After an uneventful flight from Frankfurt to Newark we arrived to discover that our flight to Milwaukee was cancelled! So we picked up our luggage, made a quick trip to the head, took an obligatory “Dashed on the Rocks” photo and head off to the “Ho-ho, you’re so screwed” line. Several fist shakes and oaths ensued.
So here we thumbing our way down the New Jersey turn pike. Just kidding. We are actually at the airport Holiday Inn. We will be leaving for home very very early tommorow so wish us luck!

Um… We can’t find Maggie anywhere. She was last seen at the airport McDonald’s, seizing the lapels of the clerk and frantically explaining the meaning of the word “grande”.

I’m sure she’ll show up soon.

After David and John Wohlers made it through security we dashed to our gate to discover . . . our flight was delayed. Surprised?

So, my apologies for my lack of blogging, but I’ve been doing all of the driving and I’ve yet to master driving at 100 mph while finger-typing.

We’ve just heard the boarding announcement, so bye!

You, dear readers, will be happy to know that we learned a bunch of new songs at Festival-Maritim. And we heard new several songs we had heard before, but in new versions that were inspiring to us. The girls each were stirred by the strong bold voices of the French group Les Pirates. I (Maggie) am currently learning the lead for our first foreign language song. We will introduce it at the Skokie Theatre in November.

Ah yes, it is me again, Christie.
Today’s amazing day at Spangdahlem was sponsored by Erika Hepler, Seelie Court, Scott Reimer, Brian Spiegel, Erik Heller, Christine Schaefer, and Tom Schnaunelt.
Oh, and of course, the color chartreuse!

What do you do when you have a bunch of Operation Share the Shanties CDs on an air force base and you’re about to leave town in a few hours?

We went bowling.

Or at least we tried… it turns out that the bowling alley was already closed (bummer!) so we went around to various hot spots around the base. Driven by the need to hand out as many CDs as possible, we searched high and low for military personel. We went to the all-night grocery store, to the kareoke bar, to the late-night diner, even the lobby of the hotel where we eventually went to bed. We accosted military folks and their families everywhere we went, repeatedly explaining the whole idea behind Bounding Main and Operation Share the Shanties, handing them a CD, and thanking them profusely for their service.

We were exceedingly (and predictably) silly, walking around in full pirate gear, rushing up to people getting gas or walking on patrol, and explaining that we sang sea shanties and that people cared about them back home. Many pictures were taken of the goofiness and we will share them as soon as we are able.

Some troops were visibly moved by our gift. One young man looked as if he were about to scoff at the “uncool” music, but I explained that it was a present from someone who cares about him back home, and he went momentarily silent. He didn’t even look at me, but his girlfriend thanked me sincerely on his behalf.

I spoke to a young woman who said bluntly “No one back home gives a s**t about the military”. Very seriously, I explained the overwhelming support that you have given us for this project and that there were literally hundreds of fans, friends and family that are thinking about them and wishing them well. She paused a moment, gave me a firm handshake and simply said “Thank you,” as forcefully as I’ve heard anyone say anything.

I pass that “thank you” on to all of you. Without your support, this could never have happened. There are a whole lot of military folks who now will always have this physical keepsake. I hope that every time they listen to the music and look at the note, they will be reminded once again that their service is appreciated, both by Bounding Main and by all of you.

Thank you.

Bounding Main was given a great honor in the past couple of days.  Each of us was given a challenge coin at Landstuhl by a Master Chief at the hospital.  We each received a second coin by Cravin Ham this evening after our performance.  The ceremonious passing of the coins was truly awe-inspiring.  We all choked up a bit, especially at the hospital.

For those of you in the military, you understand what a monumental moment this was for us.

For the rest of you, all I can say is that a challenge coin is a gift of great significance and respect.  I invite you to look it up on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Challenge_coin.

Part of the responsibility of having received a challenge coin is this: we must ALWAYS be able to produce it upon request.  So, the next time you see one of us, feel free to ask to see them.

Wow.  This has been a humbling trip.

Hi Everyone, Maggie here.

Well, we had our last show at the Brick House (a community center) at Spangdahlem Air Force Base.  It was such a nice show.  A stout crowd of fun loving folks celebrated our last evening in Germany with us.  There were at least ten children in the audience, all of whom danced and clapped and laughed along with us.  And really thought we were pirates and princesses.  Arrrrrrrrr

Our first set was miked, and then we took a break and chatted with the crowd, and handed out CD’s galore.  For our second set, we tossed aside the mikes and stepped to the edge of the stage so we could ham it up even more, and had a great time. 

Thanks so much to Andy and Cravin for guiding us around the base and doing our sound and setting up a really nice green room! Snacks, soda, water, wine.  Mmmmmm Saar Valley wine.

Cravin Ham, our contact at the Spangdahlem Air Base has been taking us around all the facilities.

We were first led to our hotel… Oh my, goodness gracious.  If you have a shanty group of your own and you ever make it down to Spangdahlem, I highly recommend The Eifel Arms Inn.

Each of us has our own room… a first for us in all the years of travelling as a group.  The twins in particular were thrown by this development as they were sad NOT to be sharing a room.  They’re so cute!  The rooms are at least as spacious as any double room we’ve ever stayed in.  I’m sure that Mr. Wohlers will have some pictures to share soon.

After dropping off the luggage, Cravin took us to the dining hall and bought us all lunch.  Delicious!  Dean postulated that it was the officer’s club since the food was so fantastic.  I personally sat up a bit straighter upon hearing that little tidbit.

Finally, Cravin took us to the performance space, the Brick House Community Center.  In recent months, the space has been graced by KISS and Gary Sinise (and the Lieutenant Dan Band).  Pretty cool huh?

Everywhere we looked, we saw our poster.  In hallways, on slips of paper on coffee tables, when you walk into buildings… I even saw it displayed above a urinal in the community center bathroom!  As Christie rightfully pointed out, if someone doesn’t show at the gig tonight, it won’t be because they didn’t know about it.  We hope to hand out hundreds of sponsored Operation Share the Shanties albums tonight.  We can’t wait!

Right now, we’re chilling at the hotel, enjoying the luxurious accommodations until we have to get ready for the big finale performance of the voyage.

Catch you all later… and thanks again so much for all of your support!

Jon

Christie here!
We have just left the wonderful hospitality of the Keeter family and are on our way to our last European performance. They told us that they are guiding us out of town but we think that what we have is a military escort to the town limits!

The scenery we are passing on this portion of the journey is breathtaking. We are passing rolling hills covered with grapevines with quaint towns nestled between the hills. Jon tells us that we are not in Kansas anymore. We are quite frankly shocked by the news!

We are about to arrive at the airbase so I will bid you all a good day.