My Favorite 4th of July Ever

My favorite 4th of July would have to be the one in 2015; for you see, on this particular 4th of July, I wasn't in the United States! There's little else that serves as a better reminder to someone who grew up in the United States that there's a whole big world out there then spending the United States' Independence Day in another country, where July 4th is just another day on the calendar. When you're stuck in the US long enough you subconsciously succumb to the idea that the US is the whole world. This is aided by how the news rarely if ever talks about what's going on in the rest of the world, how other media such as movies and TV shows made and aired in this country always seems to take place in the United States. It's both eye-opening and mind-opening to get out of that bubble and travel. Once you spend a few months in another country you'll never be the same, I guarantee it.

On July 4th, 2015, I went on a hiking trip in the mountains near Dilijan, Armenia with Birthright Armenia. We toured the city of Dilijan, briefly, before proceeding to the village of Gosh (I love that name). Here we hiked through the woods to Gosh Lake. And on our way back to Yerevan, we stopped at a lovely restaurant/hotel called "Getap" that looked like a series of cabins by a river. I have pictures from this day, allow me to share them!

This is a sign when you first get into town. Hrant Dink was an Armenian human rights activist in Turkey who was assassinated back in 2007. Tellingly, there are no monuments to him in Turkey.

The village of Gosh, Armenia. Gosh, Armenia, you're just so gosh darn beautiful.

The medieval monastery of Goshavank.

Me hanging out in a tree at Goshavank.

Up in the hills on the hike to Lake Gosh.

Sigh....I miss hills.

The foliage thickens.

Into the woods. I really felt like I was in the Santa Cruz Mountains in California, for comparison.

This way to Gosh Leech. (Leech is Armenian for "lake".)

Oh my Gosh, how pretty.

Like something out of a dream...

We took the shortcut back to Gosh village.

A rustic house in Gosh. I wish I lived here.

This was that restaurant/hotel we stopped at on the way back, called Getap. The food was breathtaking.

It was situated on the bank of a river.

America's Independence Day was the furthest thing from my mind that day.

I'll have to stay at this hotel next time I'm in Armenia.

And here's the skyline of Dilijan.

That trip truly was the best 4th of July ever. This year, I spend it stick in humid, muggy, swampy, flat Florida. I won't live in Florida forever.