The Drive, Part 1

Wheee! I love traveling. There's so much interesting stuff to see, people to meet, places to experience. Although our first couple of days of travel were only meant to get us to Michigan, it was still a fabulous adventure!
Day 1: We left NC around noon with a loaded-down car that was, quite frankly, a bit of a mess. We did really good about packing in advance, but down-to-the-wire stuff had us a bit flustered and lots of random items, even food, got thrown in helter-skelter toward the end. We were just so happy to get on the road, we figured we'd deal with it all later. Our goal was to get to Kanawha State Forest in West Virginia, where we intended on camping for the night. Our GPS, however, had other ideas. The stupid thing... Russell took all the time and effort to program it for each stop on the trip, but for some reason it threw out all the actual addresses. So we told it to take us to the state forest campground, but instead it took us to the town of Kanawha's center. Unfortunately, the town of Kanawha is a couple hours down the road from the state forest. Fortunately it is at least on the right route - so we overshot, but at least we didn't go out of our way.
Once we realized our mistake, we stopped and asked some locals about nearby camping. Since we were in West Virginia, close to the Ohio border, there was plenty to be had. We managed to tool up the road just a bit more and found a spot at Mountwood Park (ha ha, that's what she said!)
We have a great story, told to us by the camp superintendent, Ruthie, that I will have to relate when I have more time; stay tuned, it's a good one!
We got settled much later than we intended, but we had just enough light left to pitch the tent and make dinner.
It was a beautiful night, only somewhat sullied by the drunken rednecks next camp over (more on that later, too). I didn't get much sleep, but we still woke up with the sun and got a good start the next day.
Day 2: We woke up around 8, and I started in on the car. I pulled everything out of it (repack #5?), organized some of the loose stuff that we threw in last-minute, and repacked the whole car. It didn't save us too much space, but it did feel better having things more accessible or at least not a jumbled pile of miscellaneous items. We ate breakfast, made some sandwiches for the road, took showers, and got back on the highway.
We made good time the first part of the day, driving through some beautiful country. The best part of the route from NC to Ann Arbor, MI, is that it's mostly rural; no big cities or bad traffic, just lots of lush green and rolling mountains. We stopped a few times for Orion's sake, but mostly made good time and arrived in Ann Arbor without a hitch.
We met our couch surfing host, Missy, who lives walking distance from the hip university area of Ann Arbor. We got settled and then went for a stroll in the downtown area, checking out a few shops before we grabbed dinner at the Arbor Brewery. That place has great food (mmm, goat cheese and apple salad with golden raisins? yes, please!), and we got to enjoy the wonderful Michigan weather by sitting in their sidewalk section.
We even managed to meet up with Myke & Beth, who are also headed into Electric Forest today! Speaking of which, I need to get my boys up and going so we can head to the festival grounds in Rothbury - about 3 hours out from where we are now!
We'll be out of touch until Monday or Tuesday - look for more posts, and more pictures, then!

And They're Off! Almost...

Whoop, there it is!
It's time to go... almost.
We planned to leave today, knowing in our heads that we'd really probably leave on Tuesday. We were in good shape to go, but then several things happened to slow our progress. Namely, as I was readying for bed last night, I managed to drop my brand-new cell phone out of my pocket and into the toilet.
That's right, folks, my week-old phone was completely submerged, and now doesn't work at all. I went back to the store today only to find out that the phone I paid $30 last week is now $250 because I didn't get the $10-a-month service plan. Ouch!
Needless to say, I didn't get another new phone. Screw that. I didn't like the phone that much anyway. I'll try to find something used in Colorado, or go without for a bit. Whatever.
At this moment the baby is snacking on string cheese (his favorite snack, but also very appropriate, considering...) Russell is making some food for the trip, and I'm writing to you, dear followers.
The car is about half packed. We keep having to make cuts and decisions. Russell has packed and re-packed the car about 3 times, trying to find the best solution. Tomorrow the BOB stroller goes on the roof - that'll solve a lot of the problems.
The house is mostly cleaned up, the laundry is done, and the last odds and ends are getting stowed. We plan to take off sometime in the early morning, once we wrap it all up here.
Our first stop is in West Virginia; we're camping at Kanawha state park for a night. Can't wait to see some misty mountains! Delightful.
I probably will get to post once more before Electric Forest - I'll have photos up for you if I can.
Much love! Wish us luck and happy trails. Adventure awaits!

And just a couple more shots...

