trippy trip, part 1

(disclaimer: this is going to be a long journal-esque post about the last two weeks of my trip.)
so i'm back home in NY. sounds so weird to say "back home" when i was just in my californian home town yesterday. the trip was long but good. flew out to san diego 2 weeks ago, right after getting a big shot in my ass to overcome my illness. got in a car with my mom the next day and drove up past sacremento. stayed in a roadside motel and continued the drive up to portland, oregon the next day. long drives! but good. got some really good mom time in.

we stayed in portland that night and tooled around the city the next day. portland sure is beautiful. i was kinda trying to convince my mom to consider moving there after she retires, so i drove her all around the amazing hills overlooking the city and mount hood. the woodsy-ness of those hills make me so happy. it's all so GREEN! and the cutest houses you've ever seen tucked in among those trees. she was digging it. especially after walking around washington park and sniffing all those yummy roses. pretty sweet.

the city seemed a little sleepy. not much activity. maybe that's just coming from NY and expecting the hustle and bustle around the taller buildings. the fashion sense round those parts seemed pretty non-existent. lots of fleece and rubber bottomed sandals. HA! but i loved that everyone road their bikes around, drank lots of coffee and seemed genuinely happy. i could live there for sure.

anyway, i left my mom in portland (she met up with my aunt who flew in later that night) and made my way up to seattle in her car. my big trip plan was rather clever, if i do say so myself. i arrived at ariel and dre's at about 9 that night where i was warmly greeted with hugs, a fancy cocktail and some new friends. we just hung out that night. it was great to see the happy couple! i was glad i got a little extra time too, as i figured wedding time would be a little hectic.

woke up the next day to some famous seattle rain which worried me a little, knowing we'd be camping and i was still slightly under the weather. i left for the airport that morning to pick up alex (his first trip ever to the west coast and a new camper!), terra and her boyfriend kevin (also a novice camper and new to seattle), who were all flying in from NY. i was the little tour guide that day. we drove around capitol hill (a & a's hood) and then downtown to pike place market. didn't have much time for anything more. sorry kids, no space needle today. we got our stuff together and headed over to the bainbridge ferry.

as we drove off the ferry, i looked behind me and saw the biggest, brightest, most beautiful rainbow ever. i almost got in an accident trying to look at it for as long as i could. this had to be an omen of a great weekend! we arrived at the campsite (sacred groves, ariel's mom's property) before dark, set up our tents and met with the other campers. ariel's mom had us do a little ceremony where we all held hands in a circle and introduced ourselves, which was a little silly, but i liked it all the same. i think i'm cynical about that kind of stuff, but i actually do enjoy it (the old girl scout, summer camp dork in me).

that night was pretty chilled out. hanging around the bonfire, eating some good food, s'mores, rum from a flask, joints, the whole bit. a great start to an excellent weekend. next morning was more hanging around the campfire, chatting it up with new people... all of whom i really liked. there's nothing like spending time with new people whose company you actually enjoy! i took a couple hours that day to figure out what i was going to play for my little dj set that night. i must admit, i was a little nervous, not knowing what was going to get people dancing. i'm the dj that likes to play the groovy background music, but i kind of hate the pressure to get people up and grooving... you just never know what will work in those situations (playing for parents, their friends, random co-workers, and ex-ravers??? what the hell gonna get them up?). i ended up selecting a little bit of everything, hoping it would make everyone happy.

the ceremony started at 5. i got dressed pretty quickly. it was a hilarious site to see all of the girls in nice dresses and shoes coming out of tents and walking through the woods. the ceremony was up at a lovely little bed and breakfast across the way. i decided to contribute to the festivities and decorated my chest with stickers spelling out "ariel n andreas forever." it was acutally a big hit. everyone that looked at my chest got a big smile and plenty of people took my picture (i loved that, camera whore that i am!). the ceremony was beautiful. you can read ariel's account of it here. during their vows i cried my little eyes out. i've known these two for their whole relationship (all 7 years) and they are just the best couple around. it's so nice to see two people who you truly admire and respect get together and announce their commitment in front of all their friends and family. just plain lovely.

dinner and drinks followed. then the toasting. then the cake. after that, i had to run back down to the party area to prep for the first dj slot. pretty soon the wedding party made their way down and i started with the first dance song, which went into a fantastic rare groove version of "take your praise" which everyone actually got out and started dancing to. i was amazed. i was kinda thinking it would take michael jackson or prince to get the people up, but they were ready for whatever which was great for me! not as much stress. the set moved into some more soul and funk, then some recognizable stuff (yes, i did play jacko and prince... works every time), then into a couple latin numbers, into some nu-jazzy stuff, a little afro-beat, some grace jones into metro area (really got them going), some hip hop (not so much), and finished off with some broken beat. all in all i had a great time playing music. i could have played much more, but i knew the drugs were starting to kick in for most folks and they wanted some harder stuff (and i wanted to be where everyone else was at that point!).

what a trip! a wedding rave party. everyone seemed to be on something. it was hilarious, but fantastic. alex had the time of his life. he was a dancing fool. i had a mellower time, just wanted to talk to and be with everyone. sitting around the bonfire next to ariel way late in the night i joked "how are any of us going to top this one ariel?" her response: "just have your friends do everything." it's true. everyone had their part in the wedding which made it extra special. it was truly a community event and i think each person in attendance had a wonderful experience. yay for ariel and andreas!

part 2 to be continued...