I hope you don’t mind when I veer off books every now and then.
A) I think I have summer brain and the urge to review is barely there.
B) Summer in the PNW is GORGEOUS! I’m so used to hibernating lol I want to share some of the fun things I’ve gotten to do so I’m kind of borrowing Lauren from Shooting Stars and Greg from Greg’s Book Haven features where they talk about their town.
I always thought Ocala, FL was a small town but now that I live in Longview, WA, I realize I was wrong.
Or at least, it’s a different type of small town. Ocala was more about retirees so there weren’t a lot of family friendly activities and because it’s FL – hello 100+ degrees – we limited our outdoor exposure.
In Longview, holidays take on a whole different meaning. There was a 3 day lead up to the 4th of July in our local park. There were food & craft vendors set up, activates like log cutting, hole-in-one golf on the lake, a carnival, concerts, 5k runs, and a cardboard regatta – leading up to the fireworks.
*Dogs were not allowed at the park during all this - Fonzi was not amused.
The cardboard boat regatta is one of the more popular events and I snapped a few pics of the entries.
They have a series of races and the goal is not only to make it across the finish line but to not sink – although the sinking is kind of the best part if you’re watching.
Every year there’s a theme and this one was classic tv shows - the Loony Toons boat was my favorite. It did pretty well but was a bit slower because of it’s size. It came in second place though during it’s two heats.
Another favorite was the Bob Ross boat. I love how the crew wore Bob Ross wigs lol
There were also the Twilight Zone, Seinfeld, M.A.S.H & Wheel of Misfortune boats – some were better decorated than others.
The big hit of the race though was the (aptly named) Wheel of Misfortune. There was a person in each side of the wheel and the idea was to run like a hamster wheel to get it moving but…it did not go well lol They valiantly tried twice but…nope. The bets on that boat were not if it would win - but how many feet it would get before going down 😂😂
*If you wan t to see it in action you can see my post on Instagram
After all the events were over there was a Beatles cover band and then fireworks.
One of my favorite parts about the move is this park. I really wish we could have all stayed out all night and had a giant group sleepover. It’s just so pretty there.
They have a concert and outdoor movie every week throughout the summer and I hope we can get to a few.
Did you have any fun events in your area for the 4th (if you celebrated) or the summer?
