Twenty (wha?!) years ago while in junior high school, I got into running cross country. Its a strange 'sport' that I never was really good at but found the people cool. After school, I had little interest in running. Fast forward to today and I've got many reason's to check out local 5k events:

1. 1. Free stuff!!! And not just safety pins or prizes for the winners. So far this year I've got two tshirts, a 'VIP' lunch for two (whatever that means) and last weekend walked away with a boxed set of tunes from Ken Burn's Jazz: The Story of American Music. I can't get over all the free food and promo beverages they give away at these things. Very generous sponsors.
2. heydayais into it. A few months ago, I would have given even odds to this as... um, I dunno, something very unlikely. I'm thoroughly impressed with the consistency of effort and love seeing and hearing her experience in these events.
3. Watching decent sized groups of people and most everyone get along. In the last few years I've been to a couple 5k runs. One common thing across all (in addition to free water and bagels) is most everyone is really considerate. Just a great environment. 
   
   

Prepping for visitors later. Wicked beat.

Got over to Weston VT for the Jenny Brook Bluegrass Festival yesterday afternoon. heydaya and I saw a short bit of Dan Paisley and Southern Grass, Smokey Greene and Dan Tyminski. Great music, great crowd. Lots of rain. Just about as Smokey Greene started it started sprinkling, then raining, then almost hailing. We briefly took cover under one of two large tent covered areas then got evicted by the chair owners. Plenty of other seats under cover but... its Smokey Greene!! Man he is fun to watch. Just fantastic presence. Couple of kind offers for umbrellas that we turned down. By that point it was clear that it wasn't going to be possible to get any more wet.

The rain cleared up and the people who scattered when the rain started and more returned for Dan Tyminski. Following a warm introduction by Smokey Greene, Dan Tyminski's band played a really long sound check followed by some outstanding picking. Very well put together group w/o sounding too shiny. And they love playing. Got to hear some classics like Sunny Side of the Mountain, some stuff off their new release and of course Man of Constant Sorrow (the oh brother where art thou song). Very fun time. 

Might have been the perfect length of time to spend watching bluegrass. I love it but after a while kind of want to take a break. So back to town for our Friday night pizza etc routine. And now onto vacation!

Got a chance this weekend to check out a 'Strolling of the Heiffers' parade in Brattleboro, VT. Brattleboro is a polarizing place and I'm on the side that digs it. Mostly. 

Saturday morning, before the clouds broke and it started getting hot, a former boss / friend, his wife, my gal and I went over to check out this parade that has been going on for seven years. Its a siginficant area event - in a town of 13k the parade draws forty or fifty thousand people. 

This weekend was a three day event with a Gallery Walk night celebrating women in agriculture (missed that). The parade was Saturday with tons of area schools, tons and tons of young families, coops, farmers markets, a few political causes, bands, bag pipes, etc etc. Didn't get over that way for Sunday's Royal Farmer Feast at the Chelsea Royal Diner and Windham County Area Farm Tour.

After a lunch at home, dump run, etc. we went over to a fantastic party hosted by my good friend on just the other side of a local highway. Saw a number of former coworkers and got a chance to play with a band that played at the party. Such a great evening. 

And a great day today but for the heat. That seems to happen. Early bike ride, guitar lesson, lunch w/my bride's parents, nap and a growler fill up.

Kind of bummed to see The Ceilidh House in town go but glad to have had a couple apps, entrees and beverages there over the last year or so there.

I never visited late enough to see the reputation it had acquired. It was a unique place that stuck to its guns of being an "authentic pub" with no wait staff, no classic rock and no Budweiser on tap. A courageous stand. Unfortunately, those are tenets likely to doom a local establishment. Especially one over the city limits of Keene proper.

But so cool to go to a place for food and be able to finish what they served... or not feel like a fatty for finishing it or a wuss for bringing it home.

Why, 'the chowdah'? Because I rarely get far from home and Ceilidh is a word that was unfamiliar to my cultural exposure. Had no idea Ceilidh was to be pronounced 'kay-lee'. So I looked for the nearest word beginning with 'c', containing a 'd' and ending with 'h' I was familiar with and found CHOWDAH.

Hoping those involved find happiness elsewhere and the next dwellers of the ex summit, steakhouse, minuteman, lighthouse, Ceilidh find greater success.