At the Symposium (Day 1 Pt. 2)
To say I woke up tired would be an understatement. I’d set the alarm for 6 a.m. in a useless exercise. Between that and managing to rehearse with the pianist, I missed the morning sessions. The afternoon ones were primarily geared to choral music, so I’m afraid I didn’t get much out of them. Hopefully, I’ll have lots interesting to report about tomorrow’s (beyond the obvious). I’ve now been on the east coast three days and hadn’t had a single bit of fresh seafood. From what I was told, today’s 72-degree temperature was especially warm and sunny for this area. So–impulsively and without even going back to my room to change, jumped into RB and took someone’s directions to a restaurant called Ches’s. It has been in business since 1951 and very popular around here. Boy, was their famed fish and chips wonderful!! Could see the Atlantic Ocean near Ches’s,…
At the Symposium (Day 1, Pt. 1)
Good morning! After the ship–anything big enough to hold semis is not a ferry, IMO–docked in Port aux Basques, Newfoundland, on Sunday morning, RB and I disembarked and started our 809 km (555 miles according to my GPS–btw, those who have been trying to get me to buy one for years now have permission to say “I told you so”) drive to St. John’s. As I learned driving through Maine, it’s not a good idea to let your vehicle gas gauge drop below 1/3 tank since the distance between stations can be substantial. I also discovered that prices here are extraordinarily high. Gas averages $1.30 Canadian per liter, so it cost me nearly $85.00 to fill the RB, and that was regular unleaded gas. Discovered that Newfoundland is surprisingly mountainous. I can see why there’s just one main road around the outer edge. It makes for some great viewing along…
On the Road (Day Three)
Took the Ohio Coastal Trail on the way to Oberlin in the hope I’d get to see something interesting along the way. The only thing that got my attention was the Davis-Besse nuclear power plant. I don’t think I’ve ever been that close to one before. Spent most of the afternoon doing research at the Oberlin Conservatory’s music library. They have a beautiful goldfish pond outside the building, where I ate lunch and enjoyed the fish. Found a number of scores by Margaret Bonds, R. Nathaniel Dett, William Grant Still, Edward Boatner, and Wiliams Arms Fisher that I didn’t have. Got to Erie, Pennsylvania, in the early evening and found the campus identified on the Web as connected with the H. T. Burleigh collection. However, as I suspected, it was too late to find anyone around to ask about it. So, checked into my home for the night. Decided it…
On the Road (Day Two)
Got an early start from Princeton. There was lots of construction along I-80. Illinois has definitely taken advantage of federal stimulus money. If I-80 looks and drives as well when it is finished as I-74 now does–talk about a nasty ride before the construction, it’d be worth the cost and current inconvenience. Speaking of driving, I’d love someone to explain why drivers who–at best–are driving speed limit settle into the left lane and won’t move out of the way. I was taught that slower drivers should be in the right lane or at least should move over and allow the faster driver to pass. After being stuck behind slow drivers more times than I can count, I find it rather frustrating. My pet peeve, I suppose. On a much better note, I reached the University of Michigan this afternoon. After a brief visit to the school’s music library–where I found…
On the Road (Day One)…
Well, I’m on the road to Canada!! Went to work for a few hours this morning. One of my co-workers took this picture just as I was leaving for the trip. Had a pretty good voice lesson at the University of Iowa this afternoon. Final hearing of the four spirituals I’ve prepped for the symposium. At least that part of my presentation is in very good shape. Immediately afterward, started heading East. With only two hours of sleep last night (really this morning), it was no surprise that I only got as far as Princeton, Illinois, before I was too tired to safely continue onward. Princeton, by the way, is proud to say it’s the hometown of President Ronald Reagan. I won’t hold that against them as long as they have a clean place for me to sleep. The route for Day 1: http://mapq.st/nsXTYv Off to a (hopefully) good night…
Readying for the Road (Two Weeks to Go)
Greetings! Still two weeks before I leave, and there seems to be so much to do!! I got my new GPS last Monday and am quickly learning to make it work the way I want it to do. I’ve also gotten both my AAA and AARP memberships up-to-date so that I can take advantage of any travel services the two provide. Last night, I updated my playlists of nearly 8 GBs of R&B, Rock, Jazz and more. That should be enough to keep me musically occupied the entire trip. This week–starting tonight, I need to finally put all of my thoughts about the symposium presentation down on paper and begin gathering any books, scores, equipment and other resources I think I will need to take for that presentation. If I can do this now, perhaps I will have enough time to weed out stuff that isn’t needed and be less…