"There are some lower campers stuck in the obstacle course. I meant to tell you about that yesterday, but could you get to it now?"

Chapter 3 of my social anthropological study occurred over the 4th of July holiday weekend in a cabin on the Russian River with a group of fun, fabulous friends. Maybe it's because of the water based vacation scenario, but many things I learned a few weeks ago on the cruise to Ensenada, I was able to apply to my study of the celebration of America's birthday.

As per usual (lately at least), I will provide a top 5 list of my findings. I was hoping to include video, but upon watching the uncut footage taken on my handy Flip Cam, I decided maybe that should be saved for private viewings. So instead, I'll include a clip of the first few minutes of Wet Hot American Summer as an example.

I suppose maybe that's not the MOST relevant clip for the weekend's events, but whatever...it's a funny movie, so I don't care. Let's begin the list, shall we?

1. While I may only actually know one Justin Bieber song (yes, you read that right...Justin Bieber...music street cred officially out the window), he really is a key ingredient to any successful dance party. Whether it be a living room dance party, a deck dance party or a bedroom dance party, it's almost impossible not to catch the Bieber fever.

2. If you have a dream that convinces you that your friends sleeping outside are getting eaten by bears over night, rather than just laughing about it in the morning, check on them to make sure they actually weren't. (Are there even bears at the Russian River??)

3. If you are given the task to successfully transport an iPod and speakers across the river, make sure your canoe drivers don't cause you to tip over. However, if you do, remember that sometimes music really is more important than anything else....including cuts and bruises and blood, oh my!

4. If you're expecting to see fireworks, do your research. Even though someone tells you you'll be able to see them from where you are, they could be wrong. In case of emergency, always be sure to have ample sparklers ready to create your own mini firework extravaganza.

5. And, speaking of Flip Cam videos, make sure that there is ample documentation of the goings-on and thoughts (confessionals if life was a reality show) of the group. It will provide many laughs to subdue your post trip depression.

Another year, another 4th of July gone by. And another group vacation making for some great additions to my social anthropological research.

Until next time... xo

Title quote: Beth, "Wet Hot American Summer"