Open today, closed on July 4th
Growing up, the Fourth of July was my favorite holiday. The reason was that every year my parents and I would drive to the little tiny town in Northern Illinois where my mom was raised. And that town of 1,000 people rocked the Fourth like you would not believe.
The park in the middle of town filled up with carnival rides and bingo. My grandma’s house was across the street from the school’s football field, where the disproportionately huge fireworks display was set off. Because of that, Grandma and Grandpa always hosted a huge cookout for all their friends and family. My uncle would buy quasi legal fireworks and set them off over the corn field that abutted their backyard. We would torment Grandma by threatening to climb up on her roof to get a better view. Anyway, it was basically a Middle-American wonderland.
Best of all, the extended family entered a float in the town parade every year. We picked a theme and all dressed up and decorated a hay rack. The float always included this super creepy life sized (when I was small) doll named Becky that my grandfather got at an estate sale a million years ago and, in later years, a stuffed coyote. And – it should go without saying – we usually won our category. Of course, our competition was the same two other entrants every year, but that’s another story altogether.
All this to say: we are closed for the Fourth of July to spend time with our families and friends – and we hope you enjoy your day doing the same!