It’s Friday morning, July 16, 2010. I’m in the back seat of our little Toyota Sienna minivan as we’re traveling down the Taconic Pkwy heading up to Lake Placid from Cold Spring, NY. The winding hills of New York State never cease to blow me away with their beauty.  However, anyone who’s ever been on the Taconic Parkway knows that if my attempt at typing while the car is winding round the curves will be one heck of a feat but I really want to do a brain dump about our tour so far.

Here’s what I know for sure - there are some really wonderful people out there, without whom we would not have had NEAR as much fun. Their willingness to help us musicians along our way - most of them other musicians – was awesome. Our first tour out east has been glorious and we’re all so full of gratitude right now. Not because the gigs have been spectacular and certainly not the money but each one was very special and so much fun.

First stop Rockville, MD for the Focus Presents Vic’s Music Corner series, where we got to meet and hear Greg Trooper who was a terrific combination of understated and power-house performer with incredible songs and captivating voice.  Scott and Paula Moore set us up in their incredibly comfortable home for the night and, despite their early rising day jobs, stayed up with us till 2am during which time we polished off two bottles of wine, had some delightful conversation and more music courtesy of their son Andy who is quite the musician. They were all gone when we woke up so we showered, packed up and hit the road. Destination – New York City by way of Hoboken, NJ…here’s where we have our first experience with rush hour on I-95 heading for the Lincoln Tunnel. Only one wrong turn and we managed to maneuver the car-lined streets of Hoboken unload our stuff at our friend, Jamie’s place – a sweet 2 bedroom home on the second floor above the liquor store – we definitely learned how to work with less for this gig since we were taking a bus to the PATH (subway) station, taking the subway to Bleeker St! then a short walk to Caffe Vivaldi. Now let me just say that we are not big city folks. Well, I could be. There are things about both the country and the city that I love. Rod… not so much…but …

…how magical! Seriously, even Rod was surprised at how exciting it all was. I mean, this was our first trip to New York (with the exception of one afternoon in my youth where I spent most of it on the floor in the back seat of a station wagon, trying not to throw up cause the driver was a little too comfortable zipping around in the crazy traffic)

On this trip, we only saw a tiny fraction of this marvelous metropolis, but it was a most important fraction … The legendary 60’s folk mecca - Greenwich Village!  Sadly, there was no time to explore beyond the few blocks we had to walk to our gig for which we were already late. The wonderful trio, The Ya Ya’s, were getting ready to start just as we arrived.

Caffe Vivaldi is a tiny little café/restaurant with so much damned charm and excellent food. The baby grand piano in the corner sets the stage for an intimate live music experience. The Ya Ya’s played a great set despite Catherine’s pain-killer induced haze – the reason for which was evident from the scars and sling she donned due to her recent shoulder surgery. She could sing the alphabet and mesmerize - drugs or not. Our set was great fun and I couldn’t take the smile off my face - even through the sad songs - cause out in the sparse audience were a few dear friends who we hadn’t seen since they moved to the city in the late 90s. Who of us don’t know a half-dozen people from a past or present life who live in New York City. You may not be able to think of them right now but you probably do. All we can say is that our very short stay only gave us this intense desire to return very soon!!

As I mentioned, we were staying overnight in Hoboken with one of those long lost friends and Hoboken is also a culturally rich city and oh my, the stunning architecture had me in awe as we walked to the river where we ate breakfast in a restaurant popular for its great view of the city.  It was all over much too soon … next stop Cold Spring…

Only an hour or so away so we had some time to stop at a scenic overlook on Palisades Parkway, still making it to Cold Spring by early afternoon. So we strolled around the downtown looking for a place to grab a light lunch… finally found McGuire’s, the local bar where a grilled cheese sandwich looked and tasted like Mom’s and the Guinness was cold. It was a balmy 90 degrees with 100% humidity. After our lunch we headed up the street to a non-descript store front – home to coldspringradio.com where we sat with DJ Sam for about an hour chatting in between spins of songs from our CD and Jason’s. One thing I noticed is that the town appeared to be ‘closed’ because all the lights were off. Yet all the store signs said “open”.  Way to conserve that energy Cold Spring!

Whistling Willies was a popular restaurant and we arrived early enough to enjoy some time on the patio – I’m not big on air conditioning – where we talked about the set list and enjoyed another Guinness. Kathleen Pemble, a lovely singer/songwriter, is the host of the Music Room showcase held each Thursday. She rounded up a few other locals to help her put together a really wonderful first set for the evening. I should also mention that this back room is pretty non-descript at first site although they decorated a corner with lovely red and black lacey drapes. Then she arrives with a bag full of the same fabric which was used to cover the tables. The room is transformed – add the lighting and it really is a terrific setting. This is yet another way that local musicians help out other traveling musicians. And I want to be clear that I don’t use the word ‘local’ as a way to separate us. We’re all local when we’re in our home town. These are truly talented musicians who may or may not travel but they charmed us for sure. They were also incredibly generous listeners who, with the exception of a few stragglers from the restaurant, were our only audience. We had a really fun set and we will look very much forward to going back.

After that show we were heading to the home of Catherine and Jay (the Ya Yas) and their sweetheart dog, Tucker. We crashed pretty quickly and got caught up the next morning over coffee and eggs. As fellow dog lovers, we had lots to talk about. So many words to describe those two … generous (again), kind, easy-going, funny, so talented and it was really hard to leave.

That was the story in almost every case on this trip. Each stop was a new “In this Town” adventure and in each stop we found ourselves wanting to stay longer. Off to Lake Placid now where I’m sure we’ll find the same situation.

