ThE LoSt FiFtH FrEeDoM

Please add to the Four Freedoms a "freedom from traffic." One of the benefits of living in the Nation's Capital is the slew of festivities that occur on Independence Day. Of the four 4th of Julys I've spent in the D.C. metro area (obviously not including the few summers I spent hear in college when I enjoyed them from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and underneath a tree at the National Museum of Art), I've seen the fireworks from a variety of angles, each with it's own little perks. However, if you're not prepared, traffic can take all the fun out of it.

I-395N. Yes, the major interstate that crosses the Potomac next to the Jefferson Memorial and dumps you onto the southeast corner of D.C. The first year I moved to D.C. I had stayed up chatting until 2am with a significant other who was overseas. Then, when he went to work I went upstairs and watched a movie with my roommate who was also still awake. Smart move on our part, we then had to wake up early the next morning to go tubing down the Shenandoah River with a group of people. By the time we got home that afternoon, we bailed on the BBQ and took long, hard naps. I woke up a few minutes before the fireworks were to start but my roommate was still asleep. A little sad, I sat down in front of the TV and accepted the fact I would be watching the fireworks from my couch. However, right as they were starting my roommate came running down the stairs yelling for me to get in the car. Me in my shorts and tshirt combo and her in her zebra pj bottoms and baggy sweatshirt slipped on the only shoes we had next to the front door: high heels. We ran outside, giving our neighbors quite a laugh, and sped around the corner. We made the requisite two turns and were on 395N. It was like a scene from Will Smith's Independence Day--the traffic had come to a complete stop. We got out of the car and--with a completely unobstructed view--watched the fireworks with all our close commuter friends. As soon as they were done, we pulled off the next exit and swung back to our house. Out and back in 20 minutes.

North Mall lawn. Instead of attempting the chaos of public transportation, my roommate AW and our friend MC decided to enjoy the short bike ride into the District from the Mount Vernon Trail. We met MC near the airport, jumped on the trail and biked into the district via the same corridor as 395N. We passed through security with no problems and soon met up with a few friends for a picnic of croissant sandwiches, fruit and treats. We played games, did some people watching and enjoyed the music coming from the concert on Capitol Hill. Soon, the fireworks started and everyone oohed and aaaahed. I must say, being able to hear patriotic songs while the fireworks go off makes it even BETTER. My favorite of course being the 1812 Overture, complete with the booms of a few cannons emphasizing the sparks lighting up the night sky over the Washington Memorial. When the fireworks ended, we hopped on our bikes, stopped off at 7/11 for an oh-so-American Slurpee and were home within the half hour. Another successful year.

South Mall lawn. Knowing we were unable to recreate the greatness of the previous year, MC and I wanted to get as close as possible. She had to work that day, I had been entertaining a guest from out of town and other friend, and another friend SS also wanted to join when she got off work. My guest and I were going to bike in, that is until we discovered my roommate had locked my bike to hers and she "didn't know where the key was.".Awesome. Instead, we drove to Crystal City in preparation of the walk back and hopped on the blue line to the Smithsonian where we met MC and SS. We made our way through security, to the South Lawn and found a nice piece of grass to wedge ourselves onto. We spread out our blanket, pulled out the random snacks we each brought and began chatting the hour away. As usual, the fireworks were spectacular. We stayed on the lawn chatting for awhile in order to give the crowd time to die down then made our way to the metro stop further up the line. However, that still wasn't enough. After standing in line for about 10 minutes and it not really going anywhere, we decided to walk the 2.5 miles to Georgetown to get SS car and drive home. However, some in the group were not sporting the best walking shoes, so we thought, "Why not try to get a cab?!" We realized this might be somewhat fruitless given the circumstances, but we figured we could keep walking until we caught one. The light turned red, we crossed the street and a few seconds later a taxi pulled up to drop a group off. We jumped in (much to the anger of those standing across the street who had been trying to hail a cab for some time) and headed to Georgetown. Great night, entertaining drive home and still absolutely no traffic.

Pentagon. This year was a low key 4th of July. I continued to eat loads of lime popsicles (my newest obsession), went to the gym in the morning, went thrifting w/ SS and found fantastic sales, then off to find summer dresses (since that's basically all I wear) and finally a stop off at the grocery store for the impromptu BBQ we decided to have. SS whipped up a nice potato salad, I attempted to make hamburger patties, veggie kabobs and hot dogs, and various guests brought treats. We chatted and had a great time until 8:30, when we admitted we finally HAD to decide where we wanted to watch the fireworks. Our biggest criteria was: easy parking, close distance to our parked car, no residual traffic. We piled in the CC's car and headed for the Air Force Memorial. However, after a few absent minded turns we landed near the Pentagon and figured, why not? We found a parking space to the side and front (sneakily perfect) and climbed up the hill for the view. After a few Katy Perry Firework and Neil Diamond Coming to America sing-offs, some good rounds of "would you rather" and a lot of Oreo cookies later, the fireworks began. Again, spectacular view. From the hill we could even see the fireworks in Annapolis--two for the price of one! They ended, the blanket was swooped up, we ran to the car and were probably the 10th car out of the parking lot. Five minutes later we were home eating SS's red, white and blue jelloed dessert. God Bless the USA... and no traffic.

spots still left to try: Iwo Jima, Jefferson, a fancy rooftop, tickets to the Capitol Concert.
Also, one day I will bother to take my good camera...