Happy Birthday America

The Fourth of July is a big holiday.  Whether you use the day to commemorate the birth of a country, or to remember all of the men and women who have fought for our right to live in freedom, or if you simply use the day off to eat BBQ'd food, drink cold beer and spend time with family, it is a celebration...of life, our liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  For our family, this years celebration was a day early, since the 4th fell on Monday and for some reason Chile didn't deem it a national holiday and give us the day off...Friends of ours invited us to join them, and a couple of hundred other Gringo's, at a restobar in Providencia, and we thought it was the perfect way to celebrate.  I could hang out with a few other American's and speak English in public without being looked at funny (which has more to do with how tall I am and how blonde I am, than with my English).  B got to watch the America's Cup.  The girls got to play in a restaurant, which is not something we would usually let them do.  We spent a couple of hours eating hamburgers, drinking beer and enjoying good company.  I did miss the fireworks, and so did MadHatter (they are her favorite part of the day) but overall it was a great celebration.  Thousands of miles from the United States, but suddenly, for a couple of hours, it didn't seem so far away.  In fact, I felt like I was home.