"Today is your day your mountain is waiting so get on your way"

I let go of the digital world a bit this summer, at least in terms of blogging. It's a pretty big deal for me even though Josh says he hasn't been able to 'unplug me' yet. I found that it's just not easy to wander around the country, collecting experiences by the basketful, and still find the time/ energy to share them with the digital universe. This isn't to say that I am returning my commitments to the blogging world, but I will be trying to record experiences more consistently. It should get easier since I've found myself in the same place for more than two months - well sort of. 

Enjoying the views at Lake Tahoe

I stopped to stay with my family in Breckenridge, CO in August, while on my way to San Francisco to work at Outside Lands Music Festival. I left my dog, Dutchie here in the mountains for the trip, knowing I would have to return anyways for Phish at Dicks... and here I am months later, watching the leaves on Aspens across the valley turn, leaving trails of gold littering the mountainside. Fall has just started and it seems is already rounding the corner to winter as the ski trails have a fresh dusting of snow each morning, but by evening the light coating has melted away in the late autumn sunshine. 

We made a new friend after dumping 2 huge bags of
flowers into the San Francisco Bay

My days are no longer spent filling gas tanks and using road maps as dinner plates, but filled with a constant scouring of craigslist for apartments/jobs, and chasing wagging tails around the hiking trails right outside of our temporary home in my Uncle's guest bedroom. I found someone to keep me company on this new chapter of my life adventure too and it looks like settling in the mountains with him seems to make the most sense - at least for the moment ;)

Hula Hoop break at rest stop in the desert

I enter this new part of my life with a smile knowing I've collected countless memories, traveled across many landscapes, and touched the lives of many amazing folks. I've danced entire nights away in Virginia, bathed in the mountain streams of North Carolina, daydreamed my way through the highways of Kansas, climbed mountains with friends in Utah, soul trained in San Francisco, hula hooped in the Nevada desert, kayaked in Lake Powell, reunited with phamily at Phish Dicks & Bill Graham and boogied with my mama at Red Rocks for Furthur. The closing song of Sunday's Furthur set was 'Brokedown Palace'. 

A perfect conclusion to a perfect summer.

"Mama mama many worlds I've known since I first left home."

Sunsets at Alpine & Sunrise over Niagara Falls

Cheesin' Out

After the camping chaos at Deer Creek, we opted for the hotel route at Alpine Valley. Last minute hotel organization on tour can be tricky, but with help from new and old friends we scored a reservation and could afford to stay at the Marriot - Glorious beds, showers, and super heady food. It was 45 minutes away from the venue but hell, we were in Wisconsin. 

The Alpine shows lived up to the hype I had been hearing and Waterwheel killed it just like the band. Fans were feeling extra generous and the autographed posters went as quick as you could say Jiboo. This was great news for The Hunger Task Force of Milwaukee, the non-profit group Waterwheel hosted for the shows. I had no idea that Milwaukee is one of the poorest cities in the nation, but I'm grateful to be apart of such a philanthropic community, raising awareness and support for groups like The Hunger Task Force.

We decided to skip Jones Beach and spend a few days stationary in Burlington before SPAC. B and I left Wisconsin originally intending to break up the drive back to Vt over the course of a few days. Instead, we stopped at a roadside cheese castle, snagged a bunch of snacks and were inspired to drive through the night. We pulled into Niagara Falls an hour before sunrise. After cracking a beer in the parking lot, we wandered around the empty park until sunrise.








I couldn't help but be in awe of the incredible power of water and shed a few tears for a fallen friend who had drowned at a popular Vermont swimming hole just a few days before. I poured out the rest of my gluten free beer with so much love for Rudy and an overwhelming respect/ fear for water. Another looming reminder of just how much control we really have, and that the elements can take it all away in moments. The rest of this trip will be lived through a new lense, with a filter of appreciation for the present, the pleasant and acting with intention.

I survived Deer Creek 2012

Sharing the limited living space of a chevy cavalier coup with another person is a humbling experience. Life gets simpler everyday. I've learned how to go without conveniences like a dresser, consistent indoor plumbing or a steady source of income. Each day I figure out something else I am able to do without. That was true for everyday of this trip thus far, with the exception of Deer Creek.

The actual Phish shows were incredible and it was pretty clear that everyone was enjoying themselves in Indiana despite the extreme weather conditions. 105 °F is a little too intense for me. Throw in some torrential downpours, thunder, lightning, high speed winds, hail, and you've got yourself some weather worthy of storm chasers. Now imagine this experienced from the safe walls of a 2 person tent nestled under the shadows of dead tree branches and you've got yourself a Deer Creek party.

