On Thursday, August 2nd we were invited back to perform at the "Pig's In The Pine's" Ribfest in St. Germain, Wisconsin, set, "smack-dab" in the middle of the Great North Woods. The only thing better than the smell of pine trees is the smell of pine trees mixed with barbaqued pork ribs.

This was the first time the people of Northern Wisconsin witnessed the "all-new and improved" 101st Rock Division and I will tell you, ... we rocked the pinecones out of those trees and had the time of lives.

Guitarist Frank Capek managed to get in some well deserved R&R and caught his limit of walleye, which he cleaned, iced and brought home.

Because of the great time we had last year, the band decided to make St. Germain and short vacation spot, so we spent three wonderful days with our crew, having fun and enjoying Northern Wisconsin hospitality at it's best.

The night of the show was very emotional for me. My cousin Joey Cantafio and his family made the trip from Beaver Dam, WI to see his son Ryan J. Cantafio's (KIA Baghdad, 11/04) photo on our new drum kit. Joey's sister Cathy, her husband Fred and family live about 10 miles from St. Germain. As soon as I saw my family, I walked them backstage, and upon seeing the drums, Joey smiled and said, "That's my boy!" Through all the hugs, smiles and tears I knew we had done a good thing for this Gold-Star-Father and cousin, (thanks to Trick Drums.)

Drummer Tim Scruggs looked like a child on Christmas morning as he setup the new kit.

The most amazing thing happened on stage that night. 80-minutes into the show, it was time for me to sing Brave Warrior, the song inspired by my late cousin. As I was introducing the tune, ... my eyes began to well up and my family, along with 1/2 the audience began to cry, ... and as I played the very first note, ... the power went out!

I thought for a second, and I looked at Joey; we both smiled, ... pointed up to the sky at the same time, and said to each other, "It's Ryan!"

As the crew worked on getting the generator started, I jumped down off the stage and went over to my family. We talked about what a shy kid Ryan was ... "He hated attention," Joey said, ... "He heard you talking about him, got a bit embarrassed, and shut down the power from Heaven."

Twenty minutes later, the power came back on and I played Brave Warrior without a tear or without choaking on the words. My family heard the song the way it was intended to be heard.

After the show my young cousin Tony, (Ryan's kid brother,) wanted to meet the girls in the band, (What a smart 12-year old! LOL) Sarnai, Sundre, and Bogi hugged him and ran their hands over his freshly cut crew-cut. Tony just smiled, turned bright red, .... and I don't want to even know what kind of dreams he had that night!

Friday morning, I got up at sunrise and headed off on a two-hour bike ride on the most beautifully paved bike trails I have ever seen. At one point I was riding over a small ridge looking out onto the tops of pines trees for as far as I could see. The trail took me over fresh water brooks, through fields of wild flowers and past bolders as big as a cars. It was therapeutic. Every hotel and lodge in St. Germain offer bike rentals and I took advantage of that great deal. I also noticed; no "fast food" but I will tell you, the food is priced at least 50% less than Chicago prices and delicious. (I had a full 16 oz. prime-rib dinner, soup, salad, pasta and all the fixings for under $20,00!)

After my ride I jumped into the Jacuzzi back at the Rustic Manor and just relaxed for about 30-minutes.

At about 10:00 AM we headed over to bassist-Mike Gorman, and my high school classmates, Larry and Kathy Hanley and their entire, wonderful, families summer-home for a huge breakfast. As Mike and I tried to spend as much time with this great family as we could, my band sat on the dock and enjoyed the beauty of Lost Lake. The fish were jumping, the Bald Eagles were dive-fishing as we all watched in amazment.

If you are planning a vacation with your family next year, come and see us at the Pig's In The Pine's Ribfest the first weekend in August. We'll be there on Saturday night. Call the St. Germain Chamber of Commerce and they will send you some great summer vacation idea's for you and your family, or visit http://www.st-germain.com for more information.