In Macon making some bacon

So this week is what we on tour called a split week. Basically, it is when you play two town in one week. Fortunately this week the trip takes us from Mobile, AL -> Macon, GA -> Albany, GA. (not as bad as the 1000mi slpit we did last fall in Canada) Anyhow, not too much time here, but I'm at Joshua Cup coffee house here in Macon, GA. It was a brief stay here; 1 show yesterday and 3 today. Tonight we drive the 100mi down to albany and set the house up again, hook up to power, level the house, yada yada.....so I'm anticipating getting to sleep around 3 or 4 this morning. Then we have tomorrow off and a show fri, 3 sat, and 1 sun and then off to knoxville TN. Not too bad, yes, I know you're asking me to finish the last blog.....and I will, but not tonight.....I have to use this precious internet time to locate the wlamarts, laundromats, and coffee places in the next town.....which reminds me, I have discovered Google Earth Basically it ties the google search engine and global mapping together seamlessly, and it's pretty cool, download it and type in "forbidden city" and it flys you around the globe to get a perfect bird's eye satellite view, and you can pan, zoom in and out, even get terrain mapping on some cities, pretty cool stuff....I had always dreamed of something like this when I was little and would spin the globe around in dad's office. Anyhow, hope everyone in computer land is well, and just so you know....if you ever visit macon, there's not really any good coffee in this town, so try mobile, AL instead (more on that soon) tootles.....

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?

Ok, so yeah, I've been kinda of MIA, but hey it's been a busy month and a half. Let's see, I was in a motorcycle accident, got my RV registered, went through winter quarters (almost worse than HS band camp, I'm going to start quoting, "this one time at winter quarters......." ), went through the whole insurance process w/ the bike, got a new bike, broke it in in a week, bribed an elephant, tried to figure out the roads of Fayetteville (for anyone who has been there, you'd understand), bought Jason and the Argonauts, braved wintry Salisburg MD, made shark kebobs w/ old friends, flying dutchman met circus train, new coffee finds all along the east coast, walked in the ocean at sunset, williamsburg revisted, finally cooked my bratwurst from Spokane......just a brief summary. So this week finds circus boy circusy as ever in Tallahassee, FL (I found out the hard way, 2 ss's and 2 ee's) We're at the civic center on the edge of the FSU campus right downtown. It wasn't too bad of a drive from Fayetteville down to here. I took a detour to get the bike its first service and decided to camp out and spend the night on Tybee island outside Savannah, GA. I had always heard from a good friend that Savannah is quite the quaint quintessential southern town; and she was unanimously right. I had planned on going out that evening and checking out the night life, but due to the fact that I had risen at an insane hour to get the bike to charleston for its service, I ended up falling asleep. But, secretly I think I needed it, for I arose the next morning to the chirping of the birds and the sound of the wind (both big advantages of having your house parked on an island :-) ) A side note of a moment of inspiration.....it ocurred to me while I was lying there listening to the birds.....why do they sing, who teaches them, the brighter the sun became, the more of them joined in as if to encourage the rest to celebrate the beginning of a brand new day...no sour notes, only praise. Ok, so back to Savannah, got up that morning, got the bike out and headed into town for the coffee that awaited. I arrived in town around 10AM. Now, this was a wednesday, hump day for most people, but my equivalent of the weekend. (Now, for anyone who has even been in entertainment, you'll understand this) One thing about this job, this lifestyle, is that it gives you a unique perspective on the "normal" world where everyone works a 9-5, watches 30 hours of TV a week, drinks starbucks, and drives an SUV. (for example tonight, I'm at a coffee house. I walked in at 10PM; the place is packed and there's a line at the counter. I think "this is unusual" because for me, it feels like a wednesday, and then it hits me, "it's a friday night in a college town, so of course people are going to be out and aboot, guys trying to coax pretty girls laugh with their less-than-dim remarks") ok, back to Savannah, I rode around for a while exploring the copious little town parks and picture-perfect old southern estates. After some near misses on the one-way/yield streets I arrived at the highly recommended Gallery Espresso. Well, I won't go into full review mode here (that's for my other site) But, lets just say that if passing within the confines known as the borders of Georgia, eat a peach and make a visit. So, I continued on my quest of coffee and happened about the local cathedral, and the organ/church enthusiast that I am, I had to walk in and explore....it was beautiful inside, slightly more ornate than I'm used to, but very beautiful all the same. When I found out the it was about to get very crowded (due to the fact that it was ash wednesday) I ventured across the street to cafe vas (latin for "seize the cup" ) , it was an interesting little place (again, you can read the full review on my other site) once I got my mocha latte, I sat outside to enjoy the weather and watch people....I see a lot of different people in the course of my job, usually they're families, small children, the ocassional group of friends or guy on a date with his dream girl. But, as you travel the country, or just travel the world in general, you quickly start to get the vibe of a place, of a town, a region by spending some time quietly, thoughtfully, respectfully, w/out talking....observing. For anyone who is mildly intrigued by the dynamics of the human psyche, the more you watch the more you are in awe of the diversity on this spec in the cosmos. So, as I sat watching the comings and goings of the ash wednesday church goers, it once again made me re-examine the state of organized religion in this country of ours. Finished the espresso-based drink and had just enough time before the campgroud check out to eat at this irish place on the waterfront that was recommended by a fellow circus friend (the fish and chips came highly recommended) so, of course that's what I ordered (with a guiness of course; what is a good irish meal w/ out a guiness??ss??ss??) it was good, the fish was fresh, but the deep fried coating of the chips and fish could have used a little more seasoning, but then again....I get picky when I pay attention. Made my way back to the campground, packed up the bike and made the 6 hour drive to tallahassee. It was a smooth drive with the added bonus of discount spices at my dinner stop.....whaaaaaat? I hear you asking for an explanation......ok, so, get this- I stopped at a subway for dinner, "sorry sir, we only accept cash" hmmmmmmm, so being t..........opps, closing time = end of free internet, more next time, ciao