VERMONT SURPRISE

HOW IT ALL STARTED PART II

PREFACE

This is a recap of our second day in Vermont, when I found out that my recent bride had discovered her enjoyment of wetlook. We were still in the experimental stages of this new kind of play and were just learning that if we paid attention, there seemed to be more than a few people around who either liked getting their clothes wet, or didn't care if they got their clothes wet. Or if we did, we'd have company- some just didn't like going first. By the way, this story is a collaboration of her and I. Even though we're divorced, we still get along. She was talking about some of the stuff we did when we first got married and this came up, so I told her about the other stories I posted. She was mad until she read them, and then brought up the pumpkin race. We got a good laugh, and I started typing. It's a long read for a story that recaps maybe 2 hours, if that, of a Sunday afternoon, but we got all the details in. Cindy and Marie are real, and at some point I'll probably put one together about a second adventure with them involving mud. The mud was a one and done for us both, but it was interesting, to say the least. So enjoy it if you will!


We woke up at least partially hung over from all the champagne the night before. Fortunately the coffee was ready, and it took 3 cups to get our bearings. It wasn't until Sue went to shower that the reminder of how far we had gone came back to us. Ugh did you see the pile of wet clothes? came out loud and clear from the bathroom. Yup we'll throw them in the laundry during breakfast I replied, not yet realizing that they'd fill a trash bag. But we did. We showered, dressed, and gathered up our stuff and headed to the laundry room. Sorting and putting them in one of the larger dryers, we got a couple funny looks from a woman in there who was folding her clothes. Finally she smiled and asked Get a little carried away with the hot tub? Sue looked embarrassed and neither of us said anything at first until the woman smiled, pointed to her pile of clothes and said Us too! and kind of giggled. We laughed, blamed it on the alcohol, and headed off to the dining room. Sue was in a lighthearted mood and kept commenting and laughing about the night before.
Then she hit me with it: I really like the feel of my clothes being wet she said. Especially when I first get in and I feel them soaking up the water. She told me that when we were in the rain, the slow wetting and then the warm damp feel, particularly around her neck, turned her on. She never anticipated going all-in in the hot tub, rather she had planned to accidentally get wet showing me how the showers worked. She actually had planned to get me in the room, turn on one of the heads, and then accidentally push the lever that gave the 360 degree water spray. During breakfast she said that she figured that if we got partially wet, I'd just say the heck with it and go in with her. So she had planned it all along- much to my delight, of course.
The rest of breakfast was spent discussing getting wet, what we liked, didn't like, and what was next..

It was still raining, though harder than the previous day, as we collected our things from the laundry room and packed to head back home. Checkout wasn't until noon, and we took our time, watched some TV, and read the Sunday paper. At some point, Sue found an article about a big Fall Festival going on in Brattleboro. She decided that's our plan for the day, even though it was an outdoor event and the weather was lousy. I called ahead to the Chamber of Commerce to see if it had been cancelled and was told it was still going on, but bring your umbrella.

I passed the information on to Sue and her reply was well, if it's raining, we just have to dress properly with a big grin on her face. Okay, I'm game I replied, what's your plan? She told me that she wanted to get wet slowly and enjoy the feel of it seeping through her clothes until she's moist and warm. Off came her khaki dockers and western shirt. She put on a pair of black pantyhose, and pulled on tight fitting jeans, and slipped on her knee-high boots. She dug through her suitcase and found a bright blue ribbed turtleneck sweater which she put on over a mock neck t-shirt, and to top it off, she took out a heavier white wool turtleneck sweater and tied the sleeves around her neck, draping it over her shoulders. She finished off her look with a Red Sox baseball hat, which she pulled her ponytail through the back of.
Ready to play she said as I fumbled around trying to decide what to wear. I had made it as far as getting my jeans and boots on, Here, let me help you she said, as she grabbed a black cotton turtleneck, a thick, black LL Bean blue jeans turtleneck sweater, and an LL Bean canvas shirt. Throw those on and put on a baseball hat, you'll look fine she told me. And so I did, and we were off.

