Everything that can go wrong...

Quite late on Monday night we finally returned from

the Gathering of the Vibes.

“But wait”, you might be thinking… “I thought you were

coming home Sunday afternoon.”

Ahh, yes… the original plan, what a distant memory.

Instead, this is how the weekend unfolded.

Day 1: We finally got the entire car packed about 2 hours

behind schedule because I am always late for everything

and the amount by which I am late increases exponentially

the longer the occasion is for which I am packing.

Anyway, I finally threw the last couple of things into the van

and Casey fired it up, only to find out that there was

gas spewing from a line.

This should have been a sign,

and 5 days later I would remind Casey that October (the van)

did give us some warning with the gas leak incident.

Anyway, Casey fixed the line only to have

gas spray from another line,

and another.

Finally, all of the lines were fixed and we were on our way.

We pulled into the Vibes late that night

and got in a 45 minute long line to have the van searched

only to discover that we needed to wait in another line first

 to get our wrist bands before having the van searched.

Several hours later, we finally got our bands and

had been searched (all they found was a baby).

We pulled up to a stop sign heading to the camping area

and, at that precise moment, October decided she was done.

Done.

Casey’s attempts to revive her were in vain.

So I suggested, seeing as it was 1:30am and pouring rain,

that we simply sleep where we were and wait until the morning.

That idea worked fine until there was a knocking on the window

at about 3:30am by a security person informing us that

we could not park there.

Miraculously, the van started and ran just long enough to pull out

of the parking lot before dying again.

This time, some helpful people pushed us through the gate

and into a camping spot at the festival.

So there we were, right inside the gate with a dead van.
But at least we were there.

The biggest bummer, besides the fact that we didn’t know

how we were going to get home,

was that we could not get to family camping,

an area set aside for small kids that was close to all the stages.
Instead we were about as far away as you can get.

At least it was a pretty walk.

The next couple days went by pretty fast.

Despite the black cloud of how-are-we-going-to-get-home,

we had fun at the festival.

We walked around and listened to music,

taking in all of the sights,

like the random groups of hippies,
"dude... what do you think that is, man?"

 and their creations,
 
 the vans and trailers of all sizes and shapes,

and the happy people.

We spent a lot of time in the kids area.

Orin found a tattoo that he rocked the whole weekend.

 while he played soccer,

climbed on the vibes sign,
 

relaxed by the ocean,

learned to hula hoop (kind of)

 
 felt inspired by an empty canvas
 


 got his face painted for the first time

 and got a hug from a Jerry Bear.

Casey learned Kung Foo.

  and enjoyed the night life.

Ilea slept

 and I hung out in the parents area and relaxed.

On the last day of the festival

Orin took part in a peace parade

where all the kids got together, made masks and streamer wands,

and marched from one stage to another.

I think it is safe to say that after that

we started to get a bit gloomy

knowing that everybody would clear out tonight

and we would still be stuck.

At this point, we had our hopes set on a part

that the people at Napa said would

be in between 11 and 12 the following day.

However, they lied.

The next day at 11:55 we called

and were told that actually the part wouldn’t be in until

2:30… if it got ordered, that is.

Ilea was down to two diapers and the battery on

our cellphone was almost dead

so we decided it was time to go with the backup plan:
Uhaul.

On Saturday I had booked a Uhaul with an auto trailer just in case,

so we decided to tow the van home.

But, when I called Uhaul, they informed me that the reservation

they made me was for a pick-up 65 miles away

(apparently that was the closest one with the auto trailer

available and they had missed the part

where I said our car was BROKEN DOWN)

So, there we were with a dying phone,
a poop machine, and no food in a park empty except for these guys:

So I called Enterprise rental,

After all, they will come and pick you up, right?

Sort of… but not for a couple hours because they were

really busy.

Ha.
Did I mention it was hot?

So we sat and waited, until finally Casey

got an idea about how to fix the van.

He tried it and it worked!

We were off!

I literally started to cry when we hit the highway.

It was so wonderful,

that is, until we broke down again 20 minutes later.

 

Of course I had already called and canceled

the Enterprise pick up, so I called them

back and scheduled a new one.

By the time they picked us up, the original part

had come in to Napa, so we drove the rental car

back to Bridgeport and got the part.

Casey put the part in and, miraculously, it worked!

Just kidding, it didn’t.

So we finally gave up and called a tow truck.

When the tow truck driver got there

he said that this was the second VW bus he had

towed today, so we had him tow October to the same place,

you know, so she would have a friend to hang out with

for the week.

At that point, we bid goodbye and drove home in our rental Kia

glad to finally be out of Connecticut

and swearing up and down that we would never return...

at least not until next weekend,

when we have to go back and get the van.

At least we made the paper:
http://www.ctpost.com/local/article/The-ungathering-of-the-vibes-4694109.php 

Play Time!

We are leaving tomorrow for 4 days to go to the 

Gathering of the Vibes,

a music festival in Connecticut. 

