Chicago part 2

Yesterday Adam and I walked around for hours. Ericka had to work, as usual, so we walked her to work at 2 then continued our journey through Chicago. We went to Lincoln Park and that area and bumped into an art fair. I love the neighborhood there, so green and the houses are made of brick and have character. Chicago is full of sky rises that don’t have much character, they are just glass tall buildings and I don’t want to live in but Ericka does. Adam said the houses I like are older; he said it like it was a bad thing but that isn’t a bad thing to me. Then at 5 we went to the Rib Festival. It had tons of booths with ribs and other food. Adams two friends met us and we all split ribs from different places then split some SoCo. Then the Rusted Roots played, it was interesting. The best part was that I met a guy who had the Electric Forest bracelet on too! We talked for a long time even after I wanted to get away from him he kept at it. After the concert I could barely stand from walking and being on my feet all day so we took the train to his friends where we had one beer and sat for just a little. Then our adventures continued. I realize that it is not love, it is infatuation with Chicago. Maybe it’s impossible for me to love being somewhere right now. I feel burned out already. Maybe its because I don’t have my own space ever, never get to just sleep or go to bed early and not go out with people whose couches and living rooms in sleeping on and in, maybe its because I have been sleeping on couches for the past month and half, maybe its because I have been sleeping in the living room where everyone walks around, or maybe its because I don’t let myself just chill out ever. The whole thing is taking a toll on me and I am unable to enjoy or be excited for more of my trip. Something must be done about this because the rest of America must be seen but I can not continue running myself down and not taking care of myself. I think I have a solution. I am flying to North Carolina on Wednesday where I will be couchsurfing with a bunch of people in a beach house in Wrightsville Beach just “3 steps away from the Atlantic ocean.” I am going to get to know the people for a few days then find a room I can rent or use for a few weeks, maybe even a month. I want to be able to close the door and be alone and it be my space. I need that for just a little to recharge. Maybe ill get a little job, probably. I can’t wait to be by the beach again. But that’s not for a few days.

Tomorrow is a free concert at Millennium Park with Blonde RedHead! Jordan, Ericka, and I are going after Ericka and I get massages. Should be grand and I feel a lot better that I came to this conclusion because last night everyone came back after I stayed home and took a bath and shower and layed on the couch. They came back from going out and sat on the couch, drunk which is fine but I am burned out so I went to lay in Ericka and Adams bed for a while until they decided to go to sleep. That’s when I decided I need my own bed and room for just a little while so I don’t lose it.

pictures of Chicago part 1

Chicago

Chicago is an amazing city. So much is here, streets on top of other streets and restaurants, buses, trains on top of you, museums, parks, tons of hotels, and best of all people walking on the streets.

I got into Chicago yesterday afternoon. Ericka left her keys at the desk so when I got to her very high rise apartment building on Kinskie St. I went up to her apartment. There is no sign of a college kid here. She lives with her boyfriend who is some what of a consultant and their apartment is for lack of a better word chic. It is all white with a white curved leather sofa and a white leather ottoman and a white TV and a white long lamp. I immediately took a nap. I barely got sleep on Milwaukee so I needed a rest. She came home an hour later and we gave each other the biggest hug and kisses. It was amazing to see her, I love her so much and she is definitely one of those life friends. We took the train to this cute little Mexican restaurant that is supposed to be in the “hipster” part of town. We had lunch and margaritas which was great then the craziest thing happened. We were walking back to the train station and my friend Dorian comes running up and gave me a big hug. Dorian is a member of the band Badfish, a tribute to Sublime. I met him about two years ago when Badfish came to Tucson. They were so great that I got on stage, kissed the lead singer, and then crowd surfed for my first and last time to date. I am not sure how we met but he met me after the show for drinks and we ended up hanging out most of the night, not romantically just good old fashioned homies. We kept in touch and a year later when Badfish returned to Tucson he called me and I went backstage after and met the band. After the show him and his friend came back to my friend Kelly’s house and we hung out and had a hell of a time and a hell of a sleep over, really good old fashioned homies. Now about 5 months later I run into him in Chicago, well he ran up to me. He lives here and we are making plans to hang out tonight. So back to yesterday, after we got back to her apartment she had to go to work again. She is busy, she goes to the Institute of Art, interns at Gucci, and works at Nordstrom, and has bad rhuemoid arthritis that really affects her joints and bones. She is one hell of a person who I adore and admire so much. She went to work and Adam came home. He is great and funny and really layed back. We had dinner and a few drinks then sat on pool recliners when the sun went down by their pool and shot the shit. Ericka came home and by that time all we wanted to do was sleep, so we did. I slept on the couch in the living room.

