Fairs and Shows and Twinkle-Toes
Right, so! Misquamicut Festival was two weekends ago. In the midst of my long, quiet, isolated summer, I was oddly uninterested in summer fun. Barbecues, beaches, and bonfires had happened in the summer of '14, the memories still close enough to warm me. Other than my still-fierce longing to see the pines of Maine, I had no interest in camping or hiking. The only thing I dearly wanted was to go to Tiger's hometown fair. Amusement rides! Animals! Delicious greasy sugary foodz!
When that fell through (of course it did, I once again didn't clearly state my need), I managed to find a backup in the far punier Misquamicut Festival. But I was pretty sure Tiger would again be working, and I was trying so hard not to get my hopes up.
As the festival weekend loomed nearer, the prospects grew dimmer. "Well, I'll get to save my money." I said, the same lame bleat I'd said after cancelling the Beltane LARP event, Firefly, Twilight Gathering. Only this time, there was no rush of relief, just a hollow sadness. Then, on one of my first fluttering waking-moments, I thought, "Why don't I just go?"
Such a thing will be impossible next year, or even possibly in a few months' time. But right now, there's friends of the family who have a zippy bright turquoise car that they very rarely use. I can borrow it pretty much whenever I have the confidence to pick up the scary phone-monster and ask. A few hours later, I did! And a day after that, I was cruising down 95, heading for a festival on a beach I'd never seen.
I didn't bother much with the beach itself, didn't even take my shoes off when I strolled on it a little bit. I was here for the festival, and I flung myself into it. It was gravely disappointing that there was no ferris wheel, nor carousel. But after assessing the ride selection, I got the biggest value-pack of tickets. I haven't been to any amusement parks since my many-years-past disastrous family trip to Orlando, and I was determined to make up for lost time.
First, the swings. Sometimes called Yo-Yo, it's a simple circle of swings that go high in the air and tilt gently. It's a rush of wind and so peaceful, even my super-grumpy ex enjoyed it. I have no idea if it was made even more serene by the ocean winds, or if I was just in the perfect headspace to enjoy that one ride, but I was so blissful up there.
Next, I headed to the petting zoo to hang out with sheep, goats, alpacas, and a dromedary! Greedy goats and sheep will nip at your palm to make sure they don't miss the last few pellets, but the dromedary was all velvety lips and tongue. Wonderful! I'm only sorry nobody was with me to get proper pics of me giggling as I scritched and fed and admired them all. I forgot about selfies completely!
I'd been eyeing the only ride that was emitting screams of sheer terror regularly. It wasn't a familiar one: lots of spinning, but also pitching you high up in the air. I realized I was just that blend of curious and nervous that meant if I didn't ride it, I'd regret it later. So I climbed aboard. At first, I was laughing with glee. In the first few gentle swings, it just felt like that boat that goes all the way upside down, but with more twisting. Then it tossed us violently up into the sky, and I went silent. Focus on the fun, breathe, fight down the nausea and think about how awesome it'd be if you were tossed into the sky and your wings unfurled and off you flew! It was intense, but I'm glad I did it. If I'm there next year, I'll ride it again.
Right after that is when I did my short beach stroll. Though I took a few pics of the ocean, I didn't approach it- I was purely there to inhale the salty tang of the winds and calm my stomach. Which worked so quickly, I was on another ride a few minutes later.
This was a series of hang gliders, groups of three attached to a wheel that went all the way vertical as it spun. Same deal as the Nightwing ride in Six Flags New England, you're stretched out on your belly. It's a thrilling ride, swooping way up into the sky and dipping down again. I was so relaxed, I ignored the grab-bars to stretch my arms forward like Superman or let them dangle. Well worth the minor neck-ache from holding your head up awkwardly!
Later on, I rode the Scrambler. It's a nice rush of wind, but since it stays on the ground I opted for three more rides of the swings instead. The only other ride I tried was a haunted pirate ship. What a brilliant choice by the festival organizers or ride rental company! Being up on the deck of a fake ship that's got a motorized sway is definitely enhanced when you can see waves breaking some few hundred feet away and smell the salt air. If it wasn't in motion, I bet real seagulls would've landed on it!
I feasted well. This festival had plenty of options, I really appreciated that. I guess the booming food truck industry makes it pretty easy to provide, even to small fairs. I started out with a half-dozen raw oysters for only $6(!), then followed that with a pork and cheese empanada, and a half-dozen clamcakes, and lastly a bag of fluffy cotton candy. I considered the fried dough, of course, but eventually poo-pooed it. "Tiger will make me a better one!" It's his promised reparations for missing the Bolton Fair, and I'm eagerly awaiting them.
