Our first road trip vacation
Dan and I took our first road trip vacation last week, and it was a blast!
We left early Saturday morning after dropping Kona off at Dan’s mom and dad’s house, and despite forces working against us (two freeway closures and bad weather), we got to Nashville late Saturday night and pretty much crashed right away from exhaustion.
We spent Sunday checking out downtown Nashville and visiting the Country Music Hall of Fame.
That night we went to a few different bars on Broadway and listened to some really fantastic local bluegrass and country bands.
Monday (my 30th birthday!) we ventured to Mammoth Cave and took an a amazing 2 hour tour of the caves. It was breathtaking, and very interesting (and cold!). I wish we could have spent a few days there taking more tours and walking the trails of the park! There was a plethora of putt putt golf courses in town, so we played at the cheesiest one we could find! That night we went to a local Italian restaurant and had a really great dinner and the best chocolate mousse I’ve ever tasted. We even spoke to the chef, a young kid who was originally from Michigan! The night ended with me finding a 6 inch long gray hair in the mirror and embracing my new age anyway.
Tuesday we drove to Columbus and spent the evening with our friends Jeff and Mandie. Mandie was a finalist in a season-long Euchre tournament with the final night that night and she and her partner won 1st place while we watched and drank on the patio of the bar. Add Euchre to the list of Mandie’s skills, along with all the games at the Lawn Sport Olympics!
Wednesday morning we packed up the car again for the drive to Cedar Point. It was ridiculously hot (over 90 degrees!), but we still managed to have a good time at the park. We went on some of our old favorite coasters - The Raptor, The Iron Dragon, and The Gemini and also rode the new roller coaster, The Maverick. In the end the heat won out, and we left for the trip back home.
Kona (our dog) was so happy to see us when we picked her up from Dan’s parents house, and it was nice to be home after a long trip!
There’s a ton of pics from our vacation on our Flickr page -check them out!
DetroitUrbanCraftFair.com
Pretty much every day after work for the last three weeks has been spent here, building the new site for Handmade Detroit’s 2008 Detroit Urban Craft Fair. The site includes an admin area where the HD girls can rate and comment on all of this year’s applicants, but the real beauty of this one is the public site. Designed by real-life pirate Josh Weston, this has to be one of the best looking sites I’ve worked on. There are lots of hidden goodies up in the header including an ever-expanding collection of Monty Python style popups and actual weather report!
As happy as I am with how it turned out, I’m equally happy to have a few hours to relax tonight!
So, go ahead and give it a spin! If you like it, let me know. However if you have bugs or errors to report, keep them to yourself. As a wise hockey rink owner once said: “THE COMPLAINTS DEPARTMENT IS FUCKING CLOSED.”
Robbie Badd Gets Married
There are only a handful of people that I’d drive 1200 miles in a weekend to be at their wedding. Robbie Badd is definitely on that short list. Beth and I left Pontiac early Friday morning, arriving in Houghton/Hancock late Friday evening, only to turn around and make the 11-hour drive home on Sunday morning. It was a busy weekend, without many opportunities for sightseeing on Beth’s first trip to the western U.P., but, in every single way, it was worth going.
Rob and Katie’s wedding ceremony was at her parents’ house on the shore of Lake Superior (which was way more beautiful than it sounds) with a short reception and drinks at the bar afterward. “Bridgefest” was in full swing back in Houghton, with fireworks and a cover band playing Jackyl (seriously) to cap off Saturday night.
It was great to see Rob (a good friend that I don’t see nearly enough of) and to be there for his big day. Congratulations!
Good luck, Paul!
Joining the masses of our friends fleeing Michigan for better opportunities, my friend Paul is leaving next week for New Jersey. His going away party was last night at the Belmont, and Dan and I went to wish him the best of luck with his new job and home.
I can’t blame anyone for wanting/needing to leave Michigan, but it’s so sad watching the mad rush of our generation leaving our great (but failing) state.
We’ll miss you Paul, and I hope you come back to visit soon!
Weekend Lessons
Just one major lesson this weekend: Make sure to check the weather report before leaving to take your dog on a long walk on the trails, so as to not get caught in a horrible storm miles away from your car or any shelter.
