Travelogue: Lightning in a Bottle, Part 6

What: An Art and Music Festival with a New Age Twist

Where: Bradley, CA

When: Friday, May 22nd to Monday, May 25th

With Whom: my friend Ashley and her boyfriend Matt

Part 6: Food and Drink

                   

Aside from the various muffins (which I consider a good breakfast food), most of what we have brought are snacks: pita chips and hummus, popcorn, crackers and vegan "cheese," and a bit of fruit. Ashley and Matt might enjoy grazing, but I prefer more substantial meals.

Fortunately, food trucks peddled their comestibles over each of the festival hills. The trucks serve every dietary need, from vegan to raw to gluten free and, most definitely organic. But they have carnivore-friendly dishes as well. I eat fried rice with marinated chicken ($15) on Friday night, then I sample a vegan burger and mint lemonade ($12 total) on Saturday, and on Sunday I try pizza with tomatoes, mushrooms, and pineapple ($12).

The prices are not unreasonable, but they do add up, so I learned to buy one meal for the afternoon and then supplement it with snacks.

I also drink water. Water pumps abound, and I carried my water bottle on a dog leash and fill up when I get low. That works for the mornings, but by the afternoon, I crave something ice cold and calorie-laden. I find myself returning to the tent, propping up the cooler, and reaching for one of the many drinks Ashley brought: Yerba matte tea, coconut water, and ginger ale.

But I can't drink too much of the last one. We're saving the soda for mixers.

Now I hardly drink and neither does Ashley, but she has gone out and bought these cute little sample bottles of liquor: horchata rum, fireball whiskey, honey whiskey, southern comfort, pear-flavored vodka, raspberry vodka, and something called Hpnotiq, an unnaturally blue drink that mixes exotic fruits, vodka, and cognac.

So, as the sun begins to cool, Ashley takes on the persona of Meow Mix, our own personal bartender, who pours in a splash of this with a splash of that and makes magic. My favorites combos are the horchata rum and root beer, which foams and tastes like melted ice cream, and the Hpnotiq and ginger ale, which works against all reason.

We go wild and drink with abandon. Which, for us, means, we down the equivalent of maybe one and a half shots of alcohol, heavily diluted. We become giggly and just on the verge of pleasantly dizzy. With Happy Hour over, we are ready to take on the night.

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To Be Continued...