Long StRaNgE trip: Part III

According to my friend Toddy, the Oakdale Theater in Wallingford,CT is one of the best places to have an indoor concert. After the Furthur show there on 4/7/12, I wholeheartedly agree.

This seemingly mild mannered venue is home to some of the
most rockin'  shows I have ever experienced

I drove into Wallingford,CT around 2pm and I stopped at a gas station about a block from the venue to fill up when I heard a familiar sound coming from an abandoned parking lot next door. I drove over to check it out and sure enough it was about 15 other vendors  hanging out blasting some Grateful Dead while they waited for the venue lot to open at 4. I ended up running into a vendor friend of mine who sells pulled pork on lot so we got to catch up for a while.
The lots ended up opening an hour early. And this is just one of the many reasons why the Oakdale ROCKS: As we drove in, they asked us if we were vending or not and gave all of the vendors prime time parking and let the scene rage all day with no hassles. I was having such an amazing time talking to people and running into friends I haven't seen in months that I didn't even realize how much money I was making. I ended up making enough to support me the rest of the tour!!

Oakdale Lot

 I had spent the whole day with Billy, my friend that sells the pork sandwiches, and he had told me that he did not have a ticket yet. That posed a problem because the WHOLE TOUR has been sold out for months!! So when it was time to pack up, Billy had still not found a ticket. I promised him I would look on my way in. About 10 feet away from our spot, I saw another vendor that I had a long conversation with in Boston. I stopped to ask him how he did that day and as we got to talking, he told me that he had an extra for that night's show! I couldn't believe my luck! So Billy bought the ticket and we went in.

The beautiful sunset as we were walking towards the
venue. This pic just does not do it justice. 

The line was a little slow getting in and I ended up missing the first song. :( But not long after I was there I ran into my Connecticut friends and we chilled the rest of the night.

To say the least, the show was stellar, and what made everything so much better, was that the staff was SO cool. They were friendly and let you dance in the isles. No hassles that night, it's great when they just let you be. I danced in the isle with friends from Connecticut, Ithaca and NYC. Even ran into some new friends I had made out in the parking lot that day. Everywhere I turned there was a happy or familiar face.  I knew I was just where I was supposed to be. And the song choices where out of this world. It could not have been better even if I wrote the set list myself.
After the show I half-assed tried to sell necklaces. At that point I was way more into socializing than selling. I did make $10 though!
Security let the scene rage on even after I left the venue. I had a 45 min drive to a friend's house ahead of me and I was already getting tired.
When I showed up at my friend Mikey's, it was a mad house! There were about 8 or 9 people staying there and a couple of dogs running around the house. Most folks stayed up partying until the wee hours, but I had a long trip ahead of me early in the morning so I went to bed.
I'm pretty sure I fell asleep that night with a smile on my face. For me, a day doesn't get much better when you have been surrounded by good people, close friends and great music.
Up next: 4 shows at the Beacon Theater in NYC and a spoon hunt road trip!