Well, we have returned safely from Egypt, despite my brother's insistance that pregnant white women are in fact the target of terrorists in that country. I am happy to announce that we sensed no ill feelings toward us for any reason. Quite the contrary, I was the talk of every town, temple, and tomb that we visited because of my pregnant state. Apparently it's an honor in Egypt to be pregnant and, as a result, I was congratulated by just about every Egyptian passer-byer and Scott was offered camels as well as 2 wives and 3 children in exchange for me (however, these offers are only valid prior to the birth of the child, after which I apparently become worthless). In addition, every Egyptian person that we met appeared confident that I am carrying twins, which after a week of consistent statements began to cause a bit of anxiety in Scott.

Our trip was absolutely FABULOUS! Aside from my trip to Uganda, which simply cannot ever be beaten (though it was more of a life experience than just a vacation), this was by far the best trip I have ever taken. And for those of you who know me and know how much I love to travel, you realize that is saying a lot. We would not have traded this experience for anything and had a packed week of excursions and adventures in this amazingly historic and fascinating country.

Our entire experience was planned out and led by Longwood Travel, which made the trip virtually flawless (with one small error in regard to our transition between Aswan and Cairo, which will be explained in detail later.) We had six extremely full days of touring the country and, as a result, will be posting a series of posts over the next few days covering 1-2 days at a time. We hope to post pictures today or tomorrow after sorting through them, though adding captions might take an additional few days due to the fact that we took well over 300 photos during our vacation. Though we will include a few highlights from the photos with the posts on this site, our complete collection will be added to our family website.

Though we recognize that many people have never considered the possibility of a trip to Egypt, we recommend it to anybody and everybody. For those of you who enjoy backpacking or doing things at your own pace and upon your own exploration as we typically do, I must say that this is a place that you must do with tour guides in order to really know what exactly you're seeing, what things mean, the history behind everything, and how to not get completely ripped off by everybody. We met people of all ages, shapes, sizes, and nationalities while there (the main people we toured with were about 60 and we tried to meet up with a couple in their mid-70's from Campus CofC in Atlanta while we were in Cairo). Therefore, anybody can make this trip...it's never too late. It appears that Americans only seem to tour Cairo and Giza, however, and I completely recommend a cruise down the Nile or at least visits to other cities as there is so much history everywhere in the country. If you are only able to take one international trip in your life, however, we recommend that it be to Egypt to experience this intriguing country.

Stay tuned for the beginning of our series of posts about the actual events and sites of the journey. This week we also will be adding tidbits about our move this weekend as well as our next sonogram and the status of my placenta movement (which I know has you all sitting on the edge of your seat in anticipation). We also intend to have them double check the number of children in my womb to ensure that the hundreds of Egyptian prophecies are not true.

Last night's stop of the Dave Matthews 2006 Acoustic Tour was fantastic. This was one for true Dave fans. I have always heard how his solo (or with Tim) shows are much more intimate than full DMB concerts, while not losing any of the enjoyment of your favorite tunes. In fact, some songs cannot be properly appreciated in anamphitheater with all the guys. It was great to look upon stage and just see a rug, the equipment, a stool, and Dave himself (switching out between a selection of guitars).

All the talk about how Dave talks more during a solo show is true. He is very entertaining, funny, and completely random. We had stories ranging from how his stool was a piece of art (it had a hole in the center of the seat); being thrown off a horse by another horse, and a rat backstage he named Hank. He also likes to talk in several voices and accents throughout the show as well. Cheryl is convinced he was either drunk/high or has been so much in the last 15 years he is just that way permanently. I think he is just a strange, entertaining fellow.

The evening began with one of my favorite songs, 'Bartender'. This is one of the songs you must hear acoustic. The lyrics complement the acoustic arrangement much better than the full sound of the band. I first heard Dave perform this song with Emmy Lou Harris, taken from Austin City Limits a few years back. It remains one performance I could listen to over and over again.

Next up were a couple of acoustic standards, 'Crush' and 'Dancing Nancies'. I should point out that in between these first 3 selections, Dave spoke of visiting Abbey Road (which I still have yet to do) and running into other Americans versus meeting English people.

It was tough to identify 'American Baby' quickly without Boyd's plucky violin hook; however I really liked the solo version. Following that, Dave had one of the evening's biggest crowd pleasers, 'Crash Into Me'. One of the best parts of the night was during 'Everyday'. As soon as Dave started strumming, the fans began singing #36. Towards the end, Dave kept playing Everyday as we filled in for the "lovely ladies"”. That was great.

