Ms L and I woke up, August 1st, in Marlborough, MA a day into our latest “Road Trip”. The journey, blogged under US Appalachia ‘24, took us through this less travelled region picking off some real highlights for us! Civil War Battlefields, Premier League friendly, Southern BBQ, Civil Rights Museum, Great Smoky Mountains NP, Pittsburgh / Pirates game, and of course an excellent visit with friends in Maine were all part of the 6,000+ km excursion. We’d moved away from this style of trip until last year… but have resumed with more chutzpah than ever! We pushed hard, but savoured the rewards of a trip well executed.
Upon arrival home, and a day to just settle, the focus became “Camp Time”. Gotta say it was a pretty productive set of days, including some paddling, trail clearing, boat launch maintenance, yard work and filling the wood bin rounding out efforts. Fired up the ol’ Weber Smoker for some company as well. August & July are the months with the highest frequency of visits (and visitors) for us. It’s especially nice when the heat breaks… the 22-24°C days coupled with 12-14°C nights make the comfort level of stays heavenly.
Beyond travel & camp (plus avoiding back to school thoughts at all cost) were several fun musical distractions. Firstly, an evening in Tatamagouche, where “Chittyfest” was in full swing by the time we arrived. We chilled to the generationally adept Still Guys Are as they exorcised tunes from Hendrix, The Doors, and countless other acts that might have been fodder for their grandparents. Pete, JP and I did a porch session (4-5hrs) post music that was relaxed, kicked in a wide variety of songs, and in the end was lots of fun.
Our second stop, a day later, saw the gang pulling into Nyanza where Pete was hosting a matinee for Big Spruce. He did a straight up 2hr set and rolled out 25-30 songs with a mixed bag of covers, his own writes, and folk/rock/country standards. Beautiful setting, cold craft beers, comfort food and Cape Breton ambience padded a perfect end of summer afternoon. Post music, we visited and stayed the night with a good friend in the Lake Ainslie area… beautiful old farm house that is in the throes of being brought back to life ❤️.
Last stop, two days later, found us in Pictou for a gig that Pete and I took to open for a group Uncle John plays with. Got in early for sound/gear check and had a nice walk along the waterfront area. Although short, it was a fun set with an appreciative crowd, good music and even a sound guy 😂! Of course, fun to have a few practice sessions with Pete and be on stage in a Dad/Son configuration. Monica missed out (but not really as she and Evan were on a well deserved run stateside to Acadia NP & Boston). Last days of August saw a couple of drives, some tenting, a project visit to Dundee and camp time! Great way to ease into a new school year.