Sal Visits a Pickle Factory

Sal's last post was a cliff-hanger!  The Midwest Uke Fest was over, but some of the Fleas were going to break up the drive home with a stop at Sechler's Pickle factory...  I hope the suspense wasn't too much for anyone!  ;)

Back to the final night of the Uke Fest...  At the Sunday night jam, it was decided that everybody who wanted to go to Sechler's would meet in the hotel lobby at 10:00 a.m.  Four of us showed up at the appointed time, and we formed a mini caravan to St. Joe -- Sechler's home base.  When we arrived, we found we had just missed a tour, so would be waiting 20 minutes or so in the gift shop.  No problem!  We had a great time there checking out the pickles and pickle-related merch.

Sal and Bruce, wearing the required hair and beard nets, posing by a photo of Frank Sinatra -- a fan of Sechler's products.

Sal with some of the pickles Sechler's makes.  I never knew there were so many varieties!

After we had been perusing the jars of pickles for a while, it was time to start our tour.  As the ladies began to don their hairnets, it was discovered that something was amiss.  Tabitha was not wearing closed-toe shoes, which are required.  The tour guide asked if she had other shoes in the car.  She had Crocs.  Nope -- Crocs are too slippery.  Tour denied!

Tabitha generously encouraged the rest of us to go on the tour, which we did.  As we left her, it was suggested that she write a song about her sad plight while waiting for us to return.

The tour was very interesting!   I won't give details about the pickle-making process, but if you are ever near St. Joe, Indiana, I highly recommend going to Sechler's!  You will learn a lot and have fun, too.

One little taste of the tour... These giant wood vats hold thousands of pounds of cucumbers in brine.  They age in them for 3-9 months before being processed into delicious pickles.

Sal with our friendly and informative tour guide.

At the end of the tour, I wanted to buy some pickles to take home, but I'm not really a pickle person.  I consulted with our tour guide, who suggested that I accompany her to the pickle tasting bar and try the Candied Sweet Raisin Crispy Pickles.  They were delicious, so I bought four jars -- one for myself and three for gifts.  (One lucky person has not yet received her jar of pickles.  Are you hoping it's you?)

There was a sign in the shop suggesting that visitors pose for a photo with the "giant pickle."  Of course we had to do this!

Our little group.  Notice Tabitha's open-toed shoes, and lack of hairnet.  Maybe next year...

Tabitha made good use of her time while the rest of us were on the tour.  She did write a song!  We ended up playing and singing it at a picnic table next to the factory.  A few other visitors came by and talked with us, and then a Sechler's employee asked if she could take a video for their Facebook page.  Of course we agreed!  Click here to watch it!

If you would like to sing Tabitha's funny song, here are the lyrics.  They are to be sung to the tune of You Are My Sunshine.

          I went to Woodburn, to lovely Woodburn,
          to sing and play my mighty uke.
          Then went to Sechler's, a-wearin' sandals,
          and I could not see the cukes.

          I love them pickles, them crunchy pickles,
          but alas I could not go.
          For wearin' sandals, in pickle factories,
          is apparently a big no-no!


In my endless quest for photo ops for Sal, I saw a cornfield across the street and decided to ask my companions if they would be willing to do another faux busking shot there.  Being the extremely cool people they are, they said "yes," and a nice lady took the pictures for us.

Who would busk in front of a cornfield?  The Cleveland Jumping Fleas!

Too much fun!

We could put it off no longer.  It really was time to go home....  Sigh...

On a happier note... while going from ukulele paradise to real life is always tough, this fun stop made the transition a lot less painful.  Perhaps stopping at the pickle factory will become a post-Uke Fest tradition...

Thanks Sechler's!  I'm really enjoying my Candied Sweet Raisin Crispy Pickles -- and some great memories, too!  :)

Sal Spends a Blissful Weekend at the Midwest Uke Fest!

The Midwest Uke Fest was one of the highlights of last summer, and I was sooo looking forward to going again this year!  I signed up early and was glad to find that several of my favorite Fleas were also going.  The weeks of anticipation stretched before us...  And then, suddenly, it was time! 

