Pacific Coast

Monday, Kerri and I get up at 6am and climb into Brandy, our branded Kashi truck. We had to make an early start to get to the mechanics at 8am in Napa to have a brake-hose fixed underneath that has a minuscule leak. We managed to get there early and within an hour and a half we were out of there and heading to graphics place in Fairfield, because the right side of the truck was scratched from a tree branch. So, we spent 3 hours there waiting on that. But it turned out to be a great stop, because it was on a vineyard. The graphics company is based out of their home, so Kerri and I hung out on the grass, plucked and ate an orange from their orange trees, walked through their vineyard, played some bacchi ball, took a nap and I got to make tons of phone calls and send emails to Bank of America. The bank wouldn’t give me a straight answer, trying to find other reasons to decline me. My realtor thought it would be a problem that could be straightened out, but I had a feeling I was done with Bank of America. They wouldn’t even return my phone calls. I felt like a number, not a person. And I have a feeling they felt the same way about me. Plus, my interest rate was 4.25%! That’s unbelievable. I don’t think they wanted to give it to me.

By the time Kerri and I hit the road, it was early afternoon and Kerri started off the drive so I could sleep and try to get a hold of Bank of America. Kerri and I decided to stop in Ashland, OR. My darling friend Liz lives there, from my Kripalu Yoga teacher training, and Kerri was told to go there by one of our local temp staff in Portland. As soon as I woke up to sit behind the wheel, I got a call. Thinking it was from Bank of America, I took it even though I was in the middle of transitioning to the driver’s seat at a rest stop somewhere in Cali, and it was Joe from Lending Tree. He said he could close in 2 weeks and I didn’t even need a co-signer! I was thrilled, but, as you can imagine, rather skeptical, after what B of A did to me. So, I told him to call me in the morning, when I was still in a hotel, and I hoped. Kerri and I listened to “Home” by Michael Buble to send good thoughts toward my future home in Brewster, and arrived late in Ashland.

Ashland was lovely! Kerri found us an adorable bed and breakfast called the Iris Inn. The owner had wine on the table waiting for us and the her husband was a jazz musician that sang Michael Buble songs. We had a lovely conversation over wine and a Michael Buble serenade. After “Home” was sung to us, we walked to a restaurant. Greenleaf was this adorable little diner that had all organic food! I was thrilled. Where could you ever go to a diner that serves only organic and FRESH food?! I also found out that Ashland is the home for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and that the Rose Theatre just opened this past week for the summer season.

The next day, in between phone calls with Lending Tree and my realtor, Liz and I walked through the beautiful park, ate a lovely lunch at the cheapest co-op I’ve ever been to, and sipped some lovely wine at our bed and breakfast later in the afternoon. I still hadn’t heard from B of A, and decided to go with the Lending Tree. I got a decent deal (not as good as B of A offered a month ago), but am on my way to start a home loan application again, this time entirely on my own. No co-signer needed. I know how to do it this time around and have everything ready to go. So, it should be quick and painless. But don’t use Bank of America! They’re awful, so unprofessional and forever on my black list.

That evening Kerri and I met at the box office to purchase rush tickets to Henry VIII, which was playing in the Rose Theater, got tickets for $29 as opposed to $75, and headed to a frozen yogurt place for dessert. Yum! The play was certainly a spectacle. We could see the stars above our heads as the sun set. The play wasn’t my favorite of Shakespeare's, in fact I didn’t know it at all, but the production was really outstanding. The costumes were just phenomenal. Kerri and I had a really lovely time.

Ashland was an excellent stop, so glad we did it. The town was like a dream, my favorite on the West Coast – where else can you get both my loves in one place – green lifestyle from food to fuel AND amazing theatre. What a dream!

Back on the road to Seattle on Wednesday. So much traffic, we couldn’t believe it. Traffic through Portland, random places in Washington State. I-5 is backed up at every turn on the West Coast.

We had a bit of a wild arrival in Seattle, because the hotel that said they would accommodate our trucks saw them and decided they couldn't. Most people are unable to comprehend the size of our trucks until they actually see them. So I drove all over downtown Seattle trying to find a Marriott (where we tend to stay) that could accommodate one truck. It was a long night. But, after the hassle was over by midday the following day, I met up with an old friend from Natural Gourmet. She took me to her new house (loan is from the dreaded bank of America), and we rode bikes into town for drinks and dinner. I was just shocked at the town. She lives in West Seattle, and it really felt like beach town. I felt like I had been plopped down in Florida somewhere, besides the beautiful views of the sound and mountains behind it. On the way back, we rode directly uphill for 30 minutes. It was exhausting, but reminded me how much I love to ride and can't wait for my new home on the Cape, which is right beside the bike path. It was good to see my friend. Break away from the Kashi ladies for a bit, and enjoy an outsider. ;)

The weekend was great. Although we had a rough start with Jason being gone, labor not showing up for 2 hours so us 4 women set up alone, the event itself was fantastic. I really love the Fremont Fair. I think it's the best fair of all the fairs we've been to. Everyone is ecstatic that Kashi is there, and the people parade around in their painted naked bodies. There is also a man that has a "Kashi" tent, named after a town in India, where I bought some lovely shawl/blanket for my new home. Such kind and cultures people.

