There’s no better place to celebrate our nation’s independence than the capital. This year especially, with the “Salute to America” (aka Trump campaign rally) event, thousands of tourists and locals alike came out to celebrate. Here’s a recap of how I spent the holiday…

I was exhausted the morning of the 4th, but since once something wakes me up I can’t fall back asleep, I took my time getting out of bed and got ready to go. My roommates and I walked over to the Dupont Krispy Kreme, which tempts me every day as I walk to work, so every once in a while I have to go ahead and give in. Back at our place, we ate donuts and hard seltzers (what a combo!) and sang along to music as we made a plan for the day. Soon, it was time for more junk food, because how else would we spend a holiday, so we met a few others for burgers and fries.

Even though we couldn’t grill the food ourselves, lunch was great, and we all went back to our apartment together for card games, rosé sangria, and s’mores made in the toaster oven. Lots of laughing, yelling, and eating sugar. This continued on for hours until it was time for more food and more people.

We met up with another group for pizza and made the brave decision to venture toward the Mall, despite the rain. As we walked along the crowds wearing red, white, blue, and rainjackets, we heard a loud voice through the speakers and watched military planes fly over. The line to get into the Lincoln Memorial section was impossibly long, but we were able to get into the Washington Monument section and check it out a bit. Though the weather wasn’t great and many people had been upset about the change of plans with the Mall festivities this year, so many families had picnics with snacks, games, etc. set up all around. Though I was happy to be there with other summer interns, it reminded me of my childhood Fourths, spent diving for soda cans at pool parties and winning the watermelon-eating contest before fireworks.

We collected ourselves back at home for a bit before heading out again for fireworks. We met up with another group and walked over to Georgetown in an attempt to avoid some of the larger crowds. Though we weren’t sure whether or not our spot on the water would allow us to see well, we sat and waited. With a lout “BANG,” color exploded over the Kennedy Center, and everyone was glued to the view.

Once the show was over, we found our way back home, tired and ready to get to sleep before going back to work the next day. Though our country may be very politicized (see the Trump baby balloon below) and all any of the D.C. interns seem to ever talk about is the Democratic debates and our relationships with Iran, China, Russia, etc., it was great to see people from all over the country come together in celebration for the 4th of July.