Weekend in Vermont, part 2

Sunday morning started with Ben making some sweet butterscotch chip and walnut, butterscotch chip and chocolate chip, blueberry pancakes and any combination of those you wanted.

if this man shows up at your house with pancake batter, let him do his thing- you'll be happy.

We ate, Wyatt continued to be cute,

Caden took off into hyperspace,

and people separated to go on a leisurely road ride or a mountain bike ride. So, we visited the bike shop.

this is actually Jake's garage

Kevin looked at my brakes and it wasn't just the situation I had hoped for where I could just tighten them- they were worn away to nothing. So, I borrowed Tara's old mountain bike, which, needless to say, wasn't quite designed to have me ride it. I had looked for places to ride in this area, and once place that had gotten decent reviews on mtbr.com was Catamount Family Center, which turned out to be literally across the street. I can't fully review here, since half of the place was off limits due to a race, but even though we were looking for a short, not too hard ride just to get out there and get some miles in, I was pretty disappointed, especially considering it cost 6 bucks to ride there (one of the reasons I love mountain biking is that it's usually free). 2 of the 3 places I've ridden in Vermont had enormous grass fields in them, which are pretty, but kind of suck for riding. 

Jake, Ben and I eventually ended up in the woods for some decent single track, but it was much too short, way too switchback-y in the way that they just didn't have room for much and tried to make the trail complicated with what they had, and I felt very awkward on Tara's bike. I couldn't really get any speed or flow going. On one hill, I, still not entirely used to having such sensitive brakes, hit them a little too hard and completely exploded. I went full on over the handlebars and landed on my head/face/back on some perfectly placed rocks. I got up feeling like my jaw was messed up, brushed myself off and continued to ride. But, I now was terrified of everything, so I voted to cut the ride short at around 3 or 4 miles. When I got back and showed people where I had dented my helmet, I was immediately met with a "oh yea dude, you need a new helmet." Apparently it had cracked as well. Always wear a helmet, kids. I would find spots of dirt, cuts, and bruises in placed I had no idea I had even hit over the next few days. We had fun though, and we found a downhill section with jumps that Ben was too scared to go off, but we didn't blame him. He did go off one thing though:

Gnar.

It was a nice time, and due to the proximity to home base, I will definitely have to go back here and check out the half we didn't get to see. I'm sure there's some awesome stuff there.

happy times

We ate some lunch, chilled on the deck some, and then headed off to go blueberry picking. I don't really like blueberries (and I'm from Maine! I also don't like lobster! The horror!!), so this was not entirely what I wanted to do, but whatever, it was nice out and I was going with the flow. I was surprised with this soft serve though, which was really weird and good- chocolate and blueberry, which was actually made with mixing vanilla soft serve and blueberries right from the field. Soft serve cones in Vermont are called CREAMIES. Yea, I thought it was weird too. 

don't let this man near your children 

I decided to just focus on helping Tara amass 13 pounds of blueberries, finding the biggest ones I could. You're welcome guys, enjoy your next month of blueberries.

Gina looking her best

This place was pretty rad though- they had kids games, toys and leggos inside, and ping pong, frisbees, and a basketball hoop and 4 balls outside. The hoop was like 7 feet high though, which meant we could dunk. Jake literally swished 4 or 5 of these in a row, one handed with a child in the other arm. Kid has got SKILLS.

look at that follow-through!

Then Wyatt dunked.

he's heating up

And Jake used the beauty of Instagram to even make me look good.

We finished off the trip by going to get pizza at American Flatbread Company in Burlington. I was a bit wary, as everything listed was organic and very hipster-esque. It seemed like it might be a tad too fancy shmancy for me- the pepperoni was listed as "nitrate-free pepperoni." I wasn't even aware that this was a problem. Nearly every pizza had something in it I didn't know or understand, but the organized people just freaked out and ordered 5 large pizzas for 7 people. They were all gone in less than 20 minutes. Needless to say, they were pretty awesome. My favorite was either the mushroom and caramelized onion, or (nitrate-free) pepperoni, green peppers and olives. And so we could explode, we got some brownie sundaes too. Oh, and the pepperoni was fantastic- like, notably, surprisingly fantastic. Maybe people who hate nitrates are on to something...

