And the beat goes on....

Ok, so I'm back in West Palm Beach. It's 5:28 friday evening, we played a 1:30 show today and have a 7PM to go tonight. I'm sitting in little place called Greenberry's Coffee & Tea company sipping a mocha latte, watching the sun go down and typing to you all. Ok, enough for the scenery here. Last time I typed, I had just arrived in West Palm Beach (here after reffered to as WPB) Got situated, they didn't have power so I had to run the generator for the night, which was really alright since it was warm enough where I didn't have to run the space heater. The next day I spent routing through all the things in sight in order to figure out what needed to be mailed, thrown away, or packed for the 3 weeks ahead. I was packed in just the nick of time (and NO mom, the bus did not have to wait for me) In 3 separate waves, we took our scheduled bus down to Ft. Lauderdale where we spent the night at the Best western there, it wasn't the nices one I'd ever seen, maybe not even as good as the one I worked in Hershey way back when.....but that's another story. It was a bed to sleep in, and there was a Denny's next door (which usually turns out to be the unofficial food sponser for the the hometown edition tour......."a moons-over-my-hammy for the please" ) The next day we checked into the airport with out incident, no bombes were found on any children, and I was quickly reminded of how pricy airport food/water/smiles/anything really is. The flight left after dark and was about 2 1/2 hours. It went by fairly quick, I watched my Bolshoi ballet DVD until my battery died, but we all lamented the fact that we couldn't see the islands or the triangle of the bermuda triangle outside the window. We arrived in a steamy 76 degree san juan and we checked in and settled by midnight. What an unexpected joy it was to discover this place that would be my home for the next 3 weeks. Never before had I experienced "living" in a hotel and having it be paid for by someone else. It was also quite exciting to realize I was once again out of my element. Where in a place where US money is used, and the USPS sends the mail, but everything else was a new expereience entirely. Our schedule for that three weeks was basically this....... week 1: relax, enjoy, don't spend too much money or get thrown in jail week 2: Ringling owns you, work your little but off and top it all with a 9 pack weekend week 3: You thought last week was bad, well we thought we'd give you a 2nd week of 9 packs. So, in the face of the most intense playing I'd ever done looming ahead, I decided week 1 was relaxation time in order save my strength for the 2 heavy weeks ahead. I've realzed while trapsing around the globe that travelling an site-seeing is exhasting and I was determined not to start week 2 already tired. So basically that week, I slept a lot, took long walks on the beach ;-) and survived on bread, cheese, sausage, and wine. Actually, I did find some time to get around the island. After a few days of loafing, Ted (ringmaster) and I decided to get off our dairy-airs and see something, so we elected to do the bioluminescent bay kyak tour. So, we cought an evening shuttle and drove the 6 of us about an hour away. After some crazy PR traffic (is there any other kind in PR?) and some angry bumpy roads, we arrived in this little village that had a small boat port. We got out, it smelled like fish, but looked promising. We signed our life away, they gave us life jackets and then set sail in our 2 person kyaks alongside our fearless guide nestor. We paddles across the lagoon and were immediately entered a narrow canel lined with mangrove trees. And then, with out announcement or alarm, it hits you........there's no sound except for your kyak part the water, the coqui frogs, and your breathing. You it's toally dark, and you look up to see a heaven bursting with sequined-velvet. It's one of those moments in time that Thoreau alluded to at walden pond. Everything makes sense and you want to melt into the fabric of the creation that's around you. ok.......coffee time over, time to go do a show, na razia

Merry Christmas!!!!! (from detroit?)

Ok, so you’re reading this and saying to yourself, “why has it been so long since he’s updated” Well, it’s because I’ve been a very busy boy in the past few weeks, as you’ll see if you keep reading. Continuing where I left off, I spent thanksgiving in Sarasota with my great aunt pearl and great uncle doyle. It was a nice thanksgiving with Amish food and beautiful weather (70’s every day) While I was there, once I found out that the Ringling circus museum was near by I made sure that I left time in my schedule to see it. So, on sat. Morning my friend Justin (the drummer on the show) rode his k1200 up from his folk’s place and we went to the John Ringling estate. We had just enough time to tour his house and the circus museum. Now, John Ringling was quite a character and his house reflected everything that he was and had built. Within the first 10 seconds of when I walked in the house as part of the tour, it all made sense, the plush, flashy, fantastical sensationalism that embodies the word and event that is the circus. The first room was a receiving room with art on the walls, a silver tea set on a fancy table, all hardwood floors, dark red velvet enrobing the large vertical panes of multicolored glass; the whole room decked out in gold trim. As we continued through the house it was opulent, even by today’s standards, but when you put yourself in the mindset of the 30’s American, this place was utterly grotesque in its lavishness. But then, the over the top sentiment in the décor and style fit perfectly the man who developed the most circus in the world. Of all the rooms, I believe my favorite was his wife’s bedroom. It was decorated entirely by her, so obviously it not only stood out from the rest of the house but also created this quaint oasis of solitude. When you walk in from the powder room the color motif, a mellow pea green immediately surrounds you. Then there’s a wood border where the wall meets the ceiling and all along this border there are various forms of exclamation marks lining all 4 sides. Curiously no one, including the tour guide could figure out what they meant. Everything was simply elegant. After that we got a bite to eat and enjoyed the view on the outside veranda. Apparently back in the day John would often have the circus band play as his yacht was arriving up to the veranda. Afterwards we headed to the circus museum. It truly was a treat learning about the heritage and legacy that I’m now a small part of. They had everything from the Lou Jacobs’s clown props to old circus wagons used in the old circus parades which were once such a memorable part of the circus coming to town. A personal favorite for me was a vintage bandwagon that was part of their museum. I thought about having my picture taken while sitting on it, but I didn’t want to be accused of jumping on the bandwagon. We also learned a few interesting tid bits of circus lore, for example back in the days of tents, they needed a lot of help for setup and take down, so they would offer free tickets for anyone who world come and work a few hours, of course this was a good way for kids to get free tickets and for John Ringling to get the rest of their family there. After the day was over I had a much better understanding of how smart a business man he really was. So, on my last evening there, I got to sample some of the local seafood fare when my aunt and uncle treated to a meal at the Anne Marie Oyster bar. It was excellent, all except for the lobster bisque. You see, I’ve been noticing that the more I cook the more critical I’ve about food; the food I cook as well as others. Perhaps my palate is just becoming more educated, I don’t know, but in any case this lobster bisque missed the mark. It had good potential but missed the mark in that it was WAY too salty. (I let the cook know; hopefully he’ll fix it for future customers) In any case, it was a nice evening before I headed back to circus life. Later that evening is when I headed over to west palm beach where I was to park my RV for the up and coming weeks in Puerto Rico (hereafter referred to as PR ;-) ) ok, layover over (echo, echo, echo) time to fly back to my home on wheels…….till next time

And so the shows begin............

So the marathon of shows has begun, about 26 shows in 1 1/2 weeks. Granted the week of rest down here helps, and the 80+ degree weather makes the long days a little more paletable. So far we've done a couple days of rehearsal, then had 6 shows so far (not counting the 3 today) So, last time I typed I left you all with my musings on pikeville, KY. The little town that it is. Turns out that it's the region where the Hatfields and McCoys had their famous feud. Anyhow, I left the muddy lot Sunday night after the show, hoping to drive as far as Virginia, so that I could visit the DMV on Monday morning. So, after going across the border into Tennesee, I found a walmart to stay the night at (and of course I couldn't pass up a late night shopping trip to pick up a few things) I mean really, how many can pull their house up to Walmart and walk right in! (I know my mom would just live in the parking and shop there if she could) Anyhow, I got up the next morning, drove back across the border into VA and get my new motorcycle tags. You see, I had them stolen in Topeka, and ended filling out a police report and everything. Definately not a highlight of that city for me. But fortunately in VA all that you have to do to replace stolen tags is present your registration and pay the $10 for a new one. Most of the rest of the day I spent driving to Augusta to visit my old roomate and his family. I have to say, (and I know I keep saying it) it was good to see familiar faces. AND, I even got to cook a little too! You see, I've been carrying around my set of srpingform pans in my RV, but truth be told I don't have an oven or anywhere to use them. So mark's wife tiera was kind enough to let me use her kitchen to make one of my fav recipies, Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake And here was the result (Caution, viewing picture may result in drooling on computer) After visiting for a few days I headed down to florida to spend Thanksgiving with my great aunt and uncle whi live in Sarasota. Well, things can never be as simple as you plan. The schedule was to arrive on wednes evening, but just after I crossed the FL border I had a blowout on my front left tire. Fortunately I didn't lose control of the vehicle but it ripped off the mudflap and did a number on the paintjob. So, it spent a couple late night hours figuring out a way to rig the jack to get it high enough off the ground to put on the spare. So, I got the spare on and continured on my way, but at 3AM I started falling asleep on the road, so since FL rest stops are RV friendly, I pulled into one and spent the night and drove the rest of the way early Thanksgiving morning. One plus was that I avoided most of the holiday traffic, although FL drivers are crazy enough to make up for any bonuses gained. So, with aunt pearl's help, I made it to their winter residence in the TriPar mobile home park in Sarasaota. I had a mild case of dejavoux. You see, this mobile park was the same one my family stayed at for our FL trip when I was on 4th grade. If someone had told me I'd be working with the circus and staying there with my RV 17 years later, I probably would've never believed them in a million, but life has a funny way of working out that way. So, I arrived on thanksgiving, visited, and since pearl had to work that evening, we went went for lunch at an Amish buffet restaurant, and I have to say, the Amish know how to do food; perhaps that's where I get my inspiration (my Schlabach ancestors that emmigrated here were from germany were all amish) Anyhow, it was a wonderful and filling meal. Turns out the that owners are from Holmes county ohio, which is where my grandparents live. As I got talking to aunt pearl she was telling me that there are a lot of amish that come to Sarasota for the winter. They run vans back and forth between ohio and FL at least once a week during peek season. And, curiously enough, a lot of the amish houses in FL have ammenities such electricity and phones (which they would never have in ohio) Upon hearing I raised my eyebrows in surprise, and aunt pearl said there's a saying they have, "what happens in florida stays in florida" Anhow, it was a nice treat to me in good company have good food for the holiday. That night I got to bed fairly early so that I could be ready fo early morning sales on black friday :-) oh, have to go play the last show for the day..........more soon

Life is but a dream……….

