On the road...

Hello!

A couple of weeks ago we tried a new Mexican roadside stand, "Hermano's". It's right next to our favorite carne asada stand, and we've had our eye on it pretty much since we moved here. The thing that kept us away for so long was that it's a Sonoran Hot Dog Stand, and to be honest, I don't know if my stomach can handle a Sonoran Hot Dog! (For those of you unfamiliar with this Sonora, Mexico specialty, it's a pure-beef frankfurter, grilled until brown and plump, and wrapped in a strip of crispy mesquite-smoked bacon. This dog nestles gently into a fluffy bun baked fresh that day by the bakery down the street. Coated with a Mexican flag of ketchup, mayonnaise and green chile salsa tops the whole, before it's topped with grated cheddar cheese, finely chopped tomatoes, onions, jalapeños and/or salsa.) Well, we still haven't had the courage to try one of these hot dogs yet, BUT, Hermano's added a traditional Mexican dessert stand to his space...and we can always handle dessert! :) The dessert was fresh apple and pear slices, granola, and strawberry juice mixed together.


The next morning we set out on a 6 hour drive to Albuquerque, NM for 2 RH shows. Every time we drive by Truth or Consequences, NM, I have to laugh and wonder what it must be like having to give your address over the phone and say that you're from "Truth or Consequences".

Luckily I'm well paired with Cameron in the car and we both have to stop every couple of hours to go to the bathroom. Here's a very New Mexican looking rest stop we took a break at.

Both shows were part of a "welcome back students" festival going on at UNM. Right across from the campus is a great local restaurant called "The Frontier". The squeeze some amazing orange juice there that I honestly look forward to from the moment we book a show in ABQ.

I guess the difference between Mexican and New Mexican food has to do with chips and salsa being replaced with saltines and beans w/ green chilis.

We drove back to Tucson for about 24 hours, and then Ryan and I took a belated anniversary vacation to San Francisco! We're on the road together a lot, but it's always special when we can get away just the two of us with no work agenda. The first night we drove part way, and camped for the night in Blythe, CA. I had reserved our campsite online ahead of time, and didn't realize that it was largely an RV Park. In fact, we were the ONLY tent...which was nice to have the whole grassy area to ourselves! But, once we went to bed we realized why there were no other tent-ers...it had been a high of 113 that day, and it only got down to 94 at the time we went to bed. Oh well...it was a fun camping memory! :)

We drove the rest of the way to San Francisco the following day and stayed with some friends from Albion (Natalie and Analisa) in the Castro. They took us to an incredible Burmese Restaurant in Inner Richmond called Burma Superstar, that I highly recommend to anyone going to SF!
The following day we went to a Giants vs. Cubs game with free tickets that Natalie got for us! Giants won 4-1!


That night Analisa and Natalie took us on a great tour of the city. We had to bundle up for Ana's bug convertible...SF is nice during the day, but it gets super chilly at night!

On our last day in San Francisco, Ryan and I rented bikes to ride across the Golden Gate Bridge and through Sosalito (sp?) and Tiburon...two cute little towns on the other side of the bridge.


We loved San Francisco! In fact, we could see ourselves living there quite easily. It has perfect weather, a great city that is a manageable size, public transportation, the ocean, and Ana and Nat!
Our last stop was Windsor/Santa Rosa to visit my cousin Tristy and her husband Jason. They took us a to a really neat Thai restaurant where we all sat on the floor...the food was amazing too! It was so nice to see them, definitely wish we could've stayed longer...wish the whole trip could have been longer! :)


I'm writing you tonight from Midland, TX...The oh so lovely hometown of GW. Tomorrow we'll continue our drive to Commerce (just east of Dallas).

G'night!

WELCOME GAVIN!

Our friends Katie and Josh had their second baby on Friday night! Gavin Benjamin was born at 11:45pm weighing 8lbs 11oz and was 22" long! Ava (2 years old) is a very proud big sister!

Feeling HOT HOT HOT!

Ryan made it home safe and sound from LA last night in time for us to go out to dinner to celebrate his mom's birthday! They have a little bit more to do on the record, but what they have so far is sounding great!

It's been a funny morning in our household. We both woke up this morning feeling really hot and sweaty! At first we were thinking, "Wow, we just aren't used to sleeping in the same bed and body heat does make a big difference!"And then, we realized our A/C went out in the middle of the night!!

