On Friday, August 5th, 2005, I was with the Flock at the Dubliner. It was not one of our better nights. We arrived to find out they had double booked the evening and with a little bartering and $50 out of our pay, we began the set up process already running behind schedule. Compound this with a very uncooperative PA and the anxiety levels of the Barkeep, bar patrons and our own, then you can imagine a bit of the struggle we felt when we were finally able to focus on the Music.

 

 It took awhile, but we settled in and pulled some Wonder out of the air. We were done at 12:30 A.M. and Saturday, the 6th, was greeted with me getting home and into bed, for three restless hours before the alarm went off. I was to meet J & D at 5 A.M. to begin our Journey north to Michigan. We left at 6:30.

 

Not too much Time was lost on the way. Minor traffic jams at a couple of road construction zones. I left my lights on at a rest area and needed to jump start the battery. All in all, a quick trip and come late afternoon, we started our descent over a ridge to reveal my first glimpse of Torch Lake. Breathtaking comes to mind. A few minutes later we were at J’s Grandfather’s lakefront abode.

 

I had been invited to join J & D in their annual sojourn to Michigan, which really is a Family affair, as it includes J’s brother T, his wife M and their daughter C, as well as, the pop in visits and calls from assorted relatives and friends. And considering that 4 out of the 5 adults, ( with me being the only non cook, baker or chef ), were well versed in the Culinary Arts, each meal was an attempt to better the last, with prep for the evening meal starting around noon and a very busy crock pot through the nights.

 

There were boats for cruising the lake and plenty of Old Forest within minutes of the house. The lake was only yards away from the back door. The house exuded Family History and Essence. A lot of Inspiration was readily available.

 

Some of the more memorable moments came from the nightly talent shows. C can sing Happy Birthday backwards and is a very talented young lady with Fiddle and Trumpet being her Forte, T does a mean Herb Albert, M is the Princess of the Lake with a tan worthy of Nile Royalty, J is the Queen of  campfire sing alongs and D plays Harmonica and Guitar and is a whiz at card tricks.

 

Then there is the Presence of Torch Lake, where the hues of the water could give the Keys a run for the money, a recording session while in a boat on Snake River, a recording session a quarter mile into the Snake River Reserve on the Chippewa Trail and on the last night, DD saw to it I had a crackling fire to record.

 

The ride Home on Thursday, August 11th, 2005, was an hour less than the ride up and the 2nd State of my Journey is now Officially on the Books.

 

Though a short stay, I still came away with a few Disks and plenty of Memories to  Inspire the next few weeks of recordings at Home. I Hope to go back…

 

 

MICHIGAN

State # 2 of the Journey

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