freedom hangs like heaven over everyone

bright and early on the fourth of july, we loaded our carry-on's into my friend's car after two hours of sleep (for me) and were on our way to san francisco! i feel like i'm letting everyone in on this amazing secret here, but... no one was at the airport. i was prepared for crowds, but it was like an unspoken rule that no one wanted to travel on this day. it was awesome. we made it into san francisco by 8:55 that morning, and spent the rest of the day exploring and enjoying that beautifully foggy city. and okay, i took a nap. because i'm just not twenty-years-old anymore. 

preparing for take off - i'm a sucker for plane selfies

matt's mom picked us up from the airport and needing some breakfast, we randomly drove to haight and ashbury, as directed by yelp, for crepes. ha! the weather was foggy and chilly, and we met matt's dad and his brother tyler at the legion of honor museum for a few hours of exhibit exploring. it was amazing!
after lunch in little italy and everyone had time to nap at our hotel in union square, we were off to crissy field to watch fireworks. it was a perfect spot, right next to the golden gate bridge, away from all the crowds downtown and at pier 39. we had a great view of pier 39 as well as sausalito, so we got to enjoy both of their big shows! the weather remained foggy, which made for some pretty cool fireworks as the fog was lit up different colors, but overall it did not hinder our firework watching. in true san francisco night fashion, it was cold! i wore a sweatshirt, boots, scarf, and matt's mom's marshmallow jacket, while the boys bundled up in heavy blankets!

golden gate behind us, shrouded in fog

the san francisco cold is no joke.

it was a great day in one of our all-time favorite cities on one of my favorite holidays.

i've been reading david mccullough's book on john adams this year. i've probably attempted to read this book about ten times. it is amazing, but i'm not a fast enough reader to finish his incredibly detailed account of the second president's life before other things take up too much of my life. i'm definitely further in the book than i've ever been at this point, and let's just say that john and abigail adams are definitely my patron saints. they always have been, really. i dressed up as abigail adams for halloween as a kid. i was a huge nerd.

that's me on the left, with my cooler siblings.

on his way to philadelphia for the continental congress in february 1776, mr. adams wrote a "to do" list of sorts, or items he wanted to see accomplished. his tasks included, "an alliance to be formed with france and spain"; "government to be assumed by every colony"; "powder mills to be built in every colony and fresh efforts to make saltpetre [for the making of gunpowder]." and also, "declaration of independency."
i had to laugh at that paragraph, only because of the enormity of those tasks! my to-do list each day can be long, but compared to that one, my tasks seem very elementary. still, i'm sure he would have thought my tasks of working, studying, laundry, cleaning the house, and putting food on the table very noble, because john adams is just kind of awesome. at that point in history, independence was talked about privately and sometimes alluded to in letters, but rarely spoken of publicly or in print. i love and admire his commitment and passion for liberty, justice and independence. reading the book fills me with amazement that all of these people existed - and all at the same time! how lucky we were, and are, to have forbears who sacrificed so much for us. i have loved learning about them.

"posterity! you will never know how much it cost the present generation to preserve your freedom! i hope you will make a good use of it."   - john adams