Winter Wonderland

Ryan and I are in OKC for Christmas. We narrowly missed the blizzard on the East Coast and luckily our flight pattern took us through St. P/ Minn instead of the snowed in Atlanta. (who would have thought St. P/ Minn was a better chance for nice weather?)

This week it's been about 50 degrees here in OKC with sun. Until today. We woke up this morning to sleet and since then it has snowed and snowed and snowed. We have received about 4 inches of powdery white stuff which is blowing around the streets.

I am apparently NOT dreaming about that whole "white Christmas" thing.

The Plastic Jungle

For those of you who read this blog as often as I write it, you probably know that for most of the last year I have been on tour, at summer stock or living at someone else's house. I have a home in NYC with my boyfriend, but in the past year I have spent about 6 weeks in it.

Starting in November there was one major thing I was looking forward to. It wasn't any particular place or restaurant or even a particular person (Sorry Ryan). It was being able to not live out of a suitcase. Our tiny place in the city doesn't really have closets or storage but we have made do and I was really looking forward to being able to leisurely sort through drawers and hangers of clothing to put together an outfit that didn't include jeans or one of the 5 shirts I've been living in since last year.

I got home and got the bad news. The building is pretty sure we have bed bugs. Bed Bugs are pretty gross. They don't spread any major diseases or anything but they are very difficult to kill and it can take several months of treatments to get rid of them. You used to get them by traveling outside the USA but in NYC you can get them anywhere. People pick them up on the subway or at a restaurant. Since we do live in NYC AND we both have been traveling extensively both in the US and abroad we weren't that surprised. Dismayed and upset but not surprised.

The building gave us a huge list of things to do before the guy comes to spray. Since Ryan is in finals I had to wash or dry every piece of fabric in our apartment and then package it in sealed plastic bags. I had to clean the entire place with a certain kind of soap and vaccum all of the rugs. We also ended up tossing most of our pillows and the others went through the dryer on hot. I also had to bag up all shoes, books, records, personal items, DVD's, VHS, CD's, electronics and jackets after inspecting and cleaning them. It took me a week.

Then they came and sprayed leaving a haze behind and small puddles of white-ish grey liquid. They also overturned our bed and bed frame, and put all the plastic bags in the center of the room so it's even harder to find whatever it is you are looking for. We now wait 2 weeks and then they spray again and then we are under watch for 6 weeks before they declare our apartment clear. If they find more evidence of bugs we go through the entire process again. At that point I will probably just bag and box and send it all to go live in my parents garage.

So currently, instead of living out of a suitcase, I am living out of grande zip lock bags and twisty tied industrial garbage bags until we leave for the south.

Oh, how I miss you little suitcase.

Back in NYC

I have returned to the center of the universe. I will be home for 14 days before we are back on the road again. For the holidays Ryan and I are traveling to Oklahoma City for Christmas, Houston for New Years and then San Antonio to prepare for our wedding.

While I am in NYC I am hoping to finish any last minute wedding prep, visit a few museums and clean up our apartment.

Coming back to NYC is always a little rough. After leaving the land of the cars my walking muscles are pretty out of shape and I am hoping to be able to reclaim some muscle tone before returning to the south. It is always louder and more crowded here than you remember. With the holiday season approaching the city is even more crowded than usual with all kinds of tourists. I have a good friend coming in tomorrow and I kind of dread walking through mid-town to see the holiday decorations.

58 Days till we get Hitched

So the other day I realized (actually theknot.com told me) I only have 60 days until my wedding. Holy cow! How did the time go by so fast? I feel like we just got engaged a few weeks ago. Perhaps that is because since we have been engaged we have spent less than 6 weeks in the same city.

Not being together makes planning a wedding a little difficult, mostly because Ryan has opinions. If he didn't care about any of the wedding stuff I could just do whatever I wanted but since he cares everything goes through me and then him and then a discussion and then eventually is decided.

But the thing I miss the most about spending this time apart is the excitement of being engaged. Ry and I completely missed being able to run around and "flaunt" our engagement. We missed being able to be giggly and cute and silly. That's not really our personalities anyway but I would have liked the opportunity. We will get to spend the final 3 weeks together so that should be fun.

I've had a few job offers for the spring but they are all another tour. Ryan and I have decided that I shouldn't tour but finding a "at home" job makes me nervous. I guess we will see how things turn out.

