Unfortunately, we now had a giant tarp that was wet and no real good way to dry it out. We ended up dragging it up the hillside on the other side of the fire lane and staking it to the ground to dry.
Shortly after we got the tarp settled, Bailey came over and told us that her family was planning to head down to the Black Bear Diner in town for breakfast. We had plenty of food here to make breakfast, but I just couldn't get the thought out of my head of a nice, hot meal with no dishes to do afterwards and the more I thought about it, the more I wanted it! Coffee, in a truly clean cup that wasn't made of paper - refilled as many times as I wanted! Everybody having the breakfast they wanted with no complaining! No cold wind cooling our food off instantly! And if we ate enough, maybe we could even skip lunch! Ok, it sounds pretty pathetic now, but at the time it sounded like a little piece of heaven!
Needless to say, we did end up driving down the hill for breakfast. We managed to just beat out the lazy Saturday morning crowds and we had a great time (and lots of coffee) down there. Back up on the hill, Bailey's family offered to save us a space on the lawn since today (Saturday) was likely to be the most crowded day. We gladly took them up on it and helped ourselves to a little more time to get organized for the day so we wouldn't have to come back up to camp for any reason until the end of the day. I even packed the stove, a can of beans, cheese, olives and tortillas to make burritos for dinner, along with marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers for dessert and some hot chocolate mix. I was pretty sure we wouldn't need any lunch after that huge breakfast, but I brought a ton of snacks to last us through the day just in case.
In hindsight, it would have been much smarter to pull the stakes and the tarp up before we headed down to the concert since it was dry pretty quickly, but gladly we did manage to eventually find all of the stakes in the darkness (the tarp had partially blown away, even with the stakes) when we got back to camp at night, though the tarp had since become damp again.
On the way to the lawn, the girls asked me to take some pictures of the critters in the 'crayfish pond'. These are some of the pictures of the creatures in there that I took during the weekend. There's actually a pretty cool collection of frogs, polliwogs, and many things that are somewhere in between. And yes, the water really is that murky and green. Eww..
Mostly tail, almost no back legs - and huge! (probably nearly a foot long total)
mostly frog, but a bit of tail back there still
both legs and a pretty big tail still - these frogs are probably about 5-6" in length (without tail)
little teeny-tiny guys
The lawn area was pretty full, even this early in the day, although in years past the crowd would be spilling out everywhere onto the dirt. I don't think we've ever been within 30 feet of the grass before, much less on it. We like that center grass section there - not quite so crowded as the front lawn, but not so incredibly far away as the back lawn (and no chance of getting hit with a flying ball of some sort since the back lawn is usually home to a volleyball net or pickup football game or something).
We went ahead and bought a lemonade cup, since for $8 we can refill it an unlimited amount of times for the whole day. We've always bought these at SWC and the kids all share it, although I'm pretty sure they love filling the cup at the spigot on the side of the wagon more than they even like the lemonade itself. They take turns throughout the day running over to the wagon to fill it. It's seriously a good deal for $8 a day, and when the weather is hot and sunny (unlike this year), it's a great way to make sure they stay hydrated out there.
Once we'd set up our area on the lawn, we left everything there and headed back across the grounds again. K and C decided they wanted to get their faces painted, and I really wanted to visit the vendor tents, which we hadn't been in yet at all.
The girls at the face painting tent were hardcore today. A few of them were definitely semi-professional, even though there were still stencils being used by many and some were still trying to get the hang of it, but when K sat down and asked to have her face painted like a tiger... the whole room was stunned. I think the girls got lucky being the first kids of the day. There's no way they could have kept up that level of makeup with all of the kids in line.
an orange base layer
the artist
the girl said she looked like a giant Cheeto
About this time, C's artist was finishing up her artwork. C had asked her to paint a ball python on her cheek (shocker!) and the girl had actually pulled up a picture of a ball python on her cell phone to work from. She even let C see the pictures and pick the one that looked most like Ginger for her to work from.
the snake shape is easy
but the pattern is a little more difficult
Done! One happy customer...
