Day 15 (well at least the beginning of it)

So yesterday got much better.





I got over my funk pretty quickly when I learned that the composer of the show was going to be attending our performance that night...no pressure... :)





The van stopped for coffee and that little caffeine kick was a godsend. Once we got to the theatre EVERYONE was full of energy. It was like it was opening night all over again. One of the American Sign Language Masters for the show was in attendance too, so it was a little nervousing to know how intently they were watching, but also comforting to know we had people in our corner.





It was probably one of the best shows we have done. The energy was really electric. (I am now writing from the venue in La Mirada) But yes, the show was great. I got a line note yesterday, because I had been inverting some words and messing up the captions. I was so intent on saying the line correctly that I dropped the two right before...oops :)



After the show, the composer and her family met us backstage...she was VERY complimentary. (wipe sweat from brow!) We also, went out to the lobby to meet with some of the audience...it was overwhelming...with awesomeness! There was a good number of the deaf community there and everyone seemed really enthusiastic. A little girl came up to me and started talking to me in ASL...I understood the first few things she said, but I had to ask her to go slow since I am still a novice. She was very sweet, but it made me a little frustrated that I couldn't talk to her more fluently. She was very sweet when she realized how little I knew...very patient with my sloooooooow finger spelling. It was a huge reminder of why we do this show. Seeing these little kids, and big kids, who may have never seen a piece of theatre spoken in their language was amazing.



After the high of the show we loaded up and headed to La Mirada. We drove along side the ocean, so I was a little sad it was dark out...I wanted to see those Pacific waves.



Today we have two shows ( I am at the theatre now )today and my friend Chris is coming to see it! Chris and I worked together two summers ago, and he is now living in L.A. so he is making the drive over to see me...very excited to go explore a new part of CA!



The composer is here again today...fingers crossed!



XO.

Day 14

Happy Birthday Poopaw!

Today is weird. I have been on the road for two weeks now. Its pouring rain here in San Diego. I am only going to write in short statements.

Its about 10 til 4...I am writing from the hotel lobby this afternoon. The crew had to load in the set this morning, but we had to be checked out of our rooms by 1 so a couple of us took the shuttle to the local mall. I thought it would be better than sitting in the lobby all day. Well...I started out fine, happily browsing through the wide array of stores. But then I got hungry. It was down hill from there. I had actually started buying things, but then I was running out of time, AND I still needed to find shoes to match my purchases. I immediately had buyers remorse, but I think this was more due to the fact that I had an empty stomach. I don't know why shopping put me in a bad mood...the poor Chileans are trying to dig themselves out of rubble for heavens sake. Ok...perspective noted.

I did get to talk to my Daddy on his birthday. He was having lunch with my mom and some dear family friends. It made me a little homesick. I wish I could be with them celebrating and chasing my nephew around. It did make me thankful for cell phones though. What did we do before them? Technology has not been on my side lately though...ever since I arrived in CA my phone has been on the fritz AND my computer has been running really slowly. Sometimes I want to just take them both and smash them over the hotel balcony. But then I would cry...without the internet I am a little lost unfortunately. And without my phone? I don't even want to think about it. Well, maybe if I had all my loves around me I wouldn't mind ditching the gadgets...but they are my window to my favorite people.

Ok it looks like I need to start loading up all my crap. I mean, my stuff. Poopoo peepee! I need to snap out of it jeeze louise!

Ok...more later I suppose.

Day 13

I write this post thoroughly wiped out and thoroughly satisfied.

Having yet another day off in San Diego, I decided today was a day of up and at em exploration. I did some research last night and found my perfect itinerary.

I set out at 10 AM, with two adventure companions, for the bus stop near the hotel. We bought our all day bus pass and tried to blend in with the locals. We failed quickly because they were all either sleeping or quietly listening to their iPods, while we were a giggle with excitement. It took us two buses and about an hour and 45 minutes to get downtown, but we made it! We snuck into a Starbucks to ask for directions (and get a treat of course) then headed down toward the water. The sun was shining, beating down on my bare shoulders...I was in heaven.