Medical in Mexico

So last week I stepped off the sidewalk in Idaho Falls ID and fell down. It was early, it had snowed and the sidewalk did not continue in the manner you would have assumed it would have continued. After sitting in shock for a bit while my cast gathered around, I managed to get up and to make it to the theatre. (we weren't even late to call)

Thoughout the first performance and the load in I didn't even look. I figured that if I was bleeding my long johns would soak it up until I noticed and since I could walk, it wasn't broken. Upon checking my wounded knees I noticed that the right one had doubled in size and was turning a nice green color. The left one was also painful but since it seemed to be the second to hit the ground, it had sustained less damage. We put some ice on them and I managed to limp around for the next few days. My left knee currently is spotted with some big purple bruises and my right knee is striped, green and swollen at the time publication.

The next day I woke up with a very sore shoulder. I had been carrying 2 big bags on my right side when I fell and apparently I yanked my shoulder pretty hard. A couple days later that pain had gone away as well.

The second day I noticed that my mouth was hurting. It seemed not only had a bruised both knees, and yanked my shoulder that I had bitten the inside of my mouth pretty badly. Pretty bad got worse as the week went on and when it got infected eventually my head, neck and ears were in painful shape. It was at this point where I figured I should probably go see a doctor. We were in Brawley CA and Kelly and I had quite a medical adventure.

Brawley CA is a small town a few miles north of the Mexico border. We i-phoned for clinics and came up with El Salud Medical Center. I called in to see if I needed an apt and the lady asked me several questions to see if I was pregnant before letting me come in. When we arrived I signed my life away and was asked such a litany of personal information I gathered that one.. they needed the answers for some sort of funding and two... most people attending the clinic did not receive regular medical care.

After tons of paperwork I waited to be called to wait in a different waiting room. Then I was called in an measured, weighed and temperatured as if I was cattle all while the techs fired basically the same questions at me. Then I waited again. Finally I was called in to see the doctor and I waited some more. Around 2 hours after arriving at the clinic the doctor walked in gave me and Kelly both a pop and lock handshake and asked me again about my medical history and if I was pregnant.

I left paying nothing (thank you equity insurance) and with a small paper ensuring that I could receive 10 days of antibiotics and 60 mega pain killers. I am currently awaiting the day in which I feel 100% better but that day might be sometime after this tour is completed and I am eating and sleeping on a normal schedule.

Still on the road....

We are currently in Billings MT. We drove in last night and went to dinner at a great brewery called Montana Brewing Co. Damian, Ariel, Kelly and I had a great time.

Today we drive 4 hours to Helena MT and load in the set. We will be in a middle school theatre as the main theatre is having work done.

Everything is going pretty well. I'm starting to get very over tired with all the time zone jumping and the hours of driving. You wouldn't think sitting in a car would be so hard.

onward... and I guess upward for reals.

October 20th 2009

Today was a long day.

We got up at 5:30 AM to drive into the Bronx at 6:10.

Wait. I should start before that. Around 1AM we had loud banging on the door to our Best Western hotel room. Kelly opened the door to 4 firefighters. Apparently Ariel had called the office because there was water pouring from a light fixture in the workout room. The firefighters thought the fuse box was in our room so they were looking to see. The fuse box was not in our room. However they did turn off the water heater. Luckily Kelly and I had already showered the night before.

On the way across the George Washington Bridge I accidentally got in the lower lane in the Penske truck and had to be escorted by police to the upper level toll booth.

Then on the way to the Bronx a guy in a truck honked and then shot the finger at me. No apparent reason.

Today at our venue, The Bronx Center for Science and Math, we couldn't find a place to park the van, we couldn't fit most of the set in, we didn't have light cues, and while unpacking the van one set piece fell off the ramp narrowly missing Anthony. I wasn't as lucky and also fell off the van and will have a nice big bruise and a painful shoulder to show for it.

The day got a little better after that. The show was good and the kids were awesome. We had actually been worried because they were high schoolers and our show is mostly for 2nd graders but they were very well behaved and asked some great questions during the Q&A.

Seven hours of driving tomorrow. Maybe life will be better.

Jungle Book Tour

I am on tour with The Jungle Book produced by The Magik Theatre in San Antonio TX.

We are traveling the USA in a van and a Penske truck performing in different venues. It's fun and everyone is super nice and easy to work with. Here are some photos. We also have a blog at junglebooktour.blogspot.com.

