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Massanutten Resort

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Third weekend in a row that I would be out of town.  For just having bought a townhouse I certainly don’t spent a lot of time at home.  This weekend the family and I were headed to Massanutten Resort near Harrisonburg, VA for a little rest and relaxation.  With everyone’s busy schedules we could only stay the weekend.  It was one of the few places that would allow us to rent for a couple of days over the weekend and not force a week long rental.

Nancy and I had Friday off so we slowly got the Jeep filled with our gear with a quick stop at Wegmans to get a variety of beer and we were off.  We tried to enjoy the summer sun but unfortunately couldn’t drive all the way there with the top down.  As we approached Leesburg the clouds started to darken and eventually opened up with a torrential downpour all through town.  Once on the other side things dramatically changed.  It was now bright and sunny with only fluffy white clouds in the sky.  It made lunch enjoyable sitting outside a Sonic in Winchester.  Being such a nice day who would want to eat inside their car?

After a couple more hours driving we made it to the resort but got lost trying to find the house.  We got a good look around town, something we both would have avoided if possible.  When we finally did reach the house, it was a modern place, best way to describe it.  Very spacious with new stainless steel appliances and furniture that looked like it belonged in some high rise condo in New York City.  All the rooms were well decorated in the same modern style, with flashes of color thrown in with great effect.  It was attention to detail that was lacking.  We all agreed it was a nice place but was poorly construction.  It is for sale by the way, selling for $388k, I wouldn’t pay that price.

naked ski slopes

The stone facade on the front of the house was not even and hard large gaps in the mortar.  The banisters up stairs still had the bar code tags attached at the foot.  There were not enough plates for everyone in the house, even thought it could sleep 10 comfortably.  The deck looked like it was put together by amateurs over a weekend.  The rug was pulling apart at the seams in several places and not properly secured at some thresholds.  Having looked at so many houses while buying mine I have started to notice the detail of houses when I walk into them.  Again it was a nice place, just the attention to detail was lacking.

We got into the house just after 3pm so we had a long day on Friday.  Mostly it was spent lounging around.  We all were looking forward to the break from work and the real world.  Here we could exploit the quite to our advantage and refresh ourselves.  Clear our heads of our troubles.  We cooked a kick ass meal that night, flank steak on the grill.  Everyone contributed to our first family meal in a long time.  We also caught the Skins preseason game against the Steelers, which they won (WAS 17, PIT 13).   And indulged in a lot of beer and wine between us.  The next morning the counter where we were collection the bottles had a lot of dead soldiers.  I couldn’t believe we drank so much that night, but it was totally worth it.

On Saturday we planned on doing all sorts of outdoor activities.  Get in some golf, maybe horse back riding, I wanted to go hiking, or visit one of the pools.  If you like the outdoors Massanutten is a great place to visit.  However the weather did not cooperate with us on Saturday.  By the time we finished breakfast the clouds rolled in and it started to rain.  It proceeded to rain most of the day, ruining any chance of outdoor activities.  Instead, we were stuck inside and played a lot of Texas Hold’em.  Nancy swore it was her first time playing, but one round she cleaned my clock and my Dad’s on the second hand.  Never played Texas Hold’em huh…..I think I got hustled.

fluffy clouds

As the afternoon progressed the rain finally stopped and the sun decided to make a brief appearance after all.  We quickly finished our poker game and headed out to play some golf.  We only had time for a quick round of miniature golf, but it was still golf.  We could at least check one thing off our to-do list for our trip.  Matt was on fire and beat everyone handily by a minimum of ten strokes.  The competition was great and we were all glad to get outside for a while.  When we got home it was time to start cooking, tonight’s feast would be a marinated pork tenderloin on the grill.  Yum.

As quick as the trip started it was over.  Sunday morning came and it was already time to leave.  We were suppose to be out of the house by 10am, but I don’t know anyone that could be out that early, especially with two kids.  Me getting a tech support call for work and another helping the renters at Pat’s beach house slowed our leaving even further.  Eventually we made it out about noon and stopped for some lunch at this great BBQ place just outside the resort called Hank’s Smokehouse (pic).  I had the rips and pork platter and it was so good.  The ribs were so tender and had a great smokey flavor to them.

