Category Archives: travel

beach weekend

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Coming to you live from sunny Waukegan, IL, it’s the newest entry into the soon-to-be world-famous Frowsy Noise!

Yes, it’s a dreary Sunday afternoon and I’m writing this from the Illinois Beach Resort in Zion, IL, which is actually about 10 minutes north of the aforementioned Waukegan.  I got here at about 6:30 Friday night and have spent the last couple of days walking around taking pictures of the snowy beach along the western shore of Lake Michigan, spending time with Amy (and, to a lesser extent, her folks), playing with her dog, and generally enjoying a few days away from work.

Went for a walk yesterday and found three deer looking for
food in the snow.

The weekend did not start we’ll for Amy’s mom, who fell sometime Friday afternoon and, after visiting a dentist to check the damage, learned that she’d broken her jaw.  The poor lady subsequently had her jaw wired shut and will be eating through straws for the next month and a half.

That didn’t keep her from attending church this morning, where Amy and I joined her, but it did rule out any choral performances.  I believe she did stay after the service for hand bell practice, however.

Amy and I went to see a movie, Oz, The Great and Powerful, last night.  I had high hopes for the flick, but it failed to live up to them.  Might have been fun for kids, but it totally failed to engage me; and the 3D effects, while occasionally very good, did not justify the time spent in the theatre fighting to stay awake.  Live and learn.

After church today, Amy and I had lunch at a diner near her house, and then went our separate ways – she to do some trumpet exercises and me to walk in the rain, maybe take some pictures, update this little blog, and see what’s going on with the NCAA basketball brackets.  We’ll get together later today for a movie or something and tomorrow morning, early, I’ll hit the road for home.

It’s been a great couple of days, overall.  I always like the time I spend with Amy and it’s also nice to see some actual snow on the ground! Makes me miss my life as a Yankee.

TWD

 

cars

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This will have to be a short entry because it’s a little after 8 o’clock and my alarm clock is set for 3:58 tomorrow morning.  Shortly after that time, I’ll hit the road for Waukegan.

Today at work was relatively hectic.  In addition to a training class that’s been going on for the last week – and will continue for three more – (I am constantly interrupted to open the doors for trainees because they don’t have badges and I am the gatekeeper), I was being slammed by the IT department to put together workstations for them, get others fixed for them, and discuss ways that I could keep them informed of workstation problems in the future.  I also had to complete a completely stupid “what did I do last month” spreadsheet for the finance department, which apparently hasn’t figured out what should be counted as a capital expense in our department and so has had us doing this STUPID busywork for the last couple of months (“On February 9th, I spent 3.2 hours reading email…”).  While doing all this stuff, I was also attempting to debug some code for a project I’ve been working on for the last 6 weeks or so, help technicians with installations, and keep one eye on a conversation going on with the rest of my group about next week’s launch of our 24×7 schedule in order to make sure that I don’t get stuck with an 8pm-7am shift of something (and that’s not a joke…15 freaking years in this business and now I’m trying to avoid getting a shit shift that should be worked by somebody 1/3 of my age with 1/10th of my experience).

But I made it through the day.  Got home and got packed for the trip, and am currently sitting in bed thinking about sleep.

So.  Cars that I’ve considered purchasing.  Top of the heap is still the Subaru Outback, but – mainly because I hate the idea of dropping 25 large for that car, I’m leaving the door open for other makes and models.  The Nissan XTerra looks good, and I’ve also eyed the Toyota 4Runner and Sequoia, various flavors of Jeep (Cherokee, Liberty, etc. – not the Wrangler, though that would be a great thing to have in the woods), and a couple of Hondas (Pilot, CRV).

Basically, what I want is a car lets me do all of the following: cruise around the city in relative comfort and quiet – not a lot of road noise, leather seats, decent stereo, Bluetooth, aux in for ipod or phone, etc.  However, I also need a machine that I can take into the woods several times a year.  By that I mean, while not technically off-roading, about as close as one can get.  The places that I go to camp are generally approachable only by hiking or by twisty, rocky, rugged, washed-out, narrow dirt roads.  Yes, I have taken most of my former cars on these roads, but I haven’t enjoyed it.  The Audi particularly makes me cringe every time I hit a washout or drive over a section of corduroy.  I want something that’s close enough to being a truck – and that has enough ground clearance – to make me comfortable on these mountain forays.  Next, I want something that I can sleep in in relative comfort.  I want the back seats to lay down flat, and I’d like the front passenger seat to do likewise.  This was one thing that I really liked about my PT Cruiser.  When the seats were laid flat, I had an 8-foot bed in the car, and I could pull into a campsite during a football weekend, string up a tarp, and not have to bother with a tent.  I also want a car with decent gas mileage – not spectacular, but 30+ – and without a massive cost of ownership (a la the Audi).  Last, it has to be a manual transmission.  I’ve done the automatic bit.  I’m over it.  I want a clutch and a stick shift (actually, I’d love to have a column shifter, but I don’t think anybody makes those anymore).

