Shepherdstown
Nestled against the Appalachian Trail, Shepherdstown is a tiny little explosion of culture and hippy hipsterdome. This is the kind of small town you love to stumble upon and spend a day, week or lifetime in.
Decorated with chic boutiques and 'I could care less' coffeeshops it simulates any city with a scene, but reduces it to a three block radius.



This is my second time here, and I sort of want to see what a season would feel like.

The Baltimore free farm

We played a show at the Baltimore free farm, an amazing and inspirational collective of people who are pioneers in urban sustainability.

Back in Virginia ... for now

We came back to Virginia a couple of days ago for a wedding on Laney's side of the family.
She was a bridesmaid, so Jameson was forced to wear a suit.

Here was the result:







Today we leave on tour across the midwest for a couple of weeks.
Hit the ground running.

Adventures in Puerto Rican produce: part 3

This is a corazón

Corazon also means "heart" in Spanish, so this is also called a heart fruit. It's flavor is very similar to the Guanabana, but perhaps a little less sour and not as potent.

It is very milky and sweet and is fun to eat because you have to spit out these big black seeds that cling to the fruits flesh.

After eating one raw I had the idea to freeze the other side and see what it would taste like frozen. The result was very tasty, like frozen yogurt.

New flavor idea Johanna and Daryl?

slide show: Culebra

Jameson and Lauren seasick

We had a rough ferry boat ride to the island of culebra. It was the most intense boat ride I have ever experienced, a straight hour of pitching and rocking, the boat slamming against the waves. Luckily the way back was with the wind and much more peaceful.

Adventures in Puerto Rican Produce: part 2

This is a "breadfruit" also known in Puerto Rico as "Pana".

Breadfruit is quite strange looking. It grows on large trees with big leaves. They form as bulbous, scaly, green balls that hang from the branches. I bought this breadfruit off the back of a pickup truck for $1 in Ponce.

Upon opening this fruit, we quickly realized that it was not made to be eaten raw. Jameson sliced the thing up and we used it all week as a mock meat. We treated it just like tofu. We spiced it and sautéed it in oil. We used in and Asian stir fry and Mexican fajitas and in sandwiches.
Breadfruit has a starchy consistency. It is nearly flavorless on its own but absorbs other flavors well and for only $1 it is a lot cheaper than tofu.

slide show: Bacardi Factory

Cabo Rojo slide show

Coffee festival: Maicao

Every year in the central mountains of western Puerto Rico they have a festival in Maricao.
I met a couple from the states on the ferry ride back from vieques and they told me that they built a little twelve sided cabin in the jungle which they rent out for $50 a night. The cabin happened to be three miles from where the coffee festival would be.
So we got a group of 5 people together from the hostel which made renting a car and the cabin very cheap for us all.
The drive up the mountain was arduous and left me exhausted. We had to park at the top of a hill and walk a quarter mile down a steep hillside to reach the cabin but when we arrived it was absolutely serene. The cabin was perched with a view of three different mountains. Hummingbirds constantly buzzed around and coqui frogs sang all night. The cabin was beautiful with everything we needed and some extra perks like an outdoor shower and fire pit.
We all slept well and ate big communal dinners every night on the patio, candles lit and music playing.
The coffee festival was three miles from the cabin. It was a lovely little gathering with traditional food, crafts, music and of course music.

slide show: Kite Festival old San Juan

Adventures in Puerto Rican Produce: Part 1