It’s July 3, and the anticipation of July 4th in Southport is building up! Our word today is “community” because we visited a great band called The Doorsmen. After setting up our chairs the day before the parade, we stopped by to listen at our favorite spot, The Haven, in Southport. This band played all our favorites, and a community came together to dance and sing the songs from the best decade ever—the 80s and some from the 70s.

We met the Lambs at the artisan fair and walked around. We decided to get food from the food truck and walk it back to the house to eat, play, and hang out for a while. After lunch, they went to swim at their condo, and we set up chairs, hung out at The Haven, and headed home. The setting-up chairs are to mark your spot for the parade, and we wanted to be in front of The Haven like we did last year. One of our favorite spots.

Earlier in the morning on July 3, Parish, Drake, and Valentina went to the shooting range “Ye Olde Gun Club. ” We’ve been going there for years when we vacation here. Parish misses the previous owner, who passed away a few years ago, and now his daughter runs the place. Vivian used to ask, “Are we going to see our friend Chuck this year?” I stayed back and did yoga on the beach with Rebel Soul Yoga. Afterward, I went to Burney’s Bakery, as recommended by some of the folks in the class. WOW! Burney’s is an amazing Italian bakery with all the favorites, including macarons and bombalone.

I met a woman named Gretchen, who was around my age, maybe a little younger, who quit her job, moved to Southport, and works part-time now. She noted she just had to come here and get away from the hustle and heal. Her husband works from home, so the move was doable. It was great to hear her story, like so many others from the area. Over and over again, Parish and I would hear stories like this, and no one regretted the risk. They were happy to move and start a new adventure (which is a word coming up this week).

This video is for Aunt Polly! She sang this song for us and so many others. It was one of her favorites! I’m so glad we happened upon them singing so we could stop and sing along to “God Bless America!”