So here I sit, on my balcony in my room in San Juan Puerto Rico on an 84 degree Fahrenheit day over looking a dozen shades of blue ocean stretching out to the seemingly endless horizon. Could this be real? This is what I asked myself as I awoke this morning to find this vista outside my window. It’s a busy couple of weeks. Last time I typed I believe it was for thanksgiving and turkey day. So that week we played Rapid City, SD, then Spencer, IA and lastly Topeka, KS. While in Rapid City, a bunch of us with bikes on tour took a day trip through Sturgis (the town of the annual Harley festival) and Deadwood, the site of the infamous wild Bill Hicock’s shooting death. Anyhow, we stopped at a place that supposedly had good steaks, the waitress was friendly, and even convinced the chef to bring out the steaks even though it was only lunch time. But, I have to say Big Al’s prime rib did leave something to be desired, but then again I don’t know if anything will even compare to the Prime Rib I tasted at Philly’s Restaurant named the Prime Rib. It’s a standard which I don’t think will soon be surpassed. Anyhow, it was a good set of shows despite my lips being injured. Then, in Spencer, it wasn’t much but flat land, but flat land is ideal for speed in a wheeled vehicle, and I found out that my bike can indeed live up to its speedometer. The other exciting thing I found in Spencer was a niche little bakery/café named Carrolls. I had my standard mocha which turned out to be mediocre (they needed to use better beans with a bolder flavor) and some baked goods that knocked my stomach off its small intestine. Between my repeat visits I had a good sampling of their offerings and highly recommend it. It was neat to sit in their establishment for an hour or so and watch their interactions with the customers; it was a tableau of small town America. They knew their patrons my name and profession and within that short hour I learned all of the news of the town (the unedited version). One down side of Spencer was that it got down to 18F one night and forced water through the flush valve in my toilet, so basically my entire RV flooded, so between shows I had to go out and rent a shopvac to get most of it up, but it still smelled, so in Topeka I went out and bought a carpet shampoo scrub thing and spent the better part of an evening shampooing the carpet of my entire RV. I think most of the smell is out of it. Then we finished the week up in Topeka, KS. It was an OK town, had lot of potential, and was trying pretty hard, and I don’t think I got its best impression. They did have some cool coffee places, name the Classic Bean and the World Cup Café, but between the weather and my motorcycle plate being stolen, I decided that Topeka wasn’t a place for me. I’ll include some descriptions of the aforementioned cafes when I start my new coffee/café review section. Anyhow, the next day I drove up to Omaha to hang out with my friend Holly who had just flown out to start rehearsals for a musical tour she was playing with. That also happened to overlap with my B-day, so it was nice to celebrate it with a familiar face around. On Wednesday I drove to St. Louis to check out the Blue Show of Ringling Circus. I parked the RV at a place called the Casino Queen, which was quite a nice RV park, but I got lost in the ghetto trying to find it, always an interesting trip when I’m driving I suppose. Anyhow, got to the show, and in the words of my friend Tom, it was like a parallel universe but on a much larger scale. I was back stage, and everything that we do, it was just, more. But it was neat to see some of these performers since a fair number of them are retiring or moving to other shows, so in a very real way it was witnessing a closing to the end of an era. That evening also got to check out the circus train, which is a part of the traditional circus experience (if such a thing exists) that I’ve missed out on. But after seeing how small the things are and the different lifestyle, I feel very blessed to be with the unit I’m on. Basically if I were living on the train my room would be an 8x8ft space. The next morning I awoke to a beautiful sunny St. Louis day with the mission of touring the world headquarters of Annheuser Busch, stopping in Evansville, and arriving in Pikeville, Kentucky that night. Well, all of this went as planned. The tour was great, after working 3 summers at Busch Gardens; I had to make a stop at the headquarters there. In Evansville I wanted to stop because 1) the national headquarters for my music fraternity is there and 2) on of my former teacher colleagues and friend now lives there. Once again, it was quite a delight to see a familiar face and she even was kind enough to make a meal! And for anyone who’s even been on the road for any amount of time knows what an unparalleled treat that is. Late that night I finally arrived in Pikeville, KY. Now, this place is quite off of the beaten path. In fact, their biggest claim to fame is their “Hickville Days” festival, yes, that’s right, you read it right. That and the big cut through project which rerouted the river around the town. But, the people were nice and were very thrilled about having the circus in their little town. They had just put in a brand new arena (which was pretty nice I might add) so I think this was the first time the circus had ever been there. Anyways, the weekend shows went by rather quickly, but I daily lamented the fact that there was no espresso machine in the whole town! There was one place that advertised soup, sandwiches, AND espresso. But I just had to shake my head with a frown of compassion for the espresso advertised was that of the gas station variety (i.e. that nasty powdered stuff that they mix with hot water and resembles the taste of a powdered chocolate pop) So, the town has room to grow in its culinary side now that they have the arena built. Ok, enough typing for now, I need to enjoy this weather while I have the free time. Send you all 86 degrees, sun, and ocean breeze wherever you’re reading this from……………

Turkey day...........

Happy Turkey day everyone!!!! (even to those of you in Europe who don't celebrate it) I spent it here with my great aunt Pearl and Uncle Doyle in Sarasota FL, a very WARM and sunny florida. We went to an amish buffet place down here, and I have to say it made me miss that old PA dutch cooking. It was good, simple, hearty food. Appearently they keep some old amish lady in the kitchen that cranks out amazing food all day :-) Anyhow, tomorrow morning I excercise my american capitalism muscle by observing my annual ritual of waking up before the chickens to buy extremely discounted electrical mechandise, sounds like a good time, eh? AND more importantly I'm going to visit the Ringling museum here in Sarasota! till then.........

Circus boy is Birthday boy for a day....................

So, it's that one day a year, the day of your birth which, as far as I know, is celebrated on most if not all cultures around the world. Now, some cultures bring special attention to certain landmarks, we silly humans seem to prefer signifigance when things are in threes, fives, or tens, or even "stages" of life. In any case, this year adds another click on to my life odometer, I've reached 25. Lord willing I will have three more sets of 25 in the years to come, but I'm thankful for each day my heart keeps beating. So this 25th occasion for cake finds in a snowy Omaha. As you all know, this week was loooong circus week. We call it a split week, it's we play an extra town midweek. Now, we did a split up in Canada (between calgary and grande prairie) but that was only 2 shows midweek. This week we did a full run of shows in Rapid City Sd, and then drove the 8 hours on monday to Spencer, IA. We did 5 shows there then had one day to drive another 8 hours to Topeka, KS. Got there Fri. night and did 5 shows between sat. and sun. This would have been a heavy week with good chops, but due to the fact that I injured myself in Nampa by pushing myself to hard (and possibly playing incorrectly) at the end of a 3rd show on a Sat. So, it's been a challenging couple of weeks. But's it's been a humble learning experience and I'll definately take better care of the chops in the future, and pay more attention to what my body is telling me. Ok, I'm here in Omaha and heading out to Outback to celebrate the B-day with my old PA dutch friend Holly. Having a steak with someone named Holly in the midwest, that's so 50's america...........

Coffee is catching on.......

Ok, had a minute to put something up today. I'm at the Cafe Latte agian, and I just got around to reading this blog of coffee places in Spokane check it out good stuff.........I have to say, I may be inspired to start a totally new section just for my coffee forays. Also, my family has been extremely cutrious with questions and all about the circus life, and so I figured a lot of people have the same curiosities. So, feel free to leave quesitons in the comments area and I'll do my best to answer in a circus manner. Have a good TGIF