The next morning bright and early the power couple got up and got ready. Ericka woke me up to tell me she had a class she forgot about and said FML, spelled out. So I walked her to her class then she skipped it so we could hang out then a couple hours later I walked her to Nordstrom because she has work until 8. Then I called up Jordan. Jordan is Patrick’s friend that he grew up with in Wisconsin and was in Milwaukee with us for the weekend and we became friends, we just clicked like some friends do, and he lives here styling and cutting hair. I walked around for an hour while he rode his bike down to meet me and we had a great fun awesome day walking around and seeing Chicago. We saw so much stuff and walked for hours and laughed all day. He had work at 5 so he left me at around 4 and I slowly began to find my way back to the apartment, which turned out to be very simple because I coincidentally was on the street I needed to walk down. Now I am chilling back at the apartment writing about my day. I am going to shower then I am going to meet up with Dorian. I have a feeling the fun is only beginning.

bye Milwaukee and Patrick

Today we went on a brewery tour of LakeFront Brewery co. My first tour and it was pretty cool. then we had sushi. now I am packing to leave for Chicago tomorrow.I am very excited to see Ericka. We met during freshman year at U of A and lived in the same apartment complex sophemore year then she transferred to Miami and now Chicago and im going to stay with her! We have kept in touch this whole time and are very close. Shes one of those friends.

Milwaukee

My mom just called me because I haven’t written on my blog since I arrived in Milwaukee. Two reasons why that is, either I have no Internet but I will always find an Internet café. The second reason is you are just having too much fun and don’t want to escape to write because writing takes times even though I absolutely love and need it. Any way I have been staying with Patrick in Milwaukee. At the airport waiting for Patrick to pick me up I saw Dustin from The Real World. I was embarrassed how awe struck I was and very caught off guard because he is really cute. Patrick picked me up, we had a nice hello and drove me to his house. If you don’t know who Pat is please read the previous sections, especially the Bonnaroo one. His roommates were fun and when he had to work that night I went to Summerfest with them to see The Goo Goo dolls, but really just to have fun. Summerfest is the largest festival in the world, apparently. /it goes for 11 days. It’s more like a fair with drunken midwesteners. Its not really about the music to them it seems, its about getting drunk. I didn’t really hear the band because it was too loud. There were about 5 guys I went with and we all found a table to stand on. Some guy was throwing up below us and about ten minutes later he was up dancing and making out with this girl. I wonder what he is going to take away from the “festival’ After we got a cab back to their apartment and pre gamed a little, I wrote and drew on their white wall then we went out. We had a great time, all those guys are so funny. They love to laugh and it makes me happy. Patrick came and met us when he got off work at 2 45am.

The next day we went downtown to meet up Pats old friend that lives in Chicago up then went home to get ready for The Flaming Lips at Summerfest that night. They were amazing. Walking home there were about 10 of us and we couldn’t stop talking about it. The next day we hung out with Jordan, the Chicago friend and went to The Natural History Museum. It was not as cool as the one in D.C or L.A; they had sculptures of plastic dinosaurs. But we had a great time together then we took Jordan to the train station to go back to Chicago. We are going to hang out in Chicago this weekend. Then we went to this place called the SafeHouse and if you don’t know the password you have to do something ridiculous for a period of time such as cluck like a little chicken for 10 seconds. The password is written inside somewhere and you have to figure it out. After that I wanted to go hang out with this Couchsurfer, Ben, while Patrick had to work. Ben was so chill, he picked me up in his red convertible and we stopped at his house for some hippie hospitality then off to some bars and to check out parts of Milwaukee that I haven’t seen yet. We went to the bar he manages, it was very nice looking and has a dress code on weekends. The bartender was 41 and he went to UofA too. We had a wonderful time and I tried cucumber flavored vodka for the first time. We went to another place and had soup with bread and then went to get ice cream and pass out. I was tired of being out and drinking, all I want right now is to chill out. This morning we got fresh squeezed orange juice and great fruit and went to serve eviction papers to tenants in a house he owns. Ben is so funny, I mean probably my favorite couchsurfer. We laughed so much and he has one hell of a sense of humor, personality, and head on his shoulders. We didn’t go to college, later in life took a road trip across America by himself and now is the manager of a high end bar. He plans on doing more later. I want that, I want to travel and then chill, travel and then chill and love life to the fullest, laugh everyday, and not be stressed. After we drove to get bloody marys, the best ones I think I have ever had and then I went back to Pats to rest. We didn’t rest. He plays the guitar I forgot to mention.

One day we were lying in bed and he just starts playing Yoshimi on his guitar on the chair. He has amps and his friends have jam sesh’s all the time. Life music just for me just steps away from the musicians. Pat plays guitar, acoustic and electric. Jordan sings and plays guitar, and Pat has an amp that you plug in and maracas. Saturday night Jordan and Pat started jamming then I picked up these two sticks and made a beat, someone else busted out the maracas and we played great music. Afterwards we all laughed.

