Let’s Enjoy Summer

Is it summer yet? I think that with the arrival of July 4th and high temperatures reaching 100 degrees we have removed all doubt. Take a moment to check in with your elderly or ill neighbors who might need a little assistance. Weather like this can effect even the healthiest of us.

This 4th of July, I began my celebration as I always do at the annual Palisades 4th of July Parade. This was the parade’s 47th year. For those of you unfamiliar with the parade, this is a throwback to another time – a real small town parade. It begins around 11:00 am at the corner of Whitehaven Parkway and MacArthur Boulevard, NW. It continues along MacArthur Boulevard for about a mile before turning left to end at the Palisades Park. As an elected official, I always enjoy the opportunity to participate in local parades with family and friends. While I walked, others rode in the car or joined me walking and threw candy to all those watching and cheering along the parade route.

This year, with the citywide elections approaching, there seemed to be even more politicians than usual. But what would the 4th of July be without politicians? After the parade, we joined hundreds of others at the Palisades Park for hot dogs, drinks and ice cream – kudos to the organizers for a great event.

After we cooled off and caught our breath, we headed to another park, this time a ballpark. Yes, the Nationals were in town, so off to Nationals Park we went. It was a gorgeous day for a baseball game, though a bit hot. In light of the 11:05 am start time, I missed about half of the game. There was still plenty of action from the Nationals’ hitters in the later innings, though, with the crucial Wilson Ramos homer and the Nationals beating the Brewers 8 to 5. The Nationals always seem to shine on the 4th of July – I read last year that that Ryan Zimmerman was 10 for 20 with four homers and 13 RBIs in six Independence Day games.
The next step in this great day was a trip home for a break and then off to watch the fireworks. John and Katherine were out of town visiting family in Minnesota, and Chris is out of town for a month at the Parsons School of Design. My wife and her son Sam and I had a great time, though, going to Nick’s on the Georgetown waterfront and watching from the boardwalk. What a terrific 20-minute fireworks display!

Neighborhood parades, Major League Baseball, world class fireworks – where else can you stay home and get all that?