Parades…Fireworks…Barbeque…Americana

This past weekend was not just another excuse to get together at the cottage…away from the office…escaping the heat. No, it was a chance to celebrate 140 years since Congress declared July 4^th a Federal Holiday—it only took 94 years from 1776 to 1870 to get that enacted…is it any wonder that issues today seem to move at the same pace—plus, get to the cottage and escape the heat.

Cheri and I came to East Andover from different directions on Friday evening. I spent Thursday and Friday at a meeting in Rye, NH so I used the opportunity to drive the MG up to the coast and then take back roads from Portsmouth to the cottage. Cheri meanwhile worked on Thursday, spent Friday cleaning the house, doing laundry, filling the pond, packing the car—sounds like the guest writer on the last post—and then headed for NH.

Of course as Cheri followed another driver on the back roads between Worcester and Manchester (that driver who is going 5 mph below the speed limit while the cars pile up in line behind), she had a moment to think back on all she had accomplished without me there to get in the way…the cleaning…the laundry…putting the hose in the pond…not shutting the water to the hose off…Not Shutting the Water Off.

Since she was already an hour-and-a-half on the road she called me (already in NH) to see what I could do to help. I tried calling several of our neighbors, who were either all away or ignoring a call from a NH area code, and finally contacted someone from our church to swing by the house and shut off the hose. Actually, I think the goldfish may have enjoyed having the very cold well water flushing out the pond before the very warm weekend.

Regardless of the routes and events—Deb, Scott and Laura also experienced some traffic issues…Tim and Kayla arrived earlier in the day—we all arrived at the cottage Friday evening for pizza and a start to the Holiday weekend.

Cheri and I stayed at Nana and Papa’s house in a basement bedroom that remains nice an cool with or without the house air conditioning being on. Dad Swenson arrived Saturday morning to round out the group…and we spent a little time planning our activities.


After a bicycle ride over to Webster Lake and then making Cheri do the toughest bicycle climb in the area—the road from Franklin to the top of the VA Ski Area—we headed over to the cottage. It quickly turned into an afternoon of naps and reading by the lake, but some did manage to fit in some swimming, tubing and water-skiing as well.



Late in the afternoon the annual boat parade took place—an opportunity for people on the lake to dress up their boats and themselves and parade around the lake—looking for cheers and applause from those of us on shore. This year’s theme seemed to be movie based and we had representatives from South Pacific, Star Wars, and (although I can’t think of an associated movie) the boat getting the “cuteness” award with three little ducklings in tow.



Scott grilled up some great steaks for dinner to go along with a broccoli-bacon salad made by Cheri and some red wine to balance out the meal. We then had a little more beach time and daylight before the fireworks would begin.

The Moran’s, two cottages down from us, put on an annual show that rivals many cities and possibly Disney. We are fortunate to be able to sit on the dock and the boat and have front row viewing.This year the show was set for Saturday the 3rd since some of the Moran children had to leave on Sunday.   It was 45 minutes of fireworks right overhead.

The next morning—the actual 4^th of July—had us coordinating schedules and riders to get to the “Annual Andover Old Fashion 4^th of July Parade”. A great contributing factor this year was the selection of Dennis Fenton (Papa) as the Grand Marshall. His place of honor was a seat in a Concord Coach drawn by a pair of horses. Accompanying him were Margaret (Nana) and representatives of the US Navy (and Naval Academy) Scott Whitney ’79 and Tim Whitney ’10.



Besides the Grand Marshall the parade had its normal fill of Shriners, cannon blasts, and fife-and-drum corps…and of course Uncle Sam!



The weather was hot and humid so returning   to the cottage after the parade was a welcome relief…at least for some of us initially. Nana, Papa, Cheri and Deb headed off to Gilmanton, NH for a surprise 50^th wedding anniversary party for Dave and Louise Osborne (Nana’s sister). Following the return of the travelers the word that came back as well that a good family time was had at the party.

We managed to fill the rest of the day and the evening with relaxation and swimming. The day was topped off with the grilling of four whole “chickens under a brick” or what we have come to call “Brick’n-Chick’n”. With some potato-salad on the side, some white wines for a change—which went great with the brick’n-chick’n—and a fruit trifle that Cheri made for dessert everyone waddled away from the table.
It was an earlier evening for leaving the cottage, but we were able to see some more fireworks over the lake before heading off to bed.



The next morning we sent Dad Swenson on his way to an early dialysis appointment, took a run around the lake to try and exhume the evils of the last few days, and then spent a few more hours at the lake before heading back to Connecticut.

Our trip home was uneventful other than being hot in the MG and having only hot air blowing over me…a small price to pay for driving back roads with the top down. We did manage to stop at our “new favorite place” in Townsend, MA—the Ice Cream Factory—for a dairy themed supper.

A great adventure of parades, fireworks and barbeque….America on the 4th of July.