July 4th, 2010 - Freedom and Family

Well here it is October and I'm just getting around to writing about July 4th. Maybe I'll get to Labor Day by Christmas. That would be about right I guess. I just can't seem to find the right time to blog so here I am at 11pm when everything is quiet and I can get my head around things.

Bear Bottom all decked out for July 4th, 2010!

July 4th 2010 was a great time at Bear Bottom near Sparta, NC. My wife's brothers, Peter and Steven and their families joined us for the long weekend. They both have travel trailers and pulled them up to our place and "camped out" on my neighbor David's property near his barn where he had installed electric sometime last year for just this purpose so they could plug in and enjoy their electric lights and fans and such. Peter, his wife Angela, and their son Austin along with Angie's niece Ashleigh, from Puerot Rico, Stephen and his wife Amy and their kids, Brooke, Blake and Madison were all on hand for all the fun... and we had lots of fun. We roasted marshmellows over an open fire in our fire pit a couple of nights, took a hike, ate lunch at The Bluff's Restaurant on the BRP, watched the 4th of July Parade in downtown Sparta (on Saturday the 3rd), fished (actually CATCHING fish) in David's pond, grilled hamburgers and hot dogs and even went to dinner at Brown's one night. Austin and Madison spent hours catching crawfish and salamanders and chasing butterflies and fireflies. Some even flew a kite and we pitched horseshoes until my shoulder hurt. My Mom and Dad even drove over from Julian Price Park near Boone on the BRP where they were camping and spent Saturday night in our guest room.

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The makeshift "campground" beside Davids barn.

I think the most fun for me was preparing Hungarian Goulash and Spaetzle for the entire crew on our last night, Sunday, July 4th. My nephew Blake, Susan's brother Stephen's middle child, requested it. This is a dish that my wife's mother, Sibylla, used to make for the family, even after they had all moved out. One she had learned when she was a girl back in Germany, and one she had taught me how to make not long afer Susan and I were married. It's basically a beef stew with onions and LOTS of paprika served over spaetzle, a kind of boiled dumpling made from flour, water and eggs. As I said Stephen's son Blake requested it and I agreed to make it after it was decided by the group that this was what they wanted for our last night together. We went shopping for together as a family for all of the ingredients. It was awesome sitting with family after hours of preperation and devouring such comfort food. Sort of like Christmas morning as a child. Anticipation, excitement, planning, preparation and all too quickly its over. It made me feel pretty good that I could provide something that meant so much to everyone, especially on a day when celebrating our freedom. Thanks, Blake for giving your old uncle a very special gift. The perfect end to the day was climbing the our hill in the near darkness and witnessing several July 4th fireworks displays. We could see the fireworks from Sparta, and Indepence, VA and one a little closer that we couldn't identify. It was truly a great weekend and one that will be forever engrained in my book of memories.

Here's our crew.

Next time I'LL share photos of the weekend that the Prince of Bear Bottom made his inaugural solo visit. He came in September so I should have it posted by Christmas, don't you think? ;)