Single Saturday #2

I just got home from driving halfway across the United States...By Myself! Needless to say, I don't feel like writing a very long post for this, our second Single Saturday. By while I was thinking about how I didn't want to really write a post, I thought about why...

Vacationing while single. This can be either really rewarding, or a little depressing.  I believe it is all about how you think about it...where your mind is.  I can remember a trip to England with one of my best friends: by the end of the trip, we were getting on each other's nerves and ended up splitting up on our last day while touring Bath. It was easily one of my favorite days.  I enjoyed just walking around by myself.

I actually think I could go on a vacation by myself and be perfectly happy about it. I could go where I wanted to go without having to check with another person to see if they want to go there too. It would be wonderful to just sit at a cafe and watch the locals and become part of the place you are visiting.  I don't think I'd want to go solo on all my vacations, but I would be fine doing it every once in awhile.

But this all brings me back to my original thought...I drove halfway across the country By Myself! Almost 1000 miles from Missouri to North Carolina (and back). I drove it in record time, but man that is a lot of driving for one person. I would have loved to have someone to trade off the driving-duty once in awhile; especially when my back would start hurting!

Have you ever been on vacation by yourself? What is your story?

It's A Small Town 4th of July!

I thought I would show everyone a pictorial of our local 4th of July parade. This is the first time in years that I've been to a parade in town. Mom and I went to see the kids because they were on the church float. We always have really good seats because my grandparents live right next to parking lot where all the floats line up which means we are right at the beginning of the parade route.

Everyone's getting ready for the parade in the parking lot by my grandmother's house.

There were planes and helicopters flying overhead...not sure why.

This is my brother's church's float. It is based on their Vacation Bible School theme.

One of the big draws for the parade was trying to get 100 clowns. I HATE clowns. They are not funny; they're scary. Am I the only person who's seen Stephen King's It?

Betsy Ross drove by. Notice the guy driving the truck is sticking his tongue out at me.

One of the local churches decided to show their patriotism by decorating their float as a deer/turkey stand... only in the Ozarks!

Right before this picture, Lady Liberty stuck her tongue out at me!
I told her it wasn't very Lady Liberty-like.

This clown scared me the most...and it came right up to me while I was holding my nephew. Scared me to death.

Laura Ingalls Wilder showed up.

Yes...it is exactly what it looks like.

For some reason, there are always people driving 4-wheelers...

Here's some patriotic people!

Ronald Regan, James Monroe and Honest Abe all came by.

Here is the cult/commune that lives down the road from me. They always walk in the parades.

This lady is dressed as Clara Barton, the founder of the Red Cross

Of course the horses always end the parade...and leave behind presents.

It was fun watching the parade, especially when you know most of the people in the parade. I had several float drivers who stuck their tongues out at me...one picked his nose for the camera. We were sitting in my great-grandmother's driveway right at the beginning of the parade and had my youngest nephew with us. Everybody threw candy at him, and he also got a fireman's hat and a wooden plane. He waved at everybody that went by; it was so cute. Now I can't wait for the next parade!