Sunday, July 11, 2010, Fort Worth, Texas, 3:12 p.m., D.S.T.~

Dear Journal~

*OW* 

I am soo sore it is not even a bit funny!  I look like a boiled crawfish with hair!  I am beyond pink:  I am a bright, glowing red.  Got cooked yesterday ... and the sun wasn't even out in full force!  Whoever knew you could get sunburnt on a mostly cloudy day??  Leave it to me to do so!!  LOL

Then again, I never tan.  EVer.  I burn, each and every time!  Why would yesterday have been anything different??  (I just wish I could turn a nice, golden brown like my parents or my fiance' ... )

Yesterday, Tank and I went to Crowley, Texas, where we attended the Freedom Festival.  It was absolutely wonderful; it was the first time we'd gone.  Yesterday was the fifth year for it, but it was our first time, so it was all brand new to us.  We really didn't know what to expect.

The first thing we did was watch a parade, which led into Bicentennial Park, where the festival (and the main activities) were to take place.  We then hung around for about an hour until 12/12:30, where a parachutest jumped out of a helicopter.  The man had no legs (but was wearing prosthetics), and he was carrying a huge American flag.  All went very well, but just as he was about to land, the wind died, and he had a pretty bad landing.  For a minute, we thought he'd been injured, but fortunately, he wasn't ... he was probably just shaken up.  He probably got his bell rung pretty good.  It scared us, but when the guy waved and smiled, everyone applauded, and we all breathed a huge sigh of relief.

After Dana Bowman jumped and landed (fairly) safely, the activities began in full earnest.  A band who played '50's rock and roll music started playing on the main stage, and there was a huge tent where people were being fed a free lunch (if you were a serving military member, a Veteran, or had people who served/or were Veterans, you got to eat free).  My grandpa is a Veteran, so I got to eat free.  It was wonderful; the food was soooo good!

It was humid out, so Tank and I fooled around in the sprinklers they had set up for people who wanted to cool off from the heat.  No kidding.  It was cloudy out, but it was still very oppressive.  We did this until we emerged all wrinkled; we looked like a pair of prunes!  LOL

We had to have been in there a good hour and a half.  LOLOLOL

We also drank lots and lots of water or Cokes.

At five o'clock, a traditional country band from our neck of the woods (Fort Worth) set up shop; at six, they started their performance.  I'd heard of them before: Landon Dodd and the Dancehall Drifters.  Great name for a traditional country band, eh??  LOL  I love their music; they do the old stone cold country by people like Ray Price, Buck Owens, Faron Young, Tony Booth:  people like that.  They were there last year (didn't go last year); guess the people liked them so much they were asked to return for this year's event. 

Tank and I started dancing off to the side of the stage; we were having fun!

The band played from six until dusk, which was set for the biggie event of the evening:  the fireworks!!  By then there was a huge crowd gathering, with more people still streaming in. 

The fireworks were absolutely amazing!  They were synchronized to patriotic music, and they lit up the skies above our heads like pyrotechnic nightflowers.  I saw some I'd never seen before, and everyone was oohing and aahing over the best ones.  The display lasted nearly 20 minutes; it would have been more, but one of the firework casings didn't go off, so it was shorter than planned.  It still made for an incredible display; it was just about as good as Fort Worth's fireworks only a week earlier on the fourth!

After the fireworks went off, people filed out to their cars or to school buses, which took them to their cars if they parked at the local high school not too far from the park (but far enough).  Tank and I rode the bus to our car; we had parked at the high school.

We suddenly felt like little kids again!  LOL

So that was our day.  I just got up a little while ago, and I'm definitely feeling it today.  I am so sore and stiff!!  It was worth it, though, and we're already making plans to go next year!

I will go now; am going to get myself something to eat and see if I will feel better enough to go to church in a few hours.  Take care and God bless!

~Love, your friend in Texas, Steffi Suzette Sandusky.  :)