What a year!

As 2010 comes to a close, I can only say...it was quite a year! To embark on not one but TWO Five For Fighting groupie road trips...WOW! The first was in April...six shows in ten days! From Seattle, WA to Las Vegas, NV, I followed John Ondrasik and the band from show to show...okay, I skipped San Francisco, but one person can only drive so much! And, there were some definite high points during my groupie experience. Baking cookies and getting them on the Five For Fighting tour bus in Seattle, where they were enjoyed by band and crew. Getting lucky and being invited for the sound check meet and greet in Portland, OR. Going to the Los Angeles show with my friends Lynne and Dave, and having the pleasure of meeting John's dad afterward. Talking to opener Matt Wertz and getting Five For Fighting drummer Randy Cooke to sign a drumstick in San Diego. Talking to John's wife Carla both during and after the Tuacahn concert...and getting daughter Olivia's autograph, too! There were a couple of low points...straining my neck looking up at John from the front row, and getting sunburned at Pet-a-Palooza in Las Vegas...but, it was overshadowed by the fun moments. The second half of my April road trip consisted of visiting some of our country's awesome national parks. Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Natural Bridges, Arches and Yellowstone. It was a treat to drive and walk through such beautiful sights with perfect weather and no crowds.

In November, I only attended three of John's shows on his acoustic tour, but not having a band to back him up didn't make a difference...he was still great! As I told Carla after the second show, I never get tired of hearing John's stories...even though I know all the punch lines! This groupie road trip had one HUGE high point...I FINALLY got my face to face interview with John! I captured it with my digital voice recorder, and I have yet to transcribe it...Christmas preparations took priority. After the concerts, I had a wonderful time at Sequoia National Park, enjoyed my own private tour of Oregon Caves and played with a black leopard cub at West Coast Game Park. One HUGE low point...getting my finger smashed in the back window of my groupie mobile. The nail still hasn't fallen out, but I'm still not sure it won't!

So, what will 2011 bring? Well, I'm already planning my next road trip! Back in 2008, I had the pleasure of attending the Beach Bash For Augie's Quest. Augie's Quest is a ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) charity near and dear to John's heart, and I was happy to help support such a terrific cause. I was unable to attend the next couple of Bashes, but the stars finally aligned for next year. In March, I'll be going to the Bash for Augie's Quest in San Francisco...and plan another road trip vacation around it! Time is short, but I'm hard at work looking for new and fun things to experience! And, if I get the opportunity, I'll finally get to work transcribing that interview. Boy, how I hate hearing my own voice! Happy New Year!

Caverns and cats

On my last full day of road tripping, I only had two places to see, but they were good ones! I left Medford, OR early so I could get to Oregon Caves National Monument in time for their first tour of the day. Registration for cave tours opened at 9:30 am, and I was there before then. I was also the only one there. I was asked if I could wait till 10:30 to allow time for other folks to arrive. But, an hour later...no one! So...I got my own personal tour of the caverns! That's the second time it's happened on my road trip...the first was at Black Chasm Caverns in California. To make things a bit special for me, the Park Service guide actually gave me my own flashlight to use. She wasn't supposed to do that...I hope mentioning it doesn't get her in hot water!

As we entered the caverns, I was shown a few Little Brown bats roosting on the wall. I see those same kind of bats at home...I had one on the wall of my house once! For the next hour and a half, we walked through the caves. At one point, I asked the guide if she had seen the movie, The Descent...and, she said she had! It's about a group of women who explore a cave...and become trapped inside and terrorized by its subterranean occupants. If you like to explore caves and enjoy watching horror films, you'll love this one! It was so cool to be the only one down there...well, almost. About halfway into the tour, we encountered a researcher trying to reconstruct pieces of rock that were damaged long ago by people walking on it. Again, since it was only me, she actually showed me what she was working on...what a treat! Oh, and she has seen The Descent, too! The tour ended all too soon, but I'll never forget the experience!

After a quick picnic lunch, I visited Great Cats World Park. By now, it was raining lightly, but that wouldn't dampen my enthusiasm. This unique facility is devoted to educating the public about the great cats of the world...and we're not talking about domestic cats! Most wild cat species are endangered or threatened, and Great Cats World Park tries to educate the public on their plight. In addition, they have a successful breeding program, and also offer the use of their well-trained cats to the entertainment industry and the media.

