Kristen commented when she posted this that it’d been a while since we’d been on the road. And yes indeedy, it’s been far too long. Our last overnight outing was New Year’s Eve and that doesn’t really count cause it was just overnight and we were out for an Anthem gig. Before that it was Thanksgiving, and that doesn’t really count cause it was a family thing. We went on an overnight trip to North Carolina in early November, but as I look further afield it’s with SHAME that I report we haven’t been out on the road since September – and so even though this too is a pretty short jaunt, I shouldn’t be surprised that it feels so good.
rob is older, but on the road again.
It’s a stunningly beautiful day as we head north on I-83. The weather’s cool, the sun is bright, it’s good and proper spring and I can feel it in my throat. My eyes are enamoured, my skin is singing with the contrast of sun and breeze, but my lungs simply know that the trees and flowers are exuberantly flirting with one another and getting handsy as Hell.
Bethlehem, PA is beautiful in the spring. Very glad to poke our heads in here, even if it’s just for a moment. Heather and I have a long and strange history with this town, but it remains one of my favourite places.
wandering the historic side of Bethlehem, PA which is behind the historic main street of Bethlehem, PA.
Nothing in the sky but contrails and distant haze, I wish the roads could give us a moment’s peace but we have to be sharp against the swerving and speeding masses. Turning up 83 slowly things out, but until we’re well into rural Maryland north of the Baltimore belt, there’s still a madness in the eyes of the drivers around us. The trucks are getting bigger and bigger and the spaces between them smaller and smaller until suddenly we pass the Timonium exit and everyone breathes out, exhales, relaxes.
Happy Pennsylvania! Tonight we’d been scheduled to be performing up in Connecticut but the venue died a couple of weeks ago, much to the chagrin of an absolutely marvelous local scene. And so tonight we’ll be hitting up an open mic in one of our favourite towns : Bethlehem, PA. It’s a nice short hop between home and Glastonbury (tomorrow’s stop) and gives us a night in a town that we NEVER get to stop in, despite our affection for it.
we were looking for coffee on said main street and stumbled across a couple of signs that led us through the back alleys to a tiny coffeehouse called the Joint where we discovered the best… best…. BEST coffee we’ve found on the road almost bar none… Nitro coffee from Radio in Austin, TX is up there. The Commonplace Coffeehouse in Pittsburgh, PA would be up there. and “that iced coffee from that bike place at the Frederick Festival for the Arts” (Gravel and Grind) – Lighthouse Coffee in Sparks, NV is one of Heather’s favourites and I remember really Loving Alleycat Coffee in Fort Collins, CO – and of course the concoctions of Victoria Station Cafe in Putnam, CT…. damn, why aren’t these places here in MD?So the Moravian Book Store in Bethlehem, PA is the oldest continuously-operating book store in the WORLD, and it’s beautiful and has a touch of whimsy, sprawls into the neighbouring shops and attached meadery, is surrounded by gardens and has excellent taste in sci-fi and children’s books, which is all I want out of the world. And so why in HELL is the one picture i take of the bizarre bug cluster on the outdoor shutters? Not a CLUE. I guess I’m just a terrible human. Kristen questions the intentions of a Nittany Lion.
In the meantime I think about my heart and my soul and how both are being abraded by Life choices and social media. Follow 222. This is easy.
March 30th, 2016 found Kristen and Heather and I performing at an open mic at Rudy’s Diner in Bethlehem, PA. Found some pretty fascinating other performers, sold some CDs, made new friends.Mike Duck warming up at Rudy’s Diner in Bethlehem, PA. The guy hasn’t aged much over the years. This town has done well by him.Heather playing w Coltrane. This dog is a pretty good way to settle into the night.
