Sal in Saugatuck (and Douglas)

Yesterday I arrived chez moi after a brief, beachy vacation.  Sal and I traveled with my mother and sister to Saugatuck/Douglas in Michigan.  I had been there a few times before -- once with my mother and sister -- and each time stayed at Lake Shore Resort.  (I highly recommend it!)  This time, however, we rented a lakefront cottage -- aptly named Douglas Beach Cottage.  After driving for a loooong time (including an additional hour because of a big accident on the freeway), and hauling all of our stuff down the 40 steps from the cottage's roadside parking spot to its back door, you might think we would collapse on the sofa.  Nope!  We had arrived at the BEACH!  We immediately went out the front door and stood on the big porch overlooking Lake Michigan, and then down the many steps to the beautiful sandy expanse below.

Sal in the erosion-fighting beach grass.

Why is the sky always so beautiful at the shore?  It is ever-changing, and always gorgeous.

Sal enjoying a magical sunset in Saugatuck.  Vacation days always go by too quickly...

For those of us who love to take photos, one of the pitfalls of a vacation at the shore is the irresistible temptation to take a huge quantity of pictures of the beautiful beach, the rolling waves, the lovely sky, etc.  Back at home, one realizes that even if all of the pictures are lovely, a person only needs one or two pictures of each view and/or sunset.  Either you delete the extras or end up with a plethora of similar shots stored on your computer.  (I'm grateful that we are no longer in the pre-digital days -- when it cost real money to develop and print all of those almost-identical beach photos.)  I confess that I did fall into the trap of taking multiple shots of Sal in every setting -- in an attempt to get just the right wave in the background.  I also, however, tried to be fairly ruthless in editing them down to a manageable number to post here.

Sal on the sunny deck halfway down the steep hill from the cottage to the beach.  There were a ton of stairs -- then this deck -- then a ton more stairs.  We all spent quality time on this deck -- reading, playing ukes, gazing at the lovely view, taking sunset photos, etc.

Sal and driftwood seem to be great photo partners.  As you will soon see, I took many pictures of her with driftwood.

Another shot of Sal with driftwood.  I put her close to where the water was coming up -- where she'd be just a little bit out of reach of the waves.  You can see that Sal will do anything for a good picture -- even risk getting wet!  I took tons of shots as different waves rolled up.  Then I had to choose just one to include here.  I'm second-guessing my choice... Argh!

Another example of Sal's flexibility as a model.  She was willing to risk getting sand in her sound hole for the sake of a cool photo!

A neat feature of our cottage was this outdoor shower for washing the sand off one's feet.  After being half-buried in the sand, Sal wondered if she should have a little sprinkle here.

As we were walking around Saugatuck, we came upon this statue, which seemed a perfect place to pose Sal.  People were actually taking pictures of me taking pictures of Sal!  There are so many outdoor sculptures in the Saugatuck/Douglas area that I think it would be fun to travel back there and do a Sal with Sculptures series.

Very early morning light and driftwood = a perfect photo op for Sal.

Sal hanging out with yet more driftwood.

The same piece of driftwood from the other side.  I really enjoyed all the photographic possibilities offered by this particular log.

A highlight of the trip (for me) was that my sister agreed to try playing a ukulele.  I brought both of my Fleas and my Daily Ukulele songbooks and gave her a couple of "lessons."  She did great!  In just a couple of hours, she was pretty darned good at playing I Walk the Line and we already have plans to play Jingle Bells together for everyone this Christmas!

Sal observing Anne's ukulele lesson.  Fun!

As often happens, Sal had a couple of mishaps while being photographed for this post.  There was quite a brisk wind much of the time, and, since Sal is not very heavy (or well-balanced), she is often carried away, so to speak, when the air is blowing about.  As I was attempting to take her picture as she sat on a wide wooden stair railing, a gust knocked her to the ground far below!  Luckily the surface she fell on was soft -- and not too steep to retrieve her.

See little Sal waaaaay down there? 

Anne to the rescue!  We were very glad to see that Sal was unharmed by this very long fall.

