An entire green village was available pre-show for us to explore. We got a nice little booklet explaining all the green steps taken by Jack on the tour. He donates 100% of profits to charities – YES 100%!! and he did the same on the last tour!!  Think about that for a minute.  Beautiful.

The booklet had a section of stamps to collect for doing green things:

• visiting a non-profit booth in the village, groups included:
  • reduce plastic usage
  • beaver preserve – Found out about an excellent beaver preserve right in downtown Durham.  Chatted with the people running the four related preserves.  Turns out Jack had found and contacted them personally and asked them to set up an exhibit.  They are working on an interconnected set of preserves to make an entire greenway belt, awesome.  Got two stamps from them, for visiting and donating, and they gave me a nice refillable water bottle which i used to earn another stamp! wahoo!  I wore my “Bummer” shirt (w pic of Hummer), the lady at the booth got mad cause she thought it said Hummer, and we had a good laugh.
  • CO2 offset purchasing
• donating
• buying a CO2 offset right at the concert
• getting a picture in the picture booth signifying “i commit to reduce plastic usage”
• refillable water stations – They proactively encouraged water refill usage, you got a stamp for filling up!  Sponsored by brita filters, this was unbelievable that they got permission for this, as the pavillion charges $4.50 for disposable bottles.

The show itself was a total pearl jam.  They got the party started on a high with “you and your heart” – the BEST.  Jack is truly a great guy, and he brought out LOTS of friends he’s made along the way:

• Paula Fuga, a Hawaiian woman playing ukelele to a couple of her excellent songs (country road,…)
• the awesome slide guitarist from Animal Liberation Orchestra
• G Love jamming on harmonica (I heard he helped Jack get started by playing some of Jack’s songs)
• the band’s keyboard player (Zack Gill, also from ALO) jammed on an ACCORDIAN for a while oh yeah – this guy was just so much fun, riffed on the piano like it was part of his body.
• the bassist kicked out a wicked rap

LOTS of jammmmmming ensued!  Jack also worked in some cars lyrics into “sitting waiting wishing”, perfect mashup… once he remembered the lyrics, haha, he made fun of himself… “i dont mind you comin here, and wasting all my time…”  They also played a full version of steve miller’s the joker, perfect.  And just about every great song he’s written… which is to say, A LOT OF UNBELIEVABLY GOOD MUSIC!! 

Thank you Jack!

