Happy Fourth of July!

As I am reminded of all of the great American traditions around 4th of July celebrations, including fireworks, summertime bar bq foods, cold beers, beach trips, I feel happy that, perhaps minus the traditional fireworks, we will be able to recreate an equally spirited celebration of our own this weekend, despite the miles that separate us from the American shores. This weekend we are planning to sail to an uninhabited island off the coast of Dar es Salaam, where we will bar bq, swim, relax, and camp overnight.

We will sail away in Jammie Dodger, no, no, not the popular British biscuit, but rather our friends' zippy red sail boat with a fierce attitude. We managed to convince even the most tentative among our friends to join us in this adventure, despite the fact that there will be no sinks on the island for proper hand washing. Yes, that proved an almost insurmountable concern.

Barring that we survive to tell the tales of this adventure, I promise pictures next week. In the mean time, I have included some photos taken from our balcony of the sail boat parade that followed the opening of the regatta season for the Dar Yacht Club. Jammie Dodger is the boat with the loud, red spinnaker.

Happy 4th of July!