The first time I went to Saugatuck, I was amazed to see a giant billboard standing very close to one of the streets.   Who constructed this billboard and why they did so has always been a matter of great speculation.  It's a bit of a downer -- probably not intended to encourage visitors to have a carefree vacation -- especially since "getting away from it all" often induces some sinful behavior -- gluttony, sloth, and perhaps an alcoholic beverage or two.  So, on our 2009 trip, I took a silly picture of my mother and sister posing in front of the billboard holding beer bottles.

HISTORICAL PHOTO FROM 2009

Imagine our surprise when we drove by the billboard on this trip.  There was a "No Trespassing" sign on the lawn in front of it!  What could have inspired the posting of such a sign?  Some words from the Lord's Prayer sprang to my irreverent mind: "forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us."  Should not the billboard's owner encourage trespassers to visit so they could be subsequently forgiven?

This delicious comic pairing was a challenge I could not ignore.  I was determined to get a picture of Sal with the billboard and the "No Trespassing" sign - despite the threatening verbiage on both of them.  My mother said that such a photo might cause religious readers to stop following Travels with Sal, but I think that people who read a blog about a traveling ukulele must have a sense of humor!

We waited until the day before we were to leave to try to get a picture of the billboard.  As we passed it on our way home from town, my sister, who was driving, began to slow down.  I was to jump out, take a couple of quick shots, and quickly get back in the car.  Unfortunately this plan was thwarted by the police car Anne noticed right behind us!  Later, as we passed by on our way to dinner, we were prevented from stopping by the fact that a guy was mowing the lawn in front of the billboard! 

Guy mowing the lawn in front of the billboard.  This photo was taken as the car was moving and we were wondering if there were powerful forces trying to prevent us from taking a photo of Sal here.... Hmmm.....

Finally, on the way back to the cottage after our meal, my sister was able to pull over and I got a couple of photos of Sal hanging out by the "No Trespassing" sign.

Does it really count as trespassing if Sal is in front of the sign?  I think not.  ;)

Speaking of sins, a trip to the grocery store led to the purchase of two six-packs of delicious Michigan brews.  Since we were strangers in town and didn't know our way around this food emporium, I asked a man who was putting bottles of soda on a shelf if he could help us find something (can't remember what).  He said he could answer only beverage-related questions, so I asked him to recommend a local beer for Anne and I to drink in the evenings.  My sister is knowledgeable about beers and she and the guy had a conversation about "hoppiness" and such.  From the beers that I usually drink, my sister has determined that I do not enjoy hops as much as she does, and she explained that to the man.  He showed us a couple of beers that met our criteria, which we purchased and went on our merry way.  Happily, both of us enjoyed the beers we got. 

Sal posing with some empties:  Fat Head's Bumbleberry (yummy brew brought from home), Bell's Oberon (my Michigan beer - very nice), and Anne's choice - New Holland Brewing's Mad Hatter India Pale Ale.

One morning my sister went for a very long walk on the beach (when I was still in bed), and came back with some great photos -- including one of a very photogenic lifeguard chair.  I determined that I must take a picture of Sal on that chair, so I got up very early on the last morning of our vacation and took a walk through a very cold wind to get the following shots. 

Sal posing in the life ring on the lifeguard chair.

I decided to try some other poses for Sal on the chair...

Did I mention that it was a very blustery morning?  Can you see Sal falling to the sand after being blown off her perch (as seen in the previous photo)?  I didn't realize I'd caught her in mid-air until I put these pictures on my computer at home.

The last Sal photo of the trip...  All good things must come to an end...

I walked back to the cottage to find that my sister had done most of the work to get us ready to go (bwah ha ha).  After we finished lugging all of our stuff back up the 40 steps to the car we sadly departed for our trip back to real life.  Good-bye lovely beach... 

Sal Travels to Elderly Music (again)!

On Saturday Sal and I attended three ukulele workshops at Elderly Instruments, and had a fabulous time.  We drove up on Friday afternoon, stopping at the fabulous Ikea in Canton, Michigan.  We bought lots of great stuff and had the traditional Ikea meal of Swedish meatballs before getting back on the road.  We arrived at our motel, fell into bed and actually slept -- unusual for our first night away from home.  We got up bright and early -- ready to learn new uke skills at the day's workshops.

After eying the motel's breakfast offerings with skepticism, we decided to look for someplace else to have our morning repast.  (I had just listened to the newest book by Carl Hiaasen, which made me suspicious of the freshness of the food.  Don't read Bad Monkey -- or any other book by this supremely entertaining author -- if you are squeamish.  If you enjoy absurdity and wacky mishaps, however, go out and read his books right now!)  But I digress...