The trip south went quickly, the weather was mixed fog, some breaks of sun, showers, and a downpour. Three or four times, Sue pointed out places along the West River that might be good for a swim someday. Just north of Brattleboro we spotted a waterfall from a brook, a waterfall preceded by over a hundred yards of flat, slippery rock used by the locals as a waterslide. We are definitely coming back here she told me. (And we did at a later date, which will be a shorter story itself).

We parked in a field near the Grafton cheese store and headed into the city on foot, like everyone else. Right from the beginning, she noticed that we didn't really stand out in the crowd, dressed pretty much like everyone else, for the fall temps, and like about a third of the crowd, no raincoats. It drizzled, it showered, and we hiked on, to the different displays and food sampling, not really noticing if we were wet or not. But some others were- including a group of five women who had to be stoned. They had apparently been out all day, and they were laughing and having a good time. Dressed pretty much like Sue, two of them had raincoats on, but they were wet anyway. And they couldn't help but splashing in every puddle they encountered along the way, laughing and shrieking so loud you could hear them above all else. Obviously having a lot of fun!

As we headed back to the parking area, we noticed a crowd along the river, near where they launch boats. Not only were there a lot of people, there was a ton of pumpkins! Big, huge, gigantic pumpkins..and a fire truck. Most of the crowd moving in the same direction as us was headed there. It didn't take long for us to find out that the annual pumpkin boat race was starting soon.

Long after the gigantic pumpkins are judged at the agricultural fairs, there is an open invitation to compete in a boat race using the hollowed-out shells as the vessel. There are very few rules, other than the contestants must reach a marker set out about a hundred yards from shore, and then return to the starting point. Almost, perhaps everyone, gets a prize of some sort, the main one being five hundred dollars. There were pumpkins with sails, pumpkins with motors, and pumpkins with paddles protruding waiting for their sailors. As bizarre as some were, the contestants were quite a lot themselves. Almost every one of them wore a costume of some type vikings, sailors, pirates, princesses, presidents, and a host of cartoon characters.

Many of the contestants had their own cheering sections, some of whom also wore similar costumes, or held signs cheering their racer. Overall, there must have been a couple hundred people lining the bank of the river to watch the race. We decided to hang around and watch the fun, and as we did, the light rain that had been falling came down a little harder. Sue asked for my keys and told me she was going to put her bag in the car, and took my wallet and cell phone as well. A few minutes later she returned, and brought along a piece of cardboard for us to shelter from the rain. Even though it had warmed up considerably since we started, the rain became steadier. Sue untied the white sweater from around her neck and pulled it on, telling me her other sleeves were wet and the rain was cold. There we stood, like many others, hiding from the rain under a piece of cardboard waiting for the race to begin. Finally, at exactly 4 p.m. an announcement was made to launch all boats and move to the starting line.

The costumed racers and their helpers pushed, shoved or carried their pumpkins down into the water at the boat ramp, moving just far enough away so they would float. The racers all boarded their vessels, not an easy task when it's round and shifts easily with your weight. Many of the crew stood in the water over their knees stabilizing the pumpkins until the racers were ready, then guiding them out to waist deep water. There, a couple of shirtless young guys in jeans and work boots , or firemen in dry suits, would shove the pumpkins out further toward the starting line.

Before the race had even begun, just about everyone was wet, either from the top down because of the rain, which was becoming steadier or from the bottom up helping the racers. On top of that, just about every kid there had been either wading, playing in the water, or splashing around. It must have been the warm weather and the relatively warm water, because even the teenagers and some adults thought nothing of walking through the water along the shoreline to either meet friends or find a better vantage point. Lots of folks were wearing muck boots, so in the shallow water it really didn't look suspect as they walked past. A closer look though revealed that many had stepped in deeper than the boots, but didn't really pay attention to it. It seemed like only those few dozen in the crowd wearing full rain gear and huddled under umbrellas were concerned about getting wet.