When we woke up it was 85 in the house, the last reading we had on it (about an hour ago) was 90! This is Tucson!! It's only supposed to get up to 94 today, but over 100 this weekend! So, granted the temps aren't that high for us, the humidity is because it's monsoon season. I just looked and the current humidity is 39% (I know you guys are probably laughing, but that's humid for us.) We are super fortunate that one of our friends (Randy) who is an electrical engineer offered to come over and take a look at it, so hopefully we won't need to pay a gagillion dollars for someone to come out. Randy and Ryan just came down from the roof with a completely fried electrical part, so they are at the store right now to see if they can just replace that part.


Then, my electric toothbrush fell on the floor and suddenly stopped working!


And then, I went to blow dry my hair, and was reminded that my blow dryer decided to start only blowing cold air, so my hair never really gets dried!


So, I think it's official, we're going to go back to the days of Little House on the Prairie where we don't need to use anything electrical!

Family and Friends!

My last night in Michigan was spent at the all-classy....RODEO! I have to admit that I love going to the rodeo (as someone of you may have gathered from my post in February about not getting into the Tucson Rodeo). I went with my parents, sister, and her kids. I consider my sister (Nichole) to be a very friendly person who can talk to anyone, yet would never volunteer to go on stage for anything. Which, is why I was a bit startled when she started tugging on my arm and pulled me (gently) off the bleachers to go participate in chasing cows to get the ribbon off their tails! I had the slight disadvantage of wearing flip-flops, paired with being afraid of the large charging animals, so needless to say, I did not get a ribbon...but it was fun!



My niece Emma turned 3 this past May, and she's one of the cutest kids, bubbling with personality. One of the things that makes me laugh every time I see her, is that no matter how much she grows, her crack is still too long for her body...she just can't seem to keep it tucked in those pants of hers! :)



My mom and drove to Chicago on Saturday. I met up with my friend Mira from college (who I hadn't seen in over 3 years!). She's living in a cool part of the city where block parties just seem to be a way of life...I'm glad to know the midwest is still as I left it. :)

Then, I went and stayed with my friends Megan and Donny from college. They have a wonderful family of 3 children and one on the way! It was nice to have lots of time to visit together and play with the kids!

I Survived!

Greetings from the Great Lakes State! Ryan and I flew to MI last Thursday to spend time with family...Ryan left on Tuesday to L.A., and I'm here until this coming Monday. The big excitement of the weekend was our immediate family reunion gone Survivor Game that my dad spent months planning. My aunts, uncles, cousins, parents, siblings, nieces, and nephew all gathered at Brown's Clearing (our family cabin) on Saturday for the 1st Annual "Survive Browns' Clearing".

Brown's Clearing...


The signing of the official documents...



The events...


Fortunately this was a friendly survivor game where no one was voted off...that would've been a bad idea for a family reunion.

Here was what really broke the ice and got everyone into the game...putting on the bandanas! The maroon team was Team Delta Force and the camo team was Team Banananas (yes, with that many "n's" :)
(cousins: Julie and Jeff, Nieces: Alyssa and Lydia)


(cousin Sharon, sister Nichole, and me)


Ryan and I were placed on opposing teams, as to not make a color upset!


Due to the intensity of the events, I didn't get to take too many pictures, but here's one of Lydia and my dad in the first event...


An unofficial event in this year's game, was the hula hoop competition...definitely an event that will take place next year!

Ryan and I tied for 2 minutes before giving up...


Tristy was good...but I think it had to do w/ the assistance of the baby growing inside...


Haleigh (niece) showing us up with her fancy arm tricks. :)


Other events of the week included taking my nieces and nephew on a hike through my parents backyard searching for "treasures" (aka trash)...a game my dad used to always play with us...




Ryan and I spent our 2nd anniversary with my Grandpa and Barb in South Haven/Saugatuck. We went dune buggying...a yearly tradition for me and Grandpa...


Then we went out to dinner at a restaurant with a beautiful outdoor patio...


After I dropped Ryan off at the airport, I met up with my Boston roommate Melissa for coffee...it was sooo nice to get to catch up with her in person!


Last night, I had a sleepover at my sister's with all the kids. Lydia made up a special bed on the floor for us to sleep together... :)


And, this evening two of my high school friends and I met up for dinner and dessert...I wish we could all just live in the same city!
Kelly, me, and Kelsey


Tomorrow morning it's babysitting and school shopping with my sister's kids and then to the rodeo at night!

