July 4th

It is strange to be living abroad at the time of a national holiday. By early June in the states, the stores are filled with red, white and blue decorations, flags, pinwheels, lawn displays, special paper products, you name it, anything that they can think of to sell that looks patriotic is there. I missed that this year.There were patriotic things in the stores in Switzerland as well, only they are gearing up for their August 1st holiday. So it's Swiss flags, paper lanterns decorated like a Swiss flag, balloons, napkins, candles, sparklers and paper products. I thought about buying some plain red napkins, blue napkins and white napkins, but in the end decided against it.
We have been trying for a long time to go on a hike with Daniel and Kasey. This Saturday finally seemed to be a possibility. The weather didn't appear to be all that favorable, although for quite a few days it had forecasted rain, but it had always come in the afternoon. So we decided to plan a morning hike and hope to be back before the rains started.

Daniel had found a 3 hour loop at Brauwald designated as a Panorama Trail that looked promising. Kasey suggested a cookout at their house afterward. Sign us up!The hike was as promised. Great panoramic views. The weather however, was not as cooperative. We were almost halfway through the hike when the rain started. We took shelter under a large tree and Daniel pulled out Alea's rain cover for the backpack. (not pictured) Quite nifty! We waited until there was a break and then headed toward the top of a chairlift. Unfortunately, it was not operational. But it did provide the shelter we needed from what had become rain mixed with hail and while in the shelter, lightning. Alea decided it has been quite some time since she had eaten as well. The weather cleared enough for us to head to the restaurant and gondola that we knew was operating. While there the men decided it would be wiser to take this gondola back rather than finish out the planned hike. With a little explanation about the weather and hiking with a baby, we were allowed to substitute the ticket we had purchased for a different gondola. On the drive back to Daniel and Kasey's home, we began to hear jets flying overhead. Then noticed cars parked along the side of the road, and people with cameras. We pulled onto a side road where others hnd parked and began to watch what appeared to be a practice session involving 6 jets for a future airshow. August 1st, possibly? Well, whatever they were preparing for, we enjoyed a great show, complete with fireworks being released from the engines on their final maneuver.
So nice of the Swiss military to help us celebrate the 4th. Much better than red, white and blue napkins!

The day ended with Gillian being able to join us for a scrumptious dinner of bruschetta, US steaks (!!) on the grill, corn on the cob, tomato mozzarella salad on a blue plate, and a raspberry, strawberry and blueberry fruit tart.

What a blessing to be able to share the day, enjoying the beauty of God's creation as well as the bounty of His provisions with other Americans, even while living abroad. I think I might miss that next year.

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