In the den of our home we have mounted on the walls 25 different framed collages representing 33 years of ticket stubs, photos and other memorabilia from our life together. As we were working on our 18th year, we thought maybe it was time to get a little more organized in remembering what we have done. This blog was the answer.
Great weather, friendly folks and no capsizes made it a great day. This was the first time we've taken our canoe, "The Pigeon", out in quite a while and the very first time we transported it on our Honda CRV.
It worked out great and we probably should have been using it long before since it was actually easier to load from the back of it than it ever was to side-mount the canoe on Ashlee's old Honda Accord. We wil definitely try and go again with this fun group of water-loving Nashvillians.
Saturday, June 28th, 2008
With the blooming of our own daylilies in our back-yard, it was a signal to us that it was time to head back to the place from whence they came...Paris (the Tennessee one) for the Mole Hill Open Garden. This large beautiful private flower garden is the product of the sweat and love of Rob's best friend, Craig, and his wife, Alision, along with some vital assistance from their boys, Ryan and Colin.
The open garden is an opportunity for folks to look around at their work and to purchase some of the great hybrids of daylilies that Craig and Alison have created over the years and incorporate them into their owns gardens (or landscaping as we have done). The coolest thing is that all proceeds go to the Harris' church to support missions to Sierra Leone, the poor African nation that is still struggling from the ravages of civil war. Well done, folks. Keep up the great work! For more info, please see our link to Craig's blog about Mole Hill Garden on the sidebar.
After the open garden and a little physical labor to help our friends close up shop, it was off to a late lunch and a visit to the newly-opened Paris Winery. This place is nice and although they are still in the midst of putting everything together, it looks like the finished product is going to be very cool with a multi-story French villa replica serving as the tasting room, fermenting room, etc., beautiful grounds and great vistas of rolling farmland and of course, vineyards.
We tried both of their chardonnays and were impressed. Ashlee opted for the reds next while Rob and Craig checked out the sweeter dessert wines with blackberry and peach flavors. Tasty. Craig even made a deal to provide the vineyard with some Mole Hill Daylilies for their growing landscaping. Sounds like a great combination! 
on a throne of course since he's the self-proclaimed "King of Soul-Rock." What a peformer! Well done, sir!
We would have liked to have seen more of his show, but Robert Plant and Alison Krauss were calling and put on an outstanding show themselves along with smoking guiter accompaniment by T-bone Burnett (photo below). We closed our Bonnaroo experience with a few numbers by Death Cab for Cutie (interesting name), a solid up-and-coming rock band from Seattle. We snuck on out before Widespread Panic closed the festival and we were home by 11 P.M. 
Our first Bonnaroo experience was amazing. We had a ball. A little bit of heat, a little bit of rain, a few weirdos, but overall an experience that exceeded our expectations. Probably the best thing to note about Bonnaroo is that we are were not (a) the oldest people there (b) the fattest people there, nor (c) the ugliest people there. We would be willing to go again in the future, but maybe skip the camping and just go in each day depending on who is playing.
Postscript: RIP Solomon Burke 1940 - 10.10.2010
Was this the biggest live comedy show ever? We are searching to find out [80,000 people according to USA Today, but no mention of calling Guiness]. Ashlee called it quits after that as the rain came down and Rob stuck around and did his "uncle" duties by accompanying our nephew Matt to the Metallica show. Incredible show. Incredible energy and these dudes are old!!!
The amount of weirdos has actually been much less than anticipated with our strangest encounter being some kook in the comedy tent line telling us that she working at a coffee tent around the corner and we should go get some because it was really good. Of course, when we looked at her like she was nuts since it was easily 95 degrees out, she missed the point completely and said..."Oh, they have hot cocoa, as well." Have another pill, chickie.
(from The Centeroo Wifi Tent)
Evidently it was a sore subject. According to Scott, Bonnaroo is actually "The Man" and not too friendly to regional bands during their festival. It does seem that although Bonnaroo does bring in quite the range of different musical styles, Americana is pretty much ignored. They get close with rock and alt-bluegrass, but no true Americana artists. Oh well, it's their party.
The Bonnaroo wounds healed quick and Scott and the boys put on a great show with several songs from their upcoming new album as well some great standards like "Jody" and "Amtrak Crescent." The crowd was pretty good since SM&TC have a strong east Tennessee following. We were not overly impressed with the venue since Rhythm & Brews still allows smoking and the acoustics weren't top notch. But it was great to see the boys up close and personal again and we are already looking for the next time we can see them again.
Much thanks to our friends Patrick & Michelle, Brian & Mollie and Keith & Sydney for meeting us out for dinner and drinks before the show at Murphy's Ale House (we can't believe Durty Nelly's is closed!).