Most of the Fleas drove their own cars -- for various reasons -- but Sal and I were able to hitch a ride.  (Thanks, Bruce, for letting us tag along with you.)  Before going to the motel where out-of-town ukers customarily stay, we stopped at Folkcraft Instruments to say "hello," pick up our registration packets, have a strap button put on my beautiful Druid Moon ukulele -- and, let's face it, maybe we just couldn't wait to get to the scene of the weekend's uke-tastic events...  While we were there, Thomas, a fellow Flea, arrived at Folkcraft, too.  Great minds.

We got our registration packets, and I received a surprise extra in mine!  It requires a small flashback to explain it, so here goes.  Last year I brought Sal to the Uke Fest, and took many pictures of her there.  If you'd care to take a journey down memory lane, here is the post about last year's Uke Fest.  When registering for the Fest, you can order a t-shirt, which I always do.  This year my packet also contained a tiny Uke Fest shirt for Sal!  What a thoughtful -- and fun -- gesture from the wonderful Folkcraft people!  You'll see a photo of Sal wearing her shirt later in this post.  :)

After the visit to Folkcraft, we went to the motel to check in, and meet up with the rest of the Cleveland contingent.  We all went out to dinner together -- with the exception of the one unlucky Flea who had to work that day and arrived too late to join us.  After all the driving, everyone was looking forward to a beer or glass of wine.  We found a Thai restaurant, and began looking at the beverages on the menu.  When our server came to the table, I asked her to describe two of the beers listed.  She then stated that the restaurant did not serve alcohol or pop -- even though they were on the menu!  All of our faces simultaneously fell!  It was quite funny, actually.   

There was no beer or wine, but the food was tasty and we had a good time anyway.

After our meal, we returned to the hotel, and everybody met in my room to practice the song we planned to do at the Open Mic Concert on Sunday.  Happily, wine and other liquid refreshments were available -- thanks to the prior planning of almost everyone in the group!

For some reason I was given a big room with a sitting area, so it was our practice space on Friday and Saturday nights...  and the place to have a bit of a party, too.

As in previous years, the Midwest Uke Fest was wonderful!  The classes were great -- and so were the people!  Intense learning, lots of laughs, wonderful camaraderie...   <3 the Midwest Uke Fest!!!

Of course I had to get photos of Sal with all of the instructors!  Check out these fine musicians and the creative ways they elected to pose with Sal!

King Richard, as he was jokingly called by his fellow instructors, is also the big cheese at Folkcraft.

 Bing Futch with Sal.  I took two of his classes, and he blew my mind at least three times!

Li'l Rev and Sal.  I really enjoyed my classes with him.  I've heard that he will be an instructor at next year's Uke Fest, too, and am looking forward to taking more of his classes.

Sal hanging out with The Ukulele Cowboy Society.  They are based in Columbus, so I envision some Flea field trips and/or group outings to see them when they come to Cleveland to perform.

Nick -- the guy who can do it all -- measuring Sal for her t-shirt.  He was not an instructor, but Sal wanted to pose with him anyway!

Sal wearing her Midwest Uke Fest T-shirt on stage.  Doesn't she look great!?  What a wonderful surprise this shirt was!  A gesture like this says a lot about the Folkcraft family.  They are good people!

The Fleas rehearsed again in my room on Saturday night.  We practiced our group song, and Nicole played through her solo for us.  And then it was Sunday -- a day of more great classes and... gulp... the Open Mic.  Happily, we didn't embarrass ourselves -- and Nicole was outstanding!  Check out the videos of our performances.

The Tide is High performed by our merry band!   (Don't worry about the thumb.  It's soon removed!)  From left to right you can see Thomas, Holly, Nicole, and me.  Unfortunately, because of the angle this was shot from you can't see Bruce and Tabitha, who are behind us.  I guess we'll have to configure ourselves differently next year so all the Fleas get their 15 minutes of fame!

The Cuckoo performed by Nicole.  The audience was amazed by this -- and for good reason!  Wow!

GUSH ALERT!  Picking up the ukulele was one of the best things I ever did!  It has brought me so much joy -- through playing it and through the people I've met because of it.  One of the best things about my uke buddies is that they don't look askance at my kooky ideas.  They are willing to do things that others would look askance at.  For example, in the time we had left after eating lunch on Sunday, they agreed to walk quite a distance to pose for a photo with Sal and a tin man!  We saw this metallic fellow in front of a heating and cooling company as we drove into town, and I immediately thought that Sal must be photographed with him.  I was afraid I would have to do this necessary task alone, but most of the hardy Fleas made the trek with me. 