Soon, the boats were more or less lined up abreast along a line marked by floating milk jugs. The command was given to Get ready and paddles dipped to the water, a couple sails unfurled, and outboard motors started. On the command of Go pandemonium ensued. Boats headed off in all directions, some toppled over and flooded almost immediately. But many held true, and moved straight toward the finish line. One, with an outboard motor took the lead but couldn't keep a straight track, turning and dipping and making sharp corrections. The steady paddlers seemed to be making the best of their efforts, but not very quickly.

As the first pumpkins approached the turning point, the rain began to come down even harder, but it seemed that most of the crowd didn't notice because they were cheering on the racers. We finally shed our cardboard cover when it became so soaked it started falling apart. We weren't alone, either. More pumpkins reached the turning point and the crowd cheered them on. It seemed that there was going to be a contest between a paddler and a motorized pumpkin for first place, if the motorized one could steer straight. But others made the turn too. Some swamped trying to turn, one guy was outside his pumpkin trying to wade/swim and push it along after rolling over. The crowd kept cheering and waving and urging them all on. By now, in the pouring rain, some had stepped off the edge of the riverbank into the shallow water presumably to get closer to the action. It did not go unnoticed by either of us that adults holding small children, teenagers, and 20-somethings were standing from ankle to knee deep in the water urging and cheering the racers on.

All the while the race in the rain was heating up, those who didn't make it were trying to get their stuff out of the way and out of the water. Nearby a pirate with a motorized pumpkin dragged it ashore with the help of some bystanders. A dripping wet princess had the help of her fans who waded in and recovered her pumpkin and paddles. And there were others, in sopping wet costumes, bathing suits, or street clothes moving submerged pumpkins out of the way of the racers. As the crowd shifted, so did we, eventually finding ourselves at the edge of the river. There was a crowd in the water now, with everyone wanting to see the finish line, and we were no different. As people stepped off the bank into the shallow water and blocked our view, we followed suit without even thinking. As the water entered my boots, I noticed it was fairly warm. Sue hadn't noticed yet as her boots went to her knees. In between cheering for the racers and laughing at their mishaps, I mentioned it. She looked at me, walked out a few steps until it overflowed her boots, stood there and said Yes it is. She was now knee deep, and not alone by any means, so I joined her.

People in Vermont must be different in a sort of way. Standing there fully clothed in knee deep water with my wife, I realized that nobody cared, because half the people present were doing the same thing. There was a woman in at least her 60's in jeans, turtleneck and a flannel shirt to our immediate right, a group of 20 somethings to the left of us, teenagers winding their way through the crowd in one direction or another in knee deep water, and more than a few couples our age or older standing or splashing about. To the rear of us, further away from the finish line, two mothers, both holding red solo cups and both fully decked out in LL Bean clothes were chest deep in the water while their kids swam and played fully clothed. The older woman , whose name was Dorothy, was commenting to everyone in earshot that her son Brad was the third pumpkin back. Sue asked her about the pumpkin and got the whole story about the prize-winners on their farm, and more. Everyone seemed to want to talk, and watch the race, and cheer. And as they did, they moved further from shore, the water still being quite shallow.

Paddling a pumpkin takes a long time, even for a few hundred yards, so the race went on, there were a few mishaps, more than a few laughs, and plenty of cheering. As the first few pumpkins closed within 25 yds. The crowd went wild. Dorothys' son was tied for the number 2 position and as Dorothy cheered, she moved closer to the finish line and into deeper water, with Sue and I following along with the rest of the crowd. I happened to notice a girl with straight black hair wearing bib overalls over a thick turtleneck sweater with the sleeves rolled up along the shore. One minute she was moving along the shoreline, the next, she was standing next to Dorothy. Shorter than her mother, and a little chubby, Dorothy introduced her as Cindy. Between the cheers and screams, Cindy told us that she was in college in town and just got there. As Brad moved into second place and closed on first, Dorothy and Cindy went wild, so did some of their friends, and Sue and I followed suit, yelling, waving and urging Brad to paddle harder. With every wave of urging, we seemed to step out further into the water and closer to the finish line, but again, so did everyone else.