• Everything else on this list just got trumped, I have discovered The Remedy. OK they have non-vegan food… but that just lets you get your unsuspecting friends in the door to find an unbelievable array of vegan delights, including: philly fake-steak, veggie meatball sub, sweet vegan soups made from scratch (every one has kicked it, including an unchicken noodle and a basil-portobella-unchicken soup), vegan chocolate chip cookies, and many many more items I will add to this list as I accumulate knowledge… They also have some funky cocktails, with health boosters like Emergen-C mixed in (you’ll have to assess your inner glass-half-full/empty monologue to decide if that’s bad or good)…
• I’m in love with The Pit’s barbeque tofu and grilled veggies – delicious sauce over “tofu” (more like the gluten-based analogues you get at all-vegetarian asian restaurants), asparagus, sweet potatoes, halved grape tomatoes, onions, all grilled to hickory-smoked perfection.
• Sitti Lebanese cuisine: start off with fresh-from-the-oven pitas and the amazing lentil soup – the falafel pita was good. They also have a grilled vegetable pita.
• My bud Sam leads me to the newest freshest places, and most recently it was to Bu-ku ‘global street food’, for Lebanesh fattoush and Indian curry, yum on both accounts – still more to explore – the waiter was really helpful with vegan suggestions. Went back for a big greek salad the chef made up to order, pretty good.
• Right at the end of the Progress Energy street is 101 Lounge Cafe.  They have a fab wrap with marinated portabellas.  Plus, I started logging in with FourSquare there, I was the first to add it – perhaps I’ll become mayor.
• Sosta cafe – I didn’t expect much from this small European style cafe when I popped in for an early mocha, but I was greeted by a delicious tray of local vegan energy bars and cookies, as well as a friendly owner who was excited to tell me about the three delish-sounding vegan lunch entrees -I must return, it is my duty!   …and of course I did, the next day.  Awesome, three amazing choices on the menu: Angus (burger), Carolina-sytle vegan BBQ, and vegan soy chicken salad sandwich.  The friendly guy behind the counter recommended the Angus.  Good call!  With two awesome side salads – navy bean with onions and parsley, and a yummy large-pasta couscous.  This place rocks! – Returned to get all the vegan items. The unchicken sandwich has chunks of walnut in it, yum. The BBQ sandwich is tangy delish.
• The Manhattan Cafe: they have a yummy veggie panini (ordered without cheese) but it had a bit of a hotdog flavor from the grill; but their piece de resistance is the mix-your-own-salad – you choose baby spinach, romaine or organic mixed greens, then add portabella mushrooms, pasta, red beans, black beans, pita croutons, and all kinds of other great toppings. The mix-your-own pasta also kicks serious butt, with a whole bunch of great mix-ins – try doubling up on the fresh spinach, along with mushrooms and tomatoes, yum. The 1/2-sandwich-salad-soup combo is only $7, the tomato-basil soup was pretty good.
• Shish Kebob: right in the Fayetteville Street Mall, next to Krispy Kreme. The veggie platter was great! Hummus and babaganough with a warm pita cut into slices, falafel and tahini, and a small greek salad (“hold the cheese”). Next time I’ll try the falafel in a pita…
• The Raleigh Times: delicious Boca-like veggie burger with awesome toppings: sauteed mushrooms, tomato lettuce ketchup and an entire half of a delightfully ripe avacado. And you won’t escape the siren call of their Belgian beer list – Simba, it’s to DIE for…
• Wild Ginger: cheap Hibachi Tofu (a staple for me – ask for it with vegetable oil not butter, they are happy to oblige, and steamed rice), also Thai and Chinese selections; fast and reasonable and hot
• Duck and Dumpling: not positive it’s vegan but the edamame and mushroom dumplings are hand-crafted and elegant; the tofu and steamed broccoli is a bit purist for my taste; a pot of green tea will set you back $4.50…
• Subway’s 6-inch veggies sandwich for $3.81 is the best deal in town, and fresh and yummy and fast
• La Rancharita: they let me switch up the lunch chimichanga, replacing the meat with spinach, mushroom and onions. With the chips and salsa, it’s a perfect-sized meal. And fried… mmm…
• Roly Poly: this cafe is attached to the IMAX theater. The grilled rollup’s are actually quite interesting, one stuffed full of items with a Mexican theme, another with cornbread and veggies. Hot and tasty. Not much atmosphere, but lots of space and free wifi, which is awesome.
• Tir Na Nog: menu apparently changes a lot; the lentil-based veggie burger I got was OK (and certainly HUGE); second time, had a delicious roasted veggie panini half-sandwich + all-you-care-to-eat vegetable soup + salad
• Soma: higher-end sushi bar, where’s the tofu people? Had a well-presented bowl of veggie noodles
• The first two weeks of 2010 were spent in all-day meetings with a team from Serbia, which meant free lunches with the team – I explored a lot of places I wouldn’t think to choose. Big Al’s country cooking is tough to navigate but a large salad and double-side of fried okra hit the spot; Woody’s; the Brass Grille had a pretty good tahini veggie wrap; Vic’s Italian restaurant has a great Penne Primavera with broccoli, squash and zuchini.
• To be continued…

Being fit enough was a totally different story, though. The last major event in my life was getting a chunk of my lung removed. I’ve been trying to get some running in, really huffing after a couple miles. So I was scared going into this race. Most of all, my pride told me that I didn’t want to let the three-person team down, dragging them to last place. So I tried to buck up.

The race itself was an absolute joy. We covered a ton of the ground around Umstead State Park, even swimming across Crabtree Lake, and venturing out onto Cary roads as well. The bike computers showed that we covered about 50km in about 3 1/2 hours, but I don’t think they caught it all. Clif bars and shots, as well as over 200oz of drinks laden with electrolytes and caffeine, delivered via Camelbak, kept me going well enough to prevent total collapse. Chris is an orienteering machine, he doesn’t miss a beat of the race while constantly navigating via compass and map (dangling around his neck). Gary shot off into the woods at most of the markers to collect the punches – you have to get the paper punch and punch the right spot on the scorecard.

The swimming was crazy – we had to wear “Personal Flotation Devices” – read “life vests”. The swim went on forever. There was only one redeeming part for me. The guys had told me to pack a snorkel and mask, in case there was an “underwater checkpoint”. Me having absolutely no clue, I diligently obliged, and carried the stupid thing with me the whole race – even though they were just messing with me, rofl. Awesome hahaha! But I got the last laugh, that thing saved my butt on the swim. I plopped on the snorkel, put my head down, and chugged away with a frog crawl for 30 minutes. It was zen-like bliss. They arrived on the other side with stiff necks. Ha!!

The finish was the most dramatic part of the race. We came back from collecting all the large-map points that we could with 12 minutes left on the clock. We decided to go for broke and switch out to the small map, to see if we could pick anything else up. We biked as close as we could to the closest point, and dropped the bikes and hoofed out towards the point – down a steep ridge, up the other side, down another ridge… and up… and no luck. With 6 minutes left, we gave up and headed back, but the climb was unbearable. I was pushing with both arms on my kneecaps to get my legs to push me up the hill. It took forever… and we ended up back at the finish after 7 minutes, with a 10-point 1-minute-late penalty. Dang!

I was really bummed waiting for the results. I thought we were really supposed to clear the course, and we hadn’t even come close. But wait… when they posted the scores… NO ONE had cleared the course!

