Vacation - Part 3: Jamestowne

After visiting awesome family in NC, we drove up to Williamsburg, VA. We pitched our tent at Chickahominy Riverfront Park. The park is at the intersection of two rivers. This made for swampy conditions, but spectacular views.

click to embiggen

There were practically no other people, but we weren't lonely. I have never seen so many raptors in one place! At first, it was cool. But by our third night, I was pretty sick of the vultures.

Our fist day was devoted to driving and getting settled. The next morning we woke up bright and early to get to Historic Jamestowne in time for the "In the Trenches" tour. This was my favorite part of our sight-seeing! I knew it was only offered twice a month, and I knew it was lead by the Project Director: Archaeologist Dr. William M. Kelso. What I didn't know is that Dr. Kelso discovered the ruins of Jamestowne fort.

Jamestowne was the first successful English settlement in North America. It started out with just 100 men and 4 boys in 1607. They had a lot of trouble at first, but the settlement eventually became a thriving town. For nearly 100 years it was the center of English commerce in America.

In the 1960s, a young Bill Kelso toured the island (which was a peninsula in the 1600s) and was told that the remains of the fort had been covered by the James River. Two decades later, now an archaeologist, he discussed the fort with his mentor who agreed that the ruins might still be buried on land. A group of lady historians had been given a portion of the island in the late 1800s  to protect a 17th century church tower. They had a concrete barrier erected to protect it from the encroaching river.

The tower was being restored.
The attached church was erected in the early 1900s.
It's only a guess at the original.

After another decade of paperwork, Dr. Kelso was given permission to dig on the land still owned by the historical society (now called Preservation Virginia). He went to the park alone with a shovel and chose a nice shady spot between the church and the river. After only a half-hour of digging, he found a piece of pottery! He turned to a tourist nearby and told her "I found Jamestowne!" He said she responded by slowly backing away. :) It turns out, he'd found the basement of a building in the fort!

Now fully excavated, they've made a recreation of the frame of that building.

The site is still an active archaeological dig. Most of the first fort walls have been located, and replicas have been built. The first Anglican church in America was discovered. (Where Pocahontas was married.) A few other structures have been excavated; and many, many human remains have been found.

Above, Dr. Kelso shows us the basement kitchen where they recently discovered evidence of cannibalism. The winter of 1609-10 is called the "starving time". It was said that the settlers resorted to eating horses, dogs, boots, and even settlers who died first. But that last one was considered a ridiculous rumor until May 2013 when the skull and a few bones of a 14 year-old English girl were found with the marks of butchering. Jamestowne settlement was important to the forming of the US, but it was not a happy place to be...

Even though many of the stories are bleak, it was exciting to be so close to history. And it was even more exciting to see it in the process of being uncovered. The sense of mystery about the place was exhilarating (for me anyway). The number and quality of artifacts unearthed is incredible! It doesn't look like it's slowing down anytime soon either. I could go on and on about this place, but I'll leave you with this brief overview. (Not everyone gets as jazzed about history as this nerdy girl!)

Me and Dr. Kelso

If you want to learn more, I suggest checking out the website. Or, you could visit yourself! The park entrance is managed by the National Park Service, so it's probably closed today... But when it opens again, there is a lot to see! The park visitor center includes a museum (which we didn't have time to check out). The dig site includes a beautiful Archaearium: a collection of exhumed artifacts on display. There is also a very nice little cafe right next to the dig site. And if you like monuments, you'll feel right at home.

Capt. John Smith

The National Park section of the island hasn't been excavated at all, which I find a little unnerving as the island is still eroding away. We walked around a bit, looking at the more recent (mid-late 1600s) ruins. We also drove around the rest of the island reading plaques and marveling at how crazy swampy it is there. (I have never seen such giant flies before!)

A friend in the Nat. Park ruins

Swaaaaamp

If you can swing it, do try to take the tour with Dr. Kelso. His enthusiasm for the project is infectious. And of course, his stories insights about the fort are second to none.

