What I did on my summer vacation

Well, what I did on one of my summer vacations. I'm not finished with this summer yet. Here is a handy bulleted list of some trip highlights and accompanying photos:

• Saw a great Wilco show at the Warsaw in Brooklyn. To pick one show of those I've seen recently, this was probably my favorite. The Warsaw is small, locally owned, and oozes quirky charm - from the paintings on either side of the stage to the pierogies and blintzes for sale in the back. The crowd was loudly enthusiastic, and the band trotted out a handful of rarer songs that were truly a treat. One was even an all-time first for me - and when you've seen as many Wilco concerts as I have over the years, that's really saying something. I don't expect the band to change things up too much from show to show - I could happily watch the three-guitar interplay in "Impossible Germany" or Nels and Jeff facing off at the end of "Handshake Drugs" or Glenn going crazy on the drums during "Via Chicago" a hundred times. If that weren't true, I wouldn't go. But unexpected songs thrown into the mix can really make an evening. In any case, seeing the same band play multiple shows on a given tour, one becomes a connoisseur of nuances. To those familiar with my love of detail, it should be no surprise that I take great pleasure in this. At the Warsaw, I enjoyed the following: the loud singalong during "Either Way" that made Jeff grin in appreciation, the guitar duel at the end of "Hoodoo Voodoo," singing "Happy Birthday" to Matrix, Jeff pretending he wasn't going to run at the end of "Hummingbird," Glenn wearing a rhinestone bling $ necklace and saluting the macrame owl, and pogoing with the rest of the crew in front during "Outtasite."
  
  
• Went to the best museum ever, in Shelburne, Vermont. It's a museum of Americana comprising many historical buildings (the round barn, an old general store, a lighthouse), collections (paintings, sleighs, chandeliers, Shaker furniture) and random things that are awesome (an opulent train car, a carousel, the steamship Ticonderoga.) All of these are located among little roads and paths on the picturesque museum grounds, and all are open for exploration and in many cases interaction. Really great stuff. I would have died if I'd visited this place as a kid. (Consider that Allison and I once tried to recreate a general store in my basement after a school field trip to the Historical Society. I think I still have some wooden candies we made to put in a jar.)
  
  
• Drove twice in NYC - only after 2:00 a.m., but it still counts! I also drove in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Connecticut. Given the scale of New England, that's not as impressive as it sounds.
  
  
• Spent a couple of obscenely hot and humid days in Boston, walking the previously discussed Freedom Trail, eating at the oldest continuously-operating restaurant in the U.S., wandering around Harvard, seeing a concert, and hanging out with Dave and friends at the B-Side Lounge.
  
  
• Stayed at hotels only twice over nine nights, due to the fabulous and generous Mart, Patti, Paul, and Kelly. Mart and Patti went way above and beyond the call of duty, plying us with Ralph's Italian Ices and Mendoker's donuts during our brief sojourn.
  
  
• Learned to imitate the hoot of the barred owl at the zoo in Florence, MA. Well, to be completely honest, nobody ever verified that Sooz and I were doing it correctly. But we sound so damned owl-like, y'all don't even know.
  
  
• Ate some delicious Thai food at Sripraphai in Queens, though their "medium" hot is probably something I won't be opting for next time. I mean, it was still delicious; it just made my lips burn and every once in awhile I'd get a mouthful that would be kind of lethal. I also found out I'm a fan of palm seeds in syrup.
  
  
• Became a member of Paul's all-girl band, the Foolish Nuns.
  
  
• Walked around Lake Champlain in Burlington, gazing at the Adirondacks in the distance, and almost fell off the end of a floating pier. Not because I didn't watch where I was going, but because, damn, those things really bounce around. The view was worth it, though. The water was ridiculously blue that day.
  
  
• Met, in Boston, someone who went to UW Madison and lived in the same dorm I did, though not at the same time (he noticed I was wearing my old Chadbourne shirt) and was introduced to someone from Racine in Vermont (when he asked where I'd lived in Ktown, and I told him, he actually knew what I was talking about!)
  
  
• Watched a guy juggle flaming torches, on a unicycle, on a tightrope.
  

I can't wait until next time!