IOTA and Assorted Adventures

We found ourselves today in Arlington VA, the DC-area-- A short trip from Charlottesville, which was great.
We got to spend some time with Justin's family, which is always such a gift... So we were able to catch up with family, with SNL, with the Redskins game... And we also got to check out the unusually awesome treats at Java Jones in nearby Ashburn.

And, we were delighted to encounter IOTA tonight for the first time. We've heard so much about the venue from fellow artists and some friends and fans in the area, and it proved to be a lovely home to us for the evening.
Stella Schindler opened the show, followed by Kyler's set and the sitting-in-on-it that we've come to really love on this tour. Ellery closed the evening, and it was an honor to play for such wonderful listeners so late on a Sunday night -- (Thank you guys for spending the evening with us; we'll be back soon!) Also, many thanks to Steve Negrey and Burns, and to Sophie -- who were all so lovely and made us feel at home.

As the evening slowed down, I began packing up our gear while Justin left to fetch our van from the local garage.
Such things (parking garages, double-parking to unload or load gear, van-fetching, etc) have always been rather interesting endeavors in large cities; there are plenty of adventures to be had. But we'd never had this one:

When Justin arrived at the garage (with a ride from his uncle; thankfully!)-- It was closed and locked, and our forlorn van was somewhere deep inside the dark abyss.
Back at IOTA, I was wondering what the heck someone does when his van is locked inside a garage. Perhaps he sleeps outside of it and waits until morning. Or maybe he busts through the garage's lowered security arms, and gets a hefty fine. Hmm.

What ended up happening was something Justin chalks up to mysterious personal victory...
He walked around the garage, found an opening, squeezed himself in, found our van, and then drove it round and round to where an attendant was hanging out at an entrance. Somehow, they thought he was trying to get INTO the garage (wasn't he facing the wrong way though?) -- So they told him that the garage was closed and that he couldn't park there.
And you know -- that was okay, because he didn't want to park there at all!
So, he smiled and said no worries and left the garage on his merry way.
What the heck; how does that happen?
He's certain he's owed some french fries for this stunning work.