In keeping with my promise to take advantage of the free music concerts in the Milwaukee Area, on Monday I went to “Musical Mondays” in Lake Park where I was fortunate enough to see flamenco guitarist Peter Baime and friends for an evening of Flamenco guitar and dancing. This was my first exposure to Baime and I was more than impressed. He has been playing flamenco guitar since the 1960’s and has studied in Spain with legendary guitarists Diego and Paco Gastor. He has also won numerous awards for his compositions. I wonder how he escaped my radar this long? This companions who danced to his playing were also stunning. I hope to see more of him in the future.
Then on Wednesday I attended “Music in the Glen” in the Milwaukee River Parkway, about a mile from my home. I am embarrassed to say that in all the years I’ve lived in my house, I have never made it to Music in the Glen. So Wednesday was my first time attending and what a treat it was! The evening’s concert featured Kay Stiefel and Jack Forbes Wilson, who sang a variety of fun Broadway Show Tunes, many of them favorites that most people would recognize. Not only was the music great but the fun and exuberant personalities of Jack and Kay really added to the performance. The only thing I didn’t like about the concert is that it was only an hour long – I wanted more! Apparently, this duo has been around for awhile and have done acting and singing work with the Milwaukee Rep has well. If you get a chance to see them, definitely go. They are a lot of fun!
Jack Forbes Wilson and Kay Stiefel
So far, I’ve had a blast checking out the local concerts and have yet to be disappointed. This week, I plan on going to a couple more if the weather holds out. Florentine Opera is playing again at Alterra on the lakefront and that is one that I definitely do not want to miss.
One of my goals for this summer was to take more advantage of many wonderful free concerts in the Milwaukee area. So last night I hopped on my bicycle and pedaled down to the Alterra on the lake for an evening of music with the Florentine Opera. The Florentine Opera is one of Milwaukee’s oldest and well-known performing arts companies (they are celebrating their 75th anniversary) and I have be fortunate to attend on of their operas a while ago.
But opera…outdoors! This was something I hadn’t done before. The concert featured R. Stuart Mitchell (who was a bit late as he got caught in traffic), Jason Melik, Doug Clemons and James Barany, with Anne Van Deusen at the piano. All I can say is…why haven’t I attended any of these before? The singing and music were awesome. I was more than impressed by the range of the voices and the talent of the performers.
The repertoire of music was also quite varied – we had songs from West Side Story, My Fair Lady, Kiss Me Kate, Carousel, Mexican Hayride, Man of La Mancha and more. They sang several of old favorites that most people would recognize as well. The song “If you’ve only got a mustache” was especially fun.
The concert took place right in front of the coffee shop, with guests spread out on blankets and portable chairs on the lawn (the grassy area is quite large actually). Some folks brought picnic baskets, complete with high-end wine and cheeses. Others enjoyed the array of sandwiches, desserts and coffee offered by Alterra. Alterra had a tent set up outside making it convenient to purchase goodies during the show. I was pleased to see that there were a couple of portable restrooms set up as well.
I’ll close by saying that I was thrilled by the performance and am already looking forward to their next one on July 23rd. It will once again be held at the Alterra, located at 1701 N. Lincoln Memorial Drive across from McKinley Marina.
If you’d like to find out more about the Florentine Opera, visit their Web site for news and information about their upcoming performances.
I went on my first camping trip of the season at Nelson Dewey State Park (named after the first governor of Wisconsin) in Cassville, Wisconsin. Now I have heard about the park several times over the years but this was my first visit – and I was truly impressed! I didn’t realize what an awesome place this was. The sites are on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi. We chose one of the four secluded walk-in sites right on the bluff. Talk about the million dollar view! The first thing you see in the morning when getting out of the tent is the breathtaking panorama of the Mississippi river.
View of the Mississippi River from my tent
Right across the street from the park is historic Stonefield, a recreation of an rural village from the 1800’s. I took the tour which featured Wisconsin’s typical dairy farms and farming equipment of the era, and a typical downtown street in a farming village – complete with barber, grocery store and undertaker. The tour concluded with a tour of the estate of Governor Dewey in all of its slendor.
Stonefield Village
Close to the park was the town of Cassville. I must say that there was not much going on there. We enjoyed a wonderful breakfast at the Rivers Cafe – the servers there were a hoot! Not only were they fun and friendly, but also quite informative about the area. The only other place we ate at was the Town Pump. They had a minimal breakfast menu (eggs only!) but both the server and the cook were a tad on the surly side. Perhaps they were just having a bad morning? Not a place to which I would probably return. Cassville is an extremely quiet town so if you are looking for action, you’d probably want to head across the river to Prairie du Chien.
