Thursday, July 5, 2012

Parades By Land and Sea

The tiny Harborside Parade.
Simple fun in the style of Norman Rockwell vintage.

 Christmas in July, complete with Yuletide music.  Candy canes and lollipops came raining down on us.

 Cousins.

 A lobster Pirate.

 Poet Laureate Dan Hoffman reads the Declaration of Independence.

Sea Gulls, squawking and dropping spoonfuls of curdled milk-- "Best in Show".

The Alien.

Flags waving in the wind.

LaSalle.

Tractor circa 1952

My Grandniece sat on her Daddy's shoulder to view the fun.  Her favs were the fire truck and the yummy candies.

Suffragettes.

Bedecked in sparkles and beads.

The Harborside Cannon.

When the parade had marched up and then back down the one street of the hamlet, the crowd (maybe 120 people) gathered to pledge allegiance to the flag, sing God Bless America, listen to the local valedictorian recite the Gettysburg Address and Dan Hoffman read the Declaration of Independence, then cheer on the contestants in the pie-eating contest.
The rain held off just long enough.

Back at the cottage, we had front row seats for a second parade:
Tall Ships leaving Bucks Harbor enroute to Castine and then Camden.









The Tall Ships made it in fair winds.  This solo ketch raced the front home, trying to beat the squalls.

The word of the day was "Nostalgia".  
A rather low-key celebration here at the Cape.  We were happy to have Hubby's sister and family with us to share in the festivities.
Family still comes first when we count the many blessings we cherish here in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.

How was your day?
Did your fireworks get rained out, like ours, or did you blast the skies with splendour?
Happy Birthday USA.


9 comments:

Lisa said...

Hey Rosemary,

These photos are just wonderful! I love them :) When I was looking I kept thinking "where is she now? This looks so much like a parade I remember seeing so clearly when I went to the Cape" with my mom one July 4th years ago. AND it is the Cape! Of course!!! :) No one puts on a 4th parade like they do.

Great Post! You brought back nice memories for me.

xoxo, Lisa

Tami said...

Smalltown parades are the best. Especially on the 4th with everyone decked out in red, white and blue. I really miss my home town and it's celebrations. We didn't have any celebration at all this year.

However, we never got to see a parade like your second one. Not a lot of tall ships (or short ones) in Kansas. :) It's on my bucket list. Two years till kids are out of college and we can afford to start marking those items off.

Thanks for sharing your pics.

Southhamsdarling said...

Hi Rosemary. I so agree that family is what is really important on days like this. Gosh, those tall ships are stunning, aren't they?! Lovely photos that you have shared with us today and it all looks like great fun.

Unknown said...

Living in a small town, the parade is familiar territory.
Love the "Christmas in July".
The Tall Ships though...well...wow.
Your photos are amazing.
What a sight.
Perfect for the 4th.

"Cottage By The Sea" said...

Now that's some Americana right there. What a fun 4th! Our bay fireworks blew up all at once and that was the end of the show. It was some big mishap and the company who did it says they'll do another one some time this summer. A lot of people were really ticked off but I kinda liked the big finally at the beginning and then we got to go home!

Anonymous said...

In Trinidad it was business as usual. From the looks and sounds of it, my friends and family in the States had a blast. Looks like it was a great day for you too. :)

Happy Birthday USA.

teri said...

Your post was my fourth of July. Thank you. Your front row seat allowed you to capture some really stunning images of those ships. They fit with the title of your blog.

Pat Tillett said...

We had our usual very busy fourth, but we certainly didn't have that view! It looks like you had a great day!

Veronica Lee said...

Sounds like you had a marvellous time! Love the photos.