When I met Patrick we immediately had chemistry at Bonnaroo. We hung out and he kissed me during the last show and Bon. Now I am just passing through and came to stay with him. It has been fun. I don’t know what it feels like, I don’t really feel any feeling right now. I am looking for something and i dont think i have found it, then again things do take time i just dont have time to sit and wait. I am running on the belief if it is supposed to happen, it will. I will have fond memories of this 5 day relationship i had with a fantastic and incredibly handsome man.

Today we went to the art museum which was awesome then fell asleep on the grass. He and his friend Troy are cooking us dinner, grilling fish and roasting potatoes. I have one more day tomorrow then I am off to Chicago on Thursday.

In the pictures Pat is the one with brown hair and a brown beard, Jordan is the red head

Eau Claire and New Auburn, Wisco baby

So the end of my trip with Kelly and Taylor is today. It really does feel like the end of something because I am looking forward to what is coming next and I know there is about to be a big change. Finally I will be on my own again and not a third wheel. It has been pretty great being with Kelly, we always have a great time and we can talk about anything. Her cabin has been amazing and just what we needed after a four day festival. It is on the lake in New Auburn, Wisconsin. Her dad is a baller who went to USC and her mom is a beautiful blonde housewife. This is their summer home and they live in Colorado. When we got here her parents were here and right away we changed into suits and went jet skiing and ate a lot of good food. Her parents are great, super down to earth and a pleasure to talk to. Its funny the lifestyle I have chosen to be living right now. The life style of being thankful when I get to sleep in a bed or when I get a shower, being used to sleeping on a couch or not going to sleep, thankful when I get a piece of fruit. I think this lifestyle is necessary for a while, it keeps you humble. The second day her mom made us oatmeal and we chatted with her parents for a while. Her dad is very inspiring; he talked to us about our future and gave us guidance. I don’t mind taking advice from someone who is rich and ballin like him. Then we jet skied some more and went on the boat and swam in the lake all day. Then we went to Eau Claire, which is a town 40 minutes away to hang out with some of Kelly’s friends. Then we went back and crashed. The next day we had a great breakfast of Vail Eggs. Her mom’s friend made them up years ago and they make them every time they come up here. Then we went tubing, water-skiing, water boarding, swimming some more. Later we watched Almost Famous. Today we swam and her parents left back to Colorado. We went on the Pontoon boat for hours this evening and watched the sunset. Welcome to the good life. Tomorrow I am flying to Milwaukee for a few days. I am actually going to stay with Patrick, a cutie I met at Bonnaroo and we are going to Summerfest which is a big music festival but you don’t camp and you just come for what you want, we are seeing The Flaming Lips. I am so excited to continue this trip the way I want, couchsurfing and finding friends and exploring and doing what I want. I am also excited to see Patrick, we had a little chemistry, it might grow since I am staying with him. I also have been in touch with a couchsurfer there, Ben, and he seems awesome as well. Ill keep you posted but for now here are some pictures of the lake house.

Electric Forest Festival

When I first arrived at Electric Forest Festival the center was not open yet, everyone was setting up their spaces. I remember talking to our neighbors who had gone to Rothbury a couple years ago. I told them it was my first time and all the other festivals I had gone to, their response to me was “The Sherwood Forest will change your life.”

There were 5 stages, a lake, swings, disc golf course, a water park, and the forest.

Lets begin with the forest. You walk through the festival doors and walk past the Ranch Area stage and all of a sudden you see purple and green lights, tall trees everywhere that are lit up by changing lights, paintings hung in the air, disco balls, sculptures on every corner, hammocks, lasers, and pictures of aliens and boxes and swirls. There are lights on the ground facing up and around that are always moving. At night the forest turns into a magical place and you cant believe you are witnessing it. All you can do it look around in awe and every time you look around you see something new. In the forest is a stage so music is spinning while you are completely immersed in the electric forest wonderland.

The acts were amazing. The stages had such good sound that it sounded like you were inside of a building but every stage was outside. No tents like Bonnaroo so every body could enjoy the artists. The light shows were amazing. One thing about Electric forest was that it was a relaxing festival as well. It wasn’t scorching hot at 7am, the first three days we slept until 12 because it was overcast and wonderful. You also get to lie in hammocks, which are the best thing ever, I bought one and now I can hammock anytime anywhere.

The first night we got there we saw Lynx. She is great, she sings, beat boxes, plays guitar, drums, and DJ’s all by herself and at the same time. Then we saw Excision, then Kaskade, then Lotus. We spent the rest of the early morning/late night in hammocks in the forest before they closed it for the night. We didn’t feel like sleeping so we danced on the main street where there was food and people spinning music until the sun came up.

