journal 05

July 31st - After playing some songs at the Campbell Farmers' Market, getting lost, playing drums with Marisma, eating some Taco Bravo and missing my exit, I finally got on the road to Santa Barbara. I sat in way too much traffic and drank almost my entire supply of water. A detour took me through Castroville, the artichoke capital of the world, where nothing was written in English, only Spanish. I rolled through there at a whopping 12mph until finally getting back on a decent stretch of 101. I once again got lost on my way into Santa Barbara as I tried to find my Aunt's house, a place I have never been. I finally figure it all out and crawled up into the comfort of the couch and some particularly bad mtv. Ah, the joys of traveling. These events are boring and sub par for a trip account but darn it, you are going to have to deal with it. Alright. Until tomorrow my frengs...	the PT Cruiser touring edition...how fitting
August 1st - I woke to an empty house and showered up a bit before heading off to the local Starbuck's. I know what you are saying, corporate-loving-bastard but please know that my friend Gina gave me a gift card and so she has been buying breakfast for me, not to mention allowing me to work on the website for hours to get you good folk these updates. Cheers Gina! I did just that and I got lost in a slight site redesign in the spirit of Matt's constantly changing and beautiful PG site. After slaving over the computer for a few hours, I rolled into the family pizzeria Paesano's. I snacked on the world famous Italian Sub, folded pizza boxes and chatted it up with my Aunt. I heard many a good family story and met plenty of the locals. After lounging around for too long I went back to the house and hung out with my cousin and her daughter. We played ball, drew pictures of a shark and my sister (not together of course) and put together a puzzle of immense difficulty; 25 pieces. We watched A Fish Called Wanda and ate chicken salad before I retired to the couch once more for bed and bad mtv. A pattern seems to be forming but I am sure to break it because tomorrow I head off to LA and San Diego for some more Rand R before heading East. Hasta manana...
August 2nd- Another early rise but this time the house was full; my aunt and a munchkin. We ate a little breakfast, drank coffee and I heard even more of the family stories. My aunt gave me the photo tour of the house and I got to see all the cousins that I have still yet to meet. We looked at some photos of their recent trip to Hawaii and I showed them my photos from Italy. My little cousin played my guitar a bit before it was time for them to go to the park and for me to get going. Instead of heading straight out of town, I did a bit more website stuff and then went back to the pizza parlor for one last good meal. After the gluttony came work. I went to the bank and saw a blind man endorse a check (I am still thinking about that one) and headed off to Kinko's to make some fliers. Fliers done and honesty preserved (I paid when they had no clue I was there...darn Catholic upbringing) I headed out onto the traffic filled 101. The traffic gave me enough dead time that I finally got my ipod to sync up with the radio and I was jamming to the hits. I made my way to Fullerton to meet up with a publisher friend for dinner. I hung out with him and his roommate. They make a hilarious pair as we didn't stop laughing the whole way through dinner. We were able to engage our waiter in discussion of the books my friend authored and the waiter told us all about his Christian faith and his mission to convert everyone. We had him so engulfed that when finally finished, the waiter lost the credit card. He found it but it was outside near his car (that's another story altogether). We went back to the pad and they taught me how to play Texas Hold Em and I cleaned house. Beginner's luck; possibly. Math pays! (Matt, did you say you needed another player for poker?...ha ha) I decided to not make the drive to San Diego so I laid down to sleep on the floor and found out that I had left my pillow in San Diego. So sad, so sad. Hopefully tomorrow I will not forget anything as I have already put myself in the whole. Too bad we weren't playing for real money.
August 3rd - I woke again to free breakfast at the Buckle but this time it was not so good. I was eating and working when I decided it would be a great idea and pour my coffee all over my computer. So I did. Funny thing about liquids and computers, they don't work well with each other. Now I have proof for my little friends who will not keep their drinks away from the laptops. Once I realized that this was not a good idea. I spent the rest of the day trying to get things fixed. No luck, no one was helpful. Defeated, I finally got down to Ocean Beach in San Diego and found my friend's house. We chatted it up a bit, played some Paperboy. Ya, that is right, I said it. Paperboy! She has an actual arcade game in her house. Her boyfriend got it for her and so we played. I still suck. We then walked down to the beach. It is a real beach with water and nothing dead next to it, strange. ;) We walked up the farmers market, grabbed some tacos and talked some smack. I felt as though I never left Haight St. All the same stuff, just more of it. After a little walk we went back, chatted some more and then went up the street to play some pool. My skills are slipping but I still won one out of two. We went back and I curled up on the 4ft couch to watch some tv. It is now time for nighty-night but tomorrow is a big day with plenty of driving ahead. Can I make it to Utah?
