The Festy

So Josh and I went to The Festy Experience a couple weekends ago. We camped out, enjoyed the great outdoors, and listened to a lot of fun music. The lineup was mostly bluegrass-type stuff, so that's right up our alley. And it took place at a brewery--also right up our alley.

Day one and we are having fun!

I will admit it was not my favorite camping experience. I like having our own private campsite, with a picnic table, real toilets nearby, and running water. (Clearly I'm not into backpacking. Yet?) Instead, we were cramped between some bushes and a parking lot with a bunch of other people and too few porta-potties. Josh and I are also old and need our sleep, which is hard to come by when a bunch of people who have been drinking for a long while come back at the end of the night and want to hang out for hours being noisy. But after all that I will admit that camping was still fun. A couple nights in a tent (on an air mattress) is always a fun break.

Our camp area early on Saturday morning.

So we got to The Festy Friday afternoon, set up camp, and then listened to music. We went back to our campsite for dinner--beans and rice plus peas and corn. Then it was back to the music, with dessert in the brewery restaurant. After a few songs of the headlining band (Infamous Stringdusters) we were tired and called it a night.

Saturday I got up relatively early, ate some breakfast, went to "base camp" to buy a cup of coffee, and got geared up for a run. Josh and I drove about 14 miles down the road from the festival to the head of a rail trail, where I ran 14 miles while he walked and read. It was a nice (and flat!) trail that went along a couple streams, and the fall leaves were beautiful. I did, however, see my first big wild snake, which was essentially right under me before I noticed it in mid air. I yelped and it scurried in fear, but luckily it was black and I keep hearing how those aren't the scary kind. Whew.

About to begin my run, sporting a fashionable "blaze orange" hat. Because better safe than shot during hunting season in rural Virginia.

The trail.

Trail and river.

Old rail car.

After the run we went back to camp and took showers in the portable shower truck they had at base camp. I had to wait a good while before it was my turn, but the water was warm so I was happy. After showers we listened in on a Backpacking 101 workshop, and then took a nap.

Napping with the rain fly off was glorious.

After getting some rest we headed to the festival to listen to music. We also visited the vendor booths and ate food.

Josh got an "Elvis" burger, which included peanut butter and bacon on a cheeseburger. He loved it.

With our tickets, everyone got reusable steel pint cups. Nice way to cut back on trash and go home with a souvenir!

After several music sessions we once again called it an early night. This time we used earplugs though, which helped a lot. Apparently our rowdy neighbors got the whole camp to sing happy birthday in the middle of the night and set off firecrackers, but I didn't notice.

Early Sunday morning it rained, and all of Sunday was cold and dreary. But music-wise it was my favorite day. We started with a pancake breakfast. It sprinkled some, but wasn't too bad.

Sliced banana and strawberry jelly on a pancake in the rain!

We also got some coffee at base camp and heard a little gospel music, then went back to the tent where Josh slept more and I read for school. (Got a whopping 25 pages read all weekend, which was not really ideal...) Then we packed up our campsite and headed to the festival for the rest of the day.

Della Mae, a fun all-female bluegrass band.

Tony Trischka on the banjo and some other good musicians.

Whoah, check out this guy's dreadlocks!

To warm up a little we ate dinner back at the restaurant. Dancing also helped keep us warm. The weather wasn't too bad though--kind of fun to be bundled up in the fall.

Notice the fog in the mountains behind Josh.

Leftover Salmon had a natural fog machine for their set!

After hearing a few songs of the last set, we finally headed home. It was a good weekend overall!

new ride

 Guess who has a new set of wheels?! This girl. After 12 years and very nearly almost 160,000 miles, I finally traded in the one and only car I've ever owned (had it since my senior year of high school) and got an upgrade.

I went from this Toyota Corolla (a very good car, by the way):

 

To this new Toyota Prius!  

My car changed, but apparently my outfit didn't. That's a different shirt though, I'll have you know.

The car-buying experience was pretty great, thanks to my Aunt Judy. I just said "hey Aunt Judy, I think I'd like a gray 2012 Prius," and she did all the work after that. The lady likes car shopping, and is good at it, too. Once she'd found my car and at a good price, all I had to do was show up and write the check. (And sign a bunch of papers, during which she also acted as my helpful advisor.) So now I'm all set. And since the Prius purchase wouldn't have been possible without some help from my parents and grandparents, a big Thank You goes out to them. Otherwise I'd probably just have a newer Corolla.

adios summer

Last weekend marked the end of summer, which makes me very sad. So for one last hurrah, I went to the beach.

Josh (yes, he's back!) and I drove Friday after work for six hours and finally arrived at midnight at his grandparents' house in Ocean View, Delaware. We promptly went to sleep.

Saturday I got up and did some reading, and after breakfast and another snack, we headed to Bethany Beach. We swam, boogie-boarded, relaxed in the shade, and read books. Josh got us board fries to eat, and later we got desserts on the boardwalk.

(Look Mom, I'm wearing the hat!)

 

Late in the afternoon we finally headed back to the house for showers. Also a nap, because relaxing at the beach can be really tiring. Then we headed back to Bethany Beach for a seafood dinner and to check out some of the touristy junk shops. We didn't buy anything, except tokens at the arcade to play games. At night we walked on the beach a little, and rested atop the lifeguard perch.

Sunday I got up early (-ish) and went for an 8.5 mile run. Then I ate some food and headed back to the beach with Josh. We met up with some of his relatives and chatted a little while, but then they went to lunch and we went in the ocean. More swimming and boogie-boarding for a couple hours, followed by resting (or sleeping) on the beach, and back in the water a little longer with big waves until the lifeguards called us in because of lightning.

