The Folk Life Festival Was Great!

On Tuesday of last week my friend Nick asked me if I wanted to go to the Folk Life Festival with him and his boyfriend Scott. I had totally forgotten about the Folk Life Festival and Walter was eager for a weekend without a baby and so I jumped at the chance to eat strawberry shortcake, elephant ears, and a french fry loaf. So on Saturday Padon and I dawned our festive folky garb and off we went on the 510 bus to Seattle.

I sadly forgot my camera (Argh!!!!) and so missed some very awesome photo op's but luckily Nick took some great pictures and sent me a couple. Padon had a great time on the bus and by the time we left Nick's place and walked to the Seattle Center Padon was out cold. Which was good because he needed the nap.

Meeting Scott was awesome because I had heard about him but hadn't had a chance to meet him. He was a tremendous help carring the umbrella stroller and getting me a high chair and he was always eager to lend a hand so I didn't have to feel like I had to do ALL the Mom stuff.
When we arrived at Nick's place Padon was really bothered by the hallways to Nick's Condo door. It was really strongly perfumed and on the second pass through the hallway I wondered if he had the same problem I do with perfumes. I can't be near a real perfume or an overly perfumed person because I get an instant migrane headache and start to feel nausous. It dawned on me that the hallway may have the same effect on Padon so I was moving as fast as I could. Already worked up it didn't help that Padon found Nick intimadating and cried, even though Nick was really nice, friendly, and down on Padon's level. By the time we left Nick's condo, however, Padon had started to warm up to him, was really interested in his orange shirt and snuggled into his chest. Nick carried him for quite a way before he started to realize how heavy a 23 lb baby can be to carry in front of you and he handed him back. Nick, Scott, and Nick's friend Heather, who met us later, went to the beer garden and Padon and I played down by "The Fountain". It was great and while Padon was hugging onto me tightly and laying his head on my shoulder he was very interested in the people running in and out of the water. When the fountain ran low we ran up to it to touch it, like the other kids and teenagers, but that was when the fountain reved back up again and it was like someone dumped a bucket of cold water on our heads. Padon wasn't pleased at all but it was so sunny that it didn't take us very long to dry off.

When we met back up with Nick, Scott and Heather we went to McMenimen's and had lunch. Padon tried out his first booster seat and managed to grab the salt shaker and shove it in his mouth when I wasn't looking. I tried cleaning it off the best I could and ended up moving him into a high chair. It really was a matter of inches before he would have fallen under the table anyway. He just isn't big enough for a booster yet.
After lunch we went back to Nick's to watch "The Bird Cage", one of my favorite movies. Padon and I ended up getting home way too late but we had a really good time. I was just a tad disappointed that I never got the elephant ear or the strawberry shotcake.

On Monday, Memorial Day, I decided sportatically, as it was appearing to be another beautiful sunny day, that we would go back down to the Folk Life Festival (again forgot my camera; double argh!!). This time it was just Padon and I all day. We spent a long time at the fountain while Padon played with his McDonald's Speed Racer car in nothing but his diaper and sun hat (we got dumped on again by the fountain). I carried him on my shoulders every where we went so he could see all the cool people and entertainers and we danced with the musical vendors in the crowd of grooving watchers. We ate at the Horn of Africa and had strawberry shortcake from the Beringer Farms vendor. I passed on the elephant ear and pondered the french fry loaf and then turned it down at the thought of what a toaster size quanitiy of grease dripping fries would do to Padon's and my insides, especially since I would be eatting the majority of them. We walked through the crafty vendors and drooled over their various goods, and finally we made our way home; this time at a reasonable hour.

It is too bad we have to wait another year for it to come around again. Of all the festivals in Seattle this one is my favorite and the weather this year couldn't have been more perfect. And over all I had an absolutely fabulous time with Padon and I think he felt the same about me.