4th of July

This 4th of July we decided to skip out of Millinocket and finally go somewhere new to enjoy the festivities. This is something that we have wanted to do for the past few years but it seemed something always stopped our travels. This year with nothing holding us down, Jeff, Tyson and I, along with my parents, took a rode trip down to Old Orchard Beach. We woke up early, packed into my parents truck and headed down. The 3 and 1/2 hour drive went by very quickly (seeing as I slept most of the way) and upon our arrival we were greeted with a beach packed with people as far down the beach as we could see, along with a 110 degree sun beating down upon us. After we finally found a place to park, we packed up Tyson's bike trailer and headed down to try and stake out a spot upon the sand. After crawling around people, we finally found a great spot right next to the water. It was then when we realized that someone should have packed an umbrella. After about 30 minuets of letting Tyson swim and play in the sand, we decided that the nice shady picknic table we saw back by the truck would be a much better place to be sitting.

Tyson learning quickly that ocean water does not taste as good as the lake.


Another quick drink to wash the saltwater out of his mouth.

So we packed up the bike trailer and headed back to the grassy picknic area. There we all enjoyed a nice lunch and a much cooler place to just relax. We were there a bit over an hour and before long, Tyson was begging to go back in the ocean to swim.

Before heading to the beach, my mom suggested that we try and find a spot under the peir where it would be a little cooler, so off we went. I never imagined that so many other people would have had the same idea as her, but once again we were able to find the perfect spot. Large enough to spread out a blanket and some chairs, but close enough to hear the drama from our neighbors. Who know we would get a live soap opera showing while enjoying the beach. The first thing Tyson asked to do in our new spot was to get burried in the sand. He had so much fun but with the large amount of people walking around I was afraid he might get stepped on. After a few quick photos it was time to head back into the water.


He really did have fun being covered in sand, I just didn't have time to get a good smile.


Even though the water was quite chilly, he had a blast. I have never seen him stay in cold water that long, but I am glad he had fun. After a few hours the beach finally started to clear out slightly and we were able to move to the edge of the pier where we were still in the shade, but right out next to where they would be shooting off the fireworks.

Photos from the rest of our day

The ferris wheel


Amazing fireworks

It really was a great day and I hope that we will be able to do it again next year. That is if we are home from Korea by the 4th.