A huge American flag hung on one side of the GW Bridge.
Traffic was light until we approached the GW on the way to Ped & Carol’s in Cliffside Park. This time Nelsie got there before we did, Ped picked up George at the Mitsuw
a market where the shuttle bus from NYC stops.It’s another family feast, Inang’s pinakbet and grilled talong, Nelsie’s meatloaf and Ped’s grilled fish, daikon radish salad, inihaw na liempo and some special dish he prepared for Issa. Chong boiled some sweet corn. For dessert we had an assortment of three flavors of ice cream. Nelsie just had to have her pistachio. Siga talaga! As Ped would say, our gills turned a lively red color again (namula na naman ang mga hasang namin).
Lunch was served in the backyard. While the gang was tidying up the place after lunch, I went to work pulling those pesky weeds growing between the flower beds and Mother Mary’s rock garden. What do I get for this? Chong took a picture of my butt. Such disrespect! Now these kids can all kiss goodbye to their dreams of mamanahin, after all they were the ones who gave Chong the idea.
We all sat in the den, munched on kropek (balat babi) and watched There Will Be Blood – second time for Chong, Ped and me, but first for the rest. As usual, they had to keep shushing Carol for asking too many questions about Eli or Paul! Yet she kept telling us not to give away the ending. George loved it and for me the story gave the true meaning of poetic justice, the phrase of which I never knew before. A great movie I thought! The nature documentary, Planet Earth was magnificent, compliments of Marc. Of course, we’re only able to watch From Pole to Pole to Ocean Deep this time. Invite us for more eats and we'll have an excuse to finish the entire series!
9:20 pm by the Yankee Stadium area on the way home, we saw part of the spectacular Macy's fireworks on the river lit up the skies. 'hope yours was as good as ours, family and friends being part of it. Happy birthday America.
Row for it!
Today, TASCA sailors had their July 4th cookout and like a mainstay I helped out Esther set up the food table. This organization is first rate when it comes to camaraderie and sportsmanship. I met some new friendly faces, took lots of pics again and enjoyed listening to some great sailing experiences.
Happening at the same time that the ladies Judy, Carol, 
Marcia, Chong and Ja
n were rigging their sailboats, were the teams training for the Dragon Boat race in August. You've got to see this! It's the coolest thing.
The pictures capture the true essence of teamwork and sportsmanship. Predominantly Asians, it was delightful to watch the teams row their colorful Dragon boats, in tandem to the beat of the drums. They even let me take pictures of them.
Not minding all the boats out on the lake, Nathan literally had a ball kayaking. I thought it was a riot he kept tossing me the ball.
