Three lakes

We usually try to make it home to Minnesota for the Fourth of July, but that date fell between France and a big work deadline this year, so we put our visit off until the last week of July instead. It actually worked out really well. This way we were able to attend a birthday/going-away party for R's sister at Pleasant Lake and a baby shower held for us at Ely Lake. We also spent some time at Lost Lake in between... So out of 10,000 lakes, we managed to spend quality time at three of them over the course of a week, which I'd say is pretty darned good. More important than lakes, however, we saw our families and some friends. It's always a pleasure.

Our niece and nephew are becoming even more adorable than before, if that is even possible. I went a little crazy with the picture taking. I can't help it. There's something in me that wants to preserve images of these kids. Maybe it has to do with living so far away and only seeing them a few times a year. My photos of them are the ones I find myself going back to and viewing more than any others I've taken. I can't truly capture their wacky personalities, their playfulness, or their spirit of discovery with a still photo, but I can sure try.

It's funny how our perception of Minnesota, the northern part of the state especially, changes the longer we are away: the blues and greens become more vibrant; the weather, more dynamic; the mosquitoes, worse. But other things don't change, like difficult good-byes and this feeling I get when I pass through my parents' neighborhood at dusk: I'm reminded of biking around aimlessly as a kid... of playing Nerf tennis with my mom on the driveway... of launching ants into space with bottle rockets... of living in the same house as my brothers... I'm not saying one time in my life was better than another; I'm just saying the nostalgia hits me hard sometimes if I let it.

If you haven't already seen the photos from our trip, check them out here.

Feliz Navidad

Our Christmas vacation was pretty incredible this year. It started with six days of visiting family in Minnesota followed by seven days of touring Costa Rica with our friends S&Q. We went from freezing cold to sticky hot; from flat, barren land to lush volcanic jungle; from feeling native to we-don't-even-speak-the-language alien... Yes, the two places are quite a contrast from each other. Our home in California falls somewhere in between, and I think it's safe to say we were ready to return to it by trip end.

I'm really glad we were able to see our families. (Photos here.) It just wouldn't feel like Christmas without them. We're lucky everything worked out travel-wise considering the massive snowstorm that hit the day we left. The drive to the airport was a slow one and we doubted the timeliness of our itinerary every step of the way, but we made it, flying away just before the weather worsened even more.

I could probably write about Costa Rica all day, but perhaps it's best left in our travel journal. In short, the trip was fun and adventurous. We went canyoning, ziplining, and rafting; saw a bunch of animals in the wild; toured a chocolate plantation (sampling the product at every stage of making it); relaxed in hot springs and in hammocks... Maybe you should just check out the photos. All of this talk about vacation is making me lazy.

Stranger in a strange land

Sorry that blogging has been kind of low on my priority list lately. The last few months have been a mix of being really busy and being really lazy -- I'm pretty sure one causes the other -- and neither is conducive to stopping for reflection.

I started my new job on October 19th and kicked it off with the aforementioned three-week stint in Minnesota. The office is in downtown Minneapolis, but because this trip was only partially corporate-funded I slept at my younger brother's place in the very surburban Maple Grove. It was nice having an extended visit with my bro. We played some pool, drank some Irish whiskey, listened to AC/DC, etc. Can you tell he's a bachelor? Anyway, I really appreciate his and his roommate's hospitality, as three weeks is a long time to put somebody up.

I drove north to see my parents for my first weekend out there. The rain let up enough for my dad, older brother, and I to get to the hunting shack to cut the grass in preparation for the hunting season. My mom cooked some meals for me that helped break up three long weeks of eating unhealthy restaurant food. On Sunday my grandparents had me over for lunch and later I got to see my little niece in Duluth. She had no idea who I was, but she was all smiles anyway. These moments, along with some additional reconnecting with friends, were what made the three weeks away worth it on a personal level... but just barely because, man, did I miss my life -- and my wife -- in Santa Barbara.

Luckily, R flew out to see me for my second weekend away. We rented a hotel room downtown and shut the rest of the world out for a good chunk of our time together. We did get out for a walking tour (during which R took the cool, surreal photo of me above in the new Guthrie Theater), comimos unas tapas, and saw Paranormal Activity, which didn't quite live up to the hype (I recommend seeing Where the Wild Things Are instead). It was a low-key Halloween, and I'm still kicking myself because we didn't take our annual "mimic the pumpkin" photo. But I guess we were too enamored with each other at the time to care.

