Pemberton - Day Two: The Mojito Jar

Day Two started with another fantastic breakfast. Bacon and egg English muffins, cheese, blueberries, and coffee. Yum!

The headache continued, so I relented and took some Advil. By the time I had returned from soaking my feet in the lovely river, I was feeling like a new person and ready to rock. Good news as it turned out, as the morning's tasty beverages were Ceasers and a mojito jar. In an effort to nurse my noggin, I took a pass on the awesome Ceasers Jen mixed up, but the mojito jar was unmissable. The girls had brought a huge jar, into which they mixed fresh mint, limes, brown sugar, and a bottle of rum. Once mashed up, the jar was rolled into a towel and everyone had to take turns shaking up the mojito. The jar was then passed around the circle until it was finished. With twelve people it was mighty tasty, but not toxic. From what I hear, a smaller group is a bad idea (or a terribly good one, depending on how you feel about getting plastered).

I then headed out to snag a shuttle bus from the camp ground to the Festival Site. The others had decided to hitch, but I am a desperately practical city girl and just can't get my head around hopping in a car with people who have very likely been drinking both coming and going from the site. B. C. is rife with car accidents and tales of impulses gone wrong. As a result I missed Sam Roberts, but met a very lovely woman who was driving the shuttle and living in Pemberton. Very interesting lady and totally worth a slow drive to town. Naturally, half-way to the site both the driver and I had to hop out and make use of the less rustic port-a-potties. More info than necessary, but it gives you a sense of how slow traffic was moving. Remember, we're only going 3.5 km!

Day 2 at the Festival was night and day to Day 1. People were chill, the music was fantastic, and a brief rain had tamed the dust bowl situation. Also improved were the spiked lemonades made possible by my clever fellow-campers. Day 2 was also the day the BBQ pulled-pork sandwiches were discovered. Sooo good :) As far as the actual show went, this was my first opportunity to see the The Flaming Lips. I'm not sure they're all that remarkable musically, but it is an interesting show. You don't always get confetti that reaches the back of the field, bubbles, and teletubbies in one show. I also had a chance to re-embrace the Tragically Hip. They'll never likely be back on my heavy rotation, but they sure do good live shows. My Morning Jacket was a mellow good time and Buck 65 was a fun surprise. I totally dig him. Tom Petty was ridiculously good, but I cut out a bit early and secured a space on my shuttle back to camp. I braved the walk from the gates to our site with a dim headlamp and bad music playing on my cell phone to ward off the bears. I made a similar trip to the loo, only with a brighter bulb and some fancy hand-clapping. Jen's version of "If you go out in the woods today..." is cold comfort when you're alone and on bear watch.