These Are the Voyages–Florida Supercon (Day 3)
I thought I had more time to get to the convention hall than I did, so I watched Serena kick butt on the tennis court at Wimbledon. Then, I wanted to kick myself when I discovered that I’d missed Chase Masterson’s Q&A because she is reputed to good for an interesting tidbit or two of dirt. I did make the session with Michael Dorn. He was hilarious and very attentive of the questioners, except a couple who tried to take pictures while he was answering their questions. Even then, however, he posed for pix after he finished answering. He sounds very different in person than his “Worf” voice, so the audience applauded appreciatively when he switched to it upon request. I stayed a little bit afterwards to hear part of the Q&A session with Bruce Boxleitner. While wandering while waiting for the afternoon session I wanted to attend, I also…
These Are the Voyages-Florida Supercon (Day 2)
I thought Friday was busy, but Saturday was nearly overwhelming. Thankfully, I had received an email warning that tickets were sold out, so I knew big crowds were to be expected. I learned a new term: cosplay, short for costume roleplaying. (My roleplaying on the old Stargame pbem (playing by e-mail) was solely online, so we never needed costuming. The costumes at Supercon were amazing. Everytime I thought I saw one that was the most incredibly elaborate, another would surpass it a few minutes later. Still, this one has to be in the top ten: This was a late start, late finish day. Since my interest in the convention is solely Star Trek, the earliest event was William Shatner’s Q&A session at 3:00. I got there early, though, in the hope of getting a relatively close seat and got a pleasant surprise of hearing the Q&A with Henry Winkler…
These Are the Voyages-Florida Supercon (Day 1)
The day started with a thunderstorm, but by the time I was ready to leave, all that remained was a bunch of big water puddles. Gave RB a break and used Uber to get to the hall because it would be cheaper (I hoped), and it's hard to beat curbside service. Below are a few shots at the hall entrance:
[gallery ids="166,156,157,158,165"] There were folks who clearly put a lot of work into their costumes, most of which I didn't recognize, but I'll bet one of my brothers or one of my nieces would have known the anime-based ones.I pretty much wandered until the two ST guests were scheduled to talk that afternoon. They were Rene Auberjonois, from Deep Space Nine (Odo) and Star Trek VI (Adm. West), and Denise Crosby, from Star Trek: The Next Generation (Tasha Yar). Both shared interesting tidbits.
[gallery ids="159,160,161,162,163"] Saturday and Sunday are the main events, in fact, I got an email that Saturday's already sold out. More later.
The Art of Driving, Florida Edition
: //singin1.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Day3-300x261.gif" alt="Day3" width="424" height="369" />I got out early Thursday morning, but there seemed to be one delay after another along the way. Plus, I didn't account for finally crossing from CDT to EDT, losing another hour. One delay was my fault. My original plan was to drive past Tallahassee (Tallytown) heading south and to stay there overnight on my way back. Well, Floridians seem to have a thing about putting their college decals all over their cars (admittedly a mild exaggeration), and well, my FSU decal was so damaged, it was unrecognizable. I couldn't represent like that, so I drove into town and bought a replacement. Thing is, this placed me barely a block from my old haunt at the FSU School of Music, and I owe folks an explanation for why I didn't stop by while there.
Grabbed lunch to go--I still thought it was before noon and not actually 12: 30 at that point (reminder: set clock on cameras, please)--and noticed the intown traffic was already getting heavy. Once I was back on I-10, things really got serious. You see, this was the Thursday before a 3-day, 4th of July, weekend in Florida. Everyone who could start their vacation/holiday early was on the road. And the driving was not for the faint-hearted. Fortunately, my big city driving skills still exist, and RB responded to the situation as she always does.
FYI, for those not used to this kind of driving: one, the speed limit is totally irrelevant; two, that barely there space in the lane beside you also looks pretty attractive to at least one other driver in the lane on the other side; three, if you take time to think about braking, it's probably too late; four AND MOST IMPORTANT, if you are crazed enough to be out there and want to drive no faster than speed limit, please don't take up permanent residence in the far left lane--you will be the likely cause of the multi-car accident or, if the rest of us are lucky, solely be the recipient of floods of profanity.
