So, what do you do when you are bored and you are stuck in a car driving for 18 hours?? play the license plate game of course!!
we made a list of the states, without the use of a map..that alone took a bit..we listed about 45 and then got stuck..but eventually we got them all listed..last state was Massachusetts
The States that we saw on the way to New Bern and back to Texas are:
Alabama, Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Tennessee, Maryland, Arkansas, Wisconsin, West Virginia, and Virginia.
The States we saw on the way to New Bern ONLY are:
Oregon and Minnesota
The States we saw on the way home to Texas ONLY are:
Alaska, Kansas, Nevada, Ohio, Kentucky, and Washington
The States we didn't see AT ALL are:
Connecticut, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Hawaii, South Dakota, Massachusetts, Utah, Vermont, and Wyoming
We did however see 2 plates from Quebec so that ought to count for something.
So,the next time you are in a car, driving cross country...play the plate game..it's fun..
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
On the Road Again
Monday...
what to say about Monday?
Not much..just a LOT of driving.
we left Lumberton at 6:00am and drove into Tyler at 9:30
survived 15hrs of driving to arrive in Tyler during a Tornado Warning, not a watch but a warning...I don't know what the tornado ended up doing, I heard rain and wind but whether there was an actual tornado in Tyler, who knows.
The whole experience was definitely an experience..will I do it again?? I think that is yet to be determined. once my feet quite hurting I'll decide.
what to say about Monday?
Not much..just a LOT of driving.
we left Lumberton at 6:00am and drove into Tyler at 9:30
survived 15hrs of driving to arrive in Tyler during a Tornado Warning, not a watch but a warning...I don't know what the tornado ended up doing, I heard rain and wind but whether there was an actual tornado in Tyler, who knows.
The whole experience was definitely an experience..will I do it again?? I think that is yet to be determined. once my feet quite hurting I'll decide.
New Bern...Day 5
Sunday!! Day of THE concert..the reason for all the rehearsing the last 3 days..
Schedule for the day:
8:30-8:50.. Worship service
9-11:30..rehearsal
12-1..lunch
1-3..rehearsal
4..THE CONCERT!!
5:30..load out
7-9..10th Anniversary Reception
Our Concert Consisted of the Following:
Antiphonal Alleluias..................................... Hart Morris
Sharon's Song................................................ Don Allured
Reunir .............................................................William Payn
March from Nutcracker ...............................Tchaikovsky/William Griffin
Fantasia ..........................................................Cynthia Dobrinski
Fantasy on King's Weston............................ Fred Gramann
Bolero .............................................................Ravel/William Mathis
Song of Peace................................................ Arnold Sherman
Gwerzy........................................................... Clint Hagen
Crossroads...................................................... William Payn
Amazing Grace............................................... Dean Wagner
Carnivale......................................................... Michael Glasgow
Jamican Rhumba........................................... Carol Lynn Mizell
The Stars and Stipes Forever...................... John Philip Sousa/William Griffin
The Concert went fairly well, they recorded the concert so it will be interesting to see how it all turned out. What they didn't tell us was that they were going to turn the air conditioning off in the concert room so it was SO HOT! even the audience was using anything possible to fan themselves.
According to our "guide for the weekend" there were a total of 118 ringers. Ringers from all across the country, even 2 from the United Kingdom. 16 of us were "newbies", "first timers" .
Friends of mine have wondered why I would drive 18hrs across the country to attend 4 days of handbell ringing..and not just your fiddle around handbell ringing, this was serious stuff. Everyone there had expectations of everyone else, that everyone had studied their music, that everyone was there for one reason, to accomplish the concert to the best of everyone's ability.
During the final run through of Carnivale (which is fun piece full of random crazy percussion sounds) the composer and at least one other person ran to the podium and sprayed silly string on David Davidson. It was funny, not something that would happen again during the concert but during the rehearsal it was great to have a laugh.
my personal concert experience went fairly well...there were pieces that I did great, others not so great. One of them I didn't even 100% understand the rythms so I will admit that song was the worst.