Blow thou winter wind

Today I type to you from Cafe Latte in Rapid City South Dakota. Rapid City is better know for its proximity to Mt. Rushmore, and Deadwood, Wall Drug, and Sturgis. But, just as well, this is where we are this week, getting ready to jump off into a heavy week of shows......the rundown: Rapid City- 1 fri, 3 sat, 2 sun, drive to Spencer IA wednes 2, thurs 3, drive to Topeka KS Sat 3, Sun 2. So, I'm going to have some tires lips, but at least it will get me ready for our marathon of shows in Puerto Rico. In any case, I was last typing about last week in Nampa ID, a suburb of Boise. It was a productive week, as I mentioned before I got a lot of work done on the house. I had mentioned in one of my earlier blogs that my friend the ringmaster was in a motorcycle accident in Kennewick, so, he is well on the mend. But, since it was the other person's fault, the owner of the bike, one of the sound guys Elliot, ended up getting insurance money for the total value of the bike. So, in looking for a new one he decided to upgrade to the 1200 sport BMW bike, quite a nice bike it is, I've never really fancied the BMWs, but if I'd get one, that'd be the one. So we all took a ride to the loacl BMW/Ducati dealer and drooled over the bikes, and elliot got set up for the new bike. I also discovered this great little coffee shop in old town Nampa. Now, if you ever get in that part of the country, Boise has really done a lot to fix up and revtialize their downtown area. With ina 2 to 3 block radius there is a plethora of coffee shops, micro breweries, and clubs. Quite a hopping little place on the weekends, or so I hear. I was actually just down there to pick up the new mirrors for my bike and maybe do some shoe shopping (I desperately needed a new pair of work shoes) So, I checked out little coffee shop, it was ok, had very much the independent philly vibe (anti-bush stickers, pridefest posters and the such) It was decorated festively for Halloween. I got my standard mocha and also some oatmeal rasberry square. The coffee was average, but the square was intrigueing to say the least. In any case, I didn't get to try all the coffee joints downtown, but I definately sensed good coffee potential. But, in Nampa I found this little mom and pop coffee shop called the "old town coffee shop", or something to that affect. I went in not expecting much, but they had 2 soups, 15 bean and chili, both homemade and they looked delicious. So, once again I ordered my standard mocha and then got that with the 15 bean soup which came with fresh corn bread. mmmmmm....mmmmmm.mmmmmmmmmmm. It was everything that I expected a small town mom and pop coffee place to be. It wasn't exactly a coffee house since it was attached to an antiques shop, but everytijng was fresh and quality. I got to know the owner Bob, who had bought the business in his retirement, and was commenting how happy he was with his current employess, since it's so hard to find quality among today's workforce. He also filled me in on some history of the town, appearently the town is haunted. As the story goes, like so many towns in the west Nampa was a railroad town in the 1800's. The place where the cafe is now used to be a motel witha brothel in the upstairs, and at times, they say you can still hear the occupants walking around and even knocking on the doors. And, to top it off, there is a network of tunnels that run under the whole town. Appearently there were a lot of chinese that worked in the area and there was a law stating that they were not allowed to been seen at night, so they dug a tunnel network and that's how they got around. The network still remains todyay and is largely unexplored. Pretty crazy stuff, anyways, so I like their soup so much, that I went back on sat. morning to try their chili, and afterwards I took a stroll through the little farmer's market and ended up buying some fresh honey and some palate stopping cinnamon pecan buns. (I think I need to get back into my long distance running with all of this food!) The shows went pretty well, for the most part they were well attended and the audience seemed to enjoy it. It had only been 3 years since Ringling Bros. was last there, compared to 40 or 50 in some other towns. But, the people were still excited. Another highlight of the week was our Halloween extravaganza. We did trick ot treat for the kids on sat. between the 2nd and third shows. And no, I was not stingy, I did get candy for the kiddies (but I didn sneak a few pieces for myself) Basically the kids were dressed up for most of the day, and they between the 2nd and third shows they came around to the dressing rooms for trick or treat. And I have to say, there were some awefully cute costumes. After they came to the dressing rooms, we all went out to the main ring and Tom, one of the clowns, announced them one by one for the company. It was a good time, and it really reminded me that we really are our own little community unto ourselves. So, that night was the party for everyone, I didn't have time or monetary means to rig up a costume, but I did contribute to the food by making some peanut butter popcorn. Our last show was on Sunday, that night I went out to eat mexican with some of the other bike guys, and then started packing up that night for the mon. trip. On mon. I go ton the road by about 10AM to start my 1000 mile trip to Rapid City SD. My goal was to reach Jackson, WY that evening. So, after a short stop at the Gas station and Walmart in Twin Falls ID I made it into Jackson st about 6PM, So, after finding out that all and any RV places were closed for the season, I found a coffee shop and typed the last blog entry. Afterwards, I drove around town looking for a place to park and ended finding an RV park place abour 15 miles south of town. A little out of the way, but at least I had electricity. The next morning, got up, paid my bill, and then headed up to the town of Jackson. Now, I faintly remember being through there with my family when I was younger, but it's funny how tihngs change as you get older and visit the same places with different experiences under your belt. Anhow, took a gander at the antler arch, and got some coffee mocha and a croissant at a health foods shop (that mocha was average, at best, there was hardly any espresso taste at all) and then headed to the tourism building where I planned my escape from the Tetons. Thus I began my day of journeying across wyoming. My goal was to pick up a trumpet I was buying in Casper and be in Rapid City before it got too late. So, I headed across the mountain pass (with a top elevation of 9624ft) where I encountered some snow and some fluffy guy ina red suit training raindeer. I didn't ask questions, and just kept driving. After about an hour or so of climbing and then going down hill I reached the other side in what appeared to be an almost desert landscape. It was amazing how quickly the scenery changed. After a couple of hours, it occured to me, I was running out of gas. And here I was, driving across the middle of the oil fields of wyoming and no gas stations in site. FINALLY, with about 2, maybe 3 gallons the pricy petrol left in my tank, I came Hiland....population 10. But they did have an ancient (working) gas station. I didn't a price posted, so I put enough in to get me to Casper. The inside shop was everything a quintessential tourist shop in a town of 10 people could ever be. There were dried, posed snakes for sale, and of of course the ice cream fridge, along with some cowboy hats that had been patiently collecting the dust of the past 40 years. The lady behind the counter was an older frial women, thin, white curly hair, perhaps lower 70's. We had a common understanding due to the fact that we both had a nasty cold. While my credit card was running, out of burning curiosity, I asked her "are there really only 10 people in this town?" She said it was usually more like 6, with sometimes 10 on the weekends. After chatting a bit, I learned that she had been there for 30 years, and the little shops exits mainly for the tourism/gas in the summer. And I imagine it serves a watering hole for all of the oilfield truckers too. It's a different way of life, yet we all live in the same country and pay taxes to the same uncle sam. After another 45 min, I arrived in Casper, picked up the trumpet for the brass professor a the community college and grabbed a bite to eat at the famous Wonder Bar, down town, and proceeded to travel the reamining 4 hours to Rapid City. Well, it was quite the trip, I found out that a strong crosswind and sleepy Nate didn't make for very pleasant driving, but, I had the radio and CDs going....pretty loudly, and that got me there (thank goodness I had looked up the directions to the arena BEFORE I left this time) I arrived around 11:30PM and was hooked of to the power and unpacked by 12:30AM. After which I practiced and then slept....more like hibernated for the winter. That was tues night, today is thurs, more on this week later in the weekend....till then, stay warm and don't play chicken with the wind chill (it will always win).........na razie

Seattle....the continuing story (and more)

Ok, so here I am typing once again.....especially since I had a specuial request for an update from a recently engaged relative :-) So, last time I was typing, I was just arriving back in Seattle on a thursday night after a wonderful day of ridinging and island hopping around seattle. That evenng my counsin's boyfriend and his roomate were kind enough to put me up for the night. I was good times.......the next morning I awoke early and headed back home....or to where my home was parked for the week. So I got on the roas around 8AM and of course had to stop at one more coffee shop (which came highly recommended) on the way out of town. It was called Vivace cafe, and yes, it was yet ANOTHER amazing coffee house in Seattle, thus further convinving me that I will sometime in my life live in the coffee city. This particular cafe had the italian vibe, my bike wold have been right at home there amidst the the tables and and espresso machines.....I probably would've tried, but the ducati dealer finally convinced me that ducatis don't run on espresso...but they sure ride like it ;-) Anhow, the drive back was so beautiful, I know I say that about so many places, but when you're cruising down the highway, past the beautiful seattle skyline, with tress all around, the birght morning sun, the sound of the wind rushing past my helmet, and a perfectly clear Mt. Rainier setting the backdrop......it's just one of those things. So, I got back safe and sound, didn't get pulled over for speeding (becasue I wasn't of course) Upon arriving back in Kennewick, the first thing I find out is that our ring master was in a motorcycle accident over that past week. A very harrowing reality, basically a woman wasn't payoing attention and ran a red light, and ted plowed right into her. Totalled the boke, he would've been too except that he had a helmet on, wihch is essence saved his life. But, he was still badly injured, but with the aide of pain killers he hasn't missed a show yet. (although the pain killers have made for some interesting ringside narratives) In any case, he's recovering quite well and we're blessed to have him around. We did 5 shows over the weekend in Kennewick. There's really not much to do there besides shop and go to the local wineries. According to my coffee shop scale....kennewick was barren except for a starbucks, and it was a drive-thru one at that. So, after our last show on Sun. (which was finally a strong one for my chops) We did the normal routine of packing everything up and moving on to the next town, which brings me to Nampa Idaho. Nampa is a little city right outside of Boise, the capital. I have to say this week, if I had to sum up I would call it a housekeeping week. Pretty much all of the stuff that I didn't get to lsat week, and even some long pending projects were finally completed. For example, I've been wanting to make my place a little "home-ier" so I finally got around to buying and installing a wireless doorbell. Also, my bead curtain from philly, finally got that put up; fixed the shower curtain; I even put out my awning for the first time! It downright flattered the motorhome, made it appear to be a serious place of residence :-) So we were parked at a place named the "horse park" where, as the name suggests, they park horses, or more accurately, park the trailers and put the horses in stalls. But, even though it smelled like growing up in MI, we still had a good time, I even made one of my fav dises (pitachips and canellini bean dip) for a b-day party early in the week. Ok, enough for tonight, thehy're closing the place up. Maybe more tomorrow, pending a non-encrypted wireless signal... do widzenia.................. also, got this from my friend meghan, I guess I'm a little of everything...........