We walked along the water until we got to the Seaport Village. Lots of little shops and eateries...but I did not want to linger long...I had better things to see :)

My main plan was to hop a ferry to Coronado Island...and hop we did! By this time the sun had vanished and the clouds brought the chill. Not so ideal for the sundress I was sporting, but hey, it was better than any Feb. weather back east! We sat on top of the ferry, to get the full effect and chugged over to the island. Our short ride came complete with a sea lion sighting! There were a cute little huddle of them lazing on the bottom of a buoy. Once on the island we hopped on another bus and headed to my mecca of the day. The famous Hotel Del Coronado (simply referred to as "The Del" by the locals). "Some Like it Hot", the best movie EVER, was filmed there and when I walked in the front doors can I just say "Zow-ie!" It was brilliant. We walked around the outside first, to the beach, so I could take some pictures from the angle I remembered from the movie. We finally made our way to the front and into the gorgeous lobby. All dark wood, and sparkly chandeliers...thick oriental rugs and heavy furniture...I felt like I had stepped back in time. It. Was. Swanky. I got to pose in the old see through metal elevator with the elevator operator (I didn't know they still had those!) for a nice photo op. (Everyone in San Diego is super nice by the way...) After taking MANY pictures and trying to channel Marilyn, Tony and Jack...we made our way to my second favorite landmark of the day. On a very quiet, unassuming street, in a quaint little yellow house there once was a man named L. FRANK BAUM! Yes...I got to see the house where the Wizard of Oz was written people! Someone actually lives there, but I ran up to the front steps and got a quick snapshot before running back to the sidewalk... Their front door mat said "Ding-Dong" with two striped stockinged feet poking out so I figured we were in the right place :)

I was star struck by buildings today. My companions were dolls for humoring my very specific schedule. I forgot to mention our wonderful Mexican lunch in between wanderings. We stumbled into a darling little place and I chowed on some fish tacos, a CA specialty apparently. I had worked up such an appetite at the Del that I et em all. We also got some ice cream at Moo Time, a highly recommended old timey ice cream parlor, after visiting Frank's house. By this time some of the other gang had come to the island so we met them at the beach to watch the sunset. Well, because of the clouds there wasn't much of a sunset, but you could see some pink and purple glimmers through the gloom. Our show's TD came to visit from D.C. and met us back at the Del (YAY I got to go back!) It was all lit up in the dark, so of course I had to take more pictures. The rest of the group grabbed a drink in the fancy bar, but I lurked around in dark corners trying to find things I recognized from the movie. The TD was able to fit everyone in his rental car, so we didn't have to make the hour and 45 minute bus ride back to the hotel. While sitting in the car I looked over my purchases of the day. Some little hair barrettes that had hand painted "caroline" in baby pink with little skull and cross bones on each side...bought at the Seaport Village for $3...a MUST have. And a Del Coronado magnet with a still of Marilyn during the filming of Some Like it Hot.

I am pleased as punch with my purchases, my company, and my day. I am also tuckered out and would like the billion of teenagers at the pool to hush so I can go to sleep soon.

Tomorrow night is our next show...what is it called again? Oh right...its that thing I get paid to do. I am excited for it actually...it is bound to be a great one with all this fun filled time we have had :)

XO.

Day 12

Today I felt like a big ol fancy pants.

It started off with a gourmet breakfast spread at our hotel, a quick shower and primp, and a van load in around 10:45 am. The whole gang decided we would go on a wine tasting tour in Temecula, CA. The weather was literally perfect. I wore my long maxi dress with a light sweater, and by noon I was getting a little warm. (I thought it was the sun but now thinking back it could have been the wine...)

It was about a 30 minute drive from our hotel to the wineries, but the views out the van window were well worth the trip. I felt like I was in another country! Huge, green mountains everywhere...then we would turn a corner and see a gorgeous valley with a glistening lake cradled in the bottom. Just stunning.

We took a tour of the first winery (I think it was called Callaway...of golfing fame...same guy) and then had our tasting. We could taste up to 6 wines. I started with some lighter reds and ended with the port...very tasty! But after those 6 "tastes" (they poured way more than a taste!) Kipparazzi thought it was time for photo shoot outside...he is very convenient to have around!

We went to another, smaller winery and their "tastes" were just that. I have to say I didn't like their wines as much as the first place. We all were in definite need of sustenance by this point so we headed to the next winery that conveniently had a highly recommended restaurant. It was DELISH! I had barbecued shrimp and grits and guzzled about 300 glasses of water. We sat outside with the sun shining down and the mountain breeze blowing. I felt like a movie star...I mean we did have Kipparazzi!