We left, Shaun took this amazing picture,

yikes.

and I headed a billion miles home. Solid weekend.

Oh, and I shot some odd footage of Jake from the day before and told him I'd make a movie out of it. I didn't fail you Jake. I now present to you the first Dongus Bologna music video/short film, "Jake Goes to the Beach:"

"Jake Goes to the Beach" from Mike Alexander on Vimeo

Weekend in Vermont, part 1

When you're friends with nerds who love organization, a trip to Vermont to have a planning committee meet to plan a party over a year in the future isn't that weird. Well, I guess it's still pretty weird, but when it was proposed that the 2012 edition of our annual Thanxmas gathering be on a cruise ship, someone had to step it up and actually put the thing together, and it certainly wasn't going to be me. So, while some people headed up to Jake and Tara's loveshack to do some planning, I took the opportunity to hijack said trip and see some people I love and never see.

I got up at 7:30, and after telling Hilton it was raining and his jeep was getting soaked,

weathermen are just guessing.

I showered and got on the road for the 3 and a half hour drive to picturesque Williston, VT.
I think I had only really travelled on Route 89 in the dark before, and was pretty blown away at how pretty it is in the summer- green everywhere, flowers lining the highway, mountains in the distance, etc. It's a nice drive.

I also saw some sweet roadkill- a bear on the side of the road and a coyote head in the middle of the road staring at me! You may find this gross, but I was pretty blown away as I'd never seen a bear in real life before and only seen a coyote once. 

The gang was en route to the beach by the time I was nearby, so I drove straight to North Beach in Burlington (on Lake Champlain), which is an enormous and although absurdly packed, pretty nice beach. 

the tunnel leading to it

As it was 90-95 degrees, I was pretty excited to get some swimming and B in. We grilled some burgers, sat and chilled for awhile, and, as there were 2 babies (3 and 9 months), had a baby party. 

Ben with enormous Caden

Wyatt eating Shaun's credit card.

Pretty cute kids. Caden is still in lie-there-and-be-frustrated-he-can't-get-up-so-he-just-stares-at-stuff-confused phase, but Wyatt is in curious, stick-everything-in-his-mouth phase, so he was pretty fun. I love this picture of him- I think it should be the cover of his emo album, "Life in a world of legs" or something:

"This is it? just legs everywhere?"

This is a public beach, which meant it was super crowded, and we had quite the group of people near us.

These people talked A LOT.

I burned my feet worse than I ever have in my life just walking across the sand- I refused to be the person that had to run across the sand because it was so hot, until it hurt so unbearably bad that I ran as fast as I could and buried my feet in the water and sand. They still hurt 10 minutes later from the burn. It was insane. I had no idea a beach could be that hot. But swimming was done, B was thrown, and only Shannon got hit in the head with a frisbee (sorry Shannon). It was weird swimming with people who went in, cooled off, maybe threw the B for 10 minutes or so, and then were ready to go in. I'm used to Rich and Josh, who, like me, easily go 2, 3, 4 hours straight. I guess we're just a different breed. I have very rarely ever viewed swimming as just a way to cool off and get refreshed every now and then- it is a way of life, and nothing short of an hour can satisfy my hunger.  

They actually left and I stayed to swim more. That's how seriously I take it. I then explored a little, found a weird area at the end of the beach that looked like it was from LOST,

watched some white trash go from yelling at each other to having beach patrol get involved to cops showing up, 

and sweat so hard on my way back to my car that all I wanted to do was go back to the lake. 

I headed back to Jake and Tara's house where they had their committee meeting and Jake, Shaun and I played the roles of the idiots in the back of the class, snickering at everything. 

It was a nice night full of friends and my indescribable joy of seeing my favorite roommate I ever had (except the barking), Damien. 

The Big Show, moving every time I try to take a picture of him

Damien stares, Jake dances, Hannah hates him.

