OK so maybe I have a soft spot for country music but I have liked Gretchen Wilson's music for years. It's raw and more like the outlaw country that I grew up listening to. Don't get me wrong or label me because I like all kinds of music and my IPOD says so. But like any of us, I have made that connection with certain artists. my favorites? Now, don't laugh. Kiss, Motley Crue, ACDC, Elvis Presley, all of the fifties music, The Mamas and the Papas. Abba, Shania Twain, the list is endless but all in all there are some that I listen to more than others and Gretchen Wilson is in my top 10.
Tour truck-"I've Got Your Country Right Here"
So last night I got the chance to see her live for the first time in Napa with Autumn. We had great seats in the third row and I really didn't know what to expect.
I had read in some online articles that she is a pistol who chews tobacco and will take a drink or two of whiskey on stage. Then there is her celebrity persona of being tough. I had prepared myself for an interesting time and I wasn't disappointed.
The opening act, Four Year Bender was from San Francisco and I liked their combination of southern rock with country. I wouldn't mind purchasing one of their CDs at a later date.
Gretchen Wilson performs in Napa.
But when the set was changed and Wilson took the stage, it was all Wilson.
First off she made it a point to introduce her album cover and announce that she was the proud owner of her own record label, Redneck Records. She then pointed out that her album cover, unlike those of other female country artists did not feature her face smiling.
"I don't have to do those things anymore," she triumphantly told the crowd. And then she unleashed the hurricane.
From start to finish, she never missed a beat or note for that matter. She sang her hits and impressed with her ability to sing Rock and Roll.
Starting with "Here for the Party," Wilson went on to sing songs from her new album and then thrilled the crowd with a little Journey by singing, "When the lights Go Down in the City." She then reverted back to some older hits including "There's a Place in the Whiskey." and 'Homewrecker," before turning on the steam again for some more Rock and Roll.
At one point she did take a swig of whiskey proclaiming, "Hello Old Friend."
Wilson talks with the crowd.
For the 300 or so that showed up to see her, Wilson spoke as if she was speaking to each and every one of them and the audience responded accordingly. During many songs, people were dancing in the aisles.
With an incredible vocal range. Wilson sang each and every song with intensity and feeling. She is one of the few artists that I have seen over the years that sounds just like she does on the CDs. Very impressive.
The time flew by fast and before anyone realized it, Wilson and her band had exited the stage. After a few minutes Wilson did reappear and asked the audience, "Now you didn't think I'd left you did ya?" and the broke into "Redneck Woman." Everyone was on their feet, singing along and dancing.
All too soon she ended the show with one of her newer songs.
Would I travel to se her again/ Yes! It was a great show and well worth the money and time.
Anyone who knows me knows that I am the biggest Oakland A's fan on this earth. So when Autumn suggested we could actually go to spring training for the team in Arizona, how could I say no?
No whirlwind this time. We left March 10 and arrived in the state at about 10:30 p.m. When we left Sacramento it had been cold and rainy. In Arizona, we were greeted with 84 degrees and clear.When we landed in AZ, we grabbed a bite to eat and like like everyone else from our flight, we marched, with luggage in hand to the rental car part of the airport and then stood in line for nearly an hour to rent a car as there was but one person working the desk when we arrived. After waiting for about 20 minutes another person stepped up and the line moved slowly.
Finally we got the OK for our rental and the man at the desk rapid fired our instructions. the only thing we caught was go around to the right, take the escalator down and give the papers to a man at the gate. Huh? so we followed other travelers down and they all disappeared into the dark recesses of the parking garage. Not knowing the procedure, we went back upstairs and got our instructions clarified. then it was back on the escalator for the ride down into the garage. from there we found our car, a Nissan Vista-cute little station wagon. Like everyone else, we put our luggage in the trunk and followed the exit signs. Lo and behold, there was a gate and a man at the gate..we hand off our paperwork and I pull over to get my Tom Tom out and set it for our hotel destination.