All of the wine and great food put me into an immediate food coma and I was definitely ready to head back to the hotel. It was about 5 PM by the time we finished our lunch and we wrangled everyone out of the gift shop to hop in the van when, low and behold, I got pulled aside by the Kipparazzi himself for a private photo shoot...ooh la la! I will hopefully post some of these photos later if I can get his permission :)

Welp...I fell asleep on the way home so I missed the sunset...oops. But I have planned an adventure for tomorrow and the sunset is definitely on the menu! I am taking a bus with two of the other people in the gang and we are heading into downtown San Diego to explore for the day!

Still in awe that I get paid to do this...what?!?!?!

No complaints here :)

XO.

Day 11

I. Am. So. SLEEPY....

Today has been a very long but very glorious day. I am having to dig deep to even remember what state I was in this morning...

Ok...left the hotel in AZ around 9 and started journeying West yet again. Since I drove last time, I got...the back seat! So I had plenty of room to spread out all of my junk. I am not sure how it has happened...but my carry on bag has grown about three times its original size...or at least feels like it weighs three times its original size...but I digress... :)

I snoozed a little but was afraid I would miss some amazing scenery so I turned on some peppy tunes (this weeks favorite is Jay Z's "Empire State of Mind") and plastered my eyes open for the ride. We passed beautiful red mountains in AZ, many of them covered with tall, spiny cacti. They made the mountains look like big memorial gardens littered with rugged crosses. The sky was another breathtakingly beautiful shade of blue. Once we passed into Cali we stopped at a mall and had a 30 minute break for lunch. I did a quick lap around the mall to 1. work out my van legs and 2. duh...check out the stores. Then I scarfed down a yummy chicken sub...I worked out yesterday ok?

After we got back on the road the scenery took a turn for the AMAZING! It looked as if giants just dumped piles of huge rocks to form mountains. I didn't even feel like I was in the U.S. It was so lovely that Kip, our lone man on tour, insisted we pullover to have an impromptu photo shoot. He is a wedding photographer as well as an actor so we call him "Kipparazzi". We pulled the van over and climbed up on these HUGE rocks and posed like the fancy pants ladies we all are. I still can't believe I get paid to go on vacation...with a little work sprinkled in for good measure :)

We arrived in San Diego around 4 PM (we are on Pacific time now...gained yet another hour) and it was time for the hot tub per usual. It had actually gotten overcast and pretty chilly, so the hot water felt dern good. I didn't last long because I needed to wash the "van" off of myself before meeting back up with everyone for dinner. Many of the people on tour are vegetarian so we found a Greek/Vegan place nearby. It was a quaint little mom and pop type, and boy was it delicious! We ordered some homemade hummus for the table to start and I had chicken souvlaki (sp?) and couscous and washed it down with a nice Greek beer. We ate, and talked, and LAUGHED forever. It was a great ending to a great day. After the hot tub AND all that wonderful food I am one tired cookie.

I am back with a roommate, missing the freedom of my own room, but glad for the company :)

We have tomorrow off and we are going on a group wine tasting! I must get my wine tasting beauty rest so to bed for me it is!

Missing everyone alot today. I am seeing such amazing things, but I wish I could share it with my lovies.

XO.

Day 10

This is serious people...I am up in double digit days!

Today was a early, yet beautiful morning in Gilbert, AZ. We performed two shows at the Higley High School Performing Arts Center...very nice. Our audiences were pretty small and the apron on the stage was HUGE...like 15 feet huge, so I felt really far away from the audience. BUT all in all the shows were fine. We haven't (so in the middle of this sentence was a 15 minute break where I zoned out at an old episode of The Office...and I don't remember what I was going to say!)...

Anywho...the venue had gotten us a bunch of pizza for in between shows, but I had brought a little peanut butter sammich so I saved my pizza for lunch afterward. I sat out in the parking lot to wait for our stage manager to drive us back to the hotel, chowed down on three pieces of delicious Papa John's pizza and let the hot AZ sun shine down on my cheeks.

