The 4th of July (past due)

We decided to stay in town this year for the 4th of July. Prior to this year, I had never spent a 4th of July in Roseburg even though I've lived here for 5 of them. I guess we didn't technically attend the evening festivities in Roseburg, per se, since we actually participated in Winston's activities. Winston is a tiny, tiny town 3 miles from where we live. They also have weekly live concerts in the summer (similar to Roseburg's Music on the Half Shell but on a much smaller scale). However, Winston is close enough to home that I consider our holiday as having been spent "in town".
We went to the parade, ate free hot dogs at the fire station, and went and laid a blanket out for the concert that night. After the parade and lunch we went back home for quite a while and relaxed (this is code for sat in front of the air conditioner). We went to the concert that night and stayed for the firework show which was the most incredible show either of us had ever seen! This show lasted for approximately 30 straight minutes. There wasn't a bad seat to be had, and the fireworks just coming and coming. At least 6 different times Mark and I said "Oh, this has to be the finale" but the show kept going. Patriotic music played in the background, hot dogs and snow cones were everywhere, and the weather was cool with a slight breeze. This was my absolute favorite 4th of July. We had such a good time staying close to home this year....who knew that the tiny town of Winston would have a firework show like they did. It was an unbelievable holiday and if we ever have family or friends who visit us at this time of the year, we would be proud to take them to Winston.

We toyed with the idea of seeing the fireworks over at the coast (in Bandon to be precise). We have heard that seeing the fireworks over the ocean is pretty tough to beat. We may sacrifice Winston's celebration next July to check out Bandon's show just for comparison. We'll just have to wait and see!