Trenton Makes - The World Takes

Of all the Tour stops on the North East Tour, one of my favorites has always been Philadelphia. Usually given a maintenance day in Philly, we used to stay across from the Academy of Music and could make our way nearly anywhere in the city. My first Tour, I walked across the city to find the Marine Corps Legacy Museum and the site where Tun’s Tavern once stood. I visited the Liberty Bell and as much historic Philadelphia as I could cram in a single day; one of my strongest memories of my first Tour. Subsequent tours allowed me to explore the museums and the excellent consignment shopping available. My memories will have to remain just that – this year the closest we will be to Philadelphia is Bensalem.

Bensalem is our home for three nights, with run out concerts of varying distances. The concert in Lansdale was a twenty-five mile drive, but with traffic it took an hour. Pulling in the lot, we saw long lines formed outside a very new-looking high school. Hopes for another large concert hall were dashed when we realized the auditorium was in the old wing. The audience more than made up for the lack of space, their enthusiasm giving us the energy we needed to pull together another concert now tour fatigue is harder to dispel.

With two more nights in the same hotel and no daily bus rides, what once would have been a nice break with free time was now a painful number of hours to fill. Sidewalks are few and far between along the very busy highway, so exploring the area around the hotel held no appeal. Fortunately, Liz is staying with her sister-in-law, who offered the use of her car. Liz invited Ruth, Leslye, and me to accompany her on an outing to the heart of Buck’s County. Leslye declined, needing sleep more than a shopping expedition, so the three of us set out early.

About twenty miles away, Peddler’s Village was a delightful way to spend a free day. Peddler’s Village is a collection of over seventy specialty shops built around a village green with winding brick pathways and gardens. An early morning fog made itself at home for the day; walking around the village was a bit like stumbling across Brigadoon, complete with mist. We meandered among the shops, sometimes as a group, sometimes going our separate ways. We met for lunch at the Cock ’n Bull, where for the first time on Tour, we ate a meal without seeing other Band members. On the way back to the hotel, we made a stop for Chai Tea Lattes and a light supper to carry back to the room.

The run out to Trenton was nineteen miles, and although it was expected to take forty-five minutes, traffic was lighter than expected. The Patriot’s Hall at the War Memorial was a beautiful theater decorated in warm browns, velvet, and gold trim. Beautiful to behold, it was a pleasant surprise to find more than enough space on stage and good acoustics. Chris finally had the needed elbow room for the concerto. The audience was delightful, one of the first to refrain from applauding between movements in Carmen. Every piece was met with thunderous applause, and there was no doubt we would be playing God Bless America.

Tonight is my last night in a hotel on Tour. After the concert in Sewell, Max and I will drive back to Maryland and finishTour as run-outs from home. (Don't worry; Tour isn't over until I have liquidated my orders, so this is not the last post...) The drives from my house are all under two hours, the last concert only thirty minutes or so. Strangely, it takes less time for me to reach the last Tour concert than it does our regular season concerts at George Mason University (an hour and fifteen minutes).

It makes the transition to real life a little easier – often returning home is a little like trying to jump on a moving roller coaster. Life at home does not come to a standstill while we are gone; it moves along without you. Trying to fit back in without upsetting the routine is a delicate balancing act.