River Daze

Hi Internet.

Inside the massive Beer Tent, sponsored by Midland's Rotary Club.

So I've mentioned River Days before a time or two. It's Midland's annual, weekend-long summertime bash, centered around the Tridge downtown, where they light off dozens and dozens of hot air balloons into the sky. Tons of food trucks, lots of live music, vendors, arts and crafts, merch galore, and thousands upon thousands of people.

Kinda like summer's weekly Tunes By the Tridge, only on steroids.

(And featuring hot air balloons.)

We've made an appearance here for years - sometimes for only one night, sometimes all the nights - and it's always a good time. Following the initial lighting of the balloons, for the next couple days you can spot balloons drifting around Midland, often times flying right over folks' houses and scaring the crap out of people (one year one actually crashed onto our street , back in 2018 if you'll remember.) We went for a walk with the Johnsons the day after the initial lighting, and they were everywhere (as you'll soon see in the pics below.)

So yeah, another entertaining 48-hour period around these parts. Check it out. . . 

Us and the Johnsons had to park way down at First United Methodist, which was a bit of a hike but all the lots and side streets closer than that were already taken (the whole city had more or less come out for this.) When we reached the park by the Tridge, we purchased our drink/meal tickets and set up shop in the Rotary tent. Kris' friend, Kim, and her daughter, Makayla, ended up meeting us down there, and after everyone had finished their burgers all the womenfolk wandered off to check out some of the local vendors and crap.

Erik, Mitch and I hung back in the beer tent and watched as balloons slowly took off into the sky.

Mitch attempts to crouch like a Slav (heels down, unlike how we Westerners crouch, with our heels up.)

After a few beers, the three of us walked around a bit to check out what else was set up down there.

Not much cool stuff to check out unless you were a little kid (they had henna tattoos and face painting and crap), or else were jonesing for a food truck.

They usually have a lot of carnival-ish attractions set up for River Days, which our kids used to get into but not so much anymore.

We then made the mistake of walking over the Tridge to see the balloons up close, over by the dog parks. None of them were firing up at the time, and there wasn't much to do over there, so we decided to head back the way we came. Unfortunately there was a frickin' line of folks trying to get back over as well, and the crowd was backed up for hundreds of yards - I've never seen anything like that before. It was all thanks to a bunch of dumbasses stopping to take pictures in the middle of the throngs, holding everyone up.

Seriously took us like twenty minutes to cross back over that damn bridge. . . 

Alayna, Abby, Ella, and a few other kids were walking around downtown as well. They didn't want to acknowledge our presence, 'cause teenagers.

Kim and Makayla, showing off their new ink.

Back by the beer tent, Erik and I hit up the line of porta-potties, which was in front of some nearby live music.

Forget who this band was, but they were not one of the coolest bands I've seen this summer.

Kris, Courtney, Kim and Makayla ended up crossing back over the Tridge at the correct time, and were able to catch some balloons firing up.

Crowds watching the balloons, um, inflating. . .

I assume they're glowing 'cause of the fire. . . ?

Around 9pm we headed up to Main Street for the evening's main band - Stone Street Revival.

This was by far the best cover band I've heard this summer - definitely a few clicks above the usual Tunes by the Tridge acts. Thousands of people crowded throughout the Commons to check them out, I've never seen the downtown area so packed.

Lots of 70s funk, rock, and even Yacht Rock (which, as you know, I'm a huge fan of.)

The next day, in the evening, us and the Johnsons went out for our usual hours-long walk around the Chestnut Hill neighborhood, and there were balloons floating around EVERYWHERE.

It was almost like some of them were trying to find a spot to land, 'cause they kept hovering right over the tree tops. As we were walking back in front of Chestnut Hill Elementary (the girls' alma mater), there were a bunch of trucks and cars passing us trying to follow the balloons.

Vehicles in hot pursuit. Including the Batmobile.

Courtney and Kris, straining to keep an eye on one of the balloons.

I think this one was attempting to land in Plymouth Park - that's the only open space around there that accommodate a balloon I think.

Doesn't take much to excite these ladies. . . 

- Brian

Homecoming, Pt. II

(cont'd.) 

Okay, so this post won't have as many captions, because you can only come up with so many witty text blurbs under a bunch of posed Homecoming pics. Anyway, the girls started slowly getting ready for their big day around lunchtime, with Alayna wrapping up first and chomping at the bit to go out and get a head start on pictures. Kris was still struggling with Abby's hair - and with keeping Abby from spiraling into a rage-fest - without an end in sight, so, around 2pm, Alayna asked if I would meet her downtown by the Tridge to get some of her solo pics before we met up with Kris, Abby, and all of Abby's crew at Dow Gardens at 3pm.

Alayna's group of friends were all meeting at Dow Gardens at 3pm as well, but were leaving straight from there for their dinner at The Boulevard, so wouldn't be double-backing to the Tridge later. Hence her pestering me to take pics of her downtown ahead of time.