After the concert we helped put some bells away, folded some table covers and then got in the car and drove away..just like that, 4 days of rehearsing, a 1.5hr concert and we were done.
Sunday night we drove about 2.5hrs to Lumberton PA and crashed for the night.
Schedule for the day:
8:30-8:50.. Worship service
9-11:30..rehearsal
12-1..lunch
1-3..rehearsal
4..THE CONCERT!!
5:30..load out
7-9..10th Anniversary Reception
Our Concert Consisted of the Following:
Antiphonal Alleluias..................................... Hart Morris
Sharon's Song................................................ Don Allured
Reunir .............................................................William Payn
March from Nutcracker ...............................Tchaikovsky/William Griffin
Fantasia ..........................................................Cynthia Dobrinski
Fantasy on King's Weston............................ Fred Gramann
Bolero .............................................................Ravel/William Mathis
Song of Peace................................................ Arnold Sherman
Gwerzy........................................................... Clint Hagen
Crossroads...................................................... William Payn
Amazing Grace............................................... Dean Wagner
Carnivale......................................................... Michael Glasgow
Jamican Rhumba........................................... Carol Lynn Mizell
The Stars and Stipes Forever...................... John Philip Sousa/William Griffin
The Concert went fairly well, they recorded the concert so it will be interesting to see how it all turned out. What they didn't tell us was that they were going to turn the air conditioning off in the concert room so it was SO HOT! even the audience was using anything possible to fan themselves.
According to our "guide for the weekend" there were a total of 118 ringers. Ringers from all across the country, even 2 from the United Kingdom. 16 of us were "newbies", "first timers" .
Friends of mine have wondered why I would drive 18hrs across the country to attend 4 days of handbell ringing..and not just your fiddle around handbell ringing, this was serious stuff. Everyone there had expectations of everyone else, that everyone had studied their music, that everyone was there for one reason, to accomplish the concert to the best of everyone's ability.
During the final run through of Carnivale (which is fun piece full of random crazy percussion sounds) the composer and at least one other person ran to the podium and sprayed silly string on David Davidson. It was funny, not something that would happen again during the concert but during the rehearsal it was great to have a laugh.
my personal concert experience went fairly well...there were pieces that I did great, others not so great. One of them I didn't even 100% understand the rythms so I will admit that song was the worst.
After the concert we helped put some bells away, folded some table covers and then got in the car and drove away..just like that, 4 days of rehearsing, a 1.5hr concert and we were done.
Sunday night we drove about 2.5hrs to Lumberton PA and crashed for the night.
New Bern...Day 4
Day 4 was technically Saturday and it is now Tuesday..just got too busy to finish in New Bern and then there was a day in the car so I shall finish now, but am going to still split things into separate posts instead of one long post.
So Saturday's schedule was the following:
9-11:45...rehearsal
12-1..lunch
1:10-5...rehearsal
5-7..dinner break
7-9 rehearsal.
luckily Mr Davidson changed up the posted schedule and instead of the above we rehearsed from 1:10 till about 7, with breaks of course. I think he realized that some of us had hit a wall with out ringing and figured if he let us leave for dinner and then come back we would be completely worn out so he gave us a break and then we ran through the concert from start to finish.
For lunch they fed us sandwiches and for dinner we headed down to Morgans Pub.
it was definitely a long day full of rehearsing and not much else.
Some quotes of the day:
"Bill Griffin..its whats for dinner"
"could you play a little louder if I told you I loved you?"
"I need you to be gnats, not mosquitos"
"now you can be mosquitos, let me go get my OFF"
"We're glad you're not dead"
"everybody grunt on one"
"Some of you are leaving the stable a year early"
"I wish now that I hadn't written it"
So Saturday's schedule was the following:
9-11:45...rehearsal
12-1..lunch
1:10-5...rehearsal
5-7..dinner break
7-9 rehearsal.
luckily Mr Davidson changed up the posted schedule and instead of the above we rehearsed from 1:10 till about 7, with breaks of course. I think he realized that some of us had hit a wall with out ringing and figured if he let us leave for dinner and then come back we would be completely worn out so he gave us a break and then we ran through the concert from start to finish.