As the first two finishers raced neck and neck, I noticed that Sue and the other 2 were in water up to their thighs, then I realized that I was too! Suddenly, we were the furthest out of the crowd, but not by much. Brad made it across the line first, but not by much, followed by another local favorite. Cindy and Dorothy cheered and splashed some water in the air, and as Brad paddled past the finish line toward the boat ramp, they waved and yelled. Brad headed to where we all were as we watched the rest of the race, with still a dozen or more pumpkins inbound. As Brad got closer his smile was obvious, and Dorothy said to Cindy Why don't you flip him and wash that smile off his face ? As we cheered for Brad , Cindy asked Sue to help her, and Sue agreed. She looked at me and said Come on and Cindy said the same to Dorothy. A couple college age girls standing next to Dorothy seemed to know Brad and they joined us. So as we cheered and waved, and Brad paddled closer, we slowly moved out closer to him. It only took a couple steps and Cindy wanted to stop because the water was getting deeper. As much as we tried, it seemed that every time we cheered or waved, either at Brad or the others, the further out we went.
With water almost at our waists, we stopped. Cindy said I really don't feel like going swimming, this is far enough.
Sue stopped and kind of looked at me with a funny look, so did Dorothy -but the other 2 girls marched right past Cindy and swam a few strokes out to meet Brad. While we stood there in the water, Cindy told us they were Kelley and Kathy and they went to school with Brad. Kelley had on jeans and a hoodie and Kathy wore a striped rugby shirt, both had on old sneakers, and I suspected they had planned on this somehow.

The girls swam/bobbed/ waded alongside Brad until he reached us. Everyone moved up to the pumpkin and high-fived Brad. Dorothy was the last, and after the high-five she grabbed the side of the cutout pumpkin and yelled Get in here with us! Brad shifted to the other side and the boat didn't roll. Cindy grabbed the side with her mother as Brad splashed them with his paddle. Cindy yelled Help us Sue and Sue moved in and grabbed the side. It was a battle with Brad, hanging out the other side of the boat, at least until Kelley and Kathy grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him into the water. As soon as he left the boat, it rolled over toward the other women and they released their grip. The pumpkin filled with water and sank below the top of the river and all three women found out that they were now swimming in water nearly over their heads. Cindy was the loudest, Damn it, I said I didn't want to go swimming, now I'm soaked! but was met by Dorothys' swift reply of Oh shut up and enjoy it, you knew this was going to happen! The other 2 girls laughed and teased Cindy like this is the first time for you? Just be glad it's still warm, You were already wet from the rain and in the water up to your butt with mommy!. Sue was just kind of treading water next to Dorothy as they slowly bobbed toward shore when she looked at Cindy and said I don't care, I'm having fun, don't ruin it the other girls shot her a glance and they all laughed, so are we! they said.

Brad grabbed his paddles and life jacket and brought them to shore, then went back after his boat. Grabbing it, he tried pulling it towards shore, but while it was still barely floating, it was full of water. He looked at the women and they waded over, and Sue said to me How about you? I hadn't gotten completely wet yet, except of course from the rain, and I was only in just below my waist. I suppose so I said as I started over as the water climbed up the hem of my sweater. As I neared the boat the bottom dropped down quickly and suddenly I was floating, but feeling the weight of my clothes. Surprise Cindy said to me, about time you join us! At this point I really didn't care, and although the majority of the people in the water seemed to be women and kids, I was certainly not the only guy taking a fully-clothed dip.

We got the boat out, got all of Brads' things together, and kind of waded around in the rain watching the others come in. It was pretty much the same with most of the contestants, they crossed the line to cheers and waves, some intentionally swamped their boats, others paddled to shore. Most had a crew or bystanders to help them out of the boat and recover it from the water, very few in anything but street clothes, knee deep or deeper. We were dripping wet, our clothes hanging off us at first, but more than once we waded back in up to our waists to help recover a boat or carry in equipment. Dorothy didn't get much wetter, and Brad, Kathy and Kelley had towels and were drying off. But every time someone needed help, Cindy, who didn't want to go swimming, was right there, and she usually had Sue with her. I ended up going back out with them one more time for another sunken pumpkin and ended up fully drenched again.

