| My "summer of concerts" began as spring semester ended:
First my youngest daughter Annie and I went to see the Counting Crows in Kansas City, the first stop on their current tour. Then all three of my daughters and I and friends joined the throng of fans in the Unidome to see Dierks Bentley, Sugarland and Kenny Chesney.We sat on the main floor almost right next to where Kenny made his surprise appearance, seeming to rise out of the center floor of the Dome. A good time was had by all! |
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| Later in May I went to Nashville to attend the Teaching Professors Conference at Opryland (wow - what a place!). I arrived a couple days early to explore "Music City" and to attend performances at the Grand Ol' Opry, the Ryman Theater, and the Bluebird Cafe and some of the downtown bars. Nashville is an exciting place - loved the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum and the constant access to musical performances. |
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In June My husband Jim and I and our closest friends took a cruise from Montreal, up the St. Lawrence seaway to Quebec and Maritime Canada (Prince Edwards Island, Nova Scotia), then to Bar Harbor, Maine and finally docking in Boston. We had a great time except for one stormy evening on the Atlantic. I ended the trip by winning $800 at Bingo! (should have been $2400 but there were 3 simultaneous winners) | ||||
| In July I visited my oldest daughter Jen who is a graduate student in psychology at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. During my visit we managed to make it to two different Keith Urban concerts - one at a large music festival called Bayfest in Sarnia, Ontario and another at a casino in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Little Big Town did a great job opening for Keith at Kewadin Casino. |
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| Jen came home with me to Iowa for a little visit. However, I
headed
out almost immediately to my sister Judi's home in Cary, IL.
She
and I enjoyed the opening day of Country Thunder festival just
45
minutes north of Cary in southern Wisconsin. We saw performances by Carrie
Underwood, Miranda Lambert, LeAnn Rimes, and yes, Keith Urban!
It was "Raining on Thursday" but it didn't phase Keith or the
enthusiastic
audience. Luckily we had seats next to the runway he spent much of his time on, so had an up close and personal view.  Urban
at Thunder |
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| After spending the night in Cary I drove to Eau Claire, Wisconsin and met all 3 of my daughters at another giant music festival - Country Jam. Miranda, LeAnn and Keith performed under starry summer skies. |
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The weekend following Country Jam ten of my Irish in-laws
arrived in
a large RV to visit Jameson's Irish Pub in downtown Waterloo that my
hubby
Jim designed. They camped out in the Pub parking lot! You can see the
Walsh
family commandering
the Pub stage on Saturday night- I am the 3rd from the right and
Jim
is in the funny glasses. When we had had enough Irish music we
had 3 successful rocket launches from the parking lot. Twice we were
able to retrieve the rocket as it parachuted to the ground, but the
third lauch came down on a rooftop. |
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| The first week in August my daughters were busy so I went
solo to a
huge (50,000) three day Woodstock-like country music festival called
WeFest
in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. What a wild and crazy time! I might have
predicted
Big & Rich would be the craziest until Keith dismissed Security and
invited us to get out of our seats and come up by the stage. Its lucky
no one got hurt in the mad rush that followed. I made it to stage
right! Urban at WeFest |
 An aerial view of WeFest - 3 days of music - Rascal Flatts, Big & Rich, Brooks & Dunn, Kenny Chesney, and, of course, Keith Urban. |
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This year the American Psychological Association held its
annual convention
in New Orleans. Both I and my daughter Jen made presentations at the
convention
and learned about the latest research at the many sessions. While we
were
there we attended a benefit concert for New Orleans police and
firefighters
featuring Brooks & Dunn, Dr. Phil and others. I also
went to a performance given by Bill Cosby. |
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| The Friday before school started my daughters and I made one
final
road trip to Chicago to see the Counting Crows and the Goo Goo Dolls.
In between travels there was time to update 3 of my classes, create materials for a new class, play in my garden, and catch up with all those things that don't get done during the school year. With my 'batteries recharged' I'm excited about getting back to class! |
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