After all that pizza what was the natural thing to do? NAP...hello! SO after my two hour nap :) I returned a call from my deary in NC. Then it was gym time. I had to justify that pizza and nap, so I ran two miles on the treadmill then got all gussied up to go to dinner with the whole gang! We had a slight problem because one of the girl's friends came to meet us for dinner but she fainted! TWICE! The hotel staff called 911 but she was fine by the time they got there...womp womp. After all that excitement I was HUNGRY. We went to a sushi place. Delish.

Today was just the best. I got to talk to so many people I love. I got to pretend to be a 9 year old and throw a temper tantrum...and get paid to do it. I got to luxuriate in a midday sleep. I got to sweat out some stress. I got to laugh with good people. I got to eat good food. I sure am one lucky gal.

XO.

p.s. It was brought to my attention that I called someone "stupid"...I won't name any names...cough cough Mom cough cough. I found said incident in "day 5" I think it was. The sentence WAS misleading BUT I was referring to the pants being stupid...not the American Eagle employees. Just wanted to clear that up...cough cough Mom cough cough. :)

Day 9

Today = pure laziness.

It was just what the Doctor ordered. I slept in until about 10:45 (mountain time!) and stayed in my pj's until 2 PM. I cranked up my tunes and guiltlessly played on the internet. I did slip some "to-do" list making in there and actually crossed a few things off...so the whole morning wasn't a total veg fest. Around 2 I decided to take a shower and make myself presentable for the rest of the world outside my hotel room because I had made plans to take the van with another gal in my cast to run some errands. I took some outgoing mail to the hotel front desk and then we headed out. I have to say that I am getting spoiled by these hotels...its the best :)

I drove us to our respective banks and we each did some bidness there, then decided we needed a Target run. I got some little essentials...and some non essentials, lets be honest. There is something strangely comforting in a Target or Wal-Mart...I think it has something to do with the fact that they are basically set up the same no matter what store you go in to. Although I am loving exploring all of this new territory, it was nice to be able to trust that Target was just how I left it in NC...

Our drive back to the hotel was interrupted by a 6 car pile up. Luckily the big white van was NOT involved, but it cause a mean traffic jam. The beautiful show in the sky made the wait worth it though. The sky out here is HUGE. There was a beautiful sunset happening, but at the same time we were watching a massive storm roll in. It was beyond beautiful to have the rain pouring on our windshield but stare at the sun kissed mountains on the horizon. So cool.

Back at the hotel I opted out of a group sushi outing and made myself some tuna salad and soup and hunkered down to do my least favorite household chore...laundry. I have never done laundry in a hotel before...it felt a lot like college, but it got the job done! My room is filled with the smell of clean clothes :)

Now its off to bed to do a little reading and get some good rest for our two shows in the morning. Hopefully the chillins with like it as much as they did in Texarkana. We shall see.

XO :)

Texarkana, TX

Day 6, 7 and 8

Between late night honkytonks and cruddy internet connections I have not been able to document my adventures for the last three days so here comes a long one...

Day 6:

