I have turned 28. Though it's an uninspiring age, the birthday celebration itself was fantastic. Look who I met... Yes, that's Audra McDonald. Though I know she's become famous for plenty of TV and recording work, I first fell in love with her when I was 16 and she starred in "Ragtime." It's my all time favorite musical and I was beyond excited to see her perform on my birthday in "Porgy and Bess." The experience didn't disappoint.
As an added bonus, the role of Porgy was played by Norm Lewis, himself a Broadway icon. He played an amazing Javert in "Les Miserables" a few years ago (and revived the role for the TV recording of the Les Miz 25th anniversary concert in London, which plays often on PBS), and he originated the role of King Triton in the musical version of "The Little Mermaid." I loved the score for TLM, and Norm sang one of my favorite songs from the show. As you can probably tell from the above photos, I got the chance to meet the two stars after the show. They were nice enough to sign my program and talk for a bit with those of us milling around outside. They were both very kind and generous with their time and, if possible, I walked away loving them both even more.
After talking to Audra, I had absolutely no idea what I had said. Fortunately, Cory got a bit of it on video, so I can now say affirmatively that I sounded like a complete idiot. I blame giddiness. I've also added a few clips below of Audra and Norm performing two different songs from the musical. In the first, pay attention to how Sherri Shepherd looks once they're done singing. That's pretty much how I looked the entire show. There was mucho weeping.
The blizzard that hit New York during a recent trip was shocking, mostly because the weather quickly moved from apocalyptic to bright and sunny, a la this: That's Becky and Lauren above, who were in town for a quick visit. Lauren had brought our British friend Matt (who you'll remember from posts like this) for his first trip to the Big Apple. Before a tour of the isle of Manhattan, however, we went upstate a bit to the cozy town of Sleepy Hollow. What awaited us was a snow storm the likes of which I hadn't seen since my days in London. (In this post I explain how mine and Lauren's first snow sighting was so incredible, it knocked our glasses off). We managed to navigate the blanketed town anyhow, but not without plenty of slipping and sliding. If you clicked on the snow post mentioned above, you may have noticed pictures of Becky teaching me how to make snow angels. Growing up in Florida, I was without the necessary know-how to properly make one of the things. Luckily, my northern friend was able to fill me in.
During this trip I pulled out that dusty tutoring session and put it to good use. The picture below is the end result, which looks fairly normal. The video below that is the entire embarrassing process. In my defense, I was remembering Becky's tips on how to avoid messy footprints getting around your pretty snow angel. My intentions were true but, as you'll see, my follow through left something to be desired.
PS: Again, if you read the past post on snowfall in London, you saw that it is typically Rebecca Dittmar's duty to remind me to wear gloves when playing in the snow. She was not here to remind me this time, hence my discomfort in the above video. In fact, I'm going to go ahead and re-post that video evidence. I just love Rebecca's irate voice as she yells "Those are my gloves!"
It has happened. Cory and I have officially left DC and have set up our new residence in Manhattan. Readers of the blog may remember we both lived in NYC two years ago, then moved to DC while Cory did a two year rotation for work. Those two years are up and we're back in the Big Apple. We're very fond of our new neighborhood in the Upper East Side and I'll post soon on some of the goings on we've been up to since moving back.
For now I'll say our leaving DC happened in a flurry, as we had just one day after returning from our Sundance trip. That day was spent procuring furniture for our new apartment, so we didn't get much of a chance to say goodbye to the wonderful city we called home for two years. Upon pulling out of our building in the rented van we were driving up to Manhattan, Cory and I realized there was one important thing we had been meaning to do our entire time in the Capital. It was around lunchtime anyway, and so we made our last official DC outing to this iconic eatery: I'm pretty pleased that this was our final activity in DC. Ben's Chili Bowl is way famous and delicious to boot. I enjoyed my half smoke, which Samantha Brown taught me was the thing to order when dining at Ben's. I was hesitant to allow Cory to snap the below picture, as I was trying to pull off the whole "I'm a local, I eat here all the time" thing. But I am glad to have the photo as a reminder of our last minutes in the city. Farewell DC, we loved you well!
This post is supposed to be about my recent trip to Sundance, but really it's going to be all about Ingrid Michaelson. Those two subjects go together naturally, don't they?
Before I go off on my tangent, I'll briefly get the film festival out of the way. Cory has gone to Sundance for many years now, and this was the third time I accompanied him. We saw some great (and some awful) movies and generally took in the loveliness that is Park City. Really, I like the town for how picturesque and quaint it is. It's quite a trial to Cory that the film and skiing capital he loves so much holds my esteem because of the pretty trees and icicles.
