Category: Uncategorized

So…where have I been?

In hibernation, apparently.  It was another cold, long winter (the season increasingly grates on my nerves), and to be honest, the year didn’t start off the way I was hoping it would.  My living situation became increasingly stressful (had TMJ symptoms for three months which magically vanished when I moved out a couple weeks ago–imagine that), work was at times completely nuts…you know, usual stupid adult life stuff.  But with the first quarter of the year over (wait, seriously?), hopefully all that’s behind me.

One shining moment from that time was London.  Yes, that trip was nearly three months ago (!!!).  My friend and I had a great time, fitting in a lot of stuff into not quite four days.  And the weather was not typical rainy London–in fact, it didn’t actually rain the entire time we were there!  We saw the sun every day, and for most of the day. Add to that that it was warmer there than in the States, and we were doing pretty well for ourselves.  I hope to do a full post about London soon.

And would you believe that even before I went to London, I was already hatching a plan to check out Portland and Seattle the week of Memorial Day?  I need more of the West Coast in my life, and the trip will allow me to check two more states off my list.  I am desperately trying to save enough leave to take off the rest of that week and maybe have a little left over so I can take a long weekend over the summer.  I promised myself three and a half years ago that I would go back to Asheville, and this summer might be when that happens.  We’ll see.

So, what are y’all up to this summer?

I finally realized why people hate cabs

I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving.  Mine was good, though much too short, but I saw my family, played with my parents’ cats, got out of town for a bit and ate some good food, so it was a win.  I had a great trip on Amtrak (minimal/no delays!  hooray!) and the ride back on Thanksgiving was even better because hardly anyone was on the train.  Compare that to Thanksgiving Eve, when the train was packed.

So I got back to the train station last night and was going to get a Lyft (since Uber is having all that bad PR lately; sexism and stalking journalists are not cool), but the train station was already closed and I felt that it was too cold to wait outside for 10 minutes, so I got in the White Top Cab waiting in the parking lot.  Almost immediately, the driver was on the phone, and he remained so for the entire drive–he held his phone in his hands, which aside from being an unsafe, bad idea, it is not legal in this state.  To top that off, he nearly went on the wrong exit and I had to correct him–probably because he was on the phone.

Meanwhile, every driver I’ve met through Uber (including the cabbie from O’Hare, since you can’t get an Uber directly from the airport) and the one I’ve met through Lyft has been incredibly pleasant and easy to talk to.  In other words, they treated me like an actual person.  AND Lyft and Uber tend to be cheaper than cabs anyway so they can be competitive.  Win-win!

So give Lyft or Uber a thought next time you need a ride.  You might meet some pretty interesting people!

Back from Chicago

I don’t know if you guys could tell from the almost 40 Instagram photos I took while in Chicago last weekend, but I had a really good time.  I made new friends, finally met someone I’ve been keeping up with on social media for years, drank good beer, saw a lot of cool things, did a ton of walking, ate great food (although sadly no Chicago-style pizza or hot dogs), and just in general had a blast.  I did a lot of stuff in a short amount of time, so I will try to keep this post appropriately short.

My trip started Friday night with me making a new friend who upgraded me to first class.  I mean, that’s a pretty stellar way to start out.  (And yes, I definitely took advantage of the free drinks.)  I got in to town to find that my hostel was….actually really awesome (aside from once again being stuck with the top bunk).  A friend of mine had bristled when I told him I was staying at a hostel in America–they don’t exactly have great reputations, do they?  Had I known I would love this one that much, I would have stayed in it for my three nights instead of moving to the AirBNB rental, the location of which was out of the way (although it was easy enough to get downtown by bus) and there was little in the neighborhood of interest unless you loved Mexican food–which I do, but not enough to eat it every meal of the day.  After fees, the hostel was actually cheaper than my AirBNB rental and I was already downtown, which meant less time and money spent getting from place to place.  PLUS they give you free towels, breakfast (cereal and bread, but still; if you want more than that, go to the Panera across the street) and wifi, which blew me away since I’d had to pay extra for most of that stuff when staying at hostels in Australia.  One of the guys working at the hostel, Leo, was super cool and we talked for probably 20 minutes or more.  He even gave me his e-mail so we could keep up–to me, it further solidified my idea that people from Chicago seemed so much more polite than people in DC (Uber isn’t allowed to pick you up from the airport, so it can arrange a cab for you, and the driver who got me was also very cool).  Leo also talked about how working at the hostel gave him the opportunity to stay at hostels operated by the Hostelling International chain for free worldwide–hard to argue with that!

