Last night, Adam and I ventured down to Oakland because the day before he had surprised me with two tickets to see Amos Lee at the Fox Theater. I questioned why we hadn’t gotten tickets earlier and gone to the show a mile away from my house instead of driving sixty miles to Oakland, but Adam just smiled and said “the acoustics were so much better at the Fox”. Okay.
I made us dinner reservations here and thought to myself how perfect it would be since the restaurant was half a mile from the theater and featured barbecued salmon and cheesy grits. Then I proceeded to try on all the shoes in my closet when I should have been charging my iphone.
Our dinner reservations were at 7:30, so we left around six and made perfect time. That was, until, we saw that the entire interstate was closed at our exit.
“Can’t we, like, just drive around?” I asked, starting to worry that the restaurant may be out of cheesy grits by the time we got there.
“This is so odd,” Adam said as we drove up to a rent-a-cop in a golf cart that was guarding the interstate exit. After completely getting lost in the back roads of Marin County, we drove up to NBC, CNN and CBS news trucks on the road. Being the savvy navigator that I am, I decided to google local bay area news only to discover that there was an armed gunman in a hotel a block from us that had been shooting a rifle at the interstate. Thus, the interstate closed.
Perfect.
Long story made short, we ate some beans at Sol Food and braved another couple hours of traffic to make it to the theater just as Amos was climbing up on stage. It was an amazing show (perfect acoustics) and we made it back (safely) way past my bedtime after another odd re-route throughout Northern California.
I never got my cheesy grits.
There are no photos to document such events as (typically) both of our iphones died right after the incident.
I’m never leaving the house again.
The End.
{ 60 comments… read them below or add one }
No cheesy grits = no bueno
But at least you didn’t end up meeting the gunman?
It’s scary, isn’t it?
I live down the road in Mill Valley and got caught in the traffic coming home from Napa yesterday. Stuff like that doesn’t happen here. But I’m sure that’s what everyone says.
Glad you made the show. Sorry about the cheesy grits.
Holy cow!! Scary!! I hope nobody was injured!
Now I’m thinking about deranged gunman and have a longing for cheesy grits.
Funny.
oh man, what a crazy night…
As soon as I read you were going to Oakland, my first thought was, ‘well they’re not going to make it over the bridge’. The news was all about the traffic up there.
Sorry you didn’t get your cheesy grits. But at least you managed to make it to the show. What exactly is a cheesy grit anyway?
Oh…..so sorry girl! That just plain stinks! xoxo from Trinidad
I so thought this story was going to end in a proposal.
Did not predict the gunman, haha!!
that is what i thought when i first saw the post title!
That is scary stuff!
But I heart this post so much. Yous be a good story teller.
Brutal. Traffic sucks. And gunmen of course suck. But at least Adam had good intentions, so that definitely counts big time.
Totally agree with Casey above!
wow, what a let down. i know how much some cheesy grits can make your day. i am sorry you didn’t get the gouda grits, but glad you all are safe!
I’m so glad that you are fine at least.
I live in SF and this is why I never leave the city!
Yowza scary! Sad no cheesy grits… You’ll just have to make some for yourself!
Totally worth it for AMOS LEE!!! Love him!!!
Um, yikes… But sweet Moka pot!
you know…..this really seems like something that would happen to you.
Made for an interesting blog post, even if you did have to sacrifice your cheesy grits for it. Glad you got to enjoy your show!
Oh. my. god.
I was on my way home to the East Bay from Santa Rosa yesterday, and 101 to 580 got redirected to 37. SO BAD, Jenna, SO BAD. A 1 hour drive home took 3 hours. It was horrible.
Anyways, glad things have opened back up again. Crazy stuff, though, that’s for sure.
Bummer ! Pican is an amazing restaurant. We live in Oakland, and their catfish and grits are incredible.
Nothing like a calm day on the California highways, eh? I have had similar experiences. In both San Diego and Chicago <–a city with the worst traffic ever! Worse than LA in my experience.
Glad you made it there, just in time. Whew!
And iphones dying? Just means you were destined to enjoy the show while you were there and not worry about "capturing it" for later.
I am never leaving my house either!
Cute story
Sorry the ending has so “happily ever after”, but that just means there’s a sequel coming!!!
Sorry, I just wanted to clarify…I was not meaning “cute” about the rifle shooter…just cute about they way you wrote the story.
Sorry ladies.
That came accross all wrong
silver lining…you didn’t get shot??
glad you enjoyed the show at least!