Thanxmas plans were made, burgers were eaten, laughs were had, sleep in a self-constructed wind tunnel commenced. 

currently listening to: even more Skrillex

Ellacoya Sneak-in

Last Friday, I had a problem- Josh, Hilton and I had sat inside all day avoiding the heat (like 99 degrees). I wanted to head up to Vermont for the weekend, but felt like since I had spent all day in NH, I had to do SOMETHING. After an hour of sitting around waiting for someone to think of something, Hilton finally had the stupid idea to "just drive around" in his new jeep and "find something to do." We all wanted to swim though (as 99 degree heat for a day will make a man crave), and everywhere we knew was closed except for the ocean, which none of us wanted to swim in. Finally, I let my inner teenager kick in with a super stupid idea: "let's just go to Ellacoya State Park and just sneak in."
So we did. Or didn't. Maybe I'm making this all up- because swimming there after hours isn't allowed.

At our house, we have a pretty bitchin' shirt. Nobody wants to wear this shirt, and whenever a group of 4 or more people are all leaving the house, we have a little game where we say that we're not going to wear the shirt. Whoever says it last or doesn't say it at all, well, they have to wear the shirt. Rich (who I am pretty sure came up with this) got to wear the shirt.

so powerful and stylish, he shoots hiltons out of his back

We hopped in Hilton's jeep and hit the town. I have never ridden in a jeep before- well at least the way you're SUPPOSED to ride in a jeep. No roof, no windows, no doors. It was actually pretty awesome. Just being able to stick your leg out and be outside is a pretty neat feeling. Plus, I had way more room to play air drums, as the usual stupid door next to me was no longer constricting my ability to wail on my imaginary crash cymbal. And it sure beat the heat too. Maybe Hilton's idea wasn't so stupid. 

OH MY GOD WE'RE IN A JEEP!!!

I let my hair down and stuck my head out of the car, just to see how beautiful I could be. 

and I was very beautiful.

We headed waaaay up to Ellacoya and by the time we got there, it was after 9, and quite dark. The gate was up, so Hilton just went for it and may or may not have driven on the grass right next to the gate, and may or may not have turned off all his lights and driven around the parking lot, finally parking in the absolute farthest corner under a tree. We may or may not have then gotten out- alright, screw this, we all know that we snuck in- it says that in the title of this post.

We got out and crept around in the dark, terrified that we would be caught or that someone else would be on the beach. Night vision crept in and we found a picnic table far from everything. We definitely heard people at the other end, and saw lights and possibly fire. I wanted to take pictures, but it was pitch black, and the one time I actually did brave it and used the flash, I was met with an overwhelming chorus of DUDE WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?s. I guess I'd have to agree- any extra attention was not good.

We changed and hit the water, trying to be as silent and discreet as possible. Of course, since we went to the far end, where the water doesn't get past your knees for like 200 feet, this wasn't easy. It was pretty cute how worried we all were, but we finally accepted that A, nobody would be able to see us, and B, anyone else on the beach wasn't supposed to be there either. Once we got deep, it was heaven. The water was cold, the air was cold, the views were spectacular, and this absurdly crowded beach where I once got the pleasure (I'm being very sarcastic) of watching 2 people have sex 100 feet from me on a Sunday afternoon, was completely dead and silent. Swimming underwater was terrifying- you could see the sand and the sky, but everything else was pitch black hell filled with a swimming Jason Voorhees ready to suck me into the depths. We chatted it up, did stupid stuff like handstands, skinny dipped for a bit (yes, 4 dudes OHHH YOU'RE SO GAY, but come on, it felt real nice), had some solid laughs, and Hilton shivered cuz he's a skinny wimp. Over the mountains behind us was flickering lights and distant explosions that sounded like war- we figured it was either fireworks or a concert. Or war. Either way, it was pretty awesome. 

But we were still worried- trying to be quiet, and thinking that every car that drove by in the distance was the cops. When we got out after an hour and walked out, as sneakingly as possible, we swore we saw a light flash on the beach- and then saw a car sitting on the main road, directly next to the parking lot we had snuck into, parked, with its lights on. FUCK. 

