Dawg Days

I woke up late and stayed in my room even later.  Now that I'm not waking up hungover from alcohol, I'm keenly aware of when I have what feels like a food hangover.  I passed on the frozen pizza last night, but made up for it by gorging myself again on vegan provisions.  I need to remember that too much of a good thing is still too much.  My occasional eating disorder is a whole other issue I need to deal with.

I went for a jog and a purging sweat in the sweltering heat.  I said goodbye to the farms and red clay roads that have provided me and Shadowfax with safe passage and adventure these last few days.

There is a tradition at the Green Bell Bed & Barn on the last day of Bass & Grass.  Generally, everyone is gathered at the shack, and folks say their goodbyes from there.  Jay or Jennie will ring the namesake green bell for each person as they depart to wish him or her safe travels as well as a safe return.  Since we were alone at the shack today, I rang the bell three times as we left to tide us over until Bass & Grass at the end of October. We stopped by the main house and said thanks and goodbye to Jennie and Avery.  Then we headed out towards Athens, Georgia.  But first, there was an offer we couldn't refuse.

Our young friend, Logan, whom we had met at Bass & Grass, had messaged me last night and asked if we would be traveling through Macon on our way to Athens.  I responded that indeed, we would be.  He said that his mom, Cat, had made some cookies and would be home if we wanted to stop by.  Cat helps out with a lot of the meal preparation at Bass & Grass, and we all remember devouring the amazing cookies she made.  I texted her and asked if the offer was valid and still available.  She said yes and invited us to stop by.  Cat is so sweet and her dark chocolate oatmeal cookies were scrumptious.  Indeed, I partook and washed it down with almond milk; it seemed like an obvious "when in Rome" moment.  Perhaps if I remember to feed my heart from time to time, I won't feel compelled to overfeed my body.  Unfortunately, we were on a tight schedule, so we essentially had to eat and run.  We hit the road towards Athens, appreciative for the heavenly snack and our brief visit with Cat and her positive energy.

A couple hours later, we were in Athens, home of the University of Georgia.  Our buddy Mark was waiting for us.  We met Mark a few years ago, and he set up tonight's gig for us.  Hendershot's seemed like a good venue, with a nice stage, a quality sound system, a good audio engineer, and a comfortable green room.  We arrived early enough to sound check and hang out with Mark for a while.  He introduced me to a young woman who had seen our main stage set at FloydFest, the same set for which we had received complaints.  She told me her whole family had attended and that they all really enjoyed our lyrics.  I guess they weren't the ones complaining.

Mark had set up a another show for us two years ago in Milledgeville, Georgia, where we met a young flatpicker named Rowdy.  We invited Rowdy to join us on stage that night, and he sat in with us again at the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak, Florida.  He and his family came out to tonight's show, and we invited him to join us again for a few tunes.  He's 17 years old and a damn good guitarist.  It's always a pleasure to get "Rowdy" up on stage!

I enjoyed tonight's gig.  Hendershot's is a good room for live music, we played well, and we had another "small but appreciative" crowd.  I could definitely tell that the last few days at the Green Bell were just what the doctor ordered; I felt refreshed and happy to be back on stage.

Speaking of the Green Bell, Avery drove to Athens to see our show and spend some time back on his college stomping grounds (he just graduated in May).  His buddy, Jim, a current UGA student also came out to the show.  After our performance, Avery and Jim were our guides for a night out on the college town.  First, we walked to The Grill for a late-night dinner.  I ordered the Tofu Dogs because they struck me as the most appropriate choice from a 24-hour diner in UGA Dawg country.

Our hunger abated, we hit up a couple bars.  I didn't really mind my role as the elder statesman tonight, nor did I feel like I was missing out on too much by being the only one in the group not imbibing.  In fact, I had quite a fun night hanging with my young friends.  We ended up staying out until last call before parting ways with Avery and Jim and retiring to the room that Mark had arranged for us at a nearby Travelodge.

I'm not sure what tomorrow will bring, other than the fact that we have a gig in Decatur, which is near Atlanta.  I reckon I'll just go with the flow and see what adventures I find along the way.

Prost!

- Jon