There were shows to see, though I only caught two. First were a pair of skilled magicians who did a very cool card trick that involved a magic moving drawing. They rewarded all of their volunteer assistants with bubbles, I liked that touch.
Much later on, I settled onto a very comfy couch and thoroughly enjoyed seeing Sophie B. Hawkins for free! Well, only the $7 admission to the festival, but the website made it seem like you'd have to pay $30 for the show. Nope, the tickets were only for reserved seating- hard plastic chairs that formed the first three rows. Ha! I far preferred the couches.
'Twas a glorious time. I hadn't had a solo adventure in so long, that was really good for me. I'm grateful that I'd saved up enough money so that I didn't have to angst over getting enough to eat or only doing one or two rides.
The next day, foxglovedt let me be a substitute for a friend. I joined her mom, sister and her for a matinee of Beautiful: The Carol King Musical. It was a great show! I'd prepared for it by listening to my Tapestry record, and was delighted then to discover she'd originated one of my favorite songs of middle school: "You've Got A Friend". The girls I associate with that song were my first real friends, come to think of it. Ah, warm fuzzies.
There were a lot of other surprises in the show. So many 50s and 60s songs by so many different bands were written by her! Tapestry does get a scene or two, right at the end, but the vast majority of the show was about her songwriting career, and those of her best friends. Normally, I might be annoyed by a show that had so few talking scenes, but the music was diverse and familiar and exciting! Lovely musical, I absolutely recommend it.
Afterwards, half of us ate at Kabob 'n Curry. It was so strange to eat so little of my beloved Mughlai Goat Curry and Paneer Naan, but we were there for a very early dinner. In retrospect, I should've suggested we check out the Thayer Street Festival. Ten extra minutes of window shopping would've been good for my mind and appetite. Oh, well, we were meeting someone there, just as well not to stress them.
Genetics are so funny. I watched one of the women we were with drink three glasses of wine in quick succession, and I excitedly waited for her aura to make the whorls and swirls and pretty patterns of the pleasantly drunk. But it didn't happen! She only made it to slightly buzzed, as far as I could see. Those lucky Scots and their awesome alcohol tolerance! I tried to imagine a member of my family drinking that same amount, even with dinner. Naw, wouldn't matter, they'd be totally wasted.
A week later, I went with foxglovedt to see The Visit. My second time seeing it in a theatre! I think the last movie I managed that with was Cloud Atlas, but the one before that was a looooong time ago. I'd gotten into a free screening at Brown and gave my rave review to Facebook, but sickness and festivals and other plans got in the way of Foxglove and I seeing it together quickly. This theatre audience was much quieter than the terrified and excited throng at Brown, but they still gave off a few nice shrieks. (I'm really glad that I understand why screams make things better, for me.) I saw some foreshadowing I didn't catch on the first viewing, but still loved how nicely grounded in reality this whole concept was. Foxglove loved it as much as I did, and we're going to try to see Crimson Peak together. Yay, now I have two people I can see horror movies with!
The rest of that weekend was mellow, hanging around the Castle and snuggling my boys and eating delicious demi-cassoulet (sausage & bean stew) and watching Chelsea kick some ass, a rare treat in this strangely lackluster season. There were boardgames with the boyfriend (Tiger) and Coyote's girlfriend (I'll nickname her eventually), and lots of cable-viewing, a rare treat. We can't even get free TV to work right now, the stupid digital TV converter broke after only a few years! Netflix and Hulu fill in a lot of gaps, but there are occasional times it's annoying.
Oh yes, I finally joined the closest-to-us gym last week. I've greatly enjoyed my first two visits, even though it's lame how little I can do. The best part was walking into the empty dance studio where they hold all their classes, plugging in my iPod, and fucking around with whatever ballet moves I felt like. Very fun cooldown! I was too tired to jump, but I'm hoping that in the near future, I'll be doing those crazy spin-kick jumps that for some reason I mastered, in my one short summer of ballet lessons.
And maybe, just maybe, being more fit will give me the confidence to take on freelance jobs. And then . . . maybe . . . ballet lessons again! Squeee! For now, fucking around on my own. When I'm fitter, a Barre Conditioning class. Ooo, and I must put reminders in my calendar for Yoga! Vinyasa should wait 'til I have some cardio stamina, I think, but normal Yoga should be fine for me right now. Fun fun fun!