So, as I continue to wonder if I should or shouldn’t get a new vehicle, I’ll also continue to winnow down the list – or maybe expand it – of potential cars.  I’ve owned a lot of cars – but I want to get it completely right the next time around.

TWD

home for the holidays

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It has been quite a few winters since I’ve attempted to put together any sort of year-end review, but I’ve got some time this morning, the house is empty (Scott’s gone home to MN for the next week or so), and I can only play so many Arban exercises on my tenor horn before growing weary of my mediocrity.

2012 has been a year of newness, both pleasant and un.  I began a new walking regimen in January, met a new lady in March, started a new job in May.  I visited new places in June and July, tried new camera equipment during October, got a new computer in November, and saw a new symphony in December.  Throughout the year, I worked a variety of new schedules, found new places to play, tamed some new cats, and dreamed about a new car.  So let’s take a look back and see what I can recall.

For about the first three quarters of the year, I took walks nearly every morning ranging from 2 – 12 miles.  I began doing this mainly because I wanted to play with a new exercise application on my phone that drew my walking paths all over a map.  So caught up in the maps and the statistics was I that I almost didn’t realize that I was walking further and faster over time – and losing weight and lowering my blood pressure.  The walks became more sporadic beginning in about August when my work schedules started getting flaky during the week and football season began to monopolize the weekends; but I’m still getting out there when I have the time, the light, and the lack of rain required.  Today, by the way, does not fit into those three categories – it has been raining for two days now.

Long strings of windmills along I-65 in central Indiana became a regular sight
during 2012 as I drove to and from Waukegan, IL

In April, I attended the 30th annual North American Brass Band Championships (in Cincinnati), and almost literally stumbled into the woman of my dreams after coming down a flight of stairs where I’d been photographing the events.  Amy and I are still getting to know each other nearly 10 months later with no immediate plans to cease doing so, and she’s played a huge part in many of the other events of the last year.

On the first of May, I started a new job – leaving the one that I’d held for the previous 4 years in the face of looming outsourcing (though the company still refuses to call it that).  To say that I’m less than thrilled with the new gig would be the understatement of my life; but if you’ve read any of this blog since May, you’re probably quite aware of my feelings for the current gig.  I say in all modesty that it is a tribute to me that I have neither quit nor flown completely off the handle at my management – though I’ve come frighteningly close to doing both on several occasions.

Over the summer, I did quite a bit of travelling.  There was a trip Vermont to visit with Cy and “T” and participate, with the Georgia Brass Band, in Middlebury’s annual summer benefit concert for the Sheldon Museum.  I also attended a brass festival in Gettysburg – mainly to catch the performance of an all-female brass band in which Amy was playing.  I returned to the hallowed shores of Ahmic Lake in Magnetawan, Ontario, this year after having to miss that luxury in 2011.  After about a week of tennis, swimming, card games and food with family and friends, I headed west through Ontario, brushed around the top of Lake Michigan and ended up in Waukegan, Il, to spend another week with Amy in her hometown.  I camped on the lake’s western shore, took in a renaissance fair on the Illinois/Wisconsin border, sampled the food at a couple of local diners, and took pictures of all of the above.  It was the longest of three trips that I took to Waukegan during the summer, and Amy visited Atlanta a couple of times as well.

Football season was both a disappointment and a joy.  As my team struggled to a wretched 2-9 record, I vastly improved my photography with the aid of some rented lenses and a top-notch camera body, and I closed out the season as a “real” professional photog by shooting two games for the Greenville News.  I still haven’t been paid for those games, incidentally.  Maybe I’ll spend some time today making up invoices.  The trips during the season were enjoyable as always, though somewhat tiring.  In addition to the regular drives to Greenville, I had a couple of long days on the road (to Burlington and Boone, NC).  With the exception of one early game, however, the weather was fantastic on each Saturday and the drives were pleasant.  That one exception, though….wow.  Tornados, downpours, game delayed by nearly an hour….and we lost in triple overtime, which portended the season to come.