And there were only 4 three-person teams… and we came in second! AWESOME! I didn’t drag us to last!! I was so happy!!

And then we realized we lost by 10 points… yes, the 10 points we lost “going for broke.” If we had just relaxed for the last 12 minutes, checking in early, we would have tied for points, perhaps even won because our time would have been better! Or if we had spent another minute and found the marker… maybe a long shot, not sure… but we would have scored 30 and lost 20, again tying for first. Another rush of adrenaline. First prize gets half their entry fee back, and half off the fee for the next race! Gnashing of teeth… But I am still glad we went for it. What a rush.

I’ve never experienced anything like this before. If you get a chance, and you have ANY basic biking/hiking ability… you should go for it. Even if you clear 20% of the course, you will have a blast giving it all you’ve got.

Chris has an awesome full writeup here. THANKS CHRIS AND GARY, it was incredible.

Between us all we hit every ride in the park. Yes, even I did the Daredevil Drop, 76′ straight down, knees knocking the whole way – I don’t know how I climbed to the top of the ride, let alone got down it – it seems like a dream now. Actually I was driven by guilt after sending the girls down first with mom, while I chickened out and rode the 360 – which was its own form of terror, my head slamming into the tunnel as the g-force was too great to keep it up and see where I was going. You can’t ride that one and NOT swallow SOME water! We had plenty of time to make the rounds and ride all our favorites. The dragon ride was a big hit – like being flushed down a huge toilet. All kinds of fun was had by all!

• mexico 1-1 south africa        the refs stole a goal from mexico – NO HE DIDN’T, know the rules dummy!
  http://getpublished.news-leader.com/wordpress/blog/2010/06/11/world-cup-south-africa-vs-mexico-offsides-for-dummies-and-espn-announcers/
• uruguay 0-0 france
• south korea 2-0 greece        s korea was on FIRE!  greece on their heels
• argentina 1-0 nigeria        nigerian goalie is AWESOME, argentinians big and strong
• england 1-1 us                us was energetic, england was ok too – green is a dead man
• algeria 0-1 slovania
• serbia 0-1 ghana
• germany 4-0 australia        ROBBED by a totally ridiculous red card from the mexican ref, most calls were TOTALLY BAD
• netherlands 2-0 denmark        holland in orange looking really good
• japan 1-0 camaroon            japan hard working, camaroon too but frustrated
• italy 1-1 paraguay            at first i had the teams confused – paraguay was energetic!
• new zealand 1-1 slovakia    gorgeous nz cross+header at 93 minutes!
• portugal 0-0 ivory coast    c.ronaldo looking good – yellow carded!, ivory coast getting some shots on goal
• brazil 2-1 n.korea            brazil not as effective as you’d think
• hoduras 0-1 chile            missed most of it
• spain 0-1 swiss                HOLY CRAP!  swiss strikers showtime!  spain hammered over and over, hit post 2-3 times, couldn’t get it in!
• swiss striker ROLLED into the net, another followed it in – spain defender came up with cut face
• germany 0-1 serbia            klose red-carded, germany was screwed
• s.africa -
• us 2-2 slovania                TOTAL $#*$ ROBBERY!  no one even knows why us goal 3 was denied!!  US WAS ON FIRE!
• uruguay 1-0 mexico            mexico the better strikers, uruguay scored and played defense
• france 1-2 s.africa            france, the disgrace of the 2010 world cup, AS I PREDICTED – zidane’s shame lives on
• argentina 2-0 greece        greece sucks – altho their one lone striker had impressive moments!
• nigeria 2-2 s korea            awesome game, well played by nigeria but not enough to go on – going to miss that goalie
• us vs algeria                do or die!  algeria came out shooting first, tense – then us got upper hand, scored – DENIED ‘offsides’ bah!
  then chaos at the net at 91st minute, Donovan follows up to SCORE!!!  win 1-0, US GOES THRU!!
• england vs slovenia            england scores first half, keeps game muted after that – not stellar but ENGLAND GOES THRU!  AMAZING!!

I did my best pirate impression and kept the girls on the run – including Sparrow (Wren), Calypso (Scarlett), Starfish (Savanah), Spongebob and Patrick (Olivia and her friend), and my arch-enemy, Rat (Reiley). We rafted, they rafted, we captured, they walked the plank, they stowed away, they abandoned ship, they stole our oars, they captured the treasure from us, they buried the treasure, they swam right past us with it without giving it away. They did a fine job of keeping Captain Jack (Richard) and me baffled as to the whereabouts of the rare and valuable green sword for most of the time at sea. Scurvy little sea scum rats!

We had a nice campfire with dogs burgers corn beans and smores, classic. Cameron drew the lucky straw and came with us, he was a darling. And the new tent is fantastic.

It was a compact and fun trip, and we made it back in time to relax, watch more World Cup (go US!), and celebrate Father’s day. What a life. :>