We pull out and make a left turn and then the Tom Tom starts going crazy. First it had the directions, then it didn't. We tried in vain to follow but ended up going in circles. I finally called the hotel and I could barely hear and understand the woman who gave me directions. was I to take I10 north? or I17 North?
I drove around some more and finally Autumn said to just get on the freeway and see what happens. We did and the Tom Tom kicked right in. Unfortunately we were headed in the wrong direction but with the Tom Tom, we corrected and arrived at our hotel at about midnight.Naturally there was no one in the office so we had to call a number to get someone over to us. When I called, I was put on hold...LOL. I called on my cell phone and finally got through 15 minutes later. We entered our rooms well after 1:30 a.m.
I'd like to say that for me, the night was over, but it wasn't. I ended staying up until 4:30 a.m. working on some freelance stories that were due on Friday. I finally shut my eyes at 5 a..m.
Three and a half hours later, my alarm went off and after a quick shower and change of clothes, we were off to our next hotel and arrived there without incident. Unfortunately, we were too early to check in so we decided to head to the ballpark.
After about a 20 minute drive, we pulled into the parking lot of Phoenix Municipal Stadium. Wow! What a place! The area around the stadium definitely looks like one would think Arizona should look like. Off to south is industrial buildings while to the north are large rocks, cactus and palm trees.The stadium itself is small, reminiscent of a college stadium where you can see everything fairly close. After buying hot dogs, nachos and water, we found our seats in the 8th row near home plate...very nice. So for the next few hours we baked in the Arizona sun, ate snow cones, and watched great baseball.
The entrance to the stadium.
Gio on the mound
After the game, we returned to our hotel and awaited a visit from my cousins who I haven't seen in almost 20 years. they arrived and we had a nice Mexican dinner before heading back to the hotel and getting some much needed sleep.
An Athletic crossing home plate.
On Saturday, we decided to meet my good friend Psychic Nancy Matz just outside of Tuscon where she lives and then head to Tombstone where the historical shooting at the OK Coral took place. Bring a ghost hunter, the town not only held historical significance but also has a history of being really haunted so I wanted to see it first hand.
With the Tom Tom powered up, we made our way to Tuscon stopping only to have breakfast and then at a Target store to buy Autumn a long-sleeved shirt because her skin was really red after having been in the sun during Friday's baseball game.
Good friend Psychic Nancy Matz
We finally met up with Nancy at about 11:30 a.m. and then headed to Tombstone in her car. On the way, we all stopped and had lunch and checked out a gas station where Native American Items were sold. Neat stuff! The dolls were gorgeous and the wood carvings were interesting to look at.
Autumn and I in front of a wooden Native American carving.
After taking some pictures, we were on our way again enjoying the desert as we made our way to Tombstone.
Wow is all I have to say. Being able to walk the street where something so famous unfolded was incredible.
Tombstone Main Street.
Although there were a bunch of tourists in town, we still managed to walk around and check out all the sites. Nancy even took us to a metaphysical shop selling herbs, pendulums and other neat stuff. In one saloon, Nancy took us downstairs to a gift shop where a mine shaft began in one corner. in that mine shaft, Nancy saw the spirit of a man standing near a bed. She also said another man was in the gift shop with us. Interesting. I took some photos of the mine shaft and being the ghost hunter that I am, I turned on my digital voice recorder and asked some questions hoping to catch an EVP.
The haunted mine shaft.
We then weaved our way in and out of buildings and watched as the prelude to the gunfight played out in the street. We made our way to the Bird Cage Theatre which is notoriously haunted and I went inside to take some pictures and check it out.
The Birdcage
In the Jailhouse
Autumn is actually a good shot.
Wandering off for a bit, Autumn and I headed to El Dorado, a sort of mock town with games and stuff. Of course I had to see how it felt to sit in a jail cell and Autumn tried her hand at the shooting gallery.
Before too long, the clock was ticking towards 5 p.m. and Nancy took us to a great dinner in a local saloon. Autumn actually had her fist Sarsaparilla and liked it.
Autumn enjoying her drink.