Near the end of the season, I found a watering hole quite near my house that boasts both dart boards and (holy of holies) a pinball machine.  Scott (my renter) and I have amused ourselves over the last few months by regularly playing in weekly “blind draw” darts tournaments – quite often placing in the money – and by seeing just how hard we can shake that pinball machine without tilting it.

Quite a lot, as it turns out.

The feral cats have come and gone over the last year at their whims.  At one time, I think there were as many as 5 scrambling up the steps of my deck each morning to dive into the food that I put out for them; but their number has dropped to just two in recent weeks.  Both of those little guys were born last summer and both are about as tame as feral cats can be.  Free food, a warm and dry place to sleep, a nice guy who’ll scratch their heads and coo at them.  They know when they’ve got it good.

In November, I made the last payment on my Audi and immediately began sniffing around for a Subaru Outback.  As of this writing, however, I haven’t found one that I’m willing to drop $25,000 on; so – for now at least – I’ll just keep driving my car as hard as I can and using that non-existent car payment to cleave through other debts.  Maybe in a few months, I’ll take the plunge; I’m not quite ready to do that yet.

Also in November, I got to meet Amy’s family and have Thanksgiving dinner with them; and just two days ago I returned from yet another trip to Waukegan during which Amy and I attended the Midwest Music Conference (my first time) and also caught a performance of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (also a first for me).  Both of these events were things that I’ve heard about for decades – and both lived up to the hype.

And that brings us pretty much up to date; though I’m certain that, as soon as I click the “publish” button up there, I’ll remember amazing things that happened during the year and will immediately berate myself for not including them in this rambling epistle.  Suffice it to say that, on average, 2012 has been a decent year, with only that minor annoyance – the job – scratching the otherwise shiny brass and silver coating.  So, as I begin the last week of the year – the last week before I’m 47! – I’ll look forward to figuring out how to deal with the employment situation and will wish all of you reading this a most delightful and rewarding 2013.  And, though I don’t have her permission to do so, I’ll finish this up by quoting from the end of Cy’s annual letter, wherein she (or, perhaps, “T”) beautifully advises us that

“…we are, indeed, blessed.  We have what we need and more, and it is incumbent upon us to share.  No one of us will ever be able to eliminate all sorrow or alleviate all pain or worry.  But we can do our part, every day, to make some portion of our world a little better.  It is the gift we can always give, in any season and in any place.”

Think about that. 

TWD

 

year’s end…world’s end?

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So two weeks has passed and I am once again in bed and have once again spent the last 20 minutes playing with my paint program working on “The Cypress Swamp,” which is sure to garner world-wide interest among artistic circles.  The lines, the colors, the…swampiness of it simply cannot be understated.

It is a Saturday morning, but the cats didn’t really care about that and rousted me from a most delightful slumber at 5:45 this morning.  Little bastards have really got to figure out the whole “day of rest” thing at some point, but I’m not holding my breath.  So, after feeding them and the outdoor critters (Buddy and Brooks are still regulars, though I haven’t seen Daphne in quite some time), I put on some shorts and a jacket and set out for a walk.  Got about 8.5 miles in and came up with a new path that has potential – though I was certain that I was going to be road kill during one mile-long stretch with neither sidewalks nor shoulders.

That took a couple of hours and I got back to the house and back in bed by about 9:00 (for those of you doing the math, yes – I killed an hour watching television between the cat feeding and the walk); and I’ve spend the intervening 3 hours catching up on email, booking a hotel in Waukegan for next week, reading my messageboards, and – of course – painting “The Cypress Swamp.”

The last couple of weeks at work haven’t been half bad, actually.  I finished up with my year-end review stuff (didn’t have the actual review, but wrote down all the stuff that I think I accomplished in the last 12 months and sent it to my boss) and spent most of my time working on my automation projects – one of which will be used by me tonight when I go in (at midnight) for yet another upgrade procedure.  The last time I did this, I didn’t get out of the office until 9 in the morning.  Here’s hoping that tonight is not a repeat of that fiasco.

A lot of my effort for the automation stuff has been focused on trying to connect to and get information from a number of UNIX servers.  So far, I’ve managed to connect to the things and send a few simple commands; but I’m still having trouble with more advanced stuff that, while extremely simple to type at a terminal, is proving to be a real bugger to program.  I have a few ideas about the problems, though, and will no doubt spend most of tonight’s upgrade session trying them out.  I think I mentioned in my blog post on the night of the last upgrade that, no matter how long the whole thing takes, my part – thanks largely to my automation – lasts all of about 5 minutes.  The rest of the time, I’m just sitting there on the phone, amusing myself in whatever way possible, and waiting to see if I’m going to have to roll back my five minutes worth of changes because the people taking 9 hours have screwed something up.