For about 2 hours, the guide gave us an up close and personal tour of their cats: white tiger, cougar, Amur leopard, black leopard, snow leopard, Bengal tiger, jaguar, African lion, serval, ocelot and a trio of African wildcats. While the guide was doing her talk, she fed the cats pieces of meat...they seemed to know the routine! We were allowed to stand 4-5 feet away from the enclosure fences, which is the closest I've ever been to such cats! I mean, this was really close! And, the cats were SO BEAUTIFUL! I was especially impressed with the snow leopard...what a huge tail it had! I've seen snow leopards in zoos, but never up close. Toward the end of the tour, we got to pet a baby black leopard. Not quite the same as my experience at West Coast Game Park (see my Fair weather and furry faces blog), but still great!

I spent a longer time at the cat park than expected...that was certainly okay...but, I now had a long drive north to my nightly pit stop. It took me about 4 hours, the second half in the darkness and rain...and getting caught in a post-game football traffic jam. I was pretty tired when I arrived at my hotel. Well, tomorrow is the home stretch! Just one zoo...which I might skip if it rains too much. It might be just as well...I can't wait to get to home sweet home!

Little bit of this, little bit of that

I had another relaxing day of sightseeing today. Before I got things started, I went to the local Safeway in Redding to buy a few things for lunch. At the checkout stand, the lady at the register happened to see my Washington State driver's license, and commented that she used to live there. Born and raised in Ellensburg...I knew where that was because my parents live just south of that town! Small world!

It was already a beautiful sunny day as I arrived at Redding's Turtle Bay Exploration Park. This preserve is devoted to educating the public of the natural environment, culture and history of the Sacramento Valley area. I went to the museum first, which had a cool exhibit on costumes used in movies and television. Stuff like Indiana Jones' hat, jacket and bullwhip, and Darth Vader's outfit. The Paul Bunyan Forest Camp outside the museum is geared for children, but it was deserted when I walked through it. I was mostly interested in checking out the animals they had on display. As I walked up to the gray fox enclosure, I saw a little head pop up to see who was coming. Immediately, the fox jumped up on a tree branch to have a better look at me, which allowed me to have a better look at the fox. Inali was confiscated by people who were keeping her illegally. Because she could not be returned to the wild, she was now staying at Turtle Bay. Such a beautiful animal, but so sad she can't be free.

A prominent feature of the exploration park is McConnell Arboretum & Botanical Gardens, which I accessed by crossing over the amazing work of art, The Sundial Bridge (see photo above). These gardens include plants of Mediterranean climate zones from around the world. I'm not really big on gardens and plants, but I do appreciate the rare and unusual. I also decided that it would be good exercise to walk the paths of the gardens. In particular, I enjoyed looking at the monkey puzzle tree. I had heard of these trees, but never saw such nice specimens! Because it was so late in the year, many plants were not at their peak. Still, it was nice to take a stroll.

The only other destination of the day was a short drive out of town to Shasta State Historic Park. This park is devoted to the history of Shasta City, as told by interpretive signs with old buildings outside, and displays inside the town's original Shasta County Courthouse. The courthouse actually had a reproduced gallows out back, and jail cells downstairs. As I walked around the jail area, I noticed a smell that I've detected at so many old buildings. Kind of a damp, musty odor...not unpleasant, but a unique earthiness. I guess you can say it's an "old" smell, which lends a certain authenticity!

Before I left Redding, I decided to eat my lunch in my vehicle, parked in the quiet corner of a shopping center parking lot. I scanned the radio dial, searching for a good station. I was thinking there wasn't one until I finally found a soft rock station. Right at that very moment, they played Five For Fighting's Slice! Ahh...I was enjoying my lunch a whole lot more!

For those who served...

I was looking forward to a nice, relaxing day. I planned to visit a medical museum in Sacramento first thing this morning. But, it being Veteran's Day, that museum was closed. Not wanting to waste precious time doing nothing until the other places on my list opened, I looked for an alternative. I did a Google search and found the Aerospace Museum of California was open at 9:00 am...perfect! Also, I was thrilled to see that they had a special Star Trek exhibit there, and...it was a fitting place to visit on Veteran's Day. When I got to the air museum, I made a beeline for Star Trek - The Exhibition. This special exhibit is supposedly the best display of Star Trek props and information ever offered to the public. I've been a big Star Trek fan from the classic series to the movies, so this really appealed to me. And, I wasn't disappointed...it rocked!