So, Texarkana, TX is where I left off I believe. We made our way to the Perot Theatre in downtown Texarkana for our two morning shows. It was really old and BEAUTIFUL! The first show went well...I felt a tad rusty since it had been a few days since our last performance. We had about an hour inbetween shows so I decided to do some exploring in downtown Texarkana. It was VERY quiet. I wandered past some old Victorian style house that was shaped like a club (as in the card suit). It had been turned in to to a museum. It was the biggest thing in town. No one was there. BUT the downtown was really cool! Very old, but most of the storefronts were deserted. Some of the display windows still had moldy displays left in them...it almost looked like everyone just up and walked out one day. The local who was working backstage at the Perot said they are trying to make the downtown into an arts district to revamp it. I hope they do, because it has some really cool architecture down there. I ended up making my way to a small local coffee shop and got a green tea. It happened to be right next to the Arkansas/Texas state lines! I actually sat with one cheek in TX and one cheek in AR, sipping my tea, eating a half peanut butter sandwich I smuggled from the hotel's free breakfast. I called my granddad and left him a message because I thought he would appreciate the novelty. My hour of me-time was almost up so I headed back to the venue to get ready for show #2. When the show started the kids went CRAZY. We might as well have been the Jonas brothers, because it took them a good 2 minutes once the show started to stop screaming. It was awesome. After that rush it was back to the hotel to pack up, grab a quick lunch (soup and salad!) at Olive Garden then hit the open road yet again. The drive wasn't terribly long and we made it to Fort Worth around 8:30 PM. The awesome thing about this day was that I got my own hotel room!!!! I imediatly allowed my suitcase to explode all over the room as soon as soon as I entered. We had learned earlier on our drive that Fort Worth was home to the LARGEST honkytonk in the WORLD! So obviously we had to check it out. We got all gussied up and left around 10. It was awesome. And they weren't kidding when they said it was big. It had a huge live music venue, plus a rodeo ring, plus a huge giftshop, plus a million bars, AND a huge dance floor! We hit the gift shop first then decided we needed some food. I ordered my usual crap food...a delish corndog with yellow mustard. We eventually made our way over to the dance floor and tapped our toes on the sidelines. We kept wishing someone would come over and ask us to dance and low and behold...they did! This very nice and respectable cowboy (don't worry Matthew) asked me to dance and I told him I didn't know how to two-step, but he was a great teacher! He was not sketchy at all and really knew what he was doing! He asked me what we were doing there and I told him all about our show and then said when our dance was done that he had to dance with the 5 other gals that were with me...and he did! His name was Jarad, and he was a total doll...he took our whole group under his wing and taught us the two step basics...it was so fun! Some of the other couples were REALLY good dancers. I almost felt like I was back in time. These young people (and older people too) came to the honkytonk JUST to dance! It wasn't about getting a girl or guy to take home...it was about sweating and dancing and just having a good time...it was sooooooooooooo much fun! We ended up staying until last call (it took a while for Jarad to swing each of us around the dance floor) then we headed back to our hotel. It was nighty night for me....long day of driving ahead.

Day 7:

Day 7 was DRIVING, with a capitol D, day. We had 500 or so miles from Fort Worth to Van Horn to go so we started early. The first part of the drive was slightly dull geographically. Very flat, very dry. We did stop at a Dairy Queen to take a potty break and they had a full on Jesus (say it like the locals..."hey-seuss") alter in the store. You know you are in TX when...

I could tell we were definitly heading west because the terrain was much more like the desert. I even saw a cactus at a gas station! We finaly made it to Van Horn around 7-is PM. Kip, the only guy actor in our show, is a photographer as well as an actor and insisted we have a girly photo shoot with the TX mountains and sunset in the background. We call him Kiperattzi. After the truck arrived with our luggage we took the van to Chuy's Mexican Restaraunt. John Madden is a huge fan of the restaraunt apparently because they had pictures of him EVERYWHERE. They even had a chair with his name on it...

Van Horn was teensy. It was almost creepy. When we came out after dinner there was a full on wind/sand storm happening outside. I was actually a little creeped out sleeping in a room by myself that night becsause the wind was howling so much. But I woke up to a beautiful TX morning and got ready for...

DAY 8!

SO, finally caught up to the present!

Today I woke up in Van Horn to a beautiful but chilly morning. I had horrible dreams last night, but I am sure it was a combination of eating mexican food late at night and the howling wind. We started driving west, again, heading toward New Mexico. The scenery started to get GOURGEOUS. We were surrounded by red rock mountains and huge cactus (cacti?). It was a perfect day. There was no civilization for miles...just skeletons of road side stops of old. It was beautiful. I did end up taking a small but wonderful van nap because I was slated to drive later in the day. When my driving time came I was prepped with my Diet Dr. Pepper and a great iPod mix to get me through. It was really windy, so the big ol van was a little hard to handle at first, but I got her under control quickly. The scenery through New Mexico and Arizona was just breath taking. So different from anything I have ever seen. Its funny to think one country can have such diverse topography. I brought us safely into Gilbert AZ around 5 PM (we are now in Mountain Time Zone). My room is awesome! HUGE bed...HUGE shower! The gals ordered pizza and salad and then it was hot tub time! My back has been hurting in the lower region...I think because of all the riding time, so the hot tub was a blessing!

I am totally relaxed and we have a day off tomorrow so I have already put out my "do not disturb" sign on my door. I need to do some major sleeping and laundry tomorrow...I am running out of skivvies!

XOXOXOXO! (wine!)

