A Little Bit Lost

So long, 
lost loves.

I haven't forgotten you,
just yet.
I hung
your picture before I knew,
next to
scenes set in golden hues.
Your face,
still drifting inside my head.
The weight is gone,
heavy words that I could have said.
I sang instead
when other girls only cried.
I called it grace.
I am a mindless child.

You're gone.
What's left?
Memories of greater days
just ahead. 

Look on, you say.
Build together the obvious clues.
Taught you:
skip the series of laid out rules.
Go sing outside,
as clouds raining spark the night.
That's how we met.
Was it the greatest day of this life? 

Maine was windy and crisp even in the middle of summer. Dave and I decided to eat lunch in Portland as a halfway point to Acadia National Park. In Portland, people walk the streets proudly with their small town spirit as well as their salty waterdogs. The saline aroma of lobster something-or-other poured out of every restaurant and café. We picked a pub with waterfront views, sailboats, and dinghies. By tradition, we ordered a local beer, twice. The first beer Dave spilled across the table and onto the porch. As if that wasn’t a close enough call, he nearly did it again, giving me a soggy lobster melt sandwich.

After lunch, we headed for Allagash Brewery. Allagash is one of our favorite beers and we planned a little side field trip before getting back on track to Acadia. Unfortunately we did not have time to complete a full tour. But we managed to make out with a crate of goodies, including 2 beers we planned on saving for dinner later in the trip.

Back on the road, it started to sprinkle and we were not looking forward to setting up in the rain. The little bed and breakfasts and hotels we passed along the way, beckoned for us to stay in the dry, warm beds and zone out in front of the television after a long hot shower. Dave and I stood in front of a mom and pop ice cream stand that directly faced a large Hampton Inn, with a movie theater within walking distance. Tempting, but that was not what the trip was about. So we left to face the sprinkle or downpour, whichever it should be.

We set up in the dark again; however, we had a great tent site. We knew going into the campground that it was made for families and it was hard to get a great spot. But our spot, for lack of a better word, was a tent condo. Newly constructed, wooden dual level plat-form with guard rails surrounded our entire site. No rocks, boulders, stumps, or logs. No gargantuan moths due to the colder air. Completely secluded, neighbors were far and few between.

The next day we spent time at the docks and braced ourselves in the frigid current of the Atlantic Ocean. It was enough to take your breath away if you stayed in too long. And this was mid-day temperatures. We tested canoes and kayaks attached to the dock. You know, just in case we happened to come across a good deal at one of the multiple outdoor recreation shops we passed along the way. That night we decided to go into Bar Harbor for dinner, to take a break from the camp grub. When we were checking into the campground, a fellow camper suggested several places to us including Café This Way.

The next morning we drove into Acadia National Park. As a little island off the coast of southern Maine, it had many landscapes to explore. Before the sun set we rushed to the top of windy Cadillac Mountain, along with every other tourist. We grabbed a bottle of cider and two plastic cups and made a break for a secluded area to make a toast. We hastily opened the bottle while trying to keep the cups from flying off the cliff. Just as the sun went down past the skyline, we made a toast.

We're just a little bit lost
inside our houses.
We're just a little unkept
out in the streets. 

Find more artists like Mates Of State at Myspace Music

We said good-bye to Acadia and Bar Harbor and grabbed brekkie at 2 Cats Café. Needless to say, the restaurant had acquired more than two cats over the years. But they were all well behaved and never attempted to steal our bacon and eggs. Upon paying for the bill, I asked what all the cats’ names were. They rattled off a few names and the only one I could catch was Penelope. So long last love, I haven’t forgotten you just yet. 

But I won't ever pass up
a second to tell you
replacements a myth
'Cause I know when the kids are all grown
we will still have this blue and gold print.

Didn't Have to Say a Thing...

I Knew What She was Thinkin'
Roll, roll me away,
won't you roll me away tonight
I too am lost, I feel double-crossed
and I'm sick of what's wrong and what's right
We never even said a word,
we just walked out and got on that bike
And we rolled
We rolled clean out of sight

We rolled across the high plains
Deep into the mountains
Felt so good to me
Finally feelin' free

Having already noticed a mistake, Google’s directions wanted to take us into the back of the campground, when obvious signs for the entrance stood right in front of us. We had real maps as a backup, and they contradicted the carefully planned directions. So the first part of our trip, we ditched Google Maps and planned our every mile with a fold out map and highlighter. Back to basics people! Again, plan not to plan…but maintaining an adaptable personality is always a good idea! Windows down, we drove through a back country road where the crisp air distinctly smelled of Christmas trees and pine needles. Nothing quite like it!

