Unfortunately this year, I was not able to do anything special on Earth Day. I had to fly to New York and back, and I am in fact writing this blog post from an airplane. So being on a computer, on a plane, and not actually touching the planet is making me feel less than earthy at the moment.
However, I knew this was coming, so last weekend I went camping with my buddy Joe. It was my first camping trip of the year and it was great to get outside and sleep under the stars. We went to Amicalola Falls State Park and I did this painting on Sunday morning from the bridge directly above the falls.
We didn't do any hiking, as we spent most of our time at the Bear in the Square bluegrass festival in nearby Dahlonega. Joe and I both are learning to play the banjo and we had a blast listening to the great bands and informal jams. We heard a lot of incredible music, notably Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper, Jessie McReynolds and the Virginia Boys, and the Dixie Bee-Liners. We got to meet Casey Henry, who we have seen on a series of instructional banjo called 'The Murphy Method' and is the Bee-Liner banjo player. We also got to meet Jessie Baker, who is the banjo player for Flamekeeper. Both were super nice, and it is very motivating to see and meet people so dedicated and proficient at their craft.
So basically, I had a whole weekend that was pretty much all outdoors or under a tent, painting the beginning of the blue ridge, listening to great music, and picking the banjo around a campfire with Joe. If that ain't down to earth, I don't know what is.
Submitted by donthacker on Mon, 2010-04-19 14:41
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