Recent Travels: SC & VT

Some pics from recent travels...GBT played Moondance a few weeks ago in South Carolina. We had a morning off so Noah and I decided to hike up to the top of Table RockAnd as we were leaving we found this awesome Eastern Box Turtle crossing the roadSo cool! I love turtlesNoah and I also got to visit the great state of Vermont for Youth Dance Weekend. It was a last minute scramble on the part of the organizers to get a venue lined up when the road to the camp where they usually have it was washed out. So glad they pulled it together because we had an amazing time. A couple pics of the gangThe lovely ladies of AnadamaMe, Mary, Max and Noah

Twenty-Four

And now, apparently, I'm twenty-four. Birthdays are kind of weird for me. I don't know why. It's not like I'm particularly shy or anything. But I get all nervous and jittery when people wish me happy birthday. I don't know how to react or something. Twenty-four. What kind of things do twenty-four-year-olds do? I'm not sure. Things are good. Life is good I mean. Kind of unbelievably good. I have to remember that. But sometimes I feel like I'm getting pulled in a lot of different directions. The travel and general schedule can get heavy. Always running, always planning so far ahead. My life is so great but sometimes I feel like I'm not really living it. Like I'm watching it happen. Taking notes or something. Twenty-four now. Am I really doing what I want to be doing? Yes. Is my life everything I want it to be? Yeah, pretty much. Except when screw things up or get in the way. Does that mean I'm just not very ambitious? Am I just coasting? Or stuck in a rut and I don't even know it? Sometimes I can't tell. Sometimes. I get a little scared when I think about all the days that go by, and I haven't really done anything. Couldn't tell you where the hours went. I've grown more distant this year and less in touch with God. As long as I'm being honest. I like myself less now than I did a year ago. Don't laugh as much. And I suspect that's affected the people closest to me. It's hard to know what to do with a day, or how to act, when you're out of touch with God. His plans are always so right. Mine suck. I know that. So... twenty-four. I love my wife. I love good food. I love old country songs. I love watching Chimney Swifts fly around as it's getting dark. "We live in a beautiful world... yeah we do, yeah we do" I love God and I miss him. I miss knowing that I'm doing the right thing. Plans plans plans. I need to plan less. I need to love more and plan less. I need to know who I am right now. Where's my heart right now. Less planning. Less about where I'm going to be or what I'm going to do. Not like I don't have a lot to look forward to. And I'm excited about all that. Excited about the band and the new album. Excited about going to Costa Rica. But right now, this moment, am I okay? I'm twenty-four years old and I'm forgiven. Joy and peace and love. All is well.

Summer Sunday Fun Day #3

Yesterday we celebrated our final Summer Sunday Fun Day of 2011 with a trip to The Great New York State Fair. Saw some cool animals like this tortoise...and this Macaw...and this super cute bunny rabbit...Got to catch one of our favorite street performers, Hilby the Skinny German Juggling Boy...And enjoyed some super awesome chocolate milk...Other favorite fair food... roasted corn with garlic salt, a fried sugar waffle and some chocolate Dippin' Dots (aka Ice Cream of the Future of 1986). And to top it all off we saw a Common Nighthawk on our walk back to the car! After we got back, we (and by "we" I mostly mean me) decided it would be a great idea to watch everyone's favorite romantic vampire drama Blade...

Apparently there's some discrepancy of opinion on the worth of the time we spent watching this excellent cultural landmark of a motion picture. What can I say... I like my Snipes Wesley. But then again, what does a panda know about cinema...