The reason I had gotten in Friday night was so that I would already have all of Saturday to accomplish whatever.  My friend Janice now lives in Wisconsin but is from Chicago and had already planned to be in town last weekend, so we finally got to meet over a fantastic lunch at Longman and Eagle, which is spectacularly hipstery and has a miles-long drinks menu.  While we waited for a table, we went in the back to get donuts and beer (definitely recommend the sweet potato donut).  Lunch was absolutely fabulous, and I even managed to eat all of it.

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Some friends of mine from DC were also in town, and Janice had suggested that we check out the very busy (and rightfully so) Revolution Brewing, which was yet another excellent suggestion–she and I have very similar taste in beer and she knew it would be a hit (Russian imperial stout Deth’s Tar was my favorite, and not just for the name).  The food was great too, and it was a fun way of celebrating my friend Rachel’s birthday–with bacon fat popcorn and beer.  Isn’t that what everyone does on their birthday?

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So Saturday I spent much of the day eating, drinking and being merry with friends.  Sunday I did almost all of my sightseeing.  I went to the David Bowie Is… exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art, which is downtown amidst some touristy shopping and wonderful architecture.  Sadly, photos weren’t allowed inside, but I can gladly say that the exhibit was well worth the trip. There are, of course, lots of classic Bowie outfits and pieces of memorabilia from his life, items representing people or ideas that heavily influenced him (and there are tons of different and diverse influences), as well as clips from his music videos and movie appearances.  (I adored the blue suit from the “Life on Mars?” promotional clip–so funky with the red hair and wild makeup, just performing for the camera against a white background.)  I was surprised that the exhibit was so busy at 10 a.m. on a Sunday morning, and pleased that there were people of all ages there–parents with their kids, teenagers, “older” folks who would probably remember vintage Bowie and the days of Ziggy Stardust.  I didn’t spend any time in the other museum exhibits…let’s just say contemporary art is not usually my thing.  (Ahem, you may remember my opinion of the MONA in Hobart…)

The John Hancock Tower was not far away, so I made that my next stop.  I opted not to do the Tilt at 360 Chicago even though it was only $7 more on top of the $18 price of admission.  Shame, really.  Otherwise, the weather was good enough that you could see for miles, and the view was fantastic.

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 Afterward, I walked to Navy Pier and wandered around.  There are your typical touristy shops, and quite unexpectedly, a stained glass museum.  There was also a big “functional art” show that weekend.  I got a bite to eat before making my way back downtown, where I explored the Magnificent Mile for a while, and eventually I stumbled upon Mario Batali’s Eataly, my first experience with the gourmet grocer (that hardly seems like an adequate term for it).  Let the sandwich speak for itself.

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The next morning, I was again up early and ventured into the city to see Cloud Gate, a.k.a. the Bean.  It was smaller than I expected it to be, but it was still cool.  I had no idea that Millennium Park had so many art installations, and while I was there, I checked out the temporary Red Bull Art of Can installation of “art” made from–what else?–Red Bull cans.  Okay, maybe that’s contemporary art, but I still thought it was pretty cool.  I just wish my pictures had turned out better–the lighting was not great.

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After breakfast, I made my way back to the MCA in the hopes of exchanging my too-small Bowie t-shirt for a larger one, but alas, the museum is closed on Mondays, so I went back to my rental, gathered up my things, and got an Uber ride to the airport…where I was five hours early because my American Airlines flight got changed twice due to problems with two different planes.  Needless to say, I will not be flying with them when I go back to Chicago.

When will I get back to Chicago?  Not sure exactly.  But I would definitely go there again, and not just for the Chicago-specific culinary delights I missed out on this time.

Tomorrow marks two months until my friend Lance and I leave for London.  If you have any advice or recommendations, let me know!  Until next time!

I’m back!

So I know I’ve been pretty quiet the past couple of months (and my last post was a little bit of a downer…), but I’m settling into the DC area again.  The new job is going well so far, even though I have to just accept that it will be a long time before I feel like I really have a handle on anything.  But that’s the way new jobs go.  It’s nice to be back in Northern Virginia too, where I know good places to eat and shop and I can randomly call one of my friends and ask if they want to get dinner (as I did last night).

And I’ve been making plans to travel!  Earlier today, I made plans to go to Chicago next month!  Super excited for that since I’ve never been!  Plus, a friend and I are going to LONDON in January!  So lots to look forward to (and save money for!) in the coming months.