Vacation - Part 2: Fambly

Friday morning following the concert, we slept in, packed up the car, and drove to a Prince William Forest Park. The park was a little over half-way between home and our first destination. I miscalculated a bit, so we didn't arrive at the campsite until past midnight.  After haplessly wandering around by the office building to make sure we didn't need to sign in; we managed to find our site, pitch a tent in the dark, and get some sleep. We took a risk and skipped putting on the tent's rain fly. With the exception of one bit of bird poop, it proved to be a wonderful decision!

My view upon waking

On Saturday, we drove another three hours or so and checked into our hotel room. Once everything necessary or melty was in the air-conditioned room, we headed over to Shane's brother's house.

You know the expression "You can't choose your family"? Well, these family I would choose. Shane's oldest brother, Avery, lives in North Carolina with his wife, Heather, and their rapidly growing children. The kids are very dear to our hearts. Shane feels especially close to them since he acted as a sort of "third parent" one summer years ago to help out during a medical emergency. I just think they're amazing!

We went out to Chick-fil-A for dinner and hung out a little bit afterward. The next day was Sunday, so we attended church with them. We met lots of folks there who were sincerely welcoming in a beautiful way. We went out to lunch at a nice buffet, and made a pit-stop to buy injera before going back to their home.

Injera is an Ethiopian bread made from teff flour; traditionally with special yeast cultures passed down through generations. It tastes a bit like a bitter beer-bread pancake. We needed injera because Heather made Ethiopian food for dinner!

I requested this meal specially because I had never had Ethiopian cooking, and it's a semi-regular thing for their family. It was amazing!! For one thing, I have never liked beets before in anything. For another, no matter how full I am, I cannot look at the above picture without craving more! The meal was also accompanied by Ethiopian coffee and herbal tea in beautiful little cups. Even the kids drank the coffee! (They did put tons of milk and sugar in it.)

After dinner we played a board game, and stayed up past all our bedtimes. The next morning we stopped by for a few more hours. (...and some leftover Ethiopian food!) The girls performed a cups song for us. It was super impressive, and must have taken lots of practice!

Leaving was tough to do. Every time we see these fine folks, I wish we could see them more often. But we do have friends and jobs and stuff in Pittsburgh. Besides, we had a lot more fun vacation plans ahead of us!

Vacation - Part 1: Embarkation

I went on a vacation!! Shane and I got home over two weeks ago, but I've been too busy to write. I'll tell you why later. First: Let me tell you about our fantastic trip!

On the last Thursday in August, we left work and went straight to the rental company to pick up our vacation car. Then we headed to the First Niagara Pavilion west of town for a Mumford & Sons concert. This was an awesome opportunity for our whole house. Our unofficial house theme song is "Little Lion Man". (Warning: Contains mild swearing.)

I had read online that we could expect heavy traffic, but I had no idea it could be so very bad. Shane and I parked a good distance (maybe half a mile?) from the stage. The "parking lot" was the grassy area surrounding the remote facility. We saw tons of people tailgating. I wondered if they all had tickets, or if some planned to listen from their cars. On our walk to the entrance, we stopped to use port-a-potties in the parking lot. At first, I thought it was odd to need bathroom facilities in a parking lot. Having used one, I now think they need to acquire more.

"Hi. I'd like to report your bathrooms..."

When we got to the entrance we had to pass a security check. We were not carrying bags, so the process only took five or ten minutes. Inside, it was like an amusement park with no rides; only food stands. I must say, I have never seen so many people in one place in my life. I mean that absolutely literally. I have never been surrounded by such a dense throng. There were lots of different sorts of people there too. I expected mostly millennials/hipsters, but I believe I saw folks of every age and walk of life in the crowd.

We were worried about being late, having arrived a full hour after the start time printed on our tickets. Thankfully, there was still an opening act on stage when we sat down. They played for nearly another hour which gave our housemates plenty of time to join us too.

For 2/3 the price, you can purchase a ticket for lawn seating: a fend-for-yourself situation on the grassy patch of hill behind the covered seats. We sprang for assigned seats. It was the right choice. Our view was spectacular! (Though not good enough for share-worthy photos of the band.) A friend warned me that we'd be standing for the whole concert if we wanted to see. She was right, but that was OK with me. I wanted to jump and dance most of the time anyway!