On the way home we headed across the Shenandoah Mountains via 33 and then up 29 till we reach civilization.  It might have been a longer drive then taking interstate 81, but I certainly preferred the view.  The sun was shinning and the clouds were dancing in the sky.  We had the top down for the entire drive and it was great.  Saturday was a wash so we took the opportunity to bask in the sun for a while.  We also made a quick stop at La Grange winery near Haymarket for a quick sampling of wine.  Some good stuff there, real beautiful setting, and so close no wonder it was packed.

For the last few years we have been getting together at various places (Williamsburg, Wintergreen, Massanutten, Bahamas, etc…) for some time with the family.  I remember being a kid and always taking family trips with my Dad and brother to see his family in Wisconsin and other places like Gettysburg.  As time went on our family trips went to the way side as me, my brother and Dad made our own paths in life.  Now we have come full circle and again going on family trips.  I wish I could spend more time with my whole family, that is one reason I appreciate these trips so much and look forward to them each year.

Where to next year?

a motley crew

entrance sign

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After a pleasant nights rest on the side of the road I headed further into the Adirondacks on my way to Lake George for a hike up Cat Mountain.  I was in the area for the Phish show at SPAC and didn’t want to waste a golden opportunity to hike this beautiful part of the country.  The directions I had were pretty good and within 30 minutes of leaving the rest stop I was in the parking lot and trail head to Cat Mountain.  What I found was what I expected, an empty lot.  Being a Monday, most people would be at work and I had the whole mountain to myself.

I packed my camera bag with what little water I had, a few snacks and started my journey.  The current weather was pretty comfortable with low humidity at 8:30 in the morning.  But I knew as the day went on and the sun rose things would get much hotter.  At approximately 3 miles one way it would take me a little while to make it to the submit of the mountain so I wanted to started as early as possible.  I believe by the time I got to the top it was just over 2 hours to hike one way.  That time is a little long because I stopped often to take pictures.

Most of the trail was pretty wide with quite a bit of undergrowth.  About a third of the way up the trail I came around the corner and found this picturesque little lake.  In the background was a mountain, not sure what mountain it was, but it looked very forbidding.  The lake itself was calm and provided a great reflection of the sky and surrounding tree line.  I spent about 20 minutes taking pictures of the lake.  Having the time to rest was also a bonus.  The temperature and especially the humidity was climbing quickly and it was wearing me out.

a very calm lake

Just after the lake things started to much steeper.  The undulating trail gave way to a more strenuous climb up the mountain.  I wanted nothing more than to drink what little water I had with me, but I needed to conserve it for the entire.  I would have been much worse off if I didn’t have at least some water for the trip down.  It was also about this time the trail became difficult to follow.  The only markers where small colored circles sparsely placed on the trail.  At times the trail would fork and I didn’t know for certain which way to hike.  Poor trail markers are one of my pet peeves while hiking.  You are already out in the dense woods with few people, the last thing you want is to get lost because of poor trail markers.

With only a few hundred feet before the summit the trail again makes this crazy turn.  The yellow trail goes forward, it’s nice and wide with only a little under brush.  To the left there is a blue marker for what doesn’t even look like a trail heading straight up the mountain.  It seemed like there was no possible way it was a trail, but there nailed on a tree was a tiny blue marker.  It was not like I could get lost heading up this trail, I love an adventure, so I hiked into the unknown with only a little confidence in it getting me to the summit.  The higher I got things didn’t get any better.  There is eventually a small opening, but you can’t see much so I started looking around for another tiny blue marker.  On a tree far to my right I spot it and follow the trail further up the mountain.

Eventually my hunting paid off and the forest opened up and presented me with a great view of Lake George.  I had finally reached the top of Cat Mountain, I must have sweated 2 gallons, but I made it.  I stood there for a while just looking out across the valley in wonderment.  I couldn’t see far today, the haze and humidity really limited my visibility.  I didn’t have much choice in what day I hiked so I was stuck with mediocre visibility.

Lake George is some where

I decided to setup camp for a few minutes, eat some lunch, relax and just enjoy the view.  Up here it was very quite and I loved that.  There were no cars or people.  Civilizations faded away on top of that mountain and I was simply left with splendor and wounder.  Thousands of years ago the receding glaciers carved out mountains and valleys in the Adirondacks and I was now witnessing what was left behind.