Immediately following the event we tore down and I skipped town. I drove into the darkness in Brandy. I could barely make out the mountains' shadows because it was pouring. But still, this drive was gorgeous. I could smell and feel the mountains to the right and left of me as I climbed up and flew down the mountains. I ended the night in Ellensburg, WA. Got my reporting done and finally got a good nights sleep.

I'm so excited to start heading back East!

Half Moon Bay

After our super busy weekend in San Francisco, Liz and I headed to Half Moon Bay for 3 nights. It was lovely. HMB is a very small town, with few people, restaurants and houses. The main town was right beside the ocean, which had a lovely bike path along the cliffs.

We checked in to a lovely inn that was ¾ of a mile from the beach by the Ritz Hotel. Liz and I spent our 3 days hiking through the redwoods, walking and reading beside the ocean at the Ritz, visiting light houses and biking on the cliffs by the sea. We were tempted to go swimming, but it was a little chilly. The weather wasn’t so lovely, mostly cloudy because of the high hills between us and San Jose that were holding the clouds in, but the last day there was beautiful with bright sunshine.

I found an award-winning sandwich shop that served the best sandwiches I’ve had on their own homemade bread. Yum! Just about every day I had one for lunch. We ate our meals at some great restaurants. One was an all organic eclectic restaurant that had everything from Egyptian to Russian foods. We had dinner at a chowder place, where I had Manhattan chowda’. It was excellent, and they had their own homemade soft serve ice cream too. And our last day, I had a crab melt. I was told the best things to eat in Half Moon Bay were the Chowder and the crab, and, boy, were they delicious! Liz and I had a really nice time. It was so good for me to get away for a bit. Even though I was on the phone and email for work every hour, it was still nice to take a break from the Kashi mobiles. Camille, my caterer went to Dallas for the week and asked me to take her car while she was gone. No problem. :)

I parted ways with Liz, and on my way back to pick up Camille at the airport, I stopped at the Avalon Yoga Studio for another anusara-inspired yoga class and my bi-weekly trip to fed ex to mail the passports that I collect at the festivals back to Kashi.

Once I arrived in Novato, I was happy to have my own room back and catch up on my sleep. Friday afternoon we cleaned the tents at a self-serve car wash and I did a site check. On my way back to the hotel for our weekly crew meeting I got some terrible news. Bank of America, the loan I’ve been depending on for my home in Cape Cod was declined. The underwriter contacted me via email to let me know that they only give loans for condos if under 20% of the properties within the condominium complex are rented out, and, in my case, 60 out of 69 are rented. That's way over 20%! I was distressed, given that I close in less than 3 weeks, and I’d already been working with Bank of America for a month and a half on this loan. Plus, my loan officer was aware of the situation and never said a thing. Plus, they had me sign a letter saying that I was not speaking with any other bank about this loan 2 weeks ago. Then the underwrited tells me on a Friday afternoon, so he didn’t have to get back to me until Monday. So frustrating! I spent the evening tossing and turning, trying to figure out what to do. The next day, I told Camille (my caterer) and she recommended Lending Tree. So, I applied Saturday, after finishing an 18 hour day, then waited and hoped.

As for the event, it was pretty slow and the people in Novato are very forward thinkers- already have many green bags, take yoga, cook healthy foods and eat tons of kashi. It was really nice for the crew to talk with such easy customers. People were very polite and there to take it easy. So, we had a pretty good event. We set up at 6am on Saturday and tore down on Sunday at 7pm. I am so happy to be finished with California this year. Just one step closer to the East Coast.

Off to Seattle, our last stop on the Pacific!

Northern California again

This week was an interesting experience. I picked up Liz, a friend from Pomona, at SFO and headed to Harbin Hot Springs for 2 nights in Middletown, CA. It wasn't what we expected. Nothing like Sierra Hot Springs, although they are sisters. Harbin was packed with people, mostly men. It felt like a business rather than a place to relax. Thank goodness Liz was with me. We spent some time in the springs, dipping from hot to cold, hot to cold. And we ate some delicious food, watched the deer outside our window and went on a beautiful hike. But the energy there wasn't good. Due to the amount of people, it felt like a zoo full of naked bodies vegging in the sun and water. We stayed anyway, and used the baths as needed. But when we left, it was like a heavy weight lifted off of us. As Liz says, it's one of those places that you don't realize how strange the situation is until you leave. So, we spent my last day off this week in San Francisco instead of Harbin.

