Cornerstone Festival 2002

3 July 2002 - 7:45pm

I lie here in my hammock thinking about the day so far. My first day of my first time at Cornerstone! In the distance, I can hear a band playing on the Main Stage. Not sure who it is... Peaceful here - far from the chaotic dusty mass of people on the other side of the lake. The fireflies have joined me - although it is still early for them to glow. Occasionally a few people walk down the gravel road to the lake for a swim or something.

The day started early - as all weekdays do for me. I got up at 2am to finish organising things in preparation for the trip. And to take a shower. At 2:30, I logged onto the internet to chat with Jade for 30minutes. Finally it was 3am and I had to go. I put on my backpack and grabbed my handbag - my tarp and other bag had already been picked up by Ted yesterday.

The forecast for the early morning had called for rain but it looked like it had already come and gone. The pavement was damp and there were water droplets on my bike which I had left outside. I was glad it was dry for my ride. The bag in my hand was only mildly disruptive to my riding and the commute was uneventful. I saw an animal of some sort on Short St. which is in an undeveloped part of town along the river. Couldnt tell what it was but guessed by the size that it was probably a raccoon.

Our volume at UPS was 705% which was the highest we had experienced so far that week. Kinda sucked. But I think I did a good job on my loads. Especially considering it was my first week on them. Just another day at the office.

About 7:50, Jesse, one of the supervisors, came up to me and announced that Ted was here and asking how long I would be. I gave him my keys so he could load my bike into the truck  A few minutes later, my loads were wrapped up and I grabbed my stuff and punched out.

We got on the road after a quick stop. I cant express adequately how much I love the feel of adventure and new experiences about to happen that go along with travel. How I miss the open road...

After an hour or so our A/C died. So it was a stifling remainder of the trip! It prompted a few jokes and a certain amount of frustration. But that is all part of the journey. As I told Ted, "If you dont experience a little pain every now and then, how do you know you are still alive?"  I dont think he really appreciated the sentiment!

The whole day has been hot and humid. Even now, I am so sweaty as I write this! Down here under the trees there is no breeze.

Besides the heat, the drive went smoothly. I guess that we got the best mpg that Ted had ever done - due partly at least from not having the A/C running. I dozed a couple of times but otherwise we listened to cds and talked and watched the landscape go by. Ted is pleased by how similar our musical interests are. I think, rather, that I simply enjoy a broad enough stylistic range that it overlaps his. But my tastes lean towards a lot more avant garde and edgy stuff than his.

There was one point in the trip that we encountered a road maintenance project that had the lanes down to one. So traffic was down to a crawl at best. It lasted for a few miles but I suppose it wasnt as bad as it could have been. I commented that the situation illustrated the difference between America and a 3rd world country. In a 3rd world country, there would be people along the side of the road selling stuff like food or lemonade or whatever. But not here. I wonder how many people prefer it this way...

At some time between 4 & 5 we arrived. Our campsite happened to be all the way at the far side of the grounds so we drove through and I got to see a lot from the truck. Our area was primarily used by staff members of JPUSA with a number of various mobile homes used as living quarters several weeks out of the year. It was a quiet part of the property and somewhat isolated from the noise of the main festival sections. We stayed in the front yard of some of the members of The Crossing. I hung my hammock and tarp between 2 trees while Ted situated his truck and created a tarp awning for his camp area.

After rudimentary setup had been finished, Ted took me on a quick tour of the area. Or more accurately, he showed me how to get to the Cornerstone Magazine Stage. This is where Skillet is playing at 10:15 and is largely the whole point of my being here! So now I am taking a break and lazing in my hammock waiting for the show to start...