Steampunk Bliss

Steampunk Wedding Regalia

Since we got rained out at the ceremony, I didn't wear my skirt or petticoats, rocking only the bloomers and bustle belt for the ceremony. I had intended on wearing the whole gown for the ceremony and photos, then switching to the short version for the dance party. I guess it was dance-party time from word "go"!
However, I did put a lot of work into the skirt - which is yards of fabulous silk dupioni - and even more time went into the petticoats, gathering all those yards of tulle.
Today some of our good friends, Kristyn & Justin, with baby Samson along, came to take some posed shots of us in the whole ensemble. I hope you enjoy!

The Plunge!

So who wants to know where we're headed?!
I do, I do!
We leave next week to head north for the Electric Forest festival (www.http://www.electricforestfestival.com/), the first stop on our big trip! We're going to make two stops on the way there:
The first stop is at Kanawha State Park in West Virginia. We're going to camp out for the night and maybe take a quick hike. Since we're aiming to cover about 5-7 hours a day in the car, we will have a little time here and there for fun and sightseeing! Expect photos soon.
We'll leave Kanawha and head up to Ann Arbor, MI. We found a spot to couchsurf and there's a room waiting for us there. That will be a short stop; we're going to get up early on Thursday and make a quick trek, 3 hours, to Rothbury, MI, for the festival! Though I bet we'll make a little time to stop at that great outdoor provision store in downtown Ann Arbor! I do like that town - glad to be stopping through there again!
Electric Forest is going to be amazing! The first two festivals held there, Rothbury '08 and '09, were both incredible examples of performance art in many forms set to entertain a big, colorful crowd of festivarians! This year the festival has taken on a new name, a different tone, and a very specific emphasis: String Cheese Incident! Our favorite jam band - 3 nights - full sets: we're in heaven! Keller Williams and many other great musicians are also on the line up. We couldn't ask for anything more!
After the fest, we head out of Rothbury on Monday, July 4th. We're going to make another short hop into Michigan City, IN. There's a hotel there waiting for us, thanks to a friend in the business who got us a great 'friends and family' deal! We're right by the lake with a sweet (and inexpensive) suite. Two nights to rest and recuperate, get the laundry done and re-stock the road food, and we're off for Colorado!
It's going to take at least two stops before we make it all the way to Louisville, but we've plotted out good spots to camp and chill. We're so excited to see so much country!
Today we bought a (used) new digital camera; upgrading from 7.2 to 10.2 megapixels - better photos for you to enjoy!
Now we just have to finish packing up around here, say our last 'farewells!' to our local friends and family, and head out on the road!

The Aftermath

Whew...
Sunday was a long, hot day of packing up and packing out. Russell made breakfast, Eddie arrived with pastries and cut a bunch of fruit, and everyone lent a hand to get the party packed away.
I, for one, was pretty useless. I think my crowning achievement was setting out mimosa fixins'; then I did a lot of sitting around answering questions and relaxing.
That evening, we made it back in Chapel Hill to hit Pepper's Pizza with the fam and a few friends still in town. We were so exhausted, but it was good to get one last meal with the fam before everyone dispersed.
Orion was really happy to have Mommy and Daddy back to normal again. He did a lot of snuggling!
We finally finished getting our stuff out of Shakori by Monday afternoon, and I went to clean up the disaster area at Kevin's. Tuesday we spent doing nothing but relaxing, despite the piles of stuff to be sorted at the house.
Now we begin the final pack and purge before we leave for Electric Forest and points West in a few weeks. Wish us luck!
Keep an eye on the blog; as interesting things occur or present themselves to be seen, I'll post about our travels here!
Love you!

