Thanks!

Hello, Discoverylover!

It’s me, Skyring!

It’s winter here in Canberra and that makes the memories of our trip together even warmer. Cruising through the California desert the outside air reached 100°F, and most everywhere we went it was clear that spring was sprung and summer coming on fast. The colours of the dogwoods against the fresh bright green of the forests made my heart sing.

Thank you for making the trip so enjoyable. Travel shared is pleasure doubled and a helping hand to navigate through the rough spots. With you, your sense of fun and love of discovery makes everything a joy.

So many highlights! You’d have your own list, I guess, but I think we’d both rate the Sister Hazel concert in Columbia, Missouri right at the top. What an atmosphere! At one point I turned around and looked at the audience from the band’s perspective, albeit slightly lower. All I could see were happy faces. As you put it, “happy” wasn’t strong enough a word. “Bliss” was a better fit.

You were entranced. Being mentioned by Ken Block as having travelled so far was nice, but it was the sparkle on the twinkle on the glitter to meet the band members later on. I think the New Zealand hazelnut chocolate swung the deal. “What, we autograph this?” one asked. “No,” you replied, “You eat it, silly!”

I’m so glad you introduced me to Sister Hazel’s songs. I was cool at first, but once I got into the lyrics, I loved them. Listening to the songs, singing them to myself, hanging out for the next album. All good. All shared pleasure.

We took our own Heartland Highway through America. Sure, we had to loop around for a week to catch the concert in Columbia, but we saw a bunch of places we wouldn’t otherwise have gotten to. The bridges of Madison County, for instance.

I’m sure I would have had a fine time all by myself, dutifully poking along every forgotten bend of the old Route 66 in a nerdly fashion. But you were my sparkle, my twinkle, my glitter. You were the dogwood blossoms in the forest. You were the cherry on top. You were the music, the colour, the sun.

A little too much sun when we visited the Grand Canyon, perhaps!

Anyway, thanks for sharing my Route 66 adventure. Thanks for making it into something I’ll remember with grand pleasure for the rest of my life.

And, thank you, Sister Hazel! As ever, you were an inspiration, a celebration, a thoughtful eye on humanity, a song of joy.

Once upon a time I’d sigh and say, “Now I can die happy!”.

But no longer.

Now I can live happy.

Yours aye,

Skyring

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