planet), Sycamore (best soft serve ice cream anywhere - still don't know what those girls were laughing at), Bruno's (originators of Indiana-style pizza), and B&K (birthplace of the unequaled hot dog condiment "Spanish Sauce"). As well as: sit around on Mom's new deck, corhnole, play in a pool that we had absolutely outgrown, and see the spectacle that is the Walton 4th of July Fireworks (even if it was on the 5th). I had a great time with all of you friends and family. Miss and Love you all. See all my pics here.

met Rease the nice for the first time; not a
whole lot of fun yet, but she's pretty cute

played with Riley (and Caleb) in the kiddie pool

Riley swinging in the park

Woody drives the parade route

Josh flips it around along the parade route

everybody (???) hangs in the living room

hope everyone reading this had a happy 4th