Gratitude in Spades

A huge thanks to so many people! I hope I remember everyone here, but it may require two posts!
To all my friends who took photos and posted them; I wielded a camera not at all. Every photo you see here was taken by a friend, and I pirated them from Facebook and reproduced them for you, here.
To Jessica Berkowitz, for doing the professional photography (which is AWESOME so far!)
To Iris, for the leatherwork on my bracer cuffs and Russell's hat band.
To Jo Ann, for all the baby care and my amazing hair style!
To Susan, for my pedicure, the help, and the pizza!
To Adam, for days of help!
To Buck, for playing a heroic set of awesome music!
To Myke & Beth, for bring all the sound equipment (and fireworks)!
To Kathy, for the amazing cake.
To Colie, for helping us load-in and make the photo wall.
To Howard, for an excellently-timed cooler of cold beer and a bag of chips.
To everyone who brought tables and chairs!
To Gary Phillips, for being an awesome MC and making my day every time I see him.
To Graham, John, Zach, and everyone who tended bar.
To my Best Ladies, for being my entourage, having my back, and making getting ready fun!
To the Best Men, for being a completely awesome pirate crew when Russell needed them.
To Zach, for the mural.
To all the anonymous folks that left money in my car, under my windshield wipers, or in Russell's pockets.
To Kevin, for lights and decor, help, and walking me down the aisle. And for allowing the Bubble Kiss Party to take over his house!
To Runyon, Jo Ann, and the Woods family for an amazing rehearsal dinner.
To Gail & Natalie for their help making favors.
To River, for help making favors and the awesome tote bags given out at the rehearsal dinner.
To Ivy, for giving out fans at the rehearsal dinner.
To William, for all the feathers.
To Aimee & John, for all their feathers!
To Jo Ann (and Trader Joe's) for the flowers.
To Eddie, for the goblet and the great breakfast pastries, pineapple, and watermelon!
To everyone who helped us set-up and take-down. It was a lot of work and we couldn't have done it without you!
To Crash and John, for being the first ones to arrive and starting the day off right!
To Garry Miller, for all his works on the grounds at Shakori, being our contact person, and general awesomeness.
Thanks to everyone who participated! We love you all dearly. I'll remember this for the rest of my life!

The Bar

Every good party needs a bar... This structure is an ice cream vendor with Loco Pops and coffee drinks at the Shakori Hills Grassroots festival. We just took it over and used it as our open bar. We bought basic mixers, a modest amount of liquor, and a case of wine. Other folks brought various bottles, and the bar was hopping all night. Several folks voluntarily bartended all night (I remember Zach and Graham being there almost constantly!) They took tips, which I noticed late in the night, and I was really happy to see that folks were generous with our great friends keeping it going over there. Then they gave all the money to us as a gift! I couldn't believe how wonderful and supportive everyone was, from start to finish. We really have an amazing group of friends!

Party Central

We were going to have the ceremony on the stage, but the rain forced us to move into the tent. However, late-night the stage became the focus of the party. I was really excited to offer a stage to Buck and the other musicians who came to play for us. Even better, it was ample enough for us to dance and hang out on the boards with the DJ!

The Torches Get Lit

YangYi, Kevin, and Patti light the tiki torches! Thanks Kevin, for bringing those, and for Jo Ann & Crash for putting them in the ground!

Party Dino!

Crash is great for bringing party favors! This little dino (with his glowstick bling) was a fun addition to the antics!

The Party

Oh, and what a party it was!
After the receiving line and photo shoot, and I managed to eat and get something to drink. It was very hard for me to accomplish a thing, I was so inundated with people! I felt like I was getting tossed in the ocean - and I did what you do then, too, and just rolled with it. I went back to my tent for a minute to change shoes, and when I came back it seemed like half the guests had already left, and I didn't really get a chance to even say hi to some of the folks who had gone!
I made an effort to find Orion and spend some time with him before he left with Jo Ann, but he was asleep in my mom's lap when I found him. Sweet baby man; he was hanging in there as best he could with all the excitement, but I know it wasn't easy on him.
The music was going the whole time. Pretty much as soon as the ceremony ended Buck, Myke and Beth were onstage setting up equipment. The rain had moved on, and the tiki torches were lit. These were originally supposed to line the aisle leading to the stage, surrounded on either side by chairs, but instead they stood like sentinels alone in the field.
It started getting dark, and the lights in the tent came back on. The disco ball and the lights on the stage became visible, and the night took on a magical glow. It was cool and damp, but perfect for a long night of dancing. Night really fell, and all the folks who weren't staying at Shakori for the night left. The 30 or so folks left over got on the stage and started dancing, fireworks went off, and the music was hot!
Buck played for something like 9 hours, with a few breaks when Beth took over - the music lasted all night and was completely awesome the whole time. A big thanks to Myke and Buck for bringing the party! I can't wait to be able to see Buck play whenever I feel like it in SF! Whoot!
It was a really special night and I'm so glad we got to spend it with all of our dearest friends. It felt like a festival in which we had cut away all but the best parts! I think back on everyone's smiling faces, all the great dance grooves, the energy of all the activity, the lights and the view of the field from the stage, and I believe I've actually topped myself for best party ever!
Thanks and huge hugs to all those who participated! It was everything I hoped it would be.

Let Them Eat Cake!

