This is my first “Rose vacation” that I’ve had in years. A “Rose vacation” means I can relax, read, sit in the sun, and do mostly whatever I want. The main rule is no rushing and no needing to entertain others (mainly a selfish vacation I know) and taking a nap whenever I want:)
My last night of work was Thursday, so after a brief nap Friday morning I headed out to the Jazz Fest with my chair and a waterproof bag slung over my shoulder. First let me just say that the bus is *awesome*! I parked at the Mid City Bulldog, got a Guinness and then hopped on the bus which dropped me off right outside the fairgrounds. The whole thing took less time than it would for me to drive, find parking, and walk two miles to the fairgrounds.
So while the bus was awesome, the rain was not. It was torrential from the moment I got off the bus until several hours later. It took me less than a minute to get soaked despite my poncho so I just stayed that way all day. I made some good friends at the vendor booths including one lady who grew up near where my folks live, now lives next to my good friend in Boston, and has sisters in the same cities I have sisters…weird. The tents were packed and there was good music at the outside venues, so I just set up my chair in the downpour and watched some awesome players. On that note, let me just say that I am a new fan of the Lost Bayou Ramblers and if I wasn’t engaged to Jeff, I’d probably have mad crushes on the whole band…especially the hot double bassist;) !!
And even though I swore to myself I’d be frugal and just have the fruit and water at the WWOZ tent, I couldn’t resist some poboy and fried crabcake…yum!  The day flew by and I went home to tidy my room and sleep to catch up with the fact that I only had less than 2 hours of sleep under my belt for the last day and a half!
Saturday, I woke up without my alarm, went for a jog in the drizzle, had an oatmeal breakfast (to offset the rest of my day!) and headed out again for the bus. I hopped on right away and made it in time for the Tin Men who were awesome as always. Then it was off to Bonerama (Craig is super fantastic and did we mention he’s organizing our second line??!!…so excited:) Then Andrew Duhon (these days looks like a hippie mountain man with such a sweet voice), the rest of Papa Grows Funk (PGF) and then my favorite show of the day: Ezra with Bonerama and PGF. The sun came out and all was dry and glorious. I finished out the day with My Morning Jacket while reading the JF Off Beat…gave me lots of ideas for muscians to catch and food to hunt down. Saturday night was Dash at the station after an hour nap and some work at home then early to bed near 2:30am.
Sunday I again woke without an alarm near 11:30 much to Jeff’s chagrin (that’s what happens when I stay out that late!!). Got dressed and sunscreened and headed out for a gorgeous sunny day. The bus was again a winner with a chatty driver and quick pick up. Got to the Fest in time for the Imagination Movers (hundreds of little kids dancing their assess off with their parents…cute) and then Theresa Anderson, lunch of fried crawfish and shrimp and crawfish bread, Grayson Capps, Susan Cowsill with cameos, and then some of the Klezmer Allstars before heading back home with Jeff. I went for a late night jog and then we passed out early before waking Monday with a lazy day plan.
Got some things done to make me feel good, took a short nap, then picked up some super thick little steaks at Whole Paycheck for dinner. Went for a jog, snuggled with the pups, and spent some time outside on the porch drinking a delicious stout and talking to my good friend and soon to be maid of honor for a couple hours. Nice lazy evening and now back to the same this morning. Dressed for some exercise with strawberries for breakfast, a small task of tidying the living room, a possible nap in the hammock in my future before a possible acupuncture appointment. I love vacation!!!
PS. I have never done this blog thing before. It feels weird to just write about me this whole time. I will think of it as a bit of a diary for Jeff and myself I guess:)