August 4th - My friend had to leave for work at 5am so I got and left a bit earlier than I had originally intended but I was wide awake and wanted to get a jump start. I was trying to find this coffee shop that she was telling me about but I could not so I went to 7-11. I danced between the spaced-out patrons and the super awake cashier to get some directions, a cup of joe and some circular-heart-attacks. I got on to 8-east and began my voyage. Well, I was enjoying my breakfast and the sounds of my ipod so much that by the time I realized where I was I was heading for Arizona and not Nevada. Some handy map work and I got back on course. Turns out I missed the Mojave desert, darn, and instead drove around it through Arizona on up through Nevada. Along the way I saw Lake Havasu and all the greatness of having a lake in the middle of a bunch of mountains. Beautimus! I made it into Las Vegas and I just had to find Ed Roman Guitars. It is supposedly the largest store ever and boy is it ever. This place was heaven. It was freakin HUGE! There were so many guitars that I could not even look at them all. I just walked around and admired the selection and the prices. Wow, something cheap in Vegas. I am glad I have no money because I would have for sure bought something. I got out of there quick before I did something crazy like frolicking in the acoustics or something else more crazy. After pulling out myself out of there I cruised on and I went to Zion! I was expecting heaven to be so much more than a strip mall. I did some shopping and picked up a pair of shoes for $15. What a steal, huh? After I had done my shopping there and in Red Cliffs I got back on the freeway and started to try to find a place to stay for the night. At one point, I pulled into a valley on the highway and in every direction there were enormous mountains. This is one of the few times I wish I had a passenger to take some pictures. Awesome! I finally pulled into Cedar City and found the trusty Motel 6 to be completely booked. I settled for Super 8 and plopped down to relax. Looking through the hotel guides I saw there was an cope mic in town and so I booked it out of there to see if I could play. No dice. The place was elusive and with the time change, I was already too late. I saw the last song of this guy doing his best Dave Mathews/Goh impersonation. After he finished, I went around the corner to The Grind and saw a high school punk band that wasn't too bad but I only caught the last song. Nobody parties later than 9pm in Cedar City, so sad. It was a classic scene where all the kids were dancing funny and laughing at each other. Wait, that sounds like a party I just went to...ha ha. I bought a cd and grabbed some coffee before heading out to find some dinner. I went into the cafe next to my motel and of course the wait-staff is beautiful but the food is sub par Why can't they get it right, like Luella (shameless plug). After dinner I got sick wit it in organizing my bags and rewrote some parts of songs to make me happier with them. Let us see if anyone notices the differences at the next SF show. Hmmm. Well I am finally off to bed after 12 hours of driving and some shopping/eating. I would say it was a full day. The adventure continues tomorrow as I see the rest of Utah and try to find another Kinko's to give you these STELLAR updates. Until then.	montanas
August 5th- I woke up at the butt-crack of dawn again and loaded the car before turning in my room key and taking in the free breakfast. Fresh coffee, bagels and Hostess, is that breakfast. I grubbed down on the bagel and coffee because it was the only thing not a donut. It was a nice treat considering the lack of breakfast food items available on this trip. I went to get some gas and I bought a coffee mug. Not just any coffee mug, a fat non-slip coffee mug. The bottom is covered in a mat like substance and so it sticks to the dash of the car without moving. Plus, regardless of which truckstop you go into, they will give you a discount for bringing your own cup. Awesome! So the morning was a success and by 7:30 I was on the road. I headed towards Salt Lake City and so was everyone else. This was the first real bit of traffic I have had to deal with so I can't complain. I finally get into Salt Lake and headed downtown and found the Kinkos right away. I spent almost two hours there working on this silly stuff but also a lot of promo I had still to do for the New York show and some stuff coming up at home. The staff was very helpful and so I give them the "Kinkos of the Week Award." Good job guys, you are fantabulous! Having several packages now to mail I roamed down the street and found the post office. Took care of that using all the stamps I had left over from last year's alumni postcards. Feeling proud and accomplished I hi-fived myself and decided to treat myself to a good lunch. Of course, there was a Japanese restaurant right across the street from the Post Office, duh. I didn't have to move the car at all, it was all within walking distance. I went inside and the place was beautiful despite its run down front. Everything about this place was beautiful. The food was good too. ;) Seriously, if you ever get into Salt Lake head to Ginza on the corner of 200S and 200W, you won't be let down. It's no San Francisco quality but it is damn close. Japanese Mormons? They were legit too. It's not like going to Japantown and hearing Korean spoken, they were cracking jokes back and forth in Japanese (probably making fun of the fat white guy eating by himself). One of the girls looked more like white bread than white rice but she spoke perfectly. Crazy. I felt a little odd because at one point I was the only person in there and they were just watching me eat. They were more attentive than most restaurants. I guess that is because I had three people waiting on me. Finally someone came in and saved me from the agony but not before a man came in and took away all their used oil in a large barrel, full. That's a whole nother story. After the meal I waddled back to the car and headed out once more. My last observations of Salt Lake; 1) This was a business day but nobody was roaming the streets...they were all working. Weird! 2) In the few blocks I walked in the financial district I passed three night clubs and a cafe run by Italian Italians. Some serious stereotypes broken in that little stretch. Aside from Vegas, I can count the number of night clubs I have seen, during this voyage, on one hand and three were in Salt Lake in the financial district. Woooooooh! Crazy, I know. 3) Why can't anyone in Utah put up a decent curb. It is as if they all drive trucks and don't need to have level curbs. They leave all the lowly car people to scrape metal. I wonder if the car has a bottom surface or exhaust pipe anymore after all the driveways I have had to pull in and out of. 4) There are enormous buildings all over Salt Lake and the rest of Utah, dedicated to the development of professional basketball players. This is not just college kids trying to make it pro but training centers for kids through adults. I so wanted to go in and see what was up but the thought of breaking my ankles instead of theirs kept me out of the building. There were two within a couple miles of each other. Crazy! I didn't realize Utah had its own farm system other than polygamy. (ouch!) With all that said, the rest of the day was just driving until I reached Evanston, Wyoming. Why are there no rest stops in Utah? Nature was calling but I had to turn off the phone yo, I couldn't go. Not good. Thank heavens for the ridiculous proximity of gas stations on I80. I checked in and to my elation, I got a room with a ho tub. I think, other than the obligatory trip to Subway and the inevitable falling asleep on the kingsize bed ...tangent: (I finally get a big bed that I can fit on and I still curl up into a ball only using a tiny portion of the bed because I am not used to it) resume text: I spent the entire time in the hot tub. After a good bit of driving (only 8 hours today) it was nice to recoup the legs. Awesome! Now that is a day's worth, my friends. Made extra juicy for those who have been reading diligently only to realize that my life is boring and yet you are still drawn to read. I thank you noble plebes and bid you adieu!