New Mexico

Car Trouble

The Spencer Theatre in Alto NM

The Cast- ShereKhan, Tabaqni, Baloo, Mowgli and Bagheera

Sorry for the wait

I am very behind on my blogging. I am currently on tour with The Jungle Book and you can also follow our blog for that at junglebooktour.blogspot.com

Pictures- From this summer at Trinity University.

San Antonio

Ryan and I are in San Antonio for a quick trip and have decided to be more touristy than usual.

Here I am at Buc-ee's. We finally purchased shirts because walking around in a Buc-ee's shirt in NYC is so much cooler than wearing one in Texas.

TWO DOLLARS !!! Toto, I think we are NOT in NYC anymore.

Male Bonding over frozen drinks with fruit in them.

We have more pictures but Google Chrome is making me frusterated so we will save them for another day!

Ok- enough stalling

Since my last blog entry I have moved back to Texas, celebrated my cousin's wedding, my mom's birthday, visited friends in Austin and San Antonio, done some wedding planning and spent most of the summer working out, swimming and eating at my parent's house. Not an amazing resume builder to be sure, but a nice relaxing time in The Woodlands TX.

My future plans include a big birthday, a few more weeks of relaxation, some more wedding plans, a quick trip back to NYC in August and then I'm back down to SATX for rehearsal and the send off of my next tour.

This time I am working on The Jungle Book with The Magik Theatre. Dave Morgan is the author and artistic designer and after getting his play picked up by a booking agent, a car and truck full of scenery and actors and myself will be hitting the road again across the great country of the USA. This one will be a doosy in terms of area of ground covered so keep an eye on the blog starting in September.

Until then I am waxing fat and happy poolside in the great state of Texas.

Onward and Upward.

Two Pines

This is a local view.  It is actually one of the most photographed sites on the east coast.  I was on an errand yesterday and stopped for a minute to take a quick photo.  You can't really tell from my photo but there are two identical oak trees on the hill on the right hand side of the picture.

You can tell how busy I must be that I have time to stop and dwadle by the side of the road.

If you haven't been privy to my more frusterated conversations, my current employment has me basically doing nothing.  Here I am, an Equity SM fresh off a very challenging tour with experience in event planning, administration, budgets, multitasking, people motivating and a masters degree in education and my day basically consists of playing on my computer and sometimes driving people home or to the store.  Two weeks after being hired I have organized myself out of a job. I am bored, frusterated and in the middle of nowhere.

Sigh. I can really do more work than this.

TriArts Playhouse

Just a few pictures so that you can see where I am working. The TriArts complex consists of a big barn/ Theatre, a small brown costume shop, a Production Trailer, the Bok Gallery (another red barn) and the Production House.

The big red barn is the theatre, shops, dressing rooms, lobby and concession area.

The Bok Gallery contains the Adminstrative Offices and the Rehearsal Studio.

The small grey Production House houses all of the tech staff and interns in 10 very small bedrooms. It also contains a kitchen and a tiny living area.

My life in Sharon CT

So since May 14th I have been at TriArts Sharon Playhouse in Sharon CT. Sharon is a very small town about two hours north of New York City on the NY/ CT border. When I say small town, I mean it. Sharon boasts a pharmacy, a gas station, two resturants, a radio station, a hospital and a volunteer fire station. It also has a library and 2 vets. You may notice it does not boast a grocery store. It doesn't have one.

The people who live here do not lock doors. Car doors and house doors are left open and keys are routinely left on the dashboard. Apparently they have no crime.

They do however have views, lakes, nature and wildlife. Also- small town charm.

My job here in Sharon CT is to work as the Company Manager for the TriArts Sharon Playhouse. This is a theatre that is working on a Guest Contact Tier III, which means that some of their actors are local, two are equity (per show) and the rest are working professionals from NYC and the surrounding area. My job is to make sure that each out of towner has housing, transportation to and from the theatre, and access to the grocery store at least twice a week. I also make a couple trips to the train station so that they can go home for their day off (Monday) and I deal with any other issues that they have with their housing or transportation.

Most of the actors are from NYC and Sharon is a little bit of a culture shock. There is very little cell phone reception, no street lamps and things seem far away from each other. To get to the grocery store you have to drive 15 minutes into Amenia NY. To get to a CVS or McDonalds or Dunkin Donuts you have to drive 15 to 20 minutes to Millerton. For people who are used to being plugged in and surrounded by people it can be quite a change.

