The second day of the new year is here and it already looks like this year is off to a good start. It will be hard to surpass last years though, as being better than the last week of that year will be hard to beat. Since I have been a bit remiss in posting this past week I am going to take some time and catch up on some of the highlights from that time, so I am going to go back to last Thursday, the 26th of December and pick up from there, even though I have previously posted a little bit about that day.

    So by the time the first night of contra dancing was done there at the resort in Morgantown WV we were all drained of energy and ready for some sleep. It had started at 7:00 p.m. with an hour long concert out by the fireplace featuring the 'Eddy Sisters', two young sisters that could play an unbelievable number of instruments between them, and who also had voices that would be the equal to, or better than, what you can find on any record label around. Besides which, they are also extremely cute, well adjusted, happy young women who also love to contra dance. Nearly an hour of hearing their harmonizing and playing of some old, and some new, folk tunes set us all in the mood for the next 4 hours of raucous, high energy dancing.

    Great Bear Trio, my favorite contra dance band at the moment, played the whole night and it was absolutely stellar. By the time the night was over we had 5 full lines of dancers swirling and twirling all over the floor. No serious injuries that I know of, just hot, sweaty, happy dancing by the 250+ people who were there. Normally I would stay up after the dance and share a glass or two of wine out in the lobby with other friends of like mind, but the 8 hours of driving that day had kind of worn me out, so Rima and I just went back to the room and collapsed.

    I tried to sleep in a little bit on Friday morning, but too much scurrying around and too many people to see and talk to. Breakfast is out in a little bar/cafe setting off the dance hall and they have cereals, pastries, bread and rolls, juice, milk and of course, coffee and tea. It is a great place to sit and talk to a few people and either catch up with what they have been doing since you last saw them or actually get to know them for the first time.

      There is generally some type of dance class for an hour right at 9:00 a.m., I think it might of been some type of waltz workshop, but I missed it and instead went and danced most of the morning contra dance from 10-12. GBT (Great Bear Trio), also played at that dance, and I forget who actually called, either Beth Malaro of Robert Cromartie, either one is excellent so it doesn't really matter. I usually don't do much dancing during the day during this week, finding that 4 hours late at night are usually enough to wear me out. But it was fun to dance nearly all the dances in this section before heading off to lunch.

   Lunch and Dinner are also provided and are done in the resorts main ballroom where they have two buffet lines set up and about 25-30 round tables that hold 10+ people at each. Some people complain about the food as it is generally speaking, what you would get at any large convention you were to attend. In essence, what I call 'rubber chicken' meals. I however found the food acceptable and even quite good at times. Maybe because I am so use to eating my own cooking, or in most cases, lack of cooking, too much. All in all though, it was decent enough with there being some type of green salad, some type of fruit salad, a cooked veggie dish or two, rolls, two entrees, a meat dish as well as a vegetarian one, and then 2-3 types of desserts. Not a 4-star meal, but good enough to keep you going.

    I took a nap that afternoon while Rima went off to dance more. She's kinda like the energizer bunny at times with all of her excess energy. I had a pleasant couple of hours of relaxation and was ready for dinner and then the next concert several hours later.

   The 2nd night concert was performed by the 'Mean Lids', a young trio from somewhere in the heartland of the U.S.  They also put on a wonderful show of not only contra and folk based tunes, but also some more jazzy/bluesy style stuff. Even though the three of them all look to young to be performing, I'm told that they are all in their 20's with one maybe even in his 30's. Their way to young looking, fiddler, Texaco, looks to be maybe 18 to me, but I hear he already has a PHD in music theory from one of the big music schools in this country. He can certainly play his fiddle, that's for sure.

     Another 4 hours of dancing that night to the sounds of the Mean Lids. Once again it is almost more fun than the law allows. Unless you have been to a good contra dance where the music and calling are just right and all the dancers around you are really, really, good, you just don't know how fun life can really be. By midnight I was once again wiped out and ready to head for the room. Not being that bright however, meant that I stayed up for another two hours and sat in the lobby by the fireplace and drank wine and talked to a bunch of people, while over in the dance hall they were doing yet more contra dancing to some recorded music. One nice thing about being there in a resort however is that after you finish, it is just a matter of bouncing off the walls in the hallway until you get to your room. No need to go outside where it is snowing and the temperature is below freezing. It is still the best dance set-up around.

