mother in law took some pics at the fourth of july parade. It worked out well for this year and a month update.

 
The Lovely Kelly and Maxosaurus.


Fire trucks are loud.

There seems to be more people commenting on my beard lately. A lot of "aren't you hot with that thing?" To which I reply "Nope, I'm not wearing underwear." 
I went to see Trampled by Turtles a few weeks ago. For those not familiar with the band, they play this new style, kind of progressive bluegrass music that seems to be popular with the gypsy/hippie/free-spirit crowd... Lots of beards and lots of beard lovers in attendance and my beard got a lot of attention. Mostly just "hey man, nice beard..." but there was a few interesting encounters. The first was this beardless guy who came up to me, shook my hand and said, "I haven't seen a beard like that since the Appellation Trail." I asked him where his beard was and he said that he had to shave it after he returned to the "real world." I replied "Real world... where the hell am I?" Later on while standing in line for beer, a dude with a short beard approached  and struck up a conversation about beards. He made it to the bar before me and ended up buying a six-pack because the line was so long. As he passed he handed me a bottle and said "Here's one for your beard." There were some ladies who commented on the beard... some were even good looking. The best comment wasn't a comment at all, really. While passing by, this attractive young lady stopped in front of me, looked at my beard and then directly into my eyes. She reached up with both hands and slowly ran her fingers through my beard. When she reached the bottom she smiled and continued on her way. It made my night... The Lovely Kelly, who was standing right next to me was not amused, however.

My bucket's got a hole in it.