Deadly heat during the day, portos so nasty you can't help but wonder which diseases are festering behind the sun faded doors, and 'showers' reeking of rotten eggs from the sulfur in the water (which also happened to turn my rings into stained yellow metal). Up until Deer Creek we had decided to save money on hotels by camping, but this was nothing like the sprawling shaded live oak trees of our campground on VA beach for the Portsmouth shows. This was being woken up at 2am by police megaphones warning campers to prepare for another storm, taking down the hammock, securing the campsite and climbing into Betsy's tent with just enough time to tuck my head under my arms, squeeze my eyes shut and hope the dead branches hanging ten feet above the tent weren't about to impale us while sideways rain tried to breach the walls of our rain fly. Thanks to the police and the neighbor's wake-up warnings I didn't experience this storm from my hammock and thankfully Betsy has a kick ass tent that weathered the storm (we stayed almost totally dry with the exception of the puddle at B's feet and her waterlogged toes).

Even after all that drama, I can confidently say it was worth it. Loved the fishman/ trey switcheroo and the increasingly frequent crowd interactions. Pumped to hear their covers of Sweet Jane and Old Home Place live. So many more highlights to the shows, but I've been especially amped about seeing B connect with the music more and more each show.

The Alpine shows didn't disapoint either, especially since we were able to unwind (post and pre shows) within the comforts of the Marriot... Sometimes you don't need to rough it.

Payin it forward, Pittsburgh

The Iron City welcomed us on a sunny Monday afternoon - timed perfectly with happy hour. We knocked back a few and started to warm up to the Industrial city of Pittsburgh, PA. Betsy found a donation only hostel on couchsurfing.org called 'Pay it Forward Hostel' and we rolled into the neighborhood knowing we would be their 11th and 12th guests since they had officially opened about 2 weeks prior to our visit.

I'll admit to being a bit apprehensive at first, but the hostel turned out to be a funky 3 story townhouse hosting a few more like-minded travelers. We ended up meeting some great folks and giving our super accommodating hosts their first guestbook. I'm a big fan of the donation only hosteling concept. Not only because I'm traveling on a threadbare budget, but with donations you can interpret your contribution to be more than just monetary value. Taking donations instead of having a set fee also helps organizations escape following the rigidities of city codes for things silly things like fire safety...

Since we were only in Pittsburgh for 19 hours we didn't have loads of time to explore. We did manage to ride a restored cable car up the Duquesne Incline, a railway that climbs Mt. Washington and was built in 1877. The view of the city was incredible. It captured a panoramic view of the golden triangle, Pittsburgh's business district located at the merging point of the cities' three major rivers... and bridges as far as the eye could see.

Morning came and we jumped in the car, armed with peanut butter sandwiches and iced coffees, prepared for our 8 hour drive to Deer Creek. Ready to trade a tired industrial city for the corn fields and windmills of Indiana.

Playing Ketchup

Sippin mint juleps on a tour of the Houmas Plantation

Howdy y'all! You'll have to excuse my acquired (textual) southern accent, as I've spent quite a bit of time down south since my last post. I'm currently in a life phase of constant travel, roadtripping around the country via phish tour and other exciting ventures, so here's a quick recap of the last 4 months or so...

Spring break of my senior year brought me to New Orleans for my second trip there inside of one year's time frame. Had some silly late nights in the french quarter, ate sinfully delicious seafood (highlights including charbroiled oysters & crawfish), and explored the rich history of plantation life on the Mississippi River.

Then graduation snuck up on me and soon enough I joined the ranks of unemployed college graduates. Can't say I've ever been happier. Memorial day weekend I found myself in Houston at a friends wedding, indulging in some damn good Texas barbecue and casually sipping tequila to beat the heat. Naturally, I couldn't possibly go to Texas without visiting Austin, so sure enough I met my friend there (fresh from NOLA!). In the beautiful upbeat (& offbeat) city of Austin we floated down some rivers, shopped along Congress, experienced the glory of food trucks, bar-hopped along 6th st, and lounged away the stifling hot days in Barton Springs natural pools. Absolutely loved Austin, a hip city with people as attractive as they were friendly.

As for a more current swanning around status, I'm in Harrisonburg, Va, alive and thriving from the first few weeks of Phish tour(Worcester> Atlantic City> Portsmouth). I met up with my fellow ramblin' lady friend, Betsy, and we're taking on America this summer...two recent graduates on an epic adventure...'just tryin to find a city to live in'.