I could ruminate some more on the new job, but this blog once again feels too public for that. In short, it's going pretty well. Being at the office to meet the people and begin to learn the systems was absolutely necessary. There were moments, however, particularly while driving in traffic through the gray or navigating the skyway like a rat in a maze, when I started to doubt the decision. It felt like such a different world out there. There were shades of the past and possibly hints of the future in that trip, but more than anything it reminded me of how much I love my situation out here and how I'm not ready to let it go. Fortunately nobody is asking me to give that up yet, so I think taking the job was the right move. It's a career boost and has some definite long-term potential.

See some more pics from the business trip here.

Vows by the lake

R and I flew back to the Twin Cities last weekend to attend the wedding of some good friends, Emily and Brian. I didn't take a single photo, but I did shoot 2.5 hours of video (you're looking at a still from the footage above). So I guess I have my next editing project cut out for me.

We slept in some cabins at the wedding site in an effort to save money and to stay close to the bridal party. R was the bride's personal attendant, and I wanted to be available to record as much of the weekend's on-goings as possible. We didn't get a lot of sleep, but otherwise everything worked out really well. The weather was beautiful, and so was the wedding.

In addition to all that, we found time to hang out in our old neighborhood in St. Paul and also sit down for lunch with some family members. It was a treat to see them on an occasion other than Christmas or the 4th of July for once, even if it was a little rushed. I'm glad they made the effort to meet up with us.

Despite loving California so much, we do miss Minnesota quite a bit. I'm reminded of the positive points each time we go back. I’ve been thinking a lot about the future this week and there are no clear answers on where I would like us to be in a few years (or if it will even be our choice), so let me get back to you on that.

Lakes and prairies and people

There's something about Minnesota in the summer... the long-lit days under big skies, the fresh air, the sounds of loons while we sleep... It's hard to believe this is the same place we visit each Christmas, when the world looks so gray. Our vacation this July was dipped in equal parts blue, green, and gold. If the weather doesn't worsen one of these years, our perception of Minnesota might become rather inaccurate, shaped by a streak of lucky weeks.

I really enjoyed seeing our families. As much stress, money, and travel time it takes to plan and execute these trips, they always end up being worth it. Thank you very much to our hosts for taking such good care of us! The rides, the food, the comfort, and the catching-up are much appreciated.

Many a photo was taken (801 to be exact). See some of them here. I would normally be more discerning and keep the gallery smaller/stronger, but I couldn't bring myself to exclude many shots of our niece and nephew. The little darlings are so dang cute. They remind me of why I like to take photos in the first place and make me want to have kids of my own (one day).

The Winnipeg Folk Festival -- our trip within the trip -- was awesome this year as well. It had the best line-up of musicians I've seen in my five years of attendance. My absolute favorite performance was by a band called Okkervil River (you've probably already heard me yakking or tweeting about them). I had been listening to a few of their albums off and on for the last couple of years, but their concert on Saturday night still took me by surprise. I've never seen a band win over an initially uninterested crowd they way they did. The front man's "this moment, right now" speech during the final stretch of tunes captured the energy of the night and cranked the volume. It brought people to their feet, rushing to the stage with hands in the air. My list of top 5 concerts needs to make room for this one.

One last note: My little bro-in-law and I shot a quick animation test during our time on Lost Lake. Sorry, Nate-dog, it's not ready yet. I plan to work on it this weekend and will post it shortly thereafter. I'm anxious to see it too.

A week of winter

Well, that was a nice break from blogging, among other things. We returned from Minnesota on New Year’s Day. Our pace definitely slowed for the week that we were there. The majority of our time was split among three families with some travel in between, but it was relaxing. I'm happy to report all of our flights and drives went off without a hitch. You never know what card the weather will play in Minnesota. It was great to see everybody, eat a bunch of excellent food, and to experience some real winter without the opportunity to get tired of it.

Check out our photo gallery from the holidays. It's sort of dominated by our photogenic nephew. R gave me a new lens as a gift, and I got a lot of practice with it taking shots of that little guy. (We even caught him crawling for the very first time!) The lens has a wide aperture, so it's great for shooting in low light and for playing with a shallow depth of field. I regret not owning a lens like this sooner. The results we've been getting so far have made the price way more than worth it.