I can’t believe we’re in the last quarter of the year already!  Where has it gone?  This time last year I was in Sydney living the high life in an amazing AirBNB apartment rental in Mosman.  Yeah, I miss that place.  Hard not to.

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Do any of you have exciting plans coming up?

The year has not gone as I thought or hoped it would.  I came back from Australia too early.  I spent months looking for a job and thinking about how life could be in the Pacific Northwest even though I’ve never been there.  I did no travelling since I came back in late January.  Finally, a friend told me, “I have a job coming up that you need to apply for.”  It’s at the place I used to work in Northern Virginia, where he and I became colleagues and friends, a place I never intended to return to except to visit.  I start Monday.  This Friday, I’ll be moving back to my old stomping grounds, where I can visit my favorite cupcake shop, eat way too much at BGR, and get overpriced brunch at Le Pain Quotidien, but mostly, it means I’ll be returning to where most of my best friends live, and I am extremely excited about that.  I’ve felt a bit out of the loop all this time, only seeing and talking to my NoVA friends sporadically.

My point is that finally things are happening.  I know what’s happening next.  I have some travel on the horizon too–more details about that later.

So for now I will settle in and see where things go.  Maybe this is how it’s supposed to be.

Pros and Cons of Taking Amtrak for a Weekend in DC

The first time I took the Amtrak between Alexandria and Richmond, I wasn’t thrilled with the experience.  The train was about 30 minutes late leaving Alexandria and it was crowded.  On the way back from Richmond that evening, you had to practically fight for seats.  The one I ended up with was broken, which I didn’t realize until after I claimed it.  The stations were unattractive and needed updating (still true). I thought trains were supposed to have some element of glamour!

My subsequent rides have been much better–quieter and much less crowded.  I’ve actually had productive train time.  While taking Amtrak is more expensive than driving for me, is being able to reclaim that few hours for myself worth the price of admission?  Consider looking out from the train window and seeing that 95 is completely swamped.  Even if your train is slow or not moving, at least you can do something else like watch a movie or read.  You could even nap!

What should you do when you’re stuck in traffic, whether on 95 or on a delayed train?  Relax, because there is not a damn thing you can do about it.  Just make sure that if you’re on the train, you have plenty of reading material/entertainment and snacks.

I’ve been hankering to get back to Alexandria and hang out in Old Town, and this weekend I got to, again staying with friends who live there.  This weekend was Old Town’s sidewalk sale, so a lot of the boutiques and stores had great sales running–my friend and her coworkers got some fantastic steals at the consignment stores!

Saturday night, some friends and I went to see Carbon Leaf at The Hamilton Live, a venue none of us had ever been to before.  (You may remember my friend Amanda and I have a history with this band…)  A friend and former roommate of mine used to work in the restaurant that houses the venue and he raved about it.  We made plans to get dinner at the restaurant before the venue doors opened.  Dinner was fabulous (pricey, sure, but that’s DC for you; Amanda balked at the fact that my cocktail was $13) and the service was fantastic.  Our waiter was very personable and accommodating.  Our tickets at the venue were standing room only, which naturally was right in front of the stage, in front of all the people who had paid more for actual seats and tables.  (You can order food and drinks in the venue, and their menu is different from the restaurant’s.)  The venue was very cool and posh-looking.  I saw TVs in the back for people who couldn’t see as well from where they were sitting.  Not only was the venue outstanding, but the band put on a legendary performance, and the crowd ate it up.  Carbon Leaf has a very devoted following, and it’s easy to see why!  Their opening act, The Christian Lopez Band, were also excellent and I recommend that if you live in NoVA that you go see them Saturday night at 10 p.m. at Jammin’ Java in Vienna (another cool venue)!

I also had a craving for an overpriced brunch from Le Pain Quotidien, a place my friends and I sometimes went in Old Town.  I went there Sunday morning with my friends Mileva and Aaron (you may know her from Capital Fit Geek) and I got the amazing avocado toast summer special (I have to figure out how they made that citrus cumin salt–sooooo delicious) and liberally slathered any bread available to me with the chocolate hazelnut spread (I still regret not buying a jar of it even though it’s $10).

So all in all, another great if short weekend in Northern Virginia.  Until next time…

This Week in RVA News

Richmond has had quite the week!

The Metro Richmond Zoo might get yet more cheetah cubs!

