Wellfleet’s Fourth of July parade is a unique experience, and I always try to attend. Unfortunately, this year doxycycline after a tick bite makes me sensitive to the sun, so I could neither march with the Cape Cool folks, nor zip around taking photos the way I have done in previous years. Here, in our garden, Sven and I can hear the hubbub clear across town.
Sirens whine as a fire engine or two shows off its stuff. Every once and a while a loud honking pierces the usual silence. When a steady drumbeat reaches my ears, I know Lisa Brown has hit the pavement on the eastern side of town. There is always a peace contingent. Everyone can march if they want to. This year saw the advent of Cape Care, medical staff from the area in favor of single-payer health care reform. 
It’s easy to imagine on-lookers waving small American flags or clapping for their favorite floats, while kids scramble to pick up candy or peanuts, thrown by the marchers. There must be even more people than usual along Main and Commercial streets, if one is to judge from the number of blog searches for information on “Wellfleet Fourth of July” over the past few days. The excellent weather was a pleasant surprise: not too hot, not to cold, plenty of sunshine and bright blue sky.
I will miss having seen Mignon Berry, of Moby Dick's restaurant, who always rocks out during the parade and must be exhausted for days afterwards. By 11:30, the noise has quieted down and I await our Liberty Coin guests, from Scotland, who attended the parade to absorb some real old-fashioned American tradition, and used my camera to take these photos. "Great atmosphere!" they told me, upon their return. 
