Pacific Northwest Roadtrip: The build up

This story actually starts in April of this year, when Dave Matthews Band released their tour dates for this summer and fall. As many of you know, I'm a pretty devoted (read: crazy) fan, and go to at least one show a year. Since we've moved out here, Dan and I have seen them play in Mountain View (where Google lives, about 45 minutes away) and then last year, they played a weekend series of shows right on campus, which was amazing. This year, when the tour dates came out, they weren't playing in either of those places. Um, what? They had one tentative date for a TBA location in San Francisco, but the details were sketchy. Not having tickets to a show for this year made me itchy.

As they do every summer, they were planning on playing a three night weekend series at The Gorge Amphitheater in central Washington. I've always wanted to see them at the Gorge - it's an amazing venue. It's outdoors, built right into a hillside that overlooks the Columbia River. I've seen lots of pictures, and heard a lot of recordings from here, because DMB releases a lot of their live music. You probably know where this story is headed - yes, I requested tickets for all three nights at the Gorge. When I found out that I got tickets for all three nights, I was beyond excited. As in, this is something I can check off my "life to do" list excited.

Now I just had to figure out how the hell to get us up there, and where we would stay. The actual concert venue is not in a town but is closest to George, Washington (seriously!) I recommend you Google Map it to see how much it is in the middle of nowhere. Two hours away from Seattle, 90 minutes away from Spokane. 45 minutes from the closest hotels, oh my. I originally sold Dan on the idea of going at all with the idea of camping - because the band plays 3 nights in a row, camping near the concert venue is offered, and I think somewhere between 8 and 10 thousand people actually go and camp. Dan was all about the entire experience - but after I read some boards about no showers at the campsites, stupid drunk people at all hours, things getting stolen, we changed our minds. Also, we own no camping gear to speak of.

So we drove. From Berkeley to central Washington. I reasoned that if we flew, we'd just have to rent a car anyway, so why double the expense, plus plane fare over Labor Day weekend was kind of ridiculous. However, it was far. Google maps told me about 16 hours up, and 14 hours back (different routes), about 900 miles. Luckily, we had the time to split up the drive over two days each way. But yeah, still really far...

Coming up: The California redwoods, Columbia River gorge, and many concert photos

The time Phish crashed our friend's wedding

Holler, I'm finally getting around to posting (Franklin's) pictures from Ben and Jess's wedding, which was now about 5 weeks ago. The entire weekend was pretty gorgeous.

Dan and I took the red eye to Albany on Thursday evening. I literally left the unit after training my RA staff since 10 AM, and went directly to the airport. We took an enormous plane to Chicago, where we switched to a teeny tiny jet, which made me uncomfortable. Jess's brother picked us up, and went to Jess's parents' house, where they very kindly let us nap and take showers before we all headed over to the Mansion. (fyi - "The Mansion" should be said with a heavy accent)

Most folks arrived on Friday evening, so we ordered dinner in and drank a lot of wine, while people arrived all night. It was a rockin good time for everyone to stay in one place, so that we were all together most of the time, and didn't have to worry about going anywhere else. Saturday, we went to the rehearsal, and then got all dressed up and went to the Saratoga racetrack to watch the horse races, which is what people DO there. People were into it, let me tell you. Jess's family went to the track at 6 AM to reserve tables for us to sit at later that day, and then people had to hang out there all morning and afternoon to keep saving them, it was crazy. Saturday also included a BBQ dinner back at the Mansion for anyone coming to the wedding, followed by wine, dancing and ridiculous photos.

Sunday, of course, was the wedding, which Phish was invited to. The amphitheater they were playing in was literally right next door to the wedding hall. However, we didn't hear a damn thing once the (awesome!) band started playing at the wedding. Because it was pouring rain, we did see a lot of scantily clad Phish fans right up against the doors of the hall trying to get some cover from the weather.

The wedding was gorgeous. And Ben and Jess are both very pretty people. All in all, it was very aesthetically pleasing.

The Mansion Inn, site of wedding good times

At the races, blending right in with our hats

BBQ before dark

BBQ after dark. We love wine.

The Hall of Springs, wedding site

Fancy groomsmen

Josh and I walking down the aisle before the ceremony. Afterwards, our smiles are more forced because Josh was sweaty and my feet were numb.

Ceremony, all personal and emotional and stuff.

College crew with the newest bride and groom.

