That sweet outdoor sound

Tuesday was the second evening of Music in the Park. The first evening, ten nights prior, featured a very competent soul/funk band and several beers each. While taking in the music we noticed:

a) large numbers of dogs
b) the people in front of us with fancy picnic paraphenalia, including special dishes with which to put salt on the rims of their margarita glasses, a rolling cooler, and a cocktail shaker.

Jealous outdo-ers that we are, we decided to show them just how fancy we could get, too. A few ideas were thrown out - creme brulee, with blow-torched crust; champagne, quiche, and fancy cheese; and of course a rolling cooler.

So on Tuesday we rolled in with the cooler, some Old Chatham Nancy Camembert from Whole Foods, and the two lonely bottles of champagne that had been pining for just such an occasion in my fridge for the last couple months. The zucchini-bacon-Gruyere quiche I made went over very well, as did Mari's creme brulee, which we scarfed down in three minutes, our forks darting in and out of the pyrex dish with abandon.

The best single moment, however, was the pop of the first bottle of champagne, and the cork's long ascent straight up into the air. It was the sound of exuberance. We all watched it rise up over the crowd, heads turning and craning up, smiles broadening in recognition. It's shorthand for celebration, champagne, and I'm sure everyone thought we were feting a birthday or a promotion or some other event, and it was even nicer for us to know that no, we're just celebrating the fact that we're outside, the night is warm, the swing band is great and the dancers are having a blast, and we're together, at least for a few hours, to enjoy all of it.