As I walked across the top of the mountain my peace and quite was interrupted by another hiker that followed me up.  I am a pretty open guy and I love to talk to people, but this guy was just plain weird.  He never introduced himself, but he knew who I was because of the sign in log at the base of the mountain.  He was disappointed that I made it up the mountain before he did.  I didnt’ want to stick around so I went to another side of the mountain to get some more pictures.  After plenty of time on top of the mountain I headed down.  It was another three miles but went much quicker because I didn’t stop to take a tone of pictures like I did going up.  Plus, down hill simply uses less energy.

I probably packed up the car and started driving home around 1pm. I had planned on 8 hours to get home, but in actuality it was about 10 hours later before I got to my doorstep.  At the time I was certainly ready for a little seat time with some air conditioning after a long hot hike up the mountain.  I was certainly happy when I arrived home that night, I would be able to sleep in my own bed that night.

I caught two Phish show and hiked in the Adirondacks, I would certainly call that a successful weekend.

a small toad

Day two of my mini run and the last show of the summer tour.  My day started early because of the long drive I needed to make to Saratoga Springs, NY.  I booked a camp site at Schroon River Resort which was about 45 minutes north of the venue.  It was not the closest campsite to the venue, but it was the only one with spots available.  Again I waited to the last minute, Saturday morning in fact, to start calling around for a spot.  Some of the closer campsites posted on their website they were booked for the weekend and others simply didn’t answer the phone.

copyright: Mike Wren

I was hoping to leave by 8 but didn’t hit the road till almost 9am.  The traffic was light for a Sunday and what little there was was headed south.  Actually the drive all the way up was pretty easy, never really hit any heavy traffic, even around New York.  But as I got closers to the venue I started to realize that once again, I would not be able to make it to the campsite and back to the venue before the show started.  So I skipped the campsite and drove straight to the venue down the center of town.  Arriving when I did, did not afford me enough time to fire up the grill for some burgers.  But I did get some time to relax and enjoy the scene in the over flow lot before heading into the venue.  I would have to wait till I got home before I could test out my new grill.

As show time approached I started to get a little concerned about the weather.  Ominous clouds started rolling in from the east and they looked angry.  While at one of the rest stops in New York I jumped on their free wi-fi network and checked the weather, “cloudy” is what is said.  I messaged Jeremy to have him check the weather and he reported back with “cloudy.”  Nothing said rain so I assumed I would be safe, but you know what they say about assuming.  When I got about halfway to the venue entrance, and it’s a long walk across the golf course, it started to drizzle.  No biggy, I decided to take some shelter under the trees for a while and wait for it to pass.  I know it’s a bad idea, but it was just a little rain not a thunder storm.  As I sat there with other Phisheads the rain got heavier and heavier till it as a full on down pour.  I tried to hug a tree for a while but it was fruitless, I was soaked.  At that point I decided to walk towards the venue in the rain.  Every where I walked there were puddles of water with rain coming down in buckets.  I was doing everything I could to protect my ticket.  When I reached the venue they had some covered areas that were packed with people trying to dry out before the show.

copyright: Brian Sherman

Now when I got in line to get in I was thrown back to when I first started seeing tickets.  For years now when you walk into the venue the ticket taker has some type of scanner that reads your ticket, making sure it is valid and has not been used already to enter the venue.  Because it was still raining the ticket takers couldn’t use the scanners and they had to resort to tearing off the stub to signify the ticket was used.  It was crazy seeing all these people holding out their wet tickets and the takers ripping off the stub.  Some people had print-at-home tickets that were bleeding ink all over the place and ticket takers did their best to tear off the bar code.  It is amazing how quickly things can break down when you don’t have the computers you rely on to do your job.

About the time I made it to the lawn the rain stop but dark clouds always loomed in the distance.  It already rained when it was not suppose to, so what was to prevent it from raining again.  The rain delayed the band from their usual start time and I was hoping it would lead to a better show.  Maybe get a Divided Sky or something like that.  Or hear a little banter about the rain and everyone getting soaked.  Those of us on the lawn were definitely in high spirits.  We might have been soaked but the rain couldn’t dampen our spirits.

