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Red, White, and Blue decked out as far as the eye could see. It was that special time of the year again. It was that time of the year where it was okay to be unapologetically patriotic. Yep, you guessed it, it was the 4th of July! Of all the time I have spent in Los Angeles this was the first time I truly missed being home in Atlanta. This would be the first time in 6 years where I did not participate in running the annual Peachtree Road Race, a race I always run with my dad, and I was missing southern BBQ more than anyone ever should. While the tacos in California transcend anything I've ever eaten, the BBQ is much to be desired. But despite my yearnings for the south, California definetly lived up to America's yearly celebration; leading to perhaps the most American weekend I've ever had.
Even though I couldn't have "good" BBQ from back home I would be damned if I had a day without grilling some type of meat. That is why myself and a couple of my comrades from the University of Georgia headed to Ralph's (Kroger) bright and early to buy food for our feast. This was of course AFTER we watched Joey Chestnut shockingly go down in the annual Nathan's Hot Dog eating contest. Every year I watch this event, which I watch religiously every year, I never know if I should be appalled or amazed. Fast forward from our journey from Ralph's, we had raw meat, buns, and beer in hand; we were locked and ready to go.
As the sweet aroma of the meat sizzled and rose off the grill, I sat poolside with a tallboy of Colt .45 by my side. Yes you read that right, a Colt .45 (sorry mom). I drank that extremely mediocre beer with such American pride that I swore I was sweating beads of red, white, and blue sweat. Those of you who know me know that I'm as big a beer snob as can be, but I regret nothing of my activities this past Saturday. After what felt like an excruciatingly long time, the food was done. We feasted like kings with no cares in the world and for a moment in time it felt very okay not to be back home in Georgia; I am truly blessed to be an American.
The following day is when things really heated up! It was the day of the Women's World Cup final and the USA would be playing Japan for a chance at revenge. If you remember, 4 years ago the Americans lost on penalties to Japan in the 2011 finals. If you haven't noticed yet, or if you have never met me, I am a HUGE soccer fan. I played for the majority of my life before college and I have played in games all across the United States and as far as Beijing China where I played against the Chinese National team at age 17. So yea, I love soccer. Back to the story, we arrived at a British Pub (ironic) down the street from the apartments to watch the game. The atmosphere was electric and everyone was rallying around one cause. Suddenly, the whistle blew and the game was underway. Right from the get go we all knew it would be a much different result from 4 years ago. We (USA) quickly jumped out to a 4 goal lead in the first 16 minutes of the game; something I had never seen before in a women's or men's game. Chants of USA rang through the pub as if we had just won a war, it was incredible. My American pride was at an all time high and I am so happy that our country rallied around female athletes in the way that we did.
I decided that I could take the "American" up a notch before the weekend was over so I made a decision that I am not very proud of. Brace yourself..... I went to Carl's Jr. (Hardee's) and ordered the "Most American Thickburger". Needless to say that was a mistake and I would not advise anyone else to take one of those down. It must be said again though, I regret nothing from my "most American weekend" ever.
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