Previously, I've written long and detailed (and possibly painfully boring) round ups and wrap ups of vacations and trips. This isn't really one of those.
We left off on Thursday's entry, when I recounted the insanity of Wednesday and the ride up. the 2am+ arrival at the hotel. And to be honest, after that things blur. But here's a run-down of things I remember.
We got to Maine Thursday night and had an amazing meetup with friends.
To be honest, I was initially not interested in going to this show and thought about giving up my ticket so I could drink by the pool and relax.
I wasn't interested in comedians in between Guster songs. But it worked. It worked amazingly. And aside from knowing there were people in the audience who were honest to God disgruntled that they didn't hear Amsterdam, Demons, Careful, Happier... it makes me laugh even more.
Saturday we went on a harbor cruise and almost missed the boat. Note to self: Parking in Portland is scarce and pricy! Leave an hour earlier than you think you should. Sara missed the cruise but she dumped us at the dock.
We took Hen with us, and had a lovely time. Well, once he warmed up to it. It was a 2 and a half hour cruise and it took 2 hours for him to get into it. Still. He did.
We got separated from a lot of friends after getting off the boat, people I wanted to connect with, but it's one of those things that is absolute chaos and you just go eat a burrito with a 10 year old instead of hanging out with pals elsewhere.
After lunch, we went back to the hotel to hang out while S&S were at their next scheduled event - a podcast episode taping with Craig Finn interviewing Ryan Miller.
The podcast is called "That's How I Remember It," and it is about creativity and memory. If I had not been a little brain dead, I would not have missed the fact that Craig Finn is the lead singer for a really great band called the Hold Steady, and this was probably going to be an incredibly wonderful and thoughtful event.
We didn't have tickets, we had Hen, so S&S got to enjoy it and gave us the run down later. We were happy to give them some H free time. And they did really enjoy the interview and the time listening to how Guster writes songs, works on things, and how memory works. Ryan is bad with names but knows faces. And I've seen that in action.
We all connected and then it was time to go to On The Ocean Fest.
We have been camping in this little corner by the VIP Mobile Unit and there is shade there, which is very nice. We have our little family. A lot of people have to park themselves on the rail, right in front, and they spend the whole day there. But I have absofuckinglutely no stamina for that. I like the VIP tickets, paying more for space, and to be honest, I can see just fine.
And I can go sit down in my little chair when I'm tired.
The Saturday lineup was really great. 2 stages, and on the small stage we got to see our good friend and former Guster band member, Joe Pisapia performing with his brother Marc on drums.
On the rail there were two people in front of me, singing every word to every song Joe gave us. True Joe Fans. I asked to take their picture, and as you can see, it was worth the ask.
The kind of joy these two had for everything this weekend is what I love most about the festival. Honest to God, this is joy. This is happiness. And these are now two good friends in my life.
The Big Stage had Frutbats, the Mountain Goats, and Guster. Because I was over in the VIP section for those performances I have no photos. I just know I got to dance like crazy. John from the Mountain Goats is a national treasure. And Guster did not disappoint. The encore at the end of the show of Lido Shuffle was ridiculously fun, with all the bands playing and Craig Finn jumping around hyping up the crowd and just exuding joy.
Back to the hotel and then Sunday, we took it easy. Our friend M was sharing the hotel with us but he got up super early, hit the car rentals at the airport and went to Lincolnville Maine to visit a general store there that was until recently owned by Phish Drummer Jon Fishman. So he was out the door before 8am and back well in time to get to the Sunday show.
The Sunday vibe for us was easy going. We didn't sign up for the service projects or for the kayaking (although, I really wanted to but it sold out before I could get in).
We went to our usual spot in the back corner, and had a great day. I didn't go to the Guster Q&A because it was so crowded and in years past, people just ask the same questions, and I wasn't interested. I wanted to mill about and visit.
Side stage shenanigans with Karina Rykman and her band were my favorite highlight of the day.
These two make a lot of noise and I love it. I live for it. I don't know what else to say other than I want to be as happy at my job, every day, as Karina is at hers. When I feel down, sad, depressed, I just put on some Karina video and say "well there. Be that happy. Do it." And it works.
The main stage had Hanson, of all things, and then Guster. The Hanson thing was a bit controversial. I didn't watch them because I was waiting for Karina to start, but a lot of Guster fans were a bit confused as to why they were invited. I should write a separate post for that.
Sunday after the show, Lin and M both went to bed. M had a super early AM flight to catch and had to leave the hotel by 5am. Lin was beat. I went down to hang out with S&S and H, because we usually always have some sort of fun hangout together, and up to that point we'd all been all over the place. We stayed up until 2am, watching .... Bluey.
Monday morning we had asked for late check-out. I did have a 9am meeting and Linz had work to do as well. We got organized and out the door on time, and on the road.
We had lunch together, and all hit the road in good time. Lin and I went to C's cabin for some porch life and SS&H got home at 4am.
That's a lot.
The entire time I tracked my blood sugar, monitored my food, and did very well but I didn't record everything. Blogging was not going to fit in with all the shenanigans.
Here's Hoover, enjoying Tuesday morning porch life with me. Before it got too hot to sit outside.
Digits, below.
digits
exercise: 12/12 hours. Didn't get a proper walk, but did take Jess dog for a 7 minute stroll about before we hit the road (Jess was at work). 7600+ steps by bedtime
blood glucose:
8am: 116
n/a pm:n/a
10pm: 124
food & meds:
8am: jardiance+phentermine
11am: protein bar
2pm: met+glip
5pm: some not so great buffalo wings, side salad, and some of Lin's chicken fingers
at the hotel: wine
10pm: met+glip
11:30pm: last chicken finger & some onion rings left over from Lin's dinner
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