It's been a week since Mass Mayhem. Seems like a year! What a week. It was truely memorable.
I started by driving to Michael Boone's house. I love going to his and Shirley's house. It is like 150 years old. It has the coolest wooden floors. Big wide planks that have a certain spring to them. Their dining room is adorned with the coolest mural done by Adrienne Morgan. I had seen pictures of it but they do not do it justice. The subtle colors and fine details are just too numerous to describe. I am very impressed, not to mention a bit envious, by her work.
So anyways, we hit the road. We went to the B'ville Diner in Baldwinsville, NY and had a great lunch. We then went to Bill Preston's house. He wasn't there but left directions to the great little restaurant he and his wife have dinner at every Friday. We figured we had already gone that far and a little bit longer was Ok with us.
We hooked up with Bill and visited for an hour or so. Bill is a great guy and had many stories regarding his career and signwork from over the years (and he has just a few...). we then headed off towards Oneonta and the Interstate. We were fortunate that we went the way we did because we missed all the rush hour traffic around Albany. Whew!
We ended up staying in Worcester, Mass that night. We went over to a mall and had an awesome dinner at T.G.I.Friday's. The food was great, the drinks were better! It is so sad when your bar bill is twice the food bill... Hahahahahahahaha!
Saturday was just a beautiful day. We got an early start and headed off towards Peabody. We got there in time to enjoy some coffee and donuts. The smell in the air reeked of one-shot from the shop and high octane gas from next door. I felt like I was in nirvanna.... Lead sleds and sign painting. It don't get much better than that.
I renewed some old friendships and made some new ones...
Brian Minelli was a great host. He has an awesome shop that makes excellent use of his space. Brian's father made us great lunches the both days. The pizzas he made for Sunday were the best pizzas I have ever eaten outside of Western New York.
Rob Larkham.... what a guy! He makes these excellent "Pro Palettes" available for 20 bucks plus applicable shipping and handling. Buy yours today while supplies last. I got mine!
Barb and Steve were there, manning the HeadTV remote setup. They are such amazing supporters of the Letterhead movement. I don't know where all of this would be if it weren't for them.
Joe Rees, a hometown escapee, was there serving up tasty tunes for our enjoyment. He is from North Tonawanda, too. He just got lucky (or was it smart...) and got out.
John Novicki brought Matt Broadus with him. These guys are two of my favorite Letterheads ever. They are a never ending source of amusement!
Captain Ken, Bruce Deveau, Spider, Spud Kelly, Cam Bortz and his lovely lady, Bob Gilliland and his beautiful wife... what a bunch of guys (and gals...)!
So... we hung around Sunday morning and afternoon before taking off. We took Route 2 through the Berkshires. What an incredible ride. It was beautiful. We drove to Albany and spent the night in an old but fairly well upkept motor inn. There was a Ground Round right next door to the inn. Another night where the bar bill exceeded the food bill... Hmmmm.... seems to be a trend here. LOL!
We took off late Monday morning and drove up towards Ernie and Diane Balch's house. Along the way, we saw a neat looking sign company, Pendleton Signs in Scotia, NY. We stopped off and spent about an hour visiting with them. A nice little shop they have.
After continuing onto the Balch's, we found that they were not at home. We had to buy our own lunch. We then took a liesurely back roads drive to Michael's. Michael gave me a very quick tour of Sodus and showed me where his old shop was.
I then took off for home to get back to my lovely wife, Dana. I sure wish she could have gone with but her work duties wouldn't allow it. Bummmer!
I had an excellent time, I learned some stuff, rekindled some friendships, made new ones, buried some old stuff, and best of all, we all popped Boone's Letterhead cherry! LOL
Thanks to everyone!
Posted by Ernie&DianeBalch (Member # 1301) on :
Too bad you didn't wait around, You missed a free lunch by only 5 min.
And about the TP in the woodstove.....
ernie
Posted by Bill Preston (Member # 1314) on :
Hey Bruce, and all,
Really glad to have met you (again) and Michael, and it was a real pleasure talking to you both.
Also glad you both had a good time at Mass Mayhem, and wish I could have made it, but the workload wouldn't permit it.
And last, glad to hear you all made it home safely.
'til the next time.
Posted by Mike Kelly (Member # 2037) on :
Bruce......it was great to meet you and Michael at Mass Mayhem. I, too, had a great time. Only wish I could have been there for both days. Glad you guys made it home safe and sound. One question, Bruce..................Who the heck is that a picture of under your name in your posts???
Posted by captain ken (Member # 742) on :
Hey Bruce, I am starting to have MM withdawals too! Everybody says "yeah its alot of work" yes it is but, you know what? I had a lot of fun organizing it too. Got to talk to some great people on the phone then met some of them at the meet.
If you didnt read it in my last post... Mike & Jay Zee have been offically handed the New England Letterheads reins, and will be hosting next years event at their brand new shop down in Rehobooth (near Plymouth Rock) see ya there!
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