Back at the house we had dinner with his grandparents and aunt and uncle. Then we played games! Their family always plays Caboodle, which I had never played. It was a fun night.

See my quarters? Caboodle is a betting game. Takes 75 cents to play and winner takes all!

Word had gotten around that I like pistachios, so they had some available after dinner and I ate a lot of them while we played. Josh's Grandpa also taught me a new trick for opening those pistachio shells with only a little slit: use another shell to help pry it open! Genius.

Caboodle is a game that keeps going until only one person is left, so as players lose and drop out one by one, his family sends them off with a boisterous round of "Goodnight Ladies" (only you fill in "ladies" with the name of the loser). We probably disturbed neighbors.

Josh lost and his Grandpa is singing his farewell.

 Monday Josh and I rode our bikes to the boardwalk to play some more games at the arcade and cash in our valuable tickets. However, the waves of the ocean were just too inviting, so we rode back to the house instead and changed into our swimsuits. Back at the beach there was more swimming and boogie-boarding and lots of jumping over waves, with no time for relaxing or reading or napping on the beach.

I'm a big fan of bike lanes.

Right after we'd dropped our towels and shoes I spotted a pistachio shell!

Once we'd had our fix we went back to the house to shower and pack up. Alas, the weekend was ending quickly and we had to get back to Charlottesville for work and school. But on our way out of town we went back to the boardwalk for the annual Jazz Funeral, in which a bass brand parades down the boardwalk in a mock New Orleans-style funeral to mourn the end of summer. There's a coffin and everything. Then apparently all the lifeguards disrobe and run into the water, but we didn't have time to stay for that.

Here comes the band.

I like the guy with his hat over his heart for poor Summer.

Goodbye summer.

hometown celebration

It's taken me a while to get to this, but let me tell you about my recent (weekend of 18-19 Aug.) trip to Santa Fe.

My parents passed their 33rd wedding anniversary at the end of March. So when August rolled around, they decided to celebrate their "third of a century" anniversary with a party! I was invited. And of course I went, drawing it out into a long weekend at home.

I arrived in New Mexico on Thursday. Ryan picked me up from the airport and drove us to Santa Fe, where we met up with the parents and all headed to Tomasita's for lunch. This is what I ate:

A Christmas burrito!

Sopapillas. Mmmm.

 After that we visited REI and I bought a hat for running and other hot outdoor activities. They were all oh-so-pleased to be hat shopping with me. That was followed by naps all around (whether purposeful or not), and then Ryan and I went to the gym. He did weights and I ran 4 miles. Then we went home and ate bagels and lox for dinner. I spent the evening on the couch going through Consumer Reports on cars with Dad.

Trains!

Ryan was really excited about my taking this photo. Really.

 Friday we did our own various things in the morning, then went to visit my grandparents. Grandmother was out shopping with my aunt, so we visited with Granddad a little, and then when she arrived she had to turn right around for a hair appointment, so we took Granddad to lunch. We ate at Furr's Cafeteria, which is a place I haven't been in years and years. After lunch Dad and I went out car shopping (just to look, not to buy yet) for a couple hours. When we got home I spent a little while reading for school, and then we all went downtown to the Second Street Brewery for heavy appetizers and delicious beer. Plus fun live music. We followed that up with frozen yogurt. It was a good family bonding time.

Parents and beers.

Kids and beers.

Wait, did he shrink???

 Saturday morning I ran 11 miles. I was nervous about running so far in Santa Fe because of the altitude. Plus I've never run anywhere near that distance at home. I mapped out an enjoyable route that took me from the house downtown and back. This is what the run looked like:

Luckily I didn't have any altitude problems. I had some energy chews with me that came in really handy starting around mile 6, and I wore my new hydration pack (in addition to the bottle of Gatorade I sipped for the first half), so the whole thing went pretty well.

All done! And sweaty!

After the run Mom made paninis for lunch, and then my parents and I went downtown to the Indian Market. It was fun to see all the art, but my legs and feet weren't super excited about my being upright for so long.

Saturday evening was the night of the anniversary party. Ryan and I picked up my grandparents to take them to the restaurant. There were twenty people there, mostly family plus a few good friends of my parents. There were pretty flowers and good steaks and fun wedding pictures to remind people what they looked like a third of a century ago.

Unfortunately I didn't take very many (or very good) photos of the event, but here's what I got. (And hopefully those people who took a lot more and from better angles will share with my mom...)

After the party we took my grandparents home, then Ryan and I hung out with our two cousins. Both will be seniors this year, one in college and the other in high school. We've never actually hung out with them on our own, so that was fun. We wandered around downtown looking for a place to go after 10pm and finally settled for Italian sodas at the Atomic Grill.

Sunday Ryan and I went to the gym and worked out together, which was kind of fun because we've never done that together before, and then we met up with my parents for church. Afterward we all ate more Mexican food at the Blue Corn Cafe, and then Mom took Ryan shopping at one place while Dad took me at another. That afternoon Ryan headed back to Flagstaff, and after a nap I went with my parents to the Opera for their apprenticeship showcase. I always like those because you get to hear some opera but it's mostly the good bits from lots of different operas, and not one long one that could potentially get boring. When we got home we had leftover party cake and wine for a late-night snack.

Monday morning Mom made me scones for breakfast, and then my parents drove me to the airport. It was a relatively short trip, but we all had a good time and I'm glad my parents decided to throw a party!