6.24.14 Warhol Museum (Pittsburgh, PA) & Columbus, OH

Day 7-
We went to The Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh. It was fantastic! I was so happy to see all of Andy's history. I loved the family photographs on the 7th floor. I got so many lesson ideas from the eras of Andy. His Time Capsules were awesome. He was such a strange genius. I made a screen test that I'll check out later.  Christina and I took a set of photos in the photobooth. So much fun! I am thankful I had a Smithsonian experience.  We were able to bypass the $20 cost with my old Smithsonian ID. It also saved us $8 at Fallingwater. 

Another bonus was that I spotted an Andre the Giant by Shepard Fairley across the street from the museum.

Before we left Pittsburgh we made sure we got pierogies. We went to Szmidt's Old World Deli for lunch. The Beastarogie was delicious!

We spent the afternoon driving to Columbus, OH to stay with my friend from high school. He welcomed us and let us do our first load of laundry on this trip. We are eternally thankful.  Afterwards, he took us on a tour of downtown Columbus. We played pool and enjoyed a burger and brews at Elevator Brewery and Drafthouse on High Street.

A night of sleep on a couch and air mattress after relaxing with Parks and Recreation.  We move North in the morning.

6.23.14 fallingwater & Downtown Pittsburgh, PA

Day 6-
We left Delaware in the morning. I bought a new phone. It is a hot pink Samsung Galaxy mini - I've named it Miss Piggy though its more of an Animal hot mess pink. Traveling with Kermit and Miss Piggy sitting in traffic going from the east coast out west!

Christina made my dream come true! I finally saw Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater in PA! We didn't go inside but walked around with ground pass. It wasn't everything I imagined it to be but I was happy to be there and finally complete that mission. I was glad it was a stop through. If we had more time we would have explored Ohiopyle State Park. It would be even more spectacular in the fall with the leaves changing.

We continued on to Downtown Pittsburgh for dinner. We had sandwiches filled with fries from Primanti Bros. at Market Square. We wandered to Point State Park to check out the reflection pool and the fountain where all three rivers converge.  We walked over a bridge and took a lift to check out the Duquesne Incline. We saw the sunset over the Pittsburgh skyline.

We a slept in a real bed that night and had showers. It was amazing! A friend of a friend of Christina opened thier guest room to us for the night in the suburbs of Pittsburgh.

6.18-22.14 Firefly Music Festival - Dover, DE

This is my first time walking up with nothing to do and nowhere to go in a really long time. All I want in this moment is some type of normality. I have been sleeping in a tent the past few nights. Someone is playing Outkast in the distance. Christina and I will be living out of my minivan for the next month as we travel around the United States.  Here's a recap of the first adventures.

Day 1-
Our journey began with a detour to Damascus, MD. I wanted to drop off somethings to dear friends before the trip. We continued on to the University Alumni Center to check in for Firefly Music Festival volunteers.

We made it to our campsite and successfully set up camp between the both of us with a little help from our California taco vendor neighbors.  They helped us with the canopy.

We worked our first shift at tge Camping Check-in 8pm-2am. It began to storm towards the en of our shift. We spent most of the time watching the skies light up with lightning after a beautiful sunset in Dover, DE.

We returned to our campsite and lay outside watching the natural light show. Christina stayed out longer. I went into the tent to sleep.  I thought we were going to die that night. I imagined a branch falling on us. I imagined the canopy would crush us. I felt like the wind would carry the tent away with me in it.  j managed to fall asleep through the fear. I realized that fear was preventing me from enjoying the beautiful lightning outside. 

Day 2-
The festival started today. We checked in campers frpm 11am-6pm. It was what it was. We befriended volunteers and people waiting in thier cars.
We were able to experience Local Natives from a great spot near the front. I love thier music! It was a great start to the festival. I also enjoyed a Korean bbq taco from Lemongrass.

Day 3-
It began with our alarms going off at 4:30am. Our shift was from 5am-12pm. We did nothing but organize some boxes and sleep in the sunlight. After that shift we were free to enjoy the entire festival for the rest of the weekend. Showers were glorious!

