Labor Day Weekend/Wedding Anniversary

Athena and I figured that there would be no way for us to see Tool this tour unless they happened to be playing at an amphitheater so we could take the kids and close enough for us to go and see them. And of all the luck the closest place Tool was playing happened to be an amphitheater outside of Yuba! And even luckier the date of the show just happened to be September 2nd...our Anniversary!! ;)
So I surprised Athena with the show and when we were looking for a place to stay and some folf courses to play we happened to run across Toney's Mountain Folf outside of Grass Valley. I noticed it was a pay to play course and that peaked my interest and then Athena noticed that there was camping as well so we looked at their website to get more info. It turned out to be another break of luck. Instead of paying a ridiculous amount of money to stay in a decent room we got to camp in a TeePee at a campground with fire pit and picnic table, an 18-hole folf course, and a big outdoor pool for $30 a night.
The couple that owns the place were very nice and easy going so we were able to relax and do our thing when we wanted or join them and their friends/family for some hanging out and folfing as well.


Since we had to go to the damn dentist and drive 6 hours to get to camp we didn't get in until after dark (very nice to stay in a TeePee instead of having to set up a tent at night!). Several of the people up there our first night could play instruments so they jammed us some tunes to smoke and hang out to. (I was passed a piece almost before I could sit down, LOL). This is the first morning and Athena is making us a delicious breakfast.


Since it was pretty hot, I kept dunking our shirts/hats/etc. in the pool to keep cool until they dried then I did it all over again.


Avi, taking a rest in her bassinet in the teepee.


That's the Pro Shop, a hang out area, and the jamming area up next to the pool.


Athena and Matrim while we wait on our breakfast.


The owners had some friendly dogs that would come and spend some time with us in our camp. Here's Mat chillin with one of them.


The course was pretty challenging. Most of the holes were quite long and technical to shoot. Also the terrain was pretty rough. We could only take the stroller on 3/4 of the course. I started off this hole with a narrow miss for par on an easy shot! :(


Also, many of the holes weren't this flat. On some of them you couldn't see the hole until your second shot. It's recommended to take a guide with you the first time. I played with the owner and one of his good friends. Here's a long, straight alley to shoot.


Down in the bowl holes Athena had to take the kids and meet me several holes up since there was NO way to get a stroller in there or even a kid backpack without great difficulty. Here's Matrim being hardcore out in the difficult terrain. Hole 4 is the infamous "Bowl Hole" which isn't the longest hole I've played but is easily the steepest drop I've ever shot (and somehow neither of us got a picture of it!). I was getting a little vertigo at the end of the pad and was forced to throw a little back of the edge. I didn't throw it sharp enough downhill and so my shot floated high and left of my target. Somehow the tree didn't eat my disc and kicked it out close to the path down. With a ways still to go I unfortunately missed on a great, swooping shot that would have birdied for me by less than a foot!


Here I am shooting a brutal uphill shot on hole 6 which they call "The Wall".


I'm probably about 40 feet up the side of a steep slope for my second shot here.


Trying for par I bounced of the basket and luckily didn't roll all the way back down the hill.


You drive over the top of the pool on this hole. That is our teepee across the water. The owner of the course kept score for us and I ended up finishing 18 with a score of 12. Not too bad for the difficulty level, first time playing, and the heat in the 90's. The owner, Mike, scored a 9 (his best is a 2) and his friend Ern got a 7. I finally did get one birdie on a hard, short hole (I think it was hole 11). :)

We went to the Tool show this night (our Anniversary)! As usual we intentionally missed the opening band since they weren't someone we really wanted to see and we almost got there late for Tool since the only restaurant we could find was a Denny's and they took 5o minutes just to get us our food.
The Sleep Train Amphitheater has the best sound I've ever heard at a show. The sound was better than CD quality! You could here everything clearer and sharper and it was damn loud (we even left our seats and moved back to the lawn GA)! Avi spent most of her time with one of us holding her to us and covering her other ear but Matrim was rocking out. He was having a great time between moshing by himself and riding on my shoulders. Also the weather was perfect (warm, clear, and not windy).
The setlist was the same as every other show this tour (one of the things I wish they'd do different) but a good one with every song a fine choice and well performed. Maynard was wearing some Levi's, a belt and giant hick buckle, and a cowboy hat to top it off. Several times he pretended to be riding a bull while doing his usual routine of motion and sound.
Danny Carey was phenomenal as always! Justin rocked out more than usual and Adam did his usual technical performance without much motion.
I couldn't pick a favorite since they didn't play the song I most wanted to hear this tour, Right in Two, and all the ones they did play were good. I knew they'd play Vicarious and Jambi and I was very pleased with both, but I just really like Right in Two of the choices from the new album. I've heard every other song they played at at least 1 or more shows so I was excited for the new stuff a little more than the classics even. And of course it would have been a musical treat to hear Wings/10,000 Days but I didn't figure that would happen. Oh and they rocked down on Rosetta. You could hear Maynard far better than on the cd with the quality of the sound at Sleep Train.
Check the reviews at their sites (I use Toolshed.Down.Net) if you want more details or the setlist. :P
By the time we got back from the show (they jammed for about 3 hours) we were beat from the folfing and concert. Unfortunately we missed the night round of folf everyone at the camp was playing with glow sticks to attach to their discs, but it was still a great night.



Relaxing around the little shade from our teepee, recovering from the fun of the day before.


I decided to let Athena do the swimming and be the photographer. Here's the first one of them first getting in the water.


Mat's on a lifesaver with Athena towing him around and teaching him about floating and kicking his feet to move.


Avi and I hung out in the shady wind tunnel, under the water fall.


Athena and Mat cruising across the middle of the pool.


One of them playing under the waterfall.


Mat's got his water confidence up and so we let him play around the edge since it's a gentle slope.


This is one of my favorite pictures of Matrim (especially at a bigger size and full detail)! This was his first attempt to go into the deeper water where he couldn't quite reach all by himself. He did a great job!


Our last night in camp. It was hot enough at night and we were busy enough that we didn't light a camp fire until this night. Mat and Athena gathered us a little more wood than we already had in camp and I got a us a nice fire going and a beer. Here I am with my fire stick and beer between the fire and the teepee.


One of Mat, in his camp chair, by the fire.


We ended up having an adventure when we tried to enter the 299 (the only highway through the mountains, to our house for MILES!) and found that a fire was raging and the road was closed for at least a couple days. I got a map at the gas station and luckily found out that we could still reach some back roads and make it through to home without having to take a 2 hour detour back down a road we had just driven.
This is a pretty, little lake at Whiskey Town right outside of Redding. We stopped here to have a picnic dinner to fill us up until we made it home.
So we added a couple hours to our drive having to take a little longer route on much windier roads, but we made it safely and in time to get Athena to bed for work on Tuesday.