It's that time of year again...the weather is changing, the leaves have fallen, my feet are itchy and it is time to head West. This time however, I will not be making the journey alone. Daniel (from this point forward known as Bubba) and Vicky will be joining in on this adventure. The plan, which is apt to change at any moment, is to head down to NOLA then over to LA up to Washington down to Idaho for Thanksgiving and to drop Vicky off then either back to LA or wherever I fall in love with this time. Yes its true mama's little wanderer is on the move but this time my intentions are slightly different. Besides wanting to meet amazing people and make a difference in the world I am hoping to find a place to settle for awhile where I can go back to school and call home for a bit.
In getting ready for the adventure there was lots of loose ends to tie up, errands to run, packing, food to plan, packing, goodbyes, packing and more packing. In true Jenni Ricci travel style I of course did not pack any of my stuff until the day/night before...actually mostly the morning we left. To back track a bit the week leading up to departure was a crazy one. One last day of work, going to UNH for Halloween, visiting Bubs family and finally getting to meet Autautumns man, ridiculous amounts of errands, etc. etc. (Although I was not able to hook up with everyone hoped I still love you all.) The eve of departure was spent with friends and with the help of the amazing Lyns we were able to pack 9 boxes of food into 4! Bubba also managed to bust his toe open just minutes after making fun of me for wanting to bring a big supply of first aid materials! The last move west meant a lot of overpacking so this time I constrained myself to 4 bags-2 of clothes and shoes, 1 of art supplies and 1 of random necessities-ipod, journals, sketch pad, photo stuff, etc.
11-5-10
The day has finally come! Bubba and I woke at 6ish so I could pack and he could run up to Sunday River and do one last ski run before leaving-which is a pretty sweet note to leave on. By the time he got back at 10 Vicky and I had showered and had everything on the porch, threw it in the truck and found out that there was actually extra room in the truck which was a nice surprise. Ran downtown to say goodbye to mom and dad-which was super emotional as always but this time for many different reasons. Hopped back in the truck and away we went. Bubba drove to Kennebunk while I tried to hold the emotions back but the tears still flowed, then after a short stretch I drove to Prov.
Ryan Garrett I love you but you are not the best at directions. I figured it would be easier to just call Woody when we got close and get directions to his apartment since by now hes been living here for a few months...to my surprise and after a lovely little detour we realized there were not 'hills' as were described nor were there going to be '2 yellow lights and a red one where you are supposed to stop.' Ten minutes and a phone call later and we were checking out the new diggs and meeting Nick. Ran to the bus stop to get Ian then back to the apartment. Met a fellow named Mario at the corner store as I was picking up some libations for the evening. When I asked about a particular wine from Portugal he gave me a ten minute lesson on the craft of good wine and then told me I should mix it with triple sec!?! A walk around the block and 30 photos later I got back to find a debate about dinner going on-Ian and I really wanted Woody to cook Jambalaya or anything but ultimately we decided to go out.
Piled in the car we drove to midtown and found a street spot almost directly across from Lupo's which was sweet. Bought our tickets to see the one and only Michael Franti! We decided on a little Greek pizza place which was relatively inexpensive for the amount of food you got. After dinner we still had an hour to kill before the doors opened for the show and that was great because Vicky needed to run to CVS to replace one of her hearing aid batteries. We also found this great wine shop with specialty wines and liquors from all over the world Dropped everything off at the car and got to the club just as doors opened.
Here is where this day gets REALLY good...
Once inside we quickly looked at the merch and I realized the opener (whom none of us knew before hand was the opener) was Bobby Long. Now you may not be familiar with that name but I sure hope you familiarize yourself soon.
I know what some of you may be thinking 'oh my god more of that twilight stuff' but he is a tremendously talented musician. He sounds like Ray Lamontagne and I dont know maybe Randy Travis had a music love child. He also reminds me a lot of Ray when he plays because he looks like he is in pain and that the lyrics he wrote and sings still sting and burn as they are uttered.
I was in complete awe as I stood there watching and soaking him in. I was also terribly disappointed by most of the crowd who were so set on seeing Franti they talked over and completely missed the talent of this young lad.
After Bobby's set there was only a short set switch filled by the music of Outkast, Usher and others. This resulted in people getting down with their bad selves.
Franti took the stage and played for 2+ hours! Now when I say he played he brought sunshine and laughter and played his heart out for 2 of the best hours ever. The dude is like the energizer bunny bouncing around not getting tired and always really believing in the power of people and the power of love! I was taken to church again last night by this beautiful man.
His son Cappy was in the audience for this show standing right in front of us, and seemed like the happiest dude ever. Other highlights-a man proposed to his wife by asking his little firefly to light the way for the rest of their lives, Franti came into the crowd and sang next to Woody and Ian 3 times which just makes the show that much more intimate.
After the show we tried for an after party that we were invited to but it was 21+ so no dice. Stopped and grabbed some aqua then headed home where we crashed almost immediately. Woody, Ian, me and Bubba slept in the bed and Vicky was at the foot. After some goodnight Jonboys we were out.
Saturday morning was spent lounging with the bros-we all slept in til 11! Well the boys and I did, Vicky was up exercising at 9:30 which is a rare occurrence that she was up before all of us. Woody made blueberry pancakes for everyone while his roomie Nick made fun of him for burning just a few and using fake butter. Found out Nick is really into Joe Satriani and Steve Vai, which thanks to the Savage I now know quite well, and is himself quite the guitarist! After breakfast we all took turns playing DJ and introducing each other to new music. Some examples are Bloc Party, Evergreen Terrace, David Guetta, Michael Franti, La Roux, Collie Buddz and more. Right before leaving Woody played his guitar for us and possibly Nick will too.
Off to Troy NY to spend some time with one of Vickys friends...
Until then please dong forget to smile.
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