4.28.2009

Come one, come all!


Bring your lawn chair. Bring your dog. Bring a bottle of wine. Bring whatever you want. We're just going to get together and listen to music and hang out. Why don't more things happen like that? Ashley, her friend Emily and I went to this place called Matilda's the other day - with very low expectations, at least for me. From the front, it looks like a dump. It's basically a store that sells a variety of crap - you know, old furniture that has been painted over like 10 times, weird metal objects, stuff like that. But we walked around back (it was dark) and there was a totally different scene and feel going on.

The first thing we saw was a huge old barn with an enormous American flag painted on it. Very cool. To the left was another old country house - not lived in - with the front porch set up as a stage. It had lighting, sound systems, you name it. To the right was an open area with about 200 people. They had brought blankets, fold out tables, chairs, dogs, food, beer, wine, frisbees, kids...it was awesome! For about an hour and a half, a blugrass group played. We sat there and half listened and half talked, and loved it. It sure didn't feel like we were in Alpharetta, GA. It felt more like a Boone or Bend event, and Ashley and I both liked that.

Can't there be more events like this? A community of gatherers with really nothing in common other than wanting to get out of the house and do something, anything for a night. Wanting to do something different and cool. Wanting to feel like a local. Or wanting to feel like you are not local at all, in our case. It sure was a lot better than going to a "formal" concert - paying $40 to get in, and spending more $$ on decent food. We spend $10 to get in, and brought whatever we wanted. We loved it.

In case you were wondering, here are some more random events and updates:
- Danny turned 50. We had a great celebration of life, because he thinks that once you turn 50 you are going to die. We told him otherwise.
- Taffy and Spanky (the dogs) continue to be the cutest in the world. See pics below.
- Ashley and I had a great time in Arizona for our Young Life training...can't wait to be there for a month!
- My brother is starting his pilgrimege to Oregon...he found a place to live and a job! A productive week, to say the least.
- Work is going good - I am now managing our MySpace page...should I make a shameless plug? Ok. www.myspace.com/ironhorseauto
- I have pandora on and Don't Stop Believin just came on...its going to be a good day!
- Wedding plans are coming along...March 2010 is looking like the wedding month. Probably the 20th for the actual date, although don't hold us to that just yet!

Until next time, do something local. Go have fun. Summer is almost here!

4.17.2009

I don't know what to write about.


I know I've been absent for a while...for this I greatly apologize to all of my readers (well, all 6 of you). But I just had to linger on the Masters post. I mean, other than proposing to Ashley, this was the greatest day of my life! So it deserved a week or so atop of the blog page! Another reason for not writing is that nothing cool has happened lately. Or funny. Maybe I'll just make something up? Have you ever played the game "2 truths and a lie"? Well we are going to play it right now. I am going to write a series of 2 truths and a lie. Tell me which ones are which! Ready?? Go!

1) I have skiied the Swiss Alps. I have bungee jumped in Zambia. I have rafted the most dangerous river in the world, the Zambezi river.

2) I Facebook. I Myspace. I Twitter.

3) I have lived in 3 different time zones. I have never owned a car. I (personally) have never owned a pet.

4) I play the piano. I play the guitar. I play the violin.

5) I was a ski bum in Bend. I was an assistant golf pro in Bend. I was a white water raft guide in Bend.

6) In golf, I have shot a 69. I have shot a 68. I have shot a 67.

7) I love Chinese food. I love Thai food. I love Japanese food.

8) My favorite color is blue. My favorite number is 1. My favorite day is Tuesday.

9) I ski. I snowmobile. I snowboard.

10) I hate bees. I hate beavers. I hate beagles.

11) I wish I could waterski on 1 ski. I wish I could skateboard. I wish I could fly.

12) I loved elementary school. I loved middle school. I loved high school.

13) Ashley has 2 dogs. Ashley has 2 aunts that aren't really aunts. Ashley has 2 sisters.

14) If I had a gun to my head: I would root for the Beavers. I would root for the Huskies. I would root for the Lakers.

15) If I could go anywhere in the world: I would go to Cuba. I would to China. I would go to Chile.

That's about all I can think of right now. I'd love to hear some guesses! Bonus prize for the person who gets them ALL correct!!