For lunch they fed us sandwiches and for dinner we headed down to Morgans Pub.
it was definitely a long day full of rehearsing and not much else.
Some quotes of the day:
"Bill Griffin..its whats for dinner"
"could you play a little louder if I told you I loved you?"
"I need you to be gnats, not mosquitos"
"now you can be mosquitos, let me go get my OFF"
"We're glad you're not dead"
"everybody grunt on one"
"Some of you are leaving the stable a year early"
"I wish now that I hadn't written it"
Friday, October 3, 2008
New Bern...Day 3
We have survived another day in New Bern..for those of you who may not know, I am not here alone..I'm in good company. Gini, my mom and I are all in the "girls" room, Arnold & Andy are in the "boys" room.
The schedule for today consisted of the following:
8-10....Rehearsal
10:15-11:50...bass bell rehearsal
11:50-4...lunch and free time
3:45-4..cookie break
4-7...rehearsal
then more free time and dinner.
This whole trip has been an experience..as David has said on multiple occassions, we are making music, not just ringing a bunch of bells.
there are definitely parts that I still don't understand and perhaps parts that I am not playing on but overall things have been good.
I leave you with quotes from the day:
"that was annemic"
"eat your wheaties and play those bells"
"when all this stuff is going, all the ADD people have something to do."
"needs to sound taut..not overwrought"
"we as individuals can not change the world, but music CAN change the world"
"F nat, F nat, NOT F#..its even right in the music"
"'have you played this piece of music before?'...'no..but I have heard it and I don't like it'"
"you are late and you are rushing but other than that, it was GREAT!"
"that sounded like Old Mrs Hanson at the church piano..hat, flower on hat, & a pleated skirt"
I have run out of cleverness for today's posting so I will just say that my feet hurt, my back hurts, but yes, we ARE having a good time"
The schedule for today consisted of the following:
8-10....Rehearsal
10:15-11:50...bass bell rehearsal
11:50-4...lunch and free time
3:45-4..cookie break
4-7...rehearsal
then more free time and dinner.
This whole trip has been an experience..as David has said on multiple occassions, we are making music, not just ringing a bunch of bells.
there are definitely parts that I still don't understand and perhaps parts that I am not playing on but overall things have been good.
I leave you with quotes from the day:
"that was annemic"
"eat your wheaties and play those bells"
"when all this stuff is going, all the ADD people have something to do."
"needs to sound taut..not overwrought"
"we as individuals can not change the world, but music CAN change the world"
"F nat, F nat, NOT F#..its even right in the music"
"'have you played this piece of music before?'...'no..but I have heard it and I don't like it'"
"you are late and you are rushing but other than that, it was GREAT!"
"that sounded like Old Mrs Hanson at the church piano..hat, flower on hat, & a pleated skirt"
I have run out of cleverness for today's posting so I will just say that my feet hurt, my back hurts, but yes, we ARE having a good time"
Thursday, October 2, 2008
New Bern, NC..first Official Day at Distinctly Bronze
I have decided to start today's entry with a little background story (thanks Jayne for asking such a question that would prompt this part!!)
Henrietta is my stuffed Hippo..how did Henri come to be...that's a good story.
Every year at Christmas there is a song they play on the radio, "I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" (ever heard it?? not the greatest song but it's catchy) Last Christmas there was lots of singing the Hippo song by myself and other friends and even comments made about how a certain handbell composer could perhaps arrange the song for bells.
well, one day at my office a box arrived..it had an out of state return address and was addressed to me..inside was HENRIETTA!! I got my wish..my very own Hippo for Christmas!! (it was determined who sent the Hippo but I'll leave that a secret) I also received two other hippos from a good friend. (no, my collecting has not changed from Donald Duck to Hippos..trust me)
so now you know...the REST of the story!!