Afterward, I went outside to look at the display of military aircraft. It turned out the first plane I saw is one of my personal favorites...the A-10 Warthog or Thunderbolt II. As I approached the plane, the docent there asked me if I was connected to the A-10 in some way. I said "No, unless you want to count computer games!" I love to fly old World War II fighter aircraft in a computer setting. As for modern planes, the only one is the A-10...I have three games devoted to it! I got to talking to the veteran pilot about the plane. The A-10 is well-known for it's durability and toughness in battle. There have been many stories of pilots getting shot up but still returning home...because they were flying A-10s. He even described a fellow female pilot who experienced that herself while on a mission in the Middle East. Another attribute of the Warthog...it's slow for a jet fighter. For that reason, it might draw more ground fire, but it makes it perfect as a tank killer. The pilot said when he used to fly Red Flag war games, he and the other A-10s would leave for the rendezvous point, while the pilots in the faster jets like F-16s would hang around the base eating cheeseburgers...they had time to catch up to the slower A-10s!

Before I left to check out the other planes, I shook the pilot's hand and thanked him for his service. He seemed surprised, and noted that not many people said that to him. He was very appreciative and thanked me! I walked around and took photos of the military aircraft on the tarmac, then returned to the main building to see the displays inside. Sitting outside the doorway were three more docents...all military veterans. Before going inside, I shook all of their hands and thanked them for their service. One of the men then asked if he should thank me, too. At first, I was a bit confused...until I realized he meant the Five For Fighting hoodie I was wearing! Being of a different generation...or, maybe not a hockey fan...he had no idea what it meant! I explained that Five For Fighting was a musician...who also happened to be a big supporter of the troops. They liked that!

After a quick lunch, I drove to downtown Sacramento to see Sutter's Fort State Historic Park. This historic site is devoted to the story of John Sutter and his failed attempt...because of the gold rush...to build his own farming and trade community. To add to the realism, visitors see volunteers dressed in period clothing re-enacting life at Sutter's Fort. In addition to the fort, the park also includes the State Indian Museum. There, I enjoyed displays of the different aspects of California native American life.

Tomorrow, I've scheduled another easy day. I only drove about 2 1/2 hours today and it will be the same tomorrow. Slow road home is SO much less tiring! Only three more days of road tripping...

Folsom prison views

When I woke up this morning, my injured finger felt a bit better. At least it doesn't hurt unless I apply pressure. Even typing is no problem...if I don't press on the key too hard! Needless to say, I'm VERY careful opening my Blazer's rear window now!

I was planning to visit two caverns today, but when I got to the first one... Black Chasm Cavern National Natural Landmark...I was told by the guy working there that the other one... Sutter Gold Mine...was closed today. Oh, well...I just go to another museum instead then! I arrived at Black Chasm well before the start of the first tour at 10:00 am. But, when that time rolled around...no one else had shown up! So...I got a private tour of the caves! Cool! This particular caverns is most famous for their extensive display of rare helictite crystals...the main reason it was awarded National Nature Landmark status by the National Park Service. And, those crystals ARE impressive!

As many past mornings on my road trip, I skipped breakfast so I was good and hungry after the cave tour. I was on my way to two museums in Folsom when I passed through the town of Placerville...and spotted an In N Out Burger! I had been planning to just eat the other half of my Subway sandwich, but I forgot all about that. Instead, I was envisioning a double double! I made a quick decision and...well, you know what I did! I beat the lunch crowd by just 5 minutes. As I was walking to my Blazer with my takeout burger, the vehicles started streaming into the parking lot! It was pretty amazing. And, yes...that double double tasted damn good!

I immediately felt a bit apprehensive as I turned into Prison Road in Folsom. There were signs along the sides of the road saying "No stopping or parking." My destination was the Folsom Prison Museum, but this attraction was located adjacent to Folsom State Prison. The prison is infamous for Johnny Cash's two performances there in 1966 and 1968. This was dramatized in the Joaquin Phoenix film, Walk The Line. I parked in the same lot that prison visitors use, which felt a bit weird. Actually, this is not the first time I've been near prisons. When I had a temporary job with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers back in the early 80s, at least a couple of times I went to the main office and drove past Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla. Then, while working for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in New Jersey, I occasionally passed by East Jersey State Prison...originally known as Rahway State Prison. Most prisons look the same...high walls and guard towers. The prison museum was extremely interesting. There were exhibits with prison memorabilia, including weapons and contraband constructed and confiscated from prisoners. The nice lady working there took a photo of me standing in front of the prison's East Gate. I prefer staying outside, thank you very much!

Next, I drove a short distance to the Folsom History Museum. I got a lot of information on local history from this museum. Since I didn't have a second cave visit today, I added the California State Railroad Museum in Old Sacramento to my itinerary. I'm not the biggest fan of trains, but I was pleasantly surprised on how well done the exhibits were at this museum. The history of the big railroad companies in the West, railroad construction, and descriptions on railroad life. I spent a good 1 1/2 hours absorbing it all. Oh, and the trains were pretty nice, too.

