We made it to Northwood Thursday night - somehow. The Pineapple Express storm dumped an awful lot of water on the roads, and the wind blew everything that wasn't nailed down. Ian couldn't get there, so we were lucky to have our friend James (from Free Peoples) drum with us. His driving style pushed us along, and we had to be on our toes. Dancers showed up and really cut loose - probably because they had been trapped inside all day by the weather. For a while there, I thought we were hosting an exercise class - Zoomba for Hippies! It was a lot of fun to play aggressively and push our limits. James's energy never stops, and he played with gusto all the way to his final solo on our "Not Fade Away" encore. The fans didn't want to go back out into the wet gloom, but the evening had to come to an end. Loading up in the rain is never fun, but we did it in record time, in a vain attempt to keep ourselves and our stuff dry. And then it was time for the legendary drive home - up Meyers Grade in the driving rain and fog. When will Cal Trans ever put reflectors where they're needed? The only vehicles we saw were PG&E trucks heading back to town. It's hard to know if that's a good sign or not. Mike dropped me off, and my porch light was on - yippee. Things were flashing inside, so I could tell the power had been off - but not for long. We'll do it all again on Saturday when we head for Cotati. It's an adventure, but playing music is always worth the effort. We will look forward to having Ian back, AND, Andre will be joining us in his home territory. Wet or dry, Saturday should be a blast.
Take care. Love, Sylvia