Alaskan String Band

There was a performance tonight, here in the park, by the Alaskan String Band, from Juneau, Alaska.

What a talented family ! Here is a video of them from four years ago. The youngest, Abigail is now 14. They travel and tour, in the warmer areas of the country, during the winter months. The women were dress in traditional KUSPUK attire, that had been hand-made by the mother and daughters. Learning how to make these traditional dresses is something that’s passed down from mother to daughter, over the generations. They were beautiful with beads and rickrack stitched on for decoration. Each of them played so many instrument. I saw mandolins, banjo, violin, guitar, bass and snare drum being played at one point or another. They played bluegrass, gospel, swing and some things that were a combination of styles. They all sang too. If you recall me mentioning, in a previous post, the mother (Melissa) and one of the daughters (Laura) were in the hot tub last week when Linda and I went over. We got to spend a little bit of time talking to them. They recognized us tonight, when we sat down, and waved to us. The young man, who played bass, had a whole basket full of hats and he put on a different one for each song. It was really cute ! He’s quite the showman too and a real charmer with the young ladies, I’m sure.Such a fun night….so glad we went over to listen to them ! If you ever hear of them coming to a place near you, be sure to go see them. They’re great !

Hold Onto Your Hat…

Wow, was it windy last night ! Had 40-45 m.p.h. winds and it was rocking the rig and blowing the car around as we were driving around this morning. The guys on the ferry were all bundled up and I felt so bad for them. They looked like they were froze to death. I did see a little of the dolphins as we crossed on the ferry, amidst the white capped waves. There are docks for four ferries so we never have to wait to cross. It’s a very quick process to get across so we never have to add in a lot of extra time when we know we’re doing to Aransas Pass or Rockport.
Yesterday was gorgeous…temps of 82 when we went to Corpus Christi and a great breeze.
We’re trying to figure out what to do this weekend. There is a uninhabitable island that we can take a boat to and spend a few hours wandering around. There are no services, no buildings….nothing. Kind of like pretending we’re Gilligan for a few hours. Might be fun…a lot will depend on what the weather is going to be.

Last night, when we went over to the hot tub for our nightly soak, there were two women in the tub already. They are from Juneau, Alaska and have a large bus-type rig that they use during the summer months. They escape the winters in Juneau and travel around the warm states, performing for RV parks. They are called the “Alaskan String Band”. They were double booked last night so they got the night off. They will be back to perform on the 18th. There’s a mother, father, two daughters and a son who perform in the band. We’re hoping to go listen to them when they return to the park to play. We had a nice time talking to them. They said they already had four feet of snow before they left Juneau. They leave their rig in the states, when they return back home. It’s so nice to meet people on the road and learn about their lives and where they are from.
Anxious for the weekend to be here so we can explore the area. We’re hoping the temps will be warm enough that we can get the trike out and get a ride in. We’ll let you know what we come up with.