Most of her crew weren't interested in meeting her downtown, and were still in the process of getting around themselves, so we didn't have the group dynamics like we did last year.

Alayna's friend Amelia (on the left) met us down there about ten minutes after we got there, around the same time as this random girl the other two know from class but aren't friends with, but still asked for a group pic.

Conditions up on the Tridge were terrible - it was way too sunny and windy for pictures, I ended up deleting almost everything I took, it all came out like crap (whited out skin, kids squinting, hair blowing all over the damn place.) This was about the best I could get.

Down by the boat launch, riverside.

Underneath the Tridge.

They requested this pic with this statue, but none of these were turning out due to the sun and I was losing my oompf with this.

Eventually I pulled the plug at 2:45pm and told the girls it was time to head over to Dow Gardens in order to meet up with Abby and all her friends (and their parents.)

Like I've said before, this spot is the pre-dance picture spot in town, so to say it was slammed with people doing the exact same thing we were doing is an understatement. We had told Alayna that Abby was our priority today, seeing how Alayna had two previous Homecomings under her belt and this was Abby's first high school dance (not to mention that Alayna would be getting a Prom in the spring as well.) As such, Kris and I intended on following Abby's group - consisting of Abby, Ella, Abigail C., Harper, Juliana, and their respective parents - around the Gardens for pictures, while Alayna would be on here own with her group (someone following them around had an SLR, though - I included the pictures below.) Upon arrival, Kris and I had to fork out $5 a piece in order to accompany our kids into the Gardens (up from $2 per person the previous years) and Juliana's parents brought different colored corsages for all the girls, which was nice of them (Abby, as you can see here, went with yellow.)

Kris wanted a picture of our two girls right off the bat, as soon as we were through the Visitor's Center and into the Gardens. I opposed this strongly - due to the shitty background - but was voted down. So here you go, folks.

The picture taking gauntlet begins. From left to right: Harper, Juliana, Ella, Abigail C., and Abby.

Abby was not shy at all about asking for certain poses, like this one of her looking off pensively into the distance.

Kris took this one and the previous one with her phone while Erik and I continued onward to reserve a spot in the line for the 'waterfall,' one of the high-traffic areas for picture taking on days like this.

Surprisingly, we didn't have to wait long for our waterfall pics, but the line was building up behind us rapidly.

So I ended up taking pictures of all five (later six) kids and dumped everything into a Shared Google Photos album later in the evening, seeing how my SLR was better than the phone pics most of the other parents were getting. I obviously didn't upload the individual pics of the other girls in this post, because that'd be weird - just know that every time you see a pic of Abby, know that there exists dozens of pics of the other kids posed similarly. Made for some fun whittling down later on that evening, let me tell you (I was up 'til 1:30am.)

I was taking these pics as fast as humanly possible, but obviously got the most pics of my own kids - definitely wanted to make sure I had them well-documented.

Alayna and her group of friends were nearby, so Kris was able to snag Alayna away from them for a minute so I could get her in front of the waterfall with my camera.

Leaving the waterfall, folks began to wander down the pathway, with kids splintering off with lots of 'get a pic of me in front of this' going on. . .

Kris and some of the other parents, standing around trying to corral kids and keep them moving. 

A couple of Abbies.

Meanwhile, Alayna her group - consisting of Amelia, Lexi, Lexi's boyfriend, Kyle, and that other girl who was around last year - got a pic taken in front of the giant boulder pass.

The next big photo op for the Freshmen girls was this wooden archway. Took a shitload of pics in front of this thing, including this over-the-shoulder one the girls insisted on with their backs to me. Probably just wanted to show off their butts or something, I don't know.

Alayna and her crew, taking more pics. . . somewhere else.

I forget the name of this pose - yes, it has a well-known name (from Tik Tok, I'm assuming) - but you'll see it a lot throughout the rest of the post.

Ella requested this pic of her beseeching the Gods atop this giant stump. Because, you know, it's Ella. . . 

Abby take a turn on the stump.

Abby got this look down throughout the course of the afternoon. . .

Once we passed through that wooden archway (in the previous pics), we came into this lush flower area where a stone bench sits atop a small rise, with arches of ivy covering a pathway directly in front of it. I've always tried to get pics of Alayna in this spot the last two times we've done Dow Gardens, and, as luck would have it, we came across her and her group just as Abby and the girls were wrapping up with all their previous archway and stump pics. I pounced on the opportunity to get a pic of our two girls with a somewhat decent background.

Alayna and her crew get a pic on the stone bench.

This walkway has ivy (or something along those lines) growing over these arches at intervals, so we tried getting a bunch of pics of the girls on the pathway.

I had each of the girls walk away from me under the arches down the length of the path, then turn around and come back.

(Obviously I'm only including the ones of Abby doing this.)

Look at how much fun I'm having. . .

The girls attempted to walk down the path while all holding hands, but it didn't turn out as cute as they wanted - looks like they're doing their best to walk across the edge of a cliff without falling into an abyss.

