A Philadelphia 4th

Ever since I started going to camp at the young age of 8, I have lived for the summer. As a camper and later a staff member, the summers were always a magical time, and in fact many of my best friends are still my camp friends. And right in the midst of this magical time comes a whole holiday dedicated to spending time with friends and family and watching fireworks…incredible! So this was a big year: my first 4^th of July away from my best friend Andrea since we were 17.

Since I knew I couldn’t make it back to Buffalo for the holiday, I made plans to visit my other best friend, Allyssa, in Philadelphia. Just a short two hour drive away, I headed up on Saturday morning to celebrate the 4^th in arguably the birthplace of America. And while I did miss being with friends and family in Western New York, Philadelphia is definitely a great place to experience a holiday in a large city!

In the afternoon we headed to Chinatown for a street festival. It’s always great to wander around and be immersed in Chinese again, and with everyone on the street it was like a small taste of last year. After a most delicious milk tea, Allyssa, Andrea Fugazot, Sarah Chabal, and I headed to Super Scooper, an all-you-can-eat ice cream fundraiser on Penn’s Ladning. For five dollars you got a spoon and access to a tent full of tables serving all kinds of delicious flavors. Plus, all the proceeds go to battle childhood cancer.

We made a delicious Mexican feast for dinner, but unfortunately missed the fireworks due to confusion with the schedule. The next morning totally made up for it though: at Party on the Parkway, we saw a REAL LIVE STRONGMAN COMPETITION. I don’t think I can fully express how excited I was to watch 400-pound men pull a truck 100 feet in 30 seconds. Call me crazy, but that is real entertainment and talent!

Afterwards, I headed back down to Maryland to a picnic with my friend John’s family. I learned last year that while nothing will ever replace my own family, when away from home it is still nice to spend a holiday with a friend’s family. Also, being my first Maryland picnic, I learned to pick my very first blue crab. Because as John said, the only people who have crabs picked for them are babies under the age of 2.