August 6th- Well, it's no surprise that I woke early and spent a solid 20 minutes in the hot tub before finally admitting that I could live in hot water forever. SO sad. With the unusual out of the way, the routine set in and I got my free coffee and tried to find something to eat. This Motel 6 didn't have any food so I went to get some at the local gas station. It's no Village Grill but on the road, these place are golden. Unfortunately, they only had Krispy Kremes. I know most of you are saying to yourself it must be heaven but if you have ever tried to do something important after eating a Krispy Kremes you know you can't. I think it is the third or fourth coat of glaze, I'm not sure, that causes my knees to give out and my glands to convulse. Are you seeing it now? Now try eating two or three so there is enough food in your belly to focus. Not easy my friend I couldn't do it. I got through one and then had to take a break from eating for like four hours. I almost didn't recover. So coffee and one sugar rocket was my breakfast. I finished both and pulled into another truckstop to refill on coffee. Another thing I love...they gave me the coffee free because they think I am a driver. At certain times every truckstop gives you free coffee because if you stopped at their place they know you must be traveling far. I love that. The places that do charge you only charge like 75 cents to fill up a gargantuan mug. Freaking Great Laddy! After the second cup of coffee I was awake for sure. I might have switched the gas with coffee because I was enfuego. There was no traffic and lyrics were pouring out of my head. Thankfully I always have a device of sort to catch thoughts because I otherwise the gems would be lost forever just like World's Fair. (talk to your local SF historian for that reference...Juliet, Keeley, anyone?) I finally put the final pieces of some of the songadamonths together and got down the majority of the material for a concept ep I wanted to do Super productive! That kept me busy until I got into Kimble, Nebraska, five hours later. Lunch time, guess where: Subway, how did you know. Hey, its less evil than most of the stuff on the road so leave me an Jared alone. (anyone see his latest commercial? He needs to stick to the straight sales pitch and drop the comedy. It sucks.) Kimble is a small town out of a story book. There is one intersection and everybody know everybody. This Subway was super typical of that feeling. Mom is making the sandwiches. Dad is building a separate section so they can add ice cream to their menu. Their daughter is working the register and sweeping. The other daughters come in to eat lunch. The son is getting off his lunch break and getting ready to resume work. Mrs. Wilson's usual is ready but she is nowhere to be seen.She is 5 minutes late. Another woman come is and comments on how well of a job the dad is doing on the remodel. The available periodical is an indepth look at the coming fall sports seasons for all the high schools in the county. Interviews, pictures, predictions and stats on every team and star. This place oozes community. I could have stayed their all day and looked at the interaction under microscope. Ah, the interesting nature of humans. I still hold steadfast that I now seen many place and they all lose out to San Francisco but places like these make me feel just as comfortable. Everyone that I came into contact with within that hour I was in town was nice and sincerely so. Points for Kimble. Also very cool; they had a map up with tacks in it from all the people from all over the world who had stopped in for a sandwich. There were tacks everywhere except San Francisco. Somebody had moved them; there were holes there. They also had a guestbook. Interesting, yes. After slamming a veggie delite, I headed on the road and found my way to North Platte, Nebraska. I didn't venture too far and stayed in the travelers section of the city. I imagine it was fairly small as well. I got my room situated and went for a bit of a swim. The funny thing is that the hotel is right off the freeway and so I am standing there in my trunks as people roll by with their families 20 feet from me. Very weird. I played vegetable, after playing some music, and watched tv until I fell asleep. I'd have to say it was a good day. I didn't even have to use my A-K. ;) The party continue tomorrow yo.	my view for most of the trip...some say boring, I say peaceful...ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
August 7th- Today was a serious peach. A real fuzzy one. I have had some off moments on this trip but today holds the prize for strange occurrences. I hope my retelling will do them justice and you will see their oddness and confirm my sanity. Once again, I loaded up the car but there was no coffee to be had here. I started my journey without breakfast and intended to find sanctuary in one of the usual truckstops. By now you know I am a fan but they were not working for me this time. I stopped at 3 truckstops before taking care of four needs: gas, coffee, breakfast, and bathroom. It took me that long because at each place I stopped, I was only able to take care of one of those needs once gas was taken care of. Coffee was the easy one, the restroom a little easier but I gave in and eventually got donuts because I couldn't find anything else. I think that I may never eat donuts again after this trip as I may never have coca-cola again after Italy. Seriously, they need to step it up a bit. I look forward to the breakfast sandwiched in Philly and the bagels in New York, both from stands you can find on any corner. Finally, the needs are met and I hit the road. The road becomes the next thing working against me. Throughout the day I am driving and staying with traffic but due to construction the speed limit changes every 5 miles or so. Very annoying. We kept moving but there was so much dancing going on between the cars. It wasn't like a beautiful tango either, it was more like a mosh pit without the contact. It was close though. Most of the time I am one with the truckers because by now I have learned the way. It seemed that today , the trucks were empty and going 80 and they seemed not to mind who they cut off and when. On the otherside there were numerous vans and cars with trailers that decided they wanted to drive 25 mph below the limit instead of their usual 10mph below. I did not feel one with these drivers. At anytime you expect crazy trucks and slow drivers but not to the severity in which I experienced today. By my description you would think I had a bad day but quite on the contrary. Once I realized that I need my chi more than ever to combat the daily drivers, I was able to summon it and salvaged the rest of the driving. I