Although Chicago seemed ominous, it wasn't the NATO/G8 summit that would disrupt our journey but a group of fans waiting
at the airport for James' autograph. He of course obliged and we waited, getting ever more acquainted with the process of selecting the most comfortable piece of luggage to sit on. Later on that evening we went for pizza and I did my best at tackling a Chicago stuffed pizza-imagine the dough of a pizza with cheese (stuffed) in the middle of the dough and then two to three times as much tomato sauce as normal sitting above as a topping. It was fantastic, if a little filling!
After recovering from the cheese dreams and playing an acoustic show on Good Day Chicago I took a brief walk down to the edge of Lake Michigan to take in the city.
I wish we could've spent more time in Chicago and I'll have to go back because it has a great feel about it; the 'L' train rumbling around the city like thunder, Lake Michigan masquerading as some
calm blue ocean and the wind ripping through the streets willing you to duck into a local bar. I resisted though and headed back to the hotel to catch a lift to the gig.
The show went well and again the crowds demanded time for autographs and photos which lasted a good hour after the show, allowing me to sample some local IPA's backstage; I think I've got the bug for them now, thanks Dad!
It was an early start the next day for our flight to yet another city that I must return to: Portland, Oregon. It is in the heart of the Pacific-Northwest, filled with trees and covered in low, cloudy skies. It has a very European feel, with trams trundling through the tree-lined avenues and fewer high-rises than I've seen in other US cities.
Theuns and me wandered around taking in the sights and then met up with the gang for dinner at a 30th floor restaurant to get an aerial view of the city which turned into a night of pool games, laughs and more IPA's with group of fun locals.
With a slight headache and a bottle of water in hand, I sat through our next day eyes glued to the window as we travelled to Yakima for Sasquatch Festival.
We travelled through thick trees, waterfalls, mist, desert plains, grass plains and wide flat valleys to get to the festival site, perched on the edge of a canyon overlooking the Columbia River. You could see this view clearly from the stage and I have never played in a more beautiful setting. At times it was a real struggle to stay focussed on the task at hand!
At the festival we met a couple of artists who opened up our stage called Sean Wheeler and Zander Schloss. They perform as a duo with Sean singing and Zander playing 12-string guitar. We chatted a while with Sean and he kindly gave us their CD which is the perfect companion for this journey, be sure to check them out.
We're now on the 1st leg of 3 days on the road heading down to LA with 1040 miles to cover, bags of pretzels to eat and all sorts of fun to be had.
Much more to come so I'll keep you posted. Big up to everyone back home, I hear the sun has finally been shining.
No comments:
Post a Comment