I really should find something to bore me to sleepiness now, I meet with a trainer for my one free session in nine hours.
When that fell through (of course it did, I once again didn't clearly state my need), I managed to find a backup in the far punier Misquamicut Festival. But I was pretty sure Tiger would again be working, and I was trying so hard not to get my hopes up.
As the festival weekend loomed nearer, the prospects grew dimmer. "Well, I'll get to save my money." I said, the same lame bleat I'd said after cancelling the Beltane LARP event, Firefly, Twilight Gathering. Only this time, there was no rush of relief, just a hollow sadness. Then, on one of my first fluttering waking-moments, I thought, "Why don't I just go?"
Such a thing will be impossible next year, or even possibly in a few months' time. But right now, there's friends of the family who have a zippy bright turquoise car that they very rarely use. I can borrow it pretty much whenever I have the confidence to pick up the scary phone-monster and ask. A few hours later, I did! And a day after that, I was cruising down 95, heading for a festival on a beach I'd never seen.
I didn't bother much with the beach itself, didn't even take my shoes off when I strolled on it a little bit. I was here for the festival, and I flung myself into it. It was gravely disappointing that there was no ferris wheel, nor carousel. But after assessing the ride selection, I got the biggest value-pack of tickets. I haven't been to any amusement parks since my many-years-past disastrous family trip to Orlando, and I was determined to make up for lost time.
First, the swings. Sometimes called Yo-Yo, it's a simple circle of swings that go high in the air and tilt gently. It's a rush of wind and so peaceful, even my super-grumpy ex enjoyed it. I have no idea if it was made even more serene by the ocean winds, or if I was just in the perfect headspace to enjoy that one ride, but I was so blissful up there.
Next, I headed to the petting zoo to hang out with sheep, goats, alpacas, and a dromedary! Greedy goats and sheep will nip at your palm to make sure they don't miss the last few pellets, but the dromedary was all velvety lips and tongue. Wonderful! I'm only sorry nobody was with me to get proper pics of me giggling as I scritched and fed and admired them all. I forgot about selfies completely!
I'd been eyeing the only ride that was emitting screams of sheer terror regularly. It wasn't a familiar one: lots of spinning, but also pitching you high up in the air. I realized I was just that blend of curious and nervous that meant if I didn't ride it, I'd regret it later. So I climbed aboard. At first, I was laughing with glee. In the first few gentle swings, it just felt like that boat that goes all the way upside down, but with more twisting. Then it tossed us violently up into the sky, and I went silent. Focus on the fun, breathe, fight down the nausea and think about how awesome it'd be if you were tossed into the sky and your wings unfurled and off you flew! It was intense, but I'm glad I did it. If I'm there next year, I'll ride it again.
Right after that is when I did my short beach stroll. Though I took a few pics of the ocean, I didn't approach it- I was purely there to inhale the salty tang of the winds and calm my stomach. Which worked so quickly, I was on another ride a few minutes later.
This was a series of hang gliders, groups of three attached to a wheel that went all the way vertical as it spun. Same deal as the Nightwing ride in Six Flags New England, you're stretched out on your belly. It's a thrilling ride, swooping way up into the sky and dipping down again. I was so relaxed, I ignored the grab-bars to stretch my arms forward like Superman or let them dangle. Well worth the minor neck-ache from holding your head up awkwardly!
Later on, I rode the Scrambler. It's a nice rush of wind, but since it stays on the ground I opted for three more rides of the swings instead. The only other ride I tried was a haunted pirate ship. What a brilliant choice by the festival organizers or ride rental company! Being up on the deck of a fake ship that's got a motorized sway is definitely enhanced when you can see waves breaking some few hundred feet away and smell the salt air. If it wasn't in motion, I bet real seagulls would've landed on it!
I feasted well. This festival had plenty of options, I really appreciated that. I guess the booming food truck industry makes it pretty easy to provide, even to small fairs. I started out with a half-dozen raw oysters for only $6(!), then followed that with a pork and cheese empanada, and a half-dozen clamcakes, and lastly a bag of fluffy cotton candy. I considered the fried dough, of course, but eventually poo-pooed it. "Tiger will make me a better one!" It's his promised reparations for missing the Bolton Fair, and I'm eagerly awaiting them.