Day 5

Setting: A hotel room. Nondescript furniture pushed up to the four closing walls. The only thing of note is the white silk orchid plant absently sitting on the desk. A general "anywhere but here" feeling hangs in the air.

Time: Now.

A woman, about 25 years old, lays on the hotel bed with a laptop on her stomach. Headphones plugged in to each ear. She struggles to type at the strange angle. She squints at the screen as we notice her thick glasses have only one ear piece, causing her warped vision. Despite her headphones, we here the singer Duffy begin to sing the line " The blank pages of my diary, that I haven't touched since you left me...". We sense she feels this to be relevant in some way. She is feeling dramatic.

It's true...I am feeling a little dramatic this evening. I had to actually go back and see what day I was on before I could title this blog...its only day 5 and I am already losing track...

I am feeling a little blah as well...nothing serious! (I am past the nervous breakdown stage...so don't worry) Maybe I am having a hard time coming down from the excitement of Elvis' homestead? Honestly, I just didn't do much today.

We left Mississippi around 9 AM to start our journey to TX. I was co-pilot for the day, which meant I had to sit in the front seat and make sure the driver was ok...aka no van nap for me. It did not help matters that Arkansas was the lamest looking state ever. However, the day was beautiful so that was a nice change from the general wintry gloom of the last three weeks. I texted about everyone in my address book to keep myself awake, but even my crackberry did not help me shake the sleepies. I decided a little knitting would give me a jolt. Not. I kept messing up my pattern and quit after the 3rd "start over". I resorted to my Grandad's game of counting hawks perched along the side of the road. This proved to be a pretty good game to play in Arkansas. They might not have pretty scenery but they have an eyeful of hawks.

We arrived at our hotel in Texarkana around 2:30 PM. I lept from the van ready to finally take a rest in the hotel that awaited me! (only to find out that the hotel had no record of our reservation...NOOOOOOOOOOO!) We all waited in the sunny parking lot, enjoying the 56 degree weather, until our Stage Manager got everything worked out. Mind you, at this point I had not had my van nap, or eaten since 8:30 AM. I was hungry AND tired. I have been very good about resisting the many different chocolate snacks that filter through the van, but there were cookies in the lobby, and I ate the heck out of a white chocolate and macadamia nut cookie dangit! Finally got to my room and decided that food was of higher priority than a nap so I ventured to the mall next to the hotel. That chik-fil-a spicy chicken wrap couldn't have been more perfect. It was immediate relief, and mood shift as I downed that thing, while catching up with almost everyone in my family on the phone. I think I was talking too loud because the Texans kept giving my funny looks...

Thank goodness my suitcase is already bursting at the seams because they have some cute shoes in Texas...I also tried on some pants at American Eagle, but they were stupid so I will spend that 14 dollars elsewhere thank you.

I came back to the hotel and got simultaneously sucked into facebook and the show project runway...and now the evening is almost gone. I need to do my taxes...and write birthday thank you notes. I am being a big whiner. Whatever. (spaz attack)

We have two shows tomorrow. Thank goodness! I am ready to actually do some work! It is sort of amazing to think that I get paid to go on vacation, basically. So I guess this "boring" day wasn't such a bust after all because I get a flipping paycheck for it. Aw...I am having a change of heart right here in the span of this blog. Precious.

Alright, I am going to go steam my throat (Dad says, "Diva 1!") and hit the hay.

Long day ahead tomorrow.

XO :)

Day 4

Greetings from the land of Tupelo honey, BBQ, and the King (insert involuntary hip swivel).

Yes, I am writing from Olive Branch, Mississippi (I cannot bring myself to write the state's abbreviation...I learned how to spell Mississippi in Mrs. Parman's 2nd grade class and its just way too much fun to spell out...)

Ok...little recap of last night because I couldn't find the internet access code when I sat down to write last night...

SO...we arrived in Olive Branch around 9 PM Central time after our longest day of driving yet. The drive was fine...drove through a beautiful stretch of TN (one of the cast remarked that it felt like we were driving through Narnia). Very mountainous, very snowy and HUGE icicles hanging beside the craggy cut out of the highway. I listened to my iPod almost the whole way and just took in the scenery. I generally find the "cool" music about 6 months later than everyone else, so Lady Gaga is my current obsession. I think I listened to her song, "Bad Romance", about 6 times...in a row.