City Walk: Eureka Valley

We really have been in the Bay Area for selected parts of the summer, I promise. During part of that, Deborah was staying with us (before she abandoned us to move to Australia I mean) and one of the things she really wanted to do was go on a city walk with us. So to the city we went. Deborah chose our walk - Eureka Valley. The area sits on a hill, beneath Twin Peaks and right above the Castro. The walk was pretty long with some of the longest hills we've encountered yet, and easily the windiest day we've done a walk. This turned out to be unfortunate, because Deborah is in way better shape than Dan or I. There's no real history or fun facts I can give you about this area, because our book mostly talks about the Castro, and also Harvey Milk. I won't go on about Milk here except to say that if you have no idea who I'm talking about, I need you to go rent the movie "Milk" that came out last year. SO GOOD.

This is an alley between two homes, and is super cute, leading to a little neighborhood park. It's actually called Acme Alley, and used to be a path used for taking cattle across the city to pasture.

These are the Seward park slides, which were waiting for us at the end of that stairway. They are AWESOME slides. All the neighborhood kids have left stacks of cardboard for anyone to use, and the slides are super fast. We regressed a few years to play here for awhile.

Clearly, playing here is for serious.

Some of the hills here are so steep that stairs are built into the sidewalks. Not as a separate set, but carved right there into the concrete so that you don't have to lean into the hill like a crazy person while you head uphill. This is one example. Probably one of the longest hills we've done. My calves are burning thinking about it.

This is ONE house. It was built for $100,00 in 1872 and has 5 stories, 45 rooms, 52 closets, 10 fireplaces and 272 windows. It's now 15 one bedroom apartments.

You can't really tell, but the city is pretty much laid out behind us. Good walk team!

(Walk stats: 2.02 miles per Google Earth, 2 hours)

Up next: Saratoga Springs, NY. Weddings and horse races.

Wedding pictures for Uncle Mike

The culmination of the Deep South Roadtrip was Brian and Christy's wedding in Houston. Honestly, pretty much everyone who reads this blog was there but I thought Uncle Mike might enjoy seeing some fabulous photos. Plus, the roadtrip series needed a finale entry, don't you think? I had the BEST time with you all in Houston. Hugs. The groomsmens' tuxes were very fancy, as displayed here by Franklin and Josh.

Clearly enjoying ourselves at the reception. We figured we wouldn't be able to get a photo with Brian and Christy until later, so we worked with what we had.

Cutting the cake.

Shiny and happy married couple :)

Um, this is why we love you so much.

B. Drake.

On the way out from the reception.

At the bar after the reception. Christy brought her bouquet and wore her tiara, and kept yelling "I just got married!" at random strangers. It was amazing.

Wow. This post is so late it's irrelevant.

New Orleans what? Right, so two months ago, we were in Louisiana. We did a lot in two days. You've seen the ninth ward photos, and the swamp boat tour, which were the highlights. Also, we ate a lot. There is SO MUCH GOOD FOOD in New Orleans.

So, as a quick recap, we toured around the Garden District, walked around Tulane's campus, drove all through the French Quarter and the Marigny, got some drinks on Bourbon Street - where there was more nakedness than I expected in low-tourist season on a Wednesday night,

and generally decided that we would like to go back to spend some more time. So much culture and pride in a place. I really enjoyed it.

I thought it would be ungodly warm while we were there, but it turned out to be really nice. The weather was warm, but not sunny, so we weren't in the bright noonday sun ever. And, all three days we were there, it stormed right around 2 PM to cool everything off. It was perfect weather. Although, bugs. Big bugs. Ew.

Dan and I after the swampboat ride. Notice Dan's windswept hair.

In the Quarter.

Jackson Square at night, while we searched for a working ATM to buy some beignets. (It never worked out, we ended up getting them the next morning en route to Baton Rouge)

Dan, excited about a muffaletta.

Beads still hanging in the trees on Tulane's campus.