Queue everyone saying the same things- it's a cop, maybe they'll go away, dude we're fucked there's no way he doesn't see the car what do we do we just gotta suck it up there's no other way oh shit did you see another light behind us mike wait don't move seriously did you just hear that can you see movement ahead we're so fucked ahhhhhhhh

Just when we were resigning ourselves to seeing what the punishment was for sneaking into a state park to swim, the car drove away and we were home free. I ran up to the road to make sure no cars were coming while Hilton drove his car through the pitch black night and gunned it up the grass. 

I have never really done anything like this, and even though we literally just swam and left (unlike the pounds of drugs, hours of sex, and massive destruction most kids indulge in when sneaking in to places), it felt pretty cool. Just 4 crazy kids, out on the town, with a overwhelming desire to swim. Except 3 of us are over 30 and the other is closing quick. 

We then hit up Applebee's at midnight, I got this really good picture of Rich getting out of the car-

DOOOIIEEEEEEEE

and went home, where I stayed up until 3 and woke up at 7:30 the next day to go to Vermont. If I had gone to Vermont that night, I would probably have just sat around and relaxed for an hour or two and then gone to bed. I clearly made the right choice. 

currently listening to: Our Last Night- We Will All Evolve

Willowdale, Ellacoya State Park and way too much driving

Wednesday, I bought the best replacement possible for my just-went-swimming phone, a new iPhone 4. I LOVE it.

After setting that up and becoming used to the horrible heat, I decided I needed to mountain bike, and of course decided way too late. I headed out at around 4:30, en route to one of my favorite places on earth, Willowdale.

Willowdale is the place that made me love mountain biking. I think for its mix of more adventurous/technical stuff mixed with super fast trails and less hilly terrain, Lowell Dracut Tyngsboro State forrest is officially my favorite place to ride, but Willowdale has a magic to it that no other place comes close to having. I used to drive past it every day when I worked up in Ipswich, and I always thought the woods looked great for riding. I always thought it was funny that years later, when I finally discovered mountain biking, this would be the place that changed me. The place is big (my full route is like 17 miles), vast and isolated (I am usually completely alone when I ride here), beautiful (there are ponds, thick green forest sections, and a huge and incredibly green section I call Gnarnia- it truly feels like you're in another world at times out there. I also see deer almost every time I go. This was always MY place, since I was the only one I knew who rode it, and taking friends there have been some of my favorite moments in biking. I tackled my first incredibly thin bridge there, got over my first incredibly thin and steep, straight up-straight down bridge, and rode my longest ride (last summer when I did the full 17) there. Mountain biking has taken a back seat this summer, but it was time to go, so I put on some Mars Volta (my usual get pumped for Willowdale music) and headed to Ipswich.

I am nowhere near in the shape I was last year, but I did my best, doing a solid section and then turning around, probably riding about 7 miles. I immediately was the happiest I have been all summer on a mountain bike (except for the absurdly awesome trails at Kingdom Trails). The history I have with this place just makes it all around wonderful. I know every inch of these trails, and I love coming here, especially for the first time in the summer- it's just instant memories and reminiscing. Willowdale is like happiness spread out through trees.

Generally smooth and super hard trails through thick woods. mmmm

One of the very few technical sections, which I am happy to say I made it through just fine.

This is at the top of a hill, all which looks like this. I never make it up this. Way too rocky on a steep hill. 

One of the very few hills I like, because you're riding towards a pond, and, when riding as late as I do, a sunset.

There was a group of about 8 riders in front of me. I've only seen that many people here probably once. The girl in the back was wearing a pink tank top and regular shorts. I don't think she knew what she was signing up for when she said she'd go on a ride, since everyone else with her was super decked out- to the point of having shin and arm guards. Hilarious. I caught up to them a lot, but also stayed back and rested when they did, so it worked out nicely. 

I love this part.

In typical Willowdale fashion, I didn't get out of the woods until like 8:45, riding back in some pretty thick darkness. And to add to that, my brakes stopped working towards the end of the ride- so badly in fact that I had to ride off the trail and basically into a tree down a hill because I realized I wasn't slowing down at all. So, not only did I have to ride back in the dark, but I had to walk down the fu downhill sections. Pbbbttt. 