Your Linguistic Profile:

70% General American English

10% Upper Midwestern

10% Yankee

5% Dixie

5% Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

Seattle 2

So, last time you tuned in, I had just arrived at Kennewick and had FINALLY found the arena, which apparently in Kennewick is called the convention center. So, that noght, I got everything set up and working by about 3AM. So, since I didin't have to report to work until 4:30PM Fri., I had planned to take the week riding up in Seattle. That afternoon I left and made the 220+ mile ride up to my aunt and uncles place in Seattle. I have to say, that I thoroughly enjoyed my week up there. It was nice to be out and about and travel a bit. The ride wasn't too cold with the new coat purchased only 2 days before the trip, but the most grueling part of the trip was actually the seat on my bike. You se, there to types of riding positions on bikes, the sport or the touring. Well, since mine is of the sporting variety, lets just say that my gluteus minimus was not too happy by the end of the ride, but I got there safe and sound and there were no close calls, even with the moderate rain in the snoqualmie pass. So, got there monday night, had a great baked chicken dinner (prepared by aunt Lynn of course) and also had the pleasure of seeing my long lost west coast cousin Janine and her significant other known as Dan. Now, Dan is an IT guy at a company, but not just any company....a COFFEE company. So, needless to say, I always something to talk about with anyone in the coffee industry. (and he had lots of insider info!) All this I file away for my future coffee house business aspirations........you see, I've been taking notes at all these coffee houses I've been visiting around the country. The way I see it, most people experience coffee in its various forms and creations in their native town, plus one, maybe two towns in any given year. Well, I've averaging about 1 new chain/mom&pop coffee joint a week, that combined with my international coffee travels and amateur baking status makes me a potential triple threat coffee entrepenuer........although I should learn how to roast the beans first I suppose. Ok, back to Seattle; Tues. was the day Janine showed me a native's perspective of this northwest city. We spent most of the day in the expeience music project, wihch was quite the experience. We only paid half price with a coupon to get in, and I'm not sure I would have paid the full $25 admission, but it was something to experience. With the digital audio guide we got to see hand written being described by the artists themselves, the history of hip-hop, the history of guitars, and even learned to play a guitar. A lot of hands on stuff and info, but once agiain, not sure if it wold have been worth the full admission. The rest of our day consisted of checking out the Pike Place market (even though it was closed) Buying a pumpkin spice latte at the first starbucks in the world, saying hello to the freemont troll, checking out a nightime city vista, perusing used CDs at a place called the Warehouse, and dinner at the local Red Robin. It was a good day. Wednes, I spent catching up on sleep and practicing, (since it was rainy anyways) and also visiting the local Ducati dealership, which is where I finally.....finally found some saddle bags for the bike. You see this purchase became necessary when I shoved everything for my road trip into my backpack, and on the ride up the weight of it on my shoulders gave me nice numb tingely feeling in my wrists. Plus, I never have enough storage for laundry and groceries. Then that evening I arrived at the Seattle youth hostel and checked-in followed by a delightful cafe mocha and apple pie at Cafe Ladro near by. It was a disorienting experience staying in a hostel in the US, all my previous hostel experiences have been in Europe......so it was interesting to see how the US does it. In any case, the bed was clean and there no smelly people in my room (you're laughing, but that happened to me one night in Berlin, and it's not a pleasant experience.....trust me) The next morning, woke up, checked my mail and such on their in-house wireless, and then left to check out the pike place market followed by a day-trip around the local islands. So, here I am walking in the market, when this girl offers me an apple sample after which she asked if I was with my bike (I had my riding jacket on) and we got to talking, well it turns out her boyfriend was working at a coffee shop down the street and was an avid rider. So, after a bit walked down there, got a great cafe mocha and the down low on where to ride around the islands. In the few years he's had his bike he's put 40,000 miles on it, and it's a sport bike! There are definately 2 kinds of riders, I consider myself in the 2nd. Anyhow, finally got on the road and top the 1st of 3 ferries for the day. It was such a beautiful ride over. In some ways it was very similar to the Surrey ferry in VA, but these ferries are much bigger and have larger and more luxurious passenger compartments. Anyhow, it was a short 30min hope over to Whidby island where I basically just set out in a direction and rode. Just beautiful scenery, everything coastal you picture when you think of the northwest. Although, I had to be very careful because there was actually a fair amount of moss and wet leaves on the road, which on a motorcycle is baaaaad news. So, after some exploring my gastric acids were sending me messeges I couldn't ignore and I stopped in a little hamlet named Langley. It was a quaint little town with a summer tourist spin on it, but was able to find a hearty no-frills local lunch at the Doghouse tavern. After ordering lunch I put a good dent on their in-house puzzle until the food arrived. I have to say, the locals in the bank I knocked over were right, (ok, so I didn't knock over the bank, just took some cash off of the plastic leech, since I'm STILL living off of it) they do make one heckuva burger and fries. Following this gastronomic adventure, I wandered the town, snapped a few pics, and mounted the bike to ride up the island toward the Greenbank farm where, island rumor has it, is the best pie on the island. Well, upon arroving, the first thing I noticed was that it looked like the pictures AND it had nice landscaping (something that anyone who has worked in this field can duely appreciate) After doing a mini wine tasting of the local varietals, I tried some the pie, and yes ladies and gentleman, there is good reason why it is famous..........it's not Pennsylvania Dutch, but it was good. So, by this time is was getting cloudy and cold and I needed to reach Seattle befire it got too late, so I headed up to catch the Pt Townsend ferry, after which was a beautiful ride down the peninsula to catch the Bainbridge ferry. I stopped in Paulsbo, a little Swedish town which good coffee. Ok, dead battery= more next time.....

Seattle

Ok, so for those of you read the blog (and consistently remember the address ;-) ) you will realize that I haven't written for awhile, that is due to the sheer fact that I've been busy.........busy travelling, busy celebrating various events, bust performing, busy practicing. So, now I will try to catch up. last time you tuned in to my musings I was leaving bozeman MT and was heading to Spokane. So we got to Spokane which took the better part of a monday. It was a beautiful drive, but there were lots of hills, which translates to slowing going and more strain on the engine parts, BUT, the stop midway at a Cracker Barrell for lunch made the second leg a breeze. How can you not enjoy your drive after a meal with southern gravy over everyhting...mmmmmmmm So we got to Spokane, they weren't ready for us, so we held up traffic until they devised putting us in a holding parking lot until they were ready. So, like any avid emailer person in the 21st century, I climbed atop my RV to sit and surf the web, and I have to say, it was a pretty fast connection. After a bit, we were finally parked and able to set up electric water and such, which I've finally started to get the rountine under my hands. It's amazing how a thing as simple as efficiency makes me ecstatic these days. I guess it's the little things that mold your lifestyle that you learn to appreciate. In any case, the week at Spokane flew by. Went out to eat a couple of times at the season ticket, once for a birthday and another time for Josh, our sound guy's going away party. Not the grestest food or drinks in the world, but their "pitcher's mound" nachos is one of the biggest plates of nachos I've seen on the planet. Anyway, the shows flew by, but the highlight of the week was my aunt and uncle driving all the way from Seattle to see the Fri. night show. Plus, I got to trapse around the city with them all day fri. We quickly dicovered that Spokane is a nice little town with no shortage of coffee shops or gourmet food joints. So, aftrer some exploring and some eating, we happened upon the groundskeeper for the hotel they were staying at. The conversation started out with our desire to find Gonzaga university but, we ended up with friendly and expert advice...turns out that he not only was the groundskeeper but moonlights as an organist at the local cathedral, and he recommended that we check it out as well as the Manatoe park. So went up the hill to this enormous building which turned out to be an episcopal cathedral that was the largest west of the missippi when it was constructed. As you can see from my Pbase pics, it was just beautiful inside, and the thing that set it apart from all of the cathedrals I've experienced in Europe was that it had a wood ceiling instead of the usual stone vaulting that one sees in typical gothic and post-gothic cathedral architecture (I only know this because I did a report on it once, although I got an F on it because the teacher thought I had plagiarized it, when in fact I had just never written down the page numbers of my sources, and was too lazy to go back and find them; yet, with out any proof she still F'd the paper and forever damaged my view of her character) Ok, so after meeting the janitor and discussing what I do, he invited me to come and play in cathedral the next morning.......well, what trumpet player in their right mind would turn down the chance to have such an acoustic and beautiful space all to themselves. So, the sat. morning (even though I had 3 shows to do that day) I rode my motorbike up the south hill, and had an awesome mocha and Italian crepe at the Bittersweet Bistro (I'll elaborate on this fine establishment at another time, also special thanks to Jennifer Olsen for the pic) and then went and played in the church for about an hour. What an experience, the only music I had there was the hymnal, although it was episcopal, I played the ones that I knew, and it all just seemed to fit, one of those moments where, if possible, everything is in harmony, everything working together, making sense, not knowing why, but it just does and appreciating that fact. In case you didn't know, cathedrals are generally in the shape of a cross, so I just stood in the middle and played......what a way to start a sat. morning. So, the rest of the day went by quickly, it was a little painful for my lips, you see I had bit my lip on thurs. night after the show when I grilling and smokingsome meat outside my RV after the show. But, on mon. it started feeling better and healing up. But one big positive thing that happened on sat. is that I finally, finally invested in a winter leather riding jacket, it it had to be providencial, you see I was leaving for seattle on mon, so the bike shops would be closed sun. and mon. and I had a very small time frame and limited funds. So, I found a jacket that fit, was the right style, AND it was on sale. ding ding ding, I had a winner. Anyhow, that night we celebrated Josh's leaving us, and then sun. morning was my normal rountine of waking and listening to the previous week's WCC 10:45AM service. We had our two shows, the lips were a little swollen, but much much better than last weekend. The shows flew by, and I wrapped my cables and hoses, put my bike on the back, and make the shoert 2 1/2 trip to Kennewick. Well, it was supposed to be short, but when you're stupid like me and didn't follow anyone or get directions to the venue, well then you have to stop and ask for directions. Well, after 2 gas stations attendants (and different gas stations mind you) and a la quinta front desk clerk (we ended up talking for about 45min) Ok, it's late and my battery is almost dead......more tomorrow