Meanwhile, K's girl was still working on what was apparently an extreme face-painting session. I didn't see another kid for the rest of the day that looked anything like this. I mean, she could have joined Cirque du Soleil right on the spot! And all for free, even!
painting the stripes
painting the eyes
the finished product - amazing!!
she even made her eyelashes orange somehow!
We got a lot of stares and gawking wherever we went for the rest of the day, even after the lips had worn off completely. It was quite impressive!
Next, we made our way to the vendor tents which houses both the artists' merchandise booths and a variety of other small businesses from t-shirt printers to painters to college information booths and inspirational CD messages. Most of the bands also give autographs inside of this tent, either before or after their time on stage. Audio Adrenaline is in here right now along with some band I haven't heard of before. I've always loved the fact that they do this, and it's kind of fun to be so close to these bands. We've gotten autographs from some of them before, and pictures, too. I remember A's infatuation with Hawk Nelson and the line we waited in to get her bag signed. I also remember a stint standing in line waiting to meet Kutless, a band that's nearly always here at SWC, but is missing from the line-up this year. Both of those bands have had some changes within their groups in the last year, but I hope to see them back here soon. Although it would be a change, I'm sure, to see Hawk Nelson without their lead vocalist of 10 years, Jason Dunn.
Suddenly C is upset with me because Matthew West isn't here and she wants his autograph - badly. Apparently he's her new favorite person in the whole world, thanks to that song about port-a-potties I shared yesterday. She wants to buy his $25 t-shirt and then changes her mind and has to have the $700 autographed electric guitar. Sigh. If only I could have seen this infatuation coming, I would have brought her here yesterday to see him. I'm sure he was at these very tables smiling and joking with people and signing tons of autographs.
Eventually we make our way out of the vendor tent having only bought a plush fuzzy mustache for Jessey and some buttons from Bob Smiley's table. There's a few empty tables in here, but it's still pretty full, which I'm glad to see. It's hard to know how many artist merch tables already packed up, because some leave their stuff all weekend and some don't.
Somewhere between the vendor tents and the concert lawn, A realizes she's been 'pinned'. We see these every year here but never remember how fun it is to play with them, and we always forget that we've said in past years we'd bring some and do it ourselves. She tries to pin it on Bailey's family, but they're all too smart for her. She's too shy to walk up to a stranger and try to clip it to them. I can't blame her - I definitely wouldn't have done it at that age either. Hopefully Bailey kept it moving through the crowd for us.
There's no sign of Grace and Gabriel's family today anywhere on the lawn, so the girls amuse themselves setting up forts and snack stores with the chairs and blankets all afternoon.
K's snack shop. Want to buy something?
A's fort
There's a tiger in there somewhere
Mike and I listen to Esterlyn and the Rhett Walker Band as I very anxiously await the return of Audio Adrenaline to the stage. Now that the Newsboys are sans Peter Furler, the only band I can think of that I would want to see come back more than Audio Adrenaline is dcTalk itself, and considering we've seen Toby Mac several times here and the new frontman for The Newsboys is Michael Tait, it's ironic that the third man from dcTalk, Kevin Max (or K-Max for dcTalk fans), who has been missing all these years, will be the one bringing Audio Adrenaline back to us.
The girls pose in the hats I made for them this weekend
In the break between bands, the K-Love booth plays "Monkey Commando", using a giant air cannon to shoot t-shirts and stuffed animals into the crowds. Honestly, your odds are probably less than a hundred to one to catch one, but to my girls, that still meant there was a chance. We ran up close to the stage, and not a single monkey or t-shirt came anywhere near us. Oh well. At least I got to hear Bob Smiley crack some jokes (he's on the far right). Jessey and I always watched his late-night comedy show, but with no one here to side with me, I'm stuck missing his show and taking the tired girls back to camp long before midnight.