We saw The Curious Case of Benjamin Button during our stay in Eveleth. The movie struck a chord with me. I think it had something to do with the emotions that seem to pervade the time I spend with my family during these bi-annual visits. As much as I enjoy my time with them, there's this underlying sadness in the way it feels like I show up only to say good-bye. The movie was about saying good-bye and how the chance to connect can be fleeting even when a relationship exists our whole lives. All of this makes me glad to have R in my life. It's nice to have somebody I don't have to say good-bye to as I don't think I could do this on my own. We returned to California together last week, and I think we have been appreciating each other's company more than ever since then.

On Friday I got a head start on the upcoming work week. Tomorrow everybody will be back in the office, so the pressure will be on to finish some things I left hanging before the holiday. I'm starting to feel like my responsibility at this job is outweighing the benefits. I love being able to work from home, but there are some things related to the recent acquisition that I'm not happy about... and it can't all be blamed on the poor economy. I probably shouldn't be writing about it here, but then again maybe it's okay if a coworker reads that I've been getting my résumé back into shape.

This weekend wasn't as productive as it could have been. I guess we're still in vacation mode. The next three or four months are going to be busy ones, so I wish I would have taken the opportunity to get more done around the house. We did have some fun though. Yesterday afternoon, for instance, we visited a winery down the street for a tasting session. 8 samplings later we found ourselves heading out the door for some tipsy furniture shopping and then a long afternoon nap. We also joined the winery's club, which means we agreed to buy so many bottles a year but also get free tastings (guests included) for as long as we're members. Now you have even more reason to visit us. Speaking of which, we have four separate groups of visitors arriving in the next few months, so that is definitely exciting!

Second weekend

That is easily one of my favorite photos of all time. It was taken by my dad during the second weekend of deer hunting in 2003. I don't know what is going on in the foreground between the scared-looking Gopher fan and the man with the stick, but I love how it has nothing to do with my bizarre duet with a Special-Export-drinking buddy in the background. One thing is for certain: a scene like this could only materialize at a hunting shack in northern Minnesota. Craziness tends to ensue when when you fill a tiny cabin in the middle of the cold woods with a bunch of coarse guys and an endless supply of beer. For a surprisingly accurate look at what the experience is like, check out this little tune by Da Yoopers.

The notorious "Second Weekend" is an annual event in November, but I haven't attended since the year that photo was taken. It seems some distance has come between me and the shack. But I'd like to return one day, as I find it oddly inspiring. Heck, Bread Man was born there! He was based my uncle. I woke up early one morning to find him asking "who wants some bread?" He must have been talking to me because I think everybody else had finally gone to sleep.

Ouch

We just plunked down a grand on two plane tickets home for Christmas. That doesn't even include the rental car or the cost of parking at the airport for a week. Good thing Christmas in Minnesota is worth it. Looking forward to seeing some of you there!

Transient times and 4th of July

A month ago I was living in Delaware. The following week I was living in California. The week after that I was on vacation in Minnesota. Then I worked at a client site in Wisconsin for a week. Now I'm back in California, thinking of three different time zones each time I look at a clock. I need to start work at 9:00 EST. I have a daily meeting at 12:30 CST. R comes home at 4:30 PST. This is getting confusing.

Our definition of "home" continues to blur. Each place we leave is moving on without us. Our first week in California obviously wasn't enough to establish roots, but right now it's the best we can do. Returning to it after a two-week trip sort of cemented it as our current home. Some of our possessions, 10 boxes that didn't go into storage, have been delivered to the apartment. That helps, even if it would still feel more natural to fly into Philly and pull up to our townhouse (we do still own it -- not much luck with the sale). I think R would agree with me that there is an appeal right now to being somewhere familiar, somewhere settled again. There is certain amount of comfort involved with being in your own place, and we haven't been there in a while. That's not to say our temporary living space isn't comfortable; it's just not long-term.

Our vacation in Minnesota was great. Thanks again to our wonderfully accommodating parents. It was nice to take a nap on a hammock, hit the lakes, see relatives, and eat a bunch of home-cooked food. Other highlights were a stop in Coon Rapids to watch my brother's band rehearse and a stop in Rochester (on my way to Wisconsin) to have breakfast with my buddy L and his fiancée. Lowlights were R coming down with a cold for the second half of our vacation (she's doing better now) and a five-hour delay due to thunderstorms in Phoenix on my way back to Cali. Isn't Phoenix supposed to be a desert -- what's with the rain? Normally I would have loved to have the extra time to read, but I had finished my book during the first flight and didn't bring another one with me. Total bummer.