Kathy Edwards, a coworker of mine from Trader Joe's, is also an amazing pastry chef. I was really excited to have her make our beautiful cake.
It was three layers; top was vanilla cake with chocolate frosting, middle was lemon cake with strawberries, and the bottom was an awesome carrot cake with buttercream. It was so good! It was decorate with flowers and feathers. Such a great centerpiece to the whole event!
We were a little clueless as to how to cut a cake, but some folks stepped up to help us out and get it served up. Thanks Lisa and Kristyn!

A Good Shot of My Bustle

I made my whole ensemble: bloomers, petticoats, skirt, corset, and bustle belt. The jewelry (necklace & earrings) and hat were ordered from Etsy artists.
I was particularly pleased with the bustle. It's layers of silk, taffeta, lace, and peacock breast feathers attached to a suede leather belt. It came out even better than I had hoped, and photographed beautifully!

Fans & Feathers

Our friend William has had a collection of exotic birds on his farm for many years. He was kind enough to donate a huge pile of feathers to our steampunk decorating cause. We used many of the macaw feathers for our table decor; I added some eucalyptus and Russell made the displays. I also used a ton of peacock feathers to make fans for my ladies. Pictured here is the one that I carried during the ceremony and then gave to Katrina!

Potluck Magic

I was truly honored (and a little overwhelmed!) by the potluck feast during our reception. Folks brought tons of beautiful, decadent food to share. The tables were groaning under the weight of food, flowers, and candles. Everyone got plenty to eat through the night! It was really special that everyone participated in the feast, and I would like to extend a sincere thanks to all who brought this bounty to our table!

Where's Orion?

My only complaint through the whole wedding event was that it was really hard to get enough time with the Goober Man! Still, there were a few great shots of us with him.

Steampunk Hug

"I don't do sexy" she says.

Yeah, right!

Adam and the Best Ladies

Post-ceremony/mid-potluck feast, Adam, the girls and I stole a moment to do a quick photo shoot on the stage. There were many cameras going off, but Jess's work is definitely the main event! Buck was even behind us spinning some sweet tracks for us to pose to!
This shot is my favorite (so far!) from the set Jess took of the event!

Black & White Smile

Another shot from Jess; I think if I smiled any wider I might have cracked my head open!

The Best Men Photo Shoot - Pictures by Jessica Berkowitz

All I can say is this: Jessica B. is the BEST photographer around!
This photo shoot occurred during the day on Saturday, pre-wedding, featuring: Russell, Adam, Colie, Nick, Zach, and Chris.
The "Silk Hope Line" shuttle bus used by the festival was really appropriate to our theme! Love it!

Sachi & Russell - Married!

The Second Kiss!

In case you missed the first...

The Kiss!

The Whole Party!

The Loving Cup

This part of the ceremony involved Russell and I giving each other sips from the goblet, and then a taste to Orion, to symbolize our connectivity as a family and our past, present, and future together.
The hardest part was waiting to kiss until the right time!

Here Comes the Bride... and Her Awesome Entourage!

This was the best 40' walk I've ever taken!

The Grand Entry

Through the rain... no storm could keep me from our wedding!

The Moment(s) You've All Been Waiting For!