did stop off in Omaha, in the old part of town. I didn't realize how big Omaha is. HUGE-ED! It always sound so small in references. Anyhoot, I stopped into a deli called Little King for a sandwich. This guy was like the Soup Nazi with a sense of humor. I walk i and I am trying to figure out the menu on the wall because it is intense. It has categories and subcategories and things were written in different sections for others. Needless to say, I ordered wrong. First the bread, then what everything was defined as and finally my drink. He almost didn't serve me my drink because I had "been bad." After that ordeal was done, I got to eat it and it was worth it. Check that place out if you are ever in West Omaha. I went for a little stroll and was met by a spoken word poet that was working a corner. He challenged my ear for art and so I indulged him as he dropped one of his pieces on me. Very smooth and to the point. His point: Educating "gangstas" is a job that needs to be done in order to stop the breeding of ignorance. A product of the ghetto himself, he wanted to make sure that the hard life should not be glamorized and they should use their influence to breed integrity and hard work. Obviously, he put it so much better and he probably would not condone my summary. We chatted it up a bit and he mentioned he was coming to SF to perform. I then mentioned my trip and we discussed the nature of our ventures and the difference in the attitudes towards art in both places. It was a good chat and I hope I will see him performing in SF one day. The corners in North Beach are well stocked with talent but I think there might be a new face soon. In any case, it was a connection and I felt inspired upon leaving. Feeling good, I headed out of town and stopped at a Target and tried to remedy the losses suffered earlier in the week. I replaced my lost pillow and figured a way to still use my computer despite its newly acquired deficiencies. I picked up a belt, which I forgot to bring and a present for a puzzling friend (he he ). Having scored the goods I rolled into Iowa; the land of free wireless internet at every rest stop. It wasn't long until I reached Des Moines, where I decided to pull over early and get some extra sleep. I got settled in and was almost in full nap form before the most disturbing event of the day happened. There was a knock at the door and I hurried to get dressed while thinking, "I don't know anybody here, what's up?" I open the door and its the sheriff wanting to talk to me outside about my vehicle. Unsuspecting anything my heart still had stopped beating. The sheriff then proceeded to ask me questions and search my car for drugs. They thought that I might be smuggling drugs into Iowa. Of all the candidates, I am the most innocent person on earth when it comes to drugs and alcohol. Even though I know there is nothing I am still shaking in my boots because he is talking about jail and pulling out dogs and things. So I let them do their thing and the whole time I am praying that the previous renter of car didn't hide anything that is going to get arrested. Of course, they find nothing and thank me for my time while I try to regain breathing. C'mon, are you kidding me. What is going on here? I couldn't believe it. So now I have finished my drive-thru meal and my stories to you so I wish you goodnight and ask that you pray for me or tip yo 40 fo yo homey, so that I have a better day tomorrow. This is supposed to be a vacation/mini-tour not trash tv. Sleep well. I'm sleeping in tomorrow, you should too. P. S. Don't expect to find paragraphs in this. It's called blobbing for a reason. duh! ;)
August 8th- Today I tried to sleep in but it seems that the other rooms had cleared out already and the maids were having a convention in the hallway. I guess they didn't notice the only door closed in the whole hallway and the neon sign that said "Shut it." So much for subtlety.. After finally getting out of bed and clean and all that, I went and got my coffee for a whopping 52 cents and ate some stale donuts that were in the car. I jumped on the freeway and headed out towards Chicago, my destination for music. I drove for about an hour until I hit stand still traffic. Nobody was moving. Crazy! I sat in that for about an hour and only moved 1 mile before it cleared. Apparently a truck with trailer caught fire and was blazing all over the freeway. They had to clear it, wussies. Like a burning truck could slow me down. So not true. ;) Once it cleared things picked up again for an hour before road signs were posted warning not to cross the Mississippi River because there would be delays. Trying to do the right thing this time after missing the previous signs, I took the detour and pulled into Davenport to call it a day. I wasn't looking forward to sitting in more traffic but I did want to get back to playing music. I found the trusty Motel 6 and got a room for the best price so far, $40.16. Awesome. The room was on the first floor so I could drive right up and unload with ease. I did just that and then set off to find lunch. I lucked out with the room but not with food. This area is dudsville. There is nothing to eat here in Southpark. Yes, it is Southpark but there aren't any foul mouthed fat kids eating pot pies (just to set the record straight). I went into the food court at the mall and found pizza and burgers and things. I went for pizza, thinking it would be cheaper but I was wrong. I ate and hurried back to start playing music. I got back and went to town working on some of the new stuff. Before i realized how long I had been playing it was 10pm. After spending 5 hours playing music, I needed to get dinner before everything closed. I set out to try and find anything that wasn't a taco shop, a McD's or a Denny's but after a half hour I gave up and went to Denny's. Pure defeat. All the other places were closed, one of the afore mentioned no-no's or nonexistent such as the elusive Subway that should have been attached to the mall. I go in and sit in the non-smoking section of course. The hostess seats me right behind the only other people in the place. I stare at the menu for the longest time because, seriously, is there anything good at Denny's. This is like the place they take prisoners after they get out on parole, so they feel at home. I got the American Slam because I was feeling all patriotic and didn't want pancakes or french toast. It comes with eggs smothered in cheese, sausage, cardboard...I mean bacon, hashbrowns and toast. I ate everything but the bacon because it disintegrated when I bit it. I am hurting but not so bad that I have to force myself to eat strange bacon. ya know? The best part of the meal was the couple next to me. I was sitting facing the