I then stayed over at Tobin's and tried to get up early, do a laundry and head out to ride more, but was screwed over by a dryer shutting off and me sleeping an extra hour. Oops. I then decided to drive all the way back home, and another 40 minutes north to Ellacoya State Park on Lake Winnipesaukee to do some swimming and B-throwing. Being away from Massachusetts made me forget just how much I hate Massachusetts. At 2:30, the highway was so backed up, it took me nearly an hour to even get 15 miles. Does anyone work in Massachusetts? Or do they just drive places at the same time? Because of this, I also hit the traffic in Hampton/Portsmouth, and it took me 3 full hours to drive what should have been 2 at most, leaving only a little more than an hour for swimming. I made it worthwhile though, and even stopped for a Moose Tracks frappe on the way back to go BACK OUT to see a Captain America midnight showing. 

A solid 2 days that would have been better with better planning and Massachusetts not being such a crappy state.

currently listening to: Skrillex- various stuff

College reminiscence with Taking Back Sunday and Thursday

Awhile ago, my friend Justin let it out that he could get free tickets to shows at the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom through the radio station he worked at. The same night, I went home and looked at what was coming up, only to see that two bands that dominated my junior or senior year of college (I can't remember), Taking Back Sunday and Thursday, were touring together. A month later, I had 2 free tickets, for a skybox, nonetheless. Thanks Justin!

So, I headed to Hampton Beach last week, phone-less (as I still hadn't bought a new one), trying to find a place I hadn't ever been to before, and meet my friend Talluto. Let me say this- not having a phone is WEIRD. I had to WRITE DOWN directions. In times of boredom, I had to talk to my friend, or just stare at stuff. If I got lost, I had to figure it out. And on the way there, I stopped worrying about something bad happening to me and started wondering what would happen if something happened where Talluto couldn't meet me. I would spend the whole night just wondering where he was, while he may have done the same with me if he couldn't find me. It's amazing to think that like 8 years ago, we did this kind of stuff all the time. It's scary to think how easy smartphones have made things, and also how dependent we are on them.

I had never been to Hampton Beach, but had heard it was pretty dirtbaggy. It turns out that nobody lied to me. Like a mini Jersey Shore, it is filled with small shops selling crap, overpriced food, tons of places that sold "fry dough" (is that fried dough? Cuz I just think of potatoes when I hear FRY dough...), and a billion people I would never want to talk to.

But it can be pretty.

I lucked out though, and found the place very easily, and finding Talluto was simple as well. We went in and went to our skybox, which was hilarious. Having the guy check us off a list and walking up to this rich, snobby place was hilarious. We had our own room with seating to watch some pop bands and look over droves of teenagers like we were better than them (we probably were).

Our own TV, a sweet view, our own fan, a bar down the hall, and like 10 chairs for 2 people.

Such a weird way to watch a show.

We didn't last long up there though- we aren't old farts yet, and we wanted to sing along and rock out, and doing that in that room felt incredibly weird. So, the room just became a place to sit between sets and laugh at all the people below us who couldn't sit.

Thursday were great, but played too much new stuff that, while good, doesn't hold up to the old. Geoff is still a fantastic frontman though- probably my favorite. 

standard Geoff Rickly arm-in-the-air move

Taking Back Sunday were both fantastic and terrible. They were fantastic because the crowd exploded for them, which made every song HUGE, they had good energy and the singer was fun to watch. Presumably since they have the original lineup back, 75% of the set consisted of songs from the first 2 albums, which meant hit after hit with only a few new (and not very good) songs thrown in. They were terrible though, because the singer can't sing a note to save his life- he has had an ever-declining voice for the last few years (I'll never stop hating singers who sing high notes on albums and then smoke, therefore assuring they will completely butcher those songs a few years later), and he sounded even worse that night, like his voice was gone much more than normal. He had an odd drunken swagger in the way he acted and spoke (he honestly talked like Arlo Guthrie, and he certainly didn't do that when I saw them 8 years ago), and he ended the night by wandering into the crowd, going to every corner of the room, "singing" on top of a bar and the merch booth while the stagehands and crowd struggled to carry the mic cord around, and tons of annoying teenagers ran around him. The band seemed to be aggravated by this, or at the very least, annoyed at the drunken or drugged antics of someone with the amount of power the lead singer of a band has. I was pretty bummed out. But other than the last 3 disastrous songs, it was still a good time. 

engulfed in lights

The Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom is a decent place- big and rectangular with expected sound, but odd- they had huge banners promoting the fact that U2, Phish, and George Carlin had played there as long ago as 30 years- next to a banner saying that Godsmack had played there. Really? They're in the same boat? On the stairway up to our skybox, a picture of Trey of Phish was directly across from a picture of the gray haired tool who won American Idol a few years ago. 

