The Fourth of July, A Gospel Choir, A Crab Feed, and More Weather

The Fourth of July is a major holiday in Juneau and Douglas.  Back in the days of the A-J and Treadwell Mines, Christmas and the Fourth of July were the only holidays that the miners didn't have to work.

We have two parades here:  one in downtown Juneau and one in downtown Douglas.  Hundreds of people come over the bridge to Douglas for the parade and for the activities at Savikko Park and Sandy Beach.  The activities, such as the Soap Box Derby and the Fire Hose Race are traditions that go back many years.  Other activities, such as the Frisbee Dog Contest and the Sand Castle Contest as well as the field sports and the Two Mile Race from the bridge to Douglas are more recent.  There was a watermelon eating contest one year that both of my kids participated in (Miguel won, and Phoebe almost choked and literally had watermelon coming out of her nose).  The winners of the kids' contests win $5 and all the participants get $1.

Here are some pictures of the Douglas Parade...

...the old fashioned fire truck...

...the Stroller White Pipes and Drums...

...and the Juneau Volunteer Marching Band.

We always host an "open yard" for all of our friends.  We made salads and burgers, I baked three pies (apple, apple, and rhubarb/berry), folks brought stuff to share, and we sat in the yard and watched people walk by.  At 7:00 p.m. the music started from the Pavilion down at Savikko Park.  Between all the people in town, the band at the park and the fireworks going off, it was a noisy evening.  We were pretty exhausted, but not too tired to go across the street and have a pulled pork sandwich and home made ice cream at our neighbors' house!

The next day, I coordinated a parish potluck to welcome the Gospel Choir of St. Malachy Parish in Chicago.  St. Malachy's used to be our pastor's parish and he had been wanting the choir to come and do a concert.  They raised the funds to travel and came up.  We had a wonderful time at the potluck and the concert was amazing!  They also led the music at the 11:00 Mass on Sunday.  What a gift to have them here!

If you have a party, you have to have cake!

Phoebe and I posed with some of the choir members.  They were such fun and really had a great time!

And finally, on Saturday, I was so happy that Judy Clark from 20 North Ora came through town on a cruise ship with her family.  We met for just a few minutes at a downtown coffee shop and then I walked her down to the dock to re-board her ship.  Even though we only visited for a few short minutes, I really enjoyed meeting her!

Judy and me!

Saturday night, Miguel came home with three Dungeness crab from the grocery store.  Super Bear has a big tank and they sell live crab.  They were still pretty frisky, and Miguel put one down on the floor to see how the dogs would react.  Frida backed away and didn't even bark.

We put them in the sink and they crawled around until we cruelly cooked them in boiling water.  I don't mind cooking them, but cleaning them gives me the whim-whams!

And finally, we had an amazing downpour on Monday - and then, while it was still raining, the sun came out.  The sky was black to the south of us, but the sun was shining from the north.  We had a double rainbow over Douglas. 

I took this picture of our yard.  It looks like it's glowing.  It was still pouring rain, but you can't see it.