Thankfully I Ride the Blue Line

So I know I've been a slacker on this thing...updates soon to come. I have tons of pics and videos I need to get up here! Anyway, I'm sure everyone has heard by now about the accident that happened on the red line here in Washington.



Just wanted to let you know, and obviously since I'm typing this, that I'm okay. While I am thankful for being safe and sound, our thoughts should be with the driver, the passengers and their families. As an adage, I ride the blue line train every day, which goes in another direction in the city. The scary thing is that I do ride in the front car, merely out of habit. This morning when I got on the metro, I thought about changing it up--but didn't. I thought that was silly because whatever is going to happen will happen. The important thing is to let the ones you love know how much you appreciate them...so without further ado!

Weird...

God hates shoes.

Sounds tasty... (the Obama Burger is 100% real fetus meat)

"Human" in the loosest sense.

Quit hogging all the crazy!

Great Time at Great Falls

Our friend Al (or Alexandra) just arrived from Rio and is staying with us. Yesterday we all packed up in the car, including Rufus, and went to Great Falls--just 14 miles from our house.

Though we didn't get to see it, the Patowmack Canal (yes, not spelled like Potomac, which is the name of the river) was created by George Washington himself after the Revolutionary War. It was built to be the shortest route between tidewater, with access to East Coast and trans-Atlantic trade, and the headwaters of the Ohio River, with access to the western frontier, according to the National Park Service.


Excerpt from the National Park Service (and a little bit of history for you!):

Opening the Potomac required cooperation of Virginia and Maryland, which bordered the river. In 1784, Washington convinced the states' assemblies to establish a company to improve the Potomac between its headwaters near Cumberland, Md., and tidewater at Georgetown. The Patowmack Company, organized May 17, 1785, drew directors and subscribers from both states.

The office of president, Washington wrote in his diary, "fell upon me." He presided over the project until he became the nation's chief executive.

Let the Countdown Begin!

It's official. Leslie finally booked her flight yesterday for a whopping price of $213--which is freakin' amazing! A terrible thing to say I'm sure, but apparently swine flu has helped offset travel costs. Sorry JR and Alex who already bought their tickets! Anyway, just wanted to say I've officially started a countdown to the We're Not Going to Sleep a Wink Fest that'll occur Memorial Day Weekend in DC. There's still time to join in on the festivities, but if you can't make it--we'll be sure to get some good video and pics of the debauchery that's soon to come!

Guy Clark at the Birchmere

While riding the metro to work on Thursday, I was reading the newspaper and I happened to flip through the weekend section to see what was going on. To my surprise, I saw that Guy Clark was in town, playing at the Birchmere Saturday night for only $29! I was beside myself with excitement since he happens to be one of mine and Kevin's favorite Americana/classic country musicians. It's not just his music, but his poetic lyrics. His songs are like stories, blending life experience, old friends, the imaginary and more often than not love lost.

We went to the famous music hall, had two pitchers of Stella Artois, some chips and queso and huge platter of nachos and sat in an audience of roughly 100-150 people dinner style. I don't know if you can tell by the pictures, but you can see that we were only about 20 feet away from the stage.

He put on an acoustic concert and the way he was talking before each song, he almost made you feel like you were one of his old friends. He was telling jokes, giving us background on how his songs came about, and also took requests--though he admittedly said he might not remember them. In fact, one guy in the audience kept heckling him to play "Instant Coffee Blues," but that's one of the songs he couldn't remember anymore. Regardless of what he played, you could tell he felt every word he sung.


One of my favorite stories that he told us was the meaning behind "Randall Knife"--which he said was a story about his grandfather and when he started writing it, the song turned into a story about his dad and then ultimately one about him. And then he said, isn't that how it always happens? I was kinda bummed because I couldn't take any video (it was super dark) and it wasn't allowed, so unfortunately there are no "live" video experiences for me to share!

He played one of Kev's favorite songs, "Stuff that Works"--which is another song that reminds me of you guys (referring to that e-mail I sent Thursday when I bought the tickets). The guy standing next to him in that YouTube video is Verlon Thompson, who opened up for him and who is a long-time friend and bandmember that's toured for him for quite some time.

And just for laughs, Kev made me take a picture of Steven Seagal (right next to Charlie Daniels), he was one of the many famous people that have either performed or patroned the Birchmere. They had pics in frames adorning a long hall before you entered into the performance hall.