Last month, our friends ECN and Eri journeyed to Europe. ECN is blogging their travels with journal entries and amazing photography at The History of Western Civilization Tour.
Take a look at his photos and try to stay away from airline websites. You’ll want to book the next flight over. Seriously, ECN, you are that talented.
Three beautiful things from our time on the road last week:
1. I took knitting on vacation with me. (This is not surprising; I take knitting everywhere, almost.) I packed Rudi’s sock, which I didn’t work on much because damp or sweaty hands do not encourage the easy flow of narrow-guage yarn, and I packed some cotton my friend Cynthia had sent me to make dishcloths with. Dasch and Reesie watched me knit for a while, and then Reesie asked if she could try. “Sure,” I said. “You work the yarn and I’ll hold the needles.” And sure enough we knit a whole row together like that. Then Dasch asked if he could try. And he did, but then he got bored and wanted us to switch and for him to work the needles and me to work the yarn. “Okay.” I showed him how and off we went. But then there were marshmallows to roast and s’mores to make and yarn was abandoned for loftier pursuits (by me as well as them). Next year, though, I’m breaking the yarn and needles out early.
2. There is nothing like having little kids sidle up to you and want to sit on your lap or snuggle with you on a blanket. Dasch, Reesie, and their new friend Aveeva all wanted some lap time over the weekend. And a couple of times I ended up on the blanket late at night with a sleepy child dozing off in my lap. There’s no nicer feeling in the whole wide world.
3. We arrived at Turkey Ridge after the folk festival ended to discover two new residents had moved into the family homestead. Callie and Chloe are two pint-sized, nine-week-old fluff balls. They’re a little skittish around people yet, as they’ve only been part of the family for a week. They run and jump and play nonstop until they crawl under something to sleep for 10 hours, causing mild alarm and panic about where they’ve disappeared to. They’re still at that age when their purrers are more developed than their tiny, palm-sized selves and when they consent to sit with you for a few minutes, their motors run full-speed.
We’re back from Falcon Ridge, but the brains aren’t quite firing at full power yet. So I offer you another list in lieu of in depth content.
Top ten acts from the weekend:
It’s been four years since Dave Carter died and Tracy has shown up every year and every year you sense that while she is still devastated, she is becoming less fragile. This year brought the final cd of their joint work, which they’d begun to record before Dave’s death. Tracy brought Dave’s sister and nephew and niece with her up on stage so they could begin to understand the impact Dave’s songwriting has had on all of us. She also performed “Salisbury Hill,” which I, at least, interpreted to mean that she is able to keep Dave’s spirit with her without him overshadowing her. Could just be my own wishful thinking, though…
Christine is a long-time family favorite with 17 albums to draw from, including such hits as “Mysterious Woman” and “Ballad of a Ballgame.” She is a riot to listen to on an album and worth almost any price of admission to see in person. She crowned a King of Falcon Ridge. She passed out whipped cream to the crowd. She invited all the male performers up on stage to perform the chorus of one of her songs. She was a bundle of endless energy. And that was just her mainstage act! From the workshop stage she passed out her bread recipe. And during the Friday Night Song Swap she sang about how New Yorkers are the politest people in the world.
We discovered Cheryl during one of our first Falcon Ridges and have been in love with her sense of humor ever since. Her sets combine political humor (“Dubya Dubya” and “If It Were up to Me“), sweetly haunting melodies (“Howl at the Moon“), and just plain funny songs (“My Cat’s Birthday” and the apt “Handy House,” which had John Gorka and Christine Lavin out dancing and acting along).
Another early Falcon Ridge gem. They are terrific whether as a solo set or in combination during the Sunday Morning Gospel Wake-Up. They performed a beautifully haunting number at the end of their mainstage act, but the combination of distance (we were up at the campsite) and the overly loud sound system of the dance stage drowned out most of the lyrics, so I’m going to have to poke around to find out what it was. Julie Murphy Wells has been battling breast cancer since last year’s festival, so it was nice to see her out there looking and sounding as strong as ever.
I was unfamiliar with his work prior to his mainstage act Sunday afternoon and was so impressed I bought a cd. His voice reminds me of James Taylor and his songs lean toward the political ballads I grew up on. I’m excited to listen to his brand-new cd.
