- Vans Warped Tour is in Camden, NJ, only about one hour from us. Technically this wasn't part of the Tom and daddy trip but seems it should be included. This is the "same" tour we went to in Montreal the previous year, but with a partially changed line-up of bands of course. I drove Tom and Julie and two of there friends (Chris D and Tara W), dropped them off, and then spent a good part of the day at a large LP "market" at a Holiday Inn about 30 minutes away. A few of the many photos Tom took during the day, to give you a feel for the event. Thousands in attendance, dozens and dozens of bands, multiple stages, and lasts about 10 hours. The kids spent about 5 hours there and then I picked them up and drove them home.
- Drive into New York City and park .. uptown, near Times Square.
- Spend several hours walking around the city, visiting various places, including the Empire State Building (not the top but the lobby), the nearby Korea Town area, Times Square (including Tom's favorite store, Sam Ash), St. Patrick's Cathedral where we walked in on a wedding, and the United Nations building where we took a tour. It was a lovely day and unlike recent years we managed to take our own photos to have as memories. Here is a selection ... you can figure out what is what:
- Leave NYC around 5 pm (?) and head west, towards Rhode Island. Tom is excited to be allowed to drive us out of NYC, across a bridge. Previously, Tom had scouted on-line and found a place that served Bubble Drinks, a frozen drink that he had discovered in Califormia while at a summer youth institute and that he had simply raved about. Only two places east of the Mississippi sell them and we were going close by one of them. Lots of traffic but we find the place in a Chinatown in East Flushing. Fact is we parked right in front of the place but then spent 10 minutes looking around for it before we realized it was right beside our car. The drinks were very very good but we should not have gotten the tapioca added in - fair warning if you ever go there - the tapioca is nasty.
- Refreshed by our bubble drinks we drive and drive, further than we figured we could. By the time we started looking for hotels we were in a section of southern New England that was literally "full" -- no room at the inn, not the Holiday Inn, the Dew Drop Inn, the Traveler's Inn. We stppoed many places and we told that due to many activities, including the folk festival we were heading to, the hotels were all full. By the time we made it all the way to Newport we were exhausted. One hotel said they could get us a room at a "sister" hotel "not far, about 80 miles north". I pulled the car behind an apartment complex that was still under construcion, that looked deserted and we attempted to sleep in the car. Not a very good night's sleep but was an interesting experience. Here's our room for the night - the photo was taken at about 5 in the morning when we gave up, and got up.
- Up early - who needs sleep? Went to an all night diner and had a long breakfast. Drove around
a little. Headed to the folk festival, the main reason for this trip. We are there when the gates
open and we have a wonderful day. The weather cooperated. Site was very pretty, with boats on the
river, folkies everywhere, and three major music venues.
- We liked almost everything we saw, but especially enjoyed Rani Arbo and daisy mayhem (below left), and Cheryl Wheeler (below right). I think Wheeler is an entertainment genuis. She just talls to the crowd in a comfy sort of way and keeps everyone laughing or crying, with her somgs fitting in and complementing the conversation, and/or vice versa. We also see the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Sierra Hull & Highway 111, Alejandro Escovedo, Elvis Perkins, Julie Lee, and Emmylou Harris.
- The last act, the headliner for the day is Alison Krauss and Union Station. But I cannot imagine staying for her set and then fighting traffic afterwards, with how tired I feel, so we listen to one song and then head out. As we leave at about 5:30 pm we make a bit of a wrong turn but it actually works well as we end up on the famous ten mile drive along the beach and through and around the famous Newport mansions. This detour did not take long and was lots of fun.
- Finally turn the car west and start for home. The goal is to just get to the other side of New York City so that we do not have to fight traffic in the morning. Memory is very hazy because I was so tired .. I do have a memory of some traffic on some bridges but finding our way around it. We also stopped and got two more bubble drinks, sans tapioca this time, which helped revive us. I can remember being very very tired, driving across a bridge into New York City, with Tom on the phone talking with my friend Terry M, brokering a last minute trade which we ended up not making. I think it was Terry, but who knows. And I remember leaving New York behind and driving straight thruough Jersey and into northern PA and then a hotel with a blessed bed. Good night.
- Home.