door and the girl was sitting facing the boy, who had his back to me. They were talking about something when her phone rings some awful ring tone and she grabs it and ducks in embarrassment. Apparently she was worried of what the fat guys in the next booth would think. ha ha Eventually he gets up to go to the bathroom and now there is no one in between us. So we are then forced to look at each other or look away. It was ridiculously awkward because there is no one else in the place and we are sitting that close. I was trying not to laugh so hard, because it was the dumbest thing ever yet we both seemed very uncomfortable. Thankfully, her boyfriend came back and they left and I was able to release the laughter that was fighting to get out. So funny. I paid and headed out and now I am back in the room. I think I am going to play a bit more music and go to bed. Hard life, I know, but I am making up for the other silliness I have had to endure these past few days. Tomorrow is finally a day of performance. I will ride into CHicago throw down some tunes and convert all. Yes! Before i go I do have some other off topic things to share. Hope you enjoy. 1) The weather has been a issue for me as always. Santa Barbara and San Diego were great of course. LAs Vegas was just filthy hot, except for the 30 seconds it rained (not an exaggeration). All of Utah was blistering. The best weather was the first 3/4 of Nebraska. The heat was there like a soft blanket. Very, Very nice. I pull into Omaha and death returns. Since then it has been steadily getting hotter with Des Moines being the worst so far. I feel like I am getting better at dealing but that might be the extra use of the AC everywhere I go. Whomever invented that deserves a hi-five. Good job, fella/lady! 2) I am always amazed by the bugs because San Francisco has nothing of the sort like out here. Obviously, my windshield is covered with all sorts of colors but the severity is only realized when you are standing still and a flurry of creatures attack in unison. My favorite was when I was filling the car with gas and being attacked, I saw one bug fly right into the car window and it fell over and died. The car was parked and the bug still crashed into it and died instantly. It was so funny because I saw the whole thing in slow motion it seemed. Stupid bugs. I think I am rambling now and it is time for bed. Audi-os
August 9th- I tried to sleep in again but my body didn't want to do it even though I only had 5 or 6 hours of sleep. I lazily got up and out and headed to the gas station for gas, coffee and breakfast...ya know the usual. I walk into the food mart and there sitting all snug in the corner was Farmer Bros. coffee. I don't know if anyone else really pays attention when they go to a diner to eat breakfast but the best coffee is by far Farmer Bros. The crazy thing was finding it at a gas station because it is usually a restaurant thing. The lady working made a comment about my coffee mug and then about having the best coffee and I concurred. That spawned a little conversation about the coffee and we went on for a few minutes discussing the finer details. Solid start. The coffee was so good and it reminded me of my saturday trips to the Village Grill.. ahhh, home.... Next I got back on the freeway and a few hours later pulled into Chicago. Due to the tolls on the highway, it cost me $8 to get to Chicago but at least there was an Oasis, a food court above the highway, in between so I could grab lunch before entering the trenches of Chicago traffic. First things first, Chicago is HUGE. Way too much of a city for me. Secondly, the maze of freeways is ridiculous. It certainly rivals the maze in LA. Also while I sat in traffic, i listened to the radio because I think i have heard all 3000 songs on my ipod since leaving last week. The radio is hilarious because they have so many stations playing the same thing and so you have one station that is bound to be different. This is how they do it... They don't have any format. They play anything and in fact that is there motto. They also have a jingle, you know the one that every station has with the cheesy girl voice. Well there's is best because the jingle says, "We don't suck." Too funny. Anyhoot, I finally pull into Chicago and make my way to the club. I am like 6 hours early so I decided to drive for a bit. Turns out the club is right behind Wrigley Field and the game is letting out. Great time for a drive, huh. So I abandon that plan and decide to go in and do some things that I brought with me. I go inside and get an iced tea and do my work. After I finished I went out to the car to sweat with the oldies . I wait until its time and then I change in the car and then move it to a better parking place. Turns out you can't park in residential areas at night unlike SF where you can't park during the day. I finally get a spot and head in. The other performers are all there and everyone is sharing songwriter war stories about clubs to play and the challenges. Very funny, we are all sitting around talking shop in the "green room." We head upstairs to get the party started and it turns out to be a fun group of people and a bunch of good music. The rest of the performers were funny folk musicians, a Christian rocker and the usual. I fit into the usual category although my music stood out as being very different. It was well received. One kid was foaming at the mouth to buy a cd and I appreciated that greatly. I do want to highlight all the musicians but I have to finish compiling their info first. There was some really good stuff from all over the area. ahhh, finally some music. After the show, the sound person burned everyone a copy of the performance and I saved the day by providing the much needed additional blank cd's so everyone could get one. I know, I am a hero. ;) The recording is pretty good throughout except for some cable problems in a couple of the sets, including mine. Hopefully i can post an mp3 of it soon. The show was fun and I met some good people in which I will have to right more about soon. After the show, I left Chicago because i hadn't found a place to stay. So I got as far out as South Bend, Indiana before i pulled over to find a room. I am a few miles down from Notre Dame University. I feel like Rudy. I checked into the trusty Motel 6 but had to take a smoking room and that just plain sucks. Since I crossed into another time zone, I lost another hour of sleep so I am leaving you now. CHeck back in the next couple of days because the adventure has no plan. I will be heading somewhere and as you have read already, stuff happens. I hope you are enjoying the reading. Come back soon. I'll leave the light on for you. Haaaaaaaaaa	Former home of Ryne Sandberg. Wow!
