This year the 4th fell on a Tuesday which meant I had to work Monday and Wednesday (boo). Because I of this, for the first time since we’ve been in the house we didn’t have any visitors for the holiday this year.

Oak island had their beach day activities and fireworks on Saturday. Southport had their Firefighters competition also. We walked down the area for the firefighters competition but we didn’t watch it this year. We spent some time at the sheriff helicopter talking to our friends (one of who happens to be the pilot). For the first time ever, we finally made it to the Maritime Museum. It was small and cute. Scott loved the periscope. In the evening we headed over to Oak Island to claim our spot for the fireworks. It was a nice evening and the fireworks did not disappoint.

Sunday we got up early and went to the beach for a couple of hours. The weather was perfect! Afterwards we rode our bikes to the waterfront to the art festival, looked at the helicopters on display, watched some of a trick horse show, and a freedom flotilla (boats decorated in red, white, and blue). Later, we went for a ride on the golf cart. It was a full moon and a king tide!

On the 4th, we headed out early for the parade. We had gone out the night before and laid chairs and blankets to claim our spot. It was super hot but we still enjoyed the parade. After the parade, Scott and I walked a couple of blocks where one of our favorite food trucks was set up. We walked it back to where we watched the parade and had a little picnic under the shade of the trees. Our spot was already laid out for the evening fireworks so we had time to go home, cool off, and rest a bit. There were tons of people that came out for the show. We had a good spot, or at least I thought so. Once the fireworks started, we realized that they were right on the other side of the tree that was in our line of sight. After moving to the side just a bit, the view became much better. Overall, we had an enjoyable holiday weekend. We are learning new things each year to help make the next one a little better.