I wrote most of  Monday’s Ramblings in the RV while Steve drove last week, not the easiest of tasks with that old thing and the Ohio roads.  This will be a two parter.  This week- part one -mostly about the first several days of travel and next week will be the gallivanting to Niagara Falls on the way home.

Mr. Trent had several shows this weekend they started it off with a show at Ripper’s Rock House.  We loaded out after that and hit the road heading to Allegany, New York for a show at the Hickey Tavern.  The Hickey Tavern isn’t a very big bar but it has great atmosphere.  Lou Ruby has owned the Hickey Tavern since 1979.  I can’t say enough nice things about Lou.  If you are in the area you need to stop by the Hickey Tavern, if you don’t drink just sit at the bar and have a coke, ask questions and get to know a little more about this little piece of history in Allegany.  We rolled into town early and were treated to a tour of the library which used to be the bank- the safes are all still there –but they are used for books and storage they have also incorporated several pieces that were from the prior institution.  Of course one of the vaults was made in Canton, Ohio by Diebold. There was also the Allegany Engine Company Festival going on and a true hero was returning to town so there were many activities in this not so sleepy community on this hot weekend.

Saturday morning after we woke up at the local Walmart we headed over to Gargoyle park and Steve napped while I enjoyed a portion of the six mile walking path-a few of the miles were along the Allegany river, it was so peaceful.  For Saturday’s show we headed up to rockabilly mountain Meltdown Music Festival, that is always fun because we get to see friends there too and the music rolls over the tops of the hills –it doesn’t seem to matter where we are parked the sound just echoes all around.

Sunday morning we were up and on our way to Rochester, NY for a little visit to the George Eastman House.  Having a love of photography like I do of course we had to stop there.  It was very impressive.  George Eastman was quite a man-a great philanthropist.  It was a bit sad that only He and his Mother lived in this very impressive mansion.  He did have friends and parties to fill the grand space.  His gardens were spectacular and I would highly recommend taking the garden tour-they show pictures of how it used to be.  I have been reading more about George Eastman to solve some of the mysteries of his life and his personality, but haven’t found too much yet.  We met some fellow rv travelers in the parking lot and chatted for a bit. Then off we headed to Niagara Falls.

The first official RV trip of the year was to Fremont, Ohio.  Steve played guitar with The Living Deads Saturday evening at The Strand.  What a great venue-what used to be the Ball House Hotel and then The Jackson Hotel the theater was added and the hotel shut down.  It has been turned into a beautiful room with great sound.   The owner sells tickets ahead of time for guests, you can also purchase tickets the night of the show.  There are small tables with chairs and people bring coolers with food and beverages.  There is also a very nice stage.  This was a venue with an actual Green room for us to hang out in and there was a little meat and cheese platter –both treats – most venues don’t have these or offer these luxuries anymore except the ones that seem to be owned or run by musicians.

It was so good to see our friends Symphony and Randee and hear about all their cool new projects.  It was also good to see Andy and Amanda, they live closer but tour a lot also.  We are sort of the odd ones out with regular day jobs to maintain our hobbies.  So after hugs, some visiting and the show which of course was loads of fun we headed over to the local Walmart parking lot to sleep for the night.  It was unusually cold and the furnace in our little motorhome sure felt good.  We had some snacks and settled down in our tiny little bed. 

We woke up Sunday morning ready for adventure.  We decided  to go to some of the marshlands and state parks up north of Fremont by Lake Erie- but bad move for us there was some kind of big bird watchers event and we ended up just stretching our legs on the beach for a few minutes and hopping back in the rv.  One treat for me along our travels up there were several abandoned and decayed buildings that I quickly jumped out of the rv and explored with my camera! 

We thought we would head over to Oregon, Ohio for a festival –when we got there parking was terrible and we thought “to heck with this” and Steve had the big idea to go to Tony Packo’s Café-made famous by Jamie Farr bringing it up a lot with his MASH character Klinger.  Tony Packo’s original location–what can I say –fried pickles, spicy ketchup, homemade chilli, hot dogs, mashed potatoes, cabbage rolls and cucumber salad, great service-now I did not eat all this I had the cabbage roll which reminded me of my Mom’s cabbage rolls great food and a tasty surprise we were treated like royalty and received a free bottle of spicy ketchup yum!

Next stop Toledo Botanical gardens and visited the Blair Museum  of Lithophanes–porcelain made from molds that when back-lit displayed beautiful pictures-breathtaking artwork.  There weren’t too many blooms in the gardens yet but lots of greenery along many different paths with interesting sculptures-although we were surprised by some young woman changing her clothes for a photo shoot –I guess changing your clothes in a public garden is no big deal.  After that excitement we hit the road and turned toward home.  What a start to a summer full of travel, music and images.

In May of 2012 we took a little roadtrip.  Steve had several gigs the last one being in Milwaukee Wisconsin.  Now this was the time pre rv so we stayed in motels along the way.  What most people don’t know is that even if you play first, often you have to stay until after closing and the money gets counted to get paid-that being said it makes for very short nights when we are on the road.  Sometimes I become a little cranky from lack of sleep.  During that time I had been known to curl up in the corner booth or table with the merch  and sleep, even with all the noise, I think I can sleep almost anywhere if I am tired.  Some of that is learned behavior from working nights for a private ambulance company, we would post (sit in a parking lot somewhere and wait for calls) so I would curl up in the front of the ambulance and sleep-this behavior was not me being lazy, it was a matter of survival for a single mom working 2 jobs at the time.  Anyhow this trip Steve had his first show in Fort Wayne Indiana at a little place called The Friendly Fox It was in the afternoon and there was another show that evening at The Berlin Music Pub –There was metal fencing (like chicken wire) between the bar and the show area, this usually sends up red flags for me but everyone was very nice.  I have an awful lot of very interesting bar stories but that is for another time.   The Friendly Fox was great the food was fantastic and Steve literally sang for our supper!  From there we headed up to Milwaukee, after a few hours sleep at a local motel.   We stopped at Sweetwater music and spent a little cash on the way. 

Steve played a little battle of the bands with his friend Subourbon Son at Kochanskis-Concertina-Beer-Hall.  It was two –one man bands set up at either end of the bar and they took turns playing sets.  It was a very interesting night to say the least.  After yet another very short night we woke up early the next morning and I have to admit I was a little crabby and not too excited to see Milwaukee, but once we started driving around I eventually had to get excited about it!  What an interesting and beautiful city, I wish we could have spent more time there.  One stop was the Pabst Mansion it had incredible iron, wood, and stone work.  The craftsmanship was unbelievable, I was snapping images left and right!  This is someplace I would highly recommend visiting while in Milwaukee.  We also walked by the Pabst Theater.  We checked out the Pabst brewery of course.  With rockabilly music fans being such huge PBR drinkers how could we not swing by there.  We visited the gift shop but didn’t have time for the tour, we did grab some lunch however at a street vendor and set on a very old stoop to eat -talk about getting in the city spirit!  There is so much more to say about this trip but I have rambled long enough for now.  I haven’t even mentioned the Kenosha Pierhead Lighthouse.  This may be a two parter. 
Please enjoy the slide show below.