1. A Capitol Fourth, The Mall, Washington D.C.

What’s Special? You’re kidding, right? It is THE place to be–the seat of government, with an all-American entertainment program featuring John Philip Sousa marches and thousands of red, white and blue clad celebrants gathered on the grassy lawn in the middle of all those imposing marble buildings. Right there where the laws are made and administered and judged. And watching fireworks arc over the Washington Monument would give any patriot a thrill.

Although I’ve never been in Washington in person for July 4th, we never miss watching this celebration on PBS. The people in the audience can be as much fun as the show on stage. Jimmy Smits and Steve Martin headline this year.

2. Charles River,  Boston

Boston Fireworks on the Charles River

What’s Special? Mostly the magnificent Boston Pops Orchestra, but also the serene setting by the historic Charles River. The music is a tad classier, and so is the crowd, compared to Washington D.C., but it is still a heck of a show.

Now in its 38th year, Boston presents the famous Boston Pops orchestra on July 3 and July 4 and fireworks over the Charles River on the Fourth. For a real thrill, see the Boston July 4th show from the Charles River. I’ll be stopping over in Boston briefly in August, and loved our visit there a couple of years ago.

3. Macy’s Fireworks Celebration, Hudson River, New York City

New York City Fireworks on the Hudson River

Setting off fireworks from barges on the Hudson River is a long time tradition in New York City, perhaps remembering the fireworks of revolutionary battles with the British fought in this area. Back then New York City was a rural village with cobblestone streets, and you can still see the cobblestones on the very southern tip of Manhattan in front of the Fraunces  Tavern where George Washington gave his farewell address to the troops.  In 1976, the bi-centennial of the Declaration of Independence, one of the grandest celebrations in the land took place here, and the tradition continues.

Fireworks have been cut from a lot of city budgets, but Macy’s, who in the past have been firmly associated with Thanksgiving, because of the Thanksgiving parade, now own July 4th in NYC as well. Thank you Macy’s for one of the best events in New York, a city I love to visit.

4. Navy Pier, Chicago

What’s Special: Well, to tell the truth, I love Chicago, but the city is not funding any big fireworks shows this summer. Instead, people can trot on out to Navy Pier and see there usual 15 minute show. When I say usual–they do this fireworks display every night during the summer. It is a crowd pleaser, there will be live music, and the Pier’s  a cool place to be on a hot summer night, but it doesn’t hold a Roman candle to the extravaganzas in the other cities.

5. Big Bay
Big Bay Boom, San Diego

San Diego Fireworks on the Bay

What’s Special?San Diego has a gorgeous bay and the night views looking back toward the city or out across the lighted Coronado Bridge always take my breath away. Now add tons of exploding color being fired off from barges circling the bay–sounds incredible. View them from outdoors at Shelter Island or Seaport Village or grab a 9:00 p.m. reservation window seat at one of the hundreds of restaurants with views on the bay. Yum!

(If budgetary woes weren’t enough to slow down the fireworks shows, in California a judge questioned whether San Diego’s fireworks are environmentally safe. Only in California!The  latest ruling allows the big show to go forward in San Diego, so you can safely book your trip.)

Can you afford to get out of town for the long weekend?

Air fare just keeps going up-up-up and away as gas prices stay stratospheric, but CheapO Air lists special deals to four of these five cities. As you do your trip planning, check out the CheapOAir July 4th  flight/hotel combos for New York, San Diego, Boston and Chicago.

Finally, my favorite provider of travel bargains, Travel Zoo, sends a weekly newsletter with their bargains and on June 17 they listed a BUNCH of July 4th bargains.  If you don’t subscribe to Travel Zoo, do.

Don’t dispair if you can’t get out of town, the D.C. Capitol Fourth will be covered on Public Television, and you can curl up with one of the books we have recommended in the past.

True to their name, CheapOAir did NOT pay me to include this generous mention of them in this post. However, I will give them credit. Those are their fireworks photos above. The video comes from the folks at the Capitol Fourth, though. Travel Zoo and Peter Greenberg were mentioned without incentive, too. I just happen to like them.

Where will you be on July 4th? Do you have any special family traditions?

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©2012 A Traveler's Library. All Rights Reserved.

United States Flag

Destination: Philadelphia

Book:

Miracle in Philadelphia by Catherine Drinker Bowen

Happy Independence Day!

Ever since I traveled to Philadelphia a few years ago, my thoughts wander to the birthplace of the United States on July 4th. Even cynics may have a hard time remaining uninvolved with the Fourth of July celebrations after reading this book. We already covered 1776. This book takes us to 1787 and the Constitutuion that finished the job started by the Revolutionary War.

The book Miracle at Philadelphia by Catherine Drinker Bowen takes its name from a quotation by George Washington. “It appears to me, then, little short of a miracle, that the Delegates from so many different states (which States you know are also different from each other), in their manners, circumstances and prejudices, should unite in forming a system of national Government, so little liable to well founded objections.”

I read this book in a special slipcovered edition published for the bicentennial–yes, way back in 1976. I will never forget the way the book helps you travel back through time. I could see images of the framers of the Constitution meeting in the sticky summer heat in Philadelphia, windows shut so that rumors would not leak out.

The arguments flew.  Some were hot-headed, some conciliatory, as they tried to get their minds around new ideas–a new form of government.  They knew they could not continue as scattered communities along the Eastern shore. But how to solidify independence, now they had won it? Some sort of government must substitute for the former Royal colonies.

The previous arrangement suited some people just fine, but for safety and for economic reasons, they knew that they must band together.

It is safe to say that when they started talking, none expected their actions to lead to a national government. And even when they finished, none realized how long their Constitution would last and how strong it would prove to be.

The gathering in Philadelphia needed to deal with economic self-interest, but surely more lofty goals and thoughts of the rights of man entered into their thinking. Shouldn’t this new country have a king? some wondered. Would it be safer to have a committee at the head?  How to be fair to large states and small?

“The situation of this assembly–groping as it were in the dark to find political truth,” said Benjamin Franklin.

Miracle at Philadelphia traces the Federal Convention from May to September of 1787, introduces life in various states, and ends with the year it took to get ratification of the Constitution of the United States.

I love this book because it reminds me why we celebrate the 4th of July. Yes, it celebrates a Declaration of Independence, but without the Constitution, that would have been a hollow victory.

As I read, I mind travel to Philadelphia as it brings to life all the men who formed the Constitution, their struggle and their triumph.  And marvelously, you can travel to the same city and stand in the same hall where they debated. You can eat at a Philadelphia restaurant that recreates the one that stood on the spot where delegates met to have a pint. You can stay in a Philadelphia hotel across from that restaurant that dates to the late 1700s.  It is exciting to walk in the footsteps of those who wrote the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, whether on the 4th of July or some other day.  When you go to Philadelphia, please also visit the new National Constitution Center on Independence Mall, just two blocks from Independence Hall. This marvelous institution reminds us through movies, images, and role-playing, that the Constitution does not sit on a shelf–it lives.

Photograph by Jonathan D. Colman, from Flickr under Creative Commons License.

Do you have a favorite book about United States History that you think about during this patriotic season?

This content is a post from: A Traveler's Library To comment on this post or search for related information, click on the link to A Traveler's Library. We'll leave a light on for you.

©2012 A Traveler's Library. All Rights Reserved.