Another cheetah could be expecting at Metro Richmond Zoo | Richmond Times-Dispatch

On the heels of Richmond’s recent first-ever National Beer Expo…

Guide: Craft beer a heady growth industry | Richmond Times-Dispatch

I went to this yesterday, and it is pretty swanky.  Plus the dessert cases and cooking school look pretty impressive.

Customers get first look at Southern Season store | Richmond Times-Dispatch

Richmond will get more of a taste of DC!  We already knew that another Top Chef alum, Mike Isabella, plans to open a restaurant in Richmond, and the RVA offshoot of DC’s Rappahannock Oyster Bar has been in town for a while.  Personally, I was hoping the news was that yet another Top Chef alum, Spike Mendelsohn, was bringing his Good Stuff Eatery or We, the Pizza to Richmond, but the Voltaggio brothers have made quite a name for themselves, so no complaints there.

Another Top Chef makes a Richmond move | Richmond Times-Dispatch

…Not to mention the less flattering continuing news about apparent poor personal decisions made by our former governor and his wife (widely publicized enough that you hardly need me to tell you about them), and the fact that my high school has chosen to keep the Rebel mascot name, even though it has already done away with the Rebel Man mascot (who was essentially a Confederate soldier).

Richmond-area school to keep Rebels name | Washington Post

Thanks for reading, and make it a good weekend!

Dinner at Rock Bottom is not as bad as it sounds

Last night, my parents and I wanted to get some dinner after seeing the new Transformers movie.  We tossed around some ideas for places to go but none of them stuck until I recommended Rock Bottom Brewery in Short Pump.  Sure, it’s a chain, but they make their own beer on the premises and the menu sounded really good.  I knew there was one in Arlington, but never went there when I lived in Northern Virginia.

It was a gorgeous night out, so we were able to sit outside and enjoy the nice big patio.  We were quickly attended by our waitress Nicole, who proved to be exemplary.  My stepfather and I enjoyed our limited-time-only nitro coffee cream stouts as we waited for our dinner.  I had ordered the Bourbonzola burger, which combines my love of burgers, gorgonzola, onion straws, and bourbon; my mom got fish and chips; and my stepfather ordered the bell peppers stuffed with chicken and chorizo.

After a little bit, not too long we thought, Nicole came back to apologize for the food taking so long, offering to get us something like the chicken tortilla soup to eat on the house while we waited.  We discussed appetizers, which she said would likely arrive after our entrees.  Mom and I decided that the chicken tortilla soup would do fine (we’re big fans of that in this family), and we asked for a loaf of their bread as well.  Nicole had hardly left before the manager Tim came by to also apologize for the “long wait,” saying that someone from the kitchen had left early, causing our food to be delayed.  He offered to pick up the check as recompense.  We were floored by his generosity!  Then we started talking about beer, and before long, our food arrived, including the chicken tortilla soup and the sourdough bread loaf.  Mom and I sampled the soup and both agreed that it was really good.  We dug into our respective meals and agreed that those were tasty as well.  I wondered how the black beans I had ordered as a side would taste, and they were good, not spicy or anything.

Full as we were, we wanted dessert.  My parents ordered the carrot cake, apparently made from a recipe by the founder’s mother that had never been changed–and why would it need to be?  It was moist and delicious and had pineapple in it.  The cream cheese wasn’t slathered on too thick, which was nice.  I ordered the brownie sundae, which was also very good–dark and rich.  We were told that the desserts were all made in-house, which impressed us.

We enjoyed our dinner enough that my parents signed up for a Rock Rewards loyalty membership, and Nicole told us we would get $10 toward our next dinner.  Can’t pass up that deal!  Plus my parents had gotten wind of an upcoming beer that would incorporate Nutella, so I know I have to go back for that…and I could probably be persuaded to have a meal there too!

Thanks to Nicole and Tim for making our dinner even more awesome!  We’ll be back!

Liebster Award!

I feel a bit like this is one of those chain-letter type things you used to get in e-mails (remember those?) or see on Facebook, and since it’s been a while since I’ve done one and it’s a good opportunity for you to get to know me better, why not go for it?

I’m not sure I’d ever even heard of the Liebster Award before, but I’m glad to know about it!  Katrina from The Thrifty Gypsy’s Travels introduced me to the award in this post.  (The rules regarding the award are here.)

