Banjo's Awesome Modesto Adventure

Word came last week that my song, 2:20, made it to the finals of the Northern California Women's Music Festival Songwriting Contest  I was invited to perform the tune at the festival on Saturday evening. I hemmed and hawed about making the trip -- it's four hours away and we had no one to care for The Banjo Dog.

Then 18-year old Joe, said: "Mom, you HAVE to go. What are you doing music for if NOT for things like this?!"

He had a point.

So I logged on to BringFido.com and located a dog-friendly hotel. Got a great deal on a room where our goofy dog was welcome.   Banjo's been part of the family for six months but this would be his first road trip. Turns out he's a trooper. Loves riding in the truck and he's the perfect hotel guest: quiet, neat and unlikely to steal towels.

Banjo likes hotels!

Craig and I headed out early on Saturday morning -- when he's not my faithful bass player, Craig is a terrific roadie -- and we made it to Modesto in the early afternoon. This was the first Northern California Women's Music Festival. What a lovely event. The Prospect Theater is intimate and beautifully appointed, a comfortable space that was obviously created by someone who loves the theater. The stage and the lighting were lovely and sound was perfect.  Best of all were the people -- great folks created this festival and made it happen in a big way -- a joyful vibe permeated the room.

The song, 2:20, was inspired by a late-night trip that we made to the Redding train station last year. It was eerie and odd to be out in Redding at two am, waiting in the dark for the arrival of the Coast Starlight. There was NO sleep for us that night -- we were texting and keeping track of Joe (our smart kid) who was headed to the Bay Area to visit my dear sister and her husband.

All sorts of thoughts floated through my mind that sleepless night - and I imagined a woman leaving town under rather dire circumstances and wrote a song around that story.

I played the song to an attentive audience and was delighted that my sleepless night paid off and I won the songwriting contest.

Banjo's patience was wearing thin at this point, so we said our goodbyes and set out in search of a dog-friendly restaurant.

Dews in Modesto had a lovely patio.

"Can we sit here with our dog?" "Of course!"  "Champagne?"  "Why, yes."

What a place -- calamari fritta was fabulous, followed by a bleu cheese encrusted New York Steak and Blackened Sea Bass. The bread pudding ala mode - bliss! All the while, Banjo laid quietly at my feet.   It was a perfect evening.

"The bill, please?"

"It's been paid for.  An anonymous donor wanted to help you celebrate."

Oh. My. Goodness. -- An amazing day from start to finish. Back to earth tomorrow. But in the small songwriting world I live in, this counts a truly awesome adventure.


-- Erin