I played the last of three Red Kettle gigs last night and was extremely disappointed in the other 4 people who were playing with me.  I’m not a world class musician or anything, but I find it hard to believe that any supposedly talented person can get lost – and stay lost – while reading Christmas carols that, on average, last for about 45 seconds.  Time after time last night, however, one or more of the people in the quintet missed repeats and became hopelessly confused.  Not to toot my own horn (both because I’m not that good at tooting it and because it’s kind of like bragging for not falling over when taking a step), but I was the only one of the 5 who didn’t get lost….and even had I done so, I wouldn’t have wasted the rest of the tune floundering around trying to “fit in” to a carol that any 4-year-old can recognize.

The RK gigs, at any rate, are over for another year.

The Cypress Swamp

Did I mention that my work schedule is changing again as of tomorrow?  Yeah.  It is.  I’ll be going M-F, 8-5 now. This won’t last long.  Word is that the schedule will change AGAIN in mid-late January.  For the record, yes, I *did* bitch on my year-end stuff about the complete lack of a standard (or even non-standard, but at least long-lasting) schedule over the last year…and I don’t particularly care if my boss takes offense at the fact that I blamed the lack of such on his leadership skills.  The year-end stuff is supposed to be when you let your boss know if you have any problems with him.  I’ve never had any before, but this schedule thing is really chapping my ass.

Waukegan next week?  Yes indeedy.  I still had a couple of vacation days to take, so I burned next Thursday and Friday (Friday being 12/21/12) and am planning on driving up Thursday morning and spending a few days with Amy.  Still not sure if I’m working on Christmas or New Year’s day, but the early word is that the call center will be closed – which means that I won’t be.

Not that it matters, of course; because, according to the ancient Mayans, the world will end on 12/21/12.  So at least I’ll get to die in a northern state.

That’s a good thing, right?

TWD

still not rich

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So the Powerball lottery jackpot went up to $555,000,000 this week and I, along with millions of other people, spent $10 on five tickets.  I didn’t win.  I didn’t expect to win.  For my $10, though, I got to spend about three days dreaming of what I’d do if I had.

Hope you’re not looking for anything exciting here, as I’m completely convinced that sudden overwhelming wealth would have very little effect on  me.  Obviously, my lifestyle would change a bit.  For starters, I sure as hell wouldn’t be working at AT&T.  More than likely, I’d look for a part-time gig doing something that I really enjoy – photography, working at a library, mowing lawns…I don’t know.  After paying off all of my debts, I’m pretty sure I’d go shopping for a new vehicle.  Not sure if I’d go the RV route or not, though it would be tempting.  It’d be nice to be able to live out of an RV for the next 10 years or so, but I’m not convinced that I’d like driving something that big very often.  Maybe something like a Hummer would be more to my liking.

The brass band would certainly receive a sizable donation, if the board could give me a good reason for needing it; and the new stadium that’s being built at Furman would have my name on it.

Prominently.

I think there’d also be a new endowed scholarship at that school with my website’s name on it.

After spending on those little things, I’d be left with around $335,000,000 (remember, I had to pay taxes on the original half-billion), so the fun could really begin.  I figured to give about $2,000,000 each to my siblings and Dad (if he wanted it – he certainly wouldn’t have to worry about money at any time, at any rate).  The way I figure it, a gift of $2,000,000 is perfect – you use about half of it to pay the taxes on the gift, and you put the other half into an account that pays 4% interest.  If you’re not a complete goob, you could live off the interest for the rest of your life.  Not in high style, mind you, but not in poverty, either.

So I’m down to $325,000,000 now.

There’s a decent possibility that I’d buy some land in Vermont, but not a lot.  After all, I’d have to pay property taxes on it.  One idea would be to buy the land and put a certain amount – we’ll call it a million bucks – into some sort of vehicle that would automatically pay the taxes out of the interest earned in perpetuity.  Not sure exactly how that’d work, but I’m sure that there are accountants who’d know how to do it.  I wouldn’t mind paying the taxes.  I just wouldn’t want to deal with the hassle if it could be avoided.

