Dave Matthews Band at the Gorge

My fourth DMB concert, and the second time at the Gorge Amphitheater in Washington, set on the bluffs above the Columbia River, surrounded by basalt columns and river-cut terrain. The weather was clear, warm, and dry. We arrived around noon on Saturday and easily found a great, grassy, roomy camping spot.


Me holding up the edge of our neighbor's tent.


A sea of tents at the Gorge campground

We walked about a mile through the campground to get down to the Amphitheater for the show. The day the tickets went on sale a few months ago, I bought two for general admission sitting on the grassy hill like last year, but Ken recently surprised me with tickets down in the seating area, row 13, very close to the stage. Great seats! I've never been that close before. (Thanks, Ken!) I easily sold my tickets because the show has been sold out for weeks. I put an ad on Craig's List and found a guy in Victoria who wanted them. It was easy (also Ken's idea).

The music was great! There were two new songs I didn't recognize, which is always cool to hear. The set list, for frequent reader(s) who are also Dave Matthews fans:

A Dream So Real
Two Step
Loving Wings
Where Are You Going
Corn Bread
Hunger For The Great Light
You Might Die Trying
#27
Don’t Drink the Water
Eh Hee
Smooth Rider
The Stone
Dancing Nancies
Warehouse
Shotgun
So Much To Say
Anyone Seen The Bridge
Too Much
Sister
Tripping Billies

The song "Sister" was really powerful. It's one of his solo pieces, just him and a guitar. He performed this as the first of his encores, and he told a story about the night he recorded it at the studio, where everyone was left speechless. One of his sisters was murdered in South Africa (where his family is from), and it is assumed the song is for her. Part of the lyrics say, "Sister, when you cry, I feel tears run down my face." It was the first I'd heard this song in concert. I got chills. Then he brought the whole place to an uproaring crescendo with his final piece, Tripping Billies. It was a great time. We walked back to the campground with thousands of other people and fell exhausted into our tent under the stars.

This area is beautiful in terms on geology... columnar basalts from the Columbia gorge and basin.











Sunday I made coffee on my little backpacking stove, and we packed up camp and headed west toward Leavenworth to go rafting down the Wenatchee River.



Monday we went for a ride on the motorcycle, up the peak on the east side of the river and above the town. It was a warm, beautiful, sunny Labor Day.


View of Leavenworth from the eastern mountain



The drive back to Seattle along the river and over Stevens Pass is beautiful and green now, and in a few weeks these slopes will be awash in the brilliant colors of fall.



Later that evening I caught a float plane from Seattle back to Victoria, Dave Matthews and a motorcycle still ringing in my happy ears.

St. Louis

The triple-digit midwest heat wave broke for a few days with our arrival from the Pacific Northwest, and we brought some glorious clouds and heavy rain to the region. (You're welcome!) On our first night we were welcomed with a deluge, and Julie kindly retrieved us from our hotel for dinner. Dennis arrived late (how odd!), but that gave the deluge time to ease up and the three of us enjoyed a few beverages at Mosaic, a tapas place on Washington between their loft and our hotel. After dinner and drinks, we went back to the loft to see the hounds and hang out a bit. Dennis the night-owl suggested a walk down to an 80s dance club. He and Julie were still going strong on the dancefloor when Ken and I succumbed to exhaustion and dragged ourselves to our hotel at 2 am.

The next day we were blessed with a magnificent brunch at the loft, prepared by Dennis, who was ably assisted by Julie and the hounds.

 
Me with the hounds at the loft

 
Jodi and Ken at the loft

Ken and I sat around sipping coffee and talking about ourselves. We enjoyed the sun and the pool on the roof-top, then strolled back to our hotel to clean up before the Cardinals game that evening.

The Cards! My first professional baseball game! In fact, the last baseball game I attended was Den's little league SDS team. I know as much now about the game as I did then. Nine players, one is a pitcher, one is a catcher, there's a bull pen and lots of hand signaling.

The weather was perfect... warm, with a light breeze, a few clouds to break up the sky, and the faintest scent of rain. I was assured that this was a most remarkable and rare environmental condition for a baseball game. Busch Stadium was awesome. We enjoyed peanuts and beer and harassing one another. I learned so much about baseball and truly appreciated the sights and sounds and action of the game. The stories behind the players are fascinating. Den and Julie are true fans who know their players, and Ken contributed some ironic quips about Cardinals and Braves players that have dubious Seattle Mariner history.


Ken wore his Mariner hat and a blue shirt. I was quietly grateful the Cards weren't playing the Mariners.

This is me cracking up as Ken makes several attempts to take a picture of us. Between Ken and Den I could hardly breathe, I was laughing so hard.



Pujols at bat. Cards won 5-4, with some tense moments near the end!

The pitching "closer" Izzy (Isringhausen) was employed near the end of the game, and succeeded in not giving up any hits. He would later be named National League player of the week, along with first baseman Mark Teixeira of the Braves... both of whom we saw in action at our game on Aug. 25. Izzy closed 5 games in that week and didn't give up a single hit! Give that man a raise! Thanks Den and Julie for a fun time in those great seats!

 
Den, Jod, and Ken at the Cards game

 
The four of us at Schlafly's after the Cards game

After the game we hit Schlafly's for microbrews and snacks. Night owls D/J stayed for the live punk band outdoors, while Ken and I strolled through downtown, enjoying the late-night crowds of trendy Saturday night club-goers. On the walk home we passed by a nice place with outdoor seating that looked great for the next day's brunch. So on Sunday we slept in a little, then the four of us went for brunch (with mimosas) at Lucas Park Grille. Afterward we strolled about a mile down to the riverfront and Gateway Arch park. We explored the Westward Expansion museum and laid under the arch in the sunlight while we waited our turn on the tram.



We made the journey to the top of the arch, joining the club of 25 million since 1963. Here's Ken getting nervous in the tram on the way to the top.


Electric motors keep the gimbaled car at a comfortable angle despite traveling up an arc... similar to a ferris wheel. Eero Saarinen designed the tram system with the help of a grad school dropout, after being told by numerous elevator professionals that the task was impossible. The dropout grad student figured it out in a week. Incidentally, Eero died from a brain tumor four years before the Arch was completed.


View of the courthouse from the top of the arch. This famous place is where Dred Scott sued unsuccessfully for his freedom from slavery in 1856.



That evening we took a sightseeing riverboat cruise up the Mississippi (image borrowed from the web, thanks to GatewayArch.com). A cab delivered us to the door of The Dubliner, where we feasted on the traditional ales and cuisine of (near) my birthplace. Particuarly fitting right now, because I am reading "Rebels of Ireland" by Edward Rutherfurd.

We took one last stroll back to the loft for late-night conversation and good-byes and seeing the dogs. Thanks Den, Julie, and Ken for a fun weekend! Check back later in the week for more photos of our adventure!