August 10th- Upon waking I decided to have some real breakfast. For the first time I pulled into a restaurant but this wasn't just any restaurant, it was the Original Pancake House. The pancakes were very good. They were slightly sour so they weren't too sweet. Very nice. Not as good as the Portland Original Pancake House but damn good. After fueling my body, I jumped on the freeway and spent the rest of my day driving. I headed south through a bunch of small towns and I thought to myself what a wonderful...no.. I thought that the income of people in small towns must come mainly from each other. So unless you can gain money from outside sources, you will not make a considerable amount. Enough I am sure to sustain life but where is the growth or room for it. I know I am over-generalizing but I am curious. What about the guy who teachers karate? If he can't convince the families in town to join his classes he cannot make any money. Does he stand outside city buildings and Church and solicit? Does he dream of a fat dojo? Comments anyone? BAck to the nature at hand...I wandered down to Columbus to see if I could play at a cafe I had played last year on my trip. I called Victorian's Midnight Cafe and secured myself a spot in their open mic. When I finally got there the place was pretty empty so I sat down for a bit of lunch. I had a hot italian sub that hit the spot. With a couple hours still to kill I went back to the car and took a power nap. I felt slightly refreshed and I headed back inside to play a bit in the back room. I chatted up some guy about playing music in SF as he had lived a bit in Cali.. After a bit more things got started. First up was a woman on piano with a standup bass that had some really good stuff. NExt was another woman but on guitar. She had some serious power to her voice. NExt up was Seth Ellsworth who played some good poppy type stuff. We got to talking afterwards and I found out that he is also a teacher, a social studies teacher. I have met so many teacher/ musicians this time around. Anyhoot, good guy. Then I played an average mini set before a young blues guy played with crazy pete. You can read last year's journal to find out more about him. A freshman from OSU named Rebecca played next. Her stuff was really good but she wasn't down to talk with anybody after she played. She jetted quickstyle. That is one thing that sucks about these things is that the performers play their set and then leave and don't support the other musicians. I understand if they have something they have to do or they have a family to get home to but to just leave for the sake of being done...so not my style. Crazy Pete got back up and played a couple interesting blues numbers and then a young guy transplant from Indiana played some great guitar. HE actually played one song with two capos so he could jump 8 steps on the guitar without trying too hard. A tall guy came up and played some covers very well...Bright Eyes, NIN, Avril and he tried to play the IRon and Wine cover of the Postal Service but gave up. Next up a woman came up and she played like fire. She had some really catchy stuff. I wish I would have had a chance to hear more. The sad part about the last two performers was that during each of their sets, somebody else was rudely playing music. There were two guys playing outside during one set and then they turned on the stereo during another set. Super lame! The night ended with the two guys from outside playing a long set. After they finished I bolted out of there, found my way to the freeway, had a good conversation with the parental unit and now its time for bed. Sorry my life was not as exciting for you today but after the stuff that has happened recently, I am down with a bit of boring. Take tv for example; I try to wind down and watch some tv but the only thing on is jewelry sales and a CHristian show called "Life is Worth Living." This show is on 11 channels. No joke, yo. Crazy!!!!!!!! Paace, homes.
