Getting out of bed early when you're on vacation seems really stupid, unless you're headed to the beach to fish. No matter how early I've gotten up, had a cup of coffee and a biscuit; by the time I've made it to a favorite fishing spot, there was someone already there! The exception to this is Fort Pickens State Park near Pensacola Beach, Florida where the beach is rarely overcrowded.
This was a beautiful Forth of July morning. My son, daughter and I had just driven over the two bridges from Pensacola and had turned down Ft. Pickens road. After we paid our toll for the day at the entrance gate we were free to fish where ever we wanted. It was going to be a day of fishing just like it was when the kids were still kids.
I've fished on the gulf side of the road at Fort Pickens for years, and most of the time went home with as many fish as I cared to clean. At the end of the strip where the rock jetties are, the fishing is always good. I prefer to fish on the Gulf side of the park though, where there are even fewer fishermen. This weekend there were more visitors to the beach than usual, but still, the beach area at Fort Pickens was not crowded at all!
On the way to the beach, we stopped at Grays's Tackle and bought some frozen shrimp and a few more hooks and sinkers as well as out of state fishing license for my daughter and me. It isn't good to start fishing then have a game warden spoil your day.
Upon arriving at the parking area, I threw my tackle box, bait bucket, ice chest and beach chairs onto my surf cart and we headed to the beach. We saw two other fishermen about 50 yards away, but other than them we had the place to ourselves!
We found a spot that looked good and settled in for the day. After setting the ice chest down and untangling the lines on my rods, I pried loose a few of the frozen shrimp, stuck them on the hooks and threw both sets of baits about thirty yards out into the gulf. I then sat down in my chair with the rods in their holders aimed at the sky, and poured myself a cup of coffee from the thermos I always carry.
I was thinking of looking for some sand fleas to use as bait, when one of my rods jerked, then bent halfway as if something was trying to take it on down to New Orleans. I dropped my coffee and grabbed the rod that was thrashing. I had a pretty good fish! Luckily I had the drag set correctly and after a few minutes of listening to the line peeling off the reel, I began retrieving and soon saw a flash of silver as I pulled the fish onto the shore. It was a good Pompano, one of the best eating fish on the entire Gulf Coast.
I looked around and saw that both my son and daughter had a fish on also. I tossed the fish into the ice chest as my other rod started jerking. It was another Pompano! We hadn't been there for more than ten minutes and we had already caught four Pompano that were over two pounds apiece!
As all fishermen do after catching a good fish, they look around them to see if anyone else had witnessed such a fantastic event. Down the beach about 50 yards away, I saw the two fishermen I had spotted earlier. One of them had a fish on the line also. It appeared that a school of Pompano were running down the coast and had stumbled onto our baits!
After settling down and pouring myself another cup of coffee, I baited up again and threw my hooks out into the water. I waited anxiously for another jerk on my rods. An hour later I was still waiting. We had seen no further action from the other fishermen and we were all beginning to get impatient for another bite. We cauht more fish later that morning, but the mad attacks on all our baits didn't happen again.
It was a memorable holiday. We left the beach that morning with a cooler full of fish and a lot of memories of a special Fourth of July in the sun.
Although our nation's real independence began at the end of the Revolutionary War on September 3rd in 1783 and President John Adams originally thought Americans would be celebrating a different day- July 2nd - as a commemoration of our country's freedom, Americans still look to the 4th to celebrate the birthday of America.
July 2nd was the day when Adams and the rest of his colleagues signed the Declaration of Independence, while the 4th was simply the day Americans accepted the document. Although correct in assuming the day would be "solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shows, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more," Adams simply missed the mark by 48 hours.
And, indeed the 4th is celebrated with much festivity, but also with a sense of historical recognition. Since 1776, the 4th of July has been a day of spectacle and prominence, with every year bringing a new event. A list of 13 historical events that occurred on this historic day has been compiled by James R. Heintze (american.edu/heintze/fourth.htm) but here are a few of the most prominent events:
1. 1777 The first 4th of July celebration containing 13 guns (each representing a colony) fired once in the morning and once as evening fell in Bristol, Rhode Island. Bristol now claims to hold the oldest 4th of July celebration, giving it the nickname "America's most patriotic town."
2. 1778 General George Washington marked the 2nd anniversary with double rations of rum for his soldiers and an order to put "green boughs" in their hats.
3. 1791 The first record of the 4th being called "Independence Day" and George Washington's only 4th of July address in Lancaster, PA .