Now, most people I know say they love San Fran, but I just don't understand it, never have. It's just busy and dirty to me. It has some wonderful restaurants and I enjoy driving the streets that go up, flatten, up, flatten, up, flatten, etc. But I just don't see the draw. It's usually cloudy or foggy and pretty windy and chilly. We walked the city for several hours and went in to the art museum at Golden Gate Park, which was tiny. After just a few hours, I was ready to get out of there.

The event went well. We were extremely busy. It was definitely one of our busiest events yet, and we didn't have enough local help - so taking a real break was impossible for me. Anytime I ran to the bathroom, I came back to someone needing something. The weekend went well, all-in-all, but I would never want to work that weekend again. Kerri reminded us that we were so crowded because we were working on a little street with little space. A street, 2 sidewalks and lots of shops. I never really noticed how tiny city streets were until this event. We had huge lines waiting for bags and samples. Lots of people tried to sneak away with one as we were making them in the back. Most people were polite enough, but each person expected the royal treatment (aka. get a free bag without taking the "Little Step"). The Taste Here Tent was filled from open to close - so many people came back from the first day to eat more. It's really amazing to us how much people eat and what the meaning of "samples" is taken as. Liz, my friend, worked for us as local staff and she had some interesting things to report. One being that hearing my job from my description as opposed to actually experiencing my job are completely different things. I won't go into details, but it was nice to be acknowledged for the work I do. I sometimes forget that I'm 100% responsible for how these events run. The amount of people involved in each weekend. And keeping everyone happy, including myself, from consumers during the event to event coordinators to Relay (my company) to Kashi. It's nice for me to acknowledge this for myself as well. To remember that I have been given this responsibility because I've earned it and, so far, each event has gone really well. My job is absolutely exhausting and can be very stressful, but when I step back, and acknowledge the whole idea of what we're doing, it puts a smile on my face. It's a lot of work, but it all goes toward something great. Changing the world one step at a time. :) My crew actually acknowledged my work this weekend, too. They must have known I needed it this week. They bought me a pair of owl earrings; I call myself an owl - my eyes are always wide open. It was very thoughtful and sweet. There's always hope! :)

What a fast week! I raced through the flat and dry land of Wyoming, through the storm of bugs in Idaho and into the lush state of Oregon. It was a long ride, but I made it safely into Portland. We ended up staying on the riverfront in downtown Portland, which was lovely. We could walk to the event site. I did the site check, and then had the next day to catch up on work and relax a little. I had the best massage I’ve ever had at AG massage. The massage therapist knew exactly what to do for me, and I walked out of there feeling calm and delicious. I walked to and from the massage beside the river, Portland really is a lovely little place.

A few hours later, we started set up. Our labor didn’t show, so it was just the 5 of us setting up in the dark. When we finally got to moving the trucks, the event coordinator had already gone home and couldn’t show us where to park. So, we ended up being told over the phone where to go – not the best directions I’ve ever gotten. Jason and I drove to the lot we used last year, and I sent the 3 girls in the branded truck, we call Brandy, to the grass, by two other trucks. They had to go under a bridge, which ended up being too low and they hit it. Oh, dear. Everyone was safe, if not a little shaken up. But I think we all handled the situation as best we could. Kerri and I got her in the shop early in the AM and we opened our tents to a very slow event. I was able to run around faxing accident reports in to the office, make phone calls about the situation and buy water and ice for the event. Our temp staff wasn't so hot either, but we kept a happy face. Gosh, everything seemed to be going in the wrong direction. So, we as a group subconsciously, made the decision that the best thing we could do was get some good sleep and make it through the weekend with a smile on our face. It worked out well, and we made it all in one piece, and ended up having a lot of fun at the Portland event. Dave (Kashi guy) and I borrowed a two person bike and rode around throwing free Kashi samples to people on the side walk, summoning them to come over to our tents. It was hysterical. I hadn't laughed that hard in weeks.

Kerri is hanging in Portland for the week, to wait on Brandy to be fixed and ready to go. Her Mom is coming to be with her in Portland. Giovanna and I are headed straight to San Fran to meet friends and family. And Jason and Lexi are headed to Crater Lake to do some back country backpacking and camping in the snow (crazy!). So, we ended on a good note, went our separate ways, ready for a few days off and a new week. We’ve been working without a day off for since Mountain View (2 weeks), and we’re all ready to take a breather.

I think this week just reminded us all that we are working and how important it is to keep a positive attitude. And, as my grandmother says, “this too shall pass.” We got through a hard week and are still in one piece, living and working together as a group content with where and who we are and ready to keep going. Our attitudes may have shifted a little about our job, but only by bonding us together a little more. And the fact that everyone was able to get through this situation with a smile on his/her face says a lot about the Kashi crew. In the end, it was a “good” week and proved what good team we have.