Tomorrow, more museums and a historical park...did I ever say I love museums? Four more days till my journey ends...

Frozen in time

My day started on a painful note. I was loading my belongings into my Blazer when the rear window slammed down on my finger. A combination of overnight freezing temps and me not pushing window all the way up caused the accident. The end of my middle finger got smashed, and I was fortunate to just pull my hand out of the way at the last second, averting probably worse injury. At first, it didn't seem so bad. Yeah, my finger was numb and hurt like hell..I was hoping it was just a minor thing. But, as the day progressed, I noticed the finger starting to show bruising. And, by the time I stopped at my hotel for the night, my finger was swollen and purplish. I can't apply pressure without severe pain...otherwise, I'm managing. And, I'm doing what I hadn't done all day...icing the finger. It will probably keep it from bruising further, but it will take a while to feel normal. I'm just praying it's not something more serious. I guess time will tell.

My sightseeing for the day consisted of a historic park, a cave tour and a county museum. After spending the night in a quaint older hotel in Jamestown, I made the short drive to Columbia State Historic Park in Columbia. Many of the historic sites and museums in the region are related to the gold rush, and this place was a good example. Next, I drove up the road to Mercer Caverns...the first of several caves tours I planned for my road trip. This was only the 3rd time I had ever visited caves in this country...the other two were Jewel Caves in South Dakota and Shenandoah Caverns in Virginia. Mercer Caverns are what are known as limestone caves. It was a fun tour...especially when the guide turned the lights out. I think they do that on all cave tours. Scary!

I was hoping to see a museum in the historic town of Angels Camp, but it was unexpectedly closed...oh, well. So, I went on to my final destination of the day... Calaveras County Museum in San Andreas. Does the name Calaveras County sound familiar to you? Do you recall the Mark Twain story, The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County? Yep, THAT Calaveras County! The short story supposedly made Twain famous, and the rest, of course, is history! Anyway, this particular museum proved to be very interesting and well done. It wasn't real big, but I spent a good hour going through all the exhibits. The photo above is a room in the Hall Of Records...looks just the way it did way back when!

Tomorrow, I have two more cave tours planned, and well as two museums if time permits. I hope the swelling in my finger goes down...

Ancient sentinels

When I woke up this morning, the sun was shining through the clouds and the skies were blue. I knew it was going to be a beautiful day! After a quick visit to the grocery store for bananas and carrots for lunch, I left Oakhurst for the short drive to Yosemite National Park. At the entrance station, I showed the interagency pass I purchased on my last road trip....still good till April...then, headed over to Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias. The only big trees I've ever seen are redwoods, and I was excited to see my first sequoias.

It had rained yesterday and overnight in Oakhurst, but at the higher elevations in Yosemite, it was snow that fell on the ground. It was still chilly as I started on the trail to see the sequoias...35 degrees! But, I quickly warmed up as I hiked along. At first, the trail gradually inclined. As I kept walking, though, the trails became steeper and steeper. To make it even more challenging, snow was on the ground and the trails...tougher to walk on that stuff. When I first started out, there were some people on the trail, too. I soon left them behind, and I found myself on the trail alone. Now, I admit I'm not in tip top shape, but I think most people would have gotten quite a workout on these trails! I occasionally stopped to take photos and admire the view, which gave me a breather. It was also interesting to see the different animals tracks in the new snow...deer, squirrel, chipmunk. Thankfully, no bear or cougar! As time went on, I began to question the wisdom of me hiking to the top. But, I told myself if I do it, I never have to do it again...so, I kept going. Three strenuous miles later, I made it! Then, I quickly took a different trail back down...SO much easier than going up! When I finally reached the parking lot, I was exhausted and famished. It took me THREE HOURS to do those six miles! After fueling up on Subway, carrots and chips, I was ready to see the main attractions.

Yosemite Valley is home to some of the most beautiful and well known natural attractions in the world. Right after driving through a eastbound tunnel...there they were! At an overlook, were the famous El Capitan, Half Dome and Bridal Veil Falls. The photo above is what I saw. It was truly breathtaking! From there, I stopped along the road often to take pictures. You can't get enough great shots of the sights! Even better, since it was so late in the year, there were not too many people in the park. My only regret is not having enough time to do hike some more trails, although at that point, I think I was all hiked out for the day! After getting photos of Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls, I was ready to leave. As I walked back to the Blazer, I noticed some people taking pics of some grazing deer. I opted to take a pass...after all, I see deer all the time in my neighborhood and backyard!

Tomorrow, a less strenuous day! A historic park, a cavern tour and a couple of local museums...less driving, too! I could use an easy day. Road tripping starts to catch up to you after awhile...particularly if you do it alone!

