Day 17 June 13

Dear Followers of Happy Trails,

I got feeling that the blog for yesterday might have been too detailed (boring), but I wanted to give all of you a sense of what this camp is like. Now that you know the routine, I’ll move it along a bit.

First thing after breakfast, there was a beautiful informal singing on the porch of Pradat House Lodge. The singing is from the Lloyd Book (an old book of traditional hymns that I had never heard of). I stopped by and noticed that the singing was usually led (sitting down) by older people (yes, even older than me!) with beautiful harmonies.

Then we studied more rudiments then had our picture taken after lunch. We then learned about the tradition of Memorial Lessons (usually in memory of someone more or less recently deceased). Following this, we actually had a memorial. This was very moving, with songs sung which were favorites of the deceased.

I learned that roommate Eliza’s father raised tobacco in South Carolina and was originally from one of the islands off the coast of South Carolina where the inhabitants speak Gullah. I’ve always wanted to learn more about these folks and their dialect, and by coincidence am currently reading a book set near there which has characters who speak Gullah.

Happy Trails Soon,

Linda

Day 16 June 13

Hello Happy Trail Followers,

I hope my details about camp won’t be too boring for you to read, but it was all exciting for me. My first day at camp proved to be exhausting.

Back to last night (Sunday). As it got later, I was sure I would not have a roommate. However, as I was reading my book, snug in my bed, there was a knock on the door. In walks my roommate, Eliza, the only African-American at camp. It turns out she is a music teacher from Atlanta and had never been to camp before. After introductions, my light went out and Eliza began to put her stuff away. The next thing I know, she is removing blankets from her bed and putting some sort of a comforter down. I then hear and smell her spraying something on the bed. My first thought was that it was probably something to kill bed bugs (I’ve since come to the conclusion that it was Lysol). Eliza warned me that she would be up and jogging by 5:30, which meant I could expect some private every morning.

Breakfast was at 8:00 followed by our classes at 9:00. There was usually about 2 or 3 things to choose from so I decided to take Beginning Rudiments class which lasted most of the morning. After lunch, I attended a class on the composers of the music in the “The Sacred Harp,” one of the principal song books that have been used by shape note singers since the 1800’s. Our teacher authored an important book on the subject that I had recently read. We sang some of the songs as we studied the composers. The next class I took was on learning “the 7 modes” –a system of time keeping used by shape note singers. Finally, Buell Cobb (a composer and all-around famous person in the Sacred Harp circles) gave a hilarious lecture on the etiquette of Sacred Harp “singings” laced with many amusing anecdotes.  Mr. Cobb is a very nice person and I spent lunch talking to him about his experiences in the Sacred Harp world.

During break, I talked with a woman who was at camp with her husband and 17 year old daughter. She and her husband celebrated their 25^th wedding anniversary while at camp. She told me that she left her 15 year old son with friends, after giving him a choice between attending Sacred Harp camp or wrestling camp. Dear reader, I’m sure you can guess which option he chose.

I walked back with a lodge-mate that I attended classes with today. Her name is Joyce and she is from Maine. Wonderful person…

More later,

Linda 

Day 15 June 12

We’re baaaaack…

Hello Happy Trails followers…we are ready to begin writing the blog again. In real time, we are relaxing in New Orleans and will hit the trail again tomorrow. I kept some notes at camp and will try to reconstruct the last few days of my camp experiences and then on to Ozark, Alabama and then on to New Orleans.

Dear Happy Trails Followers,

We left Scottsboro around 9:30 today (Sunday). The drive was gorgeous. We first went through Double Springs (very small town with no activity seen). We noticed all the churches with parking lots full of cars. By the way, I have never seen so many Baptist churches…this is indeed the Bible Belt.

We drove along a windy country road and into forested hill country and finally found the turnoff for Camp McDowell.  I took a few pictures but by this time it was about noon and we were not to register until four so we left and headed a few miles south to Jasper, where Richard had decided to stay while I was at camp. We found a great place to have lunch…Jasper restaurants were alive and hopping. Many of those in town appeared to be families who had  just gotten out of church and had stopped for a Sunday meal before heading home.

Richard drove me back to camp and dropped me off.  I registered, got issued 3 T shirts (with Camp FaSoLa insignia), instructions on which color shirt to wear which day and received my room assignment. My room at camp was in Holy Comforter Lodge (although the camp is owned by the Episcopal Church, it is used by many different groups for various activities). I was happy get there before my roommate so I could lay claim to the side of the room I wanted.

