Alex has only one annoying trait.

She likes to play one song repeatedly if it pleases her. There are a few songs that I like on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th play, but start to get a little weary of it on the 6th. I know now that if we ever play any Bon Iver, Pete Murray or The Xx then the MP3 player will go retro and sound like a broken record.

It was with some anticipation of this behaviour that we lobbed into the Great American Music Hall in the city to see The Xx live. I hadn’t listened to The Xx play one song to the next, and it was a treat to hear the variation. They didn’t repeat a single track. Though with such a short set, they would have had time to. How do you make that happen in a concert?

We got the Pregger’s Pass seating on the balcony and in the back corner. I don’t think they would have heard us from there if we had shouted that Alex wanted them to repeat.

The Great American Music Hall has a name that belongs in Nashville, and a decor that would not be out of place in Victorian London. It holds close to a thousand punters which is about right for the balance between intimacy and atmosphere in my opinion.

The Xx put on a mellow, moody show with plenty of deep deep bass, and lighting to enhance the mood. The sound was great and I was so happy to hear that song, that I’ve heard over, and over, and over …

Brendan and I decided a few weeks back that we were going to take off the day before my birthday to watch Stage 3 of The Tour of California come through Palo Alto. I was hoping to catch a glimpse of Lance Armstrong and test my skills at being a sports photographer (insert LOL here). I woke up feeling a bit nervous as I haven’t been on a bike much since last June when I shattered my back taking a spill on a borrowed cruiser bike. When Brendan and I set out on that fateful day we actually tried to rent a tandem bike for our ride down to the lake front – but the shop was closed so we decided against it. To this day we joke that we should have just waited until the shop opened and just maybe I would have kept myself from that terrible fall that day. I still get these random flashbacks that leave me a bit unnerved. So… I heard Brendan tinkering in the yard and looked to see what he was doing and he so thoughtfully was putting together a tandem bike! Off we went…

Glorious tandem! (Notice the baguette peaking out of the backpack)

We rode up about 10 miles, climbing most of the way. It felt good to be on a bike again, even though my big belly was getting in the way. A couple weeks back we scoped out a spot to stop for our picnic – it had a great view from above and on an a steep enough incline where I could get a few pictures in before the bikers had time to pass us. We unloaded our tasty goods and chatted up a couple other spectators.

Baguette, cheese, olives, salami, wine!

Hill of Content Australian wine – I couldn’t resist a sip!

All the while I kept wondering why Brendan had this funny grin on his face, one I had never seen before. Out of nowhere he reached down to grab something out of his pack and turned around and said, “Will you be my wife?” I had to ask him to repeat himself and I was a bit shocked. After a minute of reality setting in, I, of course said “Yes!”. We have talked for a long time about getting married, but for some reason it took until that moment to really sink in. “Wow, Holy Smokes! This is so cool. I will be Mrs. Gibson!” How proud I am to be able to say that. I am a very lucky girl to have found someone as special as Brendan.

There is that smile, how could you not love this? Yes! Of Course!

We stood for about 10 minutes smiling at each other wider than either of us had before. I am sure the people around us were wondering what was up. Then we heard the motorbikes coming up the hill and we knew the lead riders were on their way. It had started to rain a bit at this point so I got my camera ready for action.

Lead group

Peloton – All the red jersey’s in front are Team Discovery

Lance! And he is suffering or at least it looks like he is. He is the guy in front with the red jersey and yellow glasses. Click the images to view larger versions.

Close up of Lance and his team

Team Garmin

Support Cars

As quickly as they came through, they were gone again. It was thrilling to be so close to some of the world’s most amazing athletes. Brendan and I packed up our gear and waited for a break in the very long line of spectators descending the hill and we were off again. This time with my fiance and beaming at the diamond on my left hand as it caught glimpses of the sun all the way home.