Tombstone sunset
Then it was back to Tuscon where we said goodbye to Nancy and then drove back to Phoenix where we pulled off the freeway for some gas in a not so great area. Perhaps I should have turned around when I noticed the barbed wire fence that surrounded the gas station but we were low so I really had no choice. Luckily everything worked out and we arrived back at our hotel and fell asleep.
Entrance to the zoo.
Sunday morning we were up again bright and early. We checked out of our hotel room and then headed for the zoo which coincidentally is right next to the ballpark.
How cool! I never expected there to be a small lake with turtles and ducks. It was neat to see. We spent the morning there going from diorama to diorama...I think the monkey cage was cool. The animals are within arm's length. An employee stands nearby to make sure there is no physical interaction with the animals and just in case, the monkey's get out of hand, there is a spray bottle of water nearby.
Too soon it was once again time for baseball and we were off to the ballpark for our last day of Spring Training. It was the A's versus the Colorado Rockies and what a great game.
Trevor Cahill on the mound
Trevor Cahill was the starting pitcher and the A's whopped butt. The game ended at 4p.m. and we headed to the airport to drop off the rental car and check in for our flight. Before too long we found ourselves back in Sacramento and headed for home.
OK planning to go to a play is a good thing. Attending the play on Broadway in New York is even better.
Call it a whim type decision or call it nuts but Autumn really wanted to see Green Day's "American Idiot" and when she found out that Billie Joe Armstrong, Green Day's lead singer, was going to be performing, she immediately booked tickets for us both. So at the end of February, we began our adventure.
Surprised? Oh yeah! Excited? That would be the understatement. I had never been to New York before and the idea was very tempting so I went along. So at the end February we set off on our adventure.
We left Sacramento at 6 a.m. on a Saturday morning and had a two- hour layover in Chicago. We landed there and of course found our connection gate. Then we ate Chicago style pizza-great stuff. Finally we boarded and ended up leaving Chicago nearly two hours late. We landed in New Jersey at 6 p.m. EST and rushed to find a cab. what we didn't know was that a cab to our hotel in New York city would cost $85 one way.
The cab ride from hell
It was funny because the show was scheduled for 8 p.m. and I didn't think a bus would get us there in time..it turned out to be an expensive but wise choice. The cab driver barely spoke English and wanted us to give him exact directions to our hotel. LOL like we know New York. Finally, after a few frustrating minutes, we were off at a blinding speed dodging and weaving through traffic.
After a few heart stopping moments and near misses, we arrived at our overnight residence, a hostel.Once we checked in, we made our way to the third floor and into our sparse room that consisted of a bed with a night table and a sink. In one corner there was a mirror and a small shelf and a radiator by the window. Nice area of town, stone buildings lining the street in both directions. We shared a bathroom with others on our floor as well. Anyhow, we only had a few minutes to take it all in and then rushed downstairs to hail another cab for our ride to Broadway.
This cabby was nice and spoke excellent English. He told us how Derek Jeter had sat where I was sitting just hurs before. He teased us about being from California and drove normally. What a relief. As we drew closer to Broadway, the signs and the marquees flashed advertising the shows like "The Phantom of the Opera,""Mary Poppins," and of course "An American Idiot."
We were dropped off on the corner near the theater and headed to McDonalds but it was too full so we headed to the theater and watched the show.Good show and the theater was packed. we got out about two hours later at around 10 p.m.. we were hungry. So as we are leaving the theater, we notice a huge crowd out front. Immmediately we are hit with the cold. Hand and ear numbing cold. We made our way through the crowd and as it turned out, they were waiting for Billie Joe. As tempting as that is, we decided to escape to the warmth of a restaurant next door for a late night breakfast. Then the fun started.
The wind was blowing, it was darn right cold and we couldn't hail a cab. After about 35 minutes of standing in the bitter cold, I was finally able to hail a yellow cab and we headed back to our hotel only after giving the driver exact directions. What? They don't have GPS in New York?
Note to self: Radiators put out heat.
