Day Twenty-Five: Rochester, NY

Today marks the last day in Rochester, the last day with my east coast friends, and my last Phish show for a while...

Luna and Roy and I went to Wegmans for lunch and then hit Ellison Park for a little disc golf and time in the sun. Then, we went over to help Bryan rip out all of his carpets to prep for the new carpets rolling in tomorrow. Dude sure does have a lot on his plate... trying to get his house in order while heading out of town for work tomorrow morning; we just had to make sure there was no way he'd have to miss the show tonight... it was fun to go over there and do some demo work...

Tonight... my eighty-eighth Phish show and indefinitely holding... Naturally, it was great to meet up with so many old Fredonia allies, especially Stacey and Napoli... who I've caught many shows with over the years... And, wow, Phish offered the most special cover of the summer for my last show: The Beatles' I Am The Walrus... a first-time for me, but also a first-time for Phish, and everyone else!

Day Twenty-Four: Rochester, NY

After a long hard haul for the past few weeks, it makes sense to get a quick oil change / tune-up for Vina today and I found a great VW mechanic at Vintage Auto in Scottsville... he provided just the piece of mind I needed for the trip back home in a few days... done and done.

Next, on to Rochester... I want to check out Bryan and Sarah's new place, hang with Campanella, and Chops, etc. and gear up for the show in Canandaigua tomorrow... I got to town and I went to Aman's Market (Roy's grandparent's local farmer's market) with Chops and Camp for some Magic Hats and strip steaks... we went back to their place, grilled out, and watched the Mets... just my speed tonight...

After supper, Roy took me to his fire house (Quint 7)... pretty freaking cool. Dig this pic with him, his fireman mustache, and his engine... what a super-hero! We went over to Bryan and Sarah's new place afterward and had did some unwinding on the back patio. I'm happy for them that they found such a rad house in Rochester, but sad for me that they found this place in Rochester... I still miss them all the time... (I'm not worried though, I still think they'll move back to join the Denver Family again someday)

Day Twenty-Three: Buffalo, NY

Today, we celebrate Cassie's graduation from Williamsville South, and her new beginning at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA this fall. I'm proud of my oldest cousin and know she'll do great things in Pittsburgh (and far beyond).

Also, I should thank her for giving us another reason to get together and party with the family! The family-time is what makes this insane summer tour all worth it; it was great getting to see Uncle Joe, Aunt Roz, Uncle Fran, Aunt Claire, Uncle John, Aunt Mar, Uncle Mike, Papa, Nana, and all my cousins... so much fun!

Aunt Mar and Uncle Mike lived up to their norm, throwing the biggest bash in town... they have the pool, the party tents, the DJ equipment, the sound system, the lights, even the inflatable jump house... but they also have something no other grad party is going to have... Nana's famous baked ziti for 300!

Day Twenty-Two: Syracuse, NY > Buffalo, NY

Waking up in the western New York clouds and gloom, I wonder how it can still be muggy... Ha, oh well... I went to Syracuse to see Aunt Gail and Emily and Gramma Lo today. It's been a long time since I've seen them and it was great to get to pay them a visit! Gramma had all sorts of food ordered including some bomb gourmet breakfast pizza from a local joint, and resumed the gramma-treatment from last I saw her. She is so great and always takes such great care of me; it was so cool to finally catch up with her in 'Cuse and to see Emily and Aunt Gail...

Aunt Gail has been so awesome to let me keep so much rubbish in her attic for the past seven years... and today I finally hauled it out! I was finally able to actually throw much of it away, and packed a bunch of it into my bus to bring back home too (along with stuff for Joey, of course)... the bus is starting to fill up pretty quick and I still have another week on the road... hope it all fits in okay and travels okay...

I got back to Aunt Mar's and Uncle Mike's in Buffalo, just in time for one-hundred wings from Duff's and sheet pies from Bocce's... after all, it'd be absurd to visit Buffalo and not indulge in some extra-crispy, extra-hot wings... I love 'em!