I think I like Bozeman

No, Bozeman is not a person, on the contrary, it is a quaint yet modern little college town nestled against the rolling mountains in western montana. It's quiet sunday evening, and I'm sitting in a mission style sofa seat with my order of a medium pot of hoikjichaasledisfa (I couldn't pronounce it, so it's my closest recollection) tea in the Homepage cafe. This is one of the nicer cafes I've been to in my miles traveled thus far. The cafe resides on the main street here in Bozeman, a street where the memories of small town america survive in the form of renovated brick facades sport a modern retro flair. Just last night I was at the Baxter hotel where there was some great live music. The story goes, one of the guys the blues band came to our 3:30PM show and loved the band, thus he invited the band to bring their axes (translation for non-music....our instruments) and sit in that night. So, at approximately 10:38PM mountain time I piled into a van with 10 of my friends and we went to the Baxter. There were two bands playing the joint, a hippie/ska band upstairs and the blues band around the bar downstairs. Well, upon arriving, we didn't who was where, and proceeded to pay money to go experience the band upstairs. Well, what do you get when you listen to a ska band for more than 10 minutes....everything starts sounding the same, and all the pretense around you comes into to clarity and seems trivial. So, we went downstairs to the blues band, and immediately you just know, know that there's life in the music, you can feel it. It was, in the end, a good time had my all. The band announced us, feel the celebrity status coming on; some of the guys sat in with the band, made me proud to be who we are, circus. It's funny, I was just talking to one of my friends the other night how circus people refer to everyone else as civilians, in the same vein as the military do. Whether it be conscious or not, there's something about traveling to a different town every week and entertaining people for a living that separates you from the average....civilian. In any case, we left at 2AM, visited the Pita Pit, devoured a souvlaki pita, and called it a night. It was a good end to a good week here in Bozeman. To briefly recap the week for everyone; we arrived late wednes., had sound check, meeting, and opening night on thurs. The show that night was followed a corporate party throw in honor of ? (I don't really know, but the food was good) Then fri. morning took a tour that drummer friend Justin hooked up for us. We toured the Gibson plant and witnessed firsthand how their guitars are made. Ate lunch at a hip place called the Garage, and ithad amazing food. Then, I took the afternoon to drive around the town a bit and check out the local music store and motorcycle shop (I've been searching for a new mouthpiece and trumpet that's more suited to this gig as well as a leather motorcycle jacket so that I don't turn into a frozen (yet lickable) human icecycle on my future bike trip to Seattle. Neither destination was 100% successful, but I did learn some new things. Sat. basically rolled out of bed, warmed up my chops, ate some golden puffs (in milk of course, what? you think I'd eat them plain? bleh) and played 2 shows and then celebrated at the Baxter w/ the blues. Today woke up, listened to last week's service at WCC, and then got ready for work (ran out of water in the middle of my shower), played a show, then went out for a late lunch the drummer and one of the clowns at our favorite little place, the Garage. Tomorrow we all head out to Spokane, from the looks of the yahoo maps, they have a lot of coffee shops, although the quality of them remains to be seen. You know, I've been finding out that can pretty much tell the vibe of the town by the amount and quality of its coffee shops. It's an interesting phenomenon, perhaps I shall start cataloging them.....hmmmmm, maybe, well I leave with a picture of this week's view from my door step......until next time

Snow in October?

So, I woke up this morning to the sound of rain on my roof; nothing unusual about that. Then the temp started dropping, and kept going, until it was snowing, but not laying, then it got colder and started laying on the ground, and now it has tirned out to be quite a snowy day. There's a snow warning for up to 4 to 8 in by tomorrow morning. Snow in early October? The trees here haven't even finished turning yet. The earliest snow I remember growing up in MI was early November. So, now this is totoally throwing off my seasonal kilter, don't get me wrong, winter is my favorite season, but am singing Christmas songs before halloween. Craziness I say, craziness. Right now I'm sitting here at a coffee house in Billings again since they have high speed wireless and decent coffee. Tomorrow, if all the roads around here aren't closed, we're headin to Bozeman for our next weekend of shows. Should be an interesting time, since I hear there's more to do in Bozeman, we're having some semi-dressy PR party, and the arena is in the middle of a college campus. Anyhow, hope all is well out there in cyber world, enjoy your warm weather if you have it

monday monday

well, it was a busy weekend of shows and such, and now it's monday.....and a rainy monday at that, but I got to sleep in, which I only got to do on holidays as a teacher. So, I'm a very happy boy. Although, this past weekend I wish I would've had a new pair of lips. I don't know if it's the american water or just the fatigue of the show setting in, but it was a challenging past couple of days for the chops. I am looking into getting different equipment, a mouthpiece where the edge isn't as sharp = more endurance and less swelling, but I think a more commercial style horn will also aid in getting the brighter sound I'm going for in this gig. Ok, so enough about equipment stuff, what have I done since thurs? Well, I finally got my freezer and refrig stocked. One night after a show, I finally got tired of seeing my cold food storage bare, so I made a much needed run to Walmart and bought as much food as I could stuff in my backpack (you have to understand, when you have a motorcycle w/out saddle or tank bags, you have to prioritize your trips to the grocery and laundry) So, now, I have lots of frozen veggies and meat. I've been finding out that you definately have to think differntly when living out of an RV. You're much more conscious of what store, use, and waste. For example, it's going to be weird from now on where I leave the water running the whole time, and it'll feel strange when my sewage just goes where it's supposed to and I don't have to empty it myself, or more importantly I won't have to worry about those dreaded leaks from the bottom of my vehicle. It is definately possible to keep oneself busy fixing things all the time if one so chose, but then when would I have time to ride the bike? Speaking of which, 6 of us won't out on our motorcycles to a movie last night, I enjoyed the ride back almost more than the movie. All of us were on bikes, to it was 4 BMWs and 2 Ducatis, quite fun, it's a taste of what it'll be like tomorrow (everyone with a bike on tour is going for a ride, so there will be about 10 of us rolling w/ varying bikes, should be fun) But the kicker is, it's been a while since I've been able to get mail from VA, so I've been riding around with a temp plate that ran out 9/22. Oh well, no one has seemed to notice yet :-) We had a party Fri. night. It was a going away party for one of the acts leaving the tour as well as a "yeah, we're back in the US" party. Good times, and i found out that our group has a 14ft gas grill that travels w/ us wherever we go. So, than that, not too much new, we open in Bozeman thrusday night, but are allowed to park till wednesday afternoon, so everyone is hanging here in billings until then, hence the 2nd party of the week tonight (basically it's just an excuse to fire up the grill and use up the leftover meat from fri. ;-) ) It's also tuned quite cold here, when we arrived, everyday was in the upper 60's and 70's and now they're calling for possibility of snow on wednes.! I'm doing my best not to do the ice cycle dance on my bike, but it gets mighty cold when the ambient temp is 45F. Oh, and as for the Tim Hortons/Panera debate, I'd have to say yes, Panera does have a loafs up on Tims, but the fact that Panera hasn't caught on everywhere yet, and Tims is everywhere in Canadia, makes me miss Tims. Although as rachel astutely pointed out, even though Panera doesn't have the pastries, they oh so much more.....including soup in a bread bowl and free high speed wireless internet! Anyhow, enough of my rambling for today (although it didn't take me a week to post this time ;-) ) trzymaj sie i na raza

O Canada........