Muddah Nature In His Act

Hellllooo??? Is anyone out there??? It's been 17 days since our last writing. I feel like I need to visit a confessional for my sins of not writing lately. If you haven't noticed, KK does most of the writing, but as she's been overloaded with training for the past 2 weeks, so now is my moment to shine! We have a lot of living to catch up on - there have been weddings, anniversaries, more scavenger hunts, and lots of work ramping up, but before we get to all that - ever more of our Deep South Roadtrip! yay! When I realized how close to the Mississippi delta and bayou we were actually going to be in New Orleans, the first words out of my mouth could have been 'Bourbon St. here we come' or 'Angelina Jolie!' or 'mmmm... Cajun food.' No no. Instead, my mind immediately asks 'Can we please go on a swamp boat!?!' You know, those boats with the big giant fan on the back that look so fun. And so that's exactly what we did. It's shocking that just 30 minutes outside of New Orleans, the landscape changes from such an urban city to swamps and watery roads that people literally call their backyards. Considering it is the wetlands and in the southern tropical climates, we shouldn't have been surprised by the thunderstorms and tropical downpours that rolled in around noon each day we were there. But we were surprised how quickly the storm clouds rolled in. We don't get thunderstorms here. And we miss them. However, lightning storms and big metal boats with supercharged fans strapped to them running across water just don't mix kids. Thankfully, we were able to switch to an afternoon tour and drive around the post-Katrina ninth-ward neighborhoods while we waited. We took a tour in one of the smaller performance airboats that reaches 60 mph, turns on a dime, and can glide down some of the tighter water ways in between the trees. And when we didn't quite fit, well, the boat just hops the dirt/logs/muck/swamp grass in the way. We glided over a very vast calm body of water, hung a left, and all of a sudden everything was green. The water, the trees, the sky, everything! Small lilies covered the water, moss on the grounds climbing the trees, and Spanish moss hanging from limbs as we passed under. It's odd to say, but the swamp was simply beautiful! This literally was our tour guides backyard... as in for real, his family owned part of this green soup. (I still can't get over someone calling the water their yard!) He was born and raised in the bayou, and we couldn't understand a word he was saying. But we had a blast and we highly recommend 1-800-GO-SWAMP. I'm not kidding! You can even have parties and receptions there! Here's KK super excited to be on a boat. Green Watery Road Gator Muddah Nature In His Act

Deep South Roadtrip: New Orleans Katrina tour

So we arrived in New Orleans on Tuesday, and did a whole bunch of fun things before we went on this Katrina driving tour on Wednesday. But, I'll post about those later. I figured we'd start with the heavy stuff and then talk about the restaurants and whatnot. The reverse somehow doesn't feel appropriate. I would suggest clicking to enlarge the photos.

********************************************************************************

We only drove around one area, the lower ninth ward, and only one small section of it. It wasn't the part of New Orleans that was under the most water, but it is the section of the city that has the least amount of re-building since the hurricane. The part of town we were in flooded due to a levee breach on an industrial canal right next to their homes. The water rose to between 4 and 10 feet, and remained anywhere between 23 and 29 days.

We were there four years later. It's stark and sad and humbling. Everything is gone - these homes were destroyed and ripped apart and then rotted in feet of stagnant water. Some homes are still standing because their owner hopes to rebuild, but it hasn't happened yet. These homes are completely surrounded by 4 years of grass growth and a lack of care.

Other homes are obviously new. But, very few families have been able to completely rebuild on their own. This neighborhood was not affluent. You can tell when you see three remnants of foundations in an area folks from my suburban hometown would call a "small lot."

Otherwise, you see foundation stones. Front gates. Steps leading up to invisible porches. It's clear something is missing. And it's clear much has been ignored. Some streets are completely covered in plant growth and haven't been cleared. Street signs are handmade by residents. Maybe Kanye West was right.

Four years later.

A good representation. We were in the area where most of the red is.

Afterwards, we drove across the canal back towards the French Quarter and diverted down some side streets.

While homes here were not completely washed away, the amount of water and wind damage you can still see is shocking. Some homes clearly have families living in the them. Others - maybe every third home - is boarded up or abandoned. Many homes still have the spray painted tag on their front - left from recovery personnel the days directly following the storm. Businesses are closed. All the signs stapled onto powerline poles are about how to reconnect your air conditioning, or for house leveling, or putting floors down. The sense that so many people were still living daily with such clear reminders of this event was hard to see. You can see a tag, in bright red, on the house below. The date the house was searched was 9/12. The hurricane made landfall on 8/29.

This area was more emotional for me to see, because supposedly, this area wasn't "as bad" in terms of damage. Clearly though, lives were destroyed. And no one has helped put them back together. We had to stop taking pictures.

Four years later.

Before we left, I wasn't sure what we would see, because most of the updated information or photos I could find were not recent. There is a bunch of information from the year anniversary. And then...nothing new. Naively, I sort of thought that no news meant good news! That things were being rebuilt, citizens being helped, support systems in place. That's not what we found.