on our way home..

We finally made our way back home!! The band and I had a wonderful trip, but could not be happier that we're back. Making our way back down the coast was great. We stopped in Portland, had a show at The Buffalo Gap Saloon, which is an amazing restaurant and bar. We went to the Saturday Market in the heart of Portland, which is like an arts and wine festival, very cool.

A friend of Martin's, Julia Dawn, opened the show for them. She is an amazing artist, living in the Portland area.

Then in between shows in Portland and our last in Humboldt, we camped along the Smith River, which I think was my favorite part of the trip. The River is so gorgeous; crystal clear water surrounded by cliffs of rock, we couldn't ask for more. Martin, Daniel and I found some amazing places to jump from, and with the water being so clear and deep, it was surreal.

daniel and I making our way to the top, we managed to go much higher, and then jump, it was frightening

The last show of the trip was a second visit at Six Rivers Brewery, one of our favorite places in california. After the show we decided to drive straight through the night, arriving in Fremont around 7 in the morning. Home sweet home.

some humboldt pictures

a few days in... Seattle!!

I'm going to keep this short and sweet. My computer time is usually limited, so my blog length may start to reflect the business of our travels. We've been in Seattle the last few days and I have loved it!!!! Definitely my favorite city on the tour, although I have really loved everywhere. But it's really a gorgeous, clean, and very artsy city, with lots to do and good places to eat. Our first day we started at Pikes Fish Market, which is this amazing 3/4 level Market with just about anything you could possibly want. It was like going to an arts and wine festival, grocery store, and mall all in one; except all the stores our small and quaint. Then we made our way to the Space Needle to check out the view, which was awesome. We also self indulged in some fudge at the gift shop, which is now one of our favorite things, but flavored fudge, not tradition chocolate, like maple (Martin's favorite) or vanilla caramel (my favorite). As a group we went to dinner at the Crap Pot, my dad suggested it, and it was so great!!! Right on the wharf, so there's a great view, you order a pot of food with crab, shrimp, potatoes, corn, and other seafood goodness and they just dump it right in front of you. My favorite meal so far for sure. Right after the amazingness of dinner, Martin, Daniel, and I went to a Mariners game! It's pretty cool going to different stadiums, when you're so used to the ones close to home.

before and after..

The next day in Seattle we got a pretty late start, trying to figure out our camping situation, but it worked out great. We went to the West Seattle Festival and caught the tail end of what was going on. It was one of the best festival's I've ever been to. Great food, tons of amazing art, and all the shops on the street where it was held was open so we got to enjoy those as well. I am happy to say I found the cutest cupcake shop in the whole wide world (The Sugar Rush Baking Company). I'm now a huge fan of the mini cupcakes, which I will soon be testing out, that's for sure.

cutest little thing you've ever seen, right

Later that night the boys had their show at Egan Ballard's Jam House, which was a very classy, jazzy establishment. We showed up early enough so we could watch the previous band play and they were amazing. All classically trained musicians I'm sure, they were amazing to watch. They even invited the piano players wife on stage to sing, she chose Bye Bye Blackbird, one of my favorite songs, and very memorable of the movie Sleepless in Seattle (also one of my favorites).

To our surprise two of our good friends showed up just before the show!! They drove all the way from home (Fremont) to spend the day up in Seattle and the next day with us back in Portland. It was so awesome for me and I'm sure much more than the boys, it was a short break from being the only girl in a group of boys and it felt like home again. Rachel and Alissa, you girls are wonderful. The show went great, and late, so we headed back to camp. That concludes the Seattle part of the trip, such a great city, I would definitely recommend a visit!

a few days in... Portland!!

Portland was a short but great visit. We stayed with friends of Jeremy, Laura and Ted, who were amazing hosts for us. Not only did they offer us their house/backyard (we all decided to amp in the backyard since we keep late hours and some people actually go to work early in the morning) but they showed us around the city! Tuesday morning we woke up to some fresh blueberry pancakes whipped up by Ted (they have a wonderful garden in their backyard; blueberries, pumpkins, carrots, peas, tomatoes) and then he showed us the town. Portland has a great public transit system, at a very affordable rate, free! The four band mates, Ted, and myself, drove into the city, parked (for free) and then took a free train further into the city.