Good luck, and don't forget: always tell the truth!

4.09.2009

Dreams really do come true....


I knew one day I would go. I knew one day I would see the green grass, and the azaleas, and eat a pimento and cheese sandwich. I knew I would roam the cathedral of golf and hear the roars that every talks about. I knew I would get to experience a golf tournament that not many others get to, especially from my side of the US. I knew one day I would go to The Masters. Yesterday was that day.

Danny and I left Atlanta at 5:00am for Augusta - about a 2 and a half hour drive. We were painfully tired, but stricken with huge anticipation as we drove in the darkness. About 7:15 or so the sun came up, and so did our energy. We were close. We were also hungry!

We pulled into the parking lot (free parking for anyone who wants it at The Masters) at 8:15 or so, and had to walk to find my ticket broker who had our coveted tickets. Retail price on the ticket was $41.00. We did not pay $41.00. I'll leave that one for your mind to wander. Anyway, after walking about 2 miles to find this place, we finally made it to the front gate. After getting caught trying to sneak my cell phone in (nice one, moron), I had to check it at a checkstand and get back in line. It didn't take long, and WE WERE IN.

The very first thing you notice is all of the green grass. It is the greenest and most well maintained grass you'll ever see. And there is a distinct difference between "inside the ropes" and outside. The grass really is greener on the other side!! Anyway, we didn't really know what to do other than be in awe and start taking pictures. We took pictures of anything - signs, people, players, food, flowers, the grass, ourselves, beer, whatever. When the day was over we ended up with 419 pictures. Danny said "We'll probably end up with 3 good ones". I doubt it!

There a few places we knew we needed to go: Amen Corner (the 3 most famous holes in golf), holes 16 and 18, the par 3 course, and see the historical sights like the clubhouse, the Crow's Nest, Butler Cabin, and getting a pimento and cheese sandwich. Our first mission? Get food. We were hungry! We figured we'd just get a little something to snack on and get going. I got a sausage biscuit and a tuna sandwich, for a grand total of $3.00. Danny got 2 egg sandwiches and a water for $4.00. The prices are unreal! Beer? $2.75. ALL sandwiches? $1.50. Coke, water? $1.00. Needless to say we ate a LOT. And had a few beers along the way.

We went to check out Amen Corner after walking a bit of the front 9. On our way down there we ran in to Tiger on hole #4. Danny got some good shots of him! We just wanted to see him hit one shot, to say that we did, and mission accomplished. He hit a 5 wood on a par 3 to about 20 feet. Moving on! We walked the beautiful hills down to Amen Corner (holes 11,12,13) and just watched the players practice and hit some shots. It was pretty amazing. There is no noise there. All you can hear is the wind and the birds and an occaisional private jet overhead. It was peaceful and quiet and a great place to watch golf. And VERY picturesque.

We had no real agenda, which was nice. It was a practice day so it was extremely casual. The pros were talking to fans, hitting all sorts of shots, and not worried about too much. Neither were we. We wandered around, saw all of the holes, saw the practice facilities (it was amazing watching Phil Mickelson practice his short game), watched the guys skip balls across the pond on #16 (big Masters tradition), walked up #18 like we were champions, and just took it all in. In the afternoon they had the famous Par 3 Contest. The par 3 course is ridiculously cool. We stood by the 1st green - about 5 feet from it - and watched probably 10 groups come thru. We got to see some of the biggest names in golf history - Palmer, Nicklaus, Player, Mickelson, Norman. We were so close it was very cool.

When it was all said and done, we left around 4:30 exhausted. I bet we walked 5-7 miles up and down hills all day, but it was worth it. It was worth seeing the most coveted place in all of golf. The hardest ticket to get in all of sports, they say. And we were there. Here are some interesting stats:
- Sandwiches consumed by Danny and Alex: 7
- Pictures taken: 419
- Holes in 1 on the par 3 course (we heard the roars, they were LOUD): 3
- Number of souvenier cups I took home: 5
- Number of Masters shirts I bought (you can ONLY get them at the Masters): 7
- Number of times we said "this is so cool": 217

Enjoy the day folks. Watching The Masters on TV will never be the same for me. Pictures will be up soon, so check back!

Now, on the first tee...