The Breeders @ the Magic Stick
Beth and I went to see the Breeders earlier this week and, as promised, it was a great show. Even though they’ve been around for nearly 15 years (jeez, am I getting that old?), they still deliver. Their new songs, while not quite as good as the classics, are still better than most of the B.S. today’s kids are into. (Shit. I am getting old.)
In addition to the Divine Hammer video above, I also took videos of (my personal favorite) No Aloha, New Year and Cannonball (just by random chance, all off of Last Splash) and some photos of the evening.
The Nixon Summer Concert Series is just getting started!
Skating with Kona
Some people skate with their kids. I’ve got a dog…
More weekend lessons
We spent most of last weekend working on our house. Saturday morning I went to the Oakland County Farmers Market for the first time since we moved here years ago, and was really impressed with all the beautiful flowers for sale. I spoke to a number of sellers there, got some great gardening advice, and bought some new flowers to plant in the front yard. I spent most of the rest of the weekend working in the front yard weeding, transplanting some of our flowers, planting new begonias, trimming trees, and digging up a dead rose bush. Dan helped me pull out the 30 feet of trim along the side of the yard so we could plant some grass seed and blend it in with the rest of the yard. The final result - the yard looks crazy good now!
Dan spent most of his afternoon re-doing the floor of the patio, (and getting very sticky) with some new vinyl tiles. Looks great!
Lessons learned:
- Spend some time mapping out the yard before buying flowers as to avoid buying WAY too many
- People actually still drink Christian Brothers brandy?!? (found an empty bottle littered in the yard)
- Local hardware store closes ridiculously early on Sundays
- Birds love eating grass seed
You Can’t Stop the Rock
In high school and college, we used to go to shows on a weekly basis. I was even in a band and ran a record label for years, and used to play a few times a month, but it’s been a long time since there’s been a show that I’ve been really excited for, let alone several. For the first time in years, this summer, there’s a ton of shows that Beth and I are going to.
So, create a new Google Calendar category labeled “Hard Jams”, and take this down:
- Blood on the Wall (May 22)
- Kids in the Hall (May 30)
- The Breeders (June 1)
- Mudhoney (June 2)
- Mighty Mighty Bosstones (July 8)
- No Age (July 17)
- Rancid (August 1)
- The Go! Team (August 2)
A present for me!
My friend Lish told me a few days ago that she had bought me a present on Etsy and was awaiting its arrival. I’ve been curious since, and excited cause Lish has fantastic style and taste (seriously, her apartment is amazingly cool) and I knew whatever it was, I would love it.
She passed it along to Dan, who gave it to me in the parking lot of Chipotle last night. I opened it in my car - there was no way I could wait until I got home!
First off, look at this wrap job! So cute!
And the gift…
A super cool neoprene & velcro lunch bag (how green!)! Its handpainted, and made by Goshdarnknit. Not only is it really fun, it’ll be super functional for me whenever I’m on buying trips or selling at shows!
Thanks Lish! I’m so on the hunt for you for something cool!!!
Last bartending shift…
Last night was my last bartending shift at the Majestic Complex. I worked in the Garden Bowl with my “work husband” Nathan, and had a great last shift and a lot of fun. I managed not to cry the whole time, but I can’t promise that I won’t writing this out right now…
Thanks to all my friends and our regulars who came out to get one last drink from me. I was really touched by everyone’s kind words, best wishes and contributions (all my tips from the night were donated to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society)!
I’m still going to hang out there a lot I’m sure, plus I’m still going to running the Baar Bazaar (hopefully more each year now that I have more time to work on it), but I will miss seeing everyone there as often as I did. I made so many friends there, and I really am looking forward to keeping in touch with them all now that I can have a bit of a social life again!
Now that I won’t be working nights, I’m excited to work more on RewareVintage.com and really build that up even more, and to continue working with Handmade Detroit and all our future plans. I’m also excited to spend more time with Dan, my friends, and my family!
I took a bunch of pictures of my last night - look at our Flickr account to see all of them!
Thanks to the Zaniea family for giving me a job there, great experiences, and a ton of memories! It was a blast, and one of the best times of my life!
With a fond farewell…
My last night bartending at the Garden Bowl is tomorrow (Wednesday)!
Come and get your last drink from me from 6 til close, and tip me well - all of my tips from the night are being donated to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society!!!!