As liberating as this was, our first campsite in New Hampshire was a walk-in which we were in a hurry to get to before dark. Needless to say we arrived just at dusk? So as not to have to make too many trips in the dark to the site, we tried first to pile as much stuff up as possible. This did not work so well and we ended up walking past our site, stepping ankle deep in puddles and busting butts on rocks and tree limbs that we could only see by moonlight. All the while in between, my eyes swelling with tears for brief moments. Thank goodness for the full moon! Our site was so knobby, sandy, and close to the water that the campground had to install a wooden, raised tent pad above the marshland that was not quite large enough to accommodate our tent, leaving a foot of overhang on each side. In the dark, we battled 4 inch moths in our faces, all the while setting up our tent, as well as trying to cook. Meanwhile, our brand new mattresses inflated inside the tent, which we were told could take a couple of hours the first time unrolling them from their factory sealed freshness. You know that “new car smell”? Well, for people like us, there is a “new camp gear smell”. Nice! At the end of the night, we passed out on our comfy camp pads, with visions of new camp gear dancing in our heads.

The next morning, we gazed our surroundings…it was well worth the bruise on my butt. However, as beautiful as everything was, we had to go into town. Dave was scheduled to have a phone interview and we had to find a cell tower fast! We drove to the nearest town 2 hours early, grabbed greasy breakfast at a diner, and found a quiet spot to pull the car over for the interview. After it was all over, it was finally time to go back and relax!

Between the greasy diner, sweaty walk-in, muddy ankles, and oily hair, Dave was brave (or desperate) enough to swim in the pond. I on the other hand was not so easily convinced. “Where are the showers? I’d rather just have a hot bath and get fully cleaned.”
“Oh, I thought I told you. This campground doesn’t have showers.”
“Shocking.” I suddenly remembered the exact moment he was telling me. And I remember telling myself: no big deal, I’ve gone a couple of days without a shower before. But this wasn’t the same. I jealously watched Dave as he swam out to the center of the pond. I’m not really a prissy girl, but I just couldn’t get myself to join him. He managed to come out clean and leach-less, “That wasn’t so bad…except something kept wrapping around my legs.” Needless to say, the next day I found another campground nearby and took advantage of their hot showers before venturing into Maine.


Stood alone on a mountain top,
starin' out at the Great Divide
I could go east, I could go west,
it was all up to me to decide
Just then I saw a young hawk flyin'
and my soul began to rise
And pretty soon
My heart was singin'

Roll, roll me away,
I'm gonna roll me away tonight
Gotta keep rollin, gotta keep ridin',
keep searchin' till I find what's right
And as the sunset faded
I spoke to the faintest first starlight
And I said next time
Next time
We'll get it right 

~Bob Seger

Re-Arrange Us.

It's the way I see it, and oh what a point of view
It's the line that calms us all, like a bell on fire
It's the line that calms us all, and how we love the call
Aim the sound at me

Out of all the concerts we attended, we never managed to experience a concert in Athens. In case some of you are not aware, Athens is a huge scene for music. Such artists as R.E.M., B52’s, Widespread Panic, Indigo Girls, Neutral Milk Hotel… the list goes on, have originated from this town. So as a nod to the past two years living in Georgia and its music, our first leg of the adventure begins at the 40 Watt Club.

We spent time with my parents, dropped off Dublin (our cat and recent addition to our family), and headed down the Atlanta highway to see Mates of State. Mates of State might not be on the top of the charts because they are more of an indie band, but because of this fact they have a cult following of die hard fans, us being two of them! After grabbing a bite to eat at Dave’s favorite veggie restaurant The Grit, we waited in line for the concert to start. The husband and wife musicians pushed their kids in strollers through the crowd. I think Dave and I and a few other people were the only ones to notice.

Finally inside the theater, we realized how small and intimate the space was. What we did not realize, was how this first concert was going to set the stage for our trip. Upon arrival, we purchased several CD’s and a band shirt with a ship. If music is our sweeping undercurrent, than the ship is our vessel. I turned to Dave, “I could be an anchor. Drop me in the bay and watch me hold you steady.” It's the way I see it and oh what a point of view…

The concrete floors were porous and stained with an aroma of mostly Terrapin beer. We found a cozy vinyl seat in a side room with a red ambient glow from retro glass lamps. Just in case you were bored, there were old school arcade games. We ordered drinks and anxiously awaited the start of the show when we heard the first song of many on our journey. We recognized “Free Energy” instantly and pushed our way to the main stage. Dave and I were able to stand directly in front. Our clothing (and come to think of it…skin) thundered through our bodies from the speakers. By time the headliner Mates of State came on, there must have been no more than 60 people; however the energy from the crowd was incredible and the band rocked the house! The singers teased each other mid-song; one tapped the others ass with a tambourine, which in return would try to throw off the beat. It was inspiring watching a couple that travels from state to state in an RV, both passionate about music, and so madly in love. After the show, we were assured that this crazy idea of a journey was exactly what we needed. We just needed to stop, shake it off, and re-arrange.

