I Do Stuff…

the crowd at Newport

Photo Gallery

What an adventure this past weekend was.  I decided at the last minute to catch the Newport Jazz Festival over the weekend, actually bought my ticket on Friday and that night I began my journey at 10pm.  I drove as far as I could make it before I needed to pull off at a rest stop to get some sleep.  My goal was to make it to the Melville Ponds Campground and then head over to Fort Adams State Park.  When I called to get a reservation for camping I was informed it was first-come-first-serve.  They had 10 or so camp sites left and I wanted one badly.  The camp site was only a few miles from the festival grounds and it was cheap.  I would have to pay for two nights because of the festival, but $50 was a lot cheaper than any hotel I was going to find.

After a few stops for cat naps I made it to the camp grounds and got my spot around noon.  I wanted to catch Christian McBride Trio at 12:50 so that was the target time I was shooting for.  I got a spot in the back of the camp grounds deep in the woods and it was great.  After setting up my tent it was off to the bathhouse for a much needed hot shower.  I wanted so badly to see Christian McBride, but I wanted a hot shower even more.  After I was refreshed and more awake I was off to the festival through some crazy traffic in downtown Newport.

When I arrived the place was exactly as I remember from my previous two visits.  Whats more is the place was packed with festival goers.  This years production almost didn’t happen from what I heard.  The old company, Festival Networks, bought the rights from George Wein a two years ago, the man who started it all in 1954.  With the recent financial crisis they were caught in the middle and were not going to put on this years Folk or Jazz festivals.  Fortunately George wouldn’t allow his baby to go to the way side so he stepped in and bought the rights back from Festival Networks.  George, with his clought, was going to put on the festivals with or without a major sponsor.  He was able to get an impressive lineup of acts for both festivals and more importantly was able to secure a license for Fort Adams, Festival Networks lost theirs.  Short story is the Newport Folk and Jazz Festivals were going to take place this year with or without corporate sponsorship at their rightful home in Newport!

Joshua Redman Double Trio

I strolled down the vendor booths on my way to the lawn to secure my spot.  I recognized many of the same vendors as in the past which was nice to see with several new ones thrown in for good measure.  As I approached the lawn I started to realize how late I actually was.  There was not much space for new arrivals so I had to sandwich myself into a pretty tight spot.  The first place I broke camp for was behind a large tent and over the crest of the hill.  From here I could only see the monitor and not the actual stage.  But I didn’t really care.  I had finally made it after a long trip and I was enjoying myself.  The sun was shinning and the weather was cooperating very nicely.  It couldn’t have been above 75 degrees and with the constant breeze it was absolutely perfect.  So I broke out my chair and some food to enjoy the last few songs of Esperanza Spalding.  Later I moved further to the right and closer to the stage for a much better view.

so close

There was a 30 minute set break so I took the time to walk around some more and mingled with others at the show.  Again hitting the vendor booths, this time on the other side of the aisle and lazily made my way over to the Harbor stage to see what was going on over there.  One thing that I love about this venue are all the boats that show up.  Each year the harbor gets filled with all manor of boats with people enjoying the concert.  You can’t hear much that far from the stage, but it is a great party atmosphere and a spectacle to behold.

As I walked back to my spot I noticed I was running late and Joshua Redman Double Trio was already on stage, damn!  The closer I got to my seat I remembered you could take pictures right in front of the stage for a few minutes at the start of each performance, so I took a little detour.  A quick sidebar about the Double Trio name, it confused me when I first saw it, I didn’t understand what it meant.  When I walked to the stage and saw the full band know I understood.  There was Joshua Redman on sax and then two drummers and two upright bassists.  This type of arrangement I had never seen before and as crazy as it was, it worked out really well.  Each member complimented their counter part and the band came together really well.  Joshua near the end of the set said this was the first live performance of this band.  We got treated to a new act before anyone else.  This is why I love coming to Newport, you see bands and collaborations you wouldn’t see any where else.

Justin Faulkner from Branford Marsalis Quartet

After this energetic performance Branford Marsalis Quartet was up next.  They have featured the same cast of characters for the last ten years, in the jazz world this is a rarity.  Having said that, Jeff “Tain” Watts was busy with his own band so Justin Faulkner, an 18 year old high school senior, stepped in to replace him.  When I was taking pictures he had such a look of intensity on his face, he was in the zone and feeling the groove.  I was drawn in by him and hearing him with the rest of the band just made the performance.  His playing was very avant-garde, not much rhythm, constantly changing the beat and using every aspect of the drum kit to produce a fire of sound, simply amazing.  I can’t say enough good things about him or the performance of the band, it was some great stuff.

