Good luck seems to follow us. Having been too long since we've seen Closure in Moscow, we found out that they were going on the Warped Tour, and would be performing in Darien Lake. We had to get tickets, so we started searching online. Well, after finding what I thought was a great deal, we soon find out that our friend Jeremy was going to be there. He insisted that we not buy the tickets, and that we'd get put on a list. Sounded great to us!

We arrive at Darien Lake only to find what your typical large music festival: large crowds and cars everywhere. I can't figure out how, but parking was free. That was an awesome surprise. Not sure why they didn't take advantage of that. Finding a spot was also a lot easier than expected. Soon we were doubting everything, because things were moving so smoothly. We rolled with it, and made our way toward the ticket booth.

The lines stretched at least a half mile back. I waited in line, and Kim walked over to a small tent where a couple people were hanging out. She told them that she was put on a list, but at first they had an attitude - almost as if everyone was trying to weasel tickets out of these guys. When she pointed to her name and showed her id on the short list of maybe 20 other people, they gave her an official pass. We felt pretty important.

It had been well over a year since we had seen Closure in Moscow. As we wandered around the tent area for all the other bands, Barrett nearly jumped out of his chair when he saw us. I was figuring that I was going to tell the story that we were the couple traveling in the bus, seeing if they remember last year's SXSW trip and blah blah blah...turns out they have much better memories than I gave them credit for. If I was them, I probably would've forgot some faces after so many cities and shows. I'm not sure how they do it.

The show was great. One thing that I couldn't believe was how quick it was over. When we were in Austin, Texas, we saw a show, followed them to the next one, and got to see them again. How quickly I realize that we were very spoiled then (as if we weren't being spoiled this day)! What I really wish we could do is see them on their current tour: Japan. It won't be possible to see them abroad, but at least we came home with a signed poster of a photo that Kim took while in Austin. Thank you so much Jeremy for getting us in! Keep rocking Closure in Moscow!

If there is actually some people out there still following us, here are a few updates. Pond Mile 3 came, and was a complete hit! This weekend really has turned into one of our favorite times of year. We set a record for distances traveled just to get to our shindig in Little Valley, NY. Krissy flew in from Los Angeles. Mark, my old roommate from my studies abroad in Thailand, took a train and was picked up by myself in the Rochester Rail Station. Jenni, the vet to be in our Louisiana video, came up with two of her friends, Steph and Chad. Having gone to school in Pennsylvania, we had a good crew who ventured their way up North for the weekend. Kevin, Sue, and VJ made their way from Massachusetts. Christian flew all the way up from the Nation's Capital, and there were people from all over New York State. Needless to say, we had a great crowd.

Sitting here trying to recall such a ridiculous weekend isn't easy. Where to start is a tough question...Thursday night we arrived a little late. We was Mark and I, but you cannot beat catching up with an old friend driving through the dark of the night in an old VW bus. When we arrived, a small group was already in party mode, so we had to catch up. Costumes, odd card games and laughter filled that first night. It was a preview of what Kim and have now dubbed, "A weekend of rustic buffoonery." It's such a perfect catch phrase.
 

Friday we woke up to see VJ sleeping on the floating dock. The dock is pretty minimal - a few plywood boards attatched to a few pontoons and you have just enough room for a floating beer pong game. In this case, it was VJ's new camp site for the  night. I think I was surprised only for a split second. Once I realized who was out there, I wasn't really worried, either. It did make for a great photo, though. Soon enough, the day turned into a waiting game for who and when would be arriving. Friday became a little absurd.

Absurd in the greatest of flattery. The cabin at the pond is really a small shed that was converted to more of a living space rather than storage. Well, it looks that instead of referring to the building as a cabin, I should referr to it as the dance hall. I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of people who crammed themselves into such a small area to cut loose. People who I have never seen dance before were moving like they were pros. My jaws were sore early on from all of the laughing. Saturday came, and that is when the main even takes place.

Our cross country styled beer mile is one that always seems like such a great idea until you are on the line with a drink in your hand asking yourself, "why?" At this point, it's a tradition, so we can't stop. The race has turned into a team event since our numbers have grown so quickly. This means that Kim went online and found old Bill Rogers uniforms from the 80s for a more authentic cross country race. Although, it has somewhat turned into a costume race as well, but that's a whole other story.  Of course, with VJ being involved, you can see the rules and results at www.PondMile.com.

After the race, it turned into another weird and wacky party. If I remember correctly, the numbers for flip cup was something around 18 vs. 18. It was a tad overboard. That game, however, ended when VJ had the ingenious idea to take some of the tarps we had and make it into a large slip n' slide. A few bruises later, it was yet another dance party...and I'm all for that. There were literally hundreds of photos that I wish I could post up here, but I'm afraid that the story would have to be the size of a small novel. These photos should sum it up pretty well, though.

We seemed to plan for months for the weekend; which made me sad to see the weekend fly by as quick as it did. I will always take a quick weekend over no weekend any day. Pond Mile 4 is going to be out of control!