Yeah, so, I know I haven't been doing too well with entries on this, but you have to understand that we drove over 1500 miles and played 2 cities in the past week and a half. So, very sparse internet access+travel tiredness= no blog entries :-( But, I promise that I will update you on everything since my last entry. So, today is thursday, and we just had our sound check and meeting for opening night. Last time I wrote it was sunday and I was leaving Calgary to head up up to Prince Geaorge, so here we go Sunday: After having a rather difficult and frustrating time emptying my waste tanks, I finally left the campground and drove about 1 1/2 hours to cannmore, which is just outside of Banff. Spent the night in the Canadian Petrol parking lot, and woke up to some of the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen. Monday: Got some Tim Hortons for breakfast, then headed out for a day of driving to Prince George. Now, I have to say that the US is definately missing out on Tim Hortons, yes we have starbucks, new york bagel, krispy kremes and dunkin donuts. BUT, where is the US is there a chain restaurant that offers a soup/sandwich/coffee as a combo AND serves it in a ceramic mug and bowl. Plus, as their motto states, "Always fresh" it was always fresh, even their chicken salad sandwhich, which I consider taboo at most chain restaurants for fear of my health and long life. Yes, I miss Tim Hortons (hmmmm, make I can franchise a location when I go back to a stationary life, but, it America ready? I mean, are we americans really repsonsible enough to enjoy sitting down to eat our food? Are we ready to be invaded by Canada? ) Ok, enough from my inner voice. So, yes I travelled from about 9Am that morning till about 7PM when I arrived in Prince George. I have to say, driving through the Canadian Rockies left me a changed person. This mountain range is arguably one of the most scenic on earth. There were so many times that day when I said "this can't get any more beautiful" and every time it did. It was just once of those experiences where, you can't believe this is not imaginary, this is really happening, I'm really here driving in my house through this amazing creation. Plus, I pretty much hit every kind of weather known to man on that route to. I hit snow and rain at least 3 times, and all 3 times it eventually became sunny agian and made the clouds all the more beautiful of a backdrop to the mountians and forest before me. I tried not to stop every time there was a pullout, but it was just that amazing, like driving through a calendar, only everything was more vivid, and larger. The old saying that pictures don't did it justice is right....they only serve as a reminder of what the real thing looks like. I feel the same way about live music and CDs, but that's for another blog entry. So, after several mountain passes, snow, and some crazy canadians in their rental RVs, I made it to Jasper where I took a pit stop, got food recommendations from an australian, and at lunch at a little cafe along the main drag that had something to do with rock and roll and thai food. Couldn't quite figure out what the exact niche of the place was, but in any case, the food was a little overpriced for what it was, but it was good and filled my tummy, so I was happier. After walking a bit I stopped at a fudge shop....their fudge was ok (definatley not Mackinac Island standard) but it was edible, but their chochoclate, ewwwwww If you're ever in that part of Canada, don't, I repeat DO NOT buy chocolate from the Fudgery chain, whatever their recipe is for their chocolate, they fudged it up, haha In any case, the rest of the journey was rather non-remarkable, which, in the backwoods of British Columbia where you have 2 and 3 length logging trucks moose the size freakishly large horses and the token Canadian goose, is good. I arivved in Prince George at sunset, got lost, and found directions from some random people at a dairy queen. Tuesday: I was tired, so I don't know when I got up, but I did a little bit of exploring on my bike. I definately had to find a place to get my RV fixed and maybe pick up a 100ft hose at sears and adopt a manatee if time permitted. I did eventually set up an appointment for my RV the next day, bought a 50ft hose (they didn't have any 100ft), and found out that manatees don't and haven't ever lived in British Columbia. That night was the first of our 2 shows in that town, it was well attnded AND we were able to do the full gator act since BC doesn't have any stupid rules about alligators or snakes in public like Alberta does. Went to bed a little early to prepare for the day ahead. Wednesday: Dropped my RV off, but they wouldn't accept it with anything in the tanks, so had to find a place to empty them, then took it back to the RV place. I was going to wait out the repair time, but was able to get a ride with a native Prince Georgian. Cool guy, 3 times my age, retired truck driver, now works for the RV place for something to do in his retirement. After I got back to our "city", I took the bike out and aboot. Got some tasty morsels at Tim Hortons, took a ride up around the local college campus to check the cool architecture, and then took a ride out on this newly paved curvy road. Well, the road had some good curves in it, but since it was mainly a logging road, there were a lot of stones and pebbles on the road, which spells bad news if you're trying to lean into a turn at 125kph (about 80mph) So I rode till the road ended and it turned into dirt which my bike isn't exactly suited to travel on. This was definately rural BC, and I happened upon a beautiful secluded park. Unfortunately it was a little chilly to enjoy it, but as you can see on my pbase pics, the leaves were all turning and it was absolutely stunnung. It's funny because here in Billings the leaves haven't turned yet, so I'll get to see fall happen twice! In any case, I picked up the RV, it was fixed but the labor charges left a hole in my CC, but what is the price for the comfort of knowing your poop and shower water isn't being sprayed all over Canada's highways? Thursday: So, since my RV was pretty much all packed up from being at the RV service place, I decided to hit the road wednesday night after the show with the band leader robbie and his family. We drove about 2 1/2 hours into the BC wilderness thankfully didn't hit any of those mutated horses commonly known as moose (by the way, what is a group of moose called???? if anyone knows, email me...there may be a picture of an elephant in it as a reward ;-) ) And we camped out in this abandoned campground in Tudyah park. Unfortunately there weren't any hookups and my generator was being preissy, BUT what we woke up to the next morning made it all worth the trouble. (once again, check out the pics on the pbase site) So, thursday morning we hit the road around 9AM and arrived in Grande Prairie (that's right, grand with an "e", only in Canada eh? ) around 4PM. It was actually quite a nice situation. I was able to park in the part of the parking lot where there was a little island with tress and a turf of grass. So, for a couple days I had a little oasis outside my house door. After getting settled in, that night the promoters took us out to some of the hopping local night spots, it was fun, but I lost the paper airplane contest at the lion's den pub.....I demand a recount! Friday: Pretty much all work today. We had the compulspory 4:30 sound check, then company meeting, then a 7PM show. Once again opening night was pretty much sold out, which was a nice change from the empty arenas in Edmonton and Calgary. That evening I decided to break the grill out and cook up some of that good german meat I stocked up on at the campground in calgary. It went pretty well, although I needed to get some new charcoal rocks and a wire brush or brillo pad to scrape the carbon off the grate from past grilling expiditions. After I figured out how NOT to burn my food, I actually did have some success with my Bockwurst and Bratwurst. It was a good day. Saturday: It was a loooong day. My chops (for all you non-brass players, that's trumpet lingo for our lips) were on the protest. They pretty much decided not to show up for work that day. I have to say, I think it's the worst they've felt since I started out here. But, I was warned by people who've done this gig for a while that usually your 3rd or 4th week in you hit this kind of "funk" in your playing. So, I tried not to freak out and attempted to take it in stride, but all the same, it's annoying when you can't do your job the way you know you're able to. In any case, it was a long day and I rewarded myself by watched several season 1 episodes of Enterprise. Live long, and pros.........er play circus music Sunday: This was out last day in Grande Prairie, I think everyone was ready to leave after the show. I don't recall seeing any tears at our last playing of "O Canada" (the Canadian national anthem), I think everyone liked the fact of knowing that we were soon going to be back in the land of 24hr walmarts, mph, and money that's mostly paper and only 1 color. So, after hitting up the discount closeout store across the parking lot (I picked up some new items to make my RV a little more like home) I left and begun the 1200 mile journey to Bilings. That night I got into the Flying J in Edmonton and finally read the generator manual and figured out why I wasn't getting any 110 volt power. So I had power for most of the night, it kept turning off on me and blowing fuses (which I later found out was because I was putting too much amp load on it, these are the kind of things they DIDN'T teach you in elementary school) Anyhow, I paid the 5 bucks for the 24 hour internet and the next morning checked all of the important parts cyberspace as I had a good hot breakfast inside the Flying J. I then departed to find a canadian tire so I could get my oil changed and tires balanced. But after finding out that most canadian tires don't service RVs, I decided to head south toward my goal of the Great Falls MT flying J for that night. Well, it was a pretty smooth journey as I passsed through Calgary for the 3rd time! and then made my way down to the border. It was definately a challenge driving acriss the prairies with the strong crosswind, but countersteering was my friend and we played nice, so I arrived at the border safely. The border crossing was surprising smooth, he asked if I had any guns, knives, or illegal first borns....none of which applied to me. He asked where I was headed, and through my bloodshot travel weary eyes I tried as perkily (I know, this word wouldn't fly in scrabble) as possible to tell the kind sir that I was with the circus and on my way ti Billings for our next set of shows. All was well, I got my Canada receipts stamped for the GST tax refund (which will total $90.00 canadian) and he waved me on my way. That evening I made to Great Falls and camped out in the Flying j parking lot, while practicing and watching more Enterprise season 2 episodes. Tuesday: After travelling for a day and a half, I departed for Billings. I was tired to begin with, and the drive from Great Falls to Billings is rather wide open and boring, so I took up an in depth conversation with bobble head Bach (which resulted in some earth shattering revelations about 2 species counterpiont) and read the rules and manual for my newest RV/home purchase, a CB. Did you know that an attenna for a CB can be no higher than 20ft above your broadcast site, and no higher than 60ft total? who knew? Anyhow, reached Billings around 2PM that afternoon and got settled in and practiced a bit, relaxed, and watched more Enterprise episodes. Wednesday: Our show isn't till today, so I slept in and spent the rest of the day wednesday cleaning and organizing my RV. It's amazing how even after a month I feel that I'm still just getting settled in. And you know you're most certifiably an RV nerd when you clap for joy at finding extra storage under your dinette seats. But, storage in such a small is a premium, so it was justifiably good news. That afternoon I found this great little coffee shop where they have decent coffee as well as free high speed wireless internet, so I stopped there, typed for a while then went next door to check out the wine shop. Well, as it turns out, they were having their monthly wine tasting event. I couldn’t pass this up. It was fun, I got to try some regional wines, got advice of where to visit in the Columbia valley when I get to Washington and got to meet some locals. Thursday: well, that brings me to today, we have our opening night tonight, should be fun. From talking to poeple around here, they've at least heard that we're in town, which is usually a good indicator as to whether anyone will show up the to the shows or not. In any case, this place has a good vibe, but we shall see......until next time

A beuatiful last day in Calgary

What a beautiful Sunday is was today. First, to back track, did a two show day yesterday and then one show this afternoon @ 1PM then I'm driving tonight to Lac Louise for the night and driving the rest of the way to Prince George BC tomorrow. Yesterday seemed like such a long day, not sure why, maybe this elevation is starting to wear on everyone. I haven't really felt too much of it except that my lips get dry more often, feels like I need more breath for playing, and it takes longer to boil water and cook food. So, after managing my way through the shows yesterday, I had planned on staying in the city and getting rush tickets to the Alberta Ballet, but not such luck, they were sold out of the rish tix and I couldn't find the theater, so I ended going to hear the Calgary Philharmonic. Now, before you people is Philly laugh, because you know what it's like hear the Philly Orch every week. Calgary wasn't too bad. Last night was the second night in their season opening series. It was a pops concert with Carl Topilow as guest conductor and clarinet soloist along with special guest Canadian idol Theresa Sorkyrka. I have to say, first impression with the hall was mor ethan I expected, it was basically a long and tall rectangular box with acoustic structures on the ceiling, 2 balcaonies, and a stage with velvet bech seating for a choir and an there was also an organ there too, ala Verizon hall in philly. The orchestra itself was rather small, a lot older musicians who have been in the orchestra for most of their careers, but there was a certain "hometown" quality about the way everything was presented and displayed. Granted, the majority of the audience was the white haired folks (which I'm rapidly joining) but the usual three stereotypes of classical concertgoers (i.e. white-haired gentry, guys take their girl out to "impress" her, and the music students) But there seemed to truly be an interest among the younger sector in attendance, granted the Canadian idol was there, but one I've noticed in this Calgary that there is a bigger push AND support for the Arts in general. You can see this just by looking through a paprer, or even driving through the city. So, it was a fun concert, it wasn't intended to be a classical concert, so I didn't listen with those ears, but I did enjoy it, and I got to meet Theresa. Got to talk to her briefly about where she grew up and started music and what's next on her plate. I asked her if she had ever been to the circus, she hadn't but she had to fly back home today. So, I guess she'll just have to check it out if we ever get to Saskatoon. She's a very down to earth person, and her voice reminded a lot of Maia Sharp. I look forward to seeing her career grow over the next couple years. Today was pretty uneventful, such a warm and beautiful day, it made me wish I had time to riding, but it's exciting that I'm getting to go somewherr new AND that I get to drive through the Canadian Rockies tomorrow, I just hope the weather will hold out.........till then