When the show finally started the first set was peppered with great tunes, no Divided Sky however or any mention of the rain.  But the opener of Llama was a great choice and the crowd was full of energy.  Moma Dance was alright at best, they have not been hitting it like years past, just to short.  When they got into jamming the song, it’s already over.  Other set one highlights include Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chalk Dust and a mighty David Bowie.  For the closer they played one of my personal favorites, Antelope.  Throughout the first set there must have been no less than 4 glow stick wars.  The middle section of the lawn was filled with glowing pieces of plastic flying through the air.  It was so great to see the crowd getting into the spirit of the show and having some fun despite the rain, wet conditions, and thick humidity.

copyright: Brian Sherman

After the set was over I walked to the top of the lawn to stretch my legs.  The wet ground made it impossible to sit so I walked around instead.  I also just wanted to be amongst the people.  The crowd was dense but it was great rubbing shoulders with other fans in such close quarters.  Everyone was smiling and mingling with those around them.  I walked aimlessly for a while just enjoying the vibe, eventually settled down in the middle of the lawn.  If there was going to be another glow stick war, and I had little doubt, I wanted to be in the middle of it.  It is so cool to look up towards the stars when glow sticks are flying overhead with Phish playing in the background.  Surreal almost.

By the time the houselights lowered for the second set everyone was ready for a killer performance.  The first set was pretty good and now it was time to do a little jamming and exploring a deeper selection of tracks.  Set opener Number Lines was played for 20 minutes before it lead into Twenty Years.  After Halley’s Comet they played Rock & Roll by the Velvet Underground, one of many covers during the night.  When it was finished things slowed down for a minute before they busted out Harpua.  Jeremy and I talked about this at the Merriweather show and how great it would be if they busted it out.  Again Jeremy lucked out and they played it tonight, so something special was about to happened.

What followed was some crazy stuff on the part of the band.  Trey sat down at the drums and Jon took the mic to sing a song.  The night before Jon debuted a new song of his called Party Time, so I couldn’t wait to hear what was going to be playe.  The first few lines that Jon sung didn’t register, nor did the accompanying music.  But when he sang the line “I kissed a girl and I liked it” I realized what song it was.  Definitely a new interpretation of the  song, I would even say that Jon butchered it.  But covers, and new ones at that, are always cool to witness.  Next up was HYHU and back into Harpua to close this portion of the set.  Next up was YEM that dropped like a bomb on the crowd and closed out the set, a solid 20 minute performance.

copyright: Mike Wren

So here we are at the end of the set for the last show of the tour till Halloween and Festival 8.  The band walks off stage and the crowd just goes silent.  This has happened every show I went to over the summer tour, the band walks off stage and there is no cheering or clapping, nothing to bring the band back out.  At least with tonights performance there was a proper glow stick war, but when it comes to encores the audience just expects it now.  They don’t cheer or clap and with all the lights people have, they don’t even raise those.  If I was Phish I wouldn’t come back on stage unless the crowd really got into it, but that’s just me.  After a short time they walk back on stage, with not much fan fair, for the encore.

The encore included an accapella Grind, lame, and another new song, I Been Around.  It was the last song to be performed from their forth coming album and prominently featured Page on keys and vocals.  It was alright, nothing special.  The final song was yet another cover and I thought an appropriate way to end the show/tour, Highway to Hell.

With the show over it was time to head back to my car and get out of Dodge.  This time I took the road back instead of cutting across the golf course.  The sprinklers were on and I decided I didn’t want to get soaked again.  When I left it was off to a rest stop a few miles down the road.  Since I never checked into the campsite I had to settle for sleeping in my car.  But the cool air that night made for a rather comfortable nights rest.  Like always I was joined by several other car loads of fans headed home from the show making a stop to rest from the party we all just left in Saratoga Springs.