Southern Cali

Friday morning we drove to California for a mini RH tour. We started in San Diego and played at a great acoustic venue called LeStat's West. It's right next to a great coffee shop called, LeStat's, (clever, eh?) and draws a very eclectic crowd of people, which we always love. Owen Plant drove down and sat in on some songs with RH.

We were able to spend the night and have quality time with Ryan's cousin, Traci and her husband Joe, who were married one month after us. It's so nice to be able to visit family and friends while we are out on the road and make it feel like a big friendship tour. :)

Saturday morning we had breakfast with some of Cameron's friends down near Mission Beach, and then drove to LA. The show that evening was at another great acoustic venue that we had never played in before called Genghis Cohen. At first it appeared rather interesting because its attached to an upscale Chinese restaurant, and the seating is old church pews. But, the feel of the room was very much like Club Passim...very folky, which we really appreciate. Norm from Cheers was even there!! Although, he was there for the food we think since we didn't see him at the show...then again, he is very short, so he could've been in there pretending to be a small child. :)

This morning at church we thought we felt an earthquake. But, not being from CA, we weren't positive if it was an earthquake or perhaps just the trash man hitting the dumpster really hard on the ground outside. But, sure enough we came home and checked on the internet to see that it as a 2.7 magnitude at 10:07 am just 1 mile southeast of Yorba Linda, CA!

Well, I'm off to make dinner for our friend Ken, whom we are staying with. And then I fly back to Tucson tonight while the guys stay in LA and record for the week.

Scrabba-dabba-doo!

Our (my) first 4th of July in Tucson was blisterly HOT! The recorded high for the day was 113, and we spent from about 9am-11pm out in the sun!....and then slept for the following two days because we were so sun-drained. :) We were at the Hilton El Conquistador, a swanky hotel/resort on the northwest side of Tucson that does a big 4th Festival put on by the radio station. RH opened for Rocco de Luca and Lifehouse. Due to 2 people putting on the event having to go to the hospital from heat stroke, there were some technical difficulties at the beginning of the concert, but it ended up being a great night of music (and sweat). :)

The beautiful natural backdrop...


I thought I'd show a shot that includes people...there were about 3,000 spectators!


Our friends Lori and Ryan at the event...


On Saturday, we hosted our first ever Scrabble Tournament! Growing up, I never remember loving this game, however since getting married, Ryan and I have become completely addicted! And watching the documentary, Word Wars, about the national Scrabble Tournament, only aided in our addiction.

We had 9 people competing in the tournament...but only Jen walked away as the official champion! She got a 84 point word in the final round (squats/zips on a triple word! for those of you scrabble lovers out there).

Heather, Chris, and Melissa during round 2



Jen and I in the final championship round (she whooped me)...


Ryan and Danny in the final consolation round...by Ryan's face, I'm sure you can determine the outcome...

Meredith Ryan Cameron!

Last weekend, I flew to Denver, met up with Janna and Kari, and drove to Winter Park, CO for Miss Meredith Ryan Hortop's wedding! It was such a quaint and beautiful outdoor wedding. The ceremony took place in a grassy meadow with wild flowers and a beautiful view of the mountains! And the reception was in a little barn that is normally used as a warming hut for cross country skiers in the winter. Each group of friends/family sat in their own little stall that was decorated with white christmas lights, tool, and purple flowers...it was gorgeous!

I must say that I'm quite intrigued by the culture of Winter Park. It's a very small community, population 800, but it doesn't feel like any other small town that I've been in. It actually feels more like a big college campus for people who are all majoring in outdoor activities. Everyone was always outdoors playing (mountain biking, running, etc), or talking about being outdoors...pretty cool.

Here are some photos from the weekend...

Meredith and I first seeing each other in the lodge where we were staying...and where Meredith spent the night before her wedding day.


The walk to the Hawaiian BBQ the night before the wedding...


A little Albion pride...


Meredith's husband (to-be at this point), Chris Cameron, in the grass skirt...


Meredith and Janna staking down the sign to direct people along the 2-track dirt road to get to the ceremony the morning of the wedding...


The ceremony location...






The reception...




Congratulations Meredith and Chris! And just as a fun side note, Meredith's full name is Meredith Ryan Cameron :)