Monday, July 5, 2010

Happy 4th of July!

Eric joked this weekend that he was shocked that I don't dislike July 4th because I am sometimes a bit... critical? of the good ol' USA. But of course I do love it, and I would argue instead that July 4th is one of my top favorite holidays of the year, up there with Christmas and Thanksgiving.



When I was younger I always spent 4th of July in NH with my cousins. We were always in a crazy small town New Hampshire parade, the same one I went to watch my little cousins in last year. When I got a little older, I stayed home over July 4th to hang out with my friends. I've seen the Boston fireworks a few times, but never actually in downtown Boston, from great viewing locations in Arlington Heights and on top of the MIT dorms instead. Since Eric and I have been dating, we have been tons of different places on July 4th. We went to the Cape one year, we were in Rome once, we stayed home once, and we've been to a few different places in NH. I cannot remember a bad Fourth of July. What's not to love about warm weather, family and friends, cook outs, parades, and fireworks?

This year's Fourth of July weekend started with Eric and I planning to leave early Friday morning for NH, stopping in Manchester for lunch. However, we quickly realized that our plan would leave us eating lunch at 10 am. Luckily, we are not travel rookies. We found the best touristy thing to do in the Manchester area (it's actually in Merrimack, NH), the Anheuser-Busch Brewery!

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This gorgeous place (and yes, I am pretty sure I have never described a brewery as gorgeous before) is located less than an hour from Boston and offers a free tour. The tour takes you through the inner workings of the beer making process...

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At the end, they let you try 2 full beers of your choice. I tried the Bud Select 55 (which by the way, I liked- it was similar to Bud Light I thought) and Stella Artois, which I haven't had since London but reminds me of being there :)

After the tour we walked over to the Cydesdale stables. I have never seen these horses in real life, but they are a sight. They are HUGE and beautiful...

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This guy is getting a bath :)

Look how beautiful the stables are too...

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If you ever want a fun day trip from Boston, I highly recommend this.

Once we got to NH, the weekend was filled with some relaxation and lots of fun. For once I was pretty happy to be away from the internet, my wedding planning was limited to what could be taken care of on my blackberry.

Here are the highlights...

Eric's new friend:

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We stumbled upon another small town NH parade (it had a Red Sox theme going on...notice the red socks hanging in the truck haha):

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Rock water sliding:

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Marshmallow roasting:



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Boat riding:

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Fire work watching:

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Ice cream eating (this flavor was Moose Tracks frozen yogurt- aka vanilla with fudge swirl peanut butter cups, aka heaven):

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Cake eating (ok I actually did not eat this cake, but I liked looking at it!):

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And last but not least, boat driving:

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So I had a great weekend! How about you guys?

On the agenda this week? An awesome "to do" list, tutoring some adorable kiddos, leaving for the Cape on Wednesday night to do a little thing called...get married. Major goals of the week include DRINK WATER (I am usually an insane water drinker but since my schedule has been off I haven't been as good) and maintain some level of calmness through exercise.

And most importantly, Caroline taught me a cool way to make a capital "H" in my signature, so now I'm more excited to change my last name. Yes, I operate like a 5 year old.

12 comments:

  1. It looks like so much fun! I can't believe your wedding is already here...congrats!

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  2. Your weekend sounds fantastic!

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  3. Glad you had a great weekend! We have an Anheuser-Busch brewery near our home, but it's definitely not as cool as this one! They have horse stables?! I wonder if that's where they tape all of their commercials, with the horses and stuff.
    I just don't like Bud Light at ALL, but Bud Select I don't mind (I've never tried the 55 though).

    Great choice on the yogurt. I LOVE Moose Tracks!!
    I'm so excited for you and your wedding. I love your goal for the week, STAY HYDRATED, very clever and very important!!!

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  4. I cannot wait for wedding posts!!!!!!

    I love the 4th cake because I love strawberries!

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  5. BAHAHAHA. I love that your more excited to change your name now that you can have a cool signature :P Hahahaha.

    Sounds like a great long weekend! I love how patriotic Americans are on the 4th of July!

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  6. You were in Merrimack? You were seriuosly 15 minutes away from my house! And my dad works right next door to that brewery. Aren't those horses awesome?

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  7. Sounds like a great weekend! That's so funny that you went to that brewery because my boyfriend and I were just talking about that same place today! It looks gorgeous. I cannot believe you're getting married this weekend. So exciting!! Good luck with staying hydrated this week :)

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  8. Oooh your wknd looks so fun! Love the bikini and the rock sliding and the cake and the boat and the Budweiser horse. Looks like a great blend of food, drinks, and sun! And I am getting bad about water too, I am sort of tired of it!

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  9. Happy Wedding week - i can't believe it's already here! :)

    Looks like a fab weekend. Props to you for driving a boat. That is something I am so not comfortable doing. not sure why. I grew up on the water, but have never felt comfortable taking the wheel!

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  10. looks like you had a great holiday weekend and even got in a tan :) thats always a plus.

    that horse is pretty excited...lol. im sorry i just had to.

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  11. Looks like the perfect 4th!! I spent mine on the cape but I still haven't posted about it!

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