While at Sundance, we met up with some friends from New York. Kelly is a freelance reporter and was all over the place conducting interviews and receiving great swag. In between that, she was able to get us into some awesome events. Here we are below at a Paul Simon party. That's a weird sentence. And I think that's enough about the film festival, don't you? Because everyone knows the real reason people go to Sundance is to see famous people. We saw a number of celebs (a highlight was when Lindsey, Cory and I stood next to Danny Glover and did that "Angels in the Outfield" arm wave thing at him), but it was all eclipsed for me when we went to the Music Cafe.
The Music Cafe is a small venue that Sundance hosts each year. Every day of the festival, a line up of artists plays for free. Those lucky enough to get in are treated to a very private, intimate concert, as the cafe only holds a small group.
It was with much giddiness that I learned Ingrid Michaelson would be performing. I'm a big fan. Yes, I know that's not unique. I've adored her for the past six years, ever since Rebecca played me "Corner of Your Heart" on her iPod. This was back when I thought an mP3 player was some sort of tape recording device, so you can imagine my surprise when I heard such beautiful music coming out of the earbuds. I love, love, love her. Have I said this enough?
I staked out my spot and held my breath. When she came onstage, I yelled like a crazy person. In fact, I couldn't seem to stop yelling the entire set. At one point I was shouting out song requests. She had to shush me. It was a very nice moment for us. In short, she sounded amazing and was also very, very funny. If possible, I love her even more now.
She ended the set with an REM cover I had never heard before. It was, without question, one of the most special songs I've ever heard live. She used these pedals at her feet to start recording her own voice, playing it back to create a chain. I've posted the video below and anyone who even remotely likes music should listen to it (this means you Rebecca).
I'll reiterate here, she is singing completely acapella, with no one doing back up. Also for disclosure purposes, this isn't my video. Cory's sister Lindsey took a vid but the file wouldn't send to me, so I've taken this from YouTube. It's the same performance though, I promise.
Afterward, I was elated. If this had been the end of it, it would have been enough. As we say at Pesach, dayenu. (Anyone?)
Two days later, Cory and I were at the Salt Lake City Airport getting ready for a long flight back to DC. We were already at our gate when Cory decided he needed coffee. I didn't want to go. It was a trek back to the Starbucks we'd seen all the way over at security.
Fine, we went. I waited in line at the quiet Starbucks, impatiently tapping my foot as a few other patrons milled about, when Cory spoke.
"Erica," he said slowly. "It's Ingrid Michaelson."
I looked up quickly. Me heart leaped. It was Ingrid Michaelson. She stood next to me, studying the coffee menu in a graceful manner. I found myself short of breath.
"Excuse me," Cory said bravely, tapping Ingrid on the shoulder. "We were at your performance Thursday and my girlfriend here is a big fan of yours."
She turned her attention to me. My eyes got big.
"Would you mind taking a picture with her?"
Ingrid said "Sure" and got in close. I began babbling idiotically: professions of love; lists of my favorite songs; confessions that I had been the one shouting at her days before, demanding tunes like she was a trained monkey there to perform for my pleasure.
"That's sweet," she said with a smile. This relieved me. Ingrid Michaelson thought I was sweet, not some maniacal stalker.
As she left, I got so flustered that I may or may not have caused Cory to spill an entire hot latte down his pants. Whatever. I was on a high for the rest of the day. In fact, I think I'm still there.
As I've mentioned in posts like this, Cory often spends Sundance weeks tracking down and taking photos with his favorite celebrities. I've always shied away from this, as if waiting for the perfect person to take my celeb-stalking virginity. Ingrid was well worth the wait. PS: How awesome is it that Ingrid Michaelson walks around airports by herself, sans entourage, carrying her own instrument on her back?
You may recall from this post that I once had a lovely experience with England's morris dancers. For those of you who don't know, Morris is my surname, and so I felt a special kinship with these lively dancers. Today at our local market, we saw a troupe of men dressed in suspenders with bells on their heels. Cory thought they were fancy skydivers, but I knew immediately what they were. Huzzah! It was a bit of old blighty here on our colonial shores. In other news, it's chilly in DC. Here are some lovely additions courtesy of the Dupont market:
Does everyone know the theme music to the Harry Potter movies? Bah bum bah bum bum, bah bum bum, bum bah bum bum bah bum...Please think of that music as you read this. Also, I apologize to those of you who haven't read the books or seen the films. It's going to sound like I'm speaking a foreign language from here on out.
Lauren and I are crazy people. To prove this to ourselves, we decided to turn the premiere of the eighth and final HP movie into a holiday extravaganza. In the past, Lauren and I have shared many a Harry Potter memory together. It's been a while since we've lived in the same city, however, and it has reduced the number of times we can dress up as wizards and frighten our friends. So, last fall we made a vow to each other that whatever else was going on at the time, we would find a way to be together for the last film. And together we were.
