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…
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…
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…
“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…
Richmond, Kamala Harris Book Tour and Upcoming Trip Thoughts–October 2025
A Stop in Richmond I have been back to Greensboro, North Carolina, since my last post, but it was for the memorial service for my older brother. I’m feeling no need to share comments or pictures except for my decision to exit I-95 in Richmond, Virginia, during my return drive. I impulsively decided to see the rest of the Clock Tower I’ve seen so many times over my life. I’ve never visited Richmond other than driving through, so I was surprised there was a toll machine at the exit. Additionally, I suspect that the area was an older part of town, based on the stonework used on the streets in the vicinity. I had already learned that the Clock Tower was part of Richmond’s Main Street Station, so seeing a train station was expected, yet it was still interesting to see. Some of the pictures are below, with the rest…
Something Old, Something New–A Quickie Trip to West Virginia
It was less than two weeks before I was scheduled to leave for Hawaii, but I decided to get out of the DMV for a couple of days. I packed up the Silver Bullet and headed to West Virginia. New River Gorge National Park was only about a five-hour drive away and could have been a stop between Shenandoah and points south (in fact, I drove past that national park at two different exits heading to New River), but I was concerned about being in Florida on time. As I drove along, I saw a highway sign approaching Staunton, Virginia, indicating that the exit for the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum was upcoming. I didn’t know there was a presidential library for a president earlier than Herbert Hoover’s, so I had to check it out. The downside to this decision was that I didn’t have time to do an…
More Southern Exposure–Shenandoah and Carter Presidential Library
This was my second visit to Shenandoah National Park. On my first trip in February 2024, I drove to the park’s southernmost entry and headed north on Skyline Drive. This time, I entered from the northernmost point at Point Royal and took the drive south. It was October 29th, late in the fall foliage season but still beautiful and yet less crowded than earlier in the month. As usual, I stopped at the visitors center and got the latest from the rangers on duty, plus the center had quite a scenic view of the park, too. Additionally, I had found and downloaded an audio description of scenes and historical information about the park and the native tribes that had once inhabited the area. Since much of the park is not WiFi accessible, the tracks didn’t always keep up with my location, but it was interesting anyway. I look my time…
Seein’ the DMV: Memorials at Night–Black Lives Matter Plaza to MLK
During my first excursion Seein’ the DMV, I accidentally let my phone’s charge get so low, I couldn’t take any pictures of the evening tour sites we visited. It took me nearly two months, but I finally decided the time was right to address this by revisiting the memorials covered by the tour, plus an additional stop. I also wanted to test a new camera I had just purchased that I’m hoping to take with me to Hawaii later this year. By that point, I want to know it well enough to be able to take some decent photos on the cruise. This was a Saturday night, two weekends after July 4th. My luck with crowds was spotty at best sometimes, and this was the midst of DC’s busy season for tourists. I seem to have really lucked out this time, though. Vehicular and pedestrian traffic was mercifully lighter than…
Two National Parks
Since I retired, I am more inclined to indulge my impulses and hop onto the road with little or no advanced planning. This is what happened when I literally woke up one morning and decided to visit the closest national park to the area. I had just gotten a 35 mm digital camera and wanted to give it a test-run at a site where I could find distance and closeup scenery to photograph. Shenandoah National Park I entered Shenandoah National Park from the southern part of Virginia with the idea of working my way north so that drive home would be shorter. Although this was an impulse trip, I still took the time beforehand to check the web and get information about the park so I could be prepared for it. I exited I-64 and entered the southernmost point of Skyline Drive. I do wish that I’d gone by the…
A Family Fourth,… A Wedding,… and the Outer Limits… Well, Banks
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Between the rehearsal, the wedding (oh, yeah, I sang the Schubert "Ave Maria"), and staying on Friday and Saturday nights with my sister and brother-in-law's timeshare an hour away in Williamsburg, I didn't see much of Virginia Beach nor more than a glimpse of the beach. On Sunday morning, Momma and I got back on road. Neither of us had seen the Outer Banks of North Carolina, so instead of driving directly back to Greensboro, we headed due south.: //singin1.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/map3.jpg" alt="" width="884" height="484" />
We made our way down the Carolina coast first to Kill Devil Hills and the : //www.nps.gov/wrbr/index.htm">Wright Brothers National Memorial , through Nags Head and finally down the Cape Hatteras Seashore to the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. It was a beautiful but warm day, and neither Momma nor I were inclined to climb either structure. So, we drove around and took pictures of the parks.
[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id="166" gal_title="outerbanks1"](As usual, most of the pictures I took are available on my : //www.flickr.com/photos/singinone/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Flickr page.)
We headed north again to get to the highway that led back to Greensboro. It made for a long day when we finally pulled into the driveway. My original plan for Monday had been to run around town to get RB washed and waxed and to buy different foods to take back to Iowa with me. Instead, I rested and prepared for the long drive back.: //singin1.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/20170711_014305-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" />I left Greensboro for Iowa on Monday night. The route set was the one I've driven many times, and I was in drive mode, which normally means best speed with minimal stops only for gas and restroom breaks. As it worked out, between a missed direction that routed me on state roads to Cincinnati--instead of the interstate highways through Lexington and Louisville, Kentucky--and several bouts of intensely heavy rain that forced me to get off the road, the trip home was extended by several hours.
Oh, RB turned 150K. Happy b'day, RB!!I made it back to Grinnell just after 6 p.m. Central Time. This was quite a trip!! And, believe it or not, I was at my desk at work on Wednesday at 8: 30 a.m.!
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