During the summer I will house over 20 actors in various types of housing for varying lengths of time. People donate time in their guest houses, a room in their home, we will be in a private school dorm- all kinds of homes. Most of the peformers will be committed to a 6 week schedule with 3 weeks of rehearsal and 3 weeks of performance. We will also host band concerts, a divas show and other types of entertainment. I also make sure that the production staff of 20 are comfortable and happy in their dorm style on site housing.

It should be interesting. I'll keep you posted.

That is if I don't go postal.

Onward, at least.

Sharon CT in Pictures

 

Graveyard near my host house.

The view from behind the graveyard.  This is basically the view from my back window as well.

My favorite kind of rooster- a silent one

 

A beautiful set of flowers out my back window.

Addresses

I'm in CT for the summer. If you need to send me mail or anything here is my current address.

Mail-
Shelley Laabs C/o TriArts Sharon Playhouse
PO Box 1187
Sharon CT 06069

UPS/ FedEx/ DHL-
Shelley Laabs c/o TriArts Sharon Playhouse
49 Amenia Rd
Sharon CT 06069

Are you joking?

Saturday night Ryan and I got engaged.

Seriously- we aren't kidding.

He took me out to dinner across the street to this fancy outdoor cafe we have been eying for months, and then to Avenue Q. Since he has been promising me the show since I agreed to move to NYC with him this did not set off any alarm bells. After Avenue Q we took the subway back up to Columbia and went for a walk around campus. There is a section of campus that has been built on an overpass over Amsterdam. It has grass and several beautiful sculptures. From that location you can see up and down Amsterdam for around 10 or so blocks in either direction. We have been up there several times in the past few months so this didn't set off any alarm bells either.

We sat down to watch the traffic and Ryan asked me if I would marry him.

After 7 years of dating I assumed he was joking. I told him that if he was joking it was the meanest joke anyone had ever played on me.

Apparently he wasn't joking because he produced a ring box containing a beautiful platinum band with a round cut diamond that he had made with the assistance of a NYC jeweler. When that still didn't satisfy me he produced an M&M bag full of "will you marry me" candies. Somewhere in there I said "yes" and we proceeded to enjoy being engaged and start trying to call our parents.

For Ryan's POV (and pictures) check out his blog at lametexpatriot.blogspot.com.

Onward and Upward.

June, July and August

This summer I will be working in Sharon NY at TriArts Sharon Playhouse as the Company Manager. I will be living in the production house and working across the street at the offices. I will be in charge of housing, travel, and making sure all AEA housing rules are followed. I will also assist the PM and the ExDir on anything they need help with.

This will continue until Sept 1st when I hopefully have a short break before working on my next top secret project.

I will promise to try to keep you updated over the summer.

Onward and Upward

Showcase in Syracuse

Friday we did our show for the last time.

Sorta.

We sorta did our show. Friday we had a Showcase in Syracuse NY at a Middle School. I say sort of because we only did 15 minutes. We loaded in around 7am, watched a few of the other shows and then reconvened around 10:10 to get ready for our 10:50 show. At 10:55 we performed the first 15 minutes of Max and Ruby to a bunch of 6th and 7th graders and potential sponsors.

Then we loaded our during the next couple acts and drove back to NYC.

Basically we spent 2 hours loading in and out for 15 minutes of performance.

Crazy-

Onward and Upward

Getting to the end of the road...

Our tour is almost over. Here are some pictures from our last two shows. These were some of the first shows with Ethan and he did a great job. His energy is really high and he and Lauren play off each other quite well.

Currently we are in Syracuse NY for a Showcase at Roxboro MS. We will do 15 minutes from the top of the show to right after Cowboy Max. It will be very weird to not continue the show and the shortened version being our last one leaves me slightly unfullfilled. Probably because we still have to load in and out almost the entire show.

Movin' down the road !

Still on tour.

In Iowa.

Josh left and we have a new Gracie named Ethan.

Here is a picture of our last show with Josh in a school gym on Monday.

Yeehaw!

Bunny Bowling!

The past few days we were in Matteson IL. We had 3 shows at Freedom Hall which was a nice little theatre. We stayed in a very busy La Quinta. We had a Walmart, a Target and several resturants within walking distance. We also had a couple empty nights so we filled one up with bowling.

