After 30 Years I Have Stepped Foot On The West Coast For The First Time And I Can't Stop Smiling
Friends, this is a big moment for me that I’d like to share. I turn 31 years old in October. That’s right 31. That is old as dirt. 31 might as well be 85 as far as I’m concerned. I’ve done a lot of cool things in life, things I’m so lucky and fortunate (and for the religious crowd, blessed) to be able to do with my lack of pretty much any discernible skillset. I’ve accomplished my dream of playing in the WSOP Main Event (3 times!). I’ve covered the Caps winning the Stanley Cup, including going to 4 of the 5 games. And most crazy to me, I’ve played on a song with one of my favorite bands of all time, OAR, both in the studio and on stage. I humbly understand how lucky I am (and just think, if I actually had talent how many cool things I could do, so I’ll take whatever I can get).
But there’s still 1 thing I hadn’t done on the personal side of life- travel. In college I did Alternate Spring Break which took me to New Orleans and South Dakota. I also studied abroad in London which took me to Paris and Malta. But since then, and we’re talking 10 years, I’ve basically been to Vegas a zillion times and nowhere else. And sometimes I worry that I’ll just never see anywhere. I wrote about that feeling in this blog
I wrote about how we spend so much time working to try and get a paycheck to pay for our shitty apartments that we lose sight of what actually matters, and forget about the marvels of the world we live in.
Meanwhile, the fucking Northern Lights exist in this world. This same exact world where we hustle and bustle and work and grind and deal with all the stress of just living life, something as incredible as the Northern Lights are just a plane ride away.
I wrote that blog last March and despite that, I’ve still only gone to…Vegas. Nate, you idiot piece of shit! Go somewhere new you moron!
Well, now I am. This weekend I am doing a 3 stop West Coast swing with my boys in OAR. I told them when I fell asleep on their tour bus a couple months ago that I’d never been to the West Coast, so being the way-too-nice-for-this-world guys they are, they invited me to come. Like..what?
So I booked a flight to Oregon. I took my first steps on West Coast ground during my layover in San Fran (Still counts!!!!) on my way to Medford, Oregon.
I was just staring out the window, like, wow, look at this world. I live in NYC while all this beauty- rivers, mountains, desert, green tress, and locally crafted IPAs exist. And it reminds me I need to see more. Life is just too short.
So tonight we are in Oregon, then bus down to Saratoga, CA, and then Sunday in Costa Mesa/Newport Beach. I’m finally going to get to touch the Pacific Ocean, which I’m fired way up for. Feeling like Lewis and Clarke just with much better technology and a lot less balls.
I’m currently in the Medford airport which is about the size of 1 gate at JFK airport drinking the world’s worst cup of coffee typing this blog, waiting for my bandmates. If you’re going to any of the shows let me know. And follow along my IG story as I document behind the scenes of my West Coast adventures.
https://www.instagram.com/barstoolnate/
Bless.