On to New Bern...
today we all slept in till about 9 then got up, got ready and headed downstair for the breakfast buffet.
after breakfast we headed out to see some of downtown New Bern, had lunch at Morgan's Tavern & Grill, then back to the convention for the first rehearsal of Distinctly Bronze (DB)
Schedule for today was as follows:
10-2 .. Registration
2:30-2:50..welcome and announcement
3-5:30..rehearsal
5:30-6:45..Dinner Buffet
7-9:30..rehearsal
So we survived the first rehearsal..the first run through of the first song was VERY indimidating..partially because of the song, partially due to the people around me having rung it before and knowing what they were doing compared to myself.
David stated today that we will have a total of 24.5hrs of ringing between now and Sunday..can you imagine? I'm here doing this and I have a hard time imagining
a few quotes of the day:
"that was Wal-Mart...give me Neiman Marcus!"
"those are my bells..give them to me!"
"come on yall you had steak & chicken for dinner, muscle up!"
"some of you are still talking in case you can't tell"
Tomorrow things start up at 8:00 with a rehearsal which means an early morning since three of us have to get ready, get some breakfast and be in our seats by 7:50 if we want to attempt to win a door prize.
like I said earlier, the first song was intimidating...the songs got better, that's what rehearsal is for.
the room is set up like you would see a room for mass ringing at a bell seminar but this experience is totally different, the participants here WANT to be here..we have all taken time from our work, our families, our "non-bell" life to spend 4 days ringing bells...we have marked, we have practiced on our own, we have come prepared...you don't get all of that at a regular "seminar" are some of the participants here a little "over the edge"?? you bet! but would it be the event that it is if that didn't exist? that's the real question.
Till tomorrow...I have music to mark!!
Henrietta is my stuffed Hippo..how did Henri come to be...that's a good story.
Every year at Christmas there is a song they play on the radio, "I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" (ever heard it?? not the greatest song but it's catchy) Last Christmas there was lots of singing the Hippo song by myself and other friends and even comments made about how a certain handbell composer could perhaps arrange the song for bells.
well, one day at my office a box arrived..it had an out of state return address and was addressed to me..inside was HENRIETTA!! I got my wish..my very own Hippo for Christmas!! (it was determined who sent the Hippo but I'll leave that a secret) I also received two other hippos from a good friend. (no, my collecting has not changed from Donald Duck to Hippos..trust me)
so now you know...the REST of the story!!
On to New Bern...
today we all slept in till about 9 then got up, got ready and headed downstair for the breakfast buffet.
after breakfast we headed out to see some of downtown New Bern, had lunch at Morgan's Tavern & Grill, then back to the convention for the first rehearsal of Distinctly Bronze (DB)
Schedule for today was as follows:
10-2 .. Registration
2:30-2:50..welcome and announcement
3-5:30..rehearsal
5:30-6:45..Dinner Buffet
7-9:30..rehearsal
So we survived the first rehearsal..the first run through of the first song was VERY indimidating..partially because of the song, partially due to the people around me having rung it before and knowing what they were doing compared to myself.
David stated today that we will have a total of 24.5hrs of ringing between now and Sunday..can you imagine? I'm here doing this and I have a hard time imagining
a few quotes of the day:
"that was Wal-Mart...give me Neiman Marcus!"
"those are my bells..give them to me!"
"come on yall you had steak & chicken for dinner, muscle up!"
"some of you are still talking in case you can't tell"
Tomorrow things start up at 8:00 with a rehearsal which means an early morning since three of us have to get ready, get some breakfast and be in our seats by 7:50 if we want to attempt to win a door prize.
like I said earlier, the first song was intimidating...the songs got better, that's what rehearsal is for.
the room is set up like you would see a room for mass ringing at a bell seminar but this experience is totally different, the participants here WANT to be here..we have all taken time from our work, our families, our "non-bell" life to spend 4 days ringing bells...we have marked, we have practiced on our own, we have come prepared...you don't get all of that at a regular "seminar" are some of the participants here a little "over the edge"?? you bet! but would it be the event that it is if that didn't exist? that's the real question.
