Wine is bottled poetry.

The weekends always excite me because I feel like I'm almost always going to find something to write about. And also that whole being able to sleep in thing isn't too bad either. But to me its more about being able to see family and friends and get some TLC in. It seems like in the last 6 months this has been a huge priority of mine and I'm pretty certain Ive been able to keep up with it.

This weekend was somewhat up in the air when Friday rolled around. I knew I wanted to go see my cousin Shauna before she flew back to Italy. California Wine Festival. How could I not have let these very words roll off my tongue until 2 days before the event took place. Thank god I have family down south or else this would have most definitely passed without my knowing. For those of you that know me should know the love for wine I have and this is the ideal Saturday for me.

Saturday morning was unwelcome with sleepy eyes and the urge to pull the sheets over my head and forget about wine, sun, family and the beach. But when I received a call at about 8AM from the most responsible person I know I was forced to awake and get ready. Being the VIPs that my family are we were able to enter the festival at 11AM. The weather was perfect and as always the more you drink the warmer you get. The wine was at a heavy flow and the tequila bar was surprising but always welcome. When we approached the agave glazed bottles and got the whole run down we were able to talk Shauna into taking a shot with us. I'm pretty sure it was the first time for all of us to be taking shots of tequila at the break of noon and with wine glasses in our hands. You would really be cheating yourself if you missed out on tasting this tequila! It was so smooth and perfect. We continued to make our rounds to all the wine booths trying to take note of the vineyards we liked and which we didn't like. My cousin being the wine snob in the bunch was more than willing to toss out the remnants of red or white that she disliked. My friend and I would look at each other like she was insane. And I quote "Ive never had anything over 5 bucks. This is all great." We all reached a point where all the wine started to taste the same and the memory of which vineyard was comparable was a far lost memory. And then I hear "I'm about ready to hit up that tequila booth again!" This coming from my sweet cousin Shauna who didn't even want to drink tequila in the first place. And do you think I was going to say no to this? Lets just say that the day was great! Alot of sun, drinks, love, family and once 5PM rolled around ... SLEEP. And after sleep Mexican food and menudo was next on the list of things to do. Perfect complete Saturday.

What do these damn kids know about music?

How do I begin this entry? Since I stepped foot onto the glorious Hollywood bowl asphalt I knew there would be such rich material to write about. Preview of how the night unfolded...

It was a rush from the instant I stepped out of my office and started the ever so short but long journey to the beautiful Hollywood Bowl. I believe we were one of the last 5 cars or so to even make it into the lot. Quickly my window rolled down and I asked the parking attendant "Excuse me sir are we allowed to bring in alcohol?" And the response was not ideal but I shouldn’t be greedy "Yes but you need to put it in a plastic container of some kind." You can only imagine that I was in the back of my seat in a matter of seconds trying to find empty water bottles. Me not cleaning out my car finally came in handy. Those bottles were filled and we were out of the car headed towards the stairs when I hear "On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair..." I was beyond surprised that they would open their set with Hotel California! It's not my favorite Eagles song but still I would have been thrilled to sing it aloud with all the other fans. Shucks. I tell you now with all honesty that "I hate the fucking Eagles" was running through my head when I was walking to my seat and I hear the echo of Hotel California. To those of you that get that ... kudos.

Our seats were finally met and I was able to sit and enjoy every vibe, smell, texture, sight & sound surrounding me. The way in which the band was set up on the stage was perfection at its best. The bowl already offers such an amazing sound. But it was only amplified when the crowd would light up a joint and start singing along. Yesterday being 4-20 the Eagles could only welcome the somewhat of a holiday the 20th of April has become. The lights and video on stage were very engaging to the eyes. There was no where else in the world I was meant to be.

Eventually I ventured out to the bathroom and noticed all the different ages of women in line and the men waiting for their ladies outside of the bathroom. There were people from their 20s to their late 60s. It was such a wide range of fans. I’ve never been to a show that had such a solid mix of people. Very refreshing to be honest. And the fact that I had a friend singing about every single song into my ear was also pretty amazing.

Amazing night with amazing people and amazing memories were had. Falling in love with music more and more everyday.


Annie

FOR THE RECORD ...

I feel the need to post this in any and all venues in which people that have my best interest can read and understand. I have been asked countless times about my getting married. I figured that by word of mouth most people would figure out that my wedding has been called off. But I still get asked almost everyday about the plans for my would be wedding. The wedding is off. It's not on hold. It's not postponed. It's not possible that it will be back on. It's OFF. I understand that the people that have asked me have only interest and curiosity but I feel it's necessary to have this gnat of annoyance dissipate as much as possible. Not because the situation is in utter ciaos or hatred but because it's time for both of us to close the book and move forward. That being said spread the word if need be. :-)

Cheers!
Annie

PS. A entry worth reading will be coming shortly. Pilot season does not leave much time for expression and venting. Although there is much observation and thoughts going through my head. And this my friends always makes for good writing.