Hello all! Whew - I'm still jet-lagged, and I never even left the time zone!:) After three fun days visiting friends in Seattle, Michele and I took the Victoria Clipper up to Victoria. What a deal! A round trip ticket on the Clipper included a night at the Empress Hotel, taxi to the hotel (about a 300 yard drive!) and a champagne breakfast. As there were two of us, we got two nights - all for less than US$300. The summertime rate for the room we were in was CAN$695 a night! Victoria is a wonderfully compact, picturesque and friendly city. Canadian singer Bill Gallaher had us over for dinner at his house Monday night - and invited his band and their spouses. Way cool! On Tuesday we met longtime jmdler Roberto Holliston at his favorite pub, The Old Bailey. Roberto was wearing his jmdl denim shirt, so was easy to spot. This should come as no surprise to anyone who has met other jmdlers - but what a great guy he is!! We had a fine time knocking back a few, discussing many things JC and NJC. After some time - things get fuzzy here - we went back to the Empress for a nightcap in the Bengal Lounge. Now, my favorite place in the world for a drink is the Bel-Air Hotel bar, but I think I've found a close competitor! The sky-high ceiling, the couches (settees?), the service...(well, yes, the prices, too)...it was wonderful! "I was sitting in the bar, at the Empress hotel"...no hockey games on TV, though. Heck, no TV! I blush to recall, but Roberto was one of a regrettable number of jmdlers that I got off on a wrong foot with in my early days on the list. Happily, Roberto and I patched things up some time ago, and buried the hatchet for sure on this visit. Earlier in the day, we had had high tea at the Empress...if you ever want to feel like you are in the midst of a Merchant Ivory film... On Wednesday we walked (3 or 4 minutes) down to the seaplane terminal, and caught a flight to Vancouver. Any place where seaplanes are a normal means of transportation is OK with me!! After a 25 minute flight, the De Havilland Canada Twin Otter landed in Vancouver's Coal Harbour. There was a shuttle waiting to take us to our hotel, the Hyatt. What service! Folk Alliance was the usual mad melange of workshops, meetings, socializing, showcases, staying up WAY too late, overloading the Hyatt's elevators (which quit sometime Friday(?) night) and wading through showcase announcements plastered EVERYwhere. In other words - we had a blast! I know most of you aren't really folkies, but FYI the musical highpoints for me were provided by James Keelaghan, Aengus Finnan, Slaid Cleaves, Mary Gauthier, Kate Bennett and San Francisco's amazing Waybacks. The aforementioned Ms Bennett blew into town Friday night, and we agreed to meet in the lobby with local jmdler Stephen Epstein and a surprise guest from Argentina - the inimitable Wally K! Kate was real pleased to see us in the lobby, as she didn't know Stephen or Wally. Little did she know - neither did we! However, we waved our name tags around, and Stephen and Wally soon found us. Piling into Stephen's Saab convertible (it WAS a little tight for Michele, Kate and I in the back - I would have offered to reach for my wallet to pay for parking, but Kate would have slapped me!:) ) we were soon at a waterfront restaurant, where wine and light munchies were ordered up. What an enjoyable evening! Two Yanks, a Brit, an Argentine and a Canadian. The talk ranged far and wide, as it does on these occasions, and it was a real kick getting to know Stephen and Wally - two more charming and intelligent new friends! At all jmdl gatherings, the conversation inevitably comes round to "Do you know Kakki?" "Have you met Paz?" "Isn't Ashara great?" ...and so many more names...I think that many of you would be greatly gratified to know the estime and affection in which you are held by so many people. Les, Wally B and Jim J have created and maintained a wonderful, worldwide community. My hat's off to them! Saturday night Kate was featured in the prestigous Taylor Guitars showcase. She was scheduled to go on at 1:50 - actually Sunday morning - and it slipped to about 2:00, so we were a bit bleery- eyed by then. Backed by her buddies, Santa Barbara duo Anastasia and John, Kate turned in a tight 3-song set that, once again, demonstrated the warmth and intimacy of her live performances that is only hinted at on her fine CD. A fine job indeed. I have a few of the showcase flyers if anyone wants one (I've got one saved for you already, Kakki!). On Monday we zipped through US customs and immigration at Vancouver airport (an INS agent actually JOKED with me - that NEVER happens!) and Horizon Air and Alaska Airlines got us back into Orange County on time, tired but happy. Go visit Canada and the Canadians - they are great people in a great, civilized country. Any place that has a chain of stores called "Loonie Plus" has GOT to be alright! :) -- ######################################################## Steve Dulson Costa Mesa CA [EMAIL PROTECTED] "The Tinker's Own" http://www.tinkersown.com "Southern California Dulcimer Heritage" http://members.aol.com/scdulcimer/ "The Living Tradition Concert Series" http://www.thelivingtradition.org/
