Ok, ok, so I’ve been busy! Let me try to get you back up to speed here.
Wednesday, July 28th – Today I’ve got a midweek campground show and this promises to be a good one. The campground is full, VERY unusual for midweek. However, there is a large family reunion using the park, plus two teams of women’s fast pitch softball here to compete in a big tournament. They are all looking forward to the show – excellent!
The weather is cooperating in a fashion – it’s hot, a lot hotter than it should be, but at least it’s not raining. I’m traveling “fully equipped” (i.e., laptop, color printer, supplies, etc.) so I’m working on promo materials for shows during the last week of the tour and preparing them for mailing. I haven’t been in the pool yet, but it sure is tempting.
Brian and Allison here at the Lookout Mountain KOA are great folks and take wonderful care of me while I’m here. This is my third year staying with them and they treat me like visiting family. They’ve even been promotion my shows outside the park which is way above and beyond the call. If you ever come through this area on a camping trip please stop in here and tell them I sent you.
Showtime at 7:30 pm and the folks have gathered, most in chairs or on the benches under the pavilion area and others out on the grass, around the pool or at their campers if near enough by to see and hear. It is by far the largest attendance I’ve had for one of these shows – roughly 50 or 60. And, they enjoyed it as much as I did showing their appreciation with generous donations to the gas fund and buying CD’s. An all around great show. I finish very sweaty and tired, but since I’m staying right there I’m still cleaned up and settled back at the camper by 10:30 or so. Tomorrow’s an early day as I have to run to Knoxville to perform on the WDVX Blue Plate Special at noon. So, g’nite!
Thursday, July 29th – Up and on the road by 8:30. The drive time to Knoxville is unpredictable due to traffic, particularly just outside of Knoxville. In case you’re wondering, gas prices have been fairly consistent - $2.49 per gallon. Not too bad. To get to Knoxville I head through Chattanooga on I-24E to I-75N and then catch I-40E into Knoxville. Smooth sailing all the way and I arrive early at the Knoxville Visitors’ Center downtown for sound check and some coffee.
Every weekday, WDVX broadcasts live at noon with 2 or 3 artists / groups in the acoustic / Americana / folk / bluegrass genres. Folks in the downtown area come in to have lunch and watch the show performed, recorded and broadcast live from the stage the in the center. There is always a full house, plus some standing in the back. The sound is superb, and they treat you so well – I look forward to it every year. There are three acts and I lead it off with When the Hummingbirds Return, Yellow Butter Moon and Steam Train to tremendous response. During the interview segment we talk about the album Welcome Home and where I’m playing the next few nights. It’s fun and relaxed. Folks sign up on my email list and chat with me after the show. And, when I next check, I find new “friend requests” on Facebook from folks that heard the show. It’s all good.
Now, on the return, I have a shopping mission to accomplish. Judy and my two grandsons are flying into Nashville tomorrow and will travel with me for the next week. So I’ve been given a shopping list of food stuff that young folks want on a camping trip – you know, marshmallows, hot dogs, cocoa puffs, chips, the usual. And, I’ve still got some organizing and cleaning to do in anticipation of their arrival so that we are all comfortable in the old camper. Consequently, the return trip from Knoxville is a lot longer than the one this morning.
Back at the camper I’m busy hanging clothes hooks, making beds, washing towels and sheets, putting away groceries, shifting the printer to a new area and other road warrior domestic tasks. I’m sweaty again! I’ll soon run out of t-shirts at this pace and I brought a lot! Supper is late and lite – just some rice and beans with some broccoli. I’m too pooped to fool with much else. Dishes done and I’m ready to settle in and watch a little bit of a movie before I doze off. Tomorrow, Nashville.
Friday, July 30th – I’m up early to finish my preparations for company on the trip, get some more promotional materials out for later shows and work on booking for the rest of the year and the first part of next. Huff and puff, because I have to be on the road by early afternoon to get Judy and the g-kids at the airport. I’m out the door and on the road by 3 pm.
Nashville is a couple of hours away. The plan is to pick them up at “arriving flights” and head out for an early dinner before my show in Nashville at Hillbilly Haiku House Concerts tonight. To get to Nashville I head west on I-24 up through the valley and over Missionary Ridge and the Cumberland Gap. Traffic does not cooperate. Trucks struggle up the winding, steep incline and make progress by others a darting and ducking affair. I only had one “near miss” which I think was fortunate given the conditions and I’m only 15 minutes late getting to the airport.
It’s good to see Judy and my grandsons, Chase (14) and Hunter (10). They are excited about a week in the camper, their last week of summer before they start school again. Unfortunately I managed to slice my right elbow on some plastic while I put the luggage in the back and so we spend a few minutes trying to stop the bleeding and cleaning up where I’ve put my elbow down on the interior leather. I’m always banging myself up somehow. Chase and Hunter have voted for chicken wings for dinner, so we find a Buffalo Wild Wings using the Navigatrix on the Dash and chow down for an early supper before we head to the show. We have plans during the week to see some Civil War stuff, a cavern, some waterfalls and other such while they’re here as well as nightly campfires (they are well trained pyros), etc. They’re even looking forward to seeing me perform a few times – grandkids are soooooo much better than kids!