By the numbers:

- 1600 miles driven in a Yaris
- 540 photos taken
- 5 thunderstorms witnessed
- 4 long days worked
- 3 hours slept on Thursday night
- 2 go-kart rides taken
- 1 clown band watched

I've narrowed down my photos to a more reasonable number. Check them out here: EmptyGym rehearsal and the rest of the vacation.

Sorry, no pics from the Madison leg of the trip. But don't worry -- you didn't miss much.

I'm dreaming of a gray Christmas

They’ll find us here here, here in the guest room
where we throw money at each other and cry, oh my

-from "Guest Room" by The National

I almost forgot how often the sky is gray in Minnesota. Over the course of ten days, we probably saw the sun for a total of ten minutes. Not that I mind; sunny days are overrated anyway. It would take a lot more than some gloom to ruin our bi-annual binge of food and family. The backdrop of frosted trees on gray sky was actually welcoming; it looked like home.

I had a hard time saying good-bye this time, knowing that everybody will be six months older the next time we see them and at that time we'll only see each set of family for two or so days until our next visit six months later. And then we'll repeat. The whole time we are there we are saying good-bye. I'm afraid of missing out on things and losing touch and realizing there's nothing to talk about anymore. Moving around the country is such a great experience that is giving me tons of perspective, but I don't want it to last the rest of my life. At a certain point we may have to quit waiting for a logical reason to bring us home.

Thanks to our families for the hospitality and the great gifts. We received some camping gear, a sauteuse pan, gift certificates, continued XM radio service, and the list goes on. One of the things R got me is Twin Peaks on DVD (yay!). I'm going to consume it like a large gourmet cookie: slowly, deliberately, and with immense pleasure.

2008... that's starting to sound like the future. Have a good year, everybody.

Minnesota dreamin'

This photo comes courtesy of my mother-in-law. She took it during our recent visit to Minnesota. I think she really captured the essence of the trip : )

We were on the go again last weekend. We drove down to Virginia for a reunion with R's extended family and spent Saturday night in a hotel there. It was a good time.

It turns out I'm not feeling particularly wordy tonight. I might see about going downstairs and falling asleep on the couch.

Minnesota eating tour 2007

Two weeks ago I had my busiest, most stressful week of the year. Last week I had my most laid-back and relaxing one. Together, they balanced out to an average two-week period that I need to get you caught up on. Time is a factor as I write this, so forgive me if it gets a little sloppy.

The cause of my stress was, of course, my job. I was expecting a busy week, but I never saw the extent of the overtime hours and flat out mental exertion coming. At 5:30 on Monday evening, my boss gave me a week's worth of work to do... and he needed it done that night. Well, getting it done that night was impossible, but I did finish by Wednesday evening after working on it for pretty much two days straight, taking breaks only for dinner, commuting, and a few hours of sleep. I was telling myself I would take it easy for the rest of the week, but Thursday and Friday were frantic, full days of work as well.

Needless to say I needed a vacation. It started out strong with a four-course dinner at the grand opening of a Wilmington restaurant called The Exchange. We met some friends from Out & About magazine there and had a great meal of gazpacho, salad, steak (salmon for R), and a French toast dessert. I had a beer with the first course and a glass of wine specially paired with each of the others. What a way to end a tough week. I recommend the place.

We got home late that night, packed for our trip, and slept for three hours before catching a flight out of Philly. We were in Duluth by early afternoon. My parents picked us up and took us to their place on the Range. That night we attended my 10-year high school reunion. I enjoyed seeing my old classmates again, some of whom I hadn't seen in the full 10 years. It was as interesting as expected, but I was more than happy to leave at the end of the night. We went back to my parents' and crashed into bed like a train off the tracks.

The next day we ate a turkey dinner with my grandparents and also stopped by my cousin's house to see his and his wife's new baby. That night and the next day we hung out with my parents and ate some more -- my parents' famous South Americans, dinner at the Wandering Pines, fresh walleye prepared by my talented mom, and various other snacks and desserts. The weather was poor, but we still managed to play some ladder ball, go for a pontoon boat ride, and soak in the hot tub. The relaxing had begun.

On Monday night we headed west for my father-in-law's house, where we woke up on all three mornings to massive breakfasts. There was also a wild rice meatloaf dinner comsumed at Itasca State Park's Douglas Lodge that was quite memorable. It was a good visit. I was able to relive my youth with my cool 11-year-old brother-in-law by taking the Super Mario World by storm. The two of us also took a spin on a carnival ride called The Orbiter on the night of the 4th that had me hanging on tighter than I like to admit. The rides were set up in Bemidji, the town we visited to see some fireworks. Our time with R's pop, bro, and sis also included a mosquito-y hike to a fire tower, an afternoon at the beach, and many fierce games of croquet.