Closing out Saturday was Mos Def and the Watermelon Syndicate.  This I thought was a strange addition to the festival but one I was certainly looking forward to.  Mod Def is not know for his jazz performances but I liked the leap of faith that George Wein took by adding Mos Def to the bill.  As I waited for them to take the stage I see the Syndicate walk out and was astonished.  There was a full horn section, full string section, grand piano with a bassist and drummer thrown in for good measure.  This was going to be exciting.

relaxing on the lawn

Unfortunately a large number of the audience missed his performance.  I guess they were not to thrilled with a hip/hop artist closing out Saturday night.  They took an early leave of absense and made a run for the restaurants.  I for one was excited to hear what he was going to play with such a large band.  When the set was finally finished I was impressed with their performance.  You could see on Mos Def’s face he was nervous and was probably put off by the constant stream of people leaving while he was on stage, but he still did a decent job.  The addition of strings and horns was a nice touch that fit better with the festival as a whole.  He did his thing but looked and sounded very stiff.  Even just walking around the stage he never loosened up.  He never really got into the performance if you ask me.  All things considered it was great and definatelly something different.

Mos Def

After Mos Def ended his set it was time to pack up and head to my camp site for a well deserved nights rest.  The weather was going to be cool, perfect weather for sleeping outside.  But first I wanted to stop by King Park to relax, do a little writing, and take some pictures of the setting sun across the harbor.  The park is located right on the water and is the perfect spot to catch a sunset.  The sun painted the sky purple, blue, and pink as it set over the bridge and harbor.  The boats in the harbor lite up with perfect light as did the buildings along the water.  It was very peaceful and allowed me to do a write up in my travel journal.  In fact it was the perfect setting sun to get married under, which I witnessed a young couple do at the gazebo.  I was hoping to get a couple more shots of the setting sun and a final shot of the harbor at night.  I had this picture in my head of the sky being black with only the safely lights on the boats and the realive bright lights off the buildings reflecting across the water.  There was a church steeple that would have made for a nice shot at night as well.  But the masquittos were out in force making it to unconfortable to stay any longer.

So I settled for the shots I had and headed to the campground for a night of rest.  I was way to tired anyhow so it worked out.  I would need a good nights rest because on Sunday I was going to do some hiking before my 8 hour drive back home.

a beautiful setting sun over Newport harbor

Photo Gallery

I was taking a long weekend trip that started the previous day with Trey at the National in Richmond.  The next two days would be spent hiking and camping at False Cape State Park near Virginia Beach.  Early in the year I got a bug up my butt to do some beach camping and this was the places I found to do that here in Virginia.  I waited to long to put the trip together so I had to wait till fall and the promise of cooler weather to actually get out and camp.  Having the Trey concert the same weekend just worked out great.

pine tree

Sunday Morning I checked out of the Crowne Plaza in downtown Richmond from a great nights rest after the Trey show and headed towards Virginia Beach.  According to the map I had a good 2:30 hour drive just to get to the park entrance.  After that I had to hike into the park.  False Cape does not allow vehicle access, to the north you have Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge and to the south is the state of North Carolina.  To this is strictly hike in/out camping.  Something I had never done before, but was excited to do.

Since you have to hike all your stuff in, and then out once you are done, it’s a challenge.  You can’t bring that big Coleman stove and regular pots with tons of food.  You have to pack smart and most importantly pack light.  For this trip I bought a new framed back pack to carry all my stuff, a 15 degree down sleeping bag, new cooking equipment and some odds and ends.  With all this gear I thought I was prepared for anything.

...

I got to the parking lot just outside Back Bay and finished loading my pack.  When I put it on I was shocked at how heavy it was.  I was not looking forward to the 8 miles or so I needed to hike to my camping site.  But someone once said: “The journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.”  With my pack loaded and sitting comfortable on my back I started walking.

At the entrance to Back Bay I ran into a National Parks officer that was happy to see someone camping.  I also chatted with the guy at the booth taking money.  He was happy to see someone camping for the weekend.  I guess they don’t get many campers.

Hiking through Back Bay was really cool.  If you are a birder this is a must visit spot.  There are huge marsh areas and large pools of water for the birds to relax before the next leg in their trip.  There are several observation towers in the park as well.  One near the Back Bay information center is a nice glass enclosed structure with seats, the whole nine years.  Unfortunately for me it was out of season so there was not much activity.  Best thing I saw was a small turtle on the trail.

wide open beaches

When I finally arrived to False Cape I checked in and hiked to my camp site.  My camping spot was only 3/4 of a mile from the park office.  After a long hike through Back Bay it was nothing and I could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel so it gave me a little boost of energy.  When I arrived at the camp spot I was impressed.  It was a small 10×10 sand box basically with a few amenities thrown in.  There was a park bench and a pole to hang your food so the Yogi Bear couldn’t get to my dinner.  The best think about this site was the tree cover.  Not sure what type of trees, but they completly shaded the camp site.

