Done!

And the grand totals...

10,000 miles traveled
19 states
8 states I had never been to before
150 hours in the van/truck
70 nights in hotels
51 shows
142 gunshots
102 awkward clinches with Anna
0 uses of the fog machine that we lugged around everywhere
10 company meetings
2 new cast members
12 "harp" strings
and a partridge in a pear tree....

Merry Christmas!

One More Show!

And so we enter the final day of Chamber Theatre here in Boston! Today's show went well, although we ended up having to load out after the show...so we'll have a full load-in tomorrow morning again. Argh. Otherwise, things are winding down nicely...three straight nights in the Holiday Inn, a lovely package from Janelle, a meeting tonight discussing the logistics for tomorrow, a lunch with our director Scott today, a lobster dinner tonight. Tomorrow we do the final show, and are pretty much done with everything. We're contracted through noon Saturday, but we should be done tomorrow night. Then I catch an Amtrak train to Philly and then to Harrisburg. Hurrah!

Concord, NH

First time in New Hampshire, as far as I know. Not much to say...go Eagles...only two more drive days left, since we have two shows in Boston to end the tour. Woohoo!

Last Weekend

Weekend in New London, CT. A lovely Best Western after our Quality Inn was in the middle of nowhere. Pictures included here are the scary British Petroleum man from Purchase, NY; the Edgar Allan Poe statue from Baltimore, MD; and a plaque from the USS Simon Lake at the submarine museum here in New London. Simon Lake was my great great great uncle, and an inventor of one of the first submarines.

Saw Casino Royale yesterday and was very impressed.

Tomorrow we head to New Hampshire after our show here!

Currently watching the Eagles game against the Giants. So far, so good...

6 more shows...

Nearing the end of what has become a very long week. The attached picture pretty much sums up the Monday morning experience. Heh heh. Major psychological impact knowing the end is so close, and yet so far. We are, however, over the hump and things have started to speed up. We had our last of three shows in Irivine Auditorium at Penn today. Great crew, although really tough to fit the truck in, owing mainly to the vast assortment of deliveries that were coming in and out of the adjacent loading dock.

From here on out, we stay fairly far north. Next week we venture to our highest latitude, in Concord, NH. It isn't quite as far north as one would imagine, however; it's just about even with Milwaukee. So whoop-dee-doo! Also the truck got fantastically lost today...the van arrived a little after 4pm, and the truck finally rolled in at 7:30. Ouch. Luckily, I was in the van...such an adventure does not sound appealing.

In one week, it will be the eve of our last show! We won't have to load the set out of the Boston space between our Thursday and Friday shows, so it'll be a nice and easy end to the tour.

Looking forward to Christmas Eve/Day with the family in PA, and then heading out to Chicago and finally seeing Janelle again!! It will also be nice to not ride in a van for hours every day, have my own room , have a fuzzy kitten running around, and having a fridge full of delicious food. Won't exactly miss the heavy lifting, either. Kind of puts a negative light on the tour, but we'll put a positive spin on it later.

Alpaca Adventures

On our trip from Milford to Baltimore, we took a turn for the rustic and visited Anna's alpacas on their farm in New Jersey. Alpacas are like camels and llamas...but way cooler. They're extremely soft, are fascinated by cats, and make little meeping noises that sounds like a printer that has a paper jam. What could be better??

In other news, I bought a new toothbrush and toothbrush cover. We also went candlepin bowling last night. For an explanation, see previous entry "Tourist Day in Boston."

Only 10 shows left, and only 943 more miles to travel, give or take a few. Get ready for the best fortnight of your life!

Hot and Spicy

Comatose and bloated in my bed after a gluttonous feast at Buffalo Wild Wings with the gang. We're once again stuck in Milford, CT in the same hotel next to the same Bennigans. It was time for a change of scenery.

Thus, the wingfest...waaaaaaay too hot, waaaaaaay too many, and waaaaaaaaay too expensive, but we did it. Argh.

After my lips stopped burning violently, I went into some sort of wing hangover and felt dizzy. But it was well worth it. Non-winglovers might be confused and think that I did not enjoy my night, but the truth is in fact the opposite. I am reveling in the glory that was buffalo wings. I'll look back on this feeling with fondness tomorrow, when I will be spending every available minute on the toilet.

In other news, we only have 10 shows left! Thereafter, I shall return to PA, then to WI, and then to IL to stay.

We have embarked upon Secret Santa on the tour, as well. I know not who mine is, but he/she has already graced me with a Starbucks gift card and some candycane-flavored PopRocks. Excellent.