We do a lot of shows during the year, generally around a dozen, or so. Shows that weve done cover many parts of the U.S: East to West, from the Chesapeake Bay to Lake Tahoe and North to South from Upstate New York to Florida and many places in between. Weve even been invited to shows in Scandinavia, Germany, England and Australia. Such invitations make us go "Wow!", but doing them has not been feasible, as of yet.
Weve learned a lot of things on the "show circuit". Such trivia as that there are more boats registered in the state of Michigan than in any other state. Which state did you think it was? Weve also learned where Thousand Islands Dressing was invented and a lot of places where excellent Barbecue can be found. One of the things that we like to do, whenever were a ways from home, is to take a visit to the local supermarket. We like to eat and every place has its own specialties. Moon Pies in the South; River Rat Cheese in the North, etc..
Being in the "Boating Industry", we are particularly aware of seafood centers. We came from Boston, home of the best seafood in the world, to, The Chesapeake Bay, home of the best seafood in the world. We like to visit San Francisco, home of the best seafood in the world, The Gulf Coast, home of the best seafood in the world, Callabash, N.C., certainly home of the best seafood in the world and The Pacific Northwest Coast, home of the best seafood in the world, especially smoked sturgeon... Every one of these places has the best seafood. They really do, period.
Best, but different. Each one has its array of signature dishes and I love them all. The shows that we go to are different and "the best" in a similar way. Our next show "The Waterfowl Festival" is in Easton, Maryland. My understanding is that it started strictly as a "decoy show", with just bird carvers. Its grown in its forty one year lifespan into one of the most respected wildlife art shows in the country and, indeed, it draws artists from all over the globe. Among the arts are paintings, bronze sculptures and the highest forms of the art of carving birds. This is a vast under-representation of what youll find.
In fact, this show has grown into many interesting venues throughout the city of Easton and also attracts spectators from around the world. As always, we will be at the show with our models in the Artists Emporium (normally the Easton Middle School). There, you will also find several great bird carvers; metal sculpture wizard, Paul Lockhart; Courtney Design, creators of amazing wildlife jewelry; Donnie Thornton, famous Chincoteague feather painter and several other great artists and artisans, as well as some suppliers of special tools and supplies for carving and other related arts.
Although weve been doing this show for years, this is the first time that we will have our book "Fundamentals of Model Boat Building" with us. It was a four year project. Youll understand why when you get to see it.
Weve really come to enjoy spending time with our friends from Schiffer Publishing Ltd. at recent book signings in Baltimore, Solomons Island and Oxford and I think that were going to miss them as we return to our traditional model display. It was certainly nice to have someone else set everything up and to be able to just "show up". We will have our full array of models, our photos, our mini workbench and our computer with us in Easton. Please be sure to come see us.
Even though we wont be sharing a booth, Schiffer Publishing will also be at The Waterfowl Festival at a different location. We cant tell you exactly where yet, but we will keep you posted. If you are a connoisseur of the carving arts, you may be familiar with books by William Veasey, Tom Wolfe or Steve Rogers. They are all Schiffer authors and just a small representation of a great publishing house. If you are a connoisseur of reading, you will find something that youll love with over 4,500 interesting titles available on all kinds of subjects. http://www.schifferbooks.com/newschiffer/book_template.php?isbn=9780764331053
The 41st Waterfowl Festival is being held on Friday, November 11th, through Sunday, November 13th, in locations throughout the city of Easton, Maryland. Check their website for more information: http://waterfowlfestival.org
at Teds house. Ted arranged for the Oakland Press to come with video and do a story on our boat builds...so we were committed. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I had a Board meeting to conduct on the night before and an un-completed boat. I got home about 10:00 pm and Vicky helped me finish up the cleat mountings, hatch installation, fuel tank tie-downs, fire extinquisher mounting and by 12:30 am, it was ready...I hoped.
Ted and friends helped with the launch as I have very little experience in trailer backing etc. So they put me in the cockpit and backed me in the water. It floats...drain plugs were checked more than once! I hadnt run the motor since last summer, so with a fresh tank of fuel, a choke and a few pulls it fired up. So that potential embassment was avoided.
Here is a picture of Ted and his wife Lynn in their Glen-L Zip which he completed and launched along with me. With a recent motor change at the end of his build, Ted has a very beautiful and nice running boat.
