Blogs before bed #5.

Wednesday night, but I don't wanna count the previous few days out of the picture yet.

Made it to Raleigh under the radar twice this weekend. Went down Friday to watch Amanda's dad play drums with Greensboro rocker Evan Olsen, then made it back Sunday night to watch O.A.R. rock it out at Regency Park Amphitheater in Cary. Breezed through and didn't tell anybody I was coming because I'll be back again next weekend!

Friday night was a good time. Amanda and I left the 'boro when she got off work and booked it to the Village Draft House for some good eats before the show. We started off with their fried pickle chips, and it was all downhill in a good way from there. Once we got out of there, we made it to Napper Tandy's where we met up with her dad as they were getting set to play. As we walked around the pub, I ran into a bunch of old State friends who by CHANCE were there to celebrate a going-away party. It was CRAZY random, but cool, because I hadn't seen these folks in over a year really, since graduation. What was even cooler was that several of them seemed to "know" Amanda through the pictures we've posted on Facebook. They were all happy for us, and it was great running into them.

As for the tunes, Evan Olsen is always a good show. He plays several different cover songs every time he hits the stage, and ranges from Prince to Beatles to 90s rock to singing rap. Stan (Amanda's dad) held the beat down while the crowd (including Amanda and me) danced the night away. Towards the end of the show, Amanda and I ran BACK to the Draft House to grab a set of to go fried pickles for her mom. We made it back just in time to munch away, and her mom LOVED them. Next it was time to hit the road home, but we definitely enjoyed our first evening in Raleigh for the weekend.

Saturday flew by with a trip to the gym and a busy night at work, and then it was time for SUNDAY, or, O.A.R. DAY! I'd been looking forward to the concert since I last saw them on Mayercraft, and I was really hype to take Amanda for the first time (of course, still MORE hype to get her to Mayer eventually...).

We started the day at good ol' IHOP here in town (Mmm, pancakes) and left for Raleigh in the mid-afternoon. Once we made it there, we decided to take a little walk around NC State.

Ever have that feeling like you belong somewhere, but you've kinda moved on in life? That's how it was to walk around NC State again. I've been to Raleigh several times since I graduated, but I haven't actually been on campus since May of last year when I was finishing school. It felt like I'd just been there while we wandered through the Brickyard and out to the Court of the Carolinas. I took Amanda into the buildings and through some of my classrooms, and it was really cool having two different aspects and periods of my life come together like that. We sat on one of the benches I used to frequent when I'd cram-read before class and looked at the area, and it felt RIGHT. I definitely enjoyed giving her the tour and letting her see what I saw for nearly five years. It was surreal, but in a good way.

After this, we headed to the venue but stopped at Lake Johnson for a few minutes. We stood out on the big plank bridge and stared at the water for a bit, just relaxing and taking everything in. Then it was time to head to the show, which was GREAT. OAR hit the stage with a bang, and we made our way to second-row standing room, so we were super close. The crowd was pretty crazy, but the concert was a lotta fun, and I'm glad Amanda got to seem them rock it out (although she is STILL coming down from McCartney last week...I would be too...).

Anyway, we got outta there and grabbed Snoopy's before coming home, but it was definitely a nice weekend to cap out an AMAZING summer. I know I haven't written much about it, but hey, it's why I've been away from this thing so often the last few months...

As for this week, it's already flown by. It's basically Thursday now, and Ryan is coming to town this weekend, so there will be lots of reunions. Definitely gonna be a good time...

Feel like I'm rambling now though, and I'm kinda delirious, so I'm callin' it a night for now. I'll be in touch.

D.