If you’ve been following along on Snapchat, you probably noticed that I was more active than usual because I pretty much had the best time celebrating Independence Day this year. 4th of July is the only holiday that I get to spend at home this year, so I’m pretty thrilled that it ended up being a string of days that continuously made me smile. There was lots of pool time, lots of sun and so much red, white and blue.
On Saturday the 1st, the sun was shining too much for me to stay inside. I asked my sister if she wanted to go to the pool, and she quickly agreed. I texted my friend, Yanzhi, and we and two more friends went to the pool in his apartment complex. Mind you, while we were driving there, it started to rain and the radio kept telling us that there was a thunderstorm warning (complete with those gross, loud, horrible beeps that make you want to tear your hair out). That didn’t stop us though. It ended up not raining on our parade, and we had a lovely pool day.
After showering and getting ready, we all met up with a few more friends to eat at Shreveport’s most popular Mexican restaurant, Superior Grill. We had a pretty hefty weight, but I had a margarita to keep me company. Afterward, four of us met up for a mini game night. We played Joking Hazard, which I first played while working on the Elation. It’s such a hilarious game, and I came in second. What what!
On Sunday the 2nd, I didn’t really have any plans, so I just texted everyone that I knew was still in town, and we decided to go to the only local brewery that’s open on Sundays, Red River Brewing. We played some corn hole, and I was absolutely awful. There was also some life-size Connect Four going on, not to mention some incredible conversation. Y’all, I have some amazing friends. Honestly, I’m so lucky and so blessed.
On Monday the 3rd, I joined my friend Panda for a pool party. It was such a beautiful day to spend outside. They had a ton of food, which I took full advantage of.
Tuesday, which of course was the 4th, was obviously my favorite day, started at the racetrack. Y’all, this was an extra special day for me because I got to cross something off of my 30 Before 30 list, which was seeing a horse race. Super random, I know, but I’ve lived in Shreveport for eleven years, and this was my first time going to the track. I figured putting it on this list would motivate me to go sooner. I made the list two years ago, and it finally happened, but I digress.
Our main reason for going was to see the ostrich and camel races. The camel races were super goofy. They were hopping about, and the jockeys looked like they were struggling to hold on, but the real treat was the ostrich race. Nearly all of the jockeys fell off of their ostriches before they could even cross the finish line. The ostrich I wanted to win, Baba Wawa, ended up taking second albeit jockey-less.
What made the day even more awesome was that I ran into so many people that I hadn’t seen in so long – college friends, old co-workers, people whose faces I remember but not names (I know. I’m the worst…). It was so lovely.
After all of the races, we headed to a friend’s house for some good old fashioned American BBQ. While the food was cooking, we played a few rounds of corn hole. Unfortunately, I sucked it up and did not win, but the games were close. I’ll say that much.
Even though we didn’t have any fireworks, there were plenty of people shooting fireworks off nearby, so we enjoyed some of that. Random finger jousting and thumb wars may have also ensued.
How did you spend America’s birthday?
