with Christopher Cross in Marbella, Spain

Manzanita, OR

Last night I was reunited with my dear friend Amy from LA. We met through doing Equine Assisted Therapy together back home. She relocated a couple of years ago to the Oregon Coast and is a practicing therapist. Her town is sooo adorable. She and her good friend Scottie welcomed me with a wonderful meal and after a few drinks I was well on my way to sleepy time! Today we hiked Neahkahnie Mountain as we solved mostly of the worlds problems by examining the teaching lessons that our horses have to offer. LOL!! Later I played my show at Vino Manzanita for a very attentive audience. We went back to Amy's where I continued to play every song I could fake on guitar :)

Cape Look out, Tillamook, Oregon

I drove in from Shasta to Manzanita, OR after a brief visit in Ashland where I'll return next week. As I detoured from the 5 to the 101 and through the windy roads of the more remote Oregon coast I was romanced by the dancing pines and leprechaun mist that settled in on top of the evergreen branches like cotton candy. The sun was starting to settle as I veered off the main road in search of new adventure. I saw a sign that said Cape Lookout Park and I just went for it against the loud protests of my GPS that shouted "recalculating! RECALCULATING!!" After 15 minutes through the thick forest we started to descend into darkness when bright flashes of orange illuminated my window on the drivers side. I turn to see glimpses of a brilliant sunset. Then all of a sudden the vista was revealed in it's glory and the beauty was awesome!

Fitness on the road...

 

FITNESS RANGERS/SACTO 

   MT NEAHKAHNIE/MANZANITA, OR

 

GARLAND PARK/CARMEL VALLEY

 

BIKRAM/SLO

Probably the hardest this about the road is the tendency to eat too much at night while enjoying several glasses of wine through out the evening! To avoid the obvious I searched out several options along the way to be able to fit into my show clothes while enjoying the hospitality of my hosts!

Thanks to Amy and Janni for taking on me on some gorgeous hikes!!!  Todd in Creston and Steve in Carmel for their wonderful home gyms. Then in SLO and Sacramento I went to the local Bikram Yoga studios. The kick ass workout came from Fitness Rangers in Sacto. Their bootcamp class with Jason is a MUST!

Hammond Ranch (near Weed, Ca)

Davis/Sacramento

Two concerts this weekend. One at at beautiful home in Davis. Our gracious hosts Julie and Alex Murdoch are the proud owners of Carus wines. (http://caruswines.com/) I can tell you from personal experience that their red wines from the El Dorado County foothill are very delicious.  They hosted a beautiful musical evening in their exquisite backyard. Isolde (Jame's daughter sang a solo number on guitar.  It was a little warm like 100 degrees! But still a lovely concert!

 Next day we played in Sacramento where there was at least there was pool we could jump in. James sat in on mandolin this time and I met Bill Edwards who added his tasteful guitar playing to the evening!

Daly City

I bid the CC boys adieu to continue my solo journey. Next stop a private party for The Good Tidings Foundation (goodtidings.org) for their annual fundraiser/gold tournament. The drive through Gold Gate park and down pch 1 was worth it!

San Francisco

I'm drove up from Creston this morning after a blissful few days at my friends ranch. Looking forward to seeing my bandmates from Christopher's band and playing a kick ass show at Yoshi's.

later...Checked into the Kabuki Hotel. I must say that it was nice to be in the care of another artist for a few days. Being your own boss is cool but alot of work!!! Going back to freelance work for others is cool because someone else gets to do the advance work while you relax and enjoy the town!

Our shows were really fun. Spent the weekend visiting with friends and family in the area. Ex pats showed me their local haunts and I heard a lot of really cool music in a short amount of time. The breakfast spot is, hands down, Sweet Maple (2101 Sutter Street). Sunday, we went to the Haight Street Fair and listened my friends play at a few local jam sessions as well!

Bottom line: San Francisco is a beautiful town and I always enjoy spending time there.

Day off in Creston

I spent two glorious days in Creston after my SLO gig at a friends ranch. It was extremely creative and relaxing!

After the show at Janni's in the Carmel Valley