Happy 4th to you all!

Back atcha! Independence Day is the best holiday of the year,
IMHO.

We flew up to our hometown of Racine, WI and enjoyed an honest-to-
goodness Independence Day celebration -- including a parade that
lasted FOoR HOURS! It started at 8:30 AM (with dozens of fire
engines and squad cars from all the surrounding communities) and
didn't finish till the street sweepers rolled at 12:30 PM.

It's funny -- I grew up with that parade -- even marched in it a few
times -- and took it completely for granted when I lived there. Only
after I moved to a university town chock-full of apathy did I come to
appreciate a truly patriotic demonstration like the Racine Fourth of
July Parade. (Aviation content: They had a two C-130s fly the length
of the parade route at tree-top level -- very cool!)

In contrast, Iowa City's parade consists of...nothing. There *is* no
parade, in a town of 65,000 people. (IC is a complete anomaly in this
regard, BTW. I don't mean to besmirch all of Iowa in general, because
every other town over 100 people has a parade of some sort.)

It was our first time back to Racine for the parade in ten years, and
I'm really glad to see that they still pull it together each year. (I
can't imagine the amount of work that goes into it.) We then enjoyed
a spectacular fireworks display over Lake Michigan, from the deck of a
friend's boat in the harbor. VERY cool, indeed.

Now, we're looking at flying home to Iowa very shortly. A perfect
holiday, indeed!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"