A Visit to the Decidedly Non-DC Northeast

Lucky me! After several months (a year?) of pestering Jeff, I managed to score myself an invitation to visit the famous King Family Camp, a beautiful cabin tucked away in rural West Topsham, Vermont. For 48 hours, Jeff ran me and fellow traveler Ann ragged, first stuffing us with delicious Vermont food and then hustling us up the White Mountains. I think if he had been inclined to charge, Jeff could have made a pretty penny off of us for his awesome tour-guiding! Check it:



Trip Journal
Friday
Made our way to Jeff's cabin in Vermont via the Manchester, NH airport with relatively little drama (other than Jeff's thrilling attempt to drive down the wrong side of I Street). Jeff cleared out the two dead mouse bodies and dispatched a large spider, thus making the cabin about as critter-free as possible. Jeff couldn't get the gas stove working, but the futons and wool blankets provided us with as toasty a bed as we could wish. Ann and I were naturally delighted to discover there's no outhouse at the King Family Camp.

Saturday - Eating our way around Vermont
We indulged in a rather late sleep-in, then hit the Waits River General Store for breakfast. This was to be the first of SIX food stops over the course of the day. We made our way through the gorgeous countryside and eventually ended up at the Cabot Creamery, where we took a tour (they were making Habanero cheese) and tried absolutely everything on the sample table. Vermont cheddar is the BEST. Next we made a stop at the Morse Farm Sugar Works, where of course we learned all about sugarin' and got to sample all the different kinds of maple syrup. I was raised on the fake stuff, but how can you not fall in love with maple syrup, eh? The rest of the day included stops in adorable downtown Montpelier (for lunch), at Ben & Jerry's in Waterbury (for the free sample at the end of the not-so-exciting tour), at the Cold Hollow Cider Mill (for cider and the most delicious doughnuts ever), and finally in Burlington (for sunset, dinner, and the Red Sox game). Stunning scenery all around. Foliage to die for - even a covered bridge! Yes, I've seen this stuff before, even in VT, but the power of simple beauty never fails to amaze and awe. Also, Vermonters are so damn friendly! I definitely think I belong in a less populated area, at least personality-wise. Too bad I'm hooked on things like concerts, opera, public transportation, amenities, etc. etc.

Sunday - White Mountains hiking
After picking up breakfast at Dunkin' Doughnuts and lunch sandwiches at a deli in Woodstock, NH, we arrived at the trailhead for the Old Bridle Path at Franconia Notch. Over the course of two hours, we ascended 2,000 ft in three miles and ended our trek at the AMC's Greenleaf Hut. Needless to say, the views were breathtaking. So was the hike, actually, in a more literal sense. The ascent got my pulse racing and the descent made my knees ache, but I loved every second.
Our mountain adventure tired out even trail-blazer Jeff, so you can imagine our joy when we discovered our flight back to Baltimore was delayed nearly an hour. We killed the time by chatting with a fellow passenger who recognized us from the hike (small world!) and eventually boarded and took off. I didn't get to bed until 1 AM - and I was the first home (poor Jeff, stuck driving all day!). But, in the end, even if I hadn't gotten any sleep at all...it still would have been worth it. When are we going back already, guys??

Good Gauley, Miss AB!

Back from a gnarly weekend taking on the wild waters of West Virginia. Radical!

<---Lower Gauley rafters

TMBG Builds a Birdhouse in My Soul

Those of you who know me (and presumably that's everyone who reads this) are aware that I am a rabid music lunatic who attends more shows per month than I have fingers and toes to count them on. I rarely (if ever - can someone do a search on this for me?) post anything here about the shows I see because I don't usually have anything important to convey about them. Especially not when I compare what I would write with what my friend Dana does on her concert blog. Anyway, point being: the fact that I'm bothering to bother you with my thoughts and feelings on the They Might Be Giants show at Ram's Head Live yesterday should speak volumes about how amazing it was. How amazing they were.

My feeling with regard to concerts is that, on a scale from 1-10 in awesomeness, all bands start with a 5 and move up or down from there. Points are awarded not just for sounding good, but for the frills and sometimes thrills that differentiate seeing a live performance and listening to a studio recording on my Bose. The Giants get a 10 for their show yesterday. The songs were great and included classics like Particle Man and Birdhouse in Your Soul, as well as choice selections from their new record The Else. But what put them over the top was the theatricality and personalization of the show. During one skit involving a phone call from "beyond the grave," Edgar Allen Poe (Baltimore celeb) called in and read a poem (which turned out to be Metallica's Enter Sandman). The audience was asked to clap - with hands above their heads - for the entirety of Particle Man, and when enthusiasm flagged and hands began to drop, John Linnell improvised a verse about lame people who don't clap at concerts. John Flansburgh had lucky first-row audience members strum his guitar. Let me not forgot that they had not one but two encores, complete with an explosion of confetti.

Well, of course I haven't done a great job of putting you in the midst of the crowd, but take my word that it was an engaging, hilarious, fun show, and well worth the long drive up to Baltimore. It was the first night of a national tour, so try to make it out to see them if you can.

On a related note, Ram's Head Live is a terrific venue.

Ravens Run Hike

On Sunday I went on a quick but satisfying hike on the Virginia - West Virginia border (see pic of me and Sarah at the sign). We found a turtle on the trail and beautiful views greeted us at the top - well worth getting up a little early on a Sunday. We later negated all our burned calories by stopping for Cold Stone on the way home. Also listened several times to all the Flight of the Conchords songs.

Assateague Camping 2007

<---Jeff, Ann, Darren

This weekend I indulged once again in a camping expedition to the Eastern Shore, this time to the Maryland side of Assateague Island (see last year's trip here). My camera unfortunately reacted poorly to the excesses of sun, sand, and surf, and froze up shortly after Joel took about 100 pictures of a humorously-posed dog. So, lots of pictures of Reagan, not too many of the rest of the weekend. I'm sure you would have loved to see me all scarred up from the millions of mosquito bites I endured. Man, it was painful. But at least I got to hang out with great people (photos courtesy of Joel) and read a hell of a lot of Harry Potter.

<---Dana, AB, Jon, Yvonne











Reagan

Brian, me, and Brian's Artwork

The Last Strokes

MPP is over. Now, to move onto the hallway...

Artwork SCORE!

Finally - real artwork in my new place! This is a significant first and my eyes verily well with the specialness of the moment. Best of all, the artist is world-renowned abstract painter (and dear friend) Brian Williams, genius extraordinaire. Brian took pity on my art-starved walls and graciously gifted me these masterpieces (titled Submarine). He didn't even know that my middle school colors were orange and blue. Go Bell!

Seriously, though, I think these add a lot to the space. Combined with my 46" LCD TV on the other wall, I've got plenty of eye candy!

On a related note, B-dub does actually sell paintings as well, so if you or any of your rich relatives are looking for an interesting piece, drop me a line. :)

Birthday Dinner at Etete

Celebrated my birthday (which is today) with a dinner last night at the fabulous Ethiopian restaurant Etete. Our party of eleven strained their table resources but made me feel very popular. Thanks everyone. :)

Birthday-celebrating, food-eating revelers. Oops, I seem to have missed Patrick in this shot. Sorry babe.