Cindy, Sue and I dragged the pumpkin to the shallows and flipped it to drain the water and who should we see sloshing by but the five women from earlier. They were wet from the rain and up to their knees in the river. Giving me kind of a disgusted look, one of them asked Sue and Cindy How's the water? They both replied in unison Great! You ought to try it and the woman kind of snorted I don't think so. Don't be a bitch Paula one of her friends said, you're already wet I think I'm going, come with me. Paula said no way and suddenly her 4 friends walked past her, out toward the deeper water, Come on bitch they said as they stopped in water just above their knees. Paula sighed, Give these bitches some weed and a little bit of booze and you never know what's coming next as she walked past Sue and Cindy toward the deeper water.. Are you guys for real? she asked them and one of them said You're usually the leader, so lead the way. We heard her mumble Shit under her breath, and she stepped off for the deeper water. Soon her tan corduroys were below the surface and the water line was creeping up her purple sweater. She stopped and turned when it reached her breasts, and told 2 of them to get rid of the raincoats. They quickly ran out of the water and dropped them on the edge and returned to the river in their jeans, boots, and sweaters. Following Paulas' lead, they just meandered out into the stream until they had to swim, paddled a few strokes, and came back to where they could touch the bottom. They just stood there and talked and laughed, and splashed each other a bit. One girl was wearing a hooded sweatshirt, and had the hood pulled over her head. Paulas' sweater must have been made of wool, because she commented that she smelled like a wet sheep. The 2 who had been wearing raincoats were just wearing common crew neck sweaters, one over a button down shirt, the other over a turtleneck. The last girl had appeared to just be wearing jeans and a jean jacket with a light denim shirt, but under the denim shirt she had on a brick red ribbed turtleneck sweater as well. Sue, Cindy and I were still standing around in water near shore both watching these girls and the last remaining pumpkins coming in. They were a hoot they had been all over town all day long in the rain. I doubt that they planned on swimming, but I also doubt that they wouldn't have tried or done anything for a laugh. They were out for a day of fun and it was obvious!

As that happened, the remaining crowd started to leave and as many of them were walking in the water as walking on shore. Adults, kids, teenagers, apparently everyone already had wet feet at least, so they just kind of sloshed toward the boat ramp. A few of the teens were shoving each other into the deeper water, the little kids were in their soaked glory, the 2 LL Bean mommies apparently had their fill of wine as they walked by with their soaked brood.

One couple walked by us smiling, and then commenting about the girls. The woman had pointed to them and said Looks like they're having fun! He looked at her, grinned, and hip checked her out into deeper water and she screamed. So he grabbed her and did it again, only deeper. She reached down and splashed him, he splashed her back, and in a minute both their Lands End clad bodies were out by the girls, shoes, jackets, sweaters and all as they dunked each other. They splashed the girls by accident, which resulted in return splashing. Sue and Cindy were on the way, they wanted to be part of it too. They looked at me and said Well? so off I went. We barely got there and Brad and his two girls were back with us. End of the day fun? said Kelley. Yup, I answered. Blame them, pointing to Sue and Cindy.

It had to be the 60 degree air temperature and the 60 degree water in the middle of October, after weeks of frost and fall rains, and cool temperatures, or maybe it was just a last fling before winter, who knows? Maybe just because it was the end of a fun weekend, because inside of a few minutes, there had been about 30 people in and out the river with us.

Mostly it was the boaters and their crews taking a last dip after a few post-race beers. A group of teenage girls in jeans, sneakers, and hoodies, had been hanging there all afternoon, reluctantly watching, flirted with the idea until two of them just let out a scream and ran in, the others followed. The strangest one to catch my attention was the lumberjack. I watched a big blonde girl with pigtails dressed head to toe as a lumberjack complete with the boots, red checked wool shirt with a black turtleneck sweater underneath and even a toque on her head. She had been hanging around near the fire truck. She ended her conversation with one of the firemen and just walk down the boat ramp and join us in the neck deep water. She looked at us and said Might as well and told us, she was hot and had expected to be wet from a log rolling demonstration earlier, so she was coming for a swim.