What fun!

As we were walking back from the tin man photo shoot, I had another crazy idea for a Sal photo.  What if we pretended we were busking in front of Woodburn's bowling alley?  As I said before, my uke buddies are game for anything, so they all got into the spirit of the thing.  I thought we should have a cardboard sign, so I explained what we planned to do to Folkcraft's Nick, who readily agreed to get us a big piece of cardboard.  After that the Fleas contributed their ideas for the perfect wording, and Tabitha did a great job of lettering and decorating the sign -- with much verbal input from the rest of the group.

After we ate our Sunday dinner, we all walked to the bowling alley, and realized that a photo there would not work.  The sign was too high on the wall, and the light was not good for photography.  After some pondering and walking around, we discovered that there was a pizza place around the corner.  It looked perfect, so we began to get out our ukes and set up our scene.  Then we saw a cop car -- with a cop disembarking from it -- next door!  It appeared that we were doing our pretend busking next to the police station!  Much hilarity ensued as we discussed the possibility of being arrested and calling Folkcraft to ask them to send somebody to bail us out, etc.  Some even floated the possibility of asking the cop to pretend to arrest us and taking a photo of that, but wiser heads prevailed.

Usually I don't want to be in photos, but these turned out so great that I wish there had been a passerby to take them so I could have been part of the picture, so to speak.  These photos are classic!  Our first album cover!  ;)

The wall was a bright color, but these pictures were crying out to be sepia!

Don't you love these tough characters!?  Suggested group name = The Hard Cases! 

We went back to the hotel, had one last little drinks party in my room, and went downstairs to the lobby for a final jam session.  On Friday and Saturday night other uke players had been there, but tonight it was just us.  It was fun, but we were pretty tired, and I know I was about ready to call it a day, when in walked Bing Futch.  He sat down and joined us.  We had a great half hour of playing with him, but had to regretfully say, as midnight passed, that it was time to say a final goodnight...

Good-bye to Uke Fest one more time...  Already counting the months until we meet again next year...  Thanks so much to everyone at Folkcraft for all they do to make this a wonderful experience; to the instructors for their patience, skill, kindness, etc.; and to the awesome Flea contingent for making every experience so much fun!  You guys are the bomb!

Monday morning arrived, and it was time to return to real life.  Sigh...  But happily, some of us were willing and able to make a fun stop on the way home -- Sechler's Pickle factory.  Next post:  all about our pickle adventures.

Coming Soon...

Sal and I got back from the Midwest Uke Fest two days ago, and we're just about recovered from our Uke Fest Withdrawal.  We'll be posting about the Fest -- and our stop at the Sechler's pickle factory on the way home -- very soon!  Y'all come back now, ya hear!

Sal Comes Close to Being Blown Away at an Arlo Guthrie Concert

On July 27th, Arlo Guthrie appeared at Cain Park, and Sal and I went to the show.  Two of our Flea friends were our companions for this exciting evening of music and weather.   Sal, Bruce, and I were driving from the west side of town, and Nicole was coming from the east.  We west-siders had brought along a picnic and planned to eat it in the park before the show, but, as seems to be the case almost every day this summer, the sky was threatening rain and delivered on its promise.  Consequently we ate in the car as the rain poured down around us.  Luckily the precipitation stopped long enough to allow us to walk to the ampitheater without getting wet.  We hoped that the clouds had finished their work for the evening, but we were very wrong...

Shortly before the show was to start, Nicole arrived and we all settled in to enjoy the music.

Stories and songs -- all super entertaining!

Arlo Guthrie came out and entertained us mightily.  He told wonderful stories between the songs, and there was much laughter all around.

Suddenly, in the middle of a song, a voice came through the P.A. system announcing that the show was going to stop for 15 minutes because of some very bad weather coming through. The audience was instructed to remain where we were, and Arlo was required to leave the stage.

Very shortly rain came bucketing down and there was thunder and lightning galore.  We speculated about what would happen if a tornado came through.  There was quite a bit of nervous laughter as we looked up at the metal roof.

Rain pouring down from the edge of the roof

It was so windy that rain was blowing inside.  People began putting up their umbrellas inside the pavilion.  Despite being in the center section -- pretty far away from the edge of the roof -- we got a bit damp.