Liz was with her family so we only had the 6 of us. I hurt my wrist earlier in the tour and its been giving me problems so I elected just to watch. Josh took the prize for the top score with his 2nd game score of 155. Everyone else did pretty well.

Here are the pictures.

Colleen walking back from some mad skill bowling.

Lauren showing us her form.

Bunny Team putting the cool shoes on.

Bunnies go Bowling!

Onward and Upward.

Hakuna Matata

Last week we had several days at the Wharton Center in Lansing MI. It was a thrust stage and on top of that the entire backstage area was covered in travel cases full of equipment. Our shows went well. Elizabeth's sister lives in Lansing so she came to one of our shows and Virginia and Liz spent the weekend with her. The rest of us were at a great Courtyard by Marriot that was across the street from a outdoor mall.

But that's not the best part.

The travel cases that were being stored on our stage belonged to The Lion King who was using the larger theatre space next door to us. I asked our Production Manager to see if we could get tickets to a show but that didn't work out. Instead the PSM for The Lion King came looking for me on Saturday and invited me to go backstage! I even got to be on headset and help with a set change. I was so excited! The actors were offered seats in the back of the house for about half of the show (all we could fit in between our shows) They saw "Be Prepared" and the "Stampede." We also met the little Nala's and Simba's. They were super cute. They were almost as excited to meet Max and Ruby as we were to meet them.

Onward and Upward.

Titletown Brewery

YUM!

We are in Green Bay WI tonite. We drove in from the Chicago area and I was starving. Apparently one packet of instant oatmeal, a diet coke and a bag of combos doesn't really cover it for me for the day. I texted my cast to see if they wanted to go eat but alas everyone declined. I thought about eating dried soup for dinner again but instead pulled myself up and got out of the hotel. The brewery is across the river from our hotel so it was a nice short walk.

The beer I ordered (that is brewed about 10 feet away from my table) was amazing. The waitress was super nice and knew what she was talking about, my salad and salad dressing were fresh and tasted great and my veggie pizza... I can't even find the words. It was the best 18 dollars I have even spent.

The leftovers are staring at me from across the room but I am trying to resist. Cold pizza makes great breakfast food. Much better than instant oatmeal.

Onward and upward.

Good Night, Sleep Tight

and don't let the Bed Bugs bite!

They are not kidding. We had our first and second run ins with bed bugs this past week and they suck. A lot.

First Lauren and Elizabeth were attacked in seperate rooms at a Days Inn in Vero Beach Florida. They had it pretty bad. Luckily Elizabeth's dad is a doctor and he quickly sent a rx for super duper anti itch cream. In additional Lauren called her lawyer boyfriend and he got all over the hotel.

A couple days later we traveled to Rockingham NC and stayed two nights at the sketchy-est America's Value Inn ever. On the first morning I was running late so I just jumped out of the shower and into my clothes. I noticed I felt itchy but didn't pay much attention. Later on Colleen noticed I had bites on my neck. Then I noticed I had bites on my shoulder, a row on my tummy, some down my back and arms or my hands and .... several on my face.

Bed bites itch, but I can deal with that. They get red and nasty but I am on tour and usually look like shit anyway. I've been wearing the same 10 shirts for months now and I only brought 3 pairs of pants so what I look like isn't that important.

The worst part about Bed Bugs is the fact that I feel pretty violated. The idea that little gross bugs crawled all over me while I was helpless and asleep is the most horrible part.

ug. Get me some bug spray!

Vero Beach

A few days ago we went to Vero Beach. Colleen, Virginia, Lauren, Elizabeth, Brian and I got into the van and drove an hour or so to the beach. We spent a few hours laying the in sun and playing in the water before heading back to New Port Richey to sleep before moving on.

Onward and Upward

New Schedule

Stolen in part from Virginia's blog and then edited for content. Thanks Virginia!

Houghton, MI: Tuesday, April 14 @ 9:30am, 1pm Rozsa Center

East Lansing, MI: Thursday, April 16 @ 9:45am, 12:30pm & Friday, April 17 @ 9:45am, 12:30pm & Saturday, April 18 @ 1pm and 4pmMichigan State University - Wharton Center

WI: Monday, April 20 @ 10am, 12:30pm Schauer Arts and Activity Center

WI: Tuesday, April 21 @ 9:30am, 12:30pm The Grand Opera House

Park Forest, IL: Thursday, April 23 @ 10am & Friday, April 24 @ 10am, 7pm Freedom Hall

Janesville, WI: Monday, April 27 @ 10amRoosevelt School

Park Ridge, IL: Tuesday, April 28 @ 10amPickwick Theater

Plano, IL: Wednesday, April 29 @ 10amP.H. Miller School.

