July Fourth: Time for a great celebration in the Cape Region

It’s the Fourth of July that signals summer is here in the Cape Region. The days are long, the ocean currents are warming, and the beaches are lined with umbrellas and beach chairs.

The Fourth also promises the worst traffic of the summer, and while it’s easy to be frustrated by the congestion summer brings, there’s no disputing that the Cape Region is a great place to celebrate July Fourth.

Even the weather is expected to cooperate this year: after days of thunderstorms and rainbows, a bright sun is expected to shine. In Milton and Lewes, Rehoboth Beach and Dewey Beach, friends and families will enjoy all the pleasures of the beach: fishing and swimming, barbecues and picnics, riding along the Junction and Breakwater Trail, and strolling along the Boardwalk and beaches. And of course, shopping and eating.

Still, aside from the many ways we enjoy the days of summer, on July Fourth, our Cape Region towns offer up Americana at its best: A car show, train rides and family fun in Milton, and in Lewes, classic children’s games, the quirky boat parade, and the infamous start-whenever-we-feel-like-it Doo-Dah Parade in the afternoon.

As day gives way to night, people will gather along Delaware Bay for fireworks that are largely unsanctioned yet beautiful along the coastline. Rehoboth will offer its fireworks extravaganza, with the Funsters at the Bandstand long into the night. This year, Dewey Beach promises to rival Rehoboth’s spectacular display, trying to set a world record for fireworks.

Amid an IRS scandal, a Congress deadlocked on just about everything and concerns over secret surveillance, it’s easy to become cynical about our nation’s future.

But in the Cape Region, July Fourth offers a moment to take a stroll on the beach in dawn’s early light or a blanket to the beach to see the rockets’ red glare. In so many ways, July Fourth gives us all a moment to remember we live in a great place to celebrate the birth of a great nation.