I'm sitting in my hotel in Jamestown NY.  David and Chalmers have gone to the gym while Tommy and I just got back from the pool.  Very refreshing to have air conditioning after three days and nights of camping at Lampe Marina in Erie PA.

We enjoyed the camping, some more than others, but even for me, who had a great time, it's wonderful to be able to sleep in a bed that doesn't deflate!  So incredibly worth it though.  And believe me, it wasn't that bad.  We had very clean and very nearby showers and bathrooms and we ate pretty well on the campfire.  Sleeping was the only frustration because there were lots of noises, but we wised up the second night and bought earplugs which muffled the problem.  (Ba doom ching!)

Erie was absolutely wonderful!  We made some great friends, heard some great music (Shotgun Jubilee - check em out on myspace for quite a treat!)  and saw some beautiful views.  Thanks so much to Ryan, Dom, Tonya and the rest of Shotgun for everything.  Especially Ryan, because we wouldn't have been able to make the trip or play the great places we did without him.  It's so good to make friends so far away who care about music.  I hope this was the first of many trips to Erie.

There is some video online of us playing at Bryson City's Heritage Festival.  The sound that day was a little iffy so sometimes it's hard to hear some of the instruments but it's a very nice recording and very good footage.  (Notice my niece at the beginning, till she is carted away by Mommy.)  Thanks to Dames Dukes for filming.  While you're at the site, take a look at some of the other videos they have.  Really neat stuff if you're intrested in Appalaichian culture and music.   Here's the link:

http://www.greatsmokymountains.tv/Barefoot%20Movement.html 

Anyways, hope your summer is treating you well so far.  ("You", being whoever is reading this!)

-Noah