The next day I saw Zion I and Mofro, then Stephen Marley, which was great. He played tons of Bob songs. Then someone said to check out The New Deal, wow they were great. Super dancy. The String Cheese Incident played for 4 hours every single night. I have never heard them before but enjoyed it. Then it was Galactic, they sounded like Cheese because they were a jam band as well but the singer had such a funky voice, I thought it was better. Then my dancing feet came on during the night for Tiesto, Break Science, and Feed Me. After Break Science Kelly was so tired so we were heading back but as soon as we passed the stage where Feed Me was he started playing some nasty dub step beats and I told them id see them later and sprinted for the crowd. After that I dragged my body back to the camp and passed out.

The next day the sun came out at around 11. This day was the dub step day so we knew we were going to be out super late so we tried to relax at our camp for a while. We chilled, got food, talked to lots of people. The best part was that on the main street when we got food there was a guy with a hammock stand with a few set up. I laid on one, Kelly on one, and Taylor on one and we didn’t get up for 3 hours, its ok though because we each were sold on buying one at the end. After we were rested we went back to get ready then ventured to the forest. Saw String Cheese then Bassnectar. Bassnectar knocked me and everyone out of the water. It was sooo good that it amazes me until this day. So loud that the music completely moved through you, so many lights that went with the sounds, and him with his long hair rocking out. In my opinion it was the best performance at the festival. Nothing topped it. I lost Kelly and Tay during it because all I wanted to do was dance. It was the first time I was sad that a performance ended because nothing would be that good. After that I went to see Skrillex, which was good, but not as amazing as Bassnectar. After I ventured to the forest. The forest is always in your mind after the first time you experience it at night.

Then came the last day. We went into the forest at about 1 and lay in hammocks for about two hours and listened to Railroad Earth play. Then it was time for Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeroes. Alex, the lead singer, went into the crowd and hugged lots of people and gave everyone high fives. He was right in front of me, I had to take a picture of him. They were great but I was a little disappointed seeing them live. Alex barely sang the songs, he was quiet and singing them differently than we know. At this point I was by myself, I didn’t need a couple cuddling and kissing in front of me when my Australian and I had just broken up. I was madly in love with the man when we were together then the separation tore us apart and now after a year of turmoil we are done. It makes me sad because I fear than I will never find something so amazing, that I might not fall in love so hard again. I was content being without them for most of the festival so I didn’t have to see that. After Edward Sharpe I went to Beats Antique, which was super great. There were two of them playing lots of different instruments and a girl with a huge drum who danced as well. There I met a friend. The first time I saw him we gave each other a huge hug. Then I said I was leaving and walked off and the next thing I know he is next to me offering me avocadoes and oranges back at his tent. At first I was weary but then I thought Why not? He is cute and seems nice and I am alone, so lets just go with the flow. We went back to his area, he set up a hammock for me, and we talked and laughed and drank beers and ate. At festivals the rate at which you become comfortable with people is super fast. Probably because you’re in an environment where you are just yourself, everyone is really who they are and its freeing and true. After we chilled out we went back to see the last of Cheese, which was awesome. Then the moment everyone has been waiting for, Pretty Lights!!!!! After Cheese Jed and I went to get a good spot. Pretty Lights was a half hour late and we were a half hour early. He killed it. The sound was so good and the light show was amazing. I love Pretty Lights, I planned all my festivals around where he was going to be and I could listen to him right now. He was supposed to play for an hour and a half then we were supposed to see Eoto close out the night but he played for hours and he closed out the night.

After the show we ventured to the forest for the last time. We sat there and looked around us at the electricity and colors and movement in the forest. It was amazing. I have met a few great guys and people at festivals. On one hand it makes me happy but on the other it makes me sad because I feel like I can only meet the types of people I want at festivals, then its over. Where are they in life? How do I find them and how do our true selves come out? At festivals we are already a couple weeks into knowing each other the first time we meet. When I started this summer trip I had the utmost faith that everything will turn out the right way. I still have that faith but it’s a rough patch. I want an epiphany. I want something to speak to my soul and tell me that this is where I’m supposed to be and this is who I’m supposed to be with. I know it’s only been a month and for the past 3 weeks I was with a couple and in a few days I will be by myself again and able to do whatever I want. That night Kelly and I slept for 3 hours in her car while Taylor was in my tent. We woke up at 530am and got our stuff together and packed then made out way to the ferry that took us across the Michigan River to Wisconsin where we drove another 4 hours to get to her cabin. Her cabin is sweet, it’s on the lake and we jet skied and played on the big blob at the camp across the lake. Then showered and slept in a real bed. I miss being able to hear out of my left ear.