Mumford & Sons themselves seemed intimidated by the size of the crowd. One of them even told us this was the biggest audience they had ever played for! The concert was fun and polished, but I was not blown away. That's pretty much what I expected. I guess I've been spoiled by all the intimate concerts I've been to. The best part of the performance was the encore. They were joined by the two opening bands to cover The Beatles' "Come Together".

We all took the next day off work; which is good because traffic was awful leaving too. Thankfully, we'd planned ahead and brought sandwiches. Regretfully, we sent Shane from Kate's car to the rental car to bring back beverages he'd picked up. The girls couldn't even find room in the official parking when they arrived, and were instead directed to an overflow area outside a closed restaurant on the opposite end of the lot. I think it took Shane an hour to walk there and back again. He might have been faster, but he stopped on the way back to direct traffic at a jammed intersection. What a guy!

Shane and I were one of the last cars to leave at around midnight. Most of the traffic had dissipated, but we still ran into clusters of unusually thick cars on the way back to the city. I was grateful Shane was driving because I found it hard to keep my eyes open. He had to make an emergency Red Bull stop himself. I guess we're getting too old to stay out so late.

If I were to have a do-over, I would take two days off work. That way I could arrive super early and park near the lot exit. In the future, I plan to do one better and avoid that venue entirely. Still, it was worth it just this once.

3 Rivers Arts Festival (Part 2)

Welcome to part 2! Part 1 is back here.
The second concert in the 3 Rivers Arts Festival I couldn't bear to miss was for Glen Hansard. I discovered the Irish singer/songwriter about five years ago through the movie "Once". It's a beautiful indie film staring Glen & Markéta Irglová, and it is now a Broadway musical. Together, Glen and Markéta are the band "The Swell Season"; but they're currently working on solo projects.

Opening for Glen Hansard in Pittsburgh was Lisa Hannigan. I was honestly more excited to see her, than I was to see Glen. Lisa is also an Irish singer/songwriter. She doesn't have a movie, but I love singing along with her debut recording: "Sea Sew".

Once again, I headed to the park after work. This time, I was a little better prepared for sitting on the grass. I stopped by the drugstore on my way. They had one lonely picnic blanket for sale. It needed me, and I needed it!

Beth's things on my bright green blanket.

I sat in front of the sound-tent this time, but still a little way back from the stage. These crowds were nothing like those at the opening night concert. I suppose it had a lot to do with it being a weeknight, and one where the forecast called for thunderstorms. I was wearing galoshes and carrying a windproof umbrella. A little rain won’t chase me away from great music!

With impending storms in mind, they decided to start the music early. Shane and Beth were coming to meet me, but they both work much farther away. They hadn't even arrived yet when Lisa Hannigan took the stage.

She performed most of her songs alone; accompanying her self on guitar or ukulele. The audience was peaceful and respectful. Even as more folks filed in, only the front two rows or so were standing. It was wonderful to here her live! She gave me goosebumps more than once. Lisa ended her set with help from Glen's back-up band, and then everyone took a short break.

Shane and Beth had found each other by then, farther back in the crowd. When Lisa's performance was done, they joined me on my blanket.

Shane looking down from his lawn chair with a sense of superiority, and Beth being cute.

There was a rush of excitement from the crowd when Glen Hansard took the stage. He paused for a few minutes to sound-check and wait for his band. He warned us that the concert would end abruptly when the rain arrived. He also said the cool, grey weather made him feel at home.

The movie and albums didn't prepare me for how intense Glen Hansard's performances could be. When he got a song up to a good driving rhythm, he'd become lost in it. He'd close his eyes, maybe back away from the mic, and bop up and down with the beat. A few times, his face turned a purple-ish red; and even from a distance, I could see a vein popping out on his forehead. The concert was fun, but this guy is serious. Even his acousitc guitar is hard-core (sadly, not pictured). He's worn a hole right through the wood where he strums.

Glen Hansard worked through his set efficiently. We were all expecting downpour at any moment. But the weather remained friendly. So they kept playing. I think there were about thirty minutes of energetic "encores". Each song ended with Glen saying something like, "We've got to go. Seriously. This is the last one."