It ended more abruptly as it started. People just started leaving, joining others on shore or slogging to their cars, stripping off any excess wet clothes. We followed suit, and as we hit the road, Cindy said Come on. 4 cars down was Dorothy, already changed into sweats, and pulling a pile of towels from the back seat. Dry off as best you can she said so we stripped off sweaters, dumped boots and wrung out socks. The female lumberjack sloshed over and Dorothy threw a towel at her. Here Marie, I've got one for you too, I'm surprised you didn't come prepared. She said Thanks, I have some, but you're closer. And they laughed.

She was taller than Cindy and looked down at her and said You're a lot cleaner than usual Pig-girl, And you don't stink like shit. Cindy replied Ya, I didn't have to wash myself off before ma would let me near the car either. Then she explained to us that she liked to wrestle pigs for money at the local fairs, and she was pretty good at it, since growing up on the farm had given her plenty of practice. Marie accused her of just liking to play in the mud like a pig and Dorothy shot back Look who's talking and said I had to put an outside shower on the house. Between these two and a couple of their friends, riding quads, jumping in with the pigs, and just acting stupid, I've got half of Vermont washed off them and spread over my lawn! How many sets of clothes are at my house now Marie? she asked. A few was the answer, Just in case. Dorothy laughed and told us that there was no just in case it was pretty much routine. And while Marie objected, Cindy shot back Ya, the same reason you have half a dozen of those lumberjack outfits, just in case. You can't help yourself Marie, even when you're dry and you drive all the pig wrestlers down here in your truck so we can wash off, you end up in the water with us!

Marie grinned and said Usually I'm already wet anyway, or hot. Bullcrap shouted Cindy. Marie shot back Well maybe I just feel stupid standing by the truck alone when you all are in the water, Besides, I'm so used to being wet in this outfit from falling off logs, it's kinda like I enjoy it. Then she laughed - I feel funny being in a bathing suit at this point.. The shirt is a little much, but the jeans, sweater and my little toque

We all hit her back with some comment or another and got a good laugh out of it, Dorothy joked about needing a separate laundry room just for Cindy and her friends, and Cindy shot back Ya mommy dearest, who was in the water before me today? Where do you think we learned this? Dorothy just grinned.

Brad showed up with the two girls, remarkably pretty dry by now. How about a ride? he asked, and between Marie and Dorothy they figured out who was going with whom and we all got ready to leave, slipping on boots, grabbing clothes. Nice meeting you was exchanged by all, Dorothy invited us to the farm and gave directions and asked us to Stop by next time we came up. I thanked her, and thanked her again for the towels.

As I started to walk away, I half sarcastically said This was fun, we'll have to do it again some time. Soon! said Cindy. Anytime you guys are around said Marie We have a few more spots and a few surprises too! If you liked this, you'll both enjoy it! Sue then piped up, I've got your cell number Cindy, I'll let you know when we're coming up.

She had a big smile on her face so I knew she had a fun time, but I was pretty much floored when she took on a more or less serious tone and explained: I never went out of my way to get wet in my clothes, never really thought about it. Sometimes it happened and I never thought much of it until this weekend. We got wet at the resort, really wet after we had been out in the rain all day. I realized that slowly getting wet was fun, like in the rain, but not a hot tub or swimming like this. I felt it was weird and a little too much. I wanted to get wet in the rain today, in fact we dressed for it, and we planned to. If anyone told me that I'd be soaked in the river, with all these clothes on, and no one would even notice because so many other people were doing the same thing, I wouldn't have even gotten out of the car. I would have been embarrassed at the thought of making a spectacle of myself. This was different, and it was fun, at least ok, I guess. I enjoyed it because you guys made it fun.

With that, we said our good byes and got to the car. We stripped and changed in the twilight and got ready for the hour and a half ride home. Sue worried about her boots, and thought maybe she wrecked the wool sweater, and that conversation drifted into Next time. Next time I'll dress differently; Next time no wool; Next time more layers; Next time sneakers; Next time tighter clothes.and a bunch more Next times as she sorted out the past 2 days and decided she was hooked.and so was I!