After the 7/31/2003 show in Camden, my wife and I drove straight out of the hood and followed the north star all night long to Maine. We were both very excited for IT, having seen both Camden shows and Burgettstown on this tour. We were meeting friends and family, including my father, either outside the festival in the car line or inside the grounds. We made it to Limestone in the late morning/early afternoon of 8/1. My cell phone had fluctuating reception, so locating everyone was not as easy as we had expected it to be. My dad, being from New Jersey, was in Maine for a few days visiting my aunt, so we were trying to find him first. He had seen his first show at Hershey Park on 9/15/2000 and had also gone to the first Bonaroo with our whole crew the summer before. He wasn't a huge fan of Phish, but he was definitely excited to have a good time with his aging kids.

We had already been in line for about an hour and a half before I had a signal and got a hold of my dad. As we were trying to figure out our spots in line in relation to each other, an ambulance drove by with the sirens blaring. He said that ambulance had just passed him a moment before and we were able to find each other a minute or two later. He was only about twenty cars behind me. The two infamous guys from Massachusetts featured in the film Bittersweet Motel that talk about schwag and chicks that don't shave their pits were parked in front of my dad. He was talking with them and their crew for a while and he introduced me to them. I found it to be very amusing.

I pulled over, let my dad catch up, and we followed each other into the search line. My dad diligently took various vitamins everyday and for some reason had his trunk filled with all kinds of vitamins. This did not go over well with the security at the gates. After explaining himself for a few intense minutes with "the man," we all got through and everything was fine. The sun was still out and the time had come to find my sisters and everyone else. To make a long story short, everyone was found.

I watched the first set of 8/2/2003 from a grassy knoll towards the back center of the concert field. AC/DC Bag opened things up nicely, followed by Ya Mar. The entire front area towards the stage was a big mud pit, so it struck me right away with the line, "Remember all them times in the bog." Yes I do! The rest of the set was well played and a lot of fun, featuring a really good Runaway Jim and Reba.

At set break, some of us ventured off through the muddy paths to where the RV's were parked. One of my sisters was staying with friends from New Brunswick, NJ in their rented RV, so we hung with them and had some beers between sets. Somehow we all ended up with Groucho Marx mustache glasses, exactly like the one on the water tower. Someone was well prepared.

We made our way back to the field for set two, just in time for the Down with Disease opener. NICU emerged from Disease, followed by my second Brother of the week! After the Bowie set closer, we perused the enchanted forest area, with the tape in the trees, half-buried Big Boy, rock garden, and "ball art."

We caught the third set from the same spot as the second set. Rock and Roll>Seven Below>Scents and Subtle Sounds lasted for about forty-five minutes, going all over the place. I needed some wine from all of the cheese of Spread It Round. Bug closed down the set.

The encore of Dog Log>Mango song was one of my favorite moments from the whole festival. The night ended for me in the wee hours after I laid on the ground and watched the crazy tower jam happen above me. It was a quiet walk back to the tent after a fun and exciting day in Vacationland.