Set 1:
1. Llama
2. Moma Dance
3. Guyute
4. Anything But Me
5. Cars, Trucks, Buses
6. Chalk Dust Torture
7. Golgi Apparatus
8. David Bowie
9. Cavern >
10. Possum
11. Ocelot
12. Run Like an Antelope

Set 2:
1. Backwards Down the Number Line >
2. Twenty Years Later
3. Halley’s Comet >
4. Rock & Roll
5. Harpua >
6. I Kissed a Girl* >
7. Hold Your Head Up >
8. Harpua
9. You Enjoy Myself

encore:
10. Grind
11. I Been Around*
12. Highway to Hell

*First time played

I was able to catch two shows on the reunion tour early in the summer, Knoxville and Pittsburgh.  After they announced a second leg of their summer tour I of course wanted to score some tickets.  I was hoping to do a four show run, but decided on a more reasonable Merriweather and SPAC.  These two shows happened on a Saturday and Sunday, so less time off from work and were the last two shows of the tour.  Fortunately I lucked out and scored my tickets via mail order so I didn’t have to mess around with getting my tickets via TicketBastard.

copyright: Dave Vann

Merriweather was the place I saw my first Phish show back in 1998 and I have always had great shows here, I was excited they were coming back to this great venue.  Jeremy and I planned on tailgating so I purchased a mini grill to cook up some great tailgate food.  We arrived to late to get a spot in the lot and were forced to park in an over flow parking garage near Columbia Mall.  This meant we were not allowed to tailgate as security came around several times telling us we couldn’t tailgate, finally the cops came around and forced everyone out.  We couldn’t even sit in chairs.  We had all this time to kill and some great food to cook but were stuck doing nothing.

As the show time approached we made our way to the venue entrance to grab a good spot on the lawn.  Security was a none issue getting in, however later I read that 31 were arrested for various offenses.  Non of which made the front page like they did with the three night reunion show in Hampton.  The weather was hot but with the quickly setting sun things were starting to cool off, if we could only get ride of the humidity things would have been perfect for a concert on the lawn.

When the show started both of us were pumped!  It was great to finally have my boy out on the road with me and our hopes where high.  Memories of Sabotage (8/8/1998), Harry Hood (8/8/1998, 7/9/1999), glow stick wars, 2001 (8/8/1998), Fluffhead (9/17/2000), Rock and Roll (9/17/2000), the list goes on and on.  One of the best shows in my life was my first Phish show at Merriweather 8/8/1998.  The boys always crush it when they play here, so my hopes where very high for this show.

copyright: Dave Vann

After giving this show such a huge buildup, now it’s time for the actual show.  In short I was very disappointed with the performance.  I had heard that the night before in Hartford was off the hook and I was expecting a similar performance tonight.  Not only because the band should have been running on a high but the pedigree the venue brings to Phish shows.  Looking back the performance was a solid one, but I was expected a more upbeat show then what was delievered.  They played a ton of new songs, some of which I am a fan, others I am not.  There was just a lack of energy that night and Trey was also pretty horrible on the guitar.  Both Jeremy and I noted off key playing, missed notes, simply sloppy playing in songs like HA HA HA and Party Time.  I guess they were saving themselves for the tour closers in Saratoga.

Don’t get me wrong, there were some great highlights including another great version of Foam that was jammed out again, HA HA HA I had not heard live, a new Fishman song called Party Time (crazy vocals, the man just can NOT sing), a version of Tube which was good but waaay to short.  The second set opened strong with Tweezer that lead into Taste, I don’t get that combo.  A long version of 46 Days which was played well and a long running Merriweather staple, Harry Hood as the set closers.  That was the song I wanted to hear, at least I got that.  Jeremy was hoping for a Down with Disease, but we later found out they played that in Hartford so there was no chance of it at Merriweather.  The encore was decent, they played Tweezer Reprise, which was a surprise because of my short memory I forgot they played that as the set opener so it is always a safe bet to get the reprise some time later in the set.

copyright: Steve Moyles

On the long drive home we reflected on the performance and although we were not that satisfied with the song selection and the lack of tailgating, we agreed it was still a great trip.  Even the worst Phish show beats any other day.  I was just hoping for a killer set Sunday night in Saratoga to make up for this poor performance.