To be Continued...

Now that time is on our side.

We're breakin out this time
makin out with the wind
and i'm so disconnected
i'm never gonna check back in

we're gonna start a new life
see how it goes
before we're tired and too slow

we'll never get any other life
there's too far to go
so together we make this whole

While living in Atlanta, we were going to concerts on a regular basis. It was probably one of the most enjoyable experiences we had. As you may have noticed, our blog is full of past concerts including The Flaming Lips, Bob Dylan, and more. A few concerts we did not get to include in the blog were Coldplay, Death Cab for Cutie as well as Joanna Newsom (which we made a special case for even though we were living out of boxes and sleeping on an air mattress). Music had become a sweeping undercurrent…therefore we let the tide take us. So we bought tickets and booked arrangements to follow suit for one large road trip / concert hop / camping excursion across New England and Canada. We had some major planning involved to be able to accomplish the magnitude of our journey. However, believe it or not, it seems you have to plan not to plan…so at a time when “home” was out of reach, Dave and I left with all the free will and confidence we could muster up.

do you know why the spirit's calling
from mountain to sea
it reminds us we're alive, this moment,
of who we are, what we could be

there's nothing to pray for
there's nothing to know
we're never waking up if we never let it go
the fever is coming
it's shaking the ground
the city's alive so tonight we break out
it's coming apart now it's not too far
we'll never know why we arrive where we are
we'll never know why we bring the seed in these times
but if you wanna get high kid, just open your eyes

this is all we've got tonight
this is all we got tonight
we are young and still alive
and now the time is on our side

Click to listen.

To be continued…

Decatur Beer Festival

Mike got drunk.

Brette got drunk.

Dave cried.

Good times!

The Great Decatur Craft Beer Festival whooped our ass last year. We live less than 1 mile from downtown Decatur, so fortunately we were able to stumble home. Being the newbies at this festival, we learned a lot of techniques in order to stay on top of the game this year. http://decaturbeerfestival.org/

First, you need to absorb the endless amounts of pints with something.

Pretzels are always a good choice...

Remember to be polite to the volunteers serving your tastings...even though they understand they are serving drunks, they tend not to like vulgar comments. Also remember to make new friends...

When offered a sample of hops, dont lean into the persons hand and eat it like a bird,
grabbing a pinch from the person's hand is the most sanitary method.

Also, don't drink and drive, hail a cab instead...

Don't forget the tender moments...

when a stranger mistakes you and your brother as gay lovers,

which breaks the ice for him to ask you to be his best man,

and in turn makes you cry like a baby...

Overall, it was a great Beer Festival !

I'm On A Boat!

On the Carnival Glory ship, Dave and I were able to relax for an entire week! Usually we stay sane with our occasional 3 day weekend going camping in the mountains, or to the lake or Savannah. However, it was time for a full week of absolute hedonistic exploration.
    On the cruise ship, we checked into our cabin. After a previous cruise we took together, we decided that we at least needed a window to know when the sun was up so we made the most out of each day. So I knew that we were getting a window, but when I walked into the room, there was a door leading to what else? A BALCONY!!! Dave suprised me by upgrading our room and now we are totally spoiled and will never do it any other way! We spent more time on the balcony than we did at the pool. And what really made it was Dave's Eno hammock which swayed from beams while we would watch the sunset drinking a cocktail...

      The first stop through the Western Caribbean was Cozumel, Mexico. We did not book any excursions. We thought we would just wing it and do whatever we wanted. So we rented a convertible Zip car and drove the whole island....once we filled the gas after narrowly making it to the only gas station.
     We had lunch at a genuine Mexican restaurant where we got salsa, guacamole and jalapeno poppers. Margaritas were just the beginning....we had sex on the beach (cough..)...I mean "Sex on the Beach", and Bahamaritas, and many other tropical drinks before stumbling back to our rental car. I know....we shouldn't drink and drive. But we were the only ones on the road and we enjoyed the ocean for a while before escaping to another beach where we enjoyed playful swimming.