Cain Park staffers came out and covered the guitars, piano, etc. with a tarp.

Well-prepared Nicole donned her raincoat.  Sal came out of her bag to take part in the experience.

After 15 minutes we were told that we would be waiting another 15 minutes, but that the show would most likely resume at that time.  It did!  The tarp was removed, the stage mopped up with towels, and the show went on!

For some reason I like this shot of Arlo tuning up his 12-string while a bunch of folks wearing rain gear mopped the stage with towels.

The rest of the show was just as wonderful as the pre-storm portion.  As we made our way out of the pavilion, I saw some people haven't seen for a long time.  It's a small world -- especially at Cain Park -- where it seems like I always run into people I know.  Apparently we all have great taste in music!  Thanks, Arlo, for a very entertaining show.  And thanks, Mother Nature, for making the evening extra exciting!

Sal Almost Sees "Romeo and Juliet"

After attending a Cleveland Shakespeare Festival performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream a few weeks ago, I decided I wanted to see their production of Romeo and Juliet, too.  I talked with some of my coworkers about it, and the party ended up consisting of Maryanne, Michele, and Heidi.   Coordinating our schedules was tough, but we found one night that would work for all of us.  Heidi and were working during the day, so Maryanne stopped to get us some goodies at Aladdin's, picked us up from the salt mine, picked up Michele at her house, and off we went to Lincoln Park. 

Friends and food from Aladdin's.  What could be better?

The weather was pleasantly cool and breezy, but there was a threat of rain.  We brought our umbrellas and Maryanne brought a tarp -- just in case.  We were pretty early, so as we ate our picnic we watched the Romeo and Juliet cast practice their fight scenes and heard them running through some of their lines.  Very cool.

Brian Pedaci, Operations Director of the Cleveland Shakespeare Festival, and fellow Cleveland Jumping Flea, talked with us for a few moments.  The sky looked gloomy, but we were optimistic about seeing the show. 

A few minutes later, it began to rain.  We put up our umbrellas, and Maryanne covered the chairs with the tarp she had so wisely brought. 

Luckily we were finished eating when it started raining.  It was actually fun sitting on a quilt with umbrellas up in the company of these lovely friends.

The rain stopped, and we began anticipating the beginning of the performance.  Unfortunately, it was not meant to be.  Brian came out and announced that the show was being cancelled, due to heavy weather that was likely to hit very soon.  We sadly got our things together, walked back to the car, and drove away.  Maryanne dropped Michele off at her house, and Heidi and I at work.  As we were driving to our various home bases, the sky opened up and there was a terrific show of lightning and buckets of precipitation.  Good call, Brian!

Better luck next year!

Sal Meets James Taylor!!!

Okay.  I admit it.  If I was going to a desert island and could take the work of only one singer, I would take the music of James Taylor.  I have loved him since I was a teenager, and have seen him perform many times.  I believe I've only missed one Cleveland show since I first saw him at Blossom in the early 70s.  When he and Carole King toured together in 2010, I saw the show in both Columbus AND Cleveland.  So I guess you could say I am a true fan!  My sister shares this JT love, and it's always great when we can see him together.

On Friday, July 24th, Anne and I had front row seats for James' concert at Blossom!  How did I get such great seats, you may be asking.  Well, if you get on JT's e-mail list, you will receive messages allowing you to buy presale tickets.  When the first minute of the presale rolled around, I was ready to hit the "Buy Tickets" button!  I am so glad I did this.  What an amazing experience to sit so close!

Of course I brought Sal to the show.  I knew that James would be signing things for fans, but wasn't sure if I wanted him to sign Sal.  I thought I might just want to get his picture with her if possible.  It seemed to me that if I had not had Jake Shimabukuro or James Hill sign Sal, it would not be right to have a non-ukulele person sign her -- even if that person was James Taylor!  But I was wavering...

Anne and I arrived at Blossom about an hour before the show, and had to park in Siberia.  We couldn't understand this until we found out that Blossom was charging $20 to park in lots A and B.  This meant that those who had not paid to park were sent to the faraway lots!  (Editorial Aside:  It is a shame that Blossom -- which I remember as such a happy place to see a show back in the day -- has become so money-hungry and ridiculously restrictive.  Audiences for the Cleveland Orchestra park for free in lots A and B, and can bring in pretty much anything they want, but the story is very different for all the other shows.  The only rule I'm grateful for is that people bringing in chairs are restricted to low-to-the-ground models so as not to totally obstruct the view of others.  End of Editorial Aside.)

