Words of Mine ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Saturday's Adventure Saturday "I believe that if it were left to artists to choose their own labels, most would choose none." Saturday's Adventure The big adventure of the day is Michael and I are heading up to Big Sur to see and listen to Ramblin' Jack Elliott. The adventure began with our oversleeping and rushing around to get our rental vehicle to make this momentous trip. I left Michael off at the dealership and headed home in Blue with one stop at the post office and the second stop at the bakery for treats. One cannot begin an adventure without treats. At first, I thought Michael had beaten me back to town because there was a PT Cruiser - a red PT Cruiser - sitting in the parking lot. I thought he had the same idea as I did. I almost didn't stop but decided to anyway; it was a good thing I did because Michael wasn't in the bakery. Oh my! A purchase of two bacon and cheese pastries, two apple and cream cheese danishes and two e-clairs. What word comes to mind? Yum! Forget about Weight Watchers, calories, and all the things not good for you, it was time to enjoy. Back at home, Michael arriving not long after I did, we through our folding camp chairs in the back, pack up the cameras and other edible goodies and we're off like a heard of thundering turtles. Overall the traffic wasn't too bad up the coast highway. A few slow pokes but the Cruiser zoomed around them with no trouble. Farther up the coast the fog began to come in and a little bit farther we had to turn on the windshield wipers. Hmm, it was a good thing we didn't ride the bikes up here. For our listening pleasure I brought the CD loaned to me by a co-worker of Ramblin' Jack's music. Michael had not heard of him so this was fun for him and this was the first time I had heard it outside of work. Work is noisy enough that it makes it hard to hear some of the quieter songs. Finding our way to the Henry Miller Library was easy and a parking space just right for us. We made our way in and set up our chairs in the garden surrounded by redwoods. The people were very eclectic and varied in age from 20-ish to 60-ish and in all sorts of dress. We settled in and then went over and purchased a smoked salmon burrito with a salad and chips and salsa with sodas. A little pricey but worth it. The music began at 3 p.m. with three individual performers, Ian, Lysa and Bob. All very good and performed their own music. During this time, the mist became more noticeable but because of the redwoods we weren't getting soaked. Michael when he went to the car said it was as though it had rained the road was that wet. Thank you trees. About 4:30 p.m. Ramblin' Jack appeared looking more like a 61 year old than 71. A cowboy hat, shirt and pressed jeans with worn cowboy boots. With a rousing chorus of Happy Birthday, Jack came on the makeshift stage and sounding just like he did in the documentary his daughter did of "The Ballad of Rambin' Jack." Jack did a photo op for all of us and then strongly admonished anyone to take a photo while he was playing because the flash would make him forget where he was in the song. While Jack tuned his guitar, he told stories and strummed. He said that he had used the fancy tuners but he liked doing the old way. Then he began singing and even the crows quieted down until they thought he had talked long enough and wanted to hear his songs. Jack played his standards of "Me & Bobby McGee," "If I Were A Carpenter," and "Tramp on the Street." During the break he was wandering around the group, shaking hands and telling stories. To be 71 and be so personable is wonderful indeed and is an inspiration for me. Jack played one more set and then called it a day. I overcame my shyness and went up and shook hands with him while Michael took photos. I do hope those photos come out, this will be a memory to last a life time. The trip home was uneventful with the mist and fog all around. The other note worthy part of this trip was seeing the vintage motorcycles of Harleys, Indians, Nortons and BMW's. Had we the time, we would have stopped and chatted with the riders and taken photos. That made us wish we had been on our bikes but with as wet as it was we were again glad to be in the Cruiser. 10:00 p.m. - 2002-08-03 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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