Phishin in Worcester, tour opener

Cali is so money baby $$$

Two weeks ago I was strolling through Golden Gate park with two of the best people I know, hiding behind matching giant aviators. Two weeks ago I was dreading our return to Vermont's chapped lips and wind burns. I did get a bit spoiled with all the traveling over break but I must admit, it does feel good to be back in these Green Mountains.

Pacific!

It seems to me that everything really is bigger in California; Bigger waves, mountains, highways, trees, pine cones...
Contrary to popular belief, 21 year olds can rent cars. Enterprise handed us the keys to a 2012 Avenger on our first full day out west and we cruised up to Lake Tahoe to visit Ali, Ryan and Kobe. It was a 4 hour drive filled with satellite radio, dimpled hillsides and of course no Cali roadtrip is complete without a visit to In & Out Burger. 

 The highway into Tahoe is absolutely gorgeous, a single lane road weaving around cliffs, valleys and climbing up and down mountains. We couldn't see when we were driving into town at night, but on the way out of Tahoe the views were incredible.

Our first full day in Tahoe we played Frisbee Golf for the first time. The weather was perfect for some outdoor drinking, so we sipped our delicious Mendocino Brews and explored the park. 

Lake Tahoe

Although the original plan was to get in some Tahoe hiking, that quickly turned into casual beer drinking on a private beach.We checked out the gambling scene at the Nevada state line just long enough for me to lose a few bucks & for Andrew to win a few hundred! On our way back to San Fran we stopped at the Muir Woods National Monument to see the Redwoods. We arrived just in time to catch the last 45 minutes of sunlight & timed our departure perfectly with sunset. 

 

Redwoods picnic

Back in San Fran we stayed with a friend of a friend & went out dancing in The Mission. The band was a super funky group called Afrolicious (?) playing in some sort of warehouse scenario. Going out in SF was obviously a blast, but it was also pretty expensive when you add the cost of transportation (taxi) both ways. Definitely wouldn't be able to afford going out as many nights of the week as I might in Burlington. 

Pretty Jazzed about 710 Ashbury

 We accomplished every item on our Cali bucket list. Some highlights include: Haight-Ashbury, Golden Gate Park, the Fisherman's Wharf Sea Lions, toes in the Pacific, heady meal in China town, and hot-tubbing at the hotel. It was a flawless vacation with my two best friends. All in all, The Bay Area is definitely a place I can see myself living if I was making some serious $$$.

Wonder Where I'm Wandering

I'm not the biggest fan of the holidays, but I am all about any excuse to take a break from hectic schedules. This past semester has tested my time management skills more than ever before. Even though I'm not sitting in classes making to-do lists and weekly calendars, I still find myself struggling to make time for friends and family around the country.

Some of my Florida Family

This holiday break I will be spending the first few days with my Florida family.

Junior & Bailey - some more of my Florida family :)

Like many children of divorce with new ideas of 'family', I'm lucky enough to celebrate multiple Christmas'. After sunshine & shopping in Florida, it's back to Vermont to squeeze in some holiday hours at work in order to justify the next phase of my Winter break...

Dipping chocolate fruit up until Christmas Eve Day

After spending some quality time with my coworkers at EA, I will attempt to drive my lemon down to Connecticut on Christmas Eve. Hopefully the noises coming from Brandi's engine are nothing more than the ghost of roadtrips past, and maybe - just maybe - she'll get a new belt for Christmas! I'll squeeze in as many folks as I can see in the five days I will be in Connecticut, and then hop a train to New York City from the 29th-1st, to see Phish's NYE run at MSG!

NYE 2011 @ MSG :)

Absolutely stoked to be working the Waterwheel Foundation table at one of the shows, and boogieing down with some phine pholks on the 30th and 31st! Can't wait to dance the night away with H-jams & Shmeally!

Oh but it doesn't end there. After another epic NYE in NYC at MSG (gotta love acronyms), Becka, Andrew & I will be switching coasts for a few days to check out the San Francisco Bay area. Since we're all thinking about moving there after graduation (Cinco De Mayo!) we figured what a great excuse to go out for a visit.

No matter where you are or what you are celebrating this holiday season, it's important to not get wrapped up in family drama and stress. You may not be able to seek refuge across the country with a family-free vacay, but try to schedule in some 'you-time' this winter break. 

Cheers!