And now...

For a video interlude...

Our Four-Month-Old Traveling Baby

Levon

So the reason we went to Woodstock at all was so Mary could wrap up the documentary about Levon. We saw (and shot) two awesome shows - one with Bob Dylan and one with Billy Bob Thornton. It wasn't determined if he remembers meeting Mary years ago, but he was awfully nice. And David remembered how to record sound like it was riding a bike.

On our last day, we stopped by Levon's to say goodbye to everybody, and Danny got a little funky with Levon's skins.


Rad.

Danny met Levon too.

Levon to Danny: "You lost your shoes!"

Radder.

The Butt

This photo requires no description. In her defense, the photo was my idea.

Mornings in Woodstock

Jet lag was not a friend to Danny's emerging sleep schedule, and Mom was pretty wiped out. Every morning at about 6:30 or 7am, Danny would be rarin' to go, and Dad would drag himself out of bed, get a coffee at the Cub Market next door, and walk to see the hawks. OK, mildly creepy, but educational...

See, it's a lot of hawks. David counted, I think, 27 of them one time.

Then he'd come back and read whilst Danny napped in the Ergo.

Aww.

The Creek

Phase Three - Woodstock

Five hours in the car later, we finally arrived in Woodstock. Well, Bearsville, technically, just over the line. Boy, it's beautiful up there.

Gramma La and Mr. Bob were already settled into the converted barn we rented for the week. Even though Gramma La had to defrost huge chunks of ice from the freezer, and we were using camping dishes, the spectacular yard trumped everything:


That's where we stayed, and this swing is under a huge Macintosh apple tree, which was dropping apples like crazy. Delicious apples. And every day these guys would come and eat them:


I say "these guys," because if you look really hard, you'll see a wee bunny rabbit's ears behind the young doe. He has a brother somewhere nearby, and a mama too. These guys were fearless.

Gramma La and Danny spent a lot of time in that yard over the next week.



Aww.

Phase Two - Delaware

Grammy Di and Pops were our shuttle service back and forth to the Amtrak station, even with Pops and his bad back. We ate some pizza, grabbed some shut-eye, then were back on the road. No time for pictures, we've got more road to cover!

Danny, Future Amtrak Conductor

Tickets, please!! Where's your ticket, lady?!?!? No free rides!

So, Danny liked the plane enough, but Danny LOOOOOVED the train. But really, who doesn't? Lots of room and lots to see out of the window. Friendly people and a snuggly blanket. Heaven.

Phase One - Virginia

So after a pretty uneventful (thank God) plane ride, the first stop on our whirlwind East Coast tour was Midlothian, where Danny met his Aunt Elizabeth, Uncle Brad, Mr. Lynn, and Great-Grandfather. Nana set us up quite spectacularly with a home-away-from-home, including the same bathtub and what we'll call "Relaxation Station East." A great time was had by all.

Four Generations (photo by Annie Leibowitz)

How often do you get to see this? Pretty cool.

Please Stand By

We have been in Virginia, Delaware, Woodstock, New York, and back to Delaware. We will post pictures and updates once we get back to Virginia.

3,511 miles down; 3,040 miles to go.

Cuddly...and matching!

Awwwwww

So for about a week now, we've wondered if Danny has started teething. He's been drooling a lot, a little fussier than normal, and has been chomping away on his hands like they are delicious chicken legs.

Well, after today, there is no doubt that's what's going on. He's constantly making this "mmmmm" sound as he presses his wee gums against his lips...it's awfully sad. And he just can't get to sleep very well.

Anyway, after checking out a few baby carriers for our upcoming trip to the East Coast, we decided upon the Ergo. Our friends lent us their Bjorn, but he's getting a bit too big, and it kind of hurts after a while. We have slings, and are sure they are awesome, but we can't figure them out. The Ergo, seen here, is super, well, ergo. You can put him on your back, on your hip, or in the front. The weight is spread out on your hips and your shoulders. We tried it in the store and he was happy as a clam.

After a long day of fussing and general teething yuckiness, we went for our walk. We put him in here to get him used to it, and this was him at the end. Note the wee fingers grasping the side. Neither one of us wanted to take him out.

Poor little peanut...

Push-ups

Impressin' the ladies...

Me and My Shadow

He's singing the Sammy Davis, Jr. part. I'm singing Frank.

Taken at the Farmer's Market before things went horribly, horribly awry:

Tired Danny + live music + loads of people + Krishna parade = Super Cranky Danny™.

Big Boy Seat

After a day of non-stop chattering....

I mean, literally, non-stop chattering...

I mean, seriously, literally, non-stop chattering...

I mean, poor Woody was near a nervous breakdown from the high-pitched squealing...

we decided to see if Mr. Big Boy Chatterbox wanted to take a walk with his Big Boy Seat.

He seemed into it.  Can't you tell?  Any way he can kick his feet in the air is A-OK with him.

David's Very Informational Version of Events

"You're out of order! You're out of order! The whole zoning hearing is out of order! They're out of order!"