So let’s say that I’ve dumped two million on the Vermont deal.  I still have $323,000,000 left.   My renter would get about $500,000, Jenny would get a few million, a very small handful of friends would get one or two million each, and I’d find a cause or two that I think should get some money – a zoo or two, the humane society, maybe a youth sports organization (though I’d have to think REALLY carefully about that one).

And that’d leave me with around three hundred million….with which I’d have absolutely no idea what to do.  Some of it would have to be used to screw people or organizations that I don’t like, but I’m  not entirely sure who or what (or how).  The rest?  I guess I’d open up a few hundred savings accounts or something.  I mean, I’d never be able to spend that much, but I’d want it to be FDIC insured anyway.  When it gets right down to it, I figure that I could live an incredibly full life on about $5,000,000 (face it- that’s 50 years worth of a pretty good salary).  After paying off debt, there’s no reason to have any more than that, and why anyone – ANYONE – wants to have more than that is honestly beyond me.

But, at least for now, I don’t need to think about it anymore; because, as previously noted, I didn’t win the lottery.

Night Lake

I mentioned in my last post that I spent several days in Waukegan last week and had a good time.  There was one slight downside to the trip, and I’m still not entirely sure how it happened.  I got two voice mails on Tuesday afternoon.  The first was from a photography store in Calumet, IL, and the second was from the fraud department at Discover Card.  Apparently, someone managed to steal my Discover Card information during the 20 minutes that I spent paying bills (online) from my hotel room last Wednesday afternoon, and they used the information to buy a $17 e-card (online postcard, I guess) and to attempt to buy $2,500 worth of something at the photography store.  Since I’ve – literally – never charged anything to my Discover card, their fraud department was all over it; and my card was cancelled (and all charges were dismissed) by 8:30 Tuesday night.  On Wednesday, I talked to the photography store, let them know that it was a bogus charge, and learned that whoever stole the card information also learned my correct mailing address, though they were having whatever they tried to buy shipped to Maryland – in my name, apparently.

I’m not thrilled that my mailing address is apparently obtainable from the act of spying on my online bill-paying, but it appears that no harm was done.  While paying the bills, I also paid my mortgage and two other credit cards, and I’m not sure if it would’ve been possible to grab my bank account information from those transactions or not, so I’ve been keeping a close eye on all of those accounts – so far, all seems to be normal.  I’ll continue to watch.

Lesson learned, at any rate.  I will never again pay my bills from a hotel room.  I can do most of the bill paying from my phone, anyway.  I just like to keep a spreadsheet, which is why I normally use the laptop.

Today’s picture is one that I drew with my little paint program (Fresh Paint) on my surface, and I call it something catchy: “Night Lake.”  I’m certain that, at some future date, it will be worth that $5,000,000 that I need.

TWD

back to the grind

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Well then.

I made it back to the warm confines of Ye Olde Duluthe at about 4:30 yesterday afternoon.  Wisely, as it turns out, I had scheduled a vacation day for today – so I have time to do some laundry, sleep, get organized, check email, sleep, do dishes, and sleep.

And update this blog a bit while the laundry is laundering.

Previously a bank, now a Chinese restaurant.  Downtown Waukegan, IL

The trip north was fun.  I spent most of Wednesday doing a bunch of nothing while Amy worked.  Went to the beach and took a few pictures (that will not appear in this entry, although one other will) at around sunset.  I also went to Amy’s store and bought a fake book, a couple of t-shirts, and a valve case brush (which I’ve been meaning to buy for about two months now – the valves on my alto horn are disgusting).

On Thursday, I had Thanksgiving lunch with Amy, her folks, one of her brothers, and her sister and sister’s significant other.  After lunch, I went back to my hotel to be alone for a couple of hours before the two of us went to see the movie Lincoln on Thursday night.

Friday was back at Amy’s parents’ house for leftover turkey and to meet the two remaining brothers and their wives and children. Had a great time chatting with a niece and nephew about their school, sports and music lives while Amy took a nap.  Later in the afternoon, she had to go to a doctor’s appointment, so I watched some football and took a nap before we got together for dinner later on.

Illinois Beach State Park 11/24/12

On Saturday, we took a walk around downtown Waukegan in the morning, then did our own thing for a while in the afternoon (I took a walk on the beach), then got together for dinner, then went back to her place where I watched football (Carolina beat Clemson for the 4th straight year) and tried to get her printer working.  She concentrated on decorating her living room.  Fun date, huh?

I hit the road VERY early on Sunday morning (like at around 3:30 Sunday morning) and had a pleasant, if tiring, drive back to Atlanta.

And now you’re all caught up!  Happy Thanksgiving.