I brought Christina to the brewery and we enjoyed a Midas Touch from Dogfish Head Brewery. I had a "David Bowie" pizza from Pie for the People. It was great! So much happiness.

We returned to camp and bonded with our neighbors. Shots of Jameson, Christina and I observed a round of "rage cage" before we got ready for Artic Monkeys. We danced at A-TRAK and found a space under the trees for Foo Fighters. I saw Pat Smear! PAT SMEAR! who played with Darby Crash in THE GERMS! So ridiculously happy. We made it front row for Girl Talk. I spent the whole time dancing but it didn't feel quite right. I needed more space to move freely. We came straight back and tried to get ourselves together before passing out to sleep. We were exhausted.

Day 4-
Casualty: cell phone misplaced.  There is a complete possibility that I may have dropped my cell phone between a Flower of Life light sculpture and the campsite last night. It is okay. I laughed. I lost all pictures. 

So much happened...
2 Midas Touch. Peace Love Tacos.
Germany vs. Ghana 2-2 draw. (Third Eye Blind) . Grouplove. Tune-Yards. Grouplove. OUTKAST. Pretty Lights.
I had 1 hour of sleep and stayed up all night with the taco tribe. They are each individually amazing!

Day 5-
I couldn't even lift my head the next morning. I cuddled with Timothy monkey for a few hours and sweat in the tent as I tried to get some rest.
We saw Weezer, Ziggy Marley, Washed Out, Phantogram, Childish Gambino, and ended the night at Big Gigantic. 
We came back and hung out at Peace Love Tacos for a while. Our dancing feet were done! We met back at camp later and shared some music before going to sleep. Successful Firefly experience filled with new friends and great music!

6.14.2014 Hampden, Baltimore

"Excuse me, Hon." - Last Saturday, I had the opportunity to post-celebrate my Hannah Hon's birthday at HonFest 2014 in Hampden, a quirky neighborhood in Baltimore. We spent the day wandering down the Avenue amid the crowds.

Our afternoon began at The Charmery.  They
have a really nice exhibition space, awesome local artwork displayed on thier walls. We decided it would be our last stop but it ended up being quite an eventful day. I need to go back and try their ice cream!

Around the corner is a great shop called BAZAAR. It definitely brought me back to my strange childhood, exploring the oddities in my Uncle Woo's collection. They had a Shunken Hon! The storefront display was really beautiful. They upcycled odd things into floating planters.


We spent the majority of the afternoon in and out of bars during the World Cup futbol matches. I had an enlightening conversation with a music teacher now working in the private school system. I learned about other paths towards teaching abroad.

It was a beautiful day. It was fun to be dressed up and to see others made-up and adorned in beehive updos. One of my favorite moments was singing along to jazz-style renditions of Sublime. Surrounded by good company and merriment, I lost myself a little.

Luckily, I received a reminder from a friend for an early show at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. I parted ways from my friends, they got me a ride to my car courtesy of Uber, and swiftly made my way back home to pick up the tickets. It was a perfect way to celebrate the end of the school year. I spent the night dancing to the live music of tUnE-yArDs.

tUnE-yArDs @ 9:30 Club - 14 June 2014

6.6.14 Cape Henlopen State Park - Lewes, Delaware

We took the day off to enjoy a little bit of sand and sunlight before parting ways. It felt like a preview of this summer's adventure. 

Preparing snacks for the drive. Sitting in traffic. Being patient. Sing alongs in the car... that was new to me. I don't have much of a musical history. I don't sing aloud too often. Most times my voice is barely audible if others are present to listen. 

We arrived and the beach happened to be down wind from some smells. It gave me more of a reason to lay on the sand and bury my face into my towel and forget about everything. I was on the beach enjoying the sights and sounds. Smell has been one of my weakest senses anyways. 

Water was green, murky, and cold. That didn't stop me from enjoying the waves along my legs. I got in completely once but then was pushed over by a wave and made my way back to our spot to dry off. 

The day ended with a beautiful sunset on the other side of the cape. Then we drove off into the distance back home.