After setting up my camp site I took a little strole down to the beach.  My camp site was about 100 yards from the ocean itself.  I was amazed when i got down to the beach itself.  Never have I seen such a long unspoiled beach in my life.  If I looked left or right all I could see was flat beach, the ocean, and dunes.  Not a house in sight.  I was happy that a place like this still existed, completely untouch by human development.  After that little hike I was hungry for dinner.  Here is where I found the one flaw in my packing.  I bought this brand new small and light weight stove.  It was so small in fact that I forgot to pack it.  That meant no hot coffee in the morning, hot chacolet at night, oatmeal, or two frozen dinners that I packed with me.  I wouldn’t go hungry, but I would really be roughing it at this point.

False Cape night sky

That first night sleeping was fantastic.  I must have slept for almost 12 hours.  The night air was cool but my sleeping bag kept me warm.  In the distance I could hear the crashing of waves on the beach.  And even though I was sleeping on sand it was comfortable.  I could also sleep in.  Usually when I camp I can’t sleep past 7:30 or 8 because of the heat and humidity in my tent.  Not this time, both days I got up around 9am.  That caused me to miss photographing the sun rise on the beach, but I thought sleep was much more important.  On the second night I did get up about 3am to look at the stars.  When I was camping the moon was barely out, and even then for just a short time.  With the clear skies I could see a ton of stars.

After a long night of rest Monday was my adventure day.  I had a bowl of cold oatmeal, ugh, and set out to explore the rest of the park.  I was camped near the top and had miles of trails to walk.  I found a couple of observation towers that provided spectacular views of the park.  This park use to have a town in it so there were some old ruins and a graveyard to explore as well.  And since it is a beach park I walked down the beach towards the North Carolina boarder.  When I reached the boarder I was shocked to find houses, most looked abandon, but they where there.

By the time I made it to the bottom of the park I started to realize that I underestimated how long the park was.  That walk back to my camp site was going to be brutal.  I was already tired, my legs acted and my feet were killing me.  To top it all off the weather had started to turn.  The wind was picking up and the clouds were getting darker.  Rain was coming.

Semipalmated Sandpiper

I pushed myself as quickly as possible to get back to my tent.  It was almost 7 before I got back to my tent.  Not a moment to soon.  I quickly through all my gear into my tent and hunkered down for the night.  No soon did I finish and the skies opened up.  It rained most of the night.  Nothing real heavy, just a constant steady rain.  With my kick ass tent I was completely dry the whole night.  The only thing I was worried about was the wind.  Even with that worry I eventually went to sleep…..for another 12+ hours.

The next morning I inspected my tent and camp site.  Eveything made it in one peace.  The storm had come and gone.  Now it was bright and sunny out with only a few clouds.  What remained was the wind and cold.  There was a constant 20 mph wind coming from the north.  Mean the whole hike back to my truck would be into the wind.  After another bowl of cold oatmeal I packed my gear for the journey to my truck.  This one I was not looking forward to.  I just about killed myself walking around the park the day before.  This time it would only be about 8 miles, but I would be carrying a fully loaded pack this time.

Step after step I pushed myself towards my truck.  Quieting was not an option.  I didn’t even want to stop for a few minutes.  I knew that as soon as I stopped my muscles would start to tighten up, making it that much harder to get going.  Not until I got to the Back Bay information center did I take a small break for food.  When I finally did reach my truck, it was right where I left it, it was the most beautiful thing I saw all trip.  It meant that I could finally stop walking.  All the muscles in my body screamed in joy and then decided to stiffen up.  I didn’t care.  I didn’t have to walk any more, I just had to sit.

seagull mid-flight

Four hours later I was at my door step.  I simply dropped my gear on the floor and headed for the shower.  I was washing two days of stink and dirt off me, it felt so good.  I must have spent 30 minutes sitting under the hot water.  After that hot shower it was lights out for me, this time in my own bed.

It was a fantastic trip and I can’t wait to do it again.  I figure I will camp there again in April or May, when the temperatures are agreeable to camping.  It also makes me want to camp at other places.  To get out and explore this great country of mine.  To find some other hidden treasures off the beaten path.