August 11th- I woke up late as there was no call from the desk and no alarm clock in the room. Terrible. I made the best of it by showering quick and then getting out the place. I checked out the chain known as the Waffle House. I had a strawberry waffle of course and some hash browns. These weren't the regular hash browns you get anywhere. It seems that the waffle house was better known for their hash brown creations known as scattered, smothered, doused, smack-it-up-flip-it-rub-it-down-oh-no. Which basically meant you could add onions, cheese chili or peppers. Crazy. It was good and it was only like $6. Sweeet! I jumped in the car and decided I was going to make my way to Oshkosh, Wi. to see a friend play. Ordinarily this not be an issue except that it was a 9 hour drive and I had woken up 3 hours late. I wondered if I was going to make it at all but I trudged on. I put on the radio and listened to the slop they call music until it felt like that scene from Tommy Boy; where they are driving and they have heard the bad stuff so much, they are singing at the top of their lungs. That was me. I think the theme song of the trip is Kelly Clarkson's Since You've Been Gone. Even the other one she sings is on a ton. I hear it so much now that I know all of the words and I sing along with the radio up. Oh no, my indie cred! Completely hilarious and I am not ashamed. So there! After a bit more of driving the rain came down out of nowhere and all of my vision became white. I was nervous because I couldn't see anything. After slowing down almost to a stop I realized I could just barely make out tail lights of a van in front of me. I followed those lights for about 10 minutes until I was finally out of the cloud. The crazy part is that it was raining and still warm. The AC was blasting yo. Once out of that the traffic wasn't bad and with the help of the time change I was able to make the show only 30 minutes late. I snuck into the New Moon Cafe as the first two performers were playing a couple of songs and trading back and forth. They were Aaron Baer and Betsy Larson and they were both very good traditional folk players. They traded back and forth and then Dan Vaillancourt came up. He is Michigan's original funktified folk man. He plays a 10 string guitar and knows his way around a fret board. He even had some fret tricks that added to the overall show. He also had a monster beat box session during one of his songs, in which Jaik and Eric helped out. Very cool. Next up was Jaik Willis with his crazy vocal techniques and fast guitar playing. He has a beard that rivals Eric's and a flying V acoustic guitar. His stuff was very good and super catchy although they weren't written with that intention. Last up was Eric Nassau with his very cool laid back folkness. He was sporting rainbow suspenders and a poncho as a skirt in addition to the crazy beard. Very cool. I wonder what the folks thought of him but it didn't matter much because he didn't care. I love that spirit. He played great and that ended the night of the Outlaws of Folk but the night was far from over. After the show I went up to Eric, who hadn't realized I had been there the whole time and surprised him with my presence. I then had to tell him of all of my travels and how I had come to make the show. HE was happy i had been able to come and introduced me to everyone else. We ended up walking over to a bar and playing some pool. I got schooled in a couple of games and in the finer side of folk music as I was inept to hold conversation with anyone outside of playing pool. So sad. After the bar a large group of us ended up at Quas' house, a friend of the people at the cafe and a friend of ours before the night was over. We played cards and also did a little visualization sequence to peer into the inner working of our souls. Very cool and strange. After everyone was mortified by what they had found out about themselves we all found our spots to sleep. I found a couch up by the kitchen and laid down only to find out later that it was Quas' cat's lookout post. The cat, Hot dog, repeatedly jumped on my stomach and onto the window sill throughout the night. At one point he took a nice chunk out of my arm, or at least a decent scratch that burned in the shower for a couple of days. I slept great though in between those attacks. It was about 5am by the time we went to sleep so it wasn't hard to sleep soundly. .
August 12th -After 4 hours of sleep we all woke up and talked a bit until we got motivated to get up and out. Quas and Jaik were still sleeping by the time we left. We went back to the New Moon Cafe and grabbed a breakfast burrito that was ridiculously good and good for you. It was only $2. Sweet. We sat around and talked and drank coffee for a few hours. During that time we all got parking tickets and when we checked our cars we saw the$5 ticket waiting. Normally I would laugh it off but an old man was telling us if we didn't pay it we would go to jail. Turns out this was true but since we were out of state it probably didn't apply to us. To raise our spirits 'we decided to go to the park and find a basketball court. We looked around but couldn't find any so we went on the kiddie train ride around the small lake. It was the the bunch of us adults and some 4 years olds. Awesome. The train reeked and as we were going around bugs were flying into my face and hair and one even got into my mouth. So gross. We got off that and Eric went and jumped in the water. His tour is called the Big Water Tour and part of it is he has to swim in every large body of water that is near the show. HE went swimming in the freezing water, while we waited for him and got attacked by fleas and may flies. We then went over to the playground and played basketball on the monkey bars. By this time Jaik and Quas had caught up at different times and we were all slamming on each other. A bunch of kids gathered around to watch the "big kids" play basketball and parents looked on in horror. It was fun but it was time to part ways. It took 30 minute for everyone to say goodbye and then to actually leave. Eric, Dan and I went to go pay our ticket and had the ladies working there in stitches as we described the horrid crime we had committed. We then went back to the cafe to fill up on coffee and we ran into the meter maid that gave us the ticket. WE joked around with her for a bit and then took a picture with her. We saw Quas and a friend of his and we played hacky sack for a few before actually parting ways. They went off to the next town and I went back to Chicago to my next show. I was not excited about the show because just days before I had found out that I had been bumped off the show. I resisted my impulse to slam the booking agent and decided I would go check out the show anyway. I drove around and found some sketchy parking which caused me to miss the first set. Luckily, I had called and made a reservation for dinner so I had the last seat in the place before it sold out. I had a burger, fries and creme brulee. By the time I was finished they brought me the bill and I had spent $30 on subpar food. The prices were outrageous for so little food. It turned out to be a very expensive show. The show itself was good. Cynthia Lin played first and she was a jazz style singer songwriter. Her voice was beautiful. After her set, Kris Racer got up and ran through his very energetic set. HE revealed to the crowd that he works in D.C. during the week, where he met Cynthia, and then flies home for shows on the weekend. Crazy. After the show I bailed and got to driving back towards Manitowac, Wi. where I was to meet up with Eric and Dan to play a show. Since I got bumped from one show I figured I would play another show. I got as far as Milwaukee before I stumbled into a hotel and paid way too much for a shower and a bed
