riverECHO

From Victor to Buhl to Flagstaff to Sedona to Prescott to Tempe to the McDowell Range to Fruita to Moab to Capitol Reef to Zion to St. George to Big Bear to Joshua Tree to Kernville to Camp Nelson to Sequoia to Kings Canyon to Oakhurst to Yosemite to Santa Barbara to Big Sur to San Juan Bautista to Palo Alto to Sonoma to Martinez to Truckee to Victor, we covered some ground in just under 3 months. Here are some highlights:

It’s hard to believe that my nephew Sam turned 1 month old yesterday. I must admit that 4 ½ weeks ago, I was a little terrified meeting Sam for the first time. I thought that I would surely drop him, squish him, or do something terribly wrong. But after a couple of days, I didn’t want to put him down. It was amazing to watch him change not only physically, but in his awareness of his surroundings. I have loved every minute … getting up with Shalyn to help feed him in the middle of the night, watching Randall nuzzle him every time he came home from work, and laughing hysterically at his many gestures, facial expressions, and massive poops. Most of all, I will miss dozing off on the couch with him snuggled closely in on my chest. It’s hard to compare my feelings about the last four weeks to anything else I’ve experienced. It was emotional and exciting, and yet totally natural and peaceful at the same time. My time here has gone by so fast and it has been such a treat to be able to share the first month of Sam’s life with my sister and brother-in-law. Shay and Randall, you two are already such amazing parents. Sam is one lucky little guy … and incredibly cute too.

I took a few weekends to visit other family and friends and to experience a bit of the Bay Area’s wide array of culture. I went to a handful of movies, had high tea in the city, saw a play called Marcus about a young gay African American man in the south, went to a Wake the Dead (a Celtic Grateful Dead cover band) concert, and saw Thievery Corporation & Massive Attack (one of my faves) at the Greek Theater.

It’s been such a nice month back “home” and sometimes I wish I could just pack everyone up (including a few cultural events) and take it all back to Victor, Idaho with me. Well, that would be with a stopover in Nicaragua of course to join BJ and friends for a little surfing.

As a side note, something must be done about the bay area radio stations. I swear that some of the stations that I used to listen to in high school (like Live 105 and KMEL) play exactly the same songs … Nirvana, Red Hot Chili Peppers, oh and Warren G’s “regulators.” Don’t get me wrong, I like all of these artists. But I can’t believe that these stations haven’t found anything new to play over the last 10 years.

My sister Shalyn and her now husband, Randall, got married this weekend in Healdsburg, California, in the heart of wine country. They had been dating for 10 years after meeting in their freshman dorm at Stanford. Shalyn took what she called “Jewish 101″ last year and had a mikvah this summer, which allowed for a Jewish wedding. Traditional in some ways (breaking of the glass, blessings, signing of the ketubah, the chuppah) and very non-traditional in others (basically everything that happened once the ceremony ended and the party began), their wedding was absolutely beautiful and a ton of fun.Three days of events kept us busy, excited, full of tears, and drunk on champagne.

It was fun from the get-go. I arrived with Shalyn on Wednesday night to Healdsburg where we prepared Welcome bags, had massages, had pedicures (yes, I had a pedicure), eat a ton of food, drank a lot of wine, and enjoyed some quality sister time – I loved having her all to myself. Looking back I can’t remember the last time I laughed so hard, cried so hard, was so incredibly embarrassed or was so exstatically happy in such a small time amount of time.

It was moments like these that I will never forget: Serenading Randall with all of the bridesmaids to our own version of Madonna’s “True Blue”; balling my eyes out during Sheila’s, Randall’s mother, speech on Sunday night and continuing to cry every time someone said “shalyn” or “randall”; Shalyn telling me she thought my eyes were really pretty after I was crying cause they are really red and really green – uh, yeah right; dancing at the wedding with BJ, my dad and Fran (both 73 years old), all the bridesmaids, Shalyn and Randall, and her 7 year old cousin “Emma”; meeting up with my sexy boyfriend at each event after not seeing him all day; and finally, realizing how much I love my older sister and her husband Randall!!

