Wednesday, January 19, 2011

The Carnival of Madness 2010

Note 1/19/2011: As promised, I tracked down the following post.  It was written in early August 2010 and I never hit 'publish' until now.  Here it is...unedited.  Enjoy!

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40 bands.  One day.  Did we make it?  Read on, my friends, read on.    Before I get into Saturday's shenanigans, we need to take a quick trip back in time...

Summer 2002
10 rock bands in one day!  The tickets were cheap enough and I wanted to see the headliner, Sevendust.  Jake and I locked up our teeny studio apartment in the West End and stepped into an shimmering sunny day.  We walked a block or two over to the Cumberland County Civic Center for the start of the 1st annual WCYY Summer Camp day.  I remember Mushroomhead and Sevendust but everyone else has blended together in my mind over time.  We almost survived all 10 bands' sets.  It was hot, LOUD, and smoky in the CCCC and three songs into the Sevendust set I admitted defeat.  As a general rule, we do not leave live performances early and thanks to Jake's sister we usually wait for movie credits to roll too.  Sorry, Sevendust but I'm pretty sure Jake was relieved to leave and I had a raging headache.  Let's blame Mushroomhead!  ;)


July 31, 2010
40 rock bands in one day!  That's just crazy, right?  Nope.  Add 10,000-15,000 of our closest music loving friends and you've got Oxxfest 2010 (aka the 8th annual WCYY Summer Camp day).  The tickets were cheap enough and we both wanted to see the main stage headliner, Shinedown, again. 


The five main stage performers are on the Carnival of Madness tour: 10 Years, Sevendust, Puddle of Mudd, Chevelle, and Shinedown.   We'd seen everyone besides 10 Years before so we knew at least the evening performances on the main stage would be good. 

Jake and I were smack in the middle of this madness.


10 Years - We didn't know their music before and I guess they weren't memorable.  I feel kind of bad.  Sorry guys.

Sevendust - Hello, we meet again. :)  Thanks for finally coming back to Maine.  We didn't know that leaving your 2002 show early would result in your staying out of Maine for eight years.  Jeesh.  The lead singer was thrilled by the Maine's cooler summer temps and kept repeating variations on "It's a beautiful day" over and over.


Puddle of Mudd - We saw these guys in January and I liked them better that time.  Sevendust's vocalist came onstage for Psycho and let me tell you that this dude managed to rock denim bib overalls...in 2010!

A little lesson for all the scrawny lead singers out there:  No matter how scrawny you are do not, I repeat do not, jump into any crowd when it's all women in the first few rows.  They will not catch you.  They will maul you after you fall.  Also, do not leave your band stalling on stage playing the same chords over and over then never return.

For the Puddle of Mudd lead singer: Everyone saw you run back to your bus.  Everyone knew your set was supposed to end with She Hates Me.  Sorry but it's true.


Chevelle - We saw them at Meadowbrook last summer.  I summed up that experience by saying "They make a lot of noise for three guys."  I liked them better this time around because I knew what to expect.  And, I was a bit further from the speakers.  :)

Shinedown - We saw them last summer at Meadowbrook on tour with Staind and again in January on their Sound of Madness tour. They're engaging live performers so we wanted to see them again.

We saw a bunch of local and regional bands too.  Here are the ones I remember at the moment...
Dead Season
Diecast
Till We Die  "and that happened."
In The Kingdom of Nightmares
Living Syndication
Leaving Eden

35 bands played continually all day starting at 10am by alternating between these two side stages.  I think the main stage shows started around 6 or 7pm.

This time my only regret is my last minute decision to leave my camera in the truck.  What would your ultimate concert lineup look like?  What was the last concert or live performance you saw?


Stowe Road Trip

Hi!

Long time, no talk.  Sorry about that.   :)  

I have lots of photos from our long weekend in Stowe to share another day but none of the HGTV Dream Home tour.  Yet.  Work has been so crazy busy that I completely flaked and forgot to get our tickets for the home tour.  Um, major duh moment, since touring the dream home was the primary reason for this road trip.  No worries though.  Jake's already checking hotel availability and plans to take me back to Vermont another weekend in February or early March.  Next time, he'll be in charge of securing the tickets!  

I was picture taking happy during the long ride.  We drove through the white mountains to get over to Stowe in Vermont's green mountains.  We took a different route around the white mountains coming back to Maine...much better plan for winter!


Jake did all the driving while I played DJ.  We listened to a fair amount of Korn because we're going to see them on the 29th.  Jake gave me concert tickets for Christmas because I love rock concerts and he's nice like that.  Are you finding it hard to imagine Jake and I rocking out at a Korn concert?  The second post ever on Welcome Sunshine Home happens to be about another Korn concert (and why I was eating French brie there).  Disturbed is headlining too (saw them in 2002) and Sevendust will be on tap (saw them in 2002 and 2010).  Hey, wait a minute.  Jake and I went to a day long concert in July (40 bands!) and I never published the post I wrote about it.  I'll track that literary gem down and publish it for your reading pleasure later.  Ha. 