Hillbilly Haiku is the well established series at the home of Rick and Denise Williams in Lebanon, TN just east of Nashville. I’m performing with my friends 3 Penny Acre from Arkansas and David Glasser, who I’ve heard much about, but never met. The crowd here will be mostly folks who are familiar with my music and I’m anxious to share some of my new material with them, though Denise requests Hemingway’s Hurricane and what Denise wants Denise gets!! Lovely home and two terrific dogs, the younger of which is an Australian Sheppard and the older a Sheltie. Brian, Bernice, Bayard and David are already there when we arrive and a quick sound check gets everything set to go. I lead off with When the Hummingbirds Return, This Old House, I Wish, Hemingway’s Hurricane and a couple of others. 3 Penny Acre follows with an awesome set of their own and one from David. If you’re not familiar with these folks, they have websites, of course, and you should check them out. David is a master guitarist and has been “sideman to the stars” over the years. He is embarking on a solo career at this point and really gives a great show. I’ve been a huge fan of 3 Penny Acre since I met them at SERFA two years ago – awesome performers and Bayard makes all of his instruments – guitars, mandolins, bouzoukis, etc. I think I have a Bayard bouzouki somewhere in my future when finances permit.
It’s a great night and we finish it off with everyone up to do a really high energy version of Yellow Butter Moon. The show was about two and a half hours and we get finished, packed and goodbyes said around 11 pm. The problem is that heading west to Nashville I crossed the central time zone line, so back where we are headed it’s already midnight. By the time we get loaded, etc. and drive back to the Chattanooga area it’s after 2 am – yikes! It takes me a while to wind down after getting the boys stowed in their bunks so I don’t drift off until . . . uh, until . . . ZZZZZZ.
Saturday, July 31st –
Given our late night in Nashville we elected to try to sleep in a little and have our first day together be a “hang out at the campground” day. We sure didn’t sleep in as late as I’d hoped and I was draggy to say the least. I took the boys around the campground, introduced them to our hosts, showed them where all of their entertainment options were – their favorite, by far, was the “big pillow,” a ground based inflated trampoline of sorts that is a regular feature in KOA’s. Judy’s shopping list, without the boys’ input, was unfortunately far from complete, so in the early afternoon I ran into town to fill it out and got caught in a monsoon. However, it rained little back at the campground and they were driven under cover only for a short while. When I returned we hit the pool to refresh and play a little catch with the foam football.
Soon it was time to think about supper and I opted for spaghetti, still an early supper so I’d be ready to sing at 8 pm. Tonight it’s Charles & Myrtles’ in Chattanooga at the Christ Unity Church. This is a favorite stop for all touring artists roaming through southeastern Tennessee and I always look forward to seeing Andrew Kelsey, the guy in charge, and his amazing home baked cookies.
I left the campground about 6:30 to get in and set up. Judy and the boys elected to stay behind as they’ll see plenty of shows and getting to bed early really appealed to them. Andrew and Alan were waiting to help me with gear, CDs, etc. We chatted over coffee and I learned that Andrew had been out for a bit having surgery for bladder cancer. They caught it very early so he’s fine, but not after wrestling with some complications of the procedure which he described in excruciating detail – issues involving catheters and blockages and pain, all of which had me squirming quite uncomfortably. However, I was saved as folks started filtering in just before show time and soon I had a nice Satruday night crowd gathered for two full sets of material. I gave them a very good show, though I must confess that at the last three songs I had run out of gas and remembering words, or my name for that matter, became a struggle. Against Jack Williams’ sage advice to never make excuses on stage I did allow as how I’d only had about 4 – 5 hours sleep after driving from Nashville the night before and apologized for my depleted capacity. I guess I’m getting’ too old for that short sleep stuff. The audience took it all with great good humor and honored me by taking home many CDs to add to their collections.
Back at the campground just after 11 pm I was surprised to find Judy still awake. She and the boys had watched a movie for a bit and they had gone to bed a few minutes before, already dead to the world. I had a nice glass of wine, recounted the show for Judy and soon the sandman found his way to our end of the camper. G’nite.
Sunday, August 1st –
Well, I didn’t get the complete night’s sleep I’d hoped for. In the early morning hours that monsoon I’d hit in town made another circuit and hit the campground. I love sleeping in the rain like that, but not when I can feel my feet getting wet – LEAK! Yep, the same one that got me over at the State park. I grabbed towels and placed them to catch the flow as best I could – Judy slept through the whole thing. I was able to get a little more sleep before time to get up and about, but not nearly as much as I needed.
Part of the Charles & Myrtles’ gig is to return Sunday morning and a short set of music for the service. This is a nice extra which they pay you for and you get to play for some who didn’t make it to the show the night before. Judy and the boys had planned to go, but with the leak issue we decided they’d best stay behind and dry things out so that I could work on repairs when I got back. The service was especially nice and was focused on finding God both out in the world and within your self. To try to match that theme I played Do You, Welcome Home (which, with my intro about Steve Blackwell and the example he set for us all, had more than a few in moving tears) and Break Some Stones – very well received by the congregation. Though the service included lunch afterwards, I made my apologies and hurried back to work on staunching the leak at it’s source.
