the path of your heart: "you got a fast car, is it fast enough so we can fly away?"--tracy chapman

on to colorado! brace yourself for this post! we crammed a whole lot of shit into our visit here.

we make our way to boulder, immediately into the woods to meet up with friends jeff, amanda and their kids for some camping. we are told to go to camp tahosa, right by a boy scout camp. swirling through back dirt roads, eric decides to stop at the boy scout camp to get more information on where we might find another camping location. when i tell the story, this is where eric joins the boy scouts, holding the three fingers upward. it was really a big production, i guess the boy scouts are pretty serious in colorado. we trek on further, eventually finding a large group of young people with children complete with dogs which left the total to be, say 15? 15 dogs on the premises…

the evening comes fast in the woods, considering our late arrival. with a current fire ban in place, we all huddled in a somewhat enclosed tent to shield the wind and swap songs. some damn fine pickers in attendance. fun was had all around. a good nights sleep in the cool mountain air. the next morning included lots of play time for the children…

also now in the daylight, the admiration of fellow guild guitar owners!

we throw some football around, see what people look like in the day time and pack up or things. on our way out, we drive through the sort of creepy, mountain town of ward, colorado.

we head to nederlands, which everyone affectionately calls 'ned' to meet up with eric's childhood friend from connecticut. todd and his wife, allie come from longmont, to meet us in ned at their friend, jeremy's restaurant: savory. i have the most amazing beet juice bloddy mary. could be my new favorite thing!

todd and allie are both so enjoyable. it is wonderful to watch people catch up after 22 years of NOT seeing one another. these are the times of magic.

after a delicious meal, they take us to the hessie trail nearby.

it is really beautiful and just like so much of western hiking, elevated!!!

i have said it before, but you must be a fitness ninja in these parts. i notice the altitude right way while i am hiking. i understand why athletes train here! that shit is no joke.

we find an old truck in the woods and decide instantly that one thing must happen immediately: photoshoot!

we return to the trail head to watch some badasses drive through a river:

we go back to ned to go to the carousel of happiness. a wonderful place that shows one mans life's work as he hand carved every animal on this carousel. it is beautiful and magical…and so much fun!

i had a hard time selecting my animal, as they were all so fantastic. i went with the donkey with baskets of monkeys.

eric selected the peacock (whats up pants??) he sure does look cute!

this man is clearly, super talented. what a treat this was!

we say our goodbyes to todd and allie and make our way to aurora, colorado.

off we go to meet up with our most wonderful friend, jamie wilson, aka: whams, jams, wammie. we go to the home of her mother, the firecracker known as maxine. maxine has a distinctly eastern texas accent, complete with spunk and sass. she is awesome and so welcoming. we finally get a shower and in the nicest shower i have ever stepped foot in, no less. just picture your ideal shower space, this was it. we visit for a bit and then go out for mexican food. we meet up with wamz' friend from high school, gabby and it is margarita time! margaritas always have the same outcome for me…i will let you use your imagination on that one. we return to jams for a little pool session.

i was that perfect mix of drunk where i was actually alright at pool.

the next morning, we wake up and have a little jam session. i mean, whams and eric had a jam session and maxine and i admired from the wings…

we shoot some dance videos and send jamie off to work at horse camp. we drive down the way in aurora to see my dear friend michelle, who i haven't seen in five years! she is just as lovely as i remembered. we worked together (at the gates of hell!) at my first job out of college. it was so crazy to see annabel as a little girl and not as the baby i remembered. i was her first babysitter!! it was so nice to meet the newest addition, alex!

and what a sweet and happy baby he is!

while michelle and i catch up, annabel and eric make faces:

we hang out in the backyard and remember funny stories of our former wild ways. i also got to see my old friend, coco! we used to howl together on the kitchen floor late at night.

ahhhh, i just love chelle. it is so nice to visit with her and her children and cute doggies.

such a sweet little girl!

annabel and daisy!

we say our goodbyes and head back to denver to see amanda and jeff and fam once again. we got to meet the most amazing 16-year old lady, eva. i can't say enough about how awesome this young woman is…if it were up to me, i would use her as an example of how healthy organic food and open minded parents can make the perfect human, but i am sure that is not up to me, right? we all get together and the whole family plays a great game: 'luck of the draw'

now we played a lot of flux in california, but this game is pretty hilarious!

we make what has become a ritual to me: going to the local REI store. we head out with the youngest, sage. i got intro into a challenge of parenthood: how could you say no to this face? the cutest!

denver is awesome!

we then head over to little man ice cream. clearly, a popular spot. there was a pretty long line!

the next morning, we fulfill some of eric's dreams of going to the bronco's stadium.

this was not on my list of things to do in denver, but really, the amount of vegan restaurants i have dragged this guy to, it only seemed fair. it was also fun to dress him up in ridiculous football gear.

i was less amused with dressing up in ridiculous football gear.

all in all, it wasn't too painful. we took lots of pic of these broncos….

we set off to ride our bikes around downtown. we visit some park areas a bit, the bike trails are awesome! we head over to watercourse, a veg restaurant that had been highly recommended to me at any chance i mentioned my vegan diet. i am glad they did, this place was great!

i got vegan nachos and this amazing vegan creme brûlée. finally!!!!

we then go to the mountain sun brewery to meet up with some peeps. now this might have been one of the most amazing nights of my life. we all meet each other and chat over some beers. (note: i mean I AM meeting peeps, these are all eric's friends)

this is what eric nassau does best: bringing people together!

eric and lea!

this man, gus, would later take us to his studio and play us amazing analog recordings of joni mitchell, the who, pink floyd and elephant revival. he is doing amazing and very important work. audio pioneer is right! check out this article on gus:

i got to get to know matt and terry on my end of the table. these guys are great!

this part of the night is indescribable. all i can say, i am having the time of my life!

neil young lyrics!

we then make the long trek to kansas city, missouri. it was a long day in a hot van with a non-working air-conditioning. i was also really bummed out by a nasty email i received. despite all the personal growth i have made, i am not sure if disappointment from loved-ones ever gets easier...

we show up at the home of mikal shapiro, who is beautiful in all ways. i am always amazed by eric and those brave souls who choose 'musician' as their occupation. this shit is hard. it was such an exhausting day, i can't imagine performing in front of people after the day we had.

always a professional...

it turns out, i couldn't do much more than eat watermelon and sit my by myself. i was so tired…and exhausted with socializing. no offense KC, i was just really spent.

mikal is such a great performer…and a reporter from the kansas city star was there! hey dude!

joel kraft also played, a nice fella from portland, oregon.

if you guys aren't familiar with house concerts, try to get to know people in you local music community or set one up yourself. it is an amazing listening experience.

then later in the evening, everyone became a musician. it is these experiences that is what it is all about. you can't get this at the local, self-involved music venue…

after a wonderful, restful nights sleep, we go to the mudpie for brunch. this place is wonderful. an all vegan coffee house, yes, in missouri! radtastic.