My Fourth of July This Year

Normally on Mondays, I'm at the Doggie Bag. However, it was closed today for the Fourth of July. I didn't have any other engagements today, so I pretty much spent the day at a park within walking distance of my house.
I left sometime after nine or ten in the morning. In anticipation of swimming at the park's aquatic center in the afternoon (since it was free today), I wore my swimsuit (a skirted tankini that had red-and-white stripes on top and was a solid navy blue on bottom) under my t-shirt and shorts. I packed a towel and sunscreen (which I ended up applying mulitple times throughout the day) in a bag, and my mom slipped in a couple of bottles of water so that I could stay hydrated.

The plan was that I'd look around at various booths, watch a medieval demonstration at 11:00 AM, eat lunch, go swimming in the afternoon, and watch the band that my stepdad's in play in the evening.  The only part of that plan that fell through was the medieval demo. I had gone to information booth to ask where that would take place, but according to the persone there, the people who were going to do the demo had cancelled on that. So instead, I looked at some booths and classic cars (as there was a car show going on today), had an early lunch (cheeseburger and French fries), and looked around some more until time for the aquatic center to open.

I was at the aquatic center for nearly four hours, as that was how long it would be open today. It was open from one to five. I was in the main pool most of the time, but I also went down their water slides and through something called the "Lazy River" where you ride in one of those floating tubes in a, for lack of a better term, whirlpool. At three, everyone had to get out of the water for a few minutes for a routine procedure known as a "safety break". (The pool in my sister's hometown has the same thing each day as well. I'm not sure what all's involved.) After the safety break, we could re-enter the water.
I think I had exited the pool for good and started getting ready to leave when the announcement was made that the pool would close in fifteen minutes. I had officially left the aquatic center shortly after the "five minutes until closing time" warning.

By the time I had left the pool area, my stepdad's band had already shown up at the park's band dome and started setting up as they would be playing within the next hour. I didn't see my mom there right away, but she came while they were still setting up. (She goes to most if not all of the band's gigs, in town or otherwise.) My stepdad had some lawn chairs available in the back of his vehicle, so my mom and I sat in those throughout the gig. The band had shirts (which normally run for $13 but were on sale for $10 for today) and frisbees with their logo for sale. One little boy was up in front off and on dancing to the music. My mom offered his family a free frisbee. (I think they accepted.)

After the band was done, I rode home with my mom who had chosen to drive instead of walk given the hot weather. (My stepdad had stayed behind as the other bands were borrowing some of his equipment.) My mom had invited people to come watch the fireworks from the front lawn (as our property is situated to make for a pretty good view). She even had a canopy with refreshments on the front porch. Nobody that had RSVP'd to it actually showed up. However, someone had called her, and she invited them. That person accepted the invite. There was also another family that was on its way to find a spot for the fireworks display. They were walking with their lawn chairs. My mom invited them to use our yard as well. (The father in the family graciously thanked my mom afterwards.)

Yeah, it has been a pretty eventful Fourth of July for me today.