Now if you are the kind of person who has to be continuously on the go, it is important to note that there is not much to do in the park. There are a couple of short hiking trails but mostly, it’s a place for peace and quiet. There are, however, things to do in the area. At Wyalusing State Park, which is not too far away, you can paddle through the river sloughs as well as fish, bike and picnic. I have both canoed and kayaked the backwaters of the Mississippi there and the wildlife is both varied and abundant (you can’t spit without hitting an eagle!). There is also the city of Prairie du Chien across the river, if you want to get away from nature for a bit.
We did spend an afternoon hiking at the Effigy Mounds National Monument. There, one can find 200 burial mounds, many in the shape of bears and birds. Supposedly, the mounds were creating by American Indian tribes over 1,000 years ago. The mounds are dispersed over a beautiful picturesque landscape. Many are on top of the bluff, which is a bit of a climb initially – but the view from the top is more than worth the effort. The hike along the bluff is quite beautiful. I remember years ago taking a full moon hike there – I wonder if they still do that?
All in all, a very fun trip. I think I may plan another excursion there in the fall once the leaves change color.
Last week I headed out to my favorite theater, the Fox Bay and saw the 3-D movie “Up”, another movie courtesy of the folks at Pixar (the same folks who brought us WALL-E). The film was a comedy/adventure about a 78-year old balloon salesman named Carl Fredrickson (voice of Ed Asner) who ties hundreds of balloons to his house and flies away for the adventure of a lifetime. Shortly after his launch, he discovers, much to his dismay, that the rather annoying 8-year old neighbor boy Russell has stowed away on his porch. What follows is a wacky adventure as Mr. Fredrickson and Russell explore new lands in South America.
Themes themes of letting go and unfulfilled dreams give the movie a “heartful” aspect but not so much as to overshadow the themes of adventure (complete with a villain), fun and inner childhood. The movie basically takes you through an entire spectrum of emotions – seriousness, happiness, comedy, suspense, action and thrills. The movie lifted my spirits and made me laugh – and gave me ideas to ponder. And the talking dogs are a hoot!
And speaking of dogs, dog lovers are going to adore Dug, an adorable little mutt with Master issues.
I highly recommend this movie if you get a chance to see it. Big fun!
Last week we decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and kayak on the Milwaukee River. I already have 18 ft. sea kayaks which are not really suited for river paddling. So at the end of last year, I decided to get a recreational river kayak – specifically the Old Town “Otter”. So this week was my first time out in it and I fell in love with it! I was amazed at how easy to steer they are – they turn on a dime. For some reason, I felt much more in control in this kayak as compared to the sea kayak.
Old Town "Otter"
The first day out, we paddled from Grafton to Glendale. What is convenient, is that the kayak launch in Glendale is within walking distance from my house. This leg of the river was not new to me as I have traveled it a couple of times before in a canoe. Did see some interesting critters though: a couple of Blue Herons, an enormous snapping turtle, numerous ducks, geese, woodpeckers, etc. – but the highlight of the trip was to see a pair of owls. Now it’s not too often that one gets to see an owl in the middle of the afternoon, not to mention a pair of them! I don’t think they were horned owls as I didn’t notice the horns – barred owls perhaps? It looked pretty close to the one in the photo below – I do recall that it had an especially round head.
The day after, we were back on the river again. This time, heading South towards downtown Milwaukee. I had never paddled this section of the river so it was completely new for me. As we paddled down, a baby fawn stood on the bank of the river and with wide eyes, watched us go by. Bad day to have forgotten the camera! Further down, we were fortunate to come upon a falcon splashing away in the water. I have no idea what kind it was as we couldn’t get close enough but it was definitely a falcon as I’m familiar with its cry. This is why I so love paddling on the river because you never know what sort of critter will turn up.
I much enjoyed the scenery of this new stretch (for me) of the river. What was different was that there were several spots of faster water – semi-rapids if you will, which made the route especially interesting. At the very end of the journey where a dam used to be, the water was considerably faster and rapids-like. As I am not a whitewater kayaker, I was a bit tense upon first encountering it, but the fun far outweighed any nervousness – what a blast! Who knows? I may become a whitewater paddler after all.
I just signed up for the Celebrate your Life conference in Chicago during the weekend of June 5th. It’s been several years since I’ve been to a workshop or major conference so I figured that I was due.
What attracted to this conference, is that several of my favorite non-fiction authors will be there: John Holland, Brian Weiss, Caroline Myss, Neale Donald Walsch and Sonia Choquette. Heck, with that kind of a lineup, how could I refuse?