a good day

Well, I'd to say today was a good day. Lots of crazy stuff this week, but pretty much everyhitng worked out today. I've been waiting for these 2 pacakages from my family, one containing some clothes I'd fogotten behind and another with the parts to fix my RV generator. So, both of those arrived through the Criders today thank goodness, I got my bike back form the shop.......a word about that ---- Anyways, back to my list, I was excited, and then I found out that my first direct deposit FINALLY hit my account which means I can stop living off my credit card. So, then I was able to download my insurance cards for my vehicals of travel, and last but not least was blessed with playing a solid show for the all of the Ringling royalty that are in town this week. So, it was a good day, a little rainy, but that's ok, for rain washes away the old, and brings forth the essence of what's there to be seen. Tomorrow, since our evening show is cancelled, I'm aiming to get rush tickets to the Alberta Ballet based here in Calgary, turns out that they're doing Swan Lake. Last time I saw this ballet was by the st. petersberg ballet when I was in Munich, but that time it was to recorded music, which I think takes away half of the excitement of a live performance. So, 2 shows to play tomorrow, then the ballet.......good times, good times

what a day, what a day

What an amazing day yesterday. Since it was going to be the only clear day this week, I, along with my friend justin, decided to to drive our bike up to Banff yesterday. It was a full day of riding, and it was cooooooold (between 36F and 55F) But, it was in one word, amazing. I'm including a pic here of the of the place where we took a rest on the way into the national park. We started out by stopping at one of the local ducati dealerships to set up an appointment for my bike to get its first tune-up. You, see after this week the next time the tour is going to be anywhere near a ducati shop is going to be at least a month. So, after drooling over the shiny new 999's, talking bikes, and reassuring a local maple leaf that he was making the right decision by getting a monster620 dark, we headed off in search for some new cold weather riding gloves. Turns out there are 3 motorcycle shops with in one block there (I'm liking this town more and more ;-) ) and so finally at the 3rd shop, the holy grail, gloves that were insulated, waterproof, the right size, AND I could afford them (although I've been living off of my credit card for the past 2 1/2 weeks anyway, been waiting for my direct deposit to kick in) Not only did we get gloves, but meet some crazy cool people besides. Best way to describe them....they're about as close to circus people as one can be w/out being in the circus, so needless to say, J and I felt at home and hanged for a while. So, we got moving in the direction of the mountains about 12:30 or so, and made the 80 drive to Banff. It was so beatiful, I know I keep saying it, but imagine riding open air on a motorcycle through what is widely know as the best scenery in North America.......it was one of those experiences I never forget. After a gargantuan lunch at Wild Bills in downtown Banff, we took 1A (the scenic route) to Lac Louise (yes, lake is lac in French) By that time it had started getting quite cloudy and was even sprinkling a bit. But, fortunately we didn't hit any animals and managed to make good time. Now, I had been at lac louise when I was younger, when out family tooka month long western US trip in a minivan (that's right, 4 kids, 8000 miles in the back of a minivan. There has to be a reality show in that somewhere) But, this time it just looked bigger. Granted, it is more developed now, there's this big resort pretty much right on the shore. They even tried to make it look rustic. A house on a lake is one thing, but when you put a business, namely a hotel, because that is what it is, on a lake an try to make it look like it fits in the scenery or even augments the scenery, well that's blasphemy to nature in my book. Anyhow, ignoring the monolith of a resort, the lake and mountains were, well, just look the pics on my pbase site. Afterwards, we grabbed a bite to eat at the little mall nearby, and proceeded to make our way on the cold journey home. After wearing my backpack on my back all and freezing because I don't have a leather riding coat yet, stupid me relaized and I said to myself, "self, why don't you wear it on the front to break the wind" Well, I looked like a pregnant moose, but it worked and kept me warmer on the 100 mile trip back to Calgary. It was a good day. Today is opening night here in Calgary. Soon I'll have more pics of the goings on around the show, and just my life out here in general, but right now my full attention needs to be on performing. till next time.....

the RV promiseland

I have wireless internet..........for the next week!!!! So, I'm sitting here, it's monday afternoon, I'm a German mom&pop campground in Calgary, Alberta (still canada, eh? ) I typing from my RV food table, the sun is coming through the window, my laundry is drying (cost a loonie i.e. $2 canadian), there's a slight drizzle, it's cold (high of 50F today), listening to Postal Service, and eating black forest ham w/ butter and mayo on dark rye. Yeah, so it's been a crazy week. I'm still getting my RV to "live in" status. So, I got 2 new tires for the other rear side, put up a few pictures, cleaned some of the stickers off the back, got all the detectors (gas, smoke, and carbon monoxide) working, set up my stereo system, replaced some light bulbs, got new tie downs for the bike. So, I've been pretty busy in my free time doing that kind of stuff. And, I have to say the bike is coming in very handy for getting around and running errands. Although, sadly I haven't been able to do much pleasure riding. So, we finished up the week in Edmonton, cool town, but we had very bad turnouts for the shows, my personal belief is that it just wasn't promoted enough, so no one knew about it. But, the people who did come seemed to really enjoy it. It was officially a week this past friday since I've been playing w/ this company. So, it was about 7 shows in my first week, it's tiring but my lips are gradually coming along. I've been trying to take care of them as much as possible, and for you non-brass-playing types out there, that basically means do good warm-ups and take care of my chops after the show by doing a good warm down. Although,I do have to say the 3 shows every sat are quite a blow, I usually feel it pretty good the next day. So, we finished up our time in edmonton, the weather never really was very nice, pretty much overcast and drizzle the whole time. I think this left everyone in a cranky mood as a whole, but I think another aspect is the fact that everyone knows that all of our bosses are coming up from florida to check this week of shows in calgary. So, we did a 1:30PM show on Sun, and then left around 4:30PM to make the 2 1/2 hour jump to calgary. Well, no more than 10 min down the road and my friend justin is involved in an accident with his big rig (he has one of those 38ft diesel pushers with a trailer on back) Basically, at a right hand turn merge the lady in front of him started to go and then stopped. Well, he had already started to mover, and when those big things move, they can't stop right away. So, it realy messed up his front end and te back of her little focus wagon hatchback, but everyone was ok and insurance will probably cover most of it. While we were getting things sorted got to meet some nice canadian people, according to them, turns out that this rear end thing happens quite a bit in Alberta, so instead the police coming to you, if no one is hurt, you both just drive to the police station and file a report....if you tried that in the states, it would pretty much be a hit and run! So, we got down here to Calgary about 11:30PM last night and were settled in and parked by about 1AM. This place is most certainly the RV promiseland, you see, we're used to being in parking lots of the arenas we play in, and the conveinence is nice, but it's not always the qiuetest place and usually doesn't have many ammenities. But this week we're at a campground on the outskirts of calgary, and there is wireless internet, *laundry* (which I'm WAY overdue on), water and electric of course, sewer dump, a modest petting zoo, a playground for the kiddies, AND it turn out the owner is German (and a trumpet player- more about that in another blog) so they have many internaitonal clients and therefore have a stock fresh german bread and meats delivered 3 times a week. WELL, for someone who is 100% german heritage, and loves to eat, need I say more? Hence, my tasty little lunch I described earlier. I have a feeling that even with all of the stress surrounding everyone right now, it's going to be a good week. plan, tomorrow: ride my motorcycle up into the canadian rockies to Banff, go to the ice fields at Lac Louise, and maybe even have lunch on the top of a mountain.........it's going to be hard to sleep tonight, and don't worry, I'll take lots of pictures for all of you vicarious people out there :-) till next time..........

Hmmmmmmmm......

Yeah, so finding wireless internet that my computer can understand is harder than I thought. Yeah, I know it's been a while since I last typed, but I've been busy adjusting to my new life......my new life that I'm quite delighted with I might add. Right now I'm in Edmonton Alberta, that's in Canada for all of you that are geophysically challenged. I'm sitting in a hip little coffee cafe called Sugar Bowl in a part of Edmonton that is a college/hipster district. It reminds me a lot of philly, kind of a cross between south street and rittenhouse square, if that is possible. Anyhow, I'm going to work backwards, since my memory is best of recent events....so here I am sitting here, sipping my coffee, just had some wonderful goat cheese/corn/peppers/salsa thing w/pita chips, the lights are dim, there local college and city foot traffic walking purposefully down the street amodst the crisp September canada air. The waitress looks early 30's, is friendly, has a nose and tongue piercing, and is a little slow w/ the food and coffee, but she seems happy. And of course......I'm the only one in here w/ an american accent :-) So, I got up here from great falls last night, it was a long day. After crossing the border on Sun we camped out at the first RV stop we could find, not too bad. I was travelling w/ two guys (the drummer and one of the clowns) who were nice enough and very patient to take me under their wing on my first jump between cities. So we got going yesterday aboot ( <---- ;-) ) 11AM and had about 5 hours of driving to do. So, all was smooth until about 15 kilometers outside of Calgary I had a blow in my right rear outside tire. It was quite an interesting experience when you're doing 75mph down a hill and your steel belted radial explodes. So, justin and tom swung back around and helped me get the spare on, and they continued on while tried to find a place that would replace both tires (since the one tire took out the other one also) on a holiday. So I drove the 7k into the town of Okotoke (which I found out from the girl at the Quiznos sub place, means "big rock" in blackfoot...who knew????) and Mark and the Canadian Tire hooked me up, he originally wasn't going to do it, but I told him my situation and that I needed to be up in edmonton that night, so he graciously agreed to do it (otherwisde I would have had to spend the night and get it fixed when they oped at 8AM the next morning) So I got on the road with my 2 new tires on made it to edmonton about 9PM. Pretty much everyone from the whole company was there, waiting in the parking lot, waiting because there was a pearl jam concert going on in the arena and we could park our little city of RVs until the concert let out and the parking lots were empty. After everything was said and done, the was 3:30AM until we were alll parked and hooked up to the electric, I have to say, there were some frustrated poeple due to the fact that it didn't go so smoothly, but as they say, welcome to the world of the circus (that's a line form the show) So we're here now, but the rehearsal scheduled for tonight was cancelled, I think due to the fact that they're having trouble getting the animals into the country. Anyhow, we have a show tomorrow, thurs, and fri., 3 sat, and one more sun. Then we're off to calgary. So, backtracking, after after 5 days of driving and 2300 miles I arrived in grand falls montana, and interesting small city. Definitely reminded a lot of the midwest and small town america, the people in general seemed friendly and helpful w/out pretense. Anyhow, I got into town, and the next day right away I had a rehearsal and then my first show. I have to say, that first moment of the openening was quite overwhelming. With the lights, haveing a sound monitor (w/ metronome, and all the other intruments and voices) in my ear, performing walking through our stage area, and my bell mike, and the music. It was quite an experiece. That first night I was there Sapo (the contortionist) was having a birthday party for his daughter, my first impression was how everyone responded to eachother, even though it was a little girls birthday party, most of the people from the show were there...of course we all live there, but there was a sense of a family of sorts, not in the sense of a blood relative, but that kind of familiar conraderie that arises out of a shared experience. A sense, that were are what we are, and we live this life and do what we do for a job, but we're all people and are in this together. I look around me and thought how many work places have this kind of connection, this sense of togehterness. Anyhow, we had a 3 show day sat., and then one more on sun. Each show was getting better for me, I'm a perfectionist, so of course I was frustrated w/ what I saw as unneccisary (sp?) on my part. Any how, I made it through my first week, and my lips are tired, but surviving. I have to firgure out how to maintain myself, and do my job without hurting myself. Oh, yeah and I found out from a doctor that the pain Ive been having is an impacted wisdom tooth, but I have to wait to get it fixed until 1) I get back in the US 2) my union benefits kick in and 3) I have enough time in my schedule for the procedure and recovery (which might not be till Dec.) Anyhow, life is still good and I continue to pray........

