Saying goodbye to Bonnie and Phil was so bittersweet. We love them, Wenatchee, and our time there dearly. . . but we were very close to home and we needed to rally for the next 8 or so hours. Tonight, we would sleep in our own beds and it would be GLORIOUS! But we had to “bring it” for our last show, a 1-year anniversary celebration for a couple whose wedding we played last year, and who have since become good friends of ours, and they were counting on some heavy Champagne Sunday joy to pump up the party. We couldn’t phone it in. Nor would we want to.
Driving from Wenatchee to Bainbridge Island, we both just sat back and enjoyed the trek through the mountains that we’ve done so many times before. After all the beauty we’ve seen this summer, it is so nice to come home and STILL love our state of WA. As Jared put it while we were in the Snowqualmie Pass, “Yep. We made the right choice. Still so glad we chose to live here.” It did get a little frustrating when we had to drive down through Tacoma on our way to the gig. So close we could smell it…wait, that’s just the “Tacoma Aroma”! The stink that makes you think! Hahahahaha!
As we finally pulled up to the house of Roy and Patti Brown, any fatigue was instantly gone when we were cheered for and welcomed with open arms and cold Coronas. Rudy immediately found a friend and disappeared for the remainder of the evening. As we kicked into our popular tour opener, “Fallin”, we locked into a groove and didn’t stop for 2 hours. During our show, we brought up the host, Roy Brown, to blow some slamming trombone with us (definitely OUR treat), and Jared and I sang back up while their friend Steve sang a Van Morrison tune that he performed for their first dance last year. The whole thing was so lovely that everyone insisted it become an annual event!
Once the last song was sung and we bid our congrats and goodbyes, we packed up and loaded our gear for the last time of tour. Rudy was asleep within 10 min of driving and Jared and I were just pretty quiet. What kind of conversation do you have at the end of an adventure like this? Like Frodo and Samwise, we understood that so much had passed between us on this journey and there was no way to digest it all, especially when the chewing of the first part of the meal hadn’t even finished yet. We made idle conversation and got in the head space of what was coming up upon our return home. The unpacking, the babysitter arrangements for upcoming gigs, housing out-of-town guests, Rudy’s 6th Birthday party, and end of summer plans. One thing was certain, there were no shortage of gigs approaching. This being our 8th gig in 9 days, we were really looking forward to some rest, but we would have to wait 2 more days for that. . .
Anyway, as we backed into our driveway around 10:30 that night to unload the car and trailer, we knew we were ready to be there. Last year, we were on the road only about 28 days and when we got home we still had more in us and wanted to be back on the road. Tonight, we all welcomed ourselves home. But, our roommate and bestie, Angie, really welcomed us. She had cheese and fruit and whiskey ready to toast, the dogs were going bonkers, the house was clean and smelled of incense and cool night air (something we truly hadn’t felt in awhile). We unloaded with the promise of full clean up and organization tomorrow. . .or sometime in the eventual future, and we settled into our jammies, curled up on the couches, snuggling with our puppies and hanging with our best friend and exhaled, “We did it.”
The mysteries of tour will reveal themselves to us slowly, as we re-acclimate to our “domestic” life. I hope we don’t get too far removed to appreciate them. When the memories of our sweet time together whisper their stories to us, my desire is that we won’t be too loud and miss them. I’m sure it will take all of us some time to decompress and sort out how we feel about our stationary life, and we will all miss certain things and be glad to be rid of others. But tonight, all I can think of is how hard it is to put our boy in his own bed and not nestled in between us. . .
See you all again next summer for more Champagne Sunday adventures. Until then, please share our music with your friends, let us know areas we should come play, and keep listening to our songs! Thank you for reading and supporting and believing in us. Without you, we are just delusional musicians playing to air and walls. We love you all!
Cheers!
