First Snow in Charlotte

Well yesterday about 4 o'clock the temperature dropped, the clouds opened up and snow began to fall here in Charlotte. And today, for the first time in my life, scraped thick pieces of ice off my front porch with a garden hoe.

What I've learned about the relationship between the South and snow is that Southerners tend to freak out just a little bit when it starts to snow. Granted, I'm from California, so I'm not used to the snow that much either. But when snow starts to flurry in Charlotte everything shuts down. People don't go out. Businesses are closed.

There are a lot of Northerners living in Charlotte and most of them snicker a little. "This isn't snow," they say. For me, the snow is pretty fun. I was actually looking forward to the challenge of getting in the car and driving to work (Run For Your Life was open!). There were warnings on the internet about going out. I noticed that the Harris Teeter (east coast equivalent to Ralphs or Vons) was packed with people the day before the snow as if folks expected to be trapped in their homes for a week, with drifts piled up around the door, unable to get good access to bread or milk.

I completely understand that the roads are icy and can be dangerous. It's probably a good idea to stick close to home. I drove around town. I just made sure I drove slow. That's it. Just drive slow.

Back home, the fog is the serious weather issue during this time of the year. Tule Fog (pronounced too-lee) can get so bad that you can't see past the hood of your car. Every year the news broadcasts highway accidents and pile-ups of 60 cars or more.

My wife and I ate dinner out, drove to a friend's house and returned home just in time to see two people sledding down our frozen street in the dark. So cool. One of them made it almost the entire length of our street, lying down on the sled, while the other stood at the other end and yelled "Car!".

I'll limit my driving tomorrow if I can and do my best to watch out for the nut who's driving his SUV too fast, thinking that he'll be ok because he's got an SUV. And I'll try to make it to the store to get some bread, milk and rock salt for the slick porch.

Sleep Machines

The weather in Charlotte right now reminds me of my hometown. It's like this during the winter in Exeter, CA. It's wet and cold and all the leaves are gone. Last night I laid in bed trying to fall asleep and let my mind wander off a bit. I thought about California and places I've traveled within the state, either on family vacations or on tour playing music. As I watched the ceiling I realized that this particular night in Charlotte seemed too quiet. There was a sound that was missing. Wind machines!!! I couldn't hear wind machines. I had grown up right next to a sprawling orange grove in Exeter. And when the winter nights got too cold, the farmers would switch on the tall wind machines to help circulate air through the rows of trees to keep them warm and to keep the fruit from freezing. The machines sounded like helicopters in the distance and my family and I would fall asleep to the beating hum of the propellers. That's what I missed last night, the sound of wind machines.

There are digital alarm clock-type devices that will also emit static sounds of white noise to help people sleep. I had one that played different sounds--a babbling brook, gentle ocean waves, white noise and forest sounds complete with an owl hooting in the background. I never did use any of these effects, though. When I lived in San Diego I could hear the constant sound of the freeway in the distance. And now here in Charlotte, it's completely quiet and still in our house which, most of the time, is just great. But for me, this time of the year needs a wind machine or two in the background. Maybe I could get my folks to record them for me and send me a copy to play while I sleep in North Carolina.

iPod Hunt in Denmark

During my flight to Denmark a few weeks ago I accidentally left my iPod in the seat pocket in front of me. Of course, this was the only time I didn't check the pocket before leaving the plane. I had loaded thousands of songs on that thing not to mention photographs, a few television shows, and a movie (Spinal Tap by the way).

I didn't even realize it was gone until I got to my booking agent's house and then I couldn't even get back to the airport because I would be leaving the next morning, early, for a week spent in Norway.

While in Norway, I emailed all the proper authorities in an attempt to hunt down the iPod. I got form letters back saying that my letter had been received and that they'd let me know if anything was found. It usually took two weeks.

When I flew back into Copenhagen I thought, "Great, I'll just go to the lost and found desk and search through a bin full of iPods until I find mine." Yeah right. When I got to the SAS service desk I was told that SAS doesn't actually keep the lost items at the airport. After 48 hours said items are transferred to the Politi (police) lost goods office in Copenhagen. Thanks for not telling me that sooner.

I was busy that week in Copenhagen with shows and a bit more traveling, so after more time passed I figured I might as well accept the fact that I'd have to buy another iPod when I got back to the states. The bad part is that I also brought a mini-DVD player to watch other movies during the flight back, but couldn't now because the headphones were wrapped around the iPod. I had brought the thing for nothing.

When I finally had a day off in Copenhagen I called the lost goods office, got directions and borrowed my buddy's bicycle. I rode about 5 miles only to find that the office was this little run-down warehouse tucked away off the street. You almost needed another lost and found office to find this one.

trying to take a picture while riding my bike.

I parked my bicycle outside and walked in. Behind the service desk were shelves and shelves full of lost goods sent over from the airport. There were short bins on the counter filled with car keys all tagged with dates and flight numbers. It was overwhelming and I figured that there was no way that I'd see my iPod again.

Outside the "lost goods" office.

The man at the counter, Michael, asked me what date I had lost the iPod. I had written down the date, the flight number, the city from which I flew, I had my passport, driver's license, and had written down the first few artists' names that would appear on the iPod in case someone turned it on and needed me to prove it was mine.

Michael and my runaway iPod.

Michael turned and opened up a metal storage cabinet and began hunting through a plastic bin. After about 5 minutes he turned back around and held up a plastic bag that looked like those evidence bags you see on court TV shows like Matlock. He asked, "Is this your iPod?" I couldn't believe it. There in that little zip-lock was a white iPod with black head phones wrapped around it.