Finally, Audio Adrenaline takes the stage. The voice I've missed the most from dcTalk is back singing awesome songs like "Kings and Queens". The previous lead vocalist from Audio A, Mark Stuart, makes a heart-wrenching guest appearance via recording. After six years he can still barely speak due to severely damaged vocal chords, but he had the courage to speak out about what happens when the one thing you think is the most important thing in your life is taken away from you. Who are you then? What do you become? Are you still worthwhile? Do you still have a purpose? I can't imagine what it would be like to have the one thing you felt was your gift and calling suddenly gone like that, and I'm thankful he took the time to share his thoughts and emotions with us.
K-Max is a fabulous addition to Audio A. After seeing Michael Tait a few times and now hearing from Kevin, it's pretty clear that a conflict of egos likely caused the breakup of dcTalk. Thirteen years later, fans are still begging for a comeback. dcTalk is the band that many of us feel sort of started it all. They made Christian rock music, rap music, and energetic cross-over hits ok for the first time, breaking new ground throughout the 80's and 90's. They've teased the thought of reunion for years, appearing in cameos at each other's solo concerts and hinting at a possible future reunion, although that now seems more and more bleak as each member now has their own separate bands. I'm sure the cameos will continue, although there's none here tonight.
During this concert, Kevin talks about the last 13 years of his life, how he's made some bad choices and lived his life out of God's will. It's a humble and welcome sentiment that I'm glad he has the courage to share. His humility in joining the band and recognizing its legacy is something Michael Tait, sadly, has never done, instead choosing to bask in the spotlight and avoiding the huge, familiar hits of the past in favor of the new tracks The (new) Newsboys have released since he's been on board. Crowd favorites like "Shine" and "The Breakfast Song" get a 15-second interlude each, with the rest of the Newsboys joking that he doesn't know any more words to the song than that. It suddenly dawns on me that this might actually be true. Maybe filling the shoes of Peter Furler is just way too much to ask. Anyone who has ever seen Peter Furler in concert or heard him speak would understand why. He is truly a gift to anyone who has the privilege of being at his concerts. Following in the footsteps of Carman Licciardello and Rich Mullins, some lead singers just have that gift. It's rare and it's amazing, and I really, really miss it.
Don't get me wrong, The Newsboys are still a very popular band. Their ridiculous touring schedule (which is the reason Peter decided to step down from the band in the first place) has still kept up its insane pace, one that clearly shows in the exhaustion and lack of enthusiasm the band shows in increasing amounts from year to year. Gone are the stage tricks and lengthy encouraging messages. Gone are the thoughts of signing autographs or making personal connections with the audience. Gone are the magical moments when Peter would sing "Let it Rain" and it actually would (it actually did once - I was there!) or the renditions of "He Reigns" that would give you goosebumps and bring tears to your eyes. Gone are the moments when everyone in the crowd would pull out their boxes of Cap'n Crunch and throw cereal all over everyone during "The Breakfast Song". No more Jonah in the belly of the whale, either. It's ok, though. The band is still reaching people all over the world, and while I mourn quietly for what was, I rejoice that I got to experience it at all, in the first place.
As The Newsboys finish their final songs, the night is turning very cold and the fog has rolled in thick and wet. I start to think about that tarp on the ground and the exposed tent we left behind. I hope the inside of the tent stays dry until we can get back up there. We wake up K who's fallen asleep again and pack up the wagon to head back up that hill towards camp.
Mike is actually planning to drive home tonight. He has finals next week and needs to study and finish his homework. I'm sad he can't stay, but I'm glad he took the time to come and spend the day down here. This is the first time he's ever been at SWC. It's probably best he gets a head start, too. I'm sure we'll work at a snail's pace packing up camp tomorrow morning, and we're hoping to have some time to spend at the beach, too. He sticks around for a few extra minutes to tie the ground cover to the top of the tent. It's fabric, so it'll be really quiet in the wind, and it will provide plenty of coverage for us tonight while we sleep, without making it too difficult to pack up tomorrow. He took the big tarp home to air it out along with a couple of flat air mattresses that failed us the first couple of nights. We say our goodbyes and he heads down the hill for a long drive home. I've done that drive many times and I definitely don't miss it this year!
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