We went to the Casino after, to play as many hands of blackjack as we could before they closed, which turned out to be a whopping 2. This was a huge disappointment, especially after convincing Talluto to go and walking 4 or 5 blocks, but hey, at least I came out even.

It was a nice night, reminiscing a little bit about college. I got into both of these bands within pretty much the same month, and would go skateboarding listening to them, play them on every radio show, blast the albums on every long drive, and have huge messes of parties where we'd singalong and play air guitar to both albums pretty consistently. I also used to go to shows with huge groups, and it definitely saddened me a little bit that nobody else was here or even knew or cared about the show. Everyone I know has certainly changed and moved far away, but at the same time, I'm really starting to accept the sad reality that not only do most people my age not still like or care about music they listened to 10 years ago, but they also don't go to concerts at all anymore. I was blown away at the crowd here- it was the same crowd I saw 10 years ago- all teenagers and kids in their low to mid twenties at best, and as is becoming the norm- me, the 30 year-old standing alone or with 1 friend. It's weird to me that kids who were probably 5 when Taking Back Sunday's first album came out were freaking out to songs from it like I did when it actually came out and I was in college. As evidenced by a lot of my friends starting to explore and listen to very old music that they never listened to before, it seems like the youth of today is doing the same thing- that really would be the only thing that could explain why these little kids knew every word to these songs. Maybe I'm the only one who still loves favorite albums of 10-15 years ago, or at least cares about them in a reminiscent and excited way, using the music to remember great times from long ago. And honestly, that fact really bums me out. Concerts like this can be misery (feeling old and awkward, stuck in a hot mess of a billion annoying kids), but they can also be fantastic, and my throat and voice after the show was proof of that.

currently listening to: Taking Back Sunday- self titled (new one)

Top 10 of 1992

I'm still doing it! Here's my top 10 for 1992:

(click the picture)

Full day at Fernal and the creation of Headball

At the beginning of the summer, Rich said he wanted to spend an entire day at lovely Fernal shores. He wanted to get there when they opened at 8 in the morning, and stay until we didn't want to be there anymore. I kind of thought he was crazy, but this Saturday, we did it. And it ruled.

Of course, we didn't get there at 8- more like 9, but we were still able to get the spot he wanted to get- the perfect spot, right at the corner where the main beach turns to a small cove, the one spot where you have water next to you on each side. We blocked off each side with cars, moved picnic tables to where we needed them, set up chairs, Josh set up a nap tent, and we lived it up, until we were kicked out at like 8:30. It was probably the longest time I've ever spent at a beach, and somehow it flew by. It flew by to the point where they were literally kicking us out. Now that's a day at the beach.

Josh freaking out with excitement while Jesse does the robot.

DAGS.

Hilton got so excited that he punched Jesse in the face. 

We started off the day in true fatsquad form, with some breakfast hotdogs.

nice face Jesse

Then we all sat down and just relaxed. I read a bit, we chatted some, Hilton started whittling a stick, the dogs entertained themselves- Angie by digging holes and freaking out, Irwin by whining and getting pine needles stuck in his slobber jowls. 

so gross (pic stolen from Rich)

 We then got just hot enough that it was time to stop messing around and start the swimming. We all went in and began doing my favorite thing in the world, throwing the B. About 10 minutes in, Josh goes, "Oh man, I just freaked out, I feel like I forgot to check for my phone before I went in!" I instantly panicked, thinking that I had my camera in my pocket. I reached down and felt nothing. Good. Then I went to the other pocket and felt my phone. Awesome. 10 minutes completely submerged in water. Bye bye iPhone 1, you were good to me. 

