Taking a Weekend Break

[Georgina]

A friend of mine in Vancouver has a spare concert ticket for Friday night, so I'm off to Van for the weekend on Thursday morning. Be back Tuesday.

Oh, and apparently I'm getting hauled off camping for the weekend too. Yay for real lakes and water and stuff!

It's just a few days, but I'm really up for the break.

Be nice to Beth.

[patchoulli]

Woo hoo! A visit to your Mother (Nature) and a concert all in one weekend. It don't get any better than that!
Have a fantastic time!
Patch

[MacBeth]

The concert sounds great, but my idea of roughing it is a hotel that does not leave a chocolate on your pillow

[Georgina]

It's not real roughing/roughing, Beth, it involves campers and stuff. Or so I'm promised. I'm entirely not about sleeping on cold ground. It's on a friend's acreage that has a lake on it, so it's civilised and The Great Outdoors all at the same time. It'll be good.

And, thank you, Patch! A brain-break is just what I need.

[MacBeth]

Have a WONDERFUL time......

[Georgina]

Okay, report:

One fantastic concert, next night, consume an entire bottle of wine (over 8 hours isn't too bad, I think) turn on flood lights and play volleyball at midnight.

Yes, I'm having fun.

[wheelspinner]

What was the concert?

[patchoulli]

I've never tried playing volleyball at night while drunk but it sounds like something one should do at least once. Ditto wheelspinner.

[Georgina]

Concert was Melissa Etheridge, and she was fantastic. I've seen her a few times before, and she's an extraordinarily powerful live performer. But now, she's really coming into her own, too, in terms of being comfortable on stage, it seems. In other concerts, she's arrived on stage, played her music, brought down the house, and that was that. This time, it was her usual kick-ass performance but she just seemed so much more relaxed. She talked and told stories and had genuine interactions with her band members, rather than the evidently rehearsed, staged stuff. Plus it was a smaller venue and it was just, well, it was just great.

Plus, I got to attend with a friend whom I haven't seen in over twenty years, so that was pretty cool. We went out to eat afterwards and talked for hours as if the years hadn't intervened.

Then yes, sorta-camping on a friends' acreage and lots of wine (for me, lots, anyway) and a flood-lit sandpit and no-rules volleyball under the bright moon. I can't recall when I've laughed so hard and long in a long, long time. Patch, you really should give it a go.

Then Monday night I managed to connect with a cousin of mine whom I haven't seen since I was a kid. So, jeez, well over thirty years. Our two families used to hang out together quite a bit until his parents split. His dad and my dad are brothers. When my cousin's parents split, his mom took the kids away to another city, and I haven't seen him since. I, much to my surprise, found him on Facebook. We spent Monday night talking for five hours solid and could easily have talked through the night had I not had to get up and catch a plane.

It was a really, really good weekend. And a break I've sorely needed. I feel as if I've been gone a month.

[wheelspinner]

Sounds fantastic G. Wonderful to renew those old relationships after so long.

[MacBeth]

I am so glad it was all you hoped for...plus some !!

[patchoulli]

Listenin' to Etheridge right now, "I'm The Only One". Rockin' lady.
Glad you had a hoot, G. Will we be seeing you in the womens' volley ball playoffs, or whatever they are, on tv? You know - where they wear those glued on bikinis.

[Georgina]

Yep, that'll be me, Patch.

[Pax]

Enjoy your trip / welcome back!

Glad you had a great time!

Melissa Etheridge... first person I ever saw in concert. I love her soulful music. It's just... real. And she seems like a really nice person. I was sad for her when she and Julie Cypher parted ways.