Wow! First of all, thanks to everyone for the comments and encouraging words on our first post! Its great to know we have your support!

After a very long and hot week, we were excited to celebrate our recent move to Boston with a great big birthday party for these United States! Lucky for us, we moved to the city that started it all (or at least was a pretty major player in the revolution…I haven’t forgot the Gaspee ol’ friends of Rhode Island).

In a need to bond with this new city we are calling home, we decided to join the throngs of tourists and head down to the Charles River to watch the fireworks.  We also decided to take a little nap and enjoy the afternoon in the Boston Common.

Feet on the Boston Common - proof we are in Boston.

We then headed over to Cambridge to join some potential co-workers of Mike’s for a Vietnamese Cookout. While riding on the Red Line, we crossed the Charles River and found it crammed with boats all ready for the fireworks. There was even a boat block party of sorts with about five boats lined up side-by-side.

Boats on the Charles River

This placed us on the Cambridge side of the Charles for the Fireworks.  They were pretty magnificent, and quite the show.  Boston is by far the biggest city that I (Emily) have ever lived in (apparently Mike spent quite a bit of time near a large city on the opposite coast).  I was very much impressed with Boston’s fireworks.  They really were worth the big city hub-bub and the throngs of people and the two hour commute on the free T to get back home.  We were surrounded by strangers listening to the Boston Pops on transistor radios and watching the most spectacular fireworks explode overhead.

Fireworks over the Charles

We knew this was something special, something really only Boston could offer on this day.  Immediately we wished we could share it with our family and friends – near and far.

Which led us to an idea – a type of competition if you will.  We are so excited about this blog.  For both of us, it is an opportunity to share this adventure with so many people we care about who are not in or even near Boston (although there are quite a few in a very wonderful city just a few miles south). We decided to treat one or two people to the very best our nation can offer in the way of fireworks, John Philips Sousa, Chowda’ Fests, and colonial costumes – one year from now on July 4, 2011.  Now who will that lucky person(s) be?  That is up to you – our friends and family.  The person who leaves the most comments on our blog this year will be treated to a weekend with Em & M in Beantown on the Fourth of July!  So get your typing fingers ready, and let us know you’re reading! To keep the competitive spirit up – we will keep a running log of the top five commentators on the right side of the blog.  The comments will be tallied as of midnight on May 31, 2011. While chickens are free to comment, only their owners will be able to claim the prize.

Ready…set….go!