Were there lizards back then?

I had a terrible stay at my Glendale hotel. First of all, when you enter the lobby and you're greeted by a guy behind a inpenetrable glass wall, you don't feel that welcome! I knew something wasn't quite right when the supposed non-smoking room had it's door wide open...as did several other rooms on the floor! Airing it out...for what? The room itself smelled musty and not all that clean. I soon discovered this was one of many problems. There was NO facial tissue, NO clock radio, NO soap holder in the shower and rough towels! To make matters worse, when I got back from the Five For Fighting show, I passed a couple of people smoking on the walkway, two doors down from mine. I entered my room to find...it smelled like smoke! I think the smoke seeped under the door and through the 1/4 inch gap around the wall-mounted air conditioner! Needless to say, when I do my AAA review of this hotel, I will not be complimentary!

My first item on the agenda today was a visit to Fort Tejon State Historic Park in Lebec, CA. Stationed at this fort from 1854 to 1864 was the 1st U.S. Dragoons. The unit was most famous for their failed experiment of using camels in the U.S. Army. This park has original and restored buildings from that time. But, what interested me the most? Lizards! Small lizards were crawling all over the sunny side wall of the Barracks building. I hadn't seen wild lizards since I was growing up in southern California. All the kids had pets that they caught from the wild...snakes, tortoises...and lizards, too! I spent a good amount of time following the little critters...took a few pics, too, as you can see. So cute! I wished I could catch a couple for pets, but I just left them alone. Hmm...I wonder if those same lizards were crawling around Fort Tejon way back when?

The other fun thing for the day was going to the California Living Museum in Bakersfield. This zoo has animals and plants native to the surrounding area. The place was pretty small, but I managed to find something of great interest...rattlesnakes! Yes, many zoos have rattlesnakes, but it's not often you can actually SEE them really up close! I snapped some nice shots of the reptiles through the glass.

In general, the weather today was pretty nice. That all changed when I reached Fresno...rain! And, it rained all the way to my pit stop for the night. It might still be showering tomorrow morning, but it's supposed to clear up and be sunny the rest of the day. Crossing my fingers that will be the case as I'm going to visit Yosemite National Park!

Super moment...Superman

My last show of the current Five For Fighting tour was certainly a special one...have I been saying that for every show? I attended with friends Lynne and Dave, who were with me at the Redondo Beach concert. Unlike last night, dinner was actually pretty decent at the Canyon Club, although it's pretty hard to mess up prime rib! The crowd was a little better audience with opener Matt Hires...their bantering didn't quite drown out his music. It might have also been the decent sound system, though. Oh, I guess I should mention I had a GREAT seat for this show, courtesy of my two friends! Got some nice photos, like the one you see here.

When John came on stage, he started out by communicating his pleasure at his Bruins football team winning this afternoon. He got right into World on piano, and replicated his set list for the past two nights (see Making things right blog). But, he did things a little differently for Superman. Cellist Victor Lawrence...who has played with John on past albums...accompanied him for that song. Victor was with John for his appearance in The Concert For NYC, and John reminisced on that special benefit concert. Hearing Victor play his cello for Superman was a wonderful addition to John's performance, and the highpoint of the evening.

After the show, I was hoping for one last photo moment with John, but it wasn't to be. I DID get to say goodbye to wife Carla, though! She was talking to a few friends, and when she saw me, told them I was John's biggest fan...she said it again! I guess it must be true? I explained to the ladies that I followed John from show to show when he toured the west coast, and they were pretty impressed. Then, I said my goodbyes to Carla and gave her a hug, and she wished me a safe trip home.

So, my groupie adventure has come to an end. But, my road trip continues. Still more sights to see, more fun on the horizon. And, thank goodness I'll be heading back into the cool weather!

Way out west

The nice thing about early Saturday in the L.A. area...no traffic jams on the freeways. At least I didn't encounter any as I left San Clemente and headed north. Temperatures were in the low 70s...my kind of weather! My only destination for the morning was Autry National Center, located in Griffith Park. Actually, this museum features art, artifacts and exhibits related to the American West. As I've said before, I love museums, and this one turned out to be a very nice one. I ended up staying there 2 1/2 hours. I was especially impressed by the original oil paintings done by famous artists.

So, tonight will be my final Five For Fighting show of the current tour. I'm happy to see John Ondrasik one more time, but also a bit sad that it will be coming to an end. Canyon Club in Agoura Hills is another dinner venue. Will the food be better than last night? I'm sure I won't care too much...I'll be too busy listening to John sing. And, his stories, too, of course! Stay tuned...