WITH VIDEO: Declaring a fun Fourth and planning the perfect holiday

Jul 03, 2010

By: Oakland Press staff

By SHAUN BYRON
Of The Oakland Press

Bob Piggott said he likes his Independence Day easy.
“It’s relaxing to stay home,” said Piggott, sitting at his kitchen table. “It’s simple. It’s easy. No stress of driving or having to go shopping.

(Clockwise from left): Kris Piggott, Bob Piggott, and their daughter, Kaitlyn Piggott, age 10, relax by their home pool. Photo taken on Friday, June 11, 2010, in Wateford, Mich. (The Oakland Press/Jose Juarez)

“It’s just hanging out in the backyard, cooking burgers and dogs on the grill.
Families have a multitude of ways they are spending the Fourth of July, whether it’s up north at a cabin, on a lake or at home with a flaming grill.
For the Piggott family, July 4 means time spent in the pool and grilling with family and friends at their Waterford Township home.
“It’s just waking up, brushing your teeth and heading out to the pool,” Piggott said.
In previous years, the family would go up to Caseville. That was until they bought a pool, Piggott said.

Bob Piggott, left, shares a chat as his daughter, Kaitlyn Piggott, age 10, tries to get water out of her eyes after diving into the pool. Photo taken on Friday, June 11, 2010, in Wateford, Mich. (The Oakland Press/Jose Juarez)

“The salesman was joking around with me, saying ‘the pool was going to save us money, instead of going out of town in the summer, you’re going to stay home in the pool,’” he said. “Sure enough, we have.”
At the request of The Oakland Press, several other readers posted their plans for friends, family and fun on July 4.
Reader Tibby Engle wrote about attending a family reunion on Pensacola Beach in Florida.
“If the oil spill doesn’t spoil it, we will have over 100 cousins enjoying the fireworks on the Fourth (of July),” Engle said. “My son-in-law, Kevin Kroll, says if the beach is bad we will organize a group to help clean it up.”
Other readers, like Joe Ogg, said they are going to be enjoying local fireworks displays with family and friends.
Ogg, a Waterford Township resident, said he always takes in the fireworks over Elizabeth Lake.
“They have a huge beach there, it’s a good show and they have a lot of people,” he said, adding the beach is often sectioned off because of the crowds.
Growing up in a neighborhood off the lake, Ogg said there are four to six houses at the top of the street that turn it into a block party.
“If anyone went to school with us, that was the weekend you go to Elizabeth Lake,” he said. “It’s just the place to be.”

Contact staff writer Shaun Byron at (248) 745-4685 or shaun.byron@oakpress.com.

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