TWD

live from waukegan

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Yes, indeed.  I’m typing this entry from within the borders of idyllic Waukegan, Illinois; where, for centuries, lonely travelers have sought solace and relief from a host of physical and mental maladies by swimming in the crystal waters of Lake Michigan, frolicking in the fresh mountain air of downtown Waukegan, and meditating along the quiet banks of  the Waukegan River.

Yeah.  Okay.  For starters, the water in Lake Michigan might actually be somewhat clean, but I’m not about to go jump in it.  It’s 36 degrees outside.  Also, the air in Waukegan could possibly be clean (I’m not gonna put money on that), but the nearest mountains are 400 miles to the east and it’s ridiculously foggy this morning – if you breathe too deeply, you’ll drown.  And the Waukegan River?  It does exist.  That’s pretty much all I know about it.

Proof that Waukegan is a suburb of Chicago

Waukegan, as you all know, is a suburb of Chicago.  I don’t care if Waukeganites (Waukenigans?  Waukeshans?) don’t want to admit it.  It’s a simple fact. True, it’s must closer to Wisconsin (and, therefore, Milwaukee – because let’s face it: without Milwaukee, Wisconsin itself is a suburb of Lansing, MI) than it is to Chicago; but if you were to ask an honest Waukenian where he or she is from, he or she will say, “Waukegan.”  And when you follow that up with, “Where the hell is Waukegan,” they’ll say, “About 40 miles north of Chicago.”  What they’ll be referring to when they say that, of course, is downtown Chicago; but Chicago, like Atlanta, stretches out from its downtown area in a circle with a radius of approximately 38 miles.

So don’t let anybody tell you that Waukegan isn’t a suburb of Chicago.  It is.  Oddly enough, it has its own suburbs, too:  Zion, for example, is a suburb of Waukegan.  So is Kenosha, Bank of America, and the entire state of Iowa.

Waukegan is not a small town, though Waukadalians would have you believe that.  Its 28 square miles are home to nearly 90,000 people.  That’s about 4,000 people per mile.  Imagine walking a mile to the grocery store and having to make your way past 4,000 neighbors.  You will be shot, stabbed or insulted at least 4 times in that mile.  It’s just science.

This ain’t Mayberry, folks. 

The town’s name means “Little Fort” in the Potawatomi language, though I’ve never seen a fort here.  There are some some lovely parks that I’ve visited in previous sojourns (and some parks where, I’ve been told, I will die should I ever set foot in them).  It is also home to the expressway to nowhere (I can’t make this stuff up).

Waukegan does have a number of famous sons and daughters, including sci-fi author Ray Bradbury, comedian Jack Benny, running back Michael Turner and trumpeter Amy Nelson.  For whatever reason, Al Capone is not embraced by Waukenagites in spite of the fact that he pretty much is synonymous with Chicago – and, as we’ve established, Waukegan is Chicago.

Amy Nelson, by far, is the most famous resident of Waukegan; not only because she’s a world-renowned musician but also because she’s seen me in my swim trunks.

I’ll have lots of interesting Waukedlian facts in the days ahead.  Right now, though, I’m going to eat my breakfast: pizza and coffee.

TWD

vacation 2012: part 2

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It is a gorgeous morning on Ahmic Lake.

I woke up in my boathouse retreat about 10 minutes ago after nearly 8 hours of sleep and am listening to a few birds as I type this.  Other than those avian noisemakers, it is virtually silent.  The wind hasn’t started up yet this morning, so I don’t even hear any waves slapping against the dock or pushing the boats around downstairs.  This won’t last long, I’m sure – there’s certain to be a boat or two cruising by before I’m long into this narrative.  I can live with that.

Life on the Magnetawan River

I arrived at Camp Ulvik at about 8:00 Saturday night after a really nice drive from Cornwall, VT.  The trip began somewhat inauspiciously when I discovered, in Shoreham, that the updates that I’d applied to my GPS unit last week had completely wiped out all Canadian data and I was unable to get directions to Magnetawan.  This isn’t nearly as bad as it sounds – I was making the trip before GPS existed, after all – but if the weather hadn’t been perfect all day on Saturday then I might have been a bit stressed.  As it happened, however, I managed to find my way to Cornwall, Ontario; and then I used a method that I’d employed once in the 1990s to get here: I headed west until I saw signs to towns or landmarks that jogged my memory.  Kingston, Ottawa, Algonquin, Huntsville, etc.