I figured there must be a restaurant near the music store where I could get breakfast, so we took off for Old Town -- the location of the super-cool Elderly.  I didn't see many people out and about at this hour, but I noticed some cars parked near a restaurant called Pablo's, which had the word "breakfast" in neon in the front window.  This looked promising, so I entered.  I saw that only one table of other diners was there, which worried me a bit  (see above reference to the book I had just finished), but the gentleman who greeted me was very hospitable and helpful.  In the course of our conversation, I told him I was in town for the Elderly workshops, and he said that the store always sends customers his way.  (This is true, btw, as an Elderly staffer recommended Pablo's later in the day!)  I encouraged my host to go to the store and buy a uke to serenade his customers.  We had a few laughs, and I began to think I should go to my car, get Sal, and ask him to pose for a photo with her.  At this point, however, the restaurant became much busier, so I decided not to get Sal.  Afterwards I wished I had, as I would have had his picture to share with you.  (I wonder if he was the eponymous Pablo?)  I guess I'll have to go back and find out!

After a yummy breakfast, I arrived a bit early for the workshops, so I took a short walk to the river and took some pictures of Sal there. 

This lovely spot is a 2-minute walk from Elderly.

Looking the other way down the river from the same location.

As I entered the Elderly store, I met up with Tabitha -- one of the oft-mentioned Cleveland Jumping Fleas.  She had driven the long road to Elderly, too, and was trying out some banjo ukes...

Sal helping Tabitha select her new baby!

The first workshop was with the amazing Lil' Rev.

Sal hanging out with Lil' Rev and one of his ukes after the first workshop.  He introduced us to lots of challenging and exciting stuff in his classes.  Now it's time to practice, practice, practice!

Tabitha, Sal and I had lunch at yummy Sir Pizza and then walked back to Elderly for another workshop by Lil' Rev.  Of course I had to take Sal photos in the restaurant and on the walk back.  Tabitha was very patient with this process.  :)

Still life:  Calzone and Uke!

Lovely misty river.  I would have loved to stroll along that boardwalk, but uke magic awaited us back at Elderly!

Before the next workshop began, Sal and I were hanging out in the store when I saw Jim and Liz Beloff.  I decided to ask them to pose with Sal right then instead of waiting until the last workshop -- which Jim Beloff was teaching.

Liz and Jim Beloff with Sal.  As the proprietors of Flea Market Music, they have received quite a few $$$ from yours truly.  I am very happy about this, though, as I love playing songs from the Daily Ukulele books on my Flea ukuleles!  They sound so sweet!  Thanks to the Beloffs for their efforts to bring the uke back to its proper place in the world of music -- the top spot!

After the last workshop, it was time to get on the road and drive back home.  There was going to be a concert that night featuring Lil' Rev and Jim Beloff -- and it would have been wonderful I am sure -- but I had only booked my room for Friday and a big football crowd had apparently scarfed up all the rooms for Saturday.  So, into the car we went -- sad that we were missing the concert -- but glad we had experienced such a ukin' wonderful day.

Looking forward to more Elderly workshops in the future!

Sal Picnics with the Cleveland Jumping Fleas

This morning the Cleveland Jumping Fleas had their very first picnic -- the aptly named Pickin' Picnic in the Park.  We met at the Harriet Keeler Memorial Picnic Area in the Metroparks' Brecksville Reservation.  The picnic was scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m., but one of our members kindly agreed to go extra early and save a few tables for our group.  It's a good thing he did, because as he was waiting for more Fleas to arrive, another group showed up and began to decorate the pavilion for a different event.  It turned out they were expecting a big group -- but there was plenty of room for us, too. 

A whole bunch of Fleas arrived bearing large quantities of food and coffee, of which we happily partook.  After the meal we played our ukes for a considerable time -- and what a wonderful time it was!  Sal, of course, had to be included in such a festive ukulele event.  See if you can find her in this picture of all the Fleas with their ukes. 

After a couple of pictures were taken, our photographer asked us to pose for a "silly" shot, which we did. 

As you can see, a good time was had by all -- and I think I can safely predict that there will be more al fresco events in the Fleas' future.