Travelers shop and surf their summer days away

Passing cars/ when you can't see/ may get you/ a glimpse /of eternity.

- Burma Shave

On this holiday weekend we celebrate liberty, independence and the right to pursue happiness.

For many, that pursuit involves vacation travels. Here are their postcard reports.

Matthew Sammons (No. 77) sends greetings from North Carolina. He writes: "Having a great time in hockey camp. It is very hard, but fun. Raleigh is a nice town."

Judy Finley of North Augusta sends a card from Hilton Head "here with Darby, Tripp, Meredith, Pierce, Stacy, Jeff, Cortland, Judy, Summer, Dwight, Adam and David. Good company, good food, good time!"

Anita and Wendell Tanner and Anna Lee Woodruff are in Tulsa, Okla., for a family reunion.

International traveler Harry Mercer sends a postcard showing Amsterdam's famous "red-light" district and writes: "I suppose you have a better idea for revitalizing Broad Street."

Bobby Brown of Grovetown is in Oregon "enjoying the great outdoors, camping at Mount Hood State Park. Huge fir trees. Amazing."

The Hammond, Moulton and Sadler families of North Augusta are "having a wonderful time" in Pigeon Forge, Tenn.

Amy Lummen says "Aloha" from Hawaii. "I've been surfing. It really is paradise."

Betty Sharrock of North Augusta sends a card from Glacier Bay, Alaska, where "the weather is not too cold, but the wind makes it colder. So different from hot Augusta."

From Delaware, Barbara Hogan of McCormick says she's "here in the First State to enjoy the beach with granddaughters Ashley, Sydney and baby Emily. We'll also enjoy shopping at the outlet stores where there's NO sales tax!"

And finally, greetings from Nevada, where Larry and Ruth, Dan and Loretta, Joann Brassell, Roy and Gladys Howard, James Burnett and Lou and Ora Davis say, "We made it to Reno - the real 'excuse' for our vacation. The men and one of our ladies are bowling in the ABC National Bowling Tournament. The weather here is in the upper 90s, but with no humidity. We still have a day and a half to travel around Reno and Lake Tahoe."

How about the rest of you?

If you're traveling this summer - drop me a postcard. We're still looking to fill in the blanks from states such as New Hampshire and Vermont. Just mail them to me at P.O. Box 1928, Augusta, GA 30903.

TODAY'S JOKE: Jack has died. His lawyer is standing before the family and reads out Jack's last will and testament.

"To my dear wife Esther, I leave the house, 50 acres of land, and $1 million. To my son Barry, I leave my big Lexus and the Jaguar. To my daughter Suzy, I leave my yacht and $250,000. And to my brother-in-law Jeff, who always insisted that health is better than wealth, I leave my sun lamp."