4. 1804 The first celebration of Independence Day west of the Mississippi at Independence Creek, celebrated by Lewis and Clark.
5. 1826 John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the only two men to sign the Declaration of Independence and become President, both die on July 4th of this year; also the 50th anniversary of the United States.
6. 1870 Congress makes July 4th a national, but unpaid, holiday for all federal employees.
7. 1872 Calvin Coolidge, 30th president, is born.
8. 1884 The Statue of Liberty is formally presented to the United States.
9. 1916 Four immigrants are said to have been arguing who among them was most patriotic on this 4th of July. The four decided to settle the dispute with a hot dog eating contest, thus sparking Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest held annually on the 4th in Coney Island.
10. 1959 The very first Pepsi 400 held; this event is hosted by NASCAR every 4th of July or the Saturday of 4th of July weekend.
11. 1997 The U.S. Pathfinder lands on Mars.
12. 1999 112 people all born on the 4th from 1900 through 1999 gather in Philadelphia in front of Independence Hall for a "Photo of the Century."
13. 2006 The first space shuttle to launch on Independence Day becomes Discovery at 2:37:55pm EDT.
Such historical events only add to the fun of Fourth of July celebrations; but food is what makes the 4th special for many Americans. Over the last year, 68 million Americans were said to have participated in a barbeque, many of which occur during the Fourth of July weekend. In this past year, Americans are said to have celebrated so much that 150 million hot dogs were consumed. That leaves one hot dog for every two people; everyone will have to share!
Americans don't just stop the celebration with food; they have to add some "boom" to signify the day as well. Last year $211 million worth of fireworks were purchased in the United States with the bulk being used on Independence Day. The majority of fireworks didn't come from America, however; most ($201.9 million worth) came from China.
One of the largest fireworks displays on the 4th also comes from abroad: Windsor, Ontario hosts a large firework display over the Detroit River every Fourth of July. This celebration is held in order to commemorate both America's Independence and Canada Day, which marks the formation of the nation ofCanada on July 1st 1867.
America still holds its own places of patriotic pride, as shown by the multitude of places within the United States with patriotic names. For example, at least thirty cities include "liberty" in their names, such as Liberty, MO and Iowa's Libertyville, North Liberty, West Liberty and New Liberty. The United States also is home to thirty-two "Eagles," eleven "Independences," five "Freedoms," and even a "Patriot" (residing in Indiana).
Americans also show their pride is through the display of the American flag, a symbol of justice and freedom. The same Americans flying the flag may not know these eight interesting facts about their flag(pueblo.gsa.gov):
1. The version of a flag with 13 alternating red and white stripes and a blue square containing thirteen white starts was adopted on June 14, 1777 by the Marine Committee of the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia, PA.
2. Francis Hopkins of New Jersey designed the flag (and also signed the Declaration of Independence) as well as helping to design the Great Seal of the United States.
3. The "Betsy Ross Flag" refers to a flag containing thirteen stars arranged in a circle.
4. The number of stars on the flag represents the number of current states in the union and thus has been changed multiple times over the years.
5. President Eisenhower set the proportions of the flag with an Executive Order of the President on August 21, 1959. According to this the proportions of the flag are as follows: hoist (width) of flag:1.0, fly (length) of flag:1.9, hoist (width) of union (the blue square containing the stars): 0.5385, fly (length) of union:0.76, width of each stripe:0.0769, diameter of each star: 0.0616.
6. According to the United States code Title 36, Chapter 10 Patriotic Customs, the flag should be displayed only from sunrise to sunset and during good weather.
7. All schools, court houses and main administration buildings for all public institutions should have an American flag close by.
8. Flags should also be hoisted briskly and lower ceremoniously.
Learning such historical and practical information about our country and its Fourth of July traditions adds significance to this holiday. Additional information on Independence Day, flag history and fun facts on U.S. holidays can be found at such sites as the United States Census Bureau (census.gov) Wikipedia at (wikipedia.org). Another great site for finding 30 million articles on hundreds of topics is AccessMyLibrary (accessmylibrary.com). This site grants access to articles that are frequently updated and are free to all users, courtesy of your local library.
Both Bob Alexander & Charlotte Buelow are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Bob Alexander has sinced written about articles on various topics from Alternative Medicine, Marketing and Food And Drink. Bob Alexander is well experienced in outdoor cooking, holiday eating and leisure living. Bob is also the author and owner of this article. Visit his sites at: