The eye of Portland is upon you

The Old Port Festival was held this weekend. This is a 3 day affair held in Portland in the Old port section of the waterfront.
I lived in the Old port in my 20s. It was a great time. Irish bars, late night omelets, first dates , bad dates, dance in the snow dates, wild and crazy times. I was 100 lbs with hair down to my 19 inch waist and crazy and in love with life. I am still surprised sometimes that we made it through.
The port was absolutely packed. I have never seen so many people there. There were children and moms and dads and dogs. Did I mention dogs? I just have to ask. Ok about 85 degrees wall to wall people and some people brought their dogs. On that blistering hot pavement. Six different stages with incredibly loud music. I saw a husky, an Australian Shepard, pugs, and a ton of goldens. I don't get it. It made me sick to my stomach and I had to walk away. I think that is true abuse.
On the waterfront there was a big Ferris wheel. Patty and I were going to ride it as way cool pictures would be taken! An hour wait in line in the heat nixed that idea.
So we had ice cream.
I do have some rules for attending festivals. ( rules are my thing)
1) if you are a 5'4" very Caucasian man weighing over 150 AND are wearing silky basketball shorts and a tank top with a basketball players name on it, get off the drugs. You will not have hoards of people flock to you and ask for your autograph.
2) red shoes, red socks, red shorts, red tshirt, = a fashion crime has been committed.
3) how many times do I have to ask people to pull up their pants? I saw so many pairs of white Calvin Klein underwear. I am really happy that in this society women are pleased with their bodies and are comfortable with showing them off. No body image problems here. On the other hand,
See below
4) if you look up Old Port Festival I think it just says
Undergarments are optional.
5) try the fresh squeezed lemonade. It was wonderful
6) go the the Alex and Ani bangle bar and buy a bracelet from my niece Sam.
7) I would recommend not imbibing in a ton of alcohol.
Because basically it makes you stink. Really stink.
8) if a bar states no smoking, then smoking right outside the door is stupid. There I said it.
9) sunscreen and wide brim hat will save your life.
10) walk away from the crowd, head down to the docks and sit by the water. Breathe deep. Let the cool breeze wash over you and smell the salty air. Do this with a good friend and it will be the best part of a great afternoon. Yes even better than the ice cream!

We spent 3 hours there and I am exhausted. 400 is early. See you tomorrow. Oh and it may be chilly tomorrow so don't forget your green cardigan.