     Saturday dawned bright and sunny so Rima and I decided to take a short road trip to see some of the sights. We had wanted to go over to one of Frank Lloyd Wright's signature homes, Falling Water. But found that you had to get reservations for it and preferably,  not on the same day you want to see it, and certainly not on a sunny weekend day. So we went ahead and made reservations to go see that on Monday instead, and decided to just drive out to a state park we had heard about that had some nice waterfalls in it. About an hours worth of driving through the back roads of WV and on into Pennsylvania brought us to the little town of Ohiopyle Pennsylvania and the state park of the same name. A rather large river, by western standards, cuts through the mountains right there and has cut some spectacular waterfalls along it's way. Rather cold and scary looking in the late December sunshine, it was still neat to walk along the shoreline on either side and stare at the power of the water as it rushed by.

   We walked around town and the surrounding area for a couple of hours, even saw some dancers from the same dance we were attending before getting back in the truck and heading back to Morgantown. Arrived there just in time for dinner... of course, and then a quick dash back to the room to dress and get ready for the dance and concert that night. The concert for that night, if I am remembering correctly, was the two young men from the Great Bear Trio, Noah and Andrew. I always call them 'the boys', because I can remember seeing and dancing to their music when they were truly young teenagers. But they are now both in their late twenties and married and now even better musicians of course. They put on a fun filled hour of musicality that was a mix of just about everything. Some contra dance style music for sure, but also some that borders on rock, blue's, soul and even one rap song that they wrote and sang. Called 'Contra Dance Etiquette for the Guys', it was the highlight of the concert and you should really go out on YouTube and search for it. Watch long enough to get to the instrumental part and you will see that these brothers do really know how to play too.

    Four more hours of dancing that night, split equally between sets by the Mean Lids and GBT, and my feet and legs are now starting to feel the strain of nearly 20 hours of dancing. Of course all the usual over the counter pain drugs are now in full play and they are managing to stave off the worst of the pain. I'm still game for another couple days of dancing anyway. I of course also spend another couple of hours socializing after the dance, so not only are parts of my body starting to give out, but now I'm suffering from sleep deprivation also..... Funny that no one out there is feeling at all sorry for me either. :)

   Sunday morning arrives with lots of cold rain and grey skies. Just a perfect day to stay inside and relax. I'm a little slower getting up that day, but still manage to wake up in time to get down to breakfast for some much needed hot tea before it shuts down. I'm just to tired to do any dancing during the morning session so, I of course, end up dancing several dances at that point. It is amazing how the music and people can pull you in even when you are nearly exhausted. I sat out many of the dances however and either talked to people or just listened to the music and watched the dancers.

    I can't really remember what I did that afternoon, but I think there was a nap and then some more time sitting outside the dance hall talking to people.

    Pretty much the same thing for that evening. I know we made it to dinner and then went to the pre-dance concert because I remember it was put on by the Side Street Stepper's, a group of 4 young people who specialize in playing and singing the songs of the early 20's and 30's and even some of that 'new fangled 40's stuff. Very talented musicians and some of the songs they sang from the probation era were hilarious. One of the female singers is even able to imitate to a 'tee', the women who once gave voice to 'Betty Boop'. The dance was as wonderful as always, but by this time I'm starting to drag more and more, so I'm setting out 2-4 dances per half. Doesn't sound like much, but when each dance is 10-12 minutes long it translates into a good 1/4 to 1/3 of the available dance time. To tired to stay up past midnight that night, so it was off to the room and a blissful 7-8 hours of exhausted sleep.

    Monday the 30th was still a bit grey and cold, and it even snowed later on in the day. But we had reservations to go see Falling Water that day at noon so we were up and prepared a good two hours before that. An hour or so on the road got us there after taking us right through the town of Ohiopyle we had visited two days earlier. By the time we got to the entrance into the park it was snowing pretty well. Our tour started right around noon and took a bit more than an hour to complete. There were maybe 10-15 in our party and one tour guide that took us in and around the whole house explaining all the ways it is so different from other homes.

    A true masterpiece of 'Art', the house is so much more than just a place to live because of the way it was integrated into the surrounding landscape. Both solid rock and flowing water are an integral design elements that effect every portion of the house. I was very impressed with many of the innovations that Frank Lloyd Wright came up with to draw people to the outside to enjoy the abundant scenery. Even on a cold snowy day like that one you felt like the outside was being pulled into the house and becoming part of the whole effect. Through unique use of lighting, space and texture his vision of an 'organic' design was very apparent..... On the other hand, The guide only generally mentioned the 'structural repair' that had taken place several years ago because Frank didn't listen to his engineers and didn't support some of the cantilevered decks nor the entrance bridge over 'Bear Run Creek' with enough structural steel. The guide only said something after I asked about it, and even then made it sound as though it was only a minor glitch. I guess more than $10 million in repairs might be minor to some, but it's a hunk of change all the same. That being said, the house and design overall is fantastic, and I urge any who can, to go see it in person, even in the snow it is truly beautiful, and I promise that there will be photo's of it sometime in the next week or two. 

