250 years old 🇺🇸

It can be a little awkward being a Brit in America on July 4th. This year there is the added extra spoonful of discomfort as it is the semiquincentennial of the Declaration of Independence, or as the White House is branding it, “Freedom 250.’

Yet other than a wrestling event, and a National state fair that looks as if it is being less well attended than your regular village parade, there isn’t much else different than other July 4th’s I’ve witnessed over the years.

America has come a long way since they threw our tea in the Boston Harbour. A country of 350 million people, 49,000 miles of interstate highway, 5,200 airports, 13,700 McDonalds and the invention of the hot dog, of which the average person eats 70 a year!

Still, today feels like a regular Saturday. Walked the dog, we went out for coffee, everything was open, bought some hot dogs, well I have some catching up to do. Will watch the football later. Yesterday was a a welcome day off, so we went for a walk and a paddle along Siesta Key’s Turtle Beach (photo).

Maybe we’ll get invited over to a neighbour’s later, one with a smoker the size of steam locomotive and a cold storage facility full of Michelob Ultra. Watch some fireworks, burn some s’mores.

Or maybe I’ll get my big box of PG Tips out and make loads of cups of real tea.