Addendum

I take it back. After writing the other post, I thought harder and rememberd that in the past ten years I have had some other unique Fourths of July. In 1998 I was 18 years old and in Queenstown, New Zealand, with a tour group full of other people around my age . We had a big cake and did sparklers in the cold winter air. Two friends and I took a late night walk and admired the Southern Cross constellation in the pitch-black sky. You can see it on the right in the picture of the Australian flag, above. It's the southern hemisphere's version of the North Star: the constellation by which they navigate. In 2000 I was in Amman, Jordan with the BYU-Jerusalem program. A group of us took taxis to the Hard Rock Cafe where we ate, danced, and partied like garish American tourists.

All growing up in southeastern Washington we watched the fireworks that the city set off from barges on the Columbia River. We'd drive up to the hills behind our house and turn on the radio to the music they choreographed and broadcast to go along with the fireworks display. Either that or we were in Salt Lake visiting relatives and did fireworks on my great grandma's driveway with a passel of assorted cousins.

What are your favorite memories or traditions for the Fourth of July?