-Danny

We attended the zoning hearing on Thursday to hear arguments from the new owners who want to build a "monolithic" structure and have asked for a variance regarding the mandatory 3-foot set-back on residential buildings. They would like it to be zero feet. Our landlord argued that since the building is intended to be a residence (on the second floor), that it cannot be built with a zero-foot setback and expressed concern for their plan to dig within feet of the water table. The owners argued that there are many residences on Main Street and Abbot Kinney that are zoned for commercial use but have residences built on the property right up to the property line. We stressed that a 35 foot high wall on the property line would significantly cut the circulation in the house. They argued that the house would be cooler since the 35 foot high wall would essentially block out the sun.

The new owners did not appear to be ready for the hearing. One showed up late (and sweaty). They had not completed geological surveys and a few other necessary zoning obligations. Mrs. Chang listened to what everyone had to say up to a point, saying to the owners of the property next door, "You've had your chance to speak." She delayed her decision regarding the structure and the variance for two weeks, pending submittal of more paperwork by the new owners and photos showing residences in the area that have been built with zero-foot setback in the area. Mrs. Chang also asked them how would they like it if someone built a 35 foot high wall right on the property line next to where they lived.

The owners seemed like nice fellows. When we got home, it looked like they were leaving our property. We think that they may have stopped by to introduce themselves. Frankly, we don't care what they build, as long as they start demolition late next spring.

Bottom line, it doesn't seem like they will be demolishing anything any time soon. (cue the bulldozer) 

Mary's Highly Dramatic Version of Events

"How was the hearing?" 

In a word, awkward.

(For those of you who don't know, Big Evil Development Company, LLC wants to build a 42-foot structure on the property line next to us; i.e. 3 feet from our window.)

(Also, I was in and out with Danny, so I missed a lot.)

The good (great) news is that Big Evil Development Company, LLC was late to the hearing, extremely sweaty, and flustered.  They dropped words like "monolithic" to describe what they hoped to build, which seemed, well, dumb.  Especially since they were up against Little Good Guys:  our landlord, Warren, who has owned the property for 50+ years and stands for all that once was decent in the world; his incredibly lovely son wearing a rainbow shirt and Chuck Taylors (clenching our win); and, of course, the Pants family, including a squealing Danny in the back.   Mom dressed him in his light blue outfit for maximum cuteness and pitiability, which may not be a word, but you get my point.  

I am proud to say that Mr. Pants got up to the podium and laid his own polite smack-down, arguing that a wall there would essentially leave us sweating to death with no cross-breeze.  Sweating to death in the dark mind you, since this wall will cut out all sun until about 4pm.  BEDC, LLC comes back with "A wall will shade your property, making it cooler, so ventilation isn't an issue."  At this hilarity, two dudes in the gallery waiting for the next hearing laughed right out loud.  Mr. Pants, this time from his seat, retorts that the shade won't help us after 4pm, when we need the cross-breeze the most.  At which point Ms. Chang, the no-nonsense Zoning Administrator, said she had heard enough.

So, we think we have at least a few months.  Ms. Chang laid out approval after approval that BEDC, LLC still needed even if this went through, and I think she's going to deny this variance anyway.  Looks like they're going back to the drawing board, literally.  Phew.  I mean, PHEW.  

The bad news is that something's going up there, and it ain't gonna be pretty.  I think Warren is getting tired of fighting like so many George Baileys against so many Mr. Potters.  He invited his realtor buddy to the hearing, who was bandying about terms like "get rid of it," "just let me know," and the worst one of all..."condo."  In 10 years, when we want to show Danny where he was born, there's going to be a Starbucks here, I just know it.

So why awkward?  Well, first, the guys from BEDC, LLC seemed kind of nice, actually.  I suspect developers aren't used to being greeted with whole audiences full of adorable babies making them look bad.  And the room was small, making it...cozy.  Maybe Ms. Chang is always that critical, but I suspect our being there made her especially hard on them, like when she cut the one guy off mid-sentence with "You've had your turn."  The guy came up to us afterwards, when we were gathered around like a victorious high school basketball team, and tried to introduce himself.  But he ended up walking away after telling me I'd forgotten my milk cooler (which, of course, David had picked up).  It was like the scene in "Some Kind of Wonderful" where the cool guy kind of makes peace with Eric Stoltz...you were enemies a minute before, and now it's just, you know, awkward.

And we got home to see them just leaving our property, perhaps to introduce themselves.  Or perhaps they were nosing around...see, I'm not sure they're not totally evil.  I heard them measuring their setback that afternoon (hence why demolition and any construction might be completely intolerable - I could clearly make out the sound of a TAPE MEASURE), and now I worry about running into them on the street.  

Mary: "Hello, evil developer!"

ED:  "Hello, cog in the wheels of my world domination!"

Mary:  "Hope you have a bad day!"

ED:  "I'm releasing termites into your yard when I get back, so I know you will!

You get the drift.

Anyway, bottom line:  Mr. Pants was awesome, even though I missed most of it.  Danny, I believe, is solely responsible for the zoning denial.  We bought a few months, and that's all we really cared about.  But, it's time to really start the mourning process for 1414 Main Street.  Sniff.

Grab

Danny is now enjoying his Wacky Action Floor Play Zone®. It has a mirror for him to admire his visage. It rocks some mean Mozart tunes. But here, he is smitten with the parrot on a perch. He is curious about the various animals and is reaching out to them. Sadly, he is ignoring the monkey today. Perhaps better luck with that later.