From Richmond to Charlotte (Sorta) to the NC Outer Banks-March 2026
Spirituals in Richmond I had been invited to be a panelist for a discussion of spirituals for the 2026 Society for American Music (SAM) annual conference in Richmond, Virginia, so I decided to add a side trip to the Outer Banks of my home state, North Carolina. It would be only my second visit to the area, when my mother and I made it as far as Buxton, NC, in 2017. Shortly before the trip was scheduled to begin, I saw a Facebook notice that the American Spiritual Ensemble (ASE) was scheduled to perform in Charlotte, North Carolina, the Sunday after the conference. As the departure date neared, however, two events caused me to debate whether I would complete the trip as planned. First, I got an email notification that a different conference had just experienced numerous confirmed cases of COVID. While I had gotten my annual COVID vaccine a…
California (and Oregon), Here I Come?!?
As I contemplated driving to the Southwest national parks this fall, I considered adding the parks I missed in California. However, the extra mileage and physical wear and tear to me and my car, the Silver Bullet (SB), didn’t seem feasible, even to me. Then, Uncle Sam’el came to the rescue. I received a notice on my Amtrak app that the train service was offering a 50% discount on its USA Rail Pass. The pass restrictions that come with the standard $500 price usually turn me off, but the timing of the half-price offer was perfect because it gave me the option to travel from Washington to Los Angeles using only two of the ten segments that come with the pass. Even the restrictions–starting the first segment within four months of purchase–would be workable. Plus, if I don’t use all ten segments within 30 days of beginning the first segment–another…
A Day at the MET(s)–New York City (Again)
After a quiet Christmas holiday, the family turmoil began slowly to settle. I read that mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves-Montgomery was giving her final Metropolitan Opera performance in Porgy and Bess during the last weekend of January. I decided to take the opportunity to get out-of-town and witness the performance. This would be the second time I’ve traveled to New York to see the opera/musical (depending on the approach of the musical presentation one used)–previously for the 2012 Broadway production with Audra McDonald and Norm Lewis. I also saw the 2019 production via The Met in HD, so I was really looking forward to seeing it live. I took Amtrak to New York because it’s so hard to drive and park in the city safely that I feel like the Silver Bullet is much better off parked at the train station. I’m no longer used to getting up early enough to make…
Seein’ the DMV: Celebrating the Holidays 2025
As I have mentioned in previous posts, this has been a difficult year for my family. I’ve kept my travels close enough to the DMV that I could get back fairly quickly if needed. With the passing of my eldest sister’s husband in October, I’ve intentionally stayed close to home. Sometimes, though, we are blessed through difficult moments. My sister asked me to sing for the memorial service. I’d stepped away from public performing, but I couldn’t refuse her. The blessing I received was both spiritual — rediscovering that I still have the gift to sing, but I have to change the way I do it — and practical — a limited return to public performance. I am even considering giving a concert in late Spring 2026. More about this if it actually gets past the wishful thinking stage. Holiday Concerts in the DMV Most of November and December was…
The Planning Begins – Seven New National Parks (Southwest USA)
Those who follow this blog know I have been systematically (or not so systematically) visiting the national parks here in the United States. So far, I’ve now gotten 37 done. They are: Acadia – Maine American Samoa – American Samoa Arches (Post) Badlands (Post) Big Bend – Texas Biscayne (Post) Black Canyon of the Gunnison (Post) Bryce Canyon (Post) Canyonlands (Post) Capitol Reef (Post) Carlsbad Caverns – New Mexico Channel Islands – California Congaree (Post) Crater Lake – Oregon Cuyahoga Valley (Post) Death Valley (Post) Denali – Alaska Dry Tortugas (Post) Everglades (Post) Gates of the Arctic – Alaska Gateway Arch (Post) Glacier (Post) Glacier Bay – Alaska Grand Canyon (Post) Grand Teton (Post) Great Basin – Nevada Great Sand Dunes (Post) Great Smoky Mountains (Post) Guadalupe Mt. – Texas Haleakalā – Hawaiʻi Hawaiʻi Volcanoes – Hawaiʻi Hot Springs (Post) Indiana Dunes (Post) Isle Royale (Post) Joshua Tree(Post) Katmai –…
