4th of July in Eastern North Carolina

Attended Guinness Book of World Records biggest bun ceremony in Union Point Park.  Anticlimactic, as it was really hard to see; the goings-on probably should have been elevated on a platform. I did get one pre-reveal picture of the sacred bun, still enshrouded in plastic wrap. 

Dignitaries spoke.  The bun was measured and authenticated, then laden with Eastern North Carolina barbecue (like pulled pork, but with a vinegar-y sauce added by the individual diner) and cole slaw, until it achieved the record-breaking weight:  over 1000 pounds.

 

 We vamoosed soon after.  Spent most of the afternoon in the hammock, reading and watching wildlife (rabbits, hummingbirds, herons--no gators, though allegedly a four-footer was spotted in the creek last week!).  That night, we parked the pick-up in a vacant lot "in the darkness on the edge of town," in the words of Bruce Springsteen.  Many other cars and families gathered there, "beneath that giant Outback sign," to paraphrase, this time, B. Springsteen. Watched fireworks from lawn chairs set up in the truck bed, toasting Independence.