Dispersal

Yesterday the price was paid, on a variety of levels for the fantastic time experienced Saturday night.  The hardest price was saying goodbye to the remnants of the crowd.  An undetermined number spent the night at the house.

Bodies on the Couch in the Harsh Morning Light

I came down to find one young lady and her partner cleaning some detritus off the kitchen floor.  She sheepishly explained there was some serious late night snacking at that location and they were embarrassed by the mess left behind.  They and some other couples also departed before the traditional, ceremonial breakfast of hojaldras for which my wife is justifiably famous. 

The Tent Group Recovering

I spied at least five bodies crashed on the family room couch and then made my way to the basement where there was a profound smell of stale beer (immediately hearkening back to my college fraternity days).  Buddy was a little wobbly on his knees after inhaling the fumes all night and gratefully snuck out for some fresh air.  There was a huge puddle of beer under the Beirut/flip cup table.  I learned that beer left overnight will strip away the paint on a concrete floor. 

Beirut/Flip Cup Table and Hole in the Paint 

As I went back upstairs the crew that slept in two tents in the back yard were stirring as the sun and humidity drove them inside.  The MEF, looking none the worse for wear, bounced into the room followed slowly by my son who definitely looked incredibly worse for the wear.  My son was very apologetic about the cellar floor and pledged to clean it all up.  His friends had already started returning the various costumes to their places in storage.  I took pity on my son and mopped up the floor while he and his friends devoured holaldras.  There was a scene reminiscent of The Hangover movies when we reviewed some of the pictures taken late Saturday night in the basement – so funny.  Buddy mirrored everybody’s mood as he apparently had partied just as hard – he was in no mood to frolic.

MEF, Son, Daughter - The Ladies Were Definitely in Better Shape When Picture Was Taken

Buddy Trying to Recover

Looking At Photos At Breakfast

We then faced the onerous task of saying goodbye to this remarkable group of young people as they slowly made their way home and the front yard emptied of cars.  The really tough part was yet to come though.  A drive to Connecticut to drop my daughter off at the Warped Tour in Hartford so she could link up with her husband and then further down to New Haven to put Virginia Friend on a train. 

Before we left on this sad trip, we had to say goodbye to my son and the MEF.  It brought home again why the weekend had been so special.  We were celebrating these two fantastic people (I’m smiling while I write this because that’s kind of what thinking about them does to me). 

Virgina Friend and Daughter Outside Warped Tour

Connecticut took pity on our weakened state and the traffic was manageable, except when the GPS told me to take a hard right off of Interstate 84 when no exit was available.  My daughter rescued us with her I-Phone and we were all too shortly parked next to a long line of tour buses as legions of rock and roll fans streamed by.  We’d hoped to see the son-in-law but he was still fifteen minutes out and we literally had a train to catch.  It was so difficult to leave that young lady.

Wife Waiting Outside Virginia Friend's Train

We made great time down to New Haven which was needed due to the earlier GPS fiasco.  Virginia friend was taking a train to NYC and then a bus to Virginia from there.  I could tell my wife was having a hard time saying goodbye to the sister of her heart.  She waited until the train actually pulled out. We returned home for some crash time of our own but the house seems so much emptier now.

Why We All Came Together - So....Much...Fun!