Comedy folk groups can be a lot of fun. They sing. They poke fun at the genre. They mock themselves. They mock us. And Modern Man did all of that with aplomb. Another cd I’m eager to delve into.
A folk rock group in the model of The Nields (drummer Dave is an alum) and EFO, the Winterpills clearly enjoy what they’re doing. And so do we.
Centered around the vocals of Aoife Donovan, the cello of Rushad Eggleston, Greg Liszt’s banjo (he backed Springsteen on the Seeger session tour), and Corey DiMaurio’s bass, Crooked Still offers their own take on the marriage between folk, pop, and bluegrass. Aoife blew me away two summers ago in a solo set, and their group set last year inspired me to buy their first cd. This year’s follow-up was no disappointment and another cd has been purchased.
Gandalf’s band has performed twice before at FRFF and I’ve never been impressed before with his afternoon sets. Maybe I wasn’t really paying attention, because this time I really enjoyed listening to them. I mean, they make the accordian look like a ton of fun. I didn’t buy any of their cds, but I suspect I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled for a southerly swing on their next tour.
The highlight of the 24 performers in the Emerging Artist Showcase, Nadine offered a jazzy, soulful pair of songs in a mini set that actually differentiated her from the crowd. Her cds had sold out by the time I hit the merchandise tent, which I think signals that many others agreed with me. I look forward to watching her career unfold.
We’re at the theater right now, watching one of Erik’s recommendations. Tomorrow morning we head further north in New York to Howard County’s Hillsdale for our eighth Falcon Ridge.
Falcon Ridge is in a new spot this year, but otherwise it will hopefully remain its old reliable self. What I’m most looking forward to this time around:
Yes, there’s still stuff to do before we head out on vacation tomorrow morning. (First stop: NYC to see The Drowsy Chaperone. Second stop: Hillsdale, NY, for the annual Falcon Ridge Folk Festival. Final stop: Turkey Ridge to see Gramma and the folks.) I haven’t assembled a “pretty” outfit for the theater tomorrow night. (Although fashion has scaled back over time, somehow I don’t think Broadway is ready to see me in my tank top-flip flop-shorts standard camping fare.) I don’t know where the headlamp is. I haven’t dug out (or cleaned) the cooler. I still have piles of stuff on my desk.
But my brain has already hit the road north, desperately seeking days of nothing that “has to get done” and cooler weather. So I’m going to clear off my desk, turn on the automatic email response, forward the phone, and head home to sort through the rest of the stuff there.
(It should be noted that while I have not packed any clothes yet for my adventure, several books and a knitting project were packed last night.)
I’ve got several posts ready to go during my absence, so feel free to check back while I’m away. (Comments are always welcome, but they won’t appear on the site until I’m back to approve them.) Live posting resumes Sunday night or Monday morning from my folks’ place in Connecticut.
Our California vacation was terrific. We arrived at the Orange County Airport without incident and immediately pointed the rental car south toward Danny’s house.
Danny welcomed us (literally) with open arms. He really knows how to treat his guests and quickly spirited us off to the local neighborhood yarn shop (and he’s not even a knitter!), record store (where we all bought new cds), and coffee shop (where the barista gave me a very tasty raspberry steamer). David arrived home, and he and Danny whisked us off to a fabulous veg-friendly Mexican restaurant where I had an avocado enchilada and amazing tofu tacquitos. We finished the evening with a trip to a bakery where we all picked out desserts that we were ultimately too full and too tired to eat.
Friday dawned sunny and clear (Danny claims there are other kinds of days in San Diego, but not many) and after lounging the morning away on Danny and David’s deck with their two cats, Duke and Kady, we suited up and headed to Coronado, a nearby island with ultra-clean beaches. Poor David tolerated our need for sun and surf with a pile of magazines to read and heaps of anti-sun clothing. Danny, Rudi, and I stripped down to bathing suits, applied sunscreen (really — this will be important later on), and tumbled down onto beach towels with books. Rudi was the first to hit the water, quickly followed by Danny, and later me. We body surfed with a very polite 8 year-old until we were tired and our (or, at least, my) bathing suits were filled with sand from being buffeted around by the waves. Back to the towels. More reading ensued. Rudi went back to the water. I finished my book and followed. Back at the towels later on, I added more sunscreen to my face and, at Danny’s urging to my arms. Soon we packed up and headed back home.