Ok, so here goes...
The girls and I were almost finished getting ready, and Kevin's house looked like a declared disaster area. Stuff all over the house: make up, art supplies, clothes, baby stuff, shoes, you name it! At about 6:05 I called to get us up and out; a few more minutes of hurried getting-it-together occurred, we hopped in the cars, and headed to Shakori.
It was at that point that I first noticed the sky. It was sunny when we got back from my hair appointment, but at some point in the interval it had clouded up. It was even looking a bit dangerous. I thought, man - I hope that holds off for a bit. But no such luck. The first rain drops spattered the windshield and the wind picked up. Nearby trees were whipping around and the rain started down in earnest as we turned into Shakori.
At that point I had no idea what to think. I wasn't sure if they'd moved everything under our tent (thank goodness we rented a 35'x 40' tent!) or if it was too soaked to be worth it, or what. Crash and I were in my car together, and we pulled around to the back field. Missy and Katrina were in their car behind us... We were out of communication and the thunder was rolling in. I parked, and Crash dashed out to secure her tents. Alone in the car, I watched it pour. And I stayed calm.
I just refused to let the rain bother me. For one thing, it was raining way too hard for it to last very long. I had a feeling it would move off. For another, there was just no point in getting all freaked out and bent out of shape. Maybe it was just going to be a wet party! Whatever - we'd still have fun. I figured I'd go over my vows, so I kicked my seat back, turned the stereo up, and waited out the rain.
After a bit, my brother came over and got in the car with me. A couple of people stopped by to say hi, but mostly we just sat and watched the storm. It was wild! But time was passing, and I didn't want to sit there all night. I decided that if by 7pm it hadn't stopped, I was just going to go for it. I passed that on to several folks, and sat back to wait. At five minutes to seven it hadn't calmed, so I drove my car up to the tent, did a loop around it looking for the entrance to the "aisle", and parked as close as I could to the appropriate corner. I left my skirt and the petticoats in the car, and wearing only the bloomers and bustle belt, I leaped out of the car into the tent - using a bunch of good friends with umbrellas to cover the gap!
Leaping into the tent was a very exhilarating experience. Everyone was screaming and cheering, cameras were going off like crazy, the lights had gone out so I couldn't really see anyone particularly. It was my big paparazzi moment! I was about to break into some Lady Gaga, I swear.
I was also not at all ready. I didn't have my shoes on, or my hat, I needed to adjust my clothes. The feather fans and rings were in a box in the trunk. The girls who were going to smudge the crowd didn't have their stuff. I didn't know where my bouquet had wandered off to. There was no way to get really organized. I got some help getting the stuff from my car and passed out fans to the ladies, keeping one for myself in lieu of the bouquet. I put my shoes on, then immediately soaked them by standing in inches-deep floods of water coming in under the tent. Still being photographed, with people calling out to me, I yelled "Where are those mens at?!" and an aisle opened up, leading to the other side of the tent.
No one was really sure what to do. Zoe, the flower girl, with Aimee and John, were closest to the gap in the crowd, but no one was really sure how to proceed. Looking around for a sign, I focused on Billy, who was valiantly playing "Shady Grove" right there beside me. I pointed and yelled, "Billy! Go!" and he lead the way. Zoe, the best ladies, and Adam followed, all with their partners and attendants. It was a little parade through the mass of folks crammed under the tent. We even had to go single-file at points!
Even the walk was fun; I got kisses, gave high-fives with the fan, winked and smiled at friends, and laughed the whole way to the alter. Kevin handed me off to Russell, and the ceremony began.
It was dark in the tent and tough to see; Gary had to lift his script up high to get it in the light. We were all crammed in on one wall of the tent, with the audience right up on us. The rain was still pouring down, so it was hard to hear. But we had a blast anyway! There was a lot of laughter and fun in the ceremony itself.
Gary started out by shouting "We've got PUNK and we've got STEAM!" to which everybody cheered heartily. We started with the loving cup ceremony, which was really sweet, with Orion getting a taste of the wine from the goblet Eddie gave us.
Next was the Apache wedding blessing, which starts out appropriately with: "And now you will feel no rain, for you shall be shelter to one another."
Our vows were self-written and special, with Grateful Dead lyrics combined at the end. A funny moment was when Russell had to look up his vows on his cell phone; mine were scribbled on a crumbled piece of notebook paper. During my vows, I was speaking about some of the shared experiences Russell and I have had, and my friend Buck called out "Don't forget PLAYA-LOVE!" and I added that to my vows. It was a good moment. We shared a couple of kisses (both caught on camera, thanks friends!) and the ceremony was done. We turned to a huge round of applause and attempted to receive everyone as the crowd fell upon the huge potluck feast laid out in the middle of the tent.
At the rehearsal, I stated that I didn't want the ceremony to be stilted, serious, or formal. I had asked that there be lots of fun, free-flowing speech, and laughter. Did I get what I asked for, or what?
And as the ceremony ended and the feast began, the rain started to let off and then died out entirely, just in time for the party!

It's Good Luck!

That's what the old wives say, anyway. I've always sort of felt like the old superstition "It's good luck when it rains on your wedding day" is really just something people say to make you feel better if it does. It's supposed to be a sign of fertility and abundance, which is good luck to a new marriage I guess; thought I think we've already got that one covered!
Anyway, if it is good luck, then we're REALLY really lucky - because it friggin POURED on our wedding!
Serious torrential downpour, thunder & lightening, wind - the whole deal. However, it only lasted through the ceremony and fortunately moved away and left the party dry.
I refused to let the rain bother me. The only thing it could have ruined was my attitude, and since I stayed happy and relaxed, it was just another detail of our amazing day!

The Photo Wall, In Action

These are my favorite two (of many) from the photo wall. I'm so glad people used it!