I was met at the camp by Cy, “T”, Don & Julie Peddy, and the Peddy’s new puppy, Nellie.  Dinner was barbecued ribs, cole slaw and mashed potatoes, and all of us hit the sack fairly early.

Yesterday morning was devoted mainly to getting the camp connected to the internet.  Whoever closed things up last September hadn’t stored the DSL modem and routers in their normal spot in the basement; and I tried unsuccessfully to connect with an older modem for about an hour before, mainly out of frustration, I had an inspiration and checked an upstairs closet in the farmhouse and found the missing equipment.  Once that was recovered, it was a short business to get things up and running.

One of the floats in the Magnetawan Canada Day Parade

After having a crumpet for breakfast, I joined the rest of the gang for a trip into town to catch Magnetawan’s Canada Day Parade.  It was, by necessity in a town of 300, rather short; but it had a patriotic charm that reminded me of July 4th celebrations from my days in Shoreham in the 1970’s.  Bunting, flags, old cars, kids on bicycles, dogs decked out in flags…all in all, a very pleasant diversion.

After the parade, there was a cake cutting (happy 145th birthday, Canada!) it the town center/library/hockey rink, and 60 or 70 people broke into “Oh, Canada” seemingly spontaneously.  It sounded great.

As do I.

I walked the two and a half miles back to the camp and the remainder of the day was a typical Ahmic afternoon.  Had a nap, followed by a great dinner (“T” grilled some chicken breasts and Julie pitched in with a salad), and then the 5 of us played Oh Hell until 11:00 or so.

Managed to get Amy on a video call at about 11:30 – sadly, she will not be able to visit next week (a tenuous plan that had been formed proved to be too impractical), but we had a nice talk before I toddled off to take a few shots of the moon and hit the sack.

The high temperature yesterday, by the way, was probably about 85.  I’m told that it hit 106 in Atlanta and 111 in other parts of Georgia.  I’m quite happy to be where I am, deer flies and all.

Laptop battery running low, and I’m short on time.  Later, all.

TWD

vacation 2012: part 1

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Yeah.

So I said that I’d try to write something every day while I was on vacation.  I lied.

Ruins of the British soldiers barracks at Crown Point, NY

It is now Friday evening, and Cy, “T”, Dad, Diane and I have just returned to the Cornwall house from dinner in Middlebury – Dad’s treat!  Most in the group got some variant of Thai food.  I opted for a sushi plate, which was quite good.  We’re all back at the house now (it’s about 9:00).  Cy and “T” are busying themselves with last-minute packing details (the three of us are leaving for Magnetawan in the morning), Diane and I are both playing on our computers and Dad is doing his best to take pictures of the incredible sky using an old point-and-shoot camera – I haven’t the heart to tell him that it’s never going to work.

The new Champlain Bridge

The GBB’s concert last night went fairly well.  The crowd seemed to be larger than last year’s was, and it was extremely receptive of the band, which sounded pretty good – and I should know, because I  was late getting back to the stage and watched the first selection of the concert’s second half (West Side Story) from the picnic grounds.  All of the folks in the band who I talked to had a great trip and – judging by several of their posts on Facebook – we wouldn’t be averse to making a third trip to Middlebury.  This won’t happen next year, of course (we’re booked for the international trombone federation in Columbus), but maybe in 2014.

Champlain Lighthouse

I spent most of yesterday tooling around Shoreham in the morning – driving on a bunch of dirt roads near Lake Champlain, eating a late breakfast at the Halfway House, visiting Mom’s tree by the historical society….just reacquainting myself with the old hometown.  Around noon, I went to Middlebury and walked around the cemetery – took a number of pictures, but nothing really caught my eye.  At one o’clock, I hooked up with Cy and the two of us moved percussion equipment from the fine arts building to the stage (a trip of about 200 yards).  The rest of the day was sort of hectic – sound check at 4:00, back to Cornwall for a quick shower, back to the stage for the performance.  After the gig, Cy and I and one of the percussionists moved all the percussion equipment back to the fine arts center and then he and I went to the Two Brothers Tavern in town for a bit of supper.  I ended up getting back to the house at around midnight last night and crashed.  Totally exhausted.

On Wednesday, the day after I arrived in Cornwall, I slept until nearly 9:00, went for a quick 2-mile walk on Clark Road, and then drove to Crown Point, NY.  Spent several hours there walking around the ruins of the two forts on the site (one British, one French).  I never knew that there was an actual historic site there, so it was fun.  Both of the forts were pre-revolution.  The French one – Fort St. Frederic – was built in the 1730s and was never taken (the French destroyed in in 1759 when faced with an overwhelming British force during the French & Indian (aka 7 Years) War.  Almost immediately, the British began construction of a much larger fortification – which was never finished and was taken by American forces in 1775.  Both sets of ruins have been declared National Historic Sites and have not been reconstructed.