the next step.......

So, after dropping some things off in PA on Sun, I left for the great west. On sun. I travelled to my grandparents place near Massilon Ohio, wasn't a bad drive, and I didn't get lost, it was my first real "outting" with my whole rig set up. Wasn't too bad except that I finally realized how much gas this thing really takes. So, mon. I got an early start and decided that I could make my aunt and uncle's place before it got too late, well......I set a persinal driving record for myself, I travelled for 13 hours, and 12 of those were driving. I went from dalton OH to Ames IA, not bad for one day, but I did end up a little dehydrated and exhausted, especially from all of the stupid construction traffic around chicago, it was stop and go for almost an hour....ugh So, this morning I figured I'd sleep a bit and then practice some, and then go for a spin on my bike (from here on out, when I refer to bike, I'm not not talking abojut the bicycle variety folks, but my motorcycle of course :-) ) I also notice an enormous Barilla factory on my way in the previous evening, and for those of you non cookers out there, Barilla is only the #1 selling pasta maker in the world, AND it's my dream someday to attend their culinary institute at their home factory in Italy. Anyhow, after play the harn a bit, I sadly found out thwt they don't give tours of this facility, even though it is the only one of theirs in America. So, I went for a spin around town on my bike, and believew it or not, Ames IA has 25000 population and 25000 college students, makes for an interesting mix in traffic. So, I went to visit my uncle where he is pricipal at a christian school aftrtwhich he and my cousin Cj went out for lunch at the Hickory Park Co restaurant http://www.hickorypark-bbq.com/contact.html , I had the smoked pork sandwhich and HIGHLY recommend it. That and some mashed tators w/ gravy will set you right. Them went back, packed up the bike, and went on my way. The bike thing is getting easier, packing and unpacking that is. I've the dismantling part down to 10 mins now, but the put it on the stand, tieing it down, and securing the cover still take s a bit. Anyhow I went from Ames IA to Mitchell SD today, only a mere 7 hours, but tomorrow I think I going to have to know out begtween 7 -10 so that I'll be assured to hit great falls sometime early afternoon thurs, even with all of the mountains on the way, The drive was pretty easy, once I got on the other side of Chicago, things are pretty much straight, some hills, and 75mph speed limits. Gas is starting to add up, it's been around $135 a tank of 50 gals, and at about 8 miles per gal and 1500 miles..........well you can do the math, someone in the middle east is getting rich off of me. It's was a beautiful day to drive, I've been blessed with agreeable weather and beautiful sunsets, soon I will get all these picks on my website. Coule things I noticed about the midwest, it is all pretty much cornfields and cattle, the people aren't in a hurry to get wher they're going, they'll help you at the drop of a hat(and if you drop your hat). and they don't think anything of driving 2 1/2 hours to see their child play in a hogh school football game. So, tonight I;m camped out at the Super WalMart in Mitchell, SD, which as it just so happens is the home of the only corn palace in the world. So, I think that will be on the agenda tomorrow, and I'll be passing rushmore and the badlands as well, I think I may have to take a minor detour through there too, and of course, Wall Drug....you can't drive through SD with out at least stopping there. But, I have to say, as much as everyone busts on WalMart the supercorporation, it is a welcome sight, especially after driving all day and knowing that you can park there and that they're open 24 hours, so when you get that hankerin' for a 3AM twinkie, you're golden. Ok, I need to play the horn some more then sleeeeeeeeeep. This definantly feels like the beginning of a journey, with it's ups and downs, I think now I may have a small insight into how Aeneas or Odysseus felt.....do jutro, dobra noc

Ringling Bros. here I come

A year ago I had no idea what I'd be doing this time of year this year, and I'm delighted to find myself going on the road with the greatest show on earth. I was thinking just the other day how I felt I was being taught to be mobile, if you can call living 6 different placesin 5 years mobile. And now, I'm totally mobile. The thought of seeing this wonderful country of ours, and getting to play my horn while doing it, is just plain exciting. Over the past weeks I've been preparing the music, listening to the show, and I'm ready to, as they say, "get the show on the road" This is a big step, but a big one in the right direction, more importantly I'm doing what I'm called to do, and where ever that is is where I'll be happiest. till next time.....

Busch Gardens here I come.........

So, I am officially owned by Busch Gardens for about 2 1/2 months this summer, not bad, considering that I'm going to get to play my horn this summer, and get paid for it. So, after signing a copious amount of informational papers, basically signing my life away, I got to take everyone's favorite part of the Busch experience...the drug test. lol, there's nothing like when you're sitting there for your test while the girl next to you is finishing her's up by initialing her urine samples. It's a slightly awkward situation when two normal people are sitting there looking at their urine...I know I said shared experiences form a common bond, but? definately making it memorable :-) So, I have rehire orientation the 24th and the first rehearsal on the 3rd of june. It'll be nice to be happy again, to be able to be creative again, to be able to have free time and time to enjoy where I live and the important people and things around me. This all seems such a blessing right now, I suppose the past 10 months has made me appreciate this all the more.

filling in the lines (part 2)

What a busy week, I FINALLY get to finish this........ok, so the I was travelling back to Zgierz, we got back pretty late, about 10:30PM. The next morning I caught a train very very early in the morning. It was a beautiful ride out from the station. My cabin was facing east, so I got to think, reflect, and watch the sunrise over the horizon as I began my journey back to Berlin. It was amazing to think that so many crazy memorable experiences could be packed into 3 1/2 days, but I would take the trip again if I had the choice in the same situation. One thing that sticks in my mind is the ride from Zgierz to Kutno, besides the beautiful sunrise, the only other person to get on at Zgierz shared the cabin with me, we greeted eachother and said nothing until we politely bid eachother farewell. She was a middle age woman, not too wealthy, but reserved, contemplative, and at times officious, and yet, there was an unspoken shared experience of travelling, heading away from the familiar to the new, both having our silent ideas about the people and lanscape flying by our window to the world. There is a special bond in a shared experience.....So that afternoon I arrived back at home base in Zoologischer garten station, threw my stuff in a locker, checked my email, ate my special lunch, checked out the old bombed out church, watched a street break dancing performance and then went to meet jen at the hakeschermarkt starbucks. Turns out that starbucks is MORE expensive in europe and the sizes are smaller. I guess that's America's only way to get back at the high euro. So, jenn gave me a whirlwind tour of berlin, we got apfel streudel at the Einstein Cafe (best streudel I've ever had by the way)then went to the Gedamnmarkt square where most of the main concert halls are, the shopped Laffeyette and got some awesome chocolate (the most expensive I've ever bought), saw check point charlie, caught up on old times, and finally had an awesome moraccan dinner (and it was cheap too!) It was nice to end the trip with one more familiar face. That night I got my stuff from the train station locker and then found a hostel there by the station. I had seen avertisements, and well, it lived up to what I had feared, it was clean enough I suppose, but when you have to share the room with 5 other guys whose personal hygienne isn't high on their priority list...well you get the scent. Then, to top it all off, the next morning, affter a pleasant taxi ride, I realized that I had read the wrong time to catch my flight out of berlin, and ended up missing it. Well, this worried me a bit since I had already taken 2 personal days and didn't want to have to take another one because I missed my flight! So, they put me one the next flight to london, and then once I got to london, they got it straightend out for me. Thank goodness for airline helper desk ladies who smile and blush at a cute teacher in need of help. lol So, I ended up being rerouted london to chicago, then chicago to norfolk. It all worked out, but what a loooooooooong day of travelling. Although it did give plenty of time to reflect on the trip. And as I think back even now, it was all worth, and it fact I needed it in many ways, some of which I'm still realizing. At that's how my trips usually are, experience and memory-filled, most of which I never in my wildest dreams could have anticipated. Perhaps that is part of the romance of travel. Ans as I look back on this whole trip, I can't help but look forward to the next one.