Back in Black... Mountain

As most of you know, I've taken a short vacation to Black Mountain, NC where the air is cooler, the hills are higher, and the water is more clear than Clearwater. I have a friend up here, Thaddeus, that I met when I was going to Holsby Brunn in Sweden and I came up to visit him for a week and then go to a big music festival up in Bushnell, Illinois called Cornerstone. It has been awesome getting to know Thad's family and friends and seeing all of Black Mountain. The second night I was here, we went to a rave. But not a typical rave - it was a no smoking, drinking, or drugs rave. Let's face it, the only smoking was coming out of the fog machines. We had a great time dancing and jamming to the techno beats that were being pounded through the speakers.

Other than that, we swam in a creek, went to church, had great mexican food, among many other things. Then, on Tuesday we packed up the two 15 passenger vans and headed to Illinois at 4 am. There were eleven of us total so we had plenty of room to spread out and make an attempt at some sleep. The week there went by so quickly and I wish I could do it all over again. I saw my favorite bands like Relient K and Family Force 5, along with some bands I didn't listen to all that often but liked - Anberlin and Emery and House of Heroes, and was even introduced to some newer bands that were pretty awesome: Rodent Emporium, Showbread, La Dispute, mewithoutYou, among many others. I got to meet Phatty, Crouton, and Soul Glow Activatur from Family Force 5 watching another band play in a smaller tent. That story is pretty funny. I touched Matt Thiessen's hand of Relient K twice when he was on stage. I had dinner with Showbread one night (we had steaks and invited them). And I kissed the lead singer of mewithoutYou, Aaron Weiss, on the cheek for Kenny (that, too, is a good story). I also got to meet and hang out with the drummer of that same band, Ricky. I have never met so many cool, down to earth people in one week.

But now we're back in Black Mountain and I'm recovering from a cold while most everyone else is recovering from sleep deprivation. Today will be my last day here and I'll spend it hanging out in coffee shops, exchanging music, and hanging out with Thaddy one more time before I go. It has been an awesome trip and much needed in my case. A big thanks goes out to the Stewart family for giving me a place to stay for two weeks and letting me be a part of your family for my time here.

peace, love, and never ending journeys.

kae