Two years ago, right around this time, I was leaving Portland, Oregon for what ended up being a 25 day, 5,800 mile cross country trek. I was excited because, not only was a traveling cross country, but I was also relocating. I was excited and apprehensive and anxious and, well, you get the picture. I had a stop for the summer in Poyntelle, Pennsylvania, mind you, but I eventually ended up in Florida.
Now, here I am, two years later, and I'm planning another long drive. While I'm not relocating, I am heading back to Poyntelle. I've been hired by the camp that hired me in 2013. I didn't return last year because I wanted (read: needed) to get established here in St. Augustine, although I did go up for a visit. They contacted me a couple months back and asked me if I wanted to return. I'm fortunate that I've worked myself into a position where I could take it, so I shot them a number. They countered with a slightly lower number.
I forget who blinked first, but we came to an agreement and I signed the contract.
My trip starts in just six days; June 1. If all goes as planned I'll get to visit friends along the way. I'm referring to this as the "Ex Drummer Visitation Tour". I played in two bands while living in California. The last band, Zendogs, broke up in 2005 when drummer Greg Simms decided to move his family east after the death of his father. Greg's settled in Wilmington, NC, and has a spare couch I can use for a couple nights.
From Wilmington, I'll drive north to Newark, Delaware. After moving to California in 1990, I joined the band Dog Beach. See, evidently, every band name is cooler if it has the word "dog" in it. Drummer Ian Greaves, a British transplant to the Golden State, was the first really good rock drummer I ever played with. I've been offered his couch for a night.
From there, it'll be on to Long Island, where I'll stay with friends. I was going to try to slide through Philadelphia and do some shooting with friends, and I suppose that could still happen, but I'll need to see how I can fit it into the schedule. Maybe a day trip on a day off would be a better idea for that. Philly's only about three hours away, so it's supremely doable.
The task at hand now, however, is packing. I've actually decided to pack clothes into a small suitcase and live out of that suitcase here for the next week. That way I can get everything packed that I need to pack. The camp, while not the most primitive of places (there's electricity and showers and the like), does lack a bit in the creature comforts, so I'll need to bring these things with me. Things like a desk lamp, coffee maker, Hell, even a rug to put on the bare wood floor. Everything needs to be "trucked in".
I suspect it'll be a good summer, with new challenges, but it's something I look forward to. It'll be tough to be away from home for three months but, at the same time, a brutha's gotta' earn a living.
Now, if I can just get my laundry done...
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