With caulk gun in hand I borrowed a ladder from our campground hosts and inspected the possible sources of the flow. Very mysterious. The most likely cause I could identify was the area around the fire escape window on that side. I could see that there was a heavy flow of water running down from the gutter overhead right onto that seam. So, with no regard for appearance whatsoever (the camper is pretty beat up anyway) I slathered on the silicone caulk at all possible points of entry. Meanwhile, Judy had raised the mattress, no small feat, and had fans running to dry it and the decking while the linens tumbled in the washer.
With that underway we headed out for a little sight seeing. Up at Lookout Mountain we enjoyed the “Battles of Chattanooga” presentation which really explained the pivotal confrontation in the Great War of Northern Aggression that took place here at this essential railroad hub. When the South lost Chattanooga to Grant it paved the way for Sherman’s march to the sea and the ultimate surrender at Appomattox. Next we hit Raccoon Mountain Caverns, a very impressive 45 minute tour of an enormous cavern system that is millions of years old. The boys really enjoyed both, but I’m guessing they liked the caverns the best. However, pizza for supper before heading back was also a hit.
Back at the campground I got ready for my final show in the campground. There are a lot fewer folks now and I’m wondering if we’ll have much of a crowd. However, as evening approached several more campers rolled in, all of whom were recruited at check-in for the show, and at 7:30 I had a nice group of 20 or so willing listeners. Everyone enjoyed the songs and the stories. This group seemed to particularly like Crescent City Lament, a new song about how I perceive New Orleans to have changed over the years (having nothing to do with Katrina). CDs went home in other folks’ cars and I packed up before settling before the fire with a nip to watch the boys roast marshmallows. Tomorrow, on the road again.
Monday, August 2nd –
I had hoped to get on the road by 9 am, but that wasn’t to be. As it turned out 10:15 was more like it. We rolled out and headed northeast through Knoxville and the Johnson City area on up into Virginia. Gas prices remained consistent at about $2.49 per gallon at the truck stop type stations (Pilot, Flying J, Kangaroo, etc.). The weather was overcast, but it made for nice driving.
Just before Knoxville we stopped at one of the boys’ favorites, Cracker Barrel, for a good lunch and then continued on. Without a map you can almost tell when you leave Tennessee and enter Virginia. The character of the landscape and architecture of the structures changes perceptibly. Virginia has an unmistakable gentle, rolling, aged feeling that you more sense than see. I enjoyed driving in silence much of the day while Judy and the boys’ snoozed, read or listened to their mp3s. These boys are excellent travelers – not one “how much longer” the whole trip (so far).
Figuring that 6 hours on the road was enough for us all, I picked out a State Park in Marion, Va., just south of Wytheville, called (no kidding) Hungry Mother State Park. The name originates from an old legend that I won’t repeat at length here, but the park is magnificent. It’s center piece is a big lake with a brown sand beach and bi-level diving platform – the boys were in heaven! I got us a campsite near the creek that feeds into the lake and turned the boys loose while I set up for the short one night stay and prepared to cook supper – steaks over an open wood fire with baked potatoes, asparagus and warm bread. Hey, this was a night off for me and I wanted a great meal! After supper we brought the VCR out under the stars and watched Robin Williams in RV (how appropriate) by the campfire. I know, I would have rathered just watch the fire, may pick a little, etc., but you have to wean kids off of the electronic world slowly and we’ve pretty good so far.
Tuesday, August 3rd –
With the lake and the diving platform, an early start on into West Virginia was not in the cards, so while the boys swam I made lunch to eat on the road, began working on this update you’re reading and then packed everything up for the next leg of the journey. On the road at 1 pm, not too bad.
I knew from past experience that gas prices in West Virginia will be A LOT higher, so I topped the tank off before heading on north on I-79. Just as Virginia has it’s own unmistakable character, so does West Virginia. It is clearly wilder and more rugged with steeper hills and rocky outcroppings. For me it is the most beautiful of all, untamed and unspoiled in so many ways. The going gets a lot tougher here as the steep inclines strain the SUV hauling the big camper. You can almost watch the gas gauge drop as the engine revs to make each peak. I finally had to make a fuel stop about 45 minutes short of our final destination, Elkins, WV. And, as expected, the gas prices are $.30 more per gallon here – ouch!
We’re staying north of Elkins at Revells Campground on the Shaver Fork River. Our site is right on the river lined with trees and the boys are thrilled at the prospects for exploring, fishing, etc. We’ll be here three nights before moving on to Virginia. I drop them off at the airport Friday in Richmond, Va. for their trip home. We set up for the longer stay (all stabilizers down, sewer attached, awning out, etc.) and supped on hot dogs by the fire. I can tell rain is on the way – sure hope my patch job works. I’ll keep you posted!