Yikes. The world is a scary place
But at least you got to see a show
– and now Adam simply needs to take you out again for those grits 
Crazy! Glad the show was fun, but sorry about the cheesy grits!
Another trickery!! Show me the ring!!
That was so scary! I live in the Bay Area and heard about that on the news this morning. Glad to hear you’re ok and got home safely!
I work in San Rafael and traffic was terrible! Sorry about the restaurant…good thing Sol Food is an EXCELLENT substitute! Have you tried the Bistec sandwich yet?
You were going to Oakland after dark and worried about one PD contained lone nut. Naive little sweetie. When I lived in SF (best part) this kind of stuff & worse went on all the time. It ain’t all Farmer’s Markets & consignment goodies.
Oh Jesus. Not getting shot by a crazy man > cheesy grits.
Good story. I guess you’ll have to make some cheesy grits at the ELR home
I love love love love love Amos Lee! He’s my favorite singer. Did I mention that I love him?
I’ve seen him in concert 3 times so far.
stuff like that happens to me alot
at least you saw the show 
oh my goodness that’s crazy! glad you made it to the concert! my husband and i LOVE amos lee!
My goodness! What a night! However, it just makes the date even MORE memorable! Years from now you will get to tell your kids about the adventure in Oakland and how you had a “wild and crazy” past!
OOo! Amos Lee. So great. The gunman would totally freak me out! But I’m glad you made it to the show!
Oh dear, at least you got to see Amos! I love how soulful he is, Amos Lee pandora is what saved me during my internship!
Oh Jenna, I am so sorry that some crazy man pooped on your party and you didn’t get to go to Pican. You must go back some time, my dining experience was one of the best in my life. Our server was stellar and the pecan pie with buttermilk ice cream is smashing. And if you want to double date my handsome man and I would be happy to join you and Adam. I figure the more people I dine with the more of the menu I get to taste!
That’s scary! But sooo worth it to see Amos, right?
I love him!
Holy crap!
I guess you dodged a bullet. Literally. Very scary. There are some truly ill people out there. Glad that you made it home safe.
Wow. Your gunmen-traffic jam is getting major press. I came home, read the paper, and found a big fat Associated Press article all about it. Eureka Times Standard. Small world.
Ohh gosh, my girls and I went to the city yesterday for dinner and hit that same traffic. 580, right? Luckily we were taking the 101 and got out of the traffic right after the 580 offramp just past San Rafael, but still… those couple of minutes were torturous. At least you guys made it to the show, though! Too bad about the grits
By the way, how is Sol Food? I pass it every time I go to church and I’ve heard it’s amazing, but I’ve never taken the initiative and actually gone there. Definitely on my restaurant bucket list though!
I’ve had the cheesy grits at Pican and hope you get to try them soon! There are so many amazing restaurants in Oakland- I just moved here from the city and have been impressed time and again by the amazingly delicious food here. Hope you make it back soon!
Was totally NOT expecting the story to feature a gunman! Sorry about the lack of grits though, that would have made me sad too!
But at least you got to see Amos! You lucky, lucky thing
Amos Lee just did a free concert a couple weeks ago in Maine where I had my summer internship, and it KILLED me that I was out of town that weekend! Seriously, I’ll be kicking myself for that one for life!
Jealous of your concert attending, not jealous of your run-in with an armed gunman!
how scary!! but it is a story you both will carry with you forever! ha. I’m glad you both got home safely and still had a great time.
Too funny!!! Those are the kinds of things that always happen to Ralph and Me!!
How crazy ! At least the concert was worth it!
So sorry you didn’t get to Pican. My husband is actually one of the managers there so if you ever want to head back there, just let me know, and I will make sure your cheesy grits plus some other yummy bits are ready for you.
Hahaha! You’re funny! That’s crazy btw….glad you made it to the concert though!
Sorry you missed out on your cheesy grits! But so glad you got home safely.
Ugh! This so sounds like something that would happen to me.
Ugh, my poor sister was on her way to my house from Fresno that same night, via 580 and the Richmond-San Rafael bridge…it should have taken her no more than an hour to get to Santa Rosa from there…instead it took 3.5 hours just to cross the bridge…so awful. Random gunmen suck.
Wow I really thought Adam would have some secret reason for bringing you to Oakland haha. Crazy experience!
I’m glad you didn’t encounter the gunman. And I’m pleased to hear that you made it to the show. I would love to see Amos Lee live and I hope it was worth the delay getting there.