Summer Vacation: the Main Event

We took our now annual pilgrimage up north, for a weekend of hot and cold running hippies, kids, bluegrass, rock and roll, and good food.

On the way up, we stopped at Gilroy Gardens. It has a lot of rides for kids and a lot of cool plant stuff. It's a bit pricey at $40 but worth it at least once. More often if you were local and had kids.
This tree was created with grafting techniques that supposedly have never been duplicated.

Imagine spending decades to create something like this. There are several dozen of these in different shapes around the gardens.

Thursday morning we drove up to Campbell to spend an afternoon with my brother Robert. "Tall Barbara", who also lives in San Diego, joined us. On Friday we went to SF to a music store called Lark in the Morning.

Here is Barbara in her new Matrix, at Fisherman's Wharf:

They had lots of strange and cool instruments at Lark in the Morning. Jim bought a dulcimer stand and Barbara bought some percussive fruit.

Then we escaped from the city around 3pm and missed the worst traffic.
From there we went to Hank's to commiserate on his not joining us this year (he'll be back though!) and spend the night. In the morning we picked up "Movie Barbara". When we walked in to her place there was much gasping and exclaiming at the view.




We drove on up to the music festival and got our favorite camping spot...

...right next to our friend Juice, who we've been seeing here since 2005. His is the ginormous tent behind ours. Here is Juice, settling in with some Sox and Violins.



To me, this is heaven, right here:





As if the beautiful location, fantastic music, and great food were not enough, there were fun activities. I'm told they originally thought Tie Dye would be for the kids. Hah! :)

Here's my effort:




The music was Totally Fantastic as Usual. (Even if Joe's dad was not there this year. I did put his CD on top of the pile for sale, though :) One of these days I have to learn to jig. These bluegrass Dead cover bands go back and forth between "hippie dancing music" and "jig music"... at which point my blood says "you should KNOW THIS" and my body starts jumping up and down like a demented monkey.

My favorite band of the weekend and in the whole world at this moment, is Hot Buttered Rum. I finally learned their name. When they came out, Jim said "this is the skinny bass band" and I said "oh THESE guys, I LIKE THESE guys!!"

(As Country Dick Montana once drawled to me in the Belly Up Tavern, I have a shaky grip on reality. Too bad I didn't know it was him, till ten years later when someone filled me in!)

Within a few songs I was up front, having so much fun that tears were coming out of my eyes... That band is trying to kill me with dancing. But it will be totally worth it.

I managed to stammer out some kind of adoration to Nat Keefe later and he was extremely nice. I couldn't believe I spoke at all. If it had been Bryan Horne I would have probably fainted :) I love the Bass instruments, did you notice? :)

It's so cool though, these guys just hung out and ate with us'ns.

Nina, bless her heart, managed to keep up her "second set person" reputation and still go home before sundown. Here are Jim and Nina, in their "natural environment" to quote Jim:


We were glad to see her, and got a group shot:

From the left: Movie Barbara, Karen, Jim, Tall Barbara, Nina.

On Monday, Jim gave a little mini-concert on the dulcimer for those of us packing up.
In the background, you see Mike, getting out of his car with a look of wonderment on his face, thinking "what does Jim have there?" Jim got quite a lot of attention. The kids were entranced and the parents were right there with them.

Mike is from Northern California, but we first met him and his friend Harriet, who is from Orange County, in Tennessee, at Bonnaroo, in 2004. Jim walked up to this lady in the food line, and said "You are a Fat Head!" and Harriet said "why yes, I am!" We have been seeing them all over, ever since. (I guess it was the t-shirt :)

Some things are universal, I suppose. Music, and perhaps, Tractor Fluid.


After the festival was over, we went to Mendocino Coastal Gardens:



and another branch of Lark in the Morning. Then we went back to Movie Barbara's.

The next day, Tall Barbara left. Jim and I took over the living room and played music.

We also watched An American Werewolf in London, and went to her favorite local haunt for Pizza, beer, shots, and finally....

Grand Marnier Souffle.

Mmm...