Once we checked in to our hotel the ladies decided we needed to walk over to the Applebee's in the hotel parking lot for a nightcap. It was quite a scene at the local Applebee's on a Tuesday night... We promptly made friends with "Billy", a local celebrity of sorts (we imagined). He had superbly coiffed, and dyed blond hair, a tight t-shirt that said "I am not a Dr. but I'll take a look" (?), and was drinking an electric blue concoction. He tried to convince us to come party with him in Memphis, but we quickly blurted out how tired we all were... It was a lovely little taste of the local flavor...I loved it. :)

After a little while we decided we had had enough local flava, and ran back to the hotel to enjoy the hot tub. It. Was. GLORIOUS. Talk about relaxing...sheesh! I only stayed in for about 30 minutes, and then took my googly limbs to luxuriate in my (surprisingly) very comfy bed.

OK...now finally onto Day 4!

After a really hard, really wonderful night's sleep I jumped out of bed when my roommate whispered that everyone was heading to Graceland! I quickly showered and 9 of us headed out in the van to the King's house. It was a chilly, but sunshiny day and the drive was quick. We got a very discounted rate because one of my cast mates new how to work the system...so we got our tickets and headed into the music lined gates. The house was much smaller than I had thought it would be. If I had been driving by I bet I wouldn't have even noticed it, other than maybe thinking that it had a tacky front gate...

BUT the inside was awesome. I had an audio guided tour taking me through each room on the first floor and through the famous Jungle Room, as well as the basement T.V. room and my favorite, the Pool Room. It was strange walking through his home, where he relaxed and entertained. Part of me felt like I was intruding...it was his haven and now thousands of people traipse through it, snapping pictures (I sure was!). I don't know much about Elvis, and I was amazed to see how many charities and individuals he gave to. He would anonymously pay for random people's medical bills, or house payments, even giving away cars to total strangers. He truly seemed like a good ol boy, just trying to do right by his parents and community. It makes me sad to think he was surrounded by so many people and no one helped him try and get away from his addiction that eventually led to such an early death.

OK, enough melancholy blabber! They had a whole section dedicated to his suits, which were amazing! Seeing the evolution of him through his clothes was pretty cool. The first one was his gold lame suit, including gold shoes, then we finally got to his famous white, studded jumpsuits. He was quite a character. Our last stop was aboard his private plane the "Lisa Marie". It was nicer than my apartment (well, in 1970's standards). Fully loaded with 24 carat gold seat belt buckles to boot.

A full afternoon of taking in the King's life gives a girl an appetite! Luckily, everyone else was starving too, so we loaded back up in the van and drove to the Mexican place by our hotel to enjoy a late lunch. I quickly devoured a chalupa, chicken quesadilla and some rice and beans before you could say "thank you, thank you very much". I then tried to justify this meal by walking to the nearby CVS to pick up some make-up items. I chatted with my older seester about my day and then decided it was time to write it all down...well type it all down...

I am thinking a little time in the hotel gym, then maybe some more hot tub action? We shall see what the evening brings!

Off to Texas tomorrow...never been.

I will leave you with some wisdom from my friend for the day:

"I ain't no saint, but I've tried never to do anything that would hurt my family or offend God...I figure all any kid needs is hope and the feeling he or she belongs. If I could do or say anything that would give some kid that feeling, I would believe I had contributed something to the world."
Elvis P.

XO.

Day 3

Its the day of the show ya'll!

We had our first official show on the road today at the Cobb Energy Center. It was a BEAUTIFUL theatre....HUGE. I didn't get a chance to take a picture of the front of the building, but I did take a picture of the house from the stage to show its vastness. (pic on the left!) I was more excited than jittery so I think thats a good sign! I am hopefully on the road to really knowing the show, which is good since people are actually paying to see it now :)

We did some spacing and mic check before we got into costume. On my way back to the dressing rooms I was warming up my voice, sipping my hot tea, thinking I was about to walk through a dark doorway, but nope...it was a dark DOOR. I smacked face first into the door, smashing my disposable tea cup...tea all over me and the floor. My grace strikes again! I had to laugh though, imagining my mom's reaction...sheesh...