We spent the weekend of July 15th in Orlando, deciding that visiting Universal Studios' Wizarding World of Harry Potter was the perfect way to spend our downtime in between frequent viewings of the film. We were those crazies who camped out for the midnight viewing, and we aren't at all ashamed about it. Cory joined us a day into the trip and we got to experience the 3D version, which, unsurprisingly, was a lot like the 2D version.
When we weren't sitting in a movie theater, we were giddily skipping up and down the streets of Hogsmeade. I should note that Lauren and I made a trip to the place last year for the grand opening, so we were seeing it with experienced eyes. It hadn't lost its luster. Here's a photo of us in the Hog's Head Pub. The Hog's Head Pub! Notice Lauren is drinking a Butterbeer while I'm enjoying a Hog's Head Brew. We have different taste buds. The theme park has a neat little store based off Ollivander's wand shop from the books. You have to wait quite a while to get in, but it's worth it. Once inside, one person per show gets picked to go through a custom wand buying experience. Lauren and I almost died with excitement when we realized Mr. Ollivander was eyeing her up. Here's a video of Lauren getting fitted for her wand, as all students getting ready for their first term at Hogwarts must. I didn't capture our squeals of joy as we exited the shop, but I'm sure you can imagine for yourselves.
Now, here are some random pics of the trip. Cory weathered a quintessentially-Florida downpour by playing Ms. Packman. Also, enjoy a photo of what I would look like as a Nascar driver. It's in my future, I'm sure.
Cory asked me two weeks ago if I wanted to go with him to a concert in Charlottesville, VA. I said yes for one reason: The drive from DC to Charlottesville is very, very pretty. I know this because Cory is a big fan of the Dave Matthews Band. This is an understatement. I have no words to describe how much he enjoys DMB. He's like those crazy people who follow The Dead (sorry Becky!). Cory has been to over 200 shows and, because of his fervor, I myself have been to five DMB concerts.
Here's a photo of Cory and I at a Dave concert in London, my first one:
A year ago, we went to a DMB concert in Charlottesville. It's Dave's hometown and he plays there a lot. It's cute; his Mom usually shows up and he chats with her from the stage. The last time we went we rented a car for the trek. This was a wonder, as Cory and I have lived without a car for years. Having a car makes us feel drunk with power. More to the point, I was enamored with the DC-to-Charlottesville drive. It's chock full of pretty scenery. And so, I agreed last minute to this adventure across the state.
One of the best parts of the drive is a stretch called Constitution Highway. I don't know why that's its name, it should really be referred to as Civil War Way. There are all sorts of spots related to battles and homes of Confederate leaders. As you drive along you pass signs describing what significant occurrence happened at that site. I'd like to point out that the sign below, titled Stewart-Lee House, refers to a Stewart man who was of Scottish origin. I come from a family of Stewarts and in this post I talked about how I'm convinced I'm related to the old Stewart-Scottish monarch, Mary, Queen of Scots. The sign describes how this particular Stewart helped out Robert E. Lee. Obviously, he's the black sheep of the family.
Constitution Highway also has leftover canons from some of the battles, just hanging out by the side of the road. I imagine they are unloaded.
Leaving Constitution Hgwy you enter some country roads snaking through Louisa, VA. This area is incredibly beautiful. It's filled with old barns, working farms and plenty of vineyards. In fact, Dave Matthews designed the label for a vineyard here, called Bleinham. We've had a bottle of the vineyard's wine before and, if I remember correctly, I found it tasty. All of this scenery is set against a backdrop of the Blue Ridge Mountains. I discovered I love the mountains during a trip to Tennessee, first written about here. I was delighted to discover I could enjoy mountain vistas a bit closer to home, as well.
Here's Cory and I, sitting in the lovely sunshine and waiting for the concert to start:
And now a series of videos I took trying to capture the majesty of the Virginia mountains. It comes off more as me being impressed by green stuff. Indeed, it's a testament to how city-brainwashed Cory and I have become. We were enthralled with all we could do with a car, most important being a trip to a Virginia Wal-Mart. I mentioned in this Utah post how I like to visit WM when I can, as I'm starved for budget shopping in DC. We wandered the aisles of the Charlottesville Wal-Mart, imagining all we could do if we had space for things like hammocks, grills and dining tables. We dream big.
You'll notice in this video that Cory takes a moment to point out some "hard woods." We received a bit of real estate advice from a Louisa cabbie on our trip, informing us that we needed to buy property in Virginia...and that we needed to look for land with hard woods, not pines. We still have no idea what the distinction is, but Cory feels he's now an experienced Virginia tobacco man.
