Air and Water Show

August 20, 2006

Met up with Liz’s family this morning, to check out the Air and Water show. They camped out along the lake, right by the Adler Planetarium, as did a few other folks (looking to avoid the crowds, but still catch the show).

All in all, this was a pretty great location. Lots of sun, shade, and a great view of the skyline.

Not a very good pic, but I wanted to get a quick shot of our blanket area.

There was food and juice everywhere. I had a particularly good chicken salad sandwich, along with some deviled eggs (mmmmm) and cookies. Picnic-y goodness.

Near where we were situated, a row of Smart Cars (each covered with Target logos) pulled up and parked. A few of us meandered over to check out the vehicles.

Turns out they’re not available yet in the US, but are slated to go for approx. $15,000. They get about 50-60 miles per gallon, and max out at 85 mph.

Savannah and Liz’s mom.

Cameron and Darryl, playing Nintento.

Group shot – L to R it’s Katie, Tricia and Dan. Katie and Dan are the parents to both Savannah and Cameron.

Tricia is married to Darryl, and the two of them are expecting their first child (Baby Ford) in the coming weeks.

I’ve heard a lot about Liz’s sisters (Katie and Tricia), as well as their families. Today was a pretty big day, as far as meeting family goes.

I really enjoyed meeting everyone, and enjoyed everyone’s energy. That sounds weirdly new-agey, but it’s true. I liked how happy and well… just happy everyone was. I liked their smiles, their senses of humor. It was fun to be around Liz’s family, as you couldn’t help but smile as well.

I realize I was the new face at the table, but I felt very comfortable and very at ease. Fun stuff.

In particular, Darryl and I bonded a bit over Family Guy trivia and quotations. I cited one of my favorite moments (where Peter keeps crashing all these vehicles into his neighbor’s yard), and Darryl cited his: the Neverending Story spoof. For the remainder of the day, Darryl would hold his arm up and yell “Yeeeeah!” and it would crack my shit up.

Ok – this was kind of funny.

I looked over at one point, and spotted this guy taking a photo of a dog, standing on its hind legs.

LOL. This one’s even better.

Well, the whole time this guy keeps shooting. I think: well, maybe he’s some random passer-by, who spotted this amazing dog and stopped to take a few photos.

After about 3 minutes of him shooting, I begin to suspect that they’re a couple – and he’s just taking a few shots of the family dog.

At this point, more than 5 minutes have elapsed. They’re in a different spot, and the dude continues his photography unabated. The dog, trooper that he is, continues standing on his hind legs.

Now, it’s become clear to me. These two folks, this dog – he’s their baby. And today’s photos are a set of imagese in what I can only assume is a large photo album, full with other similar shots. The dog, standing at the edge of the Grand Canyon. The dog, standing on the streets of Las Vegas. The dog, standing on his hind legs on Ellis Island.

On looking closer, I wonder if the guy’s wife ever makes it into any of the photos.

I took a fair number of photos today, but I was so far away that most of them didn’t really come out well. The few that I like I’m posting here, for you to get a sense of the day.