Midland Uke Fest 2019 – A Different Way to Spend a Long Weekend

May 20, 2019 by judy lawless

This past weekend was the first of Canada’s long weekends, Victoria Day Weekend. We spent most of it doing something we love, and the last day recovering! For those of you who are not musically inclined and/or have never tried playing a ukulele, you might not understand, but you’d be amazed at how many people have taken it up. Jim and I have been involved for about six years, having begun our first winter in Arizona because free classes were offered at our RV Park. In my last post I wrote about going to a one-day ukulele workshop in Salt Lake City on our way home, but we’ve never attended a full weekend festival before.

It began with us packing some belongings and a bit of food into the motorhome and then striking out on a three-hour drive to Midland, Ontario, a small city north of Barrie. This trip was uneventful; well, after we stopped at the first stop sign at the end of our street and we heard a crash and I looked back to see the closet door swung wide open. Upon inspection I discovered that the clips that hold the mirror into the door had disengaged, allowing the mirror to slide down far enough to prevent the door catch from working. While we sat blocking traffic behind us, Jim got out a screw driver to remedy the problem and we were soon on our way. It wouldn’t be a motorhome adventure without some little glitch!

Once we arrived at Smith’s Campground and got set up, we contacted the rest of our group, who were arriving by cars and staying at the nearby hotel. Donna, Linda and Michael picked us up for the drive downtown to the Midland Cultural Centre (MCC) where we met with Julie and Lynda, who had opted to walk. After we were all registered and made a few purchases at the Vendor Stand, we quieted our rumbling stomachs at a nearby restaurant, and then walked down to the Warf where the Miss Midland was waiting for ukulele enthusiasts from near and far to fill her seats and share some music while enjoying the tour around some of Muskoka-Georgian Bay’s 30,000 islands.

On board we met three lovely young women who sported ukuleles shaped like fruit – pineapple, watermelon and kiwi. They call themselves the Fruity Ukuladies and are YouTube stars. Jim taught them Spanish Melody. We would see much more of them over the next two days.

Thanks to Linda for doing the video. I think she got a little too into the music!

Nearly three hours later all seven of us members of the Hastings Ukulele Band (HUB) squeezed into Donna’s little red car to return to the hotel, where a Pyjama Jam Session was taking place. On the way we made a stop at our campsite so I could pick up my ukulele. I’m sure our neighbours, who were sitting outside, couldn’t believe their eyes when we all climbed out of the car, and then back in with a couple of bags in hand! We never did get to talk to them to explain what we were up to.

The Pyjama Jam was loads of fun, even though many of us got lost on some unfamiliar chords. It was 12:00 am by the time our friends were ready to call it a night and let us retrieve the belongings we’d left in their room. Then Jim and I had to walk what seemed like a mile or so back to our spot in the campground. The air had turned cold and we hadn’t turned the furnace on before we left, so it took a while to get settled down to sleep, and we had a full day of challenging workshops the next day.

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Pyjama Jam

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Michael and Linda Enjoying the Jam

We were a little slow getting around in morning and missed our ride back downtown with the rest of our group. They were out early and down to the waterfront for a walk while we ate bagels in our motorhome before starting our trek down the hill. We were about half-way to the MCC when a mother and her daughter took a chance and offered us a ride. They figured that two older people carrying ukuleles should pose no threat and they were heading to the same place. We were very grateful!

The morning was filled with a welcome and introductions of our workshop leaders, followed by Uke Mania – a mass jam session for all attendees, and finally an hour and a half workshop presented by a Canadian Uke legend, Chalmers Doane and his daughter. What a source of knowledge and inspiration!

Chalmers Doane and Family (don’t know why this shows upside down, but if you click on it it will right itself)

After lunch at the in-house Café Roxy, we each ventured off to our chosen 3 or 4 workshops throughout the afternoon. There was so much to choose from – simple chord music, playing by ear, more complicated chording, scales and tabbing and strum styles. It was difficult to decide what would be most beneficial to each of us, but we gave it a shot, and came away with many new things to practice. The biggest lesson was to practice, practice, practice, something that I don’t do nearly often enough. Most of us skipped the fourth workshop and relaxed in the lounge to wait for the diehards, Jim and Donna.

