Kent Griswold

I am a big fan of folk and mountain music and also the banjo. I attempted to learn to play it as a teenager but never quite mastered it. I have been looking at it again and am thinking about learning the old time claw hammer style. David Holt is a master at it and has some great instructional videos. He is a very talented man and I discovered this great video with him on TED.com and wanted to share it with you.

As a youngster, David Holt knew he wanted to master the banjo. His quest to that end brought him into the tucked-away communities of the remote Appalachian Mountains, where traditional folk music is still ingrained in the way of life. In his years there, he met some too-enchanting-to-be-true characters and a few local living legends (Wade Mainer, Dellie Norton) — complete with anecdotes from older and harder times. He also picked up some unusual musical skills beyond the banjo: he’s now a virtuoso of the mouth bow, the bottleneck slide guitar and the paper bag.
Holt has won four Grammys and has starred in several radio and television programs, such as Folkways, which visits regional craftsmen and musicians. (He also performed in the 2000 film, O Brother, Where Art Thou?.) He currently tours the country doing solo performances, and accompanied by his band The Lightning Bolts.

“The best minstrel-storyteller is David Holt.” Vogue

I have been craving some sort of man powered wheel transportation lately. I’ve had my eye on the TerraTrike but it is very expensive and I’m not ready to spend that kind of money at the moment. A bike would also be nice but not sure I’m going to go that way. I enjoy my walking but lately I want to try something else.

Recently, I rediscovered the Xooter (zooter) and have been thinking this might be something I would enjoy. It’s not cheap but not super expensive either. Unfortunately no one sales them locally so the only way to really test one out is to buy one. Hmmm, what do you think? Check out the video below to get the full picture.

After modern counterparts replaced the original fog bell and Fresnel lens at the Trinidad Head Lighthouse in 1947, the Coast Guard donated the historic artifacts to the Trinidad Civic Club for display in a planned memorial park overlooking Trinidad Bay.

Mrs. Earl Hallmark donated land for the park, and in 1949 the club built a concrete Trinidad Memorial Lighthouse, an accurate replica that many visitors believe to be the actual Trinidad Head Lighthouse. The historic Fresnel lens was installed in the lighthouse’s lantern room, and the fog bell was suspended from a wooden frame built adjacent to the lighthouse.

One of my favorite scenic shots from our vacation this summer.

While at Redwood Campmeeting this last summer, we took a break and drove up to Ferndale to have lunch and enjoy the shops in the little town. I took my camera along to shoot a few pictures and this sign caught my eye.

Perched on a bluff overlooking the vast Pacific Ocean, the Kilauea Lighthouse stands as a silent sentry. When it was built in 1913, it had the largest clamshell lens in existance and was used until the mid ’70s when it was replaced by a bacon.

One of my favorite activities from our vacation was going up Na Pali Coast in Kauai. The weather in typical Kauai fashion changed constantly. The locals say “if you don’t like the weather now, just wait five minutes.” I liked the different shades of gray in the mountains in this photograph and the green highlights in the inbetween.

While in Kauai we visited the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort and Spa in Poipu and was wondering around the grounds and saw this beautiful swan. As I watched and photographed the swan, these fish started circling the swan and I thought it made for a comical photo.

On our vacation to Kauai on the last day we discovered this beautiful garden and the water lilies were just fantastic. This picture ended up being one of my favorite from the whole trip, so I thought I would share it with you.