Our First July 4 Celebration

Today was July 4 - The American Independence`s Day, a big event in America as this was also a public holiday.

We had breakfast in the lovely garden at Er``s apartment; I realized that this was the first time we all had a meal with Er. in this shady quiet spot. How time flew! He has lived in this same apartment for four years and ten months already and would be leaving soon to start a new job on the west coast.

We spent the whole afternoon packing stuffs, going through what needed to be sent back to Toronto and what would go west.




Er. was invited to two July 4 BBQ and since we were never at a July 4 event before, he emailed Adam and asked if he could bring two more guests. Adam was gracious and  invited us for the July 4 BBQ.

Adam has been hosting the July 4 BBQ for the past ten years.

Adam lives in Brooklyn on the 5 floor of an apartment. He holds BBQ\'s regularly on the roof top of his apartment.

 Apparently, he has been doing this for the past ten years inviting his friends to join him for the July 4 celebration. What a host with great hospitality!

Er. and his friends attired in red  for  the July 4 roof top party

Guests to the party were asked to dressed in red for this evening`s event in honour of the special
day.

They did and it was a sea of red colour on the roof top party site!

Grow in the dark necklaces were given out to guests when night fell.

Freedom Tower - on the former World Trade Centre Site seen from Brooklyn

From this Brooklyn apartment  roof top, we could see a lot of the buildings around us.

The Freedom Tower, built on the same site as the former World Trade Centre Towers, glistened in the dark and dominated the night scape.

July 4 Firework at Manhattan Waterfront - seen from Brooklyn!

As soon as it was dark, we saw fireworks all around the city, as far as from the Manhattan waterfront to the Battery Park and around Brooklyn.

Everyone got very excited when  the first firework lit up the dark sky. People started running to the railing and trying to take pictures of the firework. Guests then broke into a heart felt rendition of the American National Anthem!

People ate, drank, chatted and had a great time relaxing and enjoying each other`s company. The cool breezes on the roof top was wonderful and a welcome reprieve from the scalding heat we have been experiencing in the past few days.

It was lovely to have met Sarah and Andreanna, Er`s colleagues from his former company.
Funny that we have visited Er. so many times but this was first time we met his colleague friends just before he leaves this exciting city!

As Canadians, we also experienced our first every July 4 BBQ party! It was a lot of fun! Yes, the Americans are more bold when comes to expressing their patriotism.  Canadians are more humble and reserved in this regard.  


A great night in Brooklyn on July 4!

R.T., Day 4
New York City