Four non-blondes

Here's Chris - a recent father who I hadn't seen in 15 years - Vaughn, myself and Steve at the new smoke-free Irish pub in Marion, Va.

I caught up with lots of old pals in Marion during the Arts and Crafts Festival - the only happening weekend in my hometown. My friends and I have an unwritten rule to come in that weekend and catch up.

As far as other 1985 classmates, Barry hung out for a night, and Jeff drove down from Blacksburg for the annual Saturday soiree at my house. Keevin, an honorary classmate event though he graduated in '86, and Rhonda came over from Sugar Grove.

We also crashed the Class of 1982's reunion.

Both my sisters came up from Florida, so all five Perdue siblings were in town - as if the weekend wasn't crazy enough.

Here's a sample of some mountain music at the festival, followed by photos:



- The five Perdue kids, Mom and my brother-in-law Mark in front of my house.



- Keevin and I in a Tech-themed room at his and Rhonda's home.




- The Flat Ridge Store. Starbucks IS NOT served here.





Six of us plan to converge on Jeff's in Blacksburg Nov. 10 for the Virginia Tech-Florida State football game. It's the hottest home ticket of the year, so getting extras will be difficult - but where there's a Perdue, there's a way.

Appalachia: The Vacation

Just got back from a five-day trip to my hometown in Virginia, where I saw family and old friends, checked out the wilderness and visited the annual Arts and Crafts Festival (pictured).

Later this week, I'll blog on the trip. I'm just too exhausted from lots of beer and wine - and three breakfasts of sausage gravy and biscuits.

In the meantime, here's a clip of a young deer grazing at dusk Sunday in Grayson County:

LB Muni

The Long Beach Municipal Band - in its 98th year, methinks - dropped into Bluff Park Tuesday for its free, weekly summer series at the city park overlooking the beach. I bicycled over to check it out:



You know, part of my tax money goes to supporting LBMB. And I love it!

O Valencia

It was a lucky night indeed.

Saturday night, I went to the Hollywood Bowl for the first time. I saw the Decemberists, backed by the L.A. Philharmonic. Band of Horses and Andrew Bird (pictured, with the Hollywood sign in the upper right) were the two opening acts.

The Bowl rocks. It has a great view, crisp acoustics - and you can bring your own food and wine. There are picnic spots throughout the facility. Plus, for only $5, we took a round-trip, non-stop bus from Lakewood Mall in Long Beach. No driving issues, no parking issues.

Here's a clip from "The Infanta," one of my favorite songs off the Decemberists' 2005 album "Picaresque":




The concert easily made my top 10 list.

My favorite show, you may ask? That's easy - Lou Reed at The Mosque in Richmond, Va., in 1989. He was touring for his new album, "New York," which he played in its entirety during the first set. The second set, he played his classics - starting off with "The Original Wrapper" - and took off from there.

What took 'em so long?

If you're a guy and you go to the beach a lot - like me - the problem often comes up.

Who's gonna put lotion on your back?

When you don't have a girlfriend, the alternatives are:

1. Get a female friend to do it (if one's around)

2. Get a guy friend to do it (no freakin' way)

3. Go John Wayne and wear no SPF

Finally this season, there are aerosol suntan lotions.

I tried out some Coppertone (pictured, $11) Saturday during a enjoyable solo day on the beach that involved blues radio, Amstel Lights and a good book on Nazi hunters. The spray worked like a champ.

What took them so long to put this on the shelves?