After dinner, we (HUB) performed two songs at the Open Mic and were pleased to be well received, but many of the performers who followed (some young school age kids) blew us away with their talent. Made me wish I’d been introduced to ukulele at that age.

HUB at Midland

If that wasn’t enough, from 8:30 to 10:30 there was an All Star Concert for us to sit and enjoy. These semi-professional to professional, and Emmy Award winning ukulele players, who had been our instructors throughout the day, showed us just what can really be done with a ukulele! You had to be there to believe it!

workshop leaders (2)

There was another Pyjama Jam back at the hotel on that, the last night, but I was happy to learn that Jim was just as tired as I was. We asked to be dropped off at our campsite, where we weren’t long climbing into bed with lights out. zzz

We heard from Donna that she’d stayed at the jam until 2:30 when it finally broke up.

On Sunday morning there was one last jam back at the MCC, lasting only an hour and ending with picture taking, hugs and goodbyes to all our new friends.

A big thank you to all of the many volunteers who make the Midland Uke Fest an annual event. We hope to see you again next year!

The Last Legs Home

April 25, 2019 by judy lawless

After we left Zion National Park, we drove north through Hurricane until we found the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) open area where boon-docking is permitted. It took a bit of time to figure where we were allowed, but we found some other Canadians who assured us it was fine to park across from them. We found the most level spot we could, where we wouldn’t be blocking pathways or encroaching on the privacy of others, then went for a walk to see what was around us before the sun set.

The sun went down and we could see millions of stars. We watched a campfire (metal ringed fire-pits were the only amenities) burning up on a hill. We read for a while, and then snuggled under the covers to enjoy the quietest and most peaceful night’s sleep we’d had in years. No noise; no lights.

Salt Lake City

Early the next morning we were on the road heading to Salt Lake City. We could see snow-covered mountains off in the distance, shadows from clouds overhead creating the effect of oil paintings.

These were the only interesting things on the drive.

At 4:00 pm we reached our destination – the KOA in Salt Lake City, after stopping at the local Ford Dealer to get an appointment to have the motorhome issue checked out. Hot showers and great internet connection were much appreciated, but we didn’t have the luxury of quiet darkness for sleeping. There is always a trade-off.

While the motorhome was being thoroughly examined for most of the next day, we toured the mall, had coffee and cinnamon buns, and later lunch, before finding a table in the sun of the courtyard, still waiting to hear from the Ford man.

We arrived at City Creek Centre before the stores opened

Looking down and across the creek from the second floor

The outside Courtyard, with the Mormon Chapel in the background

Looking down to the street from the Upper Floor Causeway between the Mall Sections

Children were fascinated with this Infinity Pool

At certain intervals music began to play and the fountains danced

He finally checked in with the news that they could find nothing wrong other than the flawed spark plug that we’d had replaced in Mesa. With Jim’s permission they would replace all ten spark plugs. We had another couple of hours to kill so we left the mall and walked downtown, ultimately ending up at the IMAX Theatre in the Planetarium, where we watched the 3D movie “Super Dogs.” That was amazing!

At 4:30 the call came: the motorhome was finished and running well. $760 later we were back at the KOA. I have to say that we were impressed with this dealership. They were very courteous; they had an Uber at the door to take us wherever we wanted to go while we waited, at their expense, and another to pick us up downtown to return us to the dealership. They showed us the cracked spark plug, and a few examples of how badly warn and rusted the others were. They explained all the other testing they’d done and how they’d found the problem.

The following day we journeyed to the suburb of Cottonwood to join many other ukulele players, in a small non-denominational church, for a ukulele workshop and concert lead by a master of ukulele, Stuart Fuchs. It was an uplifting and inspiring way to end our stay in Utah.

Love is the theme of the Unitarian Universalist Society where the ukulele workshop took place

The next morning we left the KOA.

The Final 1,966 Miles

The last five days were spent just driving, trying to keep ahead of the predicted rain and snow along the way.

Tunnel Through the Mountain near Grand River, Utah

The first night we parked at Western Hills Campground, high on a hill outside Rawlins, Wyoming and were again rocked to sleep by high winds. We had a good breakfast at Cappy’s, a restaurant located part way down the hill.

Western Hills Campground, Rawlins, Wyoming

Back on I-80 the winds were still blowing and the elevation reached 8800 feet. Overhead signs warned that there could be wind gusts of 40 to 60 mph and high profile, light-weight vehicles should turn off. That was us, but where were we to go? We carried on, out of Wyoming and half-way through Nebraska to Lexington, where we found a Walmart that night.