August 13th- I woke up refreshed and headed into town which was only an hour away. I drove over to the marina and found a parking lot to hang out in. I pulled out the guitar and played a little. After a time I decided I would roll around town and see what was going on. I went into a gas station and changed my clothes. When I came outside there were three kids standing in front of the mini mart. They were probably 8 or 9. The girl in the group asked if I was her friend and I said sure. Then she asked if she could have a dollar. I laughed and said I didn't have one and so one of the boys came over and was persisting. HE saw the PT Cruiser and asked if it was mine. I said yes and then asked if he could have it. I said no and he asked why. I said I need to drive it. Drive it where he said. Drive it home, I've been driving all day and night. HE was impressed but quickly moved to the next car to ask for money and his car and the guy gave him his car key. Mistake. I then pulled into a hair salon and got a haircut. The lady that helped me was very nice and we chatted it up about where we were from. urns out she moved from Phoenix to this small town in Wisconsin five years ago. I tried to coerce her to come to the show that night but she didn't make it. . I then went to the laundromat to do some laundry after not washing anything for almost two weeks. Luckily I brought enough clothes to get me that far but I would be out soon. Once I finished my laundry, Dan called me and he said that he was walking around. Eric had ridden his bike up to the next town so he wouldn't meet us until later. Dan and I sat around talking until Eric showed up and we headed over to the Premier Cafe to grab some coffee. We then met up with Eric again at the laundromat so he could do his laundry. Once his stuff was in we walked down to the park and played basketball. We ended up playing 2 on 1 with Eric by himself. It wasn't really fair because Dan was relentless on defense and after 20 minutes I found my stroke. We killed him and he was out of breath but really it was so unfair. Sorry Eric, next time I'll be the 1 and you guys can team up on me. Rock paper scissors picked the teams so I don't feel so bad. After playing we headed over to the cafe again and began setting up for the show. Dan has a pretty decent PA that he carries with him always and so we sounded pretty good. The only problem was that there was a cover band that was setup in the alley next to the cafe. They were so loud but we played through and it really wasn't a problem. The good people that ran the cafe were super cool and they fed us everything. Kym and Ryan have setup a really nice cafe and the people come out. We were setup in the back of the patio and there was a bunch of people sitting in the patio smoking and listening. All three of us played very well and they were digging it. We met a bunch of cool people and they bought our cd's. There were the two Kyle's, Janet (who supplied us with a light...ya you ra wk), Annabelle and a few others that unfortunately I can't recall their names. I am surprised I even pulled out those few. Anyhoot, they were all very cool. After we headed over to Kym and Ryan's house for some pizza and the last bit of camaraderie. After hanging out, Dan and I headed out our ways and Eric stayed the night. It was sad to say goodbye because I had some of the best fun of the whole trip with those two guys and I had the best show at the Premier cafe.Good times, good times. I decided to drive as far as I could that night because I was trying to get to NYC before Sunday at dinner time. I got as far as Indiana before I pulled into a truck stop to sleep. The crazy driving would continue the next day so rest was key.
August - 14th- I woke up grabbed some coffee and donuts before leaving the truck stop. As with my current routine, I drove a bit and then pulled aside to sleep some more. I grabbed some coffee and a bagel to complete my best breakfast out of my truck stop mornings. I spent the next few hours just driving straight. It was boring in the scenic sense but I was having enough trouble staying awake, I didn't need any distractions. I eventually stopped for lunch at a rest area and got in line for a small pizza. I ordered and then waited 30 minutes for it to be made. These kids were slammed but still, 30 minutes. C'mon, hook a brotha up, yo. I drove steady until around 7pm, after already driving through a crazy storm that was flooding the highway, when I got stuck in traffic. This was like completely stopped traffic. I waited and waited until I got to an exit and then pulled over to find a hotel and get some extra sleep. I realized I was not going to make it to NYC and hang out with E-pidgeon and C-machine so I figured sleep would be good. I checked in and watched some family guy before going to get dinner. I went into Taco Bell and ordered. The girl working was so automatic I thought she was a robot and that Clearfield, Pa. was the first place to have robots working at taco bell. Turns out she was human but it would take a while before i got my meal. AS I was waiting one of the other Taco Bell girls just started talking to me. She had set up a barrier of chairs and tables to guard the place where she had just mopped and she didn't want anyone to step on it. I indulged her and joined the conversation and said, she was doing a good job and she should keep at it. SHe repeated herself and said that every time she finished a section someone would walk in that area and she would have to do it again. I suggested that she just mop and then leave it. If it got dirty again, oh well. She almost lost it here and she got all Rainman on me about no one could walk there. The thing was she had blocked off the display of hot sauce and straws and so people couldn't get to it. Some people were ok but others were trying to get around but she held her ground. My food finally came and I bolted before she got hostler. I wished her a good night and I was gone. You would think an old lady would have this kind of psychotic compulsiveness but she was only 16 or so. Clearfield had another food claim to fame beside the compulsive mopper. It was the home of the 6lb burger. There was a newspaper article in the hotel about it. It seems that no one had ever finished it in the allotted 3 hour time limit. Huge men and women had tried, even world champion eaters could not finish the burger. The first person to do and the only person since was a 110 lb girl from Penn State who had ate it in 2:48. Crazy. I was hungry but not that hungry. Anyhoot, I went back to the hotel and ate and instead of going to sleep early like I planned, I watched SPiderman 2. It was pretty good but I wasn't expecting that everyone and their mother would find out who he was. Still good though and Kirsten Dunst always helps. The bed was nice after the car the night before. The showered was also very welcome. It's weird how being clean and sleeping makes you feel better. I should do more of both.
August 15th- Woke up and had my fair share of the continental