Meanwhile, Alayna and the girls do the obligatory Charlie's Angels pose.

The Gruesome Twosome get a turn on the bench.

Nabbed a pic of the Johnsons in the nearby flower garden while we were all standing around trying to work out where to go next.

(Ella requested a pose like this, with her parents looking on.)

As close to cousins as these two are, this exaggerated pose isn't all that unrealistic.

Juliana and Harper do a mock 'ask to Homecoming' pic.

Abby saw a nearby fence and wanted some pics behind it.

This kid has 'pensive' down.

We'd be hitting up this nearby red bridge shortly, but, for the moment, were still stuck in the same part of the gardens, with Kris and Courtney wandering off to track down a newly-arrived parent/student addition and the rest of us not sure of where to go next.

More fence pics. . .

I busted out the ol' Collier 'pretend like you're all talking with one another' picture.

Somewhere else in Dow Gardens, sitting on some kinda rock wall.

The girls saw this giant, overhanging tree and wanted a pic of them emerging from it like some kinda swamp monster or some shit. Whatever floats your boats, kids.

Lexi and the Cannonball

The girls wanted a pic in front of the water, but I was able to get a candid one of them walking towards the pond that turned out decent.

That red bridge you see in the distance there is the same one that Alayna and her crew were photographed at minutes earlier.

The girls' friend, Kiersten, finally shows up. Abby was obviously stoked.

While en route to the red bridge, Abby saw this electrical box atop a nearby hill and asked for a picture in front of it (for some reason.) Kinda looks like one of the set piece's from Disney Hollywood Studios' Galaxy's Edge area.

The girls posed over a gross-ass pond.

(And then Abby wanted a solo one, of course.)

Kris ran over to the other side of the water and got a few pics with her phone of the girls posed from this angle. . .

Seriously, with this pose (whatever it's called.)

More Charlie's Angels. . .

Kiersten tried getting a pic with her younger brother putting the corsage on her, but it didn't work out as planned. He wasn't all that cooperative.

A short walk away, we found a little fountain thing, encircled by some benches.

Posed on a bench, with this big-ass tree looming over them.

This is probably my favorite picture I took today - they totally look like some kinda girl, Indie band.

Abby's requested pics of just her in front of the fountain/statue.

By this point, the girls were getting funned out (and, obviously, so were the parents.) We had been there for almost two hours, I was pushing nearly 1,000 pictures, and everyone was tired. On our walk back to the Visitor's Center, at the front of the Gardens, we had to fight our way through huge crowds of parents and students who were just arriving. As a result, the girls ran into tons of people from school that they knew, so we of course had to take ever more pictures of them posed with other people. 

This was the only picture we got of us with any of our kids throughout the day. We're bad parents.

Abby and her friend, Emily, who had just showed up.

This chaos was just about impossible to avoid. It started off with the previous picture of our girls posed with friends, then more and more kids (and their parents) kept showing up and jumping into the picture. With each additional kid added to the mix, more pics had to be taken, and while they were being taken, more parents and students would come out of the woodwork. It was like a Black Hole from which not even light can escape. . .

I don't know who 80% of these f***ers are.

We barely managed to escape the Gardens intact: the fancy dress shoes the girls just had to have were causing bleeding and blisters, kids were tired, kids were hungry, and hair and make-up was (apparently) in shambles. They were running on fumes, and the parents were all willing to throw in the towel, but a few of the kids still wanted to head downtown for a Tridge pic or two. Harper's parents were going to host a dinner for the girls at their house, so that was the eventual plan - drive the girls out there, let them eat and reapply makeup and hair product, then head to the dance. As time was short, we only got a handful of pics down there (but I was more than okay with cutting it short.)

Abigail C showed up right before we left, pretty sure this is the only pic we got of her.)

Another shot of the Johnsons.

Ella and a brace of Abbies.

While we were downtown, Alayna and her friends had gotten a table for dinner at The Boulevard. After our girls were dropped off at Harper's, us and the Johnsons decided to go out for dinner, too, and settled on The Boulevard as well. We got there just as Alayna and her crew were wrapping up and preparing to head to the Dance.

Abbies in the bathroom at Harper's, finishing up prep work for the Dance.

We don't have a ton of pics at the dance itself, the girls didn't get many, so I included what I could.

Sisters found each other at some point and were able to get this one selfie. Better than nothing.

(Not sure what's happening here.)

And then this happened. Abby and this boy named Kaden - who's been in orchestra with her for years - have been talking more and more lately, and apparently they 'like' each other, but for some reason didn't go to the dance together, instead wanting to go with their respective friend groups. But I guess they ended up doing all the slow dances together, which was well-documented by Abby's nearby friends (for your viewing pleasure.) Homeboy needs to watch how low that hand is. . .

'Tennessee Whiskey' as a first song? That's random.

So there you go, America. Homecoming '24, feat. the Hough girls. See you guys in Spring when we have to do all this bullshit all over again for Prom.

- Brian