    We had a very nice lunch out at a small café/general store there in the town of Ohiopyle. Big, sloppy and juicy hamburgers for us both. Rima's, with not only a burger patty but also a slice of ham, cheese and 2 strips of bacon, was truly decadent. Mine was only slightly more modest having only grilled onions and mushrooms, cheese and bacon.

   So with that feast under our belt you would think that dinner, about 3 hours later wouldn't even interest us.... but you would be wrong. We both ate our usual meal and then I headed back to the room for about an hours worth of napping. Rima went on to the concert for the night which was, I heard, yet another wonderful experience. Tunes played by 'Toss the Possum', a group that usually provides the live music for waltzing sessions. I heard this time that they branched out to other music genres that even included a skit with some lip syncing that had everyone nearly rolling on the floor.

    One last night of fast and furious dancing. I could tell that others besides myself were starting to feel the strain of so much exercising. I'm not sure how much dancing you could of done if you danced every single dance during the nearly week long period, but it had to be well beyond 40 hours. I figure I had more than 20-25 hours in for the 5 nights and days that I danced, and that's enough for me. Once more I stayed up a bit after the dance and drank some wine and talked with old friends. Rima stayed up with me that evening and that was really sweet having her there with me. But eventually you just have to go to bed and get some sleep, and that is just what we did.

    Up early on the 31st and ate a hearty breakfast and said goodbye to everyone. A long way back to Floyd, but the weather and roads weren't too bad really. We also broke the day up a couple of times by stopping along the way. We stopped at Summersville Dam a couple of times to look at the lake and then at the outlet gates that were shooting 20' diameter streams of water out of them that were more than 100' long. Rima told me that when they built the dam and backed the water up they drowned the whole town of 'Gad'. But rather than name the dam after that town, like their usual practice, they went on and called it Summersville instead. I guess the idea of people with a southern accent and drawl trying to pronounce 'Gad Dam' was just to much for them.

    We also stopped at a museum dedicated to the old CCC's in another little town. The CCC's, or Civilian Conservation Corp was brought into being by FDR in the late 1930's to early 1940's as a way to put people back to work during the depression. Young men, and some young women, could sign up for a stint in the military style work program for $30 per month with free board and room and uniforms. During that time they would be put to work doing various construction projects around the country that would benefit communities, parks, waterways and other municipal entities. So they might build bridges and buildings, clear trails, fight forest fires or plant trees in parks and forests. In some communities they built community halls and parks buildings, dams and waterway improvements. It was a way to put people back to work in a meaningful way, get improvements done and give some pride back to people who may have been standing in food lines the week before. Sounds like a great idea to me!

    My dad was one of those who benefited from being in the CCC's while young. It was there that he met my mom while he had driven himself and a bunch of his crew to a weekend dance in the town of Rye where she grew up. I remember him telling me that while the pay was $30 per month, they only got to keep $5 of it and the other $25 was automatically sent home to his parents for their benefit. He was always extremely proud of his service in that organization so it was fun to wander through this museum and read about what it was like back here in some of the camps in the Blue Ridge and Smokey Mountains.

    We finally made it back to the house a little bit after 6:00 and grabbed a bite to eat. We thought about staying up late to see the new year in, maybe watch a movie or two. But we both just opted to go to bed and get some sleep. I've heard that this is how old age creeps up on you, but after the week of dancing we had both done, I dare anyone younger to do as well as we did.  So..... Happy New Year everyone!

    Yesterday was a time to relax and get everything cleaned up, washed and ready to go again. The plan is to go to Chattanooga Tennessee this Friday for yet another weekend dance, the Chattaboogie. Right now though we are both wondering if we haven't caught someones cold over the last week as the throat is a little scratchy and we are both dragging a little.  We did drive into Floyd early in the afternoon and had a wonderful meal at Natasha's. Our first of the new year. We also spent some time putting together a nice meatloaf and some garlic-olive oil mashed potatoes for that nights dinner and a few future lunches.

    Today Rima is working and trying to catch up on all that has been pushed aside. I've been writing, cooking and doing laundry, but otherwise just hanging out. It has rained pretty much all day so there was no incentive to go outside. I did drive into town to pick Rima up and take her out to lunch. I wanted to have buffalo brisket quesadilla's in the town of Riner one last time before heading back to Florida next week. They were yummy!

    Going to start on some home made chicken noodle soup here in a few moments. I'm just feeling like that would be good for the two of us tonight. I hope that most of the past week has been remembered in the order it occurred, but sometimes the mind just doesn't remember everything like it should. Sorry for the delay in getting anything posted, but it is going to happen once in awhile with me because I would just rather be out doing and having fun than sitting inside writing about it. I hope all of my friends and family had a pleasant holiday season and wish to all of you a very Happy New Year.