How lucky are we !!???

At a slow crawl now on I-95 crossing a bridge over some waterway near South Portland heading toward Mass. Even in this frustrating traffic and sweltering heat, we’re smiling and laughing and reminiscing about the trip cause we’re on our way home. .-  before we get into the  recap of Lake Placid and Peaks Island – the cause of the traffic jam came into view.  A little fender bender in the left lane, we witnessed some near road rage and now we’re cruising along at a comfortable speed.

Anyway, I have to get this all down before it becomes a faded memory.

Lake Placid was unbelievably gorgeous.  The route there was mostly blue highways which made for a relaxing and scenic drive… there are some hills in the Hudson Valley and it’s a beautiful part of the state, but when we started approaching Lake Placid and the temperature started dropping a little (it had been raining for most of the drive) we rounded a bend to the most beautiful sight I have seen in a long time. There before me was this mountain- a third of which was above the clouds.  With the misty fog left over from the rain it took my breath away. Jason and Rod were both sleeping and that particular moment came and went. No matter, the rest of the drive was awe-inspiring with one glorious scene after another until we finally arrived and around another corner was the big Olympic stadium – I’m not much for sports and only occasionally watched the Olympics but I remember Lake Placid and there’s just something so cool about seeing the place in person.

The reason we were even there was that our kind friends Bob and Pat Hofbauer have a place in town and upon noticing the little gap in our calendar got in touch with a friend who owns a lovely little Inn. The Pines Inn has a Friday night fish fry on their veranda and agreed to let us play for tips. We were fed well and sent a few attentive listeners home with our CDs. After we packed up, Pat and her daughter Katrina along with her friends took us into town for a little bar-hopping. Rod and I cut out after the first stop and went back home with Pat who fed us a late snack before hitting the pillow. Jason stayed behind with the girls and had his own adventure – not the least of which was having a drink with Johnny Wier’s agent. Turns out that Katrina was a skater, as were her friends and they’ve met young Johnny.

We had to leave bright and early the next day and Pat was up with the dawn, coffee made, eggs, bagels and fresh fruit on the stove and after filling our bellies she sent us off with a care package of road snacks. The GPS tells us we’ll arrive to Peaks Island at 2:30 but we always pad that – especially when there are two ferries involved (sounds funny when you SAY that, rather than READ it). Another really scenic drive through Vermont till we hit the interstate in New Hampshire. Closer we got to Maine the more traffic there was and at this point we were glad we didn’t stop for a meal.

Here’s where some of the ‘fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants” mentality can trip you up. We really had no idea how this whole Portland parking and ferry thing worked. While we thought we had time to find some seafood down by the pier, the reality of how long it would take to get the car parked, grab all we could carry- just the bare essentials for an overnight stay on the island – and race several city blocks to the dock to catch the 5:30 boat across the Casco bay hit us about half-way through our first beer.

Peaks Island is a way cool place with lots of summer homes and bayside restaurants. The 5^th Maine Regimental Museum is a charming place. Looks more like someone’s home from the outside with a huge wrap-around porch, the back of which overlooks the Atlantic Ocean. The great room was the perfect place to put on a concert. We met Phil Galligan at our first (or second) NERFA and he’s been hosting this series for quite some time now. He opens the show and then 2 featured artists each play a set. We shared the night with Eliza Blue who was a stunning singer and lovely woman. Our set was really fun and this was the biggest audience we’ve had on the whole trip at around 25 people or so. Our host lodging for the night was a sweet woman named, June who let us crash on the second floor of their renovated barn. Once Rod closed the unscreened windows and killed or released as many of the flying creatures as he could find, we settled down for a snore-filled night’s sleep. Yes, even me…. J

Up bright and early to catch the 8:30 ferry off the island. I couldn’t wait to get out of my sweaty boots. Even at this early hour the sun was already scorching. Becky’s Place was recommended to us for a good breakfast and when we finally found it the  first thing we saw was all the people outside waiting for a table. That’s a good sign. It was an charming little diner and we sat at the counter for the full experience. Finally got my lobster in an omelet! YUM! It was the perfect way to fill our bellies before beginning our long drive home. We’re sad but so relieved and full of joy over how amazing this trip was.

My expectations were low but hopeful and we kept our spirits up giving our all at every venue despite the small crowds. We got to see old friends and meet several new friends. We got to experience parts of our beautiful country we’ve never seen and we all got along famously, with lots of laughs and story sharing and comfortable silence in the car. Rod was our trooper chauffeur and I only got behind the wheel for a few short hours of this tour. Jason held court in the passenger’s seat no matter which one of us was driving. That’s by design, cause I like the back seat. We learned SO much and will be making this trip again armed with new information and an eager hopefulness.

The magic of technology sometimes really leaves me awestruck. I'm sitting in the passengers seat of a rented Toyota Corolla that is making us feel very grateful for our mini-van. I mean, what kind of modern day vehicle doesn't come equipped with cruise-control? Still, its nice that our gas savings alone will probably pay for most of the rental. Imagine it would completely pay for it if we had cruise control :-)

So as most of you know, we're on our way to Kerrville Texas to play our two songs for the judges along with 32 other finalists. One of whom is fellow Michigan artist, Jen Cass, who is a wonderful singer/songwriter! Kerrville has been on our radar for many years and we're looking forward to finally seeing what all the fuss is about. We promise to report back next month, but if you want more timely updates join us on Facebook or twitter.