I realized that time was getting late, so instead of taking the site-seer route I'd originally planned, I took the more direct one using the Florida Turnpike. By then, however, the rush hour traffic had joined the vacation/holiday traffic. I will spare you a description of THAT, but I will only say it's the stuff of nightmares. Oh, BTW, it rained regularly throughout the day, so bad weather was also a contributing factor to the day's adventures in driving.At one of the few quiet moments, I saw a beautiful double rainbow stretching across the sky. A few pictures are below:
[gallery type="rectangular" ids="142,143,144,145"] I do wish that it hadn't been so late when I finally approached Miami Beach. It was too dark to see much of the area, but I hope to have some time to get out and explore before I leave next week. Other than that, RB will get a much-deserved four-day break. For this part of the trip, I've arranged through Airbnb to stay in a room at a residence in Miami Beach. It's a great location--only two blocks from the beach and a ten-minute Uber ride to the Miami Beach Convention hall, where the Supercon is being held. The host has been very gracious thus far, and the room is very comfortable with my own bath.: //singin1.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/loudmusic-1-300x285.jpg" alt="loudmusic" width="300" height="285" />
The music for a day like this was critical for me. Believe it or not, it kept me focused on the task at hand, which is why I don't put Classical music on the list. And I'm glad I broke up the "The" groups to add an even more pleasant variety of solo performers and groups to the playlist. The B's part of the playlist is huge (remember that the playlist as a whole is nearly 14GB) with my usual obsession session on Barry Manilow's "Could It Be Magic"--don't try to figure out why I obsess over that song, I gave up trying to understand why long ago. The first of the C's didn't begin until I had passed Orlando. Some great music to look forward to hearing.: 2px; text-indent: 20px; width: auto; padding: 0px 4px 0px 0px; text-align: center; font: bold 11px/20px 'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,sans-serif; color: #ffffff; background: #bd081c no-repeat scroll 3px 50% / 14px 14px; position: absolute; opacity: 1; z-index: 8675309; display: none; cursor: pointer;">Save
Bama Bound
Before I get started, let me get this out of the way. Family, you may again say, “Told you so!” This is my first extended trip using my smartphone, which allows me to access the Internet and provide a hotspot for my laptop without being dependent on finding an outside wi-fi source. Very convenient (but cheap, it ain’t). Moving on…. Woke up surprisingly early, so I left with the hope that Nashville’s morning rush would be over. HA!! Took twice as long to get to Fisk University as it should have. Got a few great pictures of Jubilee Hall (if you don’t know who the Fisk Jubilee Singers are and their connection with that hall, there’s concise information on the group’s site. I found a great, free parking space outside the campus library only to discover I had absolutely no motivation to go inside and study! So, I drove out…
The Singin’ Trekker on the Road!
: //singin1.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Day1-293x300.gif" alt="Day1" width="293" height="300" />
I did a re-assessment of the trip and decided to delay departure until Tuesday and reverse the direction of my route. This would mean missing Trekfest, but with a four-day convention on the schedule and the possibility of attending another year, I could work with this idea. So,... I spent a relaxed 3-day weekend in Grinnell. RB's mileage hit 137K over the weekend, so she will hopefully make it to 140K before this excursion is over. Beyond doing a reshuffling of what I'd prepped for the trip, I didn't do anything but catch the newly released I4 movie at the local theater. After a couple of false starts, got out of Grinnell just after 11 a.m. Tuesday morning. RB's starting odometer reading was 136,037 miles. Since my goal was to get to Nashville, minimally a 10-hour drive away, I didn't plan many stops along the way. The one I did plan was Snake Alley in Burlington, Iowa. It claims to rival San Francisco's Lombard Street for twists and turns, so I wanted to see it. Who am I kidding? I wanted to take RB on it.I set the dash cam, but it's new, and I didn't anticipate that extended use would result in the recording of the actual descent being overlain. Fortunately, I did take a few stills that are below:
[gallery size="large" type="slideshow" ids="93,101,100,99,98,97,96,95,94" orderby="rand"] The drive was pretty steady until I reached the outskirts of St. Louis and realized their evening rush hour was underway. Rather than get caught in it, I stopped for dinner. When I finally reached town, I was treated to this wonderful view of the Arch. I visited it a few years ago, so I'm settling with this view before I continued south.: //singin1.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/IMG_0021-e1467177827127-225x300.jpg" alt="IMG_0021" width="476" height="635" />
: //singin1.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/loudmusic-300x285.jpg" alt="loudmusic" width="300" height="285" />
Other than a wild--or incredibly long--delay on I-64, the drive was uneventful. Stopped for the night about an hour outside Nashville with a busy day planned for Wednesday. Started my playlist from the beginning. Lots of A's and started the B's just before I stopped for the evening. For me, the steady driving, accompanied by great music, really does make me relax.: 2px; text-indent: 20px; width: auto; padding: 0px 4px 0px 0px; text-align: center; font: bold 11px/20px 'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,sans-serif; color: #ffffff; background: #bd081c no-repeat scroll 3px 50% / 14px 14px; position: absolute; opacity: 1; z-index: 8675309; display: none; cursor: pointer; top: 920px; left: 835px;">Save
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Nashville!! And Other Pre-Departure Random Thoughts
: //singin1.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Map6-274x300.jpg" alt="Map6" width="425" height="465" />I looked at the detailed route--a 122-page TripTik, btw--for my scheduled trip and noticed that the return takes me through Nashville, Tennessee. I'd visited Memphis in the past--both as a conference attendee and as a tourist, but I've never entered Country music's center.
So, with a quick check of Tripadvisor, I discovered that the : //www.musicianshalloffame.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum is located there.
And, of course, Nashville is the home of : //www.fisk.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Fisk University. I definitely want to visit, and if I can work things out so I arrive on Friday, perhaps I can get some research done. Also, if time permits, I might try for one of the music tours. All depends on when I arrive and how much time I have left to get home.
