I-N-D-E-P-E-N-D-E-N-T, do you know what that means?

My sincere apologies for the dated rap song reference.

We kicked off our day of independence from work by waking up earlier than we do on workdays to watch the Peachtree Road racers [there were 60,000 this year!] exert themselves in the July heat while we spectated with pitchers and pizzas for breakfast.

Those that dressed in costume really brought it this year. There were nods to our history—Paul Revere toting a lantern with the British running behind him [my personal favorite], and there were just straight up ridiculous costumes—the Baywatch team, Santa handing out goodies to onlookers and LOTS of runners in Americana speedos. The pinnacle of the morning was the flash mob of runners to a remix of every “American” song you can think up.

The US Olympic swim team costume was a crowd sensation [with one anatomically correct Olympian—he should be very easy to spot]:

From there we “shot the hooch” and floated down the Chattahoochee River along with evidently everyone in Atlanta proper.

We had a group of sixteen regular to large sized adults squeezed into polka dotted hot pink and green children’s inter tubes with orange life vests. Joe jumped off of a cliff and rope swing while the only adventure I experienced was repeatedly getting my ass stuck on rocks and thus enduring a beating from mother nature that I will feel for days to come. This also resulted in me floating atop complete strangers to get back to my group. Think of it as survival mode plus Coors Light.

Joe’s incessant talk of the flesh eating bacteria cases brainwashed me into believing that the cuts I sustained yesterday, and trust, there are many, are going to cause me to lose all of my appendages. I have showered three times in the last 24 hours which has happened never, and spent the majority of the morning wondering how insane my doctor will think I am for calling in an anonymous question asking for the signs and symptoms.

I’m back at work today, and though mangled, I think we squeezed all of the fun out of the mid-week holiday.