I went out to the common area of my lodge and met the others who were staying there. After I returned to my room, I heard a voice I recognized.  It was a woman from my Berkeley shape note group. I was so happy to see a familiar face. After camp, she told me, she would be going to France for a month.

 Dinner was scheduled for 6 and orientation for 7. Dinner was good old-fashioned country food. Over dinner I met a woman from Ireland whose luggage had been lost by the airlines.  After dinner, we sang in the chapel for about an hour. By 9, we headed back to our rooms and whew…a long walk. I’ll definitely get 10,000 steps in. The walk back was pitch dark and spooky. I tried to stay close to others.    

After I got ready for bed (still no roommate) two women from England arrived in the room across the hall from me. They seemed nice but were clearly exhausted.

Happy singing to All,

Linda

Day 14 June 11, 2011

“Who cares about the clouds when we’re together?”

Hello All,

We decided to stay here in Scottsboro one more night. We are only about 100 miles from my camp site and we have a comfortable room and felt we needed a little extra rest….

We were out early this morning and the town looked deserted... and then realized that we were back in the Central Time zone—it was even earlier than we thought. Driving around town we noticed that Scottsboro, like Alameda, has a Trinity Lutheran Church. I may attend services tomorrow. Most likely we will head out fairly early towards northwestern Alabama to explore the area around Camp McDowell where I am expected to check in at 4 pm. I am still apprehensive about camp. Not knowing anyone else attending camp, I apparently will be expected to find my own roommate.  It’s like the first day of school or summer camp all over again.

We spent another hour at the Lost Baggage Claim store and bought lots of odds and ends: books, music, etc. The place has a fantastic collection of everything from a bizarre dwarf manikin once used in a movie production (see below) to a rack full of hundreds of digital cameras that had been left in airline seat pockets.

We also went by the Scottsboro Boys Museum and Cultural Center which is dedicated to telling the story of the nine black teen boys falsely accused of the rape of two white girls in 1931. The museum is located in a building that was once a church. Over the course of the two decades following their convictions by all white juries, the struggle to right the injustice of the trials and the system itself played a major part in setting the stage for the civil rights movement in the U.S.

After our morning activities, we stopped at Magnolia House, an old mansion from the 1800’s that is now a restaurant. The food was classic southern cuisine but we decided to take it easy and stuck to sampling their salad offerings. For the rest of the day (which was hot, hot, hot) we lounged around the hotel, did laundry and repacked and reorganized for camp. I can’t believe I’ll be there by this time tomorrow.

While at camp, I will not have access to the internet and blog until at least next Thursday. I will keep a journal, so expect to read the details if I survive. Richard will be met by Robert and Tristan mid-week (we think) so I’m sure he will have details of any adventures on their part.

Until then, “just sing a song and bring the sunny weather…”

Linda and Richard

Day 13 June 10

Hello All,

We left Cherokee this morning. The town is at the center of the Eastern Band of Cherokee reservation. The Cherokees here are a tiny reminant of the Cherokee Nation who were the victim of a shameful expulsion from North Carolina, along with other tribes from the southeastern US, (the "trail of tears") in the 1830's.   

The town itself is located in the foothills of the Great Smokies near the eastern entrance to the National Park.  It looks a lot like similar towns near the big parks around the country (motels, gas stations, restaurants, etc.) except for the large Harrah’s casino that dominates the smaller, older buildings.

 Stopping at the park Visitor’s Center we talked to a ranger who was originally from Oakland (small world). He noted that because it had rained the night before, we should get great weather and views of the mountains. He was right. They were breathtaking…. We stopped to take pictures and then went to the trailhead to Clingman’s Dome, the highest mount in the park at over 6,000 feet, to admire a view that can extended for 100 miles on clear days. The drive through the park passes through miles of beautiful deciduous forest with spectacular vistas of mountains and clouds well below the height of the park road.

On the west side of the park are Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, towns that extend for miles along the main highways. Richard thinks that they look to be a combination of mountain resort, carnival sideshow and outlet mall. I thought they looked like a fun place to spend some time but not being in need of any of these services we didn’t stop. With a lot of road construction going on, negotiating through the traffic and congestion was a pain.