(I'm determined that I am not going to repeat that : //singin1.wordpress.com/2014/06/11/day-16-back-to-the-old-homestead/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">over 1,000-mile one-day marathon drive home I did in 2014, which ended with me getting only three hours sleep before going to work.)
Anyway, suggestions for a good place to eat or some other site I MUST see in Nashville are appreciated.: //singin1.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/RiversideIASign-300x255.jpg" alt="RiversideIASign" width="352" height="299" />Also, the organizers of Trekfest have posted the schedule for their 2016 weekend festival. Based on past experience, I'd like to get there about an hour early so I can get a good seat for the parade.
I didn't see any information about Star Trek special guests, but I'm crossing my fingers that someone interesting will be there. Yes, I know I'm going to four days of Trek at the Supercon. So?!?I've started checking the weather forecasts for the area, too. : //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Atlantic_hurricane_season" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Hurricane season, you know. Little Rock is expected to have highs of 100+, New Orleans in the low 90s and Gulfport, Mississippi, in the mid-90s. Thankfully, the most serious precipitation predicted is for scattered thunderstorms in Gulfport. I'll start checking Miami Beach before the end of this week.
I hadn't planned to fill up RB's gas tank until departure time, but gas prices just dropped to $1.999/gallon, which I couldn't resist. My hope for this trip is that gas prices will continue to be this low throughout, a pleasant change of pace compared to the prices I found on the West Coast during my last extended trip in 2014. Speaking of gas, RB goes into the shop Monday morning for a pre-trip oil change and check over. (Crossing fingers that nothing expensive-to-fix is wrong with her.)(6/20 Update: Afraid fixing RB won't be cheap, and since it's usually desirable to be able to steer her, we do what we gotta do. Still, I'm determined to make the trip despite the hit.)
: //singin1.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/loudmusic-300x285.jpg" alt="loudmusic" width="331" height="314" />My travel playlist is finally ready. I added several tracks reflecting my wide popular music tastes: Pointer Sisters, Ray Stevens, miscellaneous Rock performers from the 1960s, etc. In a moment of madness, I put together a list of the performers represented on my playlist. The list is over six pages long--if I'd had any idea there were over 900 musicians or music groups, I'd have never done it.
Lastly, today is Father's Day. My father passed away in 2009, but he is very much in my thoughts, especially this week. This week also would have marked my parents' 57th wedding anniversary. I know this is an especially tough day for my mother, and I wish I could be with her just to share a hug. Have a great week, okay? My next post will hopefully be from the road....: 2px; text-indent: 20px; width: auto; padding: 0px 4px 0px 0px; text-align: center; font: bold 11px/20px 'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,sans-serif; color: #ffffff; background: #bd081c no-repeat scroll 3px 50% / 14px 14px; position: absolute; opacity: 0.85; z-index: 8675309; display: none; cursor: pointer; top: 1017px; left: 298px;">Save
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A Close Call and a New Site
Howdy, Y’all!! This is my first post under singin1.com, which succeeds both my Singin1 on the Road and Iowa?!? travel blogs. My proposed route for the upcoming Southeastern United States trip almost swung widely to the west when I thought I might finally have a chance to strike The Alamo off my travel bucket list. However, driving to San Antonio is just too wide a swing for this trip, so I’ll have to try another time. Anyway, one of my brothers shamed me into looking for an opportunity to experience the Delta Blues in its birthplace. As a musician, I certainly should avail myself of the opportunity, but I still feel the need to protest Mississippi’s “bathroom” law. So, I settled on adding Helena, Arkansas, with its Delta Cultural Center, to the itinerary. The town also boasts its historic Freedom Park, which was the site of a “Contraband camp”–a term…
The Bridges of Madison County (Pt. 2)
I’d scheduled my Saturday appointment in Des Moines early enough to spend the afternoon visiting the three covered bridges I’d missed a couple of weeks ago. However, when I had finished the appointment, I stepped outside and discovered that it had just rained. I learned the day’s weather forecast indicated heavy storms were likely to occur occasionally throughout the day. But the weather map showed that the storm patterns were mostly already east of the area, so I took the chance and headed southwest. By the time I reached Winterset, it was approaching 3:30 and, realizing that museums tend to close at 5 p.m., I headed to the John Wayne Birthplace Museum, which included the house where the famous actor was born in 1907. I didn’t tour the house since one of my nieces and I had visited it in 2008 nor the museum since my main intent was to…
The Bridges of Madison County (Pt. 1)
I woke up early Saturday morning with an appointment in Des Moines scheduled in the afternoon, so I decided impulsively to drive an extra 20 miles to Winterset to see the famous covered bridges of Madison County. This would give me a chance to “test drive” my new walking shoes and dash cam–both not yet picked up from the post office–plus the cowboy hat I’d recently received. One of my nieces and I had visited Winterset back in 2008 to see actor John Wayne’s birthplace. I’d been living in Iowa less than three years and was only then beginning to explore the state. I simply didn’t know that the bridges were in the area. So, I’m glad I had another chance to visit them. By the time I got the cam, figured out how to set it up and looked up information about the bridges online, it was already 11…