From Busted Stuff, 'Where Are You Going' isn't one I was dying to hear, but fitting with the feel of the night. One of the best tracks from Dave & Tim: Live At Luther College, #41 did not disappoint. Following were a few of the standout songs from Dave's solo effort, Some Devil. 'Stay Or Leave' was just as good without Tim, and I thoroughly enjoyed 'Save Me' (even without the electric riffs provided by Trey Anastasio). Similar to 'Bartender', 'Gravedigger' is perfectly suited for an acoustic performance.

We were part of 'One Sweet World', before the black electric guitar was brought out for a 2 song set. I was certain 'The Space Between' was next, but I was “usurped" (part of the rat story mentioned previously). As only the second appearance of Stand Up, 'Smooth Rider' was better than the studio version. The initial set list was wrapped up with another solo favorite, 'So Damn Lucky'.

Dave came back onstage for two encores, with 2 songs each. First was a new song. He told of the close relationship he has with his sister and how during a wave of writer's block, she told him to get his head out of his butt. 'Sister' (that's a guess) was a very sweet, personal song and I imagine Jane will like this song too. The crowd was silent during 'Sister'. There is nothing like a song no one knows to get an audience to be perfectly still. Everyone cheered at the start of 'Lie In Our Graves'. Still unsatisfied, we were able to woo Dave into two final performances.

He prefaced 'I'll Back You Up' with a warning that he may mess up since he hasn'’t played it in a while. And finally, it wouldn'’t be a Dave show without the last performance. I'’m not talking about 'Ants Marching', 'Tripping Billies', 'What Would You Say', Jimi Thing', or even 'Grey Street' (all of which I did miss, but didn't feel cheated). Dave started the song then stopped to tell us this story. During a music festival in the States he had the following conversation with Dylan (as in Bob). I am fairly confident this happened just 2 weeks ago at Jazz Fest in New Orleans.

(With voices)
Dylan: Are you playing 'Watchtower'’?
Dave: No. I wasn't going to play it since you'’re here.
Dylan: I'’m not playing it because you'’re here.

The crowd was up on their feet during one of the best performances of 'Watchtower' yet. I like the version with all the guys, but I love acoustic performances of really loud, rocking songs.

All in all, the evening was excellent. I was hoping for the songs I listed above, plus long-shot '‘Long Black Veil'’, but given the sized of his catalog, I didn’t go into the night expecting to hear all the songs I wanted. That would have taken much longer than 2 hours.

It has been 5 years since Dave performed in the UK, and he is now the second American artist I have seen live across the pond. Not that I have to convince most of you out there, but I highly recommend making it to a solo Dave show.

SET LIST:
Bartender
Crush
Dancing Nancies
American Baby
Crash Into Me
Everyday (#36)
Where Are You Going
#41
Stay Or Leave
Save Me
Gravedigger
One Sweet World
Smooth Rider (Electric)
Some Devil (Electric)
So Damn Lucky

Encore:
Sister
Lie In Our Grave
I'’ll Back You Up
All Along The Watchtower

I was going to post this news while at work, but I decided against logging onto Blogger while on company time. I will link you to Micheal's page for the good news of the day.

Will there be an exclusive iTunes + Beatles announcement soon? Perhaps that will be part of the arrangement for Apple Corps. to pay back all Apple Computer's legal fees. Just thinking out loud.

"Its a league game Smokey."

Remember hearing about the midnight Rocky Horror Picture Show viewings/sing-a-longs? What about the Office Space parties with co-workers?

Well now my friends, another cult movie (and one of my favorite cult movies) is getting its equivalent. Here in England, tonight at Megabowl there is a special event in honor of "The Dude". In its third year in Streatham Hill (only about 15 mins away), you get to enjoy a celebration of all things, Dude, Walter, and your special lady friend with umlimted bowling from 8PM to 1AM. The only catch is, you have to come in costume.

Oh, and free White Russians are provided. No seriously.

"Donny you're out of your element!"

I previously failed to mention a defining moment in our trip to Austria during which our love of the United States revealed itself. I have never categorized myself as being highly patriotic, though I definitely recognize America as a great country and would not consider renouncing my citizenship, despite desires to live overseas for periods of time. As we were riding the cable cars up to the top of Mt. Untersberg, however, I spoted a bald eagle perched on the mountain. It was beautiful and the first time I have ever seen one in the wild. It is funny how something as simple as a bird can represent so much. I was in awe and we just stared at it. Even the Canadians seemed to observe a moment of respect for this creature (the Europeans probably thought we were all strange). I may not agree with many of the American attitudes, decisions of leaders of our country, or other characteristics of the United States, but those of us who are born in America are blessed by the freedoms, privileges, and rights that we have. Do not take them for granted.