4th of July

Ever since I moved from Nebraska it has always been difficult to find ways to celebrate the 4th of July that make it really feel like the 4th of July. This year Andrew and I decided we would get beach cruisers (borrowed, not bought) and ride up and down the beach path all day. The original plan was to ride from our house to Newport Beach. However, on the 3rd we decided we would take a test ride down to the pier (9 miles one way). It was a good thing we did because by the time we got to the pier we realized there was something very wrong with Andrew's bike. Luckily there is a bike shop near by and I had brought some cash with me. We were able to fix the bike and ride back home. After that ride we were extremely tired and didn't think we would make it that far the next day. We started out at about 1:00 in the afternoon and started riding along the beach. After stopping for a bit on an empty stretch of beach to relax we decided to take some pictures.

Here we both are halfway to the pier on the 4th.
Andrew on his USC beach cruiser. Fight On!
Me on my beach cruiser.

By the time we got to the pier our backsides were quite sore from two days of riding so we decided to take a little break. We locked up the bikes and started walking around Main Street. All of main street was shut down to cars and there were vendors and sales going on everywhere. Andrew and I ended up sharing a Greek Kabob, which is actually wrapped in a Pita and it was delicious.

We didn't stay to watch the fireworks at the beach. Instead we went with some friends to another friends house for a wonderful display of illegal fireworks. The person who puts this on does it every year and is very smart. He doesn't save the best for last because the police are bound to show up and shut it down, which they did, leaving with some fireworks that were really just a decoy to get them to leave. The best of the fireworks were safely hidden in the garage. All in all it was a great day and we are proud to say Happy Birthday America! Oh, and Happy Birthday Cody!