Till tomorrow...I have music to mark!!
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Are we There Yet???
YES WE ARE!!! Woo hoo..finally.
We left yesterday, Sept 30th at 5pm..well, 5:05 because we forgot the map and had to turn around and go retrieve it from the house.
6:52pm, 77mi from Monroe Louisiana..getting bored so what else better to do than attempt to name all the states, write them down and the proceed to mark off each state as we find/see a license plate from each state..figured we will do this on the way home too and see how many states we find, perhaps between the trip out here and the trip back we will find them all.
9:00pm, Welcome to Mississippi!! Our hotel for the evening was the Jameston..they didn't have any vacancies so its a good thing we had a confirmation number, especially since after spelling our name 5 times she STILL couldn't find our reservation in the computer. turns out they had spelled the name wrong..gee what a shock!
After dinner at Cracker Barrell we crashed for the night..the beds were hard as a rock and they leaned to one side so that was annoying.
Wednesday October 1st
6am..gee, there really is a 6am..more importantly there is a 5:30am..who needs sleep. We left vicksburg with Gertrude leading us (our navigational system), next stop..Jackson Mississippi for gas.
a wonderful quote from Mom:
"As we drive into the dawn our thoughts turn to the music we have yet to figure out how to play" 10-1-08, 6:19am..great quote for it being so early.
we passed a 18wheeler hauling nothing but chickens..do the chickens actually survive till their destination??
6:54am Gas Break in Jackson
8:07am OH LOOK!! Cresent Restaurant, home of the seafood stuffed eggplant.
8:13am FAIL!!! a partial cup of coffee takes flight and lands on my leg, my sock, my shoe, my hat, pick something.
8:25am Welcome to Alabama!!
10:20am Outside of Birmingham Alabama, gas & food stop
11:00am Talladega Race Track..and it's race weekend.
11:30am Talladega Forest
I20 the entire way across Alabama, 215 miles, apparently you can't buy Fireworks in Georgia, there are tons of stores at the border.
11:45am Welcome to Georgia!!
TIME CHANGE..11:45 now becomes 12:45pm
Interesting signs along the way:
"trucks over 6 wheels must use right two lanes"
Alabama--"up to $1000 fine for throwing trash on highway"
on smoothie King van.."we cater".....why??
1:22pm Welcome to Atlanta!!
1:39pm Gerturde informs us that we dont have another turn for 276miles..its going to be a long day.
"lights on when raining"
Georgia---"up to $1200 fine for trash on highway"
3:27pm see first cloud of the day
South Carolina--"up to $1000 fine and prison for trash on highway"
"bridge ices before road"
4:34pm time to stop for some more gas and something to eat
5:00pm ON THE ROAD AGAIN!
"truck restriction next 16miles" (why?? how??)
Random lady at gas station in South Carolina approaches mom, "are you from Texas??" mom answers, "yes we are" and then random lady says "are you going to be glad to get Ol george back?" um.....X
Hartsville, Home of the Cotton museum
6:13pm we have driven I20 to the end, officially on I95, next turn in 76 miles.
197 miles across South Carolina
6:45pm Welcome to North Carolina!!! WOOT!!
what exactly is Silicon Tetrafluoride? states it is corrosive and an inhalation hazard.
8:10pm turned onto US70, final stretch of road to New Bern!!
Nahunta Pork Center..wonder what they do there.
"pig in a puppy"..what?!!?
8:42pm..tractor crossing beware.
Rear Creek?!?!? no wait, that sign says "BEAR creek"..man, I'm tired...guess that's what 14hrs in a car will do to a person.
"the Barron and Beef restaurant"
9:31pm..welcome to NEW BERN!!! Birth Place of Pepsi Cola (who would have guessed)
now it is officially 12:25am on Oct2nd..I have been up since 5:30 on the 1st..which would mean 19hrs..wow..I better get to bed. Mom is sleeping, gini is sleeping and so is Henrietta!!