It was a short heartbreak- being sad/pissed wasn't going to do me much good. The only cure was more frisbee. After 2 hours or so, I felt the sunburn kicking in just like the hunger pains, and we retired to the shade for some awesome burgers and other snacks. In true nerd form, we then read some comic books. 

We then swam for another 3 hours or so, switching between throwing the B, swimming some laps between the buoys way out, and playing/inventing headball, the awesome/horrible game Rich, Josh and I had laid the seeds for a few days earlier. 

__________________________________________________________________________________

How to play Headball:

At least 5 people set up in a circle (about 30 feet in diameter), equally spread out from each other, with only their heads above water.

The goal is to throw a frisbee into someone's head/face. 

2 points are awarded for hitting another player in the head.

1 point is rewarded to the player taking the hit. 

2 points are taken away from the player if they move out of the way of the frisbee or flinch enough so as to not get hit. In cases where there is a disagreement on whether or not the player would have been hit if they didn't flinch (because it's hard to not at least flinch a little bit), it goes to a vote. 

The goal is obviously to have good aim and hit your friends in the face, just as much as it is to be a man and get hit in the face with a frisbee. This is why this is the stupidest/awesomest game ever. 

Other key rules: You cannot throw the frisbee at either of the people directly next to you, meaning you only have 3 people you can throw at. You must variate who you aim at, so that you don't aim at one player twice in a row. If you hit a player or get hit, you switch places in the circle and high five each other while passing across the middle. Every time the frisbee is thrown and doesn't hit someone, all players take 1 step forward, increasing the ease of the hits. When someone is hit, you may move back. Play to either 10 or 15, however long you want. 

The game is instantly over if a player somehow manages to make the frisbee land and stay on another player's head, with the thrower obviously being the winner.

__________________________________________________________________________________

We originally played with it being 1 point for a hit, 1 point for taking a hit, -2 for moving out of the way, and I was the champ. It made it interesting because you got the same amount of points for getting hit as for making a hit, so it became a weird thing of figuring out who to hit, since you'd be giving them points as well. The second way made more sense, but the second time we played it, it got old fast because of Dan's incessant complaining about every possible thing he could and the blinding sun making half the circle complete misery. Rich won the second round. 

All in all, we did 3 different 2-3 hour long sessions of swimming/B/headball, and some time sitting, eating and reading. Rich, Josh, Jesse, Hilton and I started the day, we were joined by Dan, Kate, and Max about halfway through the day, and Shawn made an appearance for the last hour. It was an AWESOME day- one of the most fun days I've had this summer, and I want to do it again. We all got very sunburned and I was pretty exhausted the next day, but it couldn't have been more worth it. It was a perfect summer day. 

Here's the rest of the best pictures:

In the dead center of this picture is Jesse, floating in the middle of the lake, where he lay for a good hour and a half with no sunblock, in an attempt to "get some color." Oh, and he did.

Hilton is the only one who used the nap tent. Notice how he chose the pink one.

Josh and Dan talk, while Max plays in the sand is Weasel looks miserable.

Kate reading Parenting magazine, Hilton eating chips and looking like the guy from Twilight, Max being cute, Weasel and Angie hanging out, and Jesse and Rich cooking burgers.

The great Maximus caught a fish with his hands, which we all thought was amazing until we realized that the fish had a messed up tail and was dying, and therefore not entirely hard to catch. ahhh life lessons...

Jesse showing us that color he wanted to get. I can't imagine how badly he hurt- my back was half as bad as his entire body and I was pretty miserable.

I made a friend.

The always beautiful sunset as we were leaving. 9am-8:30pm is a long day at the beach.

When we left, things got weird.

One of the greatest pictures taken of Hilton and me. Stoned twilight guy meets pink faced eyeless retard viking. This is when we got ice cream to end the day and got attacked by bugs.

And here is a sweet video that is sure to instantly go viral. I'm calling it "One dog digs like a lunatic, another is pissed about it."Enjoy.

DAGS from Mike Alexander on Vimeo

Things to watch for:

:17- I call Angie retarded and she stops and looks at me

:46- Irwin moves like lightning when barked at

1:15- Slobber city

1:16- A fart

currently listening to: Jamie's Elsewhere- They Said A Storm Was Coming