When we return we will have many more pictures to share

which I will add to the collection of things

waiting to be posted, a collection that includes

seal watching in Chatham, music on the beach,

a Bob Dylan and Wilco show, and more.

Eventually, I will get better at this whole blogging thing.

For now, though, I recognize that most of you 

are only interested in cute baby pictures,

so this post is for you.

I put Ilea down on her play mat and starting

snapping shots.

I couldn't stop taking pictures and I couldn't choose

which ones to post so you get them all.

See you on Monday!

P-Town

Despite the fact that we have lived on the Cape

for over 2 years, Casey and I still hadn't been

to Provincetown, the town on the very tip of the island.

We have always heard nothing but good things about it,

so the other day, we decided to make the trip.

Being budding foodies, we picked out a South African restaurant

to go to for lunch and, because we got there a bit

later than we had planned due to what I call 

the nurse-poop cycle, we drove straight there.

We were not disappointed.

Casey had snail and Orin had monkey ribs

(not made from monkeys).

I, embarrassingly enough, was presented with lots of exotic

options which I eventually rejected for chicken salad,

because despite mostly eating as a vegetarian

there is a special place in my heart for good chicken salad.

After lunch we walked around downtown.

P-town is known for its robust gay population

which made for interesting window art.

This was my favorite:

And if you happen to be one of the pretty men

there are lots of options for you,

such as these:

or these:

And I suppose if you are not pretty,

you can shop here:

After walking around town,

we wandered to the beach, which sits less than a block 

from main street.

After spending some time on the beach

we made one last stop

to the observation tower at Race Point,

the furthest point out on the Cape.

Almost immediately after getting to the top of the tower

Casey said "look, a whale!"

and, sure enough, we could see spray from a whale's blowhole.

(You might have to click to make the picture

bigger to see the spray right in the center)

Now that we know what we were missing

I am sure we will take many more trips

to the town of strong women and beautiful men.

Princess Curls

As Ilea's hair has begun to grow out

I have been noticing something after her baths:

a small tuft of curly hair on the top of her head.

  Let's have a closer look:

I don't remember this ever happening with Orin

which makes me think that she might end up with curly hair
but because this is still her "baby hair"
it is too soon to say.
Her eye color is also a mystery.
They haven't budged from baby slate grey.

Let the guessing continue.

Marilyn and other Stages

When Ilea was first born 

for some reason every time I looked at her

 I would think about the line from the Grinch who Stole Christmas

"He turned around fast and saw a small Who,

little Cindy Lou Who who was no more than two"

So I started calling Ilea the tiny Who daughter.

But as she grew, the nickname fell away

and was replaced by Marilyn,

because every time she wore this dress

she reminded me of Marilyn Monroe.

 

Don't ask me why, this definitely could

have been a product of long term sleep deprivation,

but whenever she was in this dress, 

I called her Marilyn.

But the dress didn't last and neither did the name

because now she has entered a new stage...

not a little and cute Who daughter,

not a sophisticated Marilyn,

but instead just a sausage.

At the 5 week mark, she weighed in at a whopping

10.5 pounds, putting her solidly above

the 95th percentile for weight.

But this time I will not be fooled.

Orin spiked up to 95th percentile for weight as well

but when he hit around 20 pounds

he plateaued and didn't gain weight again until

he had dropped below the 5th percentile

where he likely still is as a 5 year old who weighs 

32 pounds soaking wet. 

 

So, the sumo stage will likely pass as well,

the only question is:

what will be next? 

Ilea's Lake Toes

The other day we took Ilea for a trip to Horse Pond,

our favorite swimming spot.

Because we live on Cape Cod, 

a place with hundreds of ponds and lakes

and the ocean less than 10 minutes away

pretty much wherever you are,

we figure that Ilea was born into 

the water baby lifestyle

(not to mention her water birth!)

So, we decided that 3 weeks old was a good time to

get her toes wet (quite literally)

At first, Ilea was curious.

However, her mood quickly deteriorated

when she realized that the water 

was slightly colder than she was used to

(a lot colder, in fact, due to a week of torrential rain)

Yup, she was not pleased.

Not at all.

Maybe next time.

Soccer Buds

Saturday was the last round of Orin's spring soccer league.
In the first half of soccer practice, the kids work on their
"soccer skills", whereas in the second half
there is a scrimmage in which the kids
completely disregard any skills they might have learned
and instead break down into a herd of squealing children
chasing after the ball and occasionally doing things
like kicking the ball at the wrong goal.

We thought Dorian would love it.

We were right.

There is nothing like a large mass of small children

running around wildly to tempt an (almost) 3 year old.

After all, there were goals to be scored,

Fists to be pumped in the air.

And of course, the most important part,

the decision about which sticker to choose

at the end of the practice.

And for all of you reading this on a device

that will allow video,

here is a short clip of the madness.