So maybe I am spoiled by the heating system at home or the fact that I have my own AC unit in my home office but...wow. The radiator in our hotel room was incredible to the point that I had to open the window. Yup. That's me. I have allergies and heat makes them worse so there I was..20 degrees outside and sleeping with the window open to counter act the heat coming off of the radiator.
When the morning finally arrived, we were once again hailing a cab and headed for a tour place downtown to book our spots on a harbor tour. That entailed hailing yet a second cab for our ride to the boat that would take us out onto the harbor.
Again it was bitterly cold. Autumn chose to stay inside the boat while, I, the intrepid photographer decided I wanted to be out on deck to get the best pictures possible. and so it went. For two hours the boat made its way under the Brooklyn Bridge, around the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and other well known sites. I, for my own part, wasn't prepared for the cold weather so I was layered with sweatpants, a pair of pants underneath, two shirts, a jacket, gloves and the most comical effect...another shirt wrapped around my head to protect my ears. It was quite the site. especially considering that I was wearing sunglasses.
Me freezing
Statue of Liberty
Ellis Island
New York Skyline
Anyhow,we finish the tour and Autumn decides she would like to go Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum on 42nd Street. LOL-according to the boat tour guide, the museum was only a block or two away so we considered walking..good thing we asked...it was six city blocks away...Not! So it was cab time again.
It must be remembered that because we were scheduled to fly home that afternoon, we had our luggage and for me, that consisted of a bag for my mini HP computer and purse and my carry on clothes bag that also had my camera bag inside. So now, here I am layered in clothes and running around through a wax museum carrying the weight of the bags and all the while taking pictures. Whew. I can still feel the heat and after about an hour, we finally reached a bathroom where I was able to take off some layers.
It was great. We got to hobnob with Elvis, Denzel Washington, Madonna, Morgan Freeman, President Obama, the pope and most importantly, the Osbournes. How can you beat that?
Oh. and my back held up nicely through it all. Yeah, there was pain but my stenosis was behaving so it made for a decent day. The museum was cool. Instead of the wax figures being behind glass, they are free standing and arranged in a way that they are standing like anyone else would when at a museum. Very clever. it's fun. at the end of the tour there is a spot where the museum people have created a height chart so you can compare your height with your favorite celebrity.
As our time at the museum came to a close, we headed next door to a two-story McDonald's and had our last food in New York. then it was time to hail another cab and we were off to New Jersey to catch our plane.
As things turned out, we left New York three hours late because of weather and missed our connector flight in Chicago. I have spent eyars watching news reports of stranded passengers but never thought it would happen to me. In my lifetime, I have flown to Europe twice and cross country several times and never had a problem. So here we found ourselves stranded at Chicago O'Hare and it was already 11 p.m. EST. Our next flight would be at 6:30 a.m. to San Francisco sow e decided to tough it out at the airport. Our logic was that if we booked a room, by the time we got settled, it would be after 1 a.m. and we would have to be back at the airport at 4 a.m. to check in and go through security so it really wasn't worth going to a hotel.
Now, what does one do when stuck at an airport all night? Sleeping is an option but my adrenaline was flowing so that was out of the question. I called home, called some friends and found a computer area and started working of work stuff and hanging out on the Internet. Autumn spent her time listening to my Ipod and reading. At about 3 a.m. we tried to get some sleep on the airport chairs...Not bad, if you have a way to pad your head. we got up at at 5 a.m. and found an open eatery, had breakfast before beginning the nightmare of being on standby.
Things change and so does technology. The last time I had flown on an airplane was about 7 years ago. the security I was used to but to see how the standby status was handled was fascinating.
At O'Hare, television monitors display flight status and who is on the standby and where they rank. we were very lucky in that we ranked 3 and 4 but that still didn't mean we would get on the flight. So we sat for over an hour watching the check-in tallies for the flight as they slowly increased. Finally only four seats remained and we were called. We both slept all the way to San Francisco. Then it was round two of staby for a flight to Sacramento. This one went faster and we were on our way in no time.
Upon arriving home, we went to our respective houses and slept for hours.