Seagull as seen from the top of the Champlain Bridge

Also at the site is the newly-completed (2011) Champlain Bridge, which is really what I drove over there to see.

Wednesday evening I was back at Cy’s place where we hosted a small gathering of GBB members who were in town along with many of their hosts.  I’d been expecting only 5 or 6 people, so it was great to have closer to 10 (maybe 18-20, hosts included).  We hung around, eating chips, drinking good local beer and socializing until perhaps 9:30, when a good number of the band – myself included – went to the Two Brothers  Tavern (they must love us there), ostensibly to play trivia.  As it turned out, we were far too late for the trivia contest, so I ended up playing darts with Matt (the previously-mentioned percussionist) for about two hours before coming back to Cornwall.

House on the Vermont side of the Champlain Bridge

As I stated earlier, tomorrow is a travel day and I probably won’t have much to say.  If I get to Ahmic early enough, however, there may be some pictures.

More pictures from the last three days, by the way, are here.  I’ll continue to add to that album as the vacation continues.

TWD

let’s hit the road

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It seems like it’s been about 20 years since I’ve typed the following words, but in actuality, it’s been only 2: After just one more day of work, I’m setting off for Canada.

To be sure, I’ll actually be setting my GPS for Middlebury, VT, at about 4:00 AM Tuesday; but, after spending about three days there, it’s off to glorious Magnetawan – the home-away-from-home that I was unable to get to last year, and which I’ve sorely missed for the last 700+ days.  It will be a different town than I remember, largely because the Downtown General Store, the anchor of Magnetawan, Ontario’s business district for as long as anyone can remember, was completely destroyed by fire last summer in what appears to be a case of arson.  Due to the difficulties in zoning, registrations, and other political things, the store is not going to be rebuilt; and life on Ahmic Lake may never be the same for the hundreds (perhaps thousands) of summer residents.  Be that as it may, the charm of Ahmic lies in the beauty of the area, the relationships among the lake dwellers and the regular townsfolk, and the relatively carefree days of summer in the lakes region of Ontario.  No matter how many times I visit (but for the skip last year, this would have been my 20th summer on the lake), I am always awed by how fantastic I feel after my first dip in the lake, and I’m always worried that I’m going to do something foolish like call my boss and tell him that I’m never coming back.

We make a cute couple, eh?

I will, of course, be coming back to Duluth again this year; but not before making a stop in Waukegan, as I mentioned in my last entry.  My plan at this point is to leave Canada on the (early) morning of July 12th and travel to Illinois Beach State Park for a few days of camping, rehearsing with the Chicago Brass Band, watching Amy play in a few gigs, and hopefully getting to spend some time with her when she’s not gigging.  Her schedule sounds like it will be fairly busy for the three days that I’m in Illinois – busy enough so that I briefly considered not making the trip.  “Briefly,” however, is the key word.

Amy, by the way, did indeed make it down to Atlanta last Friday night.  On Saturday, we spent some time at a local AT&T store – she needed a new phone and some gizmos to go with it, and I get a pretty hefty discount on the gizmos – and then I introduced her to the magic of the south’s most established eatery (Waffle House) before dragging her with me to a performance by the GBB at the annual International Euphonium Institute.  It wasn’t the band’s best showing, but I didn’t embarrass myself, which was nice.

We’d planned to spend last night watching movies, but both of us were pretty wiped out by midnight and we ended up falling asleep halfway through the first one we started watching (My Cousin Vinnie).

Today found us at the Georgia Aquarium, where we wandered around looking at fish and taking pictures for several hours before I rather unwillingly took her to the airport for her return flight to Illinois.  I received a message from her as I began writing this that she’s landed in Milwaukee and will be home in another hour.  Good news there.  I still don’t trust planes, though I know I’ll be on a few of them as this year winds down.

I know I’ve already gotten slack about updating this blog again, but I’ll do my best to at least get a few paragraphs in each day during the vacation – at least as long as I’ve got internet access.  Unlike my days at home, there should be plenty to write about while I’m away.

For starters, I can fill y’all in on my trip to Gettysburg (last week).  I probably should do that now, but I’m getting ready for a trip, you see.  I’m sort of busy.

TWD