That was the main speed bump of the day so far, because the show went pretty well! There were a couple of wonky things, but hey...it was our first time on the road in a new venue, so I think we did just great! (positive = my motto for these next 3 months...)

The audience was FULL of kids, and when I say full I mean FULL...1800! It was awesome to hear their genuine reactions...reminded my why I do this crazy thing :)

I took the free hotel shuttle (I originally typed "shittle" by accident...haha...) with the other ladies from the cast and we went to....MOE'S! Moe's is one of my all time faves! I got a lovely little Joey Jr. burrito with an icy diet coke with lime...ah the simple things!

Now I am just killing time before we head out at 2...we start our trek west today! I am very excited to start seeing some of our beautiful country that I have never seen!

I wanted to share this quote that was written on the callboard at the theatre this morning...thought it was relevant and beautiful...

"Be wise to insure that every idle word spoken is carried with peace, driven with love, and filled with hope. For this we know is certain, one day our words will become our last."

Ok...time to get ready for our long day of driving!

XO!

Day 2

Greetings from (chilly) Hotlanta!

OK...so today's rundown:

We left SC around 8 AM because there was talk of snow, but it turned out to just be gloomy rain...

Since I drove the van last night I got to have the big backseat all to myself...luxurious! I stretched out, wrapped myself up in my fuzzy zebra blanket (thanks momma and d!), slipped on my silk eye mask (thanks Matt!), and popped on my ipod and zonked OUT. It. Was. Awesome. By the time I woke up we were already home sweet home in Smyrna, GA. My day then consisted of internetting, family phone calls (hi Uncle!) and a little too much T.V. :)

By 3 PM I was hungry and stir crazy, so I took a free shuttle from the hotel to the local mall. It was nice to have a little "me" time. I grabbed some good ol southern Chik-fil-A (Diet Dr. Pepper!!!!), then worked out my crampy van legs by walking around the mall for a while. I bought some fancy shampoo and conditioner for color treated hair (MY HAIR IS RED NOW!!!!...pictures to come soon!) and a cute silk, navy blue shorts onesy to wear on our sit down in Vegas. I treated myself a little...something I will STOP doing soon so I can save some mula...

After the mall I met the rest of the ladies in the cast to get chinese food for dinner. I had a really great curried chicken dish.....SO delish!

I am not trying to wind down so I can get a good night's sleep for our first show tomorrow! I am really excited/anxious to get our first one under my belt. There are 1800 people coming to see our show tomorrow...I think that's the largest crowd I have ever performed for at one time. AND its going to be an all kiddo audience so that will be really cool to see how they react.

Missing all my loves alot today, but excited to start the trek out west tomorrow!

XO!

Day 1

Happy Valentine's Day!



I was lucky enough to get to squeeze my Valentine this morning before he headed back home and before I headed out on the open road. Yes, today was officially day 1 of the "Nobody's Perfect" National Tour!

After a slight dilemma trying to squeeze my gigantic lime green suitcase into an unforgiving backseat of Matt's rental Mustang, I made it to the Kennedy Center for a very warm send off from the TYA staff and friends. We drove through beautiful VA, but as lovely as the snow covered mountains were I still snuck in a satisfying van nap before we stopped for lunch. Then...it was my turn to drive the van! (Cue scary, intimidating music) After a few minutes it actually wasn't too bad maneuvering the big white chunk of a vehicle. I have to admit, when we passed by sweet Charlotte, I got a little misty eyed, but I was sending mad love to all my lovelies there! I brought us into Greenville SC around 8 PM and we all promptly found our hotel rooms for some much needed decompression. We then met for dindin at a nearby Italian place where I had a Greek salad, minestrone and a much needed and Delicious glass of Cabernet.

I am exhausted. From the past three weeks, and from traveling today...I need to probably start finding the hotel gym rather than plopping in front of the TV...but I will let it slide today :)

We have to leave an hour early tomorrow because there is a 90% chance of snow...in SC...what are the freaking odds? I swear, the snow is out to get me.

tata for now :)

This blog is a creation of Caroline Bower, an actor in the Kennedy Center Theatre for Young Audiences on Tour production of "Nobody's Perfect". The opinions expressed in this blog are solely mine and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Kennedy Center, its board, or employees. Additionally, this blog is not supported by the Kennedy Center in any way.