Landed

We have arrived. There are a lot of things to say about being here, but I'm going to save most of it for another entry. I'll try to get some photos to share as well. There will be plenty of time for all that.

Yesterday was a long day of travel. I was so tired when we got in (and sick with a cold) that the extent of our exploration was more or less a drive down State Street and a stop at the grocery store. We landed without knowning anybody or how to get anywhere, so it's been a lot to take in. We were concentrating so much on getting out of Delaware that we didn't think much about getting into California. Today was my also first day of working remotely, so I'm adjusting to that as well. Maybe it's too soon to tell, but my first impression is that we have a good situation going for us here.

The R.E.M. concert was excellent. They played a bunch of hits, although it was the more obscure selections, some of which I couldn't even place, that excited me the most. They picked a few songs that didn't jump out at me when listening to the albums (e.g. "Walk Unafraid", "Turn You Inside-Out", "Let Me In"), but now they're stuck in my head and I want to check out the recorded versions again. Another highlight was when Eddie Vedder came on stage to sing "Begin the Begin" with Mr. Stipe. The crowd went nuts over that surprise. They also brought Johnny Marr (from The Smiths) up for a few songs, but I must say that was less noticeable.

I'm sorry to report that we missed The National's performance on Wednesday due a horrific amount traffic on the way in. We were expecting to get from our hotel in Philly to the Mann Center in under half an hour and we even built in an extra hour just in case it took longer. We had no idea it was going to take two hours to get there? We literally sat down as the band were playing their last chord. Major bummer. We'll have to catch them some other time when they are the main act. Opening acts never get the best treatment anyway, especially in a venue as big as the Mann. Modest Mouse was okay, but it was hard to get into them from our distant seats and with people constantly walking in front of us.

One last note: Good luck to my dad, mom, brothers, uncles, aunts, and cousins who are all running Grandma's marathon or some shorter variation of it in Duluth this weekend. They all managed to get the running bug in the last year or so after my younger bro inspired them by doing a few marathons. I'm impressed by their dedication!