Okay, back to the drive...  Look!  Another mountain!  It really is a different one. 


I just happened to snap this next photo when it flashed on Slippery When Wet as we sped by.  Yup, just a coincidence.  I didn't demand that Jake hit the brakes or anything because I'm way too mature to do something like that.  Any Bon Jovi fans out there?


The four hour drive was rolling by pretty fast until we got to The Grand Army of the Republic Highway.  Pretty nice highway, huh?


We listened to quite a bit of Shinedown too because we've been to three of their concerts and Jake can sing along with most of the songs now.  Belting out some tunes really helped pass the time when the driving got slower. 


We passed the Hardwick Inn along the way.  It reminds me of our neighbors across the street and their banana yellow house.  

Hasn't this been just like you were riding along with us?  Minus the ear popping from the elevation changes, of course.  Oh and I'll keep the icky cold/flu bug that I caught while we were in Vermont to myself.  I'm finally starting to feel better now.  Just in time to board a germ infested plane on Sunday evening and fly to South Carolina for work next week.  

Don't forget to enter to win the 2011 HGTV Dream Home daily!   :)


Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Snow Dog




Sunday, January 9, 2011

Vermont Vacations

Jake and I will be leaving Saturday morning for a quick trip to Stowe, Vermont.  We don't ski so we'll spend the long weekend relaxing and exploring the area.  Oh and we'll also be touring the 2011 HGTV Dream Home while we're in town.  :)  The dogs will be having fun at their favorite daycare and boarding facility while we're away so they'll be blissfully tired when they come home.  Love that!  

The Dream Home's Guest Bedroom - If you win, can I come visit please?
guest bedroom bed seating view

During our August 2009 summer vacation, Jake and I stayed a few hours south of Stowe at the Mount Snow Resort in West Dover, Vermont.  It was off-season but the resort and views of the Green Mountains were still beautiful.  We planned to spend the week hiking but instead the very hot and humid weather kept us by the pool, visiting the few places in town that are open off season, and exploring the Berkshires.   We also  discovered our favorite show on the DIY network, Renovation Realities, during this trip.

We stayed at the Grand Summit Hotel in a cozy studio suite.





We didn't blog back then and I forgot our camera in the hotel room most of our trip.  I snapped these at a scenic lookout one hazy day.



During one of our day trips to the Berkshires (about one hour south of the Mount Snow resort), we visited the The Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts.  If you enjoy Impressionist art like I do, you'll enjoy Sterling and Francine Clark's collection.  You can see a sampling of their Impressionism collection here.  We didn't take the official guided tour of the institute but Jake and I really enjoyed viewing all the different collections on display.  We were mindful of the 'acquired by' info on each piece and made up our own stories regarding the circumstances surrounding how Sterling and Francine may have acquired each piece.  My absolute favorite was their Renoir collection but it's currently off view because it is being displayed in Madrid.

The Clark
20080812-imageA.jpg

At the end of our 2009 Vermont vacation, we picked Brewster up from the Vermont breeders' and started our four hour drive home with a 10 week old puppy.  We brought a dog crate for her but I ended up holding her in my lap the whole ride home.  I had a few towels in my lap just in case but she didn't have any accidents.  Whenever she got a bit restless, Jake quickly found a place to pull off the road and give her a break.  Fun times!

Of course, I took plenty of new puppy photos!


It's hard to believe she used to be this tiny just 1.5 years ago.  She's always adored Jake.


Do you have any plans for the long weekend?

Saturday, January 1, 2011

2011 HGTV Dream Home Giveaway - Stowe, VT

The 2011 HGTV Dream Home is located in Stowe, VT.  The prize package includes the furnished house, a 2011 GMC Arcadia Denali, and $500,000.  You can enter to win daily on HGTV.com and FrontDoor.com starting today!


kitchen cabinets island front door


gathering room seating windows
gathering room seating stairs

Tickets for public tours of the 2011 HGTV Dream Home are available now.  Since this is a drivable distance from our home in Maine and I love road trips, Jake and are going to tour this house.  My sister-in-law's home in New Hampshire home is conveniently located on the same route so we'd like to make it a fun getaway weekend.  Probably during Martin Luther King weekend.  :)


In May, Jake and I toured in the 2010 HGTV Green Home in Cape Cod, MA.  I wanted to pack my bags and move right in.  :)  I took my own photos then tracked down paint colors, product sources, peeked in inside drawers/cabinets and showed you too, etc.  Here are all the posts in one place.  Have fun exploring!

Posts from my 2010 HGTV Green Home Tour


Kitchen - Jake's favorite room





The Winners! - not us :(


Don't forget that you can enter to win daily!  Tune into HGTV tonight at 9p.m. EST to watch the tv special.  

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