At Sleepy Hallow Good Sam Campground, in Oxford Iowa the next night, more high winds, thunder and heavy rain disturbed out sleep. At 6:00 am the roaring winds had me up and dressed, ready to escape what sounded like a tornado, but it settled down enough for us to have breakfast before we left. Getting out of our spot was tricky though. The sites were built along the side of a hill and the narrow, up-hill roads between them were partially washed out in places, requiring a sharp left turn to get onto them. We got stuck in the wet grass beside us. After a couple of tries, Jim managed to get purchase on the gravel and gunned it up the hill. I was so glad to get out of there. It’s a very pretty spot, but the access roads and parking sites need a lot of work. That was our last campground stay.

This will be a pretty Campground in the spring and summer, but the roads need work

We got the rest of the way through Iowa, and all the way through Illinois, still on I-80, and to Elkhart, Indiana the next day. The Cracker Barrel was ours for dinner, the night, and breakfast. We would have gotten further if it hadn’t been for a tanker roll over in Illinois that caused a two-hour delay.

The following day we continued to fight the winds and we decided to turn north at Michigan instead of continuing on to Pennsylvania and New York state, where we usually cross the border at Niagara Falls. We were hoping the winds would be lighter. They weren’t.

Flags blowing Straight out at the Enroute Travelers Centre

After we crossed into Canada at Detroit (where we got lost trying to find our way to the bridge) they got even worse! We were ready to stop for the night at Tilbury, west of Toronto, but snowy predictions for the next morning and the continued winds, pushed us on home. We arrived at 9:15 pm. Home was a beautiful sight, even though it was cold!

Picturesque Zion National Park

April 16, 2019 by judy lawless

The night before we left St. George for Zion National Park a very scary wind burst roared around our motorhome, sending it rocking. I was sure it was a tornado and wasn’t able to get to sleep until it had passed. Fortunately it lasted only ten or fifteen minutes.

We were aiming to reach Zion before the nine o’clock rush, but didn’t make it. We found a parking lot downtown and hopped onto the free shuttle bus that took us to the Visitors Centre on the mountain. After paying the entrance fee ($35 for the two of us) and looking at the map to see what hiking options were available, we chose to take the park shuttle bus to the end of the line and come back down jumping off at the trails that sounded the most interesting and most easily accessible for a couple of aging seniors.

Our first views as we made our way to the top

Of the three we chose, we managed to get through only two. Apparently I stop too many times to take pictures!

But there is no better way to describe the experience than with pictures, and even then my photography won’t convey all the senses that the sites stimulated. But I’m going to try.

The first trail we took was to the Lower Emerald Pool.

Interesting rock formations and colours along the trail

This trail normally continues to Upper Emerald Pool, but it was closed off due to a recent rock slide.

Centre left is where the rock slide blocked the trail to Upper Emerald Pool

By the time we were back from that hike we were tired and hungry. We took the shuttle to the Zion Lodge, for sustenance.

When we were walking toward our next trail choice, The Riverside Walk, I saw a man coming our way who was dressed just like Jim – Tilley hat, blue shirt, dark sweater – and I commented about it. As he walked by we heard him say, “Jim?’

We couldn’t believe that it was someone we knew, a member of Jim’s former Bike Club from home, 2500 miles away! He and his wife and brother-in-law were there on a bus tour.

The Riverside Walk

These well-fed little guys were everywhere and completely unafraid

These mule deer were grazing beside the pathway

We had seen a sign telling us that “The Narrows was closed due to flooding, but when we got to the end of the path we were on, we figured we were there and it must have re-opened. But when Jim joined others on the beach area, he was able to take some pictures of what was really the flooded “Narrows.”

Before we knew it, it was 4:00 and we were done. We had planned to stay in St. George for the night again, and then drive to Bryce Canyon in the morning, but for a couple of reasons we opted to just find a place to dry-camp in the Utah desert and drive straight to Salt Lake City the next day, where we would get the motorhome checked out again (it was still missing) and attend a Ukulele Workshop and Concert on Saturday.

