Our 4th of July

Fourth of July is a major holiday in the Gates Family. Growing up, Chuck's family made a trek to Washington, DC every third year to spend the 4th in our nation's capitol and watch the fireworks explode over the Washington Monument on the National Mall.

This year was one of those years, but circumstances prohibited us from going to DC with Kriss (mom), the Johnsons (sister Char), the Dittbrenners (sister Amy), and the Conleys (sister Tiff). Those of us that could not make it, Ed (dad), the McBrides (sister Mitzi), and the Hocks (sister Lani), had a very difficult time missing out.

Once you have seen the fireworks on the Mall, all other fireworks shows pale in comparison. I have found that this often makes me not make the extra effort to attend a local community celebration. In short, I have become a bit of a 4th of July snob. But this year, I was determined to do something fun with our small family as part of our summer of memories in San Diego.

During the morning, we went to Cabrillo National Monument, an incredible place at the tip of the Point Loma peninsula (see map) overlooking the entrance to San Diego Bay. The views of the Pacific Ocean, the San Diego Bay, and the City of San Diego were absolutely amazing. We watched the movie about the landing of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo (first westerner to 'discover' San Diego), toured the old light house and enjoyed a picnic lunch overlooking the bay.

After returning home for naps, we packed up our gear to head to Ocean Beach to watch the fireworks being shot from the pier. As we drove into the parking lot, we quickly realized that it was not a family atmosphere. Perhaps it was the man urinating in the middle of the parking lot. We decided to head somewhere else and drove to Mission Bay.

We found a relatively uncrowded area with great grass on a small peninsula of land overlooking the San Diego River to the South and the entrance to Mission Bay to the North (see location here). We set up a blanket and Leland and I played soccer until the fireworks began. From our spot we could see seven different fireworks shows. It was really fun to see Leland enjoy it so much.

It was a perfect 4th of July to complement our memories of our summer in San Diego.