Red Oak, IA: Friday, May 1 @ 9am, 10:45am, 1:15pmWilson Performing Arts Center

Bayside, NY: Tuesday, May 5 @ 10amPS 188Q

New Rochelle, NY: Wednesday, May 6 @ 9:30am, 1pmBarnard Early Childhood Center

North Syracuse NY Friday May 8th - Showcase

Madison GA

Last week we were in Madison GA at the Madison Morgan Cultural Center. Below are a few pictures of Madison GA and Athens GA. We went to Athens on our day off.

The Madison Morgan Cultural Center used to be an old school building. Now it houses a theatre and several historical and cultural exhibits.

This is me thinking outside of the box, while also feeling trapped in the crazy box we call Max and Ruby.

The Inside of the Madison Morgan is very small. The stage only measures 20 ft across. Our set is 28 feet.

Historical Downtown Madison Morgan only about a half mile away from the theatre- if that.

Athens GA- University of Georgia.

And that was that.

Kitchen Witches

Last night we went and saw Virginia's mom in the Kitchen Witches at her local community theatre. It was a pretty funny show and Cheryl did a great job. At one point during the show they ask for an audience member to come up and participate as a judge after their "quick fire challange." Of course we had to nominate Brian and he was chosen to taste the food.

This is when Brian realized things weren't going to go the way he thought they would go.

Then they tell him he won't be feeding himself.

Cheryl presents her dessert.

The other kitchen witch presents her desserts.

The feeding begins.

Yum! We were so proud he didn't even puke.


The rest of us were laughing so hard we almost had wet pants. In the end Brian was asked to pick a winner. He chose Virginia's mom mostly because she had named one of the dishes after him.

Good Times.

LOCK DOWN! now including AMBER ALERT

Today we had 2 shows in Spindale NC at the Isothermal CC. The hotel was less than a mile away from the venue so last night Virginia and I took the vans down to locate the loading dock. When we arrived there were a ton of cars so we parked and walked into the building thinking that perhaps we could get a glimpse of the stage. We walked right in the loading dock door and into the audience to see "Junior Miss 2009" rehearsal going on. We stayed long enough to appreciate the amazing choreography and to choose our favorites. The show is Saturday night so we will check the internet on Monday and see if our girl won.

This morning we arrived at the theatre to find some of our favorite things; bottled water, a short load in and nice, competent techs. These three things make our day so much better.

The first show was good even though Colleen was feeling sick. After the show we worked some scenes with our new Louise. Then we took our break and some of the actors drove over to the local drugstore to pick up some soda and food.

While they were gone things got interesting. I was standing in the lobby watching the kids file in when all of a sudden the House Manager started yelling at us to get back in the theatre. The shoved all the kids and teachers into the theatre and then shoved me into the backstage hallway and told me to close all the doors and keep my actors in the dressing room. Apparently we were on lock down.

I immediately made sure the actors were okay and then had Colleen call the actors that had left to tell them to stay in the car with the doors locked until we told them to come into the theatre. Then I went to find out what had happened. Apparently a student had threatened to hurt people and had said that Tuesday afternoon would be a good time because the theatre would be full of kids. We were under lock down for about 10 minutes. Amazingly the show only started 15 minutes late.

Now we are at Virginia's house having an amazing home-cooked meal.

Weird how life goes.

Onward and Upward.

Addition- We are currently in Madison GA in a Red Roof Inn for three nights. After returning from checking out downtown I commented on the broken window on the room between Josh and Me. A lady from the parking lot commented that it was from the Amber Alert Shootout a few months ago. "What??!!" we questioned. Apparently in Janurary a 25 year old man captured his baby's mommy and the baby and drove them through Alabama and into Georgia with his new 17 year old girlfriend. He then checked into our Red Roof Inn. The police caught up with him and there was a stand-off that turned into a shootout. The couple and the baby spent a day holed up in the Red Roof room right near mine before he surrendered to the police. They had to evacuate the Waffle House next door and close down the street. Below is a picture of the missing window and the holes he cut in the curtain so he could see the police.