The actual downtown Portland is very similar to towns you would see around the bay area; like Palo Alto, or something to that effect. The buildings are just a little bigger, and most likely older; a very classy and quant downtown. The group stopped off at Powell’s Books, the legendary independent bookstore, Martin and I both made a good purchase. For lunch Ted suggested a brewery/pub named McMenamins, I believe is a northwest chain, which was by far our favorite stop yet! The food was so amazing and such a good price. $2.50, anything on the happy hour menu! With hummus, artichoke dip, 3 bean chowder, a loaded cheeseburger, and more, we were more than happy. After the walk back to the train and a short drive back home, we relaxed for a few and headed to the show!
The band played their Tuesday night show at the Mississippi Pizza Pub, a small pizza restaurant on the outskirts of Portland. Free pizza and drinks made it quite enjoyable, but even without, it was a great night. Chris, a friend of Jeremy, and our hosts Laura and Ted made it to the show, and with some help from the local kickball teams (apparently it’s a big thing out there), so we had a decent audience. The boys played late into the evening, enjoyed another slice or two and we packed up for the eve. Definitely a venue worth playing again, or at least to stop by for some delicious pizza.
Today we took our time packing up and enjoying the morning. Ted took us to a wonderful Mexican food restaurant with breakfast burritos, we did some laundry, and a little grocery shopping at the local Safeway (which always makes you feel a little more at home). I’m writing this as we make our way in to Washington, Seattle is just a few hours away!!

I've had problems with video, but hopefully I'll get a few up soon!!

a few days in... humboldt!

July 3rd, Martin, the band (Jeremy, Daniel, newest edition Dave) and myself got a late start on the day, left around 3 pm, and started our drive up the coast of beautiful california. Unfortunately got a flat, about 3 hours north in Laytonville. A friend of ours, Ben, who was joining us for the weekend in Humboldt, just happened to be a few minutes behind and stopped to help. Unable to lift the van with our small jack, we managed to use a large rock to prop up the jack giving us enough height. Thank goodness for dave, who knows more about changing tires than the rest of us combined. Still waiting for AAA to get back to us, who initially said that they wouldn't be able to lift the van because of it's large size, we attempted to take the spare off the back of the van. Of course we didn't have any tools, so with a small vice grip, and hand pliers (supplied by our local handyman ben) the boys gave it their best effort. I eventually called back the tow truck guy and talked him in to meeting us out there. I said that we would get the van up but we would need some kind of help in getting off the spare tire. He agreed and eventually came out to help. So he pretty much saved the day. He took off the spare, replaced the bad tire, and pumped up the spare, which somehow had not crossed our mind that we would need to do that. 1 1/2 hours later, we were back on the road. Thank you tow truck driver, ben, and dave, and martin (who found the rock and carried it back to the van). Note: Dan and Jeremy were playing on a nearby tractor. Also, we parked right next to what looked like a dead eagle or turkey (a large bird of some kind) gross...

We camped at Patricks Point, definitely a place worth visiting. The campground is right along the coast and just a short walk away from the beach, and several gorgeous hikes.

6 Rivers Brewery, where they played their show, is in McKineleyville, and just about 15 miles away from our campsite. I came up with the band last year to play up here and it is really an awesome venue. The Restaurant owner, Meredith, makes our trip so worth while. With a free meal (an amazing meal at that) and paying the band, it's a great time. Lucky for us we have a lot of amazing friends who traveled up to see the first show. Hopefully the rest of the trip will continue on just as great!

Pause music at the bottom of the blog to play video!! A song from The 4th of July show!

Now on to Portland Oregon!!

a few weeks on tour..

Martin and the band are going on a short Northwestern tour, and I get to go with them!! We're leaving Friday and driving up the coast, through northern california, oregon, and washington (unfortunately, no longer to Canada).

The dates of the shows are as follows...

Saturday, July 4th @ 8 pm
Six Rivers Brewery
Mckinleyville California

Tuesday, July 7th @ 9 pm
Mississippi Pizza Pub
Portland Oregon

Friday, July 10th @ 11 pm
Egan's Ballard Jam House
Seattle Washington

Saturday, July 11th @ 10 pm
The Buffalo Gap Saloon
Portland Oregon

Wednesday, July 15th @ 8 pm
Six Rivers Brewery
Mckinleyville California

And to kick of the tour we're having a fundraiser lunch at Outback Steakhouse tomorrow, Thursday, at 12 pm!!! The band will be playing a show, and lunch will be served. Tickets can be bought at the door for 12$.



Sorry for the last minute invite to the Outback show, but we would love to see you there!! Kids under 4 are free!!

And if you have ANY suggestions for where to eat or visit or camp in any of the cities we're travelling to, please let me know!!!

I'll miss you friends and family!!

xoxo
Kristin :)