The 4th of July in San Francisco is a far cry from the ones seen in films or as celebrated in warmer areas. As long as I remember, fog was always the main event in the evening. But when I was a child, my family would take wonderful treks to either county fairs, picnics or even a theme park to celebrate our nation's independence.
We'd leave early in the morning, for either a picnic or county fair. The fair we'd go to was usually the Alameda County fair in Pleasanton. Of course, in the mid 1960s, it was going to the country. It seemed like forever to get to our destination. My Tia Luisa would make baked chicken and homemade tortillas, with cheese and other Nicaraguan delicacies. My mom would treat me and my cousin Rudy to corn dogs and the like. Our favorite drink at the fair was "Orange Julius" or as my mom called it, "la bebida del diablo" because the logo had a devil's image. During the day we'd visit the exhibitor's building to see the latest gadgets that were supposed to make life easier and comfortable. We'd beg get fresh caramel and walnut fudge. Of course, Tia Luisa would buy about a pound for treats later in the week! Visiting the stables to see farm animals such as cows, pigs, horses, sheep- it was so much fun to see so many animals for this city kid! My uncle would go off to the horse races. We'd know if he'd won big because dinner would be his treat.
And such wonderful smells in the midway...popcorn, corn dogs, cotton candy and gasoline from the gas powered rides! Of course the fair would have such eclectic aromas...from food to the nasty barnyard odors. The day would end with a fireworks show and the slow, bittersweet walk to the parking lot for the journey home.
As we got older and time took us to the late 70s, 4th of Julys meant a trip down to Santa Clara to the new theme park, Marriott's Great America. Rudy and I were older and left the adults so we could spend the day going on the rides. We'd meet for lunch and dinner. We'd see the shows, the parade, play pinball...spend money like it was being printed in the garage. My mom and tia would spend the day riding the train and watching the shows. That's the nice thing about the pay-one-prince theme park. You could literally stay on some rides for the day. The fireworks were incredible and synchronized to music...the same classical music heard in Warner Brothers cartoons, notably the Hungarian Rhapsody.
So many wonderful memories of the 4th of July. We'd never starve and we had so much fun, even with little money my family had. I cannot complain...those days were truly exciting and fun. And now, it will be a date with the TV to watch...
Happy Independence Day!!