It’s funny – when I received the email regarding the conference, I didn’t hold out much hope that I’d be free that weekend. Being a Wedding Officiant, I am pretty much booked every weekend from May until November. But lo and behold, I checked my calendar and have not one thing scheduled for those three days. Now what are the chances of that happening?
So I am officially registered for the conference. Anyone else going? If so, let me know!
I saw an awesome art house film the other night called “Let the Right One In” -- a Swedish coming of age vampire story. A young girl, Eli, moves in next door with an older man and her 12-year neighbor Oskar notices that she has some unusual habits. For instance, she doesn’t go to school -- and she only comes out at night. They become close friends and at his insistence, she agrees to go steady with him. Eventually, Oskar discovers that his new girlfriend is a vampire -- but his fondness for her is stronger than his fear. Meanwhile at school, Oskar is tormented by bullies and through is friendship with Eli, learns how to defend himself. And when the going gets really tough for Oskar, Eli steps in to help.
I found this movie to be absolutely awesome -- one of the best vampire movies I’ve seen in awhile. It is not your typical horror movie -- nor your typical warm and fuzzy coming-of-age movie. The characters were extremely well-developed and believable yet with a certain rawness about them, which I found quite refreshing.
The movie has been out since 2008 playing in various art houses around the country but it only just recently made it to my local theater. If you get a chance, I highly recommend seeing this movie. But if it doesn’t play anywhere near you don’t fret -- it is to be released on DVD on March 10th, 2009. I also understand that an English language remake of the film is scheduled for 2010.
The movie is based on the bestselling book with the same name by Swedish author John Ajvide Lindqvist. I haven’t had a chance to check out the book yet but it has now been added to my reading list.
Our mission is “to help all, especially the young, gain a greater understanding of the world and its people through hostelling.” – Hostelling International
I am all about inexpensive travel and a few years back, it stumbled upon Youth Hostels, one of the best kept traveling secrets. Now, any time I travel, I first check first to see if there is a hostel at my destination.
When many people think of youth hostels, they think that they are just for the young – typically, those 25 years old or younger. In actuality, Hostels are open to everybody and provide inexpensive, overnight accommodations no matter what your age. These days, there are more and more people 55 years and older using hostels, as well as entire families. While there are some places in Europe where the age limit is 25 or 26, it is extremely rare.
How much do Hostels cost?
Room rental varies by location. In bigger cities like Chicago or San Francisco, I have paid about $25-$30 a night. Hostels in smaller towns can be as low as $15 a night. It certainly is lot more inexpensive than staying at hotels.
How is a Hostel Different from a Hotel/Motel?
Hostels typically offer dormitory-style rooms although private rooms can be obtained for an extra fee. All hostels provide a blanket and pillow – linens are another story. Most often, they are included in the price – if not, they usually can be rented from the front desk. In the past, folks would bring their sleeping bags along just in case but the majority of hostels no longer allow them.
Hostels usually have dining areas or cafeterias and often come equipped self-service kitchens. Some even include hot tubs and swimming pools!
The building itself can vary. Some hostels make their homes in historic buildings like a castle or a lighthouse. Others might be a renovated barn on a farm.
Can anyone stay at a hostel?
There are no membership requirements for Hostelling International Hostels although if you are not a member, you will end up paying a higher rate than members. Membership runs $28 for adult and $18 for senior citizens. Children under the age of 18 stay for free.
So if you are an adventuresome type and want to save some money while traveling, hostels are definitely worth checking out.
Last night, went out to see Coraline with some friends and I loved it! Written by Neil Gaiman (one of my favorite authors by the way) and directed by Henry Selick, Coraline is a fantasy/horror movie about a young girl who enters a parallel world.
I read the book awhile back so I had to go see the movie when it came out. While the story is aimed at young adults, this is a story that anyone can enjoy (as an adult, I found parts of it to be quite creepy). A fun movie if you get a chance to see it. Check out the trailer below:
Many of us are unwilling or unable to let go of the past. We carry this burden with us and instead of sending our energy to our work, our goals, or to spark our creativity, we end up sending it to resentments, grievances, past wrongs, and anger. I refer to this as “investing in a mausoleum” – because sending your energy to past events never pays off.
This reminds me of the story of two Zen monks, Tanzan and Ekido, who were traveling together down a muddy road. A heavy rain had just fallen. Near a village, they came across a lovely girl wearing a silk kimono and sash. She was trying to cross the road but the mud was so deep that it would have ruined her kimono. “Come on, girl”, Tansan said. He picked her up and carried her over the mud to the other side.
Both monks walked in silence until they reached the village five hours later. Finally, Ekido could no longer restrain himself. He said to Tanzan, “You know very well that monks are not allowed to go near females – especailly the young and lovely ones. It is dangerous. Why did you do that? Why did you carry her?”