Lisa Hannigan came back to join him and the band for a few songs, including the old "Swell Season" hit, "Falling Slowly". His voice was nearly gone by then, so he asked the audience to sing the high notes on the chorus for him. We obliged with gusto. Glen invited an old friend on stage too. He's an Irish musician who now lives in Pittsburgh. I can't remember his name, and I couldn't find him with a Google search. Here he is listening to Lisa from the audience. If you know who he is, say so in the comments please! Mystery man sang us a song and then did another with his small children singing back-up. We couldn't hear them well, but they were adorable!

Glen Hansard ended the night (at last) with a song I'd never heard before: "The Auld Triangle". He said it was an important song to the Irish, so I looked it up. I could write a whole post about this song! It was written for a 1954 dark comedic play about an Irishman on death row. The play was popular, and a short while later the death penalty was abolished in Ireland. (I do not know how directly the play effected the legislation, if at all.) This particular prison is notorious to this day, and houses many debtors and political prisoners. That sounds like a weird choice for a finale, sure. But it is really catchy! If you'd like to hear the song yourself, I found a video of Glen singing it with Bono (who doesn't do very well with it - my apologies). Beth, Shane and I were singing the refrain all the way home!

3 Rivers Arts Festival (Part 1)

Alright, Blog Readers! Here's a real post! This one goes back all the way to June.

Pittsburgh is a generally gloomy place, weather-wise. We actually get two more cloudy days each year (on average) than notorious Seattle. Perhaps as a result, when it gets nice here, folks make the most of it. Part of the local celebration of beautiful outdoor days is an annual festival downtown. The 3 Rivers Arts Festival is ten days of fair food, seas of local artist-merchant stands, and free live music!

This is actually from the Glen Hansard concert which will be featured in "Part 2".
Fun Fact: I didn't realize these were my friends, Kyle & Mikeala on the right until after I took the picture!

Some past years, I've simply avoided the crowds. (I don't do well with crowds, even in the nicest weather.) But this year there were two music performances I simply couldn't miss!

The first group were the festival headliners: Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. I headed straight to Point State Park after work, and ran into friends on the way!

Derek and Jenn being awesome (no idea who girl in tie-dye is)

We went to buy food and wait for Kira; and ran into more friends!

Ellie, Matt, and Brandi (Sorry, Matt. That's my best picture of you...)

In the following half-hour or so, I probably saw a dozen people I knew. When talking to folks later, I heard there were a bunch of friends there who I didn't see. We took a seat on the lawn just past the sound-booth-tent. "We" was me, Shane, Kira, and the lovely folks pictured above. Dan and Sarah came by later with baby Selah, who they were baby-sitting. I didn't get any pictures of them. Probably because I spent most of their time with us with Selah asleep on my shoulders.

Proof Shane was there too. No photo-love for Kira. I took some, but none turned out.

I was lucky to have found friends, and double-lucky they were friends with blankets. I had totally failed to consider what we would sit on! Then again, after the show started, there wasn't much sitting. I was also glad we arrived early. There were maybe 500 people ahead of us, but probably another 1,500 behind us!

 (Here is a map I made for your reference. The whole red circle was full, and then some! Source)

I forgot my camera, so I have no pictures of the band. But here's a cell-phone picture of the stage:

They had all sorts of fancy lighting effects!

Yes, that's a guy dressed as Jesus in front of us. I also saw a little boy in a Link costume, teenagers wearing tails, and girls in Japanese Lolita outfits. I guess something about a big event makes folks want to show off.

Anyway, the energy of the crowd was exuberant (and not too over-stimulating)! The babies were adorable and really into the music. I was impressed by their behavior! I myself had to wear earplugs to feel comfortable with the volume of the sound system. Their parents/babysitters took them home about half-way through, because they are babies.

The band played a good show. Not a beat or note was out of place. But they seemed a bit taken-aback by the size of the crowd. I guess no one told them they were going to be the main event!

(Part 2 coming soon!)

Summer Break

A cell phone picture of a butterfly from my walk home

So I feel like I haven't been keeping up with the blog the way I'd like to. (Not that I ever promised to be consistent...)