The third leg of our trip was spent at R's mom and step dad's house. By this time in the week, the weather was perfect, and we made use of it on the lake, swimming and sailing. The eating continued as well -- think shrimp, grilled steaks, good beer, and tons of summery finger food. We made a trip down to Sartell to visit R's grandparents (and eat a pizza) and also spent an afternoon back on the lake with R's extended family. Good times and good people.

We spent our last night in Duluth catching up with my older brother and his wife. He was nice enough to wake up at 3:30 on Sunday morning to drive us to the airport. The return trip was pleasantly uneventful. It felt really good to get back here early enough on Sunday to do the laundry, buy groceries, and even take an afternoon nap before beginning another busy week.

Recurring themes of the vacation: food, relaxation, and family (like, but not quite like, the loons above). Thanks to all of our accomodating hosts!

Xmas blur

And we're back. Our visit to Minnesota wasn't quite as hectic as the title of this entry implies. In fact, parts of the trip were down right relaxing. We spent nine days between three sets of parents, all of whom happen to live in the northern part of the state. We chatted, walked, played board games, ate a lot, drank some, crafted and threw snow snakes, helped put a puzzle together, watched a little DVD, and brushed up on our winter driving. It was a low-key vacation but also a welcomed one. We really enjoyed spending time with the families.

Courtesy of a generous Christmas gift, R and I are now subscribers to XM Radio. It's like listening to an excellent, endless mix tape. The exposure one can get to good music by various artists and bands via a satellite is incredible. After a few months of listening in the car and during dinner, I should be pretty well versed in popular (and some unpopular) music.

I guess 2007 is here. If I was feeling more reflective, I'd probably get into something about resolutions or maybe about how there are so many distractions in today's electronic media saturated society that it's hard sometimes to get any work done. Well, work starts up again tomorrow, and I'm going to do my best at concentrating on the not-so-exciting world of insurance software. I'm feeling strangely motivated at moment. Here's to a rewarding new year!

Reflective

Guess where we found ourselves again over the weekend--in Minnesota, of course, celebrating at our final wedding of the year. This time it was one of R's friends from college getting married. We spent both nights at a hotel in downtown St. Paul, a few blocks from where I used to work. Fall is a few steps ahead out there; the city seemed notably quiet and gray. We didn't see any family over the weekend. Ironically, R's sister was waiting for us here on the east coast, and her mother is flying out tomorrow to visit for a few days. Anyway, I had a lot of fun at the wedding reception. We ate a lot, drank a lot, and danced up a storm. My stomach didn't even give me problems until the skyway walk back. You can bet it felt good to plop down on the Sleep Number bed that night. Yeah, I said Sleep Number. I couldn't decide how firm I wanted it, so I set my side of the mattress to 50. That's pretty typical of my middle-of-the-road personality.

My employer bought a popcorn machine--one of those big, carnival-style popcorn machines--and they set it up in our break room. I don't think they thought it all the way through, however. There's been a huge mess of popcorn crumbs on the floor every day since.

Speaking of work, I've been about as busy as the poor janitor who needs to sweep up all of those crumbs. I think I'm developing some good habits on this job, like how to focus, for example. There's always a commotion going on around me (remember how the low cube walls are supposed to facilitate communication?), but I'm getting better at tuning it out. With having so many things to do and time always against me, I don't have a choice but to concentrate on the task at hand. The days speed by, which I guess is good and bad.

I was thinking the other day about how the older you get, the tougher life gets and the more you appreciate the little things, like a cup of coffee at your desk or a walk in the woods or relaxing with your spouse on the couch. When you're young, you don't believe those things will ever be enough. And maybe I'm not old enough yet to not fully appreciate them either, but I see this starting to take form. Maybe some of the excitement of living drops out and the little things stand out more in their new relativity. Maybe the excitement of new experiences is eventually passed on to the next generation and the familiar is welcomed by weary parents. No, I'm not done living yet. I'm just appreciating free time and thinking about what it might be like to one day be a father. Don't read to far into that statement. I'm not hinting at anything. Seriously.

