Happy July 4th To The USA!
What better way to celebrating the 250th birthday of America than with Dean Martin surrounded by Liberace and Art Carney – feel free to dance along!
Yes, I’m sharing a bit of levity during challenging times on the birthday of the United States Of America…
What should have been a celebration of unity has sadly been anything but…I don’t want to get too political here – there is so much to be thankful for…so, going to focus on some big positives to celebrate:
I wanted to share some of the majestic beauty of the country, like the Grand Canyon…
Almost impossible to capture on film, the Grand Canyon in Arizona is almost two miles across – and since it is 277 miles around, it would take 15 hours to drive it!
Here is the magical scene when you arrive at the southern viewpoint:
This is just one of countless aspects of America that are worth celebrating: our natural beauty, from Arizona’s Grand Canyon to the “end” of Long Island just outside New York City:
I went for my first time a few weeks ago and it was spectacular…here’s a closer look at “the end”:
Every time I explore one of the 50 states, I find something new and magical, like the time my wife Alex and I hiked “The Narrows”:
An amazing hike through the Virgin River in Zion National Park in Utah…here’s a bit of what you walk through:
It is also the time for cookouts all across the country, as we love to celebrate by making these!
Burgers, Burgers And More Burgers!
And I will be doing the same, along with hot dogs, macaroni salad and lots of beverages too!
Here are some of my favorite recipes to celebrate today:
And if you want to cook like the “founding fathers” did, then follow the lead of these “founding foodies!”
Yes, I cooked from this terrific book about George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin – and their recipes!
See them here:
Let’s head back to New York to wrap this up:
The Statue of Liberty originated in 1865 as a gift conceived by French political thinker Édouard de Laboulaye. Created to celebrate the American centennial, it symbolized the enduring friendship between the U.S. and France. We must work to renew that friendship going forward…
There is a massive light show and celebration planned for tonight, but here’s a look at what it’s like to get up close by boat:
Here’s a closer look at last year’s festivities and what to expect tonight, as well as a walk across the iconic Brooklyn Bridge, and dinner at New York’s oldest restaurant!
Happy 250th birthday America…we have a lot of work to do going forward, but we will persevere…
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Categories: Exotic Travel, Food, food blog, Memoirs, New York, Pop Culture, Travel, Travel Adventures, Travel Memoir
johnrieber 
Happy 250th! THe USA is such a beautiful country, thanks for sharing your great photos with us. To think, for so many immigrants arriving by ship, the Statue of LIberty is the first thing they saw. My grandfather was only 4 years old but he remembered it.
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Happy 4th, John. Hope you enjoy your celebration and that the country can find the right course again.
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Well done for celebrating all the ‘good stuff’, John. And lets not forget all the wonderful films from the US film industry, and the amazing decades of music too. Shared on Twitter.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Yes Pete, we have much to celebrate – sadly, there is a somber pall cast over much of it due to the actions of a lunatic – literally an insane person who most recently told us he spoke to a previous President who had died 50 years before he was born. We will persevere, and we will begin the long road toward repairing our standing in the world. Perhaps it is gone forever, but there are so many of us here who want to try…
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