Happy Independence Day! (To my British friends, sorry about the loss of your colonies.) I love the 4th of July. I have lots of great 4th of July memories like watching fireworks from the Marin Headlands overlooking the Golden Gate bridge, watching the fireworks from a speedboat in Lake Washington, and seeing a different perspective while in Germany one year.

Today was no exception. Nice round of golf at Newcastle, friends over for a barbeque, and then watching the Bellevue fireworks with Andrew (7). Beautiful weather, for a change too. (Normally, the 5th of July is the nicest day in Seattle.)

However, every 4th of July, my strongest memory is of Trinket, our former sailboat. We took deliver of this brand new 1998 Tartan 3500 and had our first sail on July 4, 1998. We didn't know what we were doing; we wound up dodging Washington State Ferries all day, drifting along under sail. Still, it's one of the two happiest days of a boater's life (the other, of course, is the day you sell your boat, as I can attest.)

Andrew and I shared another memorable 4th on Trinket, watching the fireworks from Elliott Bay Marina. We sat on the boom, about four feet over the deck, so we could see better. Andrew, who was five at the time, fell asleep in my arms (while we were still perched on the boom) during the fireworks. Definitely a 4th I'll never forget.

I can't wait until next year...