There were shows to see, though I only caught two. First were a pair of skilled magicians who did a very cool card trick that involved a magic moving drawing. They rewarded all of their volunteer assistants with bubbles, I liked that touch.
Much later on, I settled onto a very comfy couch and thoroughly enjoyed seeing Sophie B. Hawkins for free! Well, only the $7 admission to the festival, but the website made it seem like you'd have to pay $30 for the show. Nope, the tickets were only for reserved seating- hard plastic chairs that formed the first three rows. Ha! I far preferred the couches.
'Twas a glorious time. I hadn't had a solo adventure in so long, that was really good for me. I'm grateful that I'd saved up enough money so that I didn't have to angst over getting enough to eat or only doing one or two rides.
The next day, foxglovedt let me be a substitute for a friend. I joined her mom, sister and her for a matinee of Beautiful: The Carol King Musical. It was a great show! I'd prepared for it by listening to my Tapestry record, and was delighted then to discover she'd originated one of my favorite songs of middle school: "You've Got A Friend". The girls I associate with that song were my first real friends, come to think of it. Ah, warm fuzzies.
There were a lot of other surprises in the show. So many 50s and 60s songs by so many different bands were written by her! Tapestry does get a scene or two, right at the end, but the vast majority of the show was about her songwriting career, and those of her best friends. Normally, I might be annoyed by a show that had so few talking scenes, but the music was diverse and familiar and exciting! Lovely musical, I absolutely recommend it.
Afterwards, half of us ate at Kabob 'n Curry. It was so strange to eat so little of my beloved Mughlai Goat Curry and Paneer Naan, but we were there for a very early dinner. In retrospect, I should've suggested we check out the Thayer Street Festival. Ten extra minutes of window shopping would've been good for my mind and appetite. Oh, well, we were meeting someone there, just as well not to stress them.
Genetics are so funny. I watched one of the women we were with drink three glasses of wine in quick succession, and I excitedly waited for her aura to make the whorls and swirls and pretty patterns of the pleasantly drunk. But it didn't happen! She only made it to slightly buzzed, as far as I could see. Those lucky Scots and their awesome alcohol tolerance! I tried to imagine a member of my family drinking that same amount, even with dinner. Naw, wouldn't matter, they'd be totally wasted.
A week later, I went with foxglovedt to see The Visit. My second time seeing it in a theatre! I think the last movie I managed that with was Cloud Atlas, but the one before that was a looooong time ago. I'd gotten into a free screening at Brown and gave my rave review to Facebook, but sickness and festivals and other plans got in the way of Foxglove and I seeing it together quickly. This theatre audience was much quieter than the terrified and excited throng at Brown, but they still gave off a few nice shrieks. (I'm really glad that I understand why screams make things better, for me.) I saw some foreshadowing I didn't catch on the first viewing, but still loved how nicely grounded in reality this whole concept was. Foxglove loved it as much as I did, and we're going to try to see Crimson Peak together. Yay, now I have two people I can see horror movies with!
The rest of that weekend was mellow, hanging around the Castle and snuggling my boys and eating delicious demi-cassoulet (sausage & bean stew) and watching Chelsea kick some ass, a rare treat in this strangely lackluster season. There were boardgames with the boyfriend (Tiger) and Coyote's girlfriend (I'll nickname her eventually), and lots of cable-viewing, a rare treat. We can't even get free TV to work right now, the stupid digital TV converter broke after only a few years! Netflix and Hulu fill in a lot of gaps, but there are occasional times it's annoying.
Oh yes, I finally joined the closest-to-us gym last week. I've greatly enjoyed my first two visits, even though it's lame how little I can do. The best part was walking into the empty dance studio where they hold all their classes, plugging in my iPod, and fucking around with whatever ballet moves I felt like. Very fun cooldown! I was too tired to jump, but I'm hoping that in the near future, I'll be doing those crazy spin-kick jumps that for some reason I mastered, in my one short summer of ballet lessons.
And maybe, just maybe, being more fit will give me the confidence to take on freelance jobs. And then . . . maybe . . . ballet lessons again! Squeee! For now, fucking around on my own. When I'm fitter, a Barre Conditioning class. Ooo, and I must put reminders in my calendar for Yoga! Vinyasa should wait 'til I have some cardio stamina, I think, but normal Yoga should be fine for me right now. Fun fun fun!
I really should find something to bore me to sleepiness now, I meet with a trainer for my one free session in nine hours.