The traffic picked up further west and was light through lovely countryside and on through Knoxville, Tennessee and into Alabama, a state I thought we would never return to after leaving in 1970. Northern Alabama along our highway was attractive rolling farmland and the people we have talked to were friendly and helpful.

We stopped at Scottsboro at the Chamber of Commerce and got directions to the Unclaimed Baggage store, local motels and restaurants. The Unclaimed Baggage store is truly incredible. We plan on returning tomorrow. They have everything imaginable and more --but more on this tomorrow. Per recommendations, we ate at a place called “50 Taters”. The owner bakes 50 potatoes daily (if you are customer 51, you are out of luck) and prepares them with toppings made to order. We tried barbecued brisket and pork and both were some of the best BBQ we have ever had the pleasure to taste. Unfortunately for us, the amount of each serving would feed at least 4 people. When we protested that we were on diets, the waitress laughed and said that this was comfort food, not diet food. Oh well, we now have breakfast, lunch and dinner for tomorrow.

We are now at our motel where we will prepare for the next phase of our cross country journey.

Happy Trails to All of You,

Linda and Richard

Day 12 June 9

On the trail again Thursday:

Judy and David had provided a large and comfortable bedroom for our brief stay –almost a suite. We got up around 5:30 and had coffee, bagels and fruit on the patio with David and Judy. It was 68 degrees and the cool air felt wonderful with a view of hills and mountains to match. We eventually said goodbye and drove the hundred yards or so to Aunt Jenny’s to say farewell to mom, Aunt Jenny and Brenda.

We drove south through W.Va. and stopped at an amazing arts and craft center called Tamarac. This place is huge with all the best things West Virginian—crafts, arts, food, music, etc.,etc. to admire and, perhaps, buy. I bought gifts for Ella and Ethan, earrings and a book for myself. Richard bought a CD with early field recordings of West Virginia bluegrass musicians.

We headed south through Virginia (almost as pretty as West Virginia) and back into eastern Tennessee (gorgeous) and are stayed at a motel in Cherokee, North Carolina. We spent the night on the eastern edge of the spectacular Great Smokey Mountains National Park preparing to head up in the mountains of the park early Friday. While out hunting up some dinner a huge thunder storm began: lightning and pouring rain.

We had camped in on our way home in 1970 when Richard got out of the army. At that time we had a red VW bug which broke down in the park with a busted clutch cable on a weekend miles from a repair shop or anywhere to buy VW parts. Unable to shift, we had to start the car rolling while in second gear (i.e. pointed downhill or with Richard pushing and then jumping in as the car rolled away)—lots of fun.

Nostalgically Yours,

Linda and Richard 

(Saying, "see you back in California Ella Ruth!") 

Day 11 June 8

We checked out of our motel in Webster Springs (we would spend our last night in West Virginia at Dave and Judy’s beautiful home on the farm). Judy drove Brenda and me to Black’s Chapel cemetery where many of my father’s family (Lanham) are buried. Since my last visit, my late Uncle Beryl, the husband of Aunt Gladys and the father of Nancy Jane, was buried there. The cemetery has been well maintained of and, in this spring season, looked especially beautiful when we visited.

We then drove to Cottle, a small community where Judy grew up. She showed us her family home where she told us how she used to play and sled as a child and then visited her sister’s home and the homes of many of her friends.

We stopped at a nursery and produce stand, where I bought several jars of salsa made with ramps. I can’t wait to taste them. I really wanted to bring some canned ramps home to share at a church potluck. (For those who may be unfamiliar with this notorious vegetable, a quick Google search will fill you in on the lore and legend attached to the ramp).

That evening, the family gathered at David and Judy’s for dinner (Judy is a great cook!). After dinner, David took me out on his 4 wheeler (a sort of ATV about the size of two motorcycles strapped together) into the hills and woods where I used to play above the farm –and many places I had never been before as a child. He has a wonderful farm dog (I wanted to take her back to California) who ran ahead to us up and down the hills. We needed to stop in the woods on top of a ridge for a few minutes for the dog (Abby) to rest and for us to admire the view.

David and Judy are planning a trip for next year to Alaska. They have a big travel trailer expect to travel all the way from home, through Canada and on to Alaska. We thought that we might even head north next summer to meet them there, we’ll see….