    After Cozumel, our next stop was Belize. Belize is still a very poor country, but they have many beautiful rivers where you can do cave tubing. Cave tubing must have been invented by Belizians, because I have never seen it anywhere else. Basically you float on a river tube down a dark cave with only a coal miners flashlight on your head.  Sounds scary, but was totally fun! The second tour we did in Belize was zip lining. Dave had already experienced zip lining in Costa Rica, however I thought I was going to vomit before my first time. But after that I couldn't get enough of it!

   Our third port of call on our trip was Costa Maya. Let me just say that visiting this beautiful country and meeting the people that we did made Dave and I want to just sell everything we had and move there. Did I mention they make this yummy dish where they put chili powder on pineapple? Just try it and you'll know what I am talking about! After visiting the a few Mayan ruins which were very fascinating, we separated from the rest of the tour group to visit a blue lagoon. It sat on the edge of a small privately run hotel and campground. It was ran by a German couple that just decided one day that they wanted to get away from their everyday life in the big city. So they bought the property, added a restaurant, learned Spanish and look like the most content couple I have ever seen. So yeah...when you meet people that do this kind of thing and not just talk about it, it makes you think.  We ate a delicious meal with yet another margarita and grabbed a kayak. It is an amazing feeling when you are the only two people on the entire lagoon. In a selfish way, you begin to imagine that the fantasy is yours.

The Best Concert of Our Lives

So when Dave and I heard the Flaming Lips were coming to Chastain Park, we knew we could not miss this concert. It has been a summer of concerts for us, but if this one broke the bank - we were still going. They have been notorious for their over the top performances. I can't really describe them, but Wikipedia tried to.....

The band is known for their lush, multi-layered, psychedelic arrangements, spacey lyrics and bizarre song and album titles. They are also acclaimed for their elaborate live shows, which feature costumes, balloons, puppets, video projections, complex stage light configurations, giant hands, large amounts of confetti, and frontman Wayne Coyne's signature man-sized plastic bubble, in which he traverses the audience. In 2002,^[update] Q Magazine named The Flaming Lips one of the "50 Bands to See Before You Die". As of 2007 the group has collected three Grammy Awards, including two for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.

A typical night with The Flaming Lips


In da' bubble...


Lead singer, Wayne Coyne, riding atop a Monkey Man
(unfortunately, not our pic but had to include it since it's such a great shot)


It's not uncommon to see a collection of costumes, from both the audience and the band. Up on stage were a diverse collection of yeti men and women, captain catfish, a sunflower, butterfly and god knows what else. In the audience we caught glances of fairies, chicken costumes, astronaut outfits complete with helmet, iguanas wearing sombreros, and complete body paint suits. We can't wait to partake the next time we track these guys down in concert again. Yes, you heard that right, we vow to see this band again. And yes, we will be decked out in full garb just like the rest.
I promise you. :)

The thing about these performances The Flaming Lips put on can't be described without going yourself. It's just a completely new level.. The energy that night was just unbelievable. On top of it all, there was a huge storm brewing above the outdoor venue all night. It sent beautiful breezes with out a single drop of rain. It was perfect. Several times you could catch lightning crackling above our heads. There was one specific time when a huge bolt just fingered throughout the sky right above the stage. Everyone died in silence and after a few seconds, once it disappeared, everyone just screamed at the top of their lungs in enthusiasm. Just simply wild.

Enjoy this video of the infamous space bubble suit :)
*Please do not watch if you are prone to epileptic attacks*



The release of confetti and balloons
which the crowd bounced around the venue all night.


And if you're dying to see other videos that aren't ones we recorded that night, here's a youtube link of other recordings from that night for anyone interested...

To sum it all up, Brette got a t-shirt that had an illustration of the band with the following text below:
"I saw The Flaming Lips in concert and it made me a better human being"
and this ladies and gentlemen, is nothing closer to the truth...

Longest Yard Sale

The 127 Corridor or otherwise known as the Longest Yard Sale was one hot, three day marathon of digging through junk and treasures, eating homemade ice cream, and meeting interesting folks. The yard sale runs 654 miles from Gadsden, Alabama to West Unity, Ohio. However, we only covered half starting from Gadsden up until Crossville, Tennessee. Here are a few photos of items for sale that were captured along the way.

Chandeliers

This entire table of boxes are salt and pepper shakers.

Silverware

Tarnished Silver

Colorful Glass Bowls and Vases

Lots of old cars for sale.
Too bad I didn't have a way to get home a motorcycle side car for Dave.

Night shot of Chattanooga from our hotel room...
The Bavarian Inn, a nice quaint motel close to Ruby Falls.