Another weekend, another wedding in Minnesota

R picked me up from work on Friday, and we hopped on a jet plane bound for our home land. We spent that night and the following morning visiting R's mom, who was then kind enough to take us on a tour of our old neighborhood in St. Paul before dropping us off at my cousin's wedding. It was a very nice wedding and equally nice reception at the luxurious St. Paul Hotel, where R and I spent Saturday night. The next morning we grabbed breakfast with my parents and made our way up the 26th mile marker of the Twin Cities Marathon to watch R's good friend E pass by -- way to go E! We also met up with her and her family at the end of the race to hang out for a bit. Next, we had coffee with my friend L (are you getting tired of all these initials yet?), who later brought us to the airport. Yes, the weekend went by in a flash, but, man, it was great to see everybody we saw, and we really enjoyed the fall weather. Minnesota can be an attractive place to be when the weather is right.

Those of you still waiting to see my new online video, hang in there. I'm disappointed to say the magazine decided not to use it for their ad campaign. I might still work with them on another project, but the magazine staff "would like to have more say on the message that is going out there." Their response was pretty positive otherwise. In other words, they seemed to like the video, but it was not what they were looking for. That means I'm free to release it to the world on my own, albeit without the wide distribution it would have had through the magazine. I'll need to remove the magazine references from it before I post it on YouTube, so give me a weekend or so to do that. You'll be seeing it soon. I've also had some rejuvenated enthusiasm over the "Wrong Number" project during the last few days, so I hope to get that wrapped up relatively soon as well, although I know I've said that before. None of these projects require much time, but lately it's been difficult to find any time at all to dedicate to my creative life. Yesterday I didn't get home from work until 9:00pm! It also doesn't help that I'm addicted to a few TV shows (by the way, Lost starts up again tomorrow night).

The season of the wedding

(photo by Bob Finc)

We were in northern Minnesota over the weekend to attend my cousin's wedding. The picture of us above was taken at the reception, which was a good time despite my suffering from a bad case of the hiccups that eventually built up to a fit of dry heaving. Okay, you probably didn't need to know that, but, man, those hiccups can be deadly. Teach your kids how to prevent them. Anyway, my cousin and his new bride are a nice couple, and I wish them all the best.

The aforementioned wedding was the first of five to which my wife and I were invited over the course of the next three months. I guess we're getting to that age where a lot of people we know are tying the knot. It's a bummer they are all taking place in Minnesota because there's no way we can make it to all of them, let alone the bachelor/bachelorette parties and showers. Missing out on some of them is one of the sacrifices we make when living so far away in an exotic location like Delaware.

We touched down at the Philly airport around 10:30 on Monday morning. Instead of putting in a half day of work, we took a drive to Cape May and spent the afternoon at the beach. R's aunt and uncle are renting a place down there for the week, so we visited with them between thrashing sessions on the waves. The night -- and our enjoyable extended weekend -- ended with a fajita dinner and a drive home.

North Country

We encountered many lakes during our sojourn to the north, which I guess is pretty typical when you visit the land of 10,000 of them in mid-summer. Minnesotans love their lakes, and they love to share them. Lost Lake, pictured above, is found on my father-in-law's property. It is probably the most natural-looking one of the bunch we visited, which is charming in its own right, but not as welcoming for a swim. We did, however, take a dip in Pleasant Lake, Ely Lake, and Lake Itasca over the course of our vacation. We also pontooned, jet skied, and tubed thanks to the hospitality of our parents and some excellent weather.

The weather was great in Winnipeg as well. Highlights from the Folk Festival include watching Neko Case bring on a rising (and then passing) storm at sunset, napping in the prairie breeze, walking across a moon shadowed campground to the perpetual cadence of multiple drum circles, and just generally soaking up the free-spirited Folk Fest atmosphere with some good company.

Aside from the perfect Neko Case performance in the perfect concert conditions, a favorite act of R's and mine was Crooked Still, a contemporary, "alternative" bluegrass band that brought the house down. Their CDs sold out before they even played their main concert, but R and I were able to order one online. I'll be happy if it's half as good as their live performance.

As nice as it was to visit family and old friends and to listen to some outdoor music, by the end of our trip, I was more than ready to come home. Ten days is a long time when you are away from your bed, your computer, and a shower (for the second half). The travel really wore us down too. On Monday, we woke up at 5:10 am, packed up our campsite, drove for eight and a half hours, and were still only in Minneapolis. By the time our flight brought us to Philly and we drove home from there, it was 12:30 am. Subtracting an hour for the time-zone change, that's 18+ hours one way! Ah, but it was worth it.

Speaking of being worn out, I'm signing off for the night. Have a good one.