Rhonda Vincent at Johnny D's

Went to a very nice concert by Rhonda Vincent and the Rage at Johnny D's last night. Though the days of hard-driving bluegrass with Mike Cleveland and Audie Blaylock are past, Hunter Berry on fiddle and the remarkable Ben Helson on guitar are dynamite players and made for a great evening of music. Rhonda's just put out a new CD (Taken) and she played a lot of the ballads from that, mixed in with a few of the banjo-led numbers I was anticipating. Some of the new songs are very well written and they covered just enough of the older tunes to keep things interesting, including encoring with Driving Nails in my Coffin.

No Post Radio

Haven't posted for a while, and wanted to note one more August kayak trip .... quick one from the 225 put-in in Bedford after work on Tuesday the 31st. Work kept me late but I was determined to get in one more before vacation and had a peaceful paddle down the river for a stretch and back before night set in. Sarah must have been speaking at the aquaculture hearing in Brooksville as I got back to the car.

Up in Maine for vacation from late on September 3rd to early on September 13th. Besides many paddles and one of the best sails I've ever had on the Bagaduce:

• 9/5 - Put in at Bakeman Beach and went clockwise around Pond, Fiddle Head, Hog, the Black Ledges, Green Ledge, and Western. I then scooted over to the head of the Cape and saw the cliffs up-close. Had to cut in front of a clueless cruise monstrosity named "Freedom" [sic].
• 9/8 - Put in at the Deer Isle causeway, cut to the West of Carney, cut through Bar Island, and then headed out past Little Pickering and Pickering to Crow. Went around Crow (there were a lot of crows there) and paddled over to Bradbury, but decided to leave it to port. A rainstorm started and fog was threatening so headed right back to Pickering and made a lazy circuit. Went straight to Scott and my usual lunch place, then headed back past Sheep against the stiff wind, couldn't go between Bar this time, and had to leave Carney to port on the return.
• 9/9 - Short trip from Naskeag Point around Hog, Sellers (lunch), and Harbor.
• 9/10 - Hike up Cadillac North Ridge Trail in Acadia NP and then down the Gorge Trail.
• 9/11 - Put in at Indian Bar, went around Smith Cove where the 420s from MMA were racing endlessly, and then over to Castine and along the waterfront. Went around to Trask Rock where the tide was so high I could circle it, and then back to the Head and straight past the bellbuoy over to Holbrook. The MMA J24s were racing endlessly out in the Bay and the sky and the visibility were incredible. Surprised some deer rounding Holbrook, then cut through Ram and back around past Nautilus.