road trip to jazz in the Poconos--- The Deer Head Inn

Yes there is a deer head, but there is also a very cool stained glass (again me without my camera) of the Delaware Water Gap, a geological wonder which we drove through to get to the Deer Head Inn. It has been a home of Jazz music for over 60 years. The current owners have spruced the place up and turned it into a Bed and Breakfast. The last time we drove up there we stayed over and we would recommend the place highly for the rooms, the food, and the jazz.

It was some what spontaneous. Mosaic Woman is on their e-mail list and when an e-mail came last weekend I opened it and went to their website. At first I noticed that living legend Phil Woods was doing a mostly Billy Strayhorn show Labor Day weekend, but then my eye caught this name... Virginia Mayhew. Women in Jazz who don't sing or play piano are growing and here was the opportunity to see an amazing sax player coming over from NYC.

So a dinner reservation was made and we drove up route 611 along the Delaware River stopping at the Canalside Cup just south of Easton, PA, which features 24 flavors of soft ice cream, including the chocolate banana which I consumed and the malted milk chosen by Mosaic Woman.

Before the show Ms Mayhew stopped by our table asking if we were Jay's parents. We aren't. She proved to be a humble person with amazing talent. We were tempted to stay for the third set, but left after the second in an attempt to get home before the Honda Fit turned into a pumpkin.

The tune of the night, hmmm How about her arrangement of Lets fall In Love, talk about evolution. Still easily recognizable, however, it had been turned into a Latin rhythm in 7/8 time. I bought the CD featuring it at the first intermission.

But here let me highlight her immersed in tradition... playing Duke Ellington's wonderful ballad, Don't You Know I Care. Take a listen.

support music ----- buy a CD, applaud for brilliance, tell a youngster they have talent, go to the Deer Head Inn.........

William Henry Miller Inn-- better than a drug store

I have been writing up a storm here which means I am spending less time with my photographs over at Flickr. Today I decided to do both--- post some photos then blog about it. On our way up to Jazz in Rochester, we stayed over night at the William Henry Inn in Ithaca, which was close to the church I recently blogged about.

Sometimes things work out nicely. Drive into a town you were to once before, but not for over 10 years. Turn here, turn there. Park. Get out and see your Bed and Breakfast across the street. Head off for lunch, but lunch is another post which will feature a very cool mosaic.

I think this is about preserving what is good and right in the world. Apparently Lansdale once had a very cool historic inn, but right before we got to town it was torn down for a drug store. As a connection... in its final operation it had been a tapas bar, which is one of the reasons we went to Ithaca, not the place with the mosaic.

Anyway, it seems that drug stores have a tendency to tear down historic buildings in this part of the state. I don't have money to buy them to save them... well I did buy a home that is over 100 years old...

Anyway, we do support some who do work to preserve what is good and beautiful in the world... and we do this by having a budget whose 5th highest category is donations.

1. The Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia
2. The Lansdale Historical Society-- an organization that mourned the demolition

These places point out what is endangered, what can be seen, and keep stories alive from our past. There are places we can not afford to stay in, but there are also some historic places we can afford. Maybe that means a shorter vacation, less souvenirs, or whatever. But we love these historic places and so we put out limited money where our passion flows. and yes the breakfast surrounded by amazing stained glass was quite an experience. Lansdale lost their inn, Ithaca still has theirs.

below are some stained glass shots I took with the permission of the current owner.