The last month has been eventful, but not in a photogenic sort of way. Shane's dad had surgery a couple of weeks ago, and we spent that weekend at the hospital helping out and hanging out. He's home now and recovering fine. It easily could have been a much more negative experience than it was. Of course it still took energy to support my husband and his family; and that kind of knocked the wind out of my blogging sails.

I still have a couple of fun experiences to share from the beginning of this summer. I'm also excited about a vacation we have planned for the first week in September! This will be my first real vacation as an adult. I think of it as "real" because I'm going where I want to go and because I chose it, instead of joining family/friends in their plans or at their home. Which isn't to say we won't be seeing some family folks... but I asked them if we could visit. That may not seem like a big deal, but it is to me I guess.

While I'm very happy about these plans, another first in this vacation is that I'm spending money for fun's sake in a big way. Of course we've had fun dinners out or seen fun concerts or what-not. But I've never spent on fun on this scale before. It's messing with my head a bit. I keep having to remind myself that we worked hard to save up, and we're being super frugal (like camping most nights instead of staying at hotels). I also think it will be good for me. Not just because of the break from routine, but because I'm currently in the process of learning to live more for today. The theme of my thoughts lately keeps turning to: "Be grateful for what you have now. Don't just plan for tomorrow."

Amusement Park

When I was a teenager, I would say, "It's never a real summer until I've been on a roller coaster." Over the last half-decade or so, I've let that idea go. Life and "adulthood" took over, and roller coasters became somehow harder to get to. This year, I finally made it happen; and a bunch of my friends came along for the ride.

Our first ride of the day: Not actually a roller coaster...

The local park is called Kennywood. It's just a short drive from where I live, which is super convenient! While checking out the website for their spring hours, I noticed a by-one-get-one-free coupon for May. Jackpot! On a Sunday late in the month, I rounded up the house, our friend Fish (yes, that's a nickname), and all of the sunscreen.

I was so excited! Kira and I skipped through the park entrance. SKIPPED! Like little girls in frilly pink tutus would. Sadly, it didn't take long for my enthusiasm to be squashed by a crazy allergic reaction. I am allergic to most things found in, well, air. And the park was full of beautiful flowers. Beautiful, evil, flowers. I was already on Clariton, but apparently it did nothing. Luckily, Shane thought to pack Benedryl. That fixed my nose, but created a short queasy spell. This was quickly solved by french fries covered in nacho cheese and bacon. I took a break on Shane's shoulder while everyone else enjoyed the merry-go-round, and we were back in business!

Shane dutifully supporting my giant grandma sunglasses + drug-induced stupor

By the way. The merry-go-round at Kennywood is very nice. It's even under an extra roof which extends out to a seating area perfect for tired parents and queasy allergy sufferers. But the clown face repeated on the outside? Creepy. No two ways about it. See:

Like if Liberace and Carrot Top had a kid...

I think we ended up covering the whole park a few times over. And I got my roller coasters!

The lines weren't too bad on most of the rides. Shane took this amazing photo of me while bored waiting for the Racer.

Amazing, because it's very hard to catch my real smile.

There were lots of midway games, and some small, pretty seating areas. But we mostly stuck to the rides. Shane took this picture of the George Washington statue. George came through the site of the park while fighting the French in the Seven Years War. (He lost, BTW.) Shane had to take a picture, because he's a guy who knows a thing or two about swords. That is not an English sabre. It looks more like a straightened Japanese katana.

Looks more like a BBQ sword to me.

Silly swords aside, I do have one earnest complaint; a word of warning, really. Do NOT try to go on the Exterminator! I say "try" because after nearly an hour of waiting in line, we quit. We were told someone had been sick on the ride, and it would take another half-hour to clean up. The line area is a small, cinder-block building. It is fully enclosed with poor ventilation and no sound-proofing. Here is a picture of our misery:

Fish, probably thinking: "I am going to murder that squealing teenager."

It really put a big black spot on our day. I seem to recall from a visit years ago that it's a pretty good ride. But no ride is worth that torture. I think they should have paid me $20 just for standing in line there.

We escaped though. Over-all we had a great time. See?

My final verdict is mixed. I certainly went with great people! And I sure had fun. But it didn't feel like the capstone of my summer. I guess I just don't need roller coasters as much as I used to.