And here I am again, trying uselessly to video the pretty mountains. Oh well. At least professional videographers the world over can rest easy that their jobs are secure.
I hail from Florida. As such, my only knowledge of earthquakes comes from the Universal Studios ride of the same name. With such a vast amount of know-how under my hat, I've never given much thought to how I'd react if actually caught in one of the things. Living in DC now, I assumed I could operate under the same ignorance. Who's ever heard of earthquakes at the White House?
My inexperience was the scariest part of the earthquake that hit DC today: I had absolutely no idea what to do about it. First of all, this is an earthquake was the last thing I thought of when the shaking began. It followed a list of ideas such as:
1.) My neighbor is doing some thorough renovating.
2.) A rogue wave is sweeping the city, threatening to drown us all.
3.) The British are coming.
By the time these options had been considered and rejected, the earthquake was over. I can now report that when faced with the possibility of the Earth opening up and swallowing me alive, I stand frozen in indecision. This does little to recommend my chances of surviving an apocalypse.
Here in DC, the day was only slightly disturbed. The Capitol and Pentagon were evacuated. More importantly, our gym was closed, forcing Cory to miss his racquetball game. Here's my best proof that it even happened:
Joking aside, it was pretty unnerving. Thanks to all the family and friends who checked in to make sure Cory and I were both okay!
In other news, we're about to be hit with a hurricane any day now. I thought I left that sort of behavior behind in Florida...call this the week for wonky weather. Fortunately, my upbringing has prepared me for this force of nature, even if DC is right in what my mother calls the projected "cone of death." If I remember correctly from my hurricane party days, a situation like this calls for emergency supplies of beer, cheez doodles and a wave board. Everybody keep your fingers crossed!
Yes, it's the City of Brotherly Love. Which is why it was fitting that Cory and I met up with so many friends when we were there one recent weekend. While technically in town for a wedding, we managed to fit in plenty of other friend time, as well as a fair amount of sightseeing.
We stayed at Club Quarters. Nothing too much to report about the hotel, except that its location on Chestnut Street was great. The hotel did have these nifty water machines on each floor, though. There were stacks of new, empty plastic bottles that you could insert into the machine to fill with water. The weather outside was HOT, and these came in very handy.
Friday afternoon before the wedding we shot over to McGillin's, the oldest Irish pub in Philly. Then it was time to go back to the hotel and get pretty for the wedding. I'll let you imagine lots of images here of a Catholic ceremony followed by lovely reception at The Ben ballroom. Mazel tov to Mark and Merydith!
Saturday Cory and I toured Philadelphia. We'd both been there before so we didn't feel pressure to sight see like crazy, which is my usual attitude when travelling. I just realized I spelled travelling the British way. I mean traveling.
We visited City Tavern, which was the tavern folks like G Wash and T Jeff used to hang out at. We got to sample brews made from original recipes of our founding fathers. It felt pretty historic. I was pleased that City Tavern served water in pewter goblets. This photo is titled "Erica Morris and the Goblet of Water." Anyone?
Also, check out Cory's Rocky impression below. Yes, we were those people.
Saturday evening we met up with Becky and Sarah, aka the Forand sisters. You may remember the three of us took an ill-fated trip to Barcelona and Italy in 2009 (read more about that here and here). Sarah's been living in Hong Kong for the past two years and was home for just a few weeks to visit, so I felt pretty lucky to get a moment with her. And Becky of course!
The blurry shot of a man hunched over a stove is our trip to Jim's for a cheese steak. My Dad went to medical school in Philly and assured us this was the place to go.
We spent Sunday with our friends Ben and Kacey, who recently moved from NYC to Philly (first posted about here). We took the pair to Elfreth Alley, the last spot on my list of things I wanted to see that weekend (okay, perhaps I did feel the touring pressure). It's the oldest residential street in the US and was very quaint. I think the others liked it as well. As Ben put it: "This is great. Just think of all the money we're saving by not having a good time."
Fine. We began having a good time. We conducted a thorough inspection of Old City's bars, stopping for some games of darts and shuffle board. Yes, shuffle board. It's not just for seniors anymore.
Check out John Kerry refereeing our game of skee ball.
Now, for your viewing pleasure, here is a video of Cory, Becky, Sarah and I waiting for our cheese steaks at the very normal hour of 2 am. Jim's on South Street makes a tasty steak.
Also, here is a look at Cory taking on the Rocky steps. Note: That is not me humming the Rocky music at the beginning, that is a stranger. Plus, the video cut out on its own at 55 seconds. If it had been up to me, this video would have been even longer.
PS: Please know the camera lens has recently been cleaned and subsequent photos should be much less blurry. Should be.