Liebster Award info

1. How did you catch the travel bug? I think it’s in my blood.  My uncle has been to every continent except Antarctica and really the only big place left besides that on his bucket list is Italy–he’s never been!  My grandma also had a life-long dream of seeing Norway because she envisioned it as a real-life fairy tale land; she and my grandpa went with my uncle and aunt several years ago.  My first big trip was just after I turned 1 when my family went to Hawaii.
2.  If you attended Hogwarts, in which House would the Sorting Hat place you?  Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. I’m very loyal but also kind of a know-it-all…
3.  What’s your go-to ice breaker story about yourself? I don’t have a go-to, but it would surely be self-deprecating because that’s just how I roll.
4.  I hand you a free airline ticket voucher but you have to leave within a few hours (I know, I’m so generous).  Where do you go? Maybe London or Paris? I don’t know, sounds romantic though!
5.  What’s the worst thing that’s ever happened to you while traveling? Fortunately, I don’t have any scary, terrible travel-related stories, but in November 2013, I was living in Sydney, and my uncle had an aortic aneurysm and had to have emergency surgery. I was terrified that I would never see him again. Fortunately, he’s okay, having survived yet another near-death experience!
6.  Mountains or Beach? I love being near big bodies of water, so probably beach. But I enjoy being at the mountains too, for short periods of time. I enjoy being near civilization and most mountain destinations are decidedly not.
7.  Are there any countries that you would not visit?  If so, why? Hmm let me think…probably most of the Middle East. Just too much general trouble over there.   Plus I think many people there wouldn’t exactly be welcoming to Americans…
8.  What’s the best travel advice you’ve ever been given?  Just go!
9.  You stumble across a time machine.  You can go to any point of time, location, change social status, etc.  What time frame do you choose and who would you be?  (Doesn’t have to be anyone famous, e.g. “a Saxon armorer during the 1050s” is an acceptable answer.)  Oh, so I get to play Doctor Who, huh?  Maybe I’d go to my future and see what’s going on there?  ’80s London/Manchester for the music scene?  Follow David Bowie around in the ’70s?  Go see ancient Egypt, China, Japan, hang out with America’s Founding Fathers…so many possibilities…
10.  Other than traveling, what’s another passion/hobby of yours?  I really love listening to music—I’m a bit of a nerd.  I buy a lot of stuff on iTunes and AmazonMP3.  I have also loved singing pretty much all my life.
11.  If I came to visit you in your current city, where would you take me?  (Shamelessly stolen from Mariah) I would take you to all the places I’ve been wanting to try in Richmond but haven’t been to yet!  There are four taco places, two pho places, and two Chinese places, in addition to all the foodie destinations like Lunch and The Pig and Pearl, so you better be hungry! Also, we’d go to Maymont and Hollywood Cemetery, and Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden just because it’s been years since I’ve been there.  And we’d get classy super-swank Sunday brunch at The Jefferson or Can Can Brasserie in Carytown.  And if we’re not too bushed, I wouldn’t mind catching a concert at the new Broadberry across from the Science Museum.

11 Random Facts

  1. I foresee myself living on the West Coast, or at least in the Western part of the US. Like Utah or maybe Colorado, even though I thought Denver was weird.
  2. The only places I’ve been to on the West Coast are San Francisco and Los Angeles (where I spent a whopping 24 hours).
  3. My entire family lives in the metro Richmond area.
  4. I’m an only child, and actually the only grandchild on both sides of my family…no pressure.
  5. I’ve only been to five countries. I have my work cut out for me…
  6. I’ve watched NFL football my entire life (Go Packers!) but still don’t entirely understand it…I’m a little ashamed to admit that.
  7. Going to Italy in 2005 made me want to learn Italian. I have taken one class and have some language apps, but needless to say, I’m not proficient.
  8. I only recently started reading comic books. They’re good for people with short attention spans. 😛
  9. I love learning new things but wish that didn’t require so much time!
  10. Also I’m terrible at self-motivation. Hence #9.
  11. Running a blog can be overwhelming.  I’m currently taking a social media certification course not just for my blog, but also for hopeful future employment purposes, and there’s just so much to keep up with.  And I’m not even travelling right now!

Nominations

Sarah @ Plumb Worn Out (currently on honeymoon hiatus!)

Lori @ Going of Things

The Zen Kat

Adventurous Miriam

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to answer the following questions, and then pose 11 of your own.

