picky Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 Verna and I drove out on Thursday and arrived in the evening after an 11 hour drive from the Detroit area. We stayed until Tuesday morning and had a absolutely wonderful time. Steve and Caroline have a beautiful home on a horse ranch in the hills of northern Virginia and live there with their horse "Chance" and there golden retriever, "Lexie" the friendliest dog in the world. They are wonderful hosts and made us both feel right at home. It was our second trip out to see them in the past 12 months. While we were there the daytime temperature hit as high as 104, but the nights were cooler and it wasn't nearly as humid as it gets here in Michigan. We listen to Steve's 2 sound systems and saw a couple of 4th of July weekend fireworks displays that were beautiful. Here are a few photos we took along the way. I wish to thank them both for allowing us to stay with them and for showing us such a wonderful time. You have become our dear friends and it's too bad we live so far apart. - Glenn & Verna Steve and Caroline's ranch... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picky Posted July 8, 2010 Author Share Posted July 8, 2010 I thought having my Heresy IIIs in my garage was unique, how about a dairy barn with a pair of 1967 LaScalas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picky Posted July 8, 2010 Author Share Posted July 8, 2010 ZZ Top has never sounded better! Yes, we did listen to some country too; more appropriate given the setting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picky Posted July 8, 2010 Author Share Posted July 8, 2010 This is like shooting a product placement ad. But honestly, we did listen to these things all over the place. This was while Steve was changing the oil in Caroline's truck... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picky Posted July 8, 2010 Author Share Posted July 8, 2010 We really thought a lot about hauling the speakers up here to the barn's huge hayloft. but we figuered they'd be just a bit too heavy to bring up the ladder easily. But, I'll bet they would have rocked up here! The other reason we didn't; it hit 100 degrees outside that day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picky Posted July 8, 2010 Author Share Posted July 8, 2010 Whether you are mucking out the horse stalls on the left or working on a project in Steve's workshop on the right, you can be sure the music will be loud and proud! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picky Posted July 8, 2010 Author Share Posted July 8, 2010 We discovered that the best place that day was a free-air spot in front of their covered porch. LaScala's aimed at the house, with Steve and I on comfortable chairs in the shade with cold drinks, the receiver and iPod and Lexie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picky Posted July 8, 2010 Author Share Posted July 8, 2010 We listened to a very wide variety of music and I can tell you and the majority of it never sounded better! All of it driven by an older, average, 80 wpc Sony receiver. Speaker efficiency rules!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picky Posted July 8, 2010 Author Share Posted July 8, 2010 Right channel with Ole Glory... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picky Posted July 8, 2010 Author Share Posted July 8, 2010 The left channel. LaScala's look right at home on the farm! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picky Posted July 8, 2010 Author Share Posted July 8, 2010 This is sort of my rough interpretation of RCA's "His Master's Voice". Except, Lexie is a "she". LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picky Posted July 8, 2010 Author Share Posted July 8, 2010 Verna and I took turns trying out Steve and Caroline's "Dixie Chopper" lawn mower. That is one fast machine! YEE-HAW!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picky Posted July 8, 2010 Author Share Posted July 8, 2010 About the only place we didn't move the LaScala's to was their beautiful deck on the back of their home. Verna, Steve and Caroline... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picky Posted July 8, 2010 Author Share Posted July 8, 2010 Although not shown in the shot, the deck offers a panaramic view of their property and the valley. Just beautiful and peaceful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picky Posted July 8, 2010 Author Share Posted July 8, 2010 We also fired up Steve's smoker and smoked some pork butt and a whole chicken. In addition to audio and about a million other topics, Steve is very knowledgable about smoking food. He is a Texan after all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picky Posted July 8, 2010 Author Share Posted July 8, 2010 The rig is a 46" Klose smoker from Texas. It's all steel and weighs about 1,000 pounds. We used black walnut wood that had been grown right on their property. The food was a nice combination of the smoke and a spicy rub that was applied and the food came out awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picky Posted July 8, 2010 Author Share Posted July 8, 2010 Chance grazes the pasture just before sunset. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picky Posted July 8, 2010 Author Share Posted July 8, 2010 Here we are at the county fireworks display. Steve, Caroline, Verna and yours truly... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picky Posted July 8, 2010 Author Share Posted July 8, 2010 Naturally, there are lots more photos, but I am not going to post them all here. Sorry. We watched the movie 'Transformers' on Steve's 5.1 Klipsch system in their living room. He has about a 50" Sony rear projection LCD screen and I did not write down the model numbers of his center, R, L and surrounds. Sorry about that. Hopefully, Steve will chime in here and offer that information and the other gear in his stack. He does have a Klipsch RT-12d Sub (I believe that's the right number) and it kicks! I fully enjoyed 'Transformers' on his system. It sounded impactive without being overpowering and the imaging was really enjoyable. Also great was the "R30" concert by Rush, which I also own. My favorite was Neal Pert's amazing drum solo with that RT-12d leading the way! Wow! Again, thanks Steve and Caroline for your southern hospitality! You are such wonderful friends! Y'all come up and see us some time! Ya-hear? -Glenn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dollar bill Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 Why didn't you say RUSH before! I used to work regularly at The Orbit Room in Toronto, which is Co-Owned by Alex Liefson. He's not there a lot, but plays with his "fun band" The Dexters there, and the rest of the weeks line up is solid too. Small 2nd floor place with a open air patio out back and a house Hammond B3 and Leslie! Come on up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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