Summer 1998
Comments(0) I took advantage of Summer (1998) and tried to get to as many folk festivals as I could reasonably attend. Towards the end of July, I went to upstate New York to attend my second Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, camping with other members of the Dar Williams internet discussion list.
Because the Newport Folk Festival also appeared to have a pretty good lineup this year, I decided to kill time on the East Coast for the two-week interval. The first week I hung out in Boston, with the stated intention of catching as many musical shows as I could. This involved spending most evenings at Club Passim in Harvard Square. I was there for Tuesday night’s Open Mic, Wednesday’s Christopher Williams and Pierce Pettis gig, and I was back again on Thursday to see both of Dan Bern’s shows.
The next week was spent on Long Island, staying with my sister at her place in Westhampton Beach. Talk about “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous”! I couldn’t believe the display of wealth evident all around that area.
The easiest way to get from Eastern Long Island to Newport, Rhode Island, was via Block Island. I couldn’t complain. Block Island’s a great place and this was a wonderful excuse to visit again, if only for my five-hour layover between ferries. I rented a mountain bike and tooled around the island, with my first stop being at the Southeast Lighthouse. Last time I was on the island, in 1993, the lighthouse was in the process of being moved away from the cliffs on which it stood (and which were eroding more and more each year, threatening the very existence of the lighthouse). At the end of the day, I hopped the ferry to Newport and was met by one of the people I would be sharing a B&B room with. I spent the weekend attending the festival before heading home to San Diego on Monday.