Blue Ridge Parkway, Pt. 2
I woke up really early Friday morning and decided to get underway. The sky at that hour was so dark and clear, I finally had an unobstructed view of the stars. Since I didn’t have my telescope, I got a few shots with my phone. The part of the Blue Ridge Parkway near Smoky Mountain National Park was empty of traffic, but I still needed to drive carefully because I was concerned that the cool weather had made the leaf-covered roadway slick, plus I occasionally had to evade fallen tree branches. I chose the faster, most direct drive (Rt. 19 to I-40 East) to Asheville, rather than taking the part of the parkway I’d already driven. By the time I reached the parkway’s visitor center, it had opened for the day. I was very glad to be able to talk to the ranger on duty because, as I suspected, there…
Return to Smoky Mountain NP-103025
My audio tour, Shaka Guide, gave me the option of starting at either end of the Smoky Mountain National Park tour, from Cherokee, North Carolina, or Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Since I had just returned from Nashville the day before and would be working my way back east, Gatlinburg was the logical beginning for me. The weather forecast wasn’t ideal–still some rain expected and cloudy–but it was vastly better than the day before. On my previous trip to Smoky Mountain NP, it was my first time in the park. I pretty much meandered my way through, sometimes to popular spots and sometimes off the beaten path. For this trip, the audio tour would probably cover the most popular routes in the park. The map to the right shows the vast spread of Smoky Mountain NP. From the park entrance near Gatlinburg, the audio tour directed me towards Cades Cove, the remains of…
Side Trip to Music City Tennessee-National Museum of African American Music-102925
Wednesday morning started beautifully but cloudy. The weather forecast called for a 100% chance of rain by noon. Most definitely not a day for me to enjoy scenic driving through the Smoky Mountain National Park. I sat in the parking lot of its Oconaluftee Visitors Center debating whether I should chance the scenic drive or get on the nearby entrance of the Blue Ridge Parkway and head for home. Then, a third option came to mind. I had just seen a Facebook post about the National Museum of African American Music‘s (NMAAM) exhibit on the Fisk Jubilee Singers. I had actually thought about going there in the early planning of this trip, but decided against it when I discovered that my trip to the Southwestern national parks, currently planned for 2026, would take me directly through Nashville. The problem was that the Singers exhibit is scheduled to close in December…
Blue Ridge Parkway, Part 1
Tuesday morning was, as forecast, cloudy but with a far lower chance of rain in the Asheville area. I checked out and got a relatively early start. On Monday, while driving around Asheville, I noticed directional signs indicating that the famous Biltmore Estate was nearby. I wasn’t really interested in a tour of the estate this trip, but I decided to take a chance of getting close enough to the house to get a picture. Based on the appearance of the gatehouse, the grounds have already been decorated for the coming Christmas holidays–more than a month away at that point. Unfortunately, though, I was unable to get past the ticket booth for more photos without buying a ticket. Instead, I headed to the North Carolina Arboretum, where I had planned to begin the audio-guided tour of the portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway that would lead to the Smoky Mountain…
“Romeo and Juliet” Comes to Staunton, Virginia, and Musical Moments
From living in Iowa, I’d become quite familiar with driving distances (Chicago, Omaha, Kansas City, etc.) to attend events. So, it was not at all unusual for me to use the planned drive to Winston-Salem, North Carolina to divert somewhat and attend a performance of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. My original plan was to attend the Music Library Association (MLA) chapter conference jointly organized by the Atlantic and the Southeastern chapters and use the opportunity to visit my aunt in Greensboro, then drive back to DC via the Blue Ridge Parkway. This post will cover through the conference, with other posts addressing the rest of the trip. As it worked out, I had added the conference to my calendar a week too early. Fortunately, I learned of the error before I made the drive. However, I did need to adjust my trip so that I would instead make the…