Here is a list of live music that we have seen in the past 11 days (in order):

Driggs, ID Music on Main
Thursday, August 14th
Chuck Prophet

Jackson Hole Music Festival
Sunday, August 17th
The Avett Brothers, The Miller Sisters, Robert Randolph and His Family Band, Ben Harper & and Innocent Criminals, The Black Crowes

Driggs, ID Music on Main
Thursday, August 21st
Jackie Greene

Outside Lands Festival – San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park
Sunday, August 24th
ALO – Animal Liberation Orchestra, The Mother Hips, Bon Iver, Andrew Bird, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Widespread Panic, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Los Amigos Invisibles, Wilco, Jack Johnson

There is really too much to cover here in the text.  But, to sum it up, we woke up this morning on the North end of the Ruby Mountains in Nevada.  After grabbing some much needed coffee, we pointed ‘er West and found ourselves in Truckee, California by Noon at Tal’s house.  We promptly jumped into his new find, a GT Dart ragtop and ran into town for some more coffee and lunch at Wild Cherries (we always end up there at least once when we are in town).

Then it was back to Tal’s house so that he and Lisa could get on the same page of his business as she will be helping him out as it grows.  While they were digging deep into the business, I was looking up airport information for flying into Black Rock Airport (otherwise known as the Burning Man Airstrip) for our late afternoon outing.

Tal fired up the Skyhawk and flew us about 1 hour North (as the Skyhawk flies) of Truckee above Burning Man.  The event has not yet started, but there were signs of big things to come for the week ahead.  We touched down on the desert floor and learned a bit about soft landing and takeoffs.  Of course, the highlight might have been the last few minutes in the sky as we landed in Truckee.  I’ll let the pictures tell the rest of the story.

Oh yeah…and one more thing…I guess we need to add flight instructions to the list of things to do in life!

After leaving southern Utah, we made a quick stop on the western side of Vegas to take a shower at an RV park, and then drove directly to UCSB to visit my little sister, Anni, during her freshman year of college. Nothing like partying in the dorms again and needless to say, we only lasted one night. We hopped in the car the next morning and drove up Highway 1 towards Half Moon Bay where we would meet up with Tim and Mary Lynn. We camped at Half Moon Bay as it was the cheapest, not to mention beautiful, lodging to be found close to San Francisco. We spent the first evening on the beach, just footsteps from our camp, playing with our kite. While Tim and BJ attended a two day Google developers conference, and saw Flight of the Conchords live, in downtown SF, Mary Lynn and I poached wireless internet from various locations in the city. Our favorite was the W Hotel. They had great tea too. Not many photos from the big city, but I experienced a big day for my older sister, Shalyn. Just two days before turning 29 and three months before her wedding date, she became Jewish. I attended her Mikvah and naming ceremony. Her new Hebrew name . . . Gila Chaya or Joy Life. Coming from a very non-religious family, it has been really interesting to see it become a very important part of her life.  We made a quick trip up to Sonoma to visit my dad and Fran. And then, a fter a short evening with Eros and Jaime in Noe Valley and a layover in Tahoe visiting Tal, Quinner, and Jess, we finally made our way home after three weeks on the road. Despite stories of constant rain and snow at home, we can’t wait to get there and see our little shitty kitty.

My older sister, Shalyn, will be getting married this summer on August 31st to Randall Eason, a wonderful man that she has been seeing since she was a freshman at Stanford. This weekend was the first of many wedding events . . . the bridal shower. Now, not having gone to many bridal showers before, well none actually, I learned a few things at my sister’s shower.

• As a side note about a month ago my father asked me what date I would be in town for Shalyn’s Bridal BATH! Clearly most men think this event is a time of essential oils, smelly soaps, and luffas, where we all sit around the bride and bathe her. Sorry guys, not the case. No naked pillow fights either.

Picture a room full of beautiful women, all important slices of Shalyn’s life and many of whom I haven’t seen since I left Palo Alto after high school. Lots of presents. Lots of food. A few games including “how well does the bride know the groom.” Lots of laughter. Recipe sharing. And last but not least “Relationship Advice.” This was my learning experience that I wanted to share. Of course we a sexual comment or two, specifically “Lots of Sex!” But the ones that really hit home . . .

• Never forget your sense of humor.
• Never go to bed angry.
• Always kiss good night.
• Every morning, before doing anything else together, hug tightly for 15 seconds, no less.