Till Tomorrow..
We left yesterday, Sept 30th at 5pm..well, 5:05 because we forgot the map and had to turn around and go retrieve it from the house.
6:52pm, 77mi from Monroe Louisiana..getting bored so what else better to do than attempt to name all the states, write them down and the proceed to mark off each state as we find/see a license plate from each state..figured we will do this on the way home too and see how many states we find, perhaps between the trip out here and the trip back we will find them all.
9:00pm, Welcome to Mississippi!! Our hotel for the evening was the Jameston..they didn't have any vacancies so its a good thing we had a confirmation number, especially since after spelling our name 5 times she STILL couldn't find our reservation in the computer. turns out they had spelled the name wrong..gee what a shock!
After dinner at Cracker Barrell we crashed for the night..the beds were hard as a rock and they leaned to one side so that was annoying.
Wednesday October 1st
6am..gee, there really is a 6am..more importantly there is a 5:30am..who needs sleep. We left vicksburg with Gertrude leading us (our navigational system), next stop..Jackson Mississippi for gas.
a wonderful quote from Mom:
"As we drive into the dawn our thoughts turn to the music we have yet to figure out how to play" 10-1-08, 6:19am..great quote for it being so early.
we passed a 18wheeler hauling nothing but chickens..do the chickens actually survive till their destination??
6:54am Gas Break in Jackson
8:07am OH LOOK!! Cresent Restaurant, home of the seafood stuffed eggplant.
8:13am FAIL!!! a partial cup of coffee takes flight and lands on my leg, my sock, my shoe, my hat, pick something.
8:25am Welcome to Alabama!!
10:20am Outside of Birmingham Alabama, gas & food stop
11:00am Talladega Race Track..and it's race weekend.
11:30am Talladega Forest
I20 the entire way across Alabama, 215 miles, apparently you can't buy Fireworks in Georgia, there are tons of stores at the border.
11:45am Welcome to Georgia!!
TIME CHANGE..11:45 now becomes 12:45pm
Interesting signs along the way:
"trucks over 6 wheels must use right two lanes"
Alabama--"up to $1000 fine for throwing trash on highway"
on smoothie King van.."we cater".....why??
1:22pm Welcome to Atlanta!!
1:39pm Gerturde informs us that we dont have another turn for 276miles..its going to be a long day.
"lights on when raining"
Georgia---"up to $1200 fine for trash on highway"
3:27pm see first cloud of the day
South Carolina--"up to $1000 fine and prison for trash on highway"
"bridge ices before road"
4:34pm time to stop for some more gas and something to eat
5:00pm ON THE ROAD AGAIN!
"truck restriction next 16miles" (why?? how??)
Random lady at gas station in South Carolina approaches mom, "are you from Texas??" mom answers, "yes we are" and then random lady says "are you going to be glad to get Ol george back?" um.....X
Hartsville, Home of the Cotton museum
6:13pm we have driven I20 to the end, officially on I95, next turn in 76 miles.
197 miles across South Carolina
6:45pm Welcome to North Carolina!!! WOOT!!
what exactly is Silicon Tetrafluoride? states it is corrosive and an inhalation hazard.
8:10pm turned onto US70, final stretch of road to New Bern!!
Nahunta Pork Center..wonder what they do there.
"pig in a puppy"..what?!!?
8:42pm..tractor crossing beware.
Rear Creek?!?!? no wait, that sign says "BEAR creek"..man, I'm tired...guess that's what 14hrs in a car will do to a person.
"the Barron and Beef restaurant"
9:31pm..welcome to NEW BERN!!! Birth Place of Pepsi Cola (who would have guessed)
now it is officially 12:25am on Oct2nd..I have been up since 5:30 on the 1st..which would mean 19hrs..wow..I better get to bed. Mom is sleeping, gini is sleeping and so is Henrietta!!
Till Tomorrow..
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