Anne and I followed the long and winding road and eventually arrived at our fantastic seats.  I started taking photos of Sal on the edge of the stage -- hoping I wouldn't receive a rebuke from a member of the security staff.  All was well, though, and I took many pictures of her there.  

This is my favorite edge-of-the-stage shot because it shows the guitar that James was soon to play!

Of course I had to get a picture showing Anne and I by the stage, which a fellow concert-goer very kindly took for me -- and a photo showing Anne in her seat. 

JT-loving sisters and Sal.

Anne in her seat.  My empty seat is right next to hers.  Wowza!

I took a photo with my phone, too, and in attempt to get reception so I could post it on Facebook, I walked out of the pavilion and almost literally ran into my friend Michele, who was arriving with her husband.

Sal loves to hang out with James Taylor fans!  It was great to see Michele at the show!

The concert finally began and it was as awesome as one could have hoped.  James Taylor is simply the bomb!

I love this shot of James tuning.

Singing...

Singing...

Singing...

Hooray!  After a lot of failed attempts, I got a good picture of James looking in our direction.

James' sense of humor shines through!

Love this guy!

Intermission arrived all too soon.  The show was already half over!  Anne and I knew that James might return early and sign things for fans, so we hung around by the stage with Sal and our cameras.  We were right!  After just a few minutes, he came out and began signing things at the opposite end of the stage.  Since Anne had found a spot closer to that end of the stage than I did, she took Sal.  She was going to try to get James to take Sal, and I was going to get the picture.  Somehow, without much discussion, it seems we had decided that James should sign Sal.  He is, after all, my favorite performer of all time, so why not!? 

I was trying to get a picture of James signing albums, shirts, etc. for fans at the other end of the stage.  I'm not sure how I got this, but I think it looks cool.

Time was rushing by and James was moving too slowly toward our end of the stage.  We felt like he was never going to come our way...  Anne was waving Sal over the stage, hoping to catch his eye... 

So far away...  Will he make it to our end of the stage before intermission is over?

Anne waving Sal and hoping James will notice her.

He's getting closer...

YES!  This is the shot I got of James and Sal.  Notice that the rest of the band is ready to start the second half of the show, and the amazing James is signing my uke!  :)

Anne got this truly amazing picture of James signing Sal. 

YES!!!  We got the signature and the photos and were over the moon with excitement!  I was literally jumping up and down, and I'm pretty sure Anne was, too.  Sal was the last thing James signed before resuming the show.  And of course the second half was just as wonderful as the first.

I love the light in this shot.

Oh yeah!

I was taking lots of pictures during Steamroller.  This one is blurry, but I love it anyway.  I feel like it shows the energy in the performance.

Near the end of Steamroller.  James called this a "shameless display" after the song was over.  I'd say it was an amazing display of musical awesomeness!

Cleveland's own Arnold McCuller during his Shower the People solo.  It's always a crowd pleaser!

 What a night of music!  James did so many great songs -- including some new ones that will be on an upcoming album.  YAY!  Can't wait!

Anne got this great shot of the whole group taking a bow at the end of the concert.

After the band left the stage, we decided to get in the autograph line in hopes of getting Anne's ticket signed.  Lots of other people got in line, too.  What a generous guy to give up his break at intermission and then hang out for a really long time after the show signing stuff.  A performer of his stature certainly doesn't have to do such things.  But we are super-glad he did!

A staffer was taking pix of people with James, and pressed a wrong button or something on Anne's camera.  James was actually giving advice on what to do to get the camera working right again.  :)

My picture of Anne and James.

Staffer shot of Anne and James

Staffer shot of James and me.  I thanked him for signing Sal and gave him a Travels with Sal card.  I'm 99% sure he won't see this post, but it's cool to think that maybe...

After all the wonderful events of the evening, we walked back to the car feeling so happy.   There was a light rain and we had a pretty long walk, but we were feeling a JT-induced glow, so it didn't bother us at all.  What a great time we had!!!  Come back soon, James!!!

If you want to read more about the show, here's an article from Scene.