Another amazing 4th of July has come and gone in Venice, complete with water balloon fights, 11-foot-tall bicycles and the resumption of the annual Marina Del Rey fireworks display, which last year went on hiatus due to budgetary restrictions. Most of the day was spent at our friends JP and Amy’s place barbecuing, tossing water balloons and downing copious amounts of hoppy goodness and jalapeno-spiked margaritas. Thrown into the mix were unexpected visits by Rosario Dawson and Kesha and one of Prince’s dancers, as well as a guy from the Tall Bike Posse, a local crew that custom builds tall bikes that require a palm tree to mount or dismount. He hung out all afternoon letting people take turns spinning around the block. I’m either getting smarter or more fearful as I age, but knowing I’d had a few I decided to pass this go around, opting to watch through my viewfinder instead. Following the party we headed back home to join our neighbors, Jordan and Lisa, for fireworks at the beach. It will be their last 4th of July here, as they are following new and exciting career opportunities to St. Louis, where Lisa has been hired as the director of a modern art museum. They will be missed! Though distant from our spot in the sand, the fireworks were beautiful and were seemingly echoed by simultaneous displays in Redondo and other beaches south. After returning home we capped off the night in joyful defiance of the recent California laws banning foie gras by collectively scarfing down a full pound of the stuff, served fried on small squares of toasted wheat bread. For me it was a moment of moral ambivalence, but nonetheless was mind blowingly fantastic. For whatever reason, our our neighbors had purchased a large quantity recently and needed to consume it before their move, so they asked us to help. Did I mention they will be missed? The rest of the night is a blur, but if I recall included a short saunter home where we plopped down on the sofa to watch something on tv not fully demanding of our attention, hands on bellies, smiling as we drifted off to sleep. Can’t wait til next year!
More photos after the jump.
WOW! Amazing. It really was as fun as it looks!