11 Questions

  1. What’s your favorite smell?
  2. Describe a favorite travel scene—smell, sight, what you hear, if you ate anything. Where was it?
  3. Which “teen/children’s lit” scene are you most into: Harry Potter, Divergent, Hunger Games, John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars, or (shudder) Twilight?
  4. What are you nerdy/geeky about? Comics? Music? TV shows? Science? Don’t be shy! 🙂
  5. Least favorite social media site? Why?
  6. Your future self travels back in time to give you a message. What does Future You say?
  7. What’s your favorite snack?
  8. Favorite exotic animal?
  9. Do you prefer a house with lots of decor, or do you like a more minimalist approach?
  10. What would your last meal consist of?
  11. When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Flashback Friday: Memorial Day Weekends Past, or Tales of a Sometime Groupie

How has Memorial Day come and gone already?  I got my hair cut the other day and two people at the salon asked me what I did over the holiday.  I couldn’t remember!  Clearly it was enthralling.  But I’ve been thinking in the past day or two about some of the more memorable holiday weekends I’ve had over the years…

In 2009, I had just gotten into Flight of the Conchords and was absolutely nuts about the band and their tv show.  (How has this been five years ago already?!)  I joined a message board to geek out about it with fellow fans, and met two ladies from the boards who also lived in the DC area after the Conchords’ concert at DAR Constitution Hall that April.  Later, on the boards, these two ladies, Sara and Sheila, were discussing travelling to Vegas and LA to see them over Memorial Day weekend.  I had no plans and thought this sounded fantastic, so I asked if I could join.  I had never been to Vegas or LA either (or any parts of Nevada or California at all), so checking two more places off my list was a bonus.

I had arranged to leave work early that Friday so I could catch my flight, and my coworkers assumed I was just going to Richmond to hang out with family for the weekend.  Needless to say, they were quite surprised when I told them my plans.

I got to Vegas after dark that night and took a really expensive cab ride from the airport to Circus Circus to catch up with Sheila, and we walked around The Strip for hours, getting drinks at Trader Vic’s and eventually winding up at the Stratosphere around 2 a.m. before wandering back to Circus Circus, not too far away (and farther off The Strip than I’d realized).

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The next day, we met Sara at her hotel, the Venetian, which was niiiiice.  Oh so nice.  The concert that night was a lot of fun, and we met yet another fellow board member, but even better was being “those groupies” hanging out outside the hotel in the hopes that the band will come meet them.  I got to meet Jemaine, and my legs were like jelly because I had a crush on him…  Unfortunately, we left before Bret made an appearance.

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Me and Jemaine

The next day, I flew separately from Sara and Sheila and got the rental car at LAX.  I had a couple hours to kill before they would get there, so I drove around to get a feel for LA.  Somehow my GPS failed me and I ended up in the cute community of El Segundo, where I got lunch at a coffee shop.  I picked the girls up at the airport and we went to our hotel for a little bit before meeting other “Flighties” at the vegetarian restaurant Bulan Thai prior to the show, which was at the awesome Greek Theatre.  This show in particular was cool because during one song, the guys brought out the men who did the Spanish-language dubbing for their voices.  Bret greeted the crowd again that night, but only because Sheila had brought him a red toy piano to replace one he’d broken earlier on the tour.  I flew back to Northern Virginia the next day, sad that my whirlwind weekend as a “groupie” was over.

The next memorable Memorial Day was in 2012.  I was just leaving work, getting into my car as one of my best friends called me. “What are you doing tomorrow?” she asked.  I had no plans.  “Let’s go see Carbon Leaf at Massanutten.  They need volunteers to work their merch table.”

Now, Amanda and I have a history with Carbon Leaf.  We went to the same college, albeit at different times (their 10-year graduation anniversary was our freshman year) and we first met them when they played on campus during our first-ever Homecoming weekend. Eleven years on (!), the guys know me by sight and her by name (although unfortunately, it has been a couple of years since I’ve seen them).  We’ve seen them numerous times in different venues in three states and DC, sometimes separately but usually together.  We once saved Barry, the lead singer, from falling down some stairs at Richmond’s lovely National.*

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Me and Barry, October 2003.

Our boys were playing a festival at Massanutten, a resort about 2.5 hours’ drive from the DC area.  We wandered around a bit before sitting through probably a couple hours of other bands (country…ew), finally taking our place at the merch table as Carbon Leaf took to the stage.  There was a pretty steady stream of people come by during the show, and then afterwards, it was much, much busier. Even though it was pretty toasty and humid that day, and we had a long drive home, we had a great time.  Making such a spontaneous plan is rare for me, which I think made it all the more memorable.

These stories make me think it’s time for some more spontaneous trips so I can have more stories…I guess we’ll just have to see what happens.

*This story is only slightly exaggerated.