Enjoying my iPod waiting for the train.

I told him it looked like mine and if he turned it on would find the Abyssinian Baptist Choir and AC/DC at the top of the list. We turned it on and sure enough there was High Voltage. I thank him profusely and after signing a release I practically skipped out the door like a little kid. When I got back out to the street I noticed a rail station about a block away so instead of riding my bike back another 5 miles I hopped onto the train and enjoyed my iPod all the way home.

Back Home

Well, I'm back in the good ol' US of A. I came from enjoying Denmark's 75 degree, blue-skyed days to North Carolina's hot, humid summer. At least everything here is green and the lightnin' bugs are out. Being from California, those little insects will forever fascinate me. For most Californian's the only time they'll see lightnin' bugs is during the beginning of the Pirates of Carribean ride at Disneyland.

The evening I got home, my wife had fixed chicken and dumplings for dinner with peach cobbler and vanilla ice cream for dessert. She's a good woman.

It's good to be back at work here (RFYL) and I'm excited about running the King Tiger 5k this Saturday. I did my best to stay in shape while I was gone, but I didn't account for the heat and the humidity here so my times for the next couple of weeks will be a little slower than when I left, I think.

I'm in the process of posting all the photos from the trip on my website--www.benhernandezmusic.com. So if you go to the "photos" section you can check out all the places I visited and a few of the people I met along the way. Hopefully, I'll be including a few little stories about of couple of them in coming days.

Thanks for reading The Californian.

Ben

Scandinavian Tour 2009: Sleep...I need sleep.

Sorry I haven't written in several days. It's been busy. I just got back this morning from playing a festival in Eutin, Germany yesterday. Had a gig tonight in Copenhagen, get up early to leave for a festival in Sweden in the morning. I'll try to write more when I have a free moment and my computer handy. Take care everyone.

Scandinavian Tour: 2009 Day 11

A few days have passed since my last post. It's been busy here and it's about to get busier. I'm back in Copenhagen now. This is probably my fourth trip to CPH. It's nice because I can find my way around the city pretty easily. I have a couple of favorite coffee shops, bakeries, cafes and this trip I've plotted out several running routes throughout the city. Yesterday I found a running shop similar to the one I work at in Charlotte and also talked to a runner at a running club here in Copenhagen.

Tonight, Nathan and I will be playing at Denmark's premier blues club called Mojo. It should be a good night because tomorrow is some kind of Danish holiday so people will be out and going crazy, from what I hear.

James Harman flew in from Belgium last night to join us here for some gigs in CPH and a couple of festivals in Germany and Sweden. Should be a good time. Always is when he's around.

Getting close to dinner time. I'll write more later.

Running in Norway

Haugesund Bridge Run on Constitution Day



Me running near Arnt Ove's house. This was my warm up everyday.

As my tour of Scandinavia approached I worried that I wouldn't have the time to fit running into my music schedule. I packed my running shoes anyway, sacrificing a few more clean shirts and another pair of dress shoes to do it. I'm glad I did.

The first week overseas has been spent in Norway. Fortunately we've been staying at one house that belongs to our host/manager Arnt Ove (Andy) so it's been easy to just put my running gear on and head out the door. Our shows don't start until 9pm usually so there's still enough time to squeeze a run in and take a short nap before the gig.

The weather has been perfect for running and so has the geography. There are paved bicycle/walking paths that will lead to almost anywhere you want to go. The day we arrived I set a goal for myself--to run from Arnt Ove's house, up and over this huge bridge and back again. The first few days were shorter runs and some speed and hill work and I had to take a day off because we were playing in another town so I didn't have time to run there.

I tried to run the "course" yesterday, but after Arnt Ove showed us the sights and cooked dinner when we got back, I really wasn't in the mood. But today, I had to put up or shut up. I had been talking about running that dang bridge all week, so when Nathan mentioned it today I knew I had to.

After attending this morning's Constitution Day parade in downtown Haugesund we came home and ate breakfast. I answered some emails and uploaded photos, allowing my food to digest then I put the gear on. I had been trying to think of a way that I could prove to Arnt Ove and Nathan that I actually made it across and that's when Arnt Ove suggested I bring a napkin back from the McDonald's which is just about 100 yards on the other side of the bridge. Perfect! Except that today being a national holiday, McDonald's was actually closed along with all the other stores around it. The 7-11 nearby was the only store open, but when I started to think about the route I thought it would be a waste to only bring back a napkin from 7-11. So I decided that I would take my camera. This was probably the only time I would ever bring a camera running. I put it in the little pouch and slung it around my shoulder and hit the road. I was glad I took my camera:

On the way to the bridge


This is the point where I had to decide if I still wanted to run it.


On the way up. The head wind was INSANE! I'm a little afraid of heights and the wind gusts felt like they were going to blow me over the railing.

View from the highest point on the bridge.


McDonald's! Just about 100 yards on the other side of the bridge. Proof that I made it over.


View from the other side. Heading back over.


The view of the community coming back over the bridge.


Heading back to Arnt Ove's house.


Coming back into town.


This hill killed me. I know it doesn't look like much in the picture, but my quads sure felt it. This was within the last two miles of the run.

The route turned out to be about 10 miles round trip and took my about an hour and twenty minutes to complete. When I got back to the house Arnt Ove said, "You look so relaxed. I can't believe you ran over the bridge. You are INSANE."