Set 1: 7:38pm start
1. Crowd Control
2. Kill Devil Falls
3. The Sloth
4. Beauty Of A Broken Heart
5. Axilla I
6. Foam
7. Esther
8. Ha Ha Ha
9. Party Time*
10. Tube
11. Stealing Time From The Faulty Plan
12. Strange Design
13. Time Turns Elastic

set 1 ends at 9:02pm

Set 2: 9:31pm start
1. Tweezer >
2. Taste
3. Alaska
4. Let Me Lie
5. 46 Days
6. Oh! Sweet Nuthin’
7. Harry Hood

set 2 ends at 10:44pm

encore: 10:46pm start
8. Good Times Bad Times
9. Tweezer Reprise

show ends at 10:55pm

notes:
*first time played

Picture Gallery

After my impromptu trip to Newport for the annual Jazz Festival I wanted to get in a quick hike before I started my long trip home.  With only a couple of hours to hike if I wanted to make it home at a reasonable time, I decided to head back to a place I first visited in 2006 when I was up for the festival.  A park at the end of an island in Rhode Island Sound called Beavertail State Park.  It is a little park that serves as a light house to passing boats.  Fortunately the major shipping lanes no longer go past this rocky point, but it is still useful to small vessels.

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With a good night sleep outside in the woods I was ready to take on the world when I started my day bright an early.  I wanted to get an early start on breakfast and get to the park.  As long as I have been traveling, I firmly believe in having a good hearty breakfast to start the day when you are on the road.  It is the only time a meal happens at a set time, all others are based on chance.  So while driving down the main drag out of town I spotted the Blue Plate Special, how cheesy is that.  So because of the name, the pretty full lot and the old style decor I ate here.  The inside was pretty nice, but the eggs benedict I had was alright at best.

Not to be discouraged by my breakfast I made the short drive to the park entrance along some very scenic roads.  As you island hop and get further away from the highway the pace of life slows down, actually rolls back the clock as you go.  You have one apartment complex that is not very big and a small tourist shopping center that fits very nicely with the surrounding neighborhood.  Once you get past this small area things start to open up.  The houses get further apart and the shops become ever smaller, but very necessary to the locals.  Shops that you just wont find anywhere else with curious names.  Eventually even these small shops fade to fewer and fewer house, till finally you don’t see any more houses.  The only reason you know they are there is because of a driveway that leads the way home.

The park is a small circle that travels around the peninsula with great views of the surround shoreline and into both Narragansett Bay and Rhode Island Sound.  To get the longest walk possible and explore as much as I could, I parked in the first lot and walked completely around.  It doesn’t take long and is actually pretty level.  There is an aquarium and I believe a small museum at the light house.  It was cool to see all the people out enjoying a wonderful Sunday morning.  With temps in the low 70′s and zero humidity, it actually felt a little chilly which was fantastic for August weather.  Several people were painting, one family was trying to fly a kite.  But the groups sitting in lounged chairs, reading the paper while drinking coffee tripped me out the most.  I thought that was such a great idea, I do that already, but to add the scenery and audio sound track would make the words fly off the Washington Post.  Unfortunately I do not live close enough to have such a lazy Sunday morning with any regularity.  If I am in the area again I will arrive early and enjoy the sunrise.

a look down the trail

After only an hour or so I was back at my car and phyicing myself up for the 8+ hour drive back to Virginia.  It was going to be a three cup of coffee and three cigar kinda road trip.  I did make one stop early in the trip, it was to Allison B. Goodsell Rare Books.  The directions I had took me through the tiny town of Kingston and I noticed an rare book and post card store.  On my way home I just had to stop to get a couple post cards for my parents.  I thought it would be a great idea to send these classic post cards in the modern day.  I quickly dove into the Rhode Island sections and found that not all the postcards were empty.  It was great to read into the lives of someone 50-80 years ago.  Most people were on vacation, some for the entire summer.  One was address to a couple in Massachusets and it only had their name, city and state.  I couldn’t believe it arrived to the person, but back when it was sent town were much smaller and everyone really did know everyone in town.  I picked a couple blank ones and sent them off from the local post office, I always take stamps with me when I travel just for this reason.

The rest of the drive home was pretty uneventful.  Filled with lots of traffic across all of Connecticut for no reason at all.  Actually the traffic allowed me to give away a cigars.  I am smoking listening to some killer jazz and a Jeep pulls up with two ladies complimenting me on my cigar and wondering if I had another.  They offered to pay me, but of course I couldn’t take any money from them.  I was just happy they wanted a cigar and not bitch at me for smoking.  The Jersey Turnpike was stacked as the lanes started to peal away.  Then once I hit Maryland the heavens opened up and caused miles of backup.  It was a long trip, but a good one.  The Newport Jazz Festival, Beavertail State Park, and the rare book store made all the travel time worth it to get away for the weekend.