At home it quickly became obvious that Danny, Rudi, and I ought to have reapplied sunscreen or we applied it poorly to begin with. Danny and I forgot behind our knees. I had a very red back of a thigh. Rudi’s torso was pink. Our clothes were filled with sand. But, man, had we had a blast!
We concluded the evening with the previous night’s dessert followed by a San Diego Padres game against the Seattle Mariners. Danny and David are good sports and were willing to take us to a game after we expressed interest in seeing one. (I harbor love for former Mets Mike Cameron and Mike Piazza.) The Padres’ stadium is a nice one and has lots of food options, even if they will cost you a small nation’s annual GRP for one night’s worth of food and drink. The Padres obliged our attendance by first giving us beach blankets and then a great game. For a while it looked distinctly possible that the Mariners would prevail, but thanks to poor pitching from Seattle, a couple nice bloopers from the Padres, and several heart-in-mouth defensive plays, the right team prevailed.
We finished the night with Danny reading me Clemency Pogue: Fairy Killer. He started it while I was knitting, continued while I wound a ball of yarn, and finished it while I was curled up on the couch floating in and out of Dream Land. It has been a long time since I’ve had a bedtime story read to me and is one of my favorite memories of the trip.
The next morning we had breakfast at The Big Kitchen, a great little eatery in Danny’s neighborhood. Run by Judy, who stopped by our table several times and who greeted everyone who walked in with a smile, The Big Kitchen is a liberal hole-in-the-wall brunch place designed to appeal to anyone with similar sentiments. Then time to depart neared and then it was upon us and then we were gone…
Heading north to Seal Beach, we stopped first at REI to pick up wedding presents for Elodie and Jeremy and then by a bike shop to arrange for Rudi’s loaner bike.
Elodie and Jeremy picked out a beautiful setting for their wedding: Cal State-Long Beach’s Japanese Garden. A huge pond full of koi takes up the center of the garden. An arched bridge sits at the far end, and it was here that the ceremony took place. It was a blend of cultures — and Elodie was stunning as a bride. (I can’t believe she’s all grown up! I remember her first week at college so clearly!) We caught up with two other Wesleyan folks and shared dinner with them and got the chance to say hi to Elodie and to meet Jeremy. We ate cake. We danced. We danced lots. (I like dancing.) Then we went back to the hotel and crashed.
Sunday morning Rudi headed off to ride with Jeff while I lounged around Seal Beach. I brought breakfast back to the hotel room and ate while knitting and watching England eke out a win over Ecuador (Beckham bent it). Then I went for a swim in the pool, located in the courtyard at the center of the hotel, before heading down to explore the shore. I saw no seals (save the statue on the pier), but I did see sailboats peeking in and out of the fog and kids playing in the waves and people fishing on the pier.
Rudi returned home and after a shower we headed north to see my brother Josh. We hadn’t seen his new place and found it to be very clean and breezy and beachy and him. He even has a peach tree (with delicious peaches) and an orange tree (which I didn’t taste and thus can’t attest to) in his backyard! He showed us pictures of the dog he’s hoping to adopt and we sat and chatted for a few hours. Then he took us out to an Asian-fusion restaurant, where I had the first fried rice I’ve had in many years. God, was it tasty.
We stopped at Seal Beach on the way back to the hotel so Rudi could see it. We walked the pier and watched a surprising number of people frolic on the sand below us. (It was midnight, after all.)
The next morning we packed up and headed back south to the airport. I picked up a book at one of those multi-purpose shops because I really wasn’t digging the one I’d brought along (the penalties of bringing only one book with you) and read it the whole flight home.
By the time we got home (the weather in D.C. kept us on the ground for an extended period in St. Louis), we were tired but so glad we’d gone. It was an awesome vacation and gave us the chance to see folks we hadn’t seen in way too long. Yes, it could have been longer, and, yes, it could have ended in a drier fashion, but it really was a fantastic five days.