Day 2 – Social event of the Season? Or Darjeeling Not Limited But For Lack of Booze.

The morning was sunny and brisk when we woke and stretched in the Chop House (home of the Judy Chops). In need of coffee and breakfast, we prowled the town a bit. Stopping in a Sun Spots to see Molly was a treat, as we were invited to watch some glass blowing and got the lowdown on where to get a strong cup of coffee (Blue Mountain Coffee). Next we perched ourselves on a sun-speckled bench by an ancient railroad bridge and munched on Wal-Mart scones with our Blue Mountain black brew.

We wore the afternoon on with Rev. Bill and Jess the drummer, dining on sandwiches and quaffing several mid-afternoon highballs until it was time to pack up and head to the new Darjeeling Café space. We had played at the last night of business at the old spot, and we felt a sense of completion performing at this evening’s event. Mary Beth and Jack, owners of Darjeeling have had plenty of trouble getting this space together, and they’ve essentially renovated the whole thing. This night was a bit of a cold open, a private event for family and loyal customers to become acquainted with the new space.

We traded sets with the Judy Chops to a relaxed and polite crowd. It was a pretty sedate evening, decorated with mint tea samples and tofu hors d’oeuvres. The Galt Line and The Judy Chops are a little more used to a rowdy drinking crowd, but for this night we all slid into lounge mode and played it cool. We played through the event and packed out. After congratulating Mary Beth and wishing everyone a good night, we went on back to the Chop House for some drinks. Some whiskey, Jager, and PBR later we found ourselves at the Pompeii Lounge, dancing to Mike Davis, putting his touch on some great covers.

All the excitement and fun put Blythe right to sleep, so we had to be lame and hike the hill to the Chop House a little early. We capped off the night with some PBR and season 5 of Futurama (New on Netflix!).

Tomorrow… goodbye to The Judy Chops and Staunton, hello to the Blue Ridge Parkway and Johnson City TN! Plus, dangerous curves ahead.