Once again my sister Barb proved to be the "Hostess with the Mostess". My bed was ready with scads of pillows, flavoured coffee served steaming hot when I crawled out of bed each morning and meals fit for a king (or queen in my case). Case in point is the gourmet Eggs Benedict served up with champagne and orange juice on the side. Again I must say THANK YOU to her and Don for their hospitality.Each year Barb and I do a special Girls Trip and this year it was to the Palatka Bluegrass Festival, held at the Rodeheaver Boys Ranch outside Palatka, Fla.
The ranch is a privately run residential home for boys at risk. Here they learn to farm and ranch, belong to the 4-H club and learn to grow up as all children should, in a safe careing environment. One source of income for the ranch is hosting the annual Palatka Bluegrass Festival.
A huge covered site provides protection from the elements including both sun and rain on our weekend. Two large screens provide adequate views for folks sitting all the way to the back.
For me one of the highlights is the food. The perfume of the day is a blend of corn dogs, BBQ smoke, cotton candy and roasting slabs of pork, chicken and ribs. Digging into the pulled pork on a bun at lunchtime and a real downhome BBQ chicken dinner at night. This is gourmet dining as only the South can serve up. Dinner is served in the ranch dining hall each night with boys from the residence providing 2nds on your iced tea, table cleanup and smiles.
Now, the reason for being there, the music. The lineup of groups was a dream come true for me. Dailey and Vincent have become our recent favorites and they didn't disappoint. Jamie Dailey proved that he deserved his IBMA male vocalist of the year award once again.
Rhonda Vincent & The Rage told us where to buy the best shoes in Boca Raton and told us why buying Martha White baking products was the only way to go. They also performed two driving sets that kept the audience glued to their seats with toes tapping.
Of course the star of the weekend was Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder. Ricky is on his way to becoming the Bill Monroe of this generation. Ricky has 2 young artists playing in his band, Cody Kilby and Andy Leftwich. Both these young men were child prodigy's and since their teen's have won awards for their playing. Cudos to Ricky for giving these young men the showcase their talent deserves.
The group most deserving of the title Up-and-comers to Watch is Barry Scott and Second Wind. Their performances here and their CD "In God's Time" will attest tothe talent these boys have. Barry played piano and sang tenor with Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver for 9 years before setting out on his own. I was simply blown away by the tight harmonies and perfect pitch of the group on their new gospel album, In God's Time. I shamelessly plug this CD as a must buy for lovers of Bluegrass Gospel Music.
Barb discovered that the annual New Brunswickers Picnic would be held at Fort Desoto Beach while I was visiting.Voted the Best Beach in The World 2005, it is a spectacular setting for a fun day. We arrived after the music had started but in time to buy our losing tickets on the gift draws. Sunshine, good downhome fiddle music, a picnic lunch, a walk on the beach topped off with a little nuzzling with your sweetie made it a perfect afternoon.
Any trip to Florida wouldn't be complete without a trip to Gulfport Beach, in my eyes it is the best kept secret in the state. Always loads of parking, the best sand in the Gulf, and never ever crowded.
To view all my photos of this trip, check out my flickr site at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/97425354@N00/
The ranch is a privately run residential home for boys at risk. Here they learn to farm and ranch, belong to the 4-H club and learn to grow up as all children should, in a safe careing environment. One source of income for the ranch is hosting the annual Palatka Bluegrass Festival.
A huge covered site provides protection from the elements including both sun and rain on our weekend. Two large screens provide adequate views for folks sitting all the way to the back. 
For me one of the highlights is the food. The perfume of the day is a blend of corn dogs, BBQ smoke, cotton candy and roasting slabs of pork, chicken and ribs. Digging into the pulled pork on a bun at lunchtime and a real downhome BBQ chicken dinner at night. This is gourmet dining as only the South can serve up. Dinner is served in the ranch dining hall each night with boys from the residence providing 2nds on your iced tea, table cleanup and smiles.Now, the reason for being there, the music. The lineup of groups was a dream come true for me. Dailey and Vincent have become our recent favorites and they didn't disappoint. Jamie Dailey proved that he deserved his IBMA male vocalist of the year award once again.
Rhonda Vincent & The Rage told us where to buy the best shoes in Boca Raton and told us why buying Martha White baking products was the only way to go. They also performed two driving sets that kept the audience glued to their seats with toes tapping. 
Of course the star of the weekend was Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder. Ricky is on his way to becoming the Bill Monroe of this generation. Ricky has 2 young artists playing in his band, Cody Kilby and Andy Leftwich. Both these young men were child prodigy's and since their teen's have won awards for their playing. Cudos to Ricky for giving these young men the showcase their talent deserves.
The group most deserving of the title Up-and-comers to Watch is Barry Scott and Second Wind. Their performances here and their CD "In God's Time" will attest tothe talent these boys have. Barry played piano and sang tenor with Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver for 9 years before setting out on his own. I was simply blown away by the tight harmonies and perfect pitch of the group on their new gospel album, In God's Time. I shamelessly plug this CD as a must buy for lovers of Bluegrass Gospel Music.
Barb discovered that the annual New Brunswickers Picnic would be held at Fort Desoto Beach while I was visiting.Voted the Best Beach in The World 2005, it is a spectacular setting for a fun day. We arrived after the music had started but in time to buy our losing tickets on the gift draws. Sunshine, good downhome fiddle music, a picnic lunch, a walk on the beach topped off with a little nuzzling with your sweetie made it a perfect afternoon. Any trip to Florida wouldn't be complete without a trip to Gulfport Beach, in my eyes it is the best kept secret in the state. Always loads of parking, the best sand in the Gulf, and never ever crowded.
To view all my photos of this trip, check out my flickr site at