Day Twenty-One: Philadelphia, PA > Rochester, NY

Fifty years ago, today, Papa and Nana tied the knot and invested in the nonpareil model of family I know now: The Scaglione's. I will always admire their relationship and what they have created together. The way they make each other laugh each day proves the importance of staying young and maintaining a healthy sense of humour. Their love for each other, and for life itself, is a constant reminder that it is possible to achieve ultimate happiness; I will always strive to achieve similar success of the heart and spirit and hope to someday be as happy as they still are today!

Today, we celebrate Papa and Nana's fiftieth anniversary in Pittsford at Aunt Claire's house. It's a beautiful day for the most special of occasions... I feel so fortunate to be here for the party and to be part of such a great family. Congratulations to my grandparents, the greatest inspiration to me...

Aunt Claire and Uncle John (and Shae, of course) went all out and prepared quite the dinner and celebration... including cedar-plank salmon, homemade lobster ravioli, and port tenderloin... thanks to the whole family for all of your work in making it happen! Here's my beautiful Nana, Papa (not cooperating for the camera, as usual), and Dad...

Day Twenty: Philadelphia, PA > Camden, NJ

Day two of Philly exploration... First thing's first, we walked down to the open-aire Italian Market near Sherrie's pad and went to the joint that Sherrie and Chris tout as the best Italian sandwiches in Philadelphia. Sure enough, Paesanos is the spot! I had the Bolognese (crispy fried lasagna with classic meat sauce, sweet peppers, fresh mozzarella, sharp provolone, and a fried egg)... and it was outta-sight. Sherrie knows where to take me if she wants to impress me with a city, so this was an easy sell. Naturally, we went to scope some art next...









We picked up my buddy Neal, who flew in for the Phish shows from San Francisco, and went over to Fairmount Park to check out the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Of course, Neal and I raced up the Rocky Steps, and of course, I won... The museum was pretty cool; we got a chance to see all of the modern and contemporary exhibits and they had some rad pieces. Oh, and they had a pretty extensive collection of Duchamp's work, including some of my favourite cubist pieces of his (like Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2).












We headed back to Sherrie's pad to check in with Luna and the air conditioning... turns out Philadelphia is pretty steamy... the muggiest of all the cities I've traveled this summer! Then, we loaded my bus, grabbed some cheese steaks at Jim's Steaks, and rolled to the Phish show in Camden, NJ! It's been ten years since I went to Camden (last time was to see Phish on 4 July in 2000)... I forgot what a scene this place is, what a mess it is, and what great shows Phish plays here... It was sweet seeing Phish with Sherrie again and when they opened with Bowie, I knew it'd be a show of treats! They played a bunch of once-a-tour songs like Uncle Pen, Crosseyed and Painless, and Gumbo, but best of all, they played (for the first-time ever) The Rover off Physical Graffiti. It's always fun watching Trey pretend to be Jimmy Page... and they freaking killed it!

Day Nineteen: New York, NY > New Jersey > Philadelphia, PA

Twenty-three. Leaving New York (for now, but I'll return in a few days)... I'm heading to Philly to see my other sister, more baseball, and more Phish... I pulled into Sherrie's hood (Washington Square East) in the middle of rush hour and found myself wandering aimlessly searching for a parking spot for forty minutes... not so fun... but I finally found a garage and stashed it for the night. She lives with her boyfriend Chris in a sweet Phila nook in Center City... I dig it. My dad drove down separately from New York; we all met up at Sherrie's and headed down to Citizen's Bank Park to catch the bad guys play the Cleveland Indians.

I don't like Philadelphia sports teams. There, I said it. And, as much as I enjoy being at a ballpark with my dad, it was tough to see the Phillies complete a walk-off win in the bottom of the ninth... but The Mets are still in front (though it's only June)...

After the game, we headed back to Sherrie's place and walked down to a local dive: Dirty Frank's. Dirty Frank's is an instant classic and apparently has a way of sucking you in... we intended to have a drink and head back home but found ourselves walking out with the lights going on and the stools going up. It was a great way to kick off the Philly visit though (all but the Phillies winning)... oh, and I really dislike the Philly Fanatic too... he's such a tool.