Excitement surrounds us everywhere we go.

Upward and Onward.

Burlington VT

This past weekend we were in Burlington VT. We had 3 shows at the Flynn Center, a beautiful space near Church Street. When we arrived it was warm and the snow was melting. Even better than nice weather was the fact that Ryan flew up from NYC to visit me. His cousin and her husband live about 45 minutes away and Pete actually works at Magic Hat (more on that later)

Friday night we found a passable Mexican Resturant called "Mexican Resturant" right on the water. The food was pretty good but much more than I am used to eating. Afterwards we wandered around Church Street taking in the sights and hanging out with the teenagers and homeless people. Saturday I had to take the van in for headlight issues but then we spent the rest of the day wandering around Burlington. Later that night we picked up Colleen and ate downtown at this amazing Flatbread resturant that also has its own microbrew. I had the Das Spalter, Ryan tried a light beer named after some guy and Colleen had the Discombobulator. All were good, the food was amazing and our salads were the best I have eaten in a long time.

Sunday I had an afternoon load in and show. The crew at the Flynn Center were very helpful and the show went great. Sold Out as usual. After the show Ry and I went to Magic Hat to have a tour with Pete and then meet up with Amy to go to dinner. We spent the evening with Amy and Pete and had a wonderful time. Both of them are so smart and well informed they are great conversationalists. It helps that they have a good sense of humor and are able to look for the absurd in life.

Monday morning I said good bye to Ryan and went and SM'ed two more shows before loading out and driving to NYC. All weekend we had beautiful weather but when we woke up on Monday it had snowed and it continued to snow all day long until we got near the city. The drive took forever and we ended up incurring like 3 hours of OT.

This week we are back in the city for some day trips and to get a new Louise (bye bye Mara!!) Before taking our 2 month jaunt down to Florida and then on to the Wisconsin area. I will try to come back and post pictures when my internet connection is better.

onward and upward- god this mountain is HUGE!

50 Nifty United States

Before starting this tour I considered myself to be fairly well traveled. Having lived overseas for childhood I was able to see countries such as Saudi Arabia, Jakarta or Nepal. After college I made the trek down to Australia. This summer I traveled to Europe and walked miles through Prague, Paris and London. I have had oppourtunites in life to go to Utah, Colorado, Hawaii, Washington State, Florida, Arizonia, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, Georgia, The Carolinas as well as New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Washington DC and Vermont.

Either I lived in these states (Louisiana, Delaware, New York and Texas) or we visited to ski (Utah, Colorado, Vermont) or we went on vacation (Hawaii, Florida, Washington State, California, Arizonia, New Mexico, Arkansas, Tennessee, Carolinas, Virginia, and Washington DC). Most of these experiences consisted of leaving home, getting on a plane (or in a car), getting off the plane and driving to whatever resort or hotel or friend's home we were staying in. Then I proceeded to do all the touristy things we were supposed to do when you visit said city and went back home thinking I had experienced that place.

And in a way I had. But in another way I hadn't.

Obviously I don't know what it is like to live in these places I have visited. As a tourist you see what they have decided you see.

This tour is different. No more realistic in it's view of each place but definently less "padded."

We stay in hotels, not all of them nice, and eat at chain resturants mostly- the cheaper or the more for your money the better. We can always find the Walmart and the laundry and we have learned which rest stops have clean bathrooms and which gas stations almost always have auto deisel. Each hotel starts to look the same, each gas station, each resturant. The Walmarts all look exactly alike which is the point and probably accounts for our enjoyment of visiting Walmart. We know what we can get and where it will be which gives us plently of time to get back to our hotel rooms to watch TV (even though the channels are always different)

I haven't really added any new states. Possibly Mississippi but does that really count? But I have added a new view. Not any more genuine but different.

I suppose different is good.

Onward and Upward.

Signs on the Road

Ok- so I know I am very behind on my blogs. But honestly I just don't have the time or energy right now. So I'm gonna cop out and just post some pictures of signs I have seen on the road lately.

And then I had to post this picture I took of the Rolling Stones magazine this week because two of my friends are in it. The girls sitting on either side of the musician are my friends, Alisha and Emily. Alisha is friends with the photographer who is also known for his Obama cover a few weeks ago.

Onward and Upward.