Winter is Over: Heading Home through Northern Arizona, Utah and Then …

April 4, 2019 by judy lawless

We had a busy winter; we had a sad winter. We got to know some new friends better; we lost a few old ones. I played a lot of pickle ball and a little ukulele; Jim played a lot of ukulele and a little pickleball. At the end of last week, that all came to an end, and we said our goodbyes.

Monday was our planned day to be back on the road, hoping to reach Page Arizona before nightfall, but our time was uncertain because we had an early morning appointment to have a spark plug replaced on the motor home and we had no idea how long it would take or how much it would cost. We dropped it off at 8:00 a.m, walked the short distance back to our park, stopping at the little restaurant to have some breakfast. By the time we’d gone to the park office to check out and pay any remaining fees, and chatted with a number of friends and neighbours that we ran into along the way, Jim got a call that the motorhome was done and the cost was only $96! We were off to a good start.

That soon changed when we found ourselves sitting on Highway 17 with many others, including several motorhomes, waiting for an accident way up the road to be cleared. An hour and a half later, we were moving again. We’d taken advantage of the stop to grab some food out of the fridge and cupboard for a light lunch.

It was smooth sailing from then until we were making our way into downtown Sedona where we were in awe of the different view of the red mountains from our previous trips through from another direction.

Suddenly traffic was stopped because of another traffic accident, but that interruption lasted only ten or fifteen minutes. We decided to walk around the upper part of town, joining the many other tourists. We’d never done that before. It took a while to find a place to park the motor home, and we ended up taking a chance by parking in a fifteen minute parking zone.

We walked both sides of the street and took many pictures before finding a casual little place to have something more to eat before striking out again. It had some humorous signs on the walls.

The idea of reaching Page was long gone. We settled in a KOA in Flagstaff instead. We were both tired.

Jim spent some time trying to find us a spot at a campsite near Zion National Park for Tuesday night, the first major stop on our bucket list. He went to bed disappointed. I was disappointed too, not only for that reason, but because the hinge on the kitchen drawer broke completely and now the silver-ware drawer rides on the floor under the table. 🙂

In the morning he had better luck. By 9:30 we were on the road once more, our destination St. George, Utah, just a short drive away from Zion.

We had a good trip and were amazed at the colours and formations of the rocky terrain we witness as we travelled up Hwy 89 and 89A through Arizona and into Utah.

We saw several signs telling of Cliff Dwellers, but this is all we saw:

We stopped for lunch at this quaint little place that seemed to be in the middle of nowhere, in the desert, but it was popular and served us a delicious lunch of homemade soup and chicken wings.

And the further north we went, the more interesting the landscape became, right into Utah.

Bridges over Colorado River at Glenn Canyon site of historical Lees Ferry, now gone

People travelling along the river in inflatable boats

Then we were climbing up, up to 8,000 feet or more and began to see the leftover snow on the sides of the tree covered hills.

It was all very exhilarating.

We bypassed Page and went straight into St. George to find the RV Park. Driving through the city was the most tiring part of the day, probably because it had already been a long day. We were happy to find that it was a good spot, although we got the only remaining site and had to choose between being fairly level or being able to connect the sewer hose. We decided we could live without the sewer hose for one more night and chose to be level, unlike the night before when it was very difficult to walk without tipping backwards or sideways.

The next morning we were up early and on the road to Zion National Park.

A New View of Las Vegas – Part 2

February 4, 2019 by judy lawless

On Saturday afternoon, we decided to join our friends at the Orleans Hotel and Casino where, surprisingly, the Continental Cup was being held. I never would have thought that a Hotel and Casino would have a curling rink, but that’s only one of the many sports venues they have. It was interesting to watch (for someone who has played the game many times). As the score board indicates, it was a match between teams from North America (Canada and US) and the rest of the World, and the skill demonstrated was very impressive. We heard a few Scottish and Irish accents drifting among the spectators.

We stayed for only one draw (game) that lasted three hours, and then we drove down to The Strip again.

This time we drove on through to the older part looking for Rick at the Silver and Gold Pawn Shop from the Las Vegas Pawn Stars TV show, a favourite of Jim’s. We found him! We’d hoped to have dinner at the BBQ next door, where Rick often tends bar, but it was closed.

We did discover this interesting “community” though, where all of the stores and restaurants, and some living quarters are made from shipping containers.

We drove back up The Strip and stopped at Circus Circus, one place I hadn’t been before. After chowing down on burgers that were so big we could barely get our mouths around them, at Vince Neil’s Tatuado, we squeezed through the throngs of people, mostly kids who were in town for a big Soccer Tournament, to watch some of the entertainment. It is actually a huge circus midway, in the lower floors of the Hotel. We managed to get lost trying to find our way back to our parking garage and had to ask for directions!

By then my bones were beginning to ache and, since we’d spent a whole week at the Flamingo Hotel on the strip when we were there six years ago, I wasn’t too keen about walking the street again. Jim was disappointed, but reluctantly took us back to the condo.

On Sunday we looked in the papers and hotel literature to find something different to do. We chose a one-hour drive to Valley of Fire State Park, and I was so happy that we did! The colours were stunning and the one-hour hike around White Dome was good for body and soul. I took far more pictures than I can post, but here is a sampling.

It was after dark when we got back to the city. We took our second coupon back to the Silverton Casino Hotel and nourished ourselves with selections from the buffet again. We dropped a little more money in some slots and went back to the condo to reminisce about our fantastic adventure, and organize our belongings for the trip home the next day.

A new View of Las Vegas – Part One

February 1, 2019 by judy lawless

I started writing this post with the intention of finishing it all at once, but I realized that it would be too much to throw at you, so it’s going to be in two, or maybe three parts. Hope you enjoy the ride!

We were sitting in a restaurant in Chandler, waiting for the Ukulele Jam to begin, when I got a message from a new friend and co-Board Member, inviting us to join her and her husband in Las Vegas for the weekend. It turned out that they were there to watch a Curling Championship and the other couple who was to join them had to cancel. They had reserved two suites with their time-share. They offered us the second one for a really good price. We discussed it and decided that we could leave the next morning. Thus began our second adventure for the month of January!

We packed the car with a couple bags of food, since we would have a full kitchen, a small bag each of clothing, iPads and chargers, and Jim’s all important CPAP. I put my clothing bag, a bag of chargers, my camera, and one bag of groceries into the back seat, along with out iPads. Jim put the rest into the trunk. You might wonder why I’m bothering to share all these details, but you will understand later in the story.

We were on the road by ten. The day was sunny and warm, and we had the top down on the car all the way to Wickenburg before the clouds rolled in and it got cool. At Wickenburg we stopped at the Cowboy Cookin’ Restaurant for a really good lunch of Shrimp Scampi, and then were on our way again.

That is real cowboy country!

We drove through some rain off and on until we reached Kingman, still in Arizona, and Jim decided it was time for gas. As we were approaching the exit into town, the car kicked out of gear for a minute and then kicked back in. That was odd. The battery light came on, but it had been doing that occasionally lately. We got into the gas station and filled up, but then the car wouldn’t start again, at all. Fortunately we now carry a small battery booster with us. It was pouring rain by then, but Jim had to get out and give it a try. It worked. He pulled into a parking spot and left it running, with me keeping my foot lightly on the gas pedal while he went inside. It seemed fine when we pulled away, but we only got back onto the highway and to the next exit when it shifted into limp mode. We took the exit back into Kingman. Fortunately, there was a service centre within sight. We expected we’d need a new battery, which is a big job in a Chrysler Seabring, because the battery is hidden behind the wheel-well. But it turned out it was not the battery, but the alternator. They were able to get to it in a short time and a couple of hours later we were on our way again. We had only another hundred miles to go, but the sun was already setting. We discovered that the radio no longer worked, but thought nothing of it. We could live without that for the rest of the trip and figure it out later.

It was seven o’clock when we finally found the Grandview Condo Complex, got signed in, and parked outside our building. Jim pushed the button to pop the trunk; nothing happened. He tried the button on the key fob; still nothing happened. He tried using the key; no luck. Oh, oh! Something had happened to our interior electronics and there was no way to open the trunk. We took what we had in the back seat up to the suite, and I started making some dinner using what was in the bags we had access to, while Jim went back to the car to find a way to get the rest out of the trunk. Being a convertible, the back seats don’t fold down. The only interior access to the trunk was in through the pocket where the top stores when it is down. Jim took all of the casing out of that pocket, and was left with a space about a foot wide that he could reach into and retrieve another bag, but the trunk is deep and most of our bags were close to the back. He took a break to eat dinner and then I went down to help him. We had to do some contortions just to get as much of our bodies through the opening and reach as far as we could. Between us we managed to retrieve most of our real necessities. His big tool box was left in the middle, too large to fit through the opening, and too heavy to lift up anyway. We were able to lock the doors using the inside buttons. We left it for the night.

Our friends arrived, and we told them our saga before we crashed for the night. The accommodations were amazing. I’m sure the suite was bigger than our condo at home, and certainly way bigger than the motorhome. In fact, the shower stall alone was bigger than the whole bathroom in the motorhome! The big lounger bath tub looked very inviting, but it was time to crawl into the king-size bed and get some sleep.

The next morning I made breakfast in the very large kitchen and we caught up on the news on the TV, before going out in search of some kind of tool that might help us reach the emergency trunk latch. Jim had looked through the car manual to see how to reset the electronics, to no avail. He’d found where the bright red tag to indicate the emergency latch was, but even with the grabber we purchased, we couldn’t reach it. A family came along and Jim asked the father if he could “borrow” his slim son. We knew he should be able to climb into the trunk through the narrow opening, and we hoped, release the latch. They were happy to help, so with the iPhone flashlight, in he climbed, a couple of times, but the bright red tag couldn’t be found. We thanked them and let them be on their way. We worked ourselves a little longer, moving the tool box around, taking pictures in the hope that we would see the tag, but it wasn’t to be. It was time to give up and enjoy the sights, sounds and food of Las Vegas.

The first thing on Jim’s bucket list was to go to the Silverton Casino to see the big aquarium, just a ten minute drive our condo. When we arrived we registered as players and got our rewards cards which enabled us to claim a dinner for 50% off at any of the restaurants.

After spending some time watching the fish and the mermaids in the aquarium, we found the Buffet. It was agony trying to decide what to try. The buffet was so long it was impossible to sample everything, but what we chose was delicious. As it turned out, one coupon was good for two people, and it was buy-one-get-one-free, so the two of us ate for only $10! I saved my coupon for another day. Luck was back on our side, for a little while anyway! At the slots, I quite quickly lost $9.95 of the ten I allowed myself to spend. Jim just about broke even.

We gave up and drove down through the lights and traffic on the Strip and then made our way to the famous Fremont Street.

When we got out of the car we realized that we should have thrown jackets in, as the evening air had turned cool. Before walking very far we found some inexpensive souvenir jackets. Our friend had told us that the
World Spinners Championship was supposed to be taking place down there. We caught the first round. Who knew that this was a thing?

Wow, some talented spinners!

Looking Up

After some dinner, we walked through the covered street, watching the varying displays on the overhead screen, and people flashing by on the zip lines. We laughed at some of the “acts” on the street by “buskers” and were impressed with others.

By the time we’d walked the two blocks again, I was ready to call it quits so we returned to the condo and I enjoyed a good soak in that marvellous tub, before climbing into bed.

The next day would be another busy one.

Rounding out January with Some More Adventure

January 25, 2019 by judy lawless

The problem with getting some blogging done these last two weeks hasn’t been lack of adventure, but finding the time to write about them. Our weekdays are always busy with ukulele, pickleball, bocce ball and just socializing with our neighbours and friends. We’ve had two adventures during the last two weekends, which produced lots of pictures.

The first adventure started with a last minute decision to take a drive up Superstition Mountain, a place I’ve written about many times before. Our plan was just to go as far as Tortilla Flat for some lunch and to listen to the band. But, after enjoying a huge hamburger at the outdoor grill and tapping our feet to the great music, we opted to continue driving to Roosevelt Dam, a distance of only about thirty miles. It was a fairly warm and sunny day, so of course the top was down on the convertible.

The last time that we’d travelled that part of the “highway” was the first year we were in Arizona and our neighbour had loaned us her car (we only had our bike here that year) so that we could take Jim’s daughter, Karen, sightseeing when she visited in March. We’d forgotten that after only a few miles past Tortilla Flat the paved road suddenly ended, tossing us into a mixture of hard ruts, gravel and sand. Or maybe we had hoped that the newly widened and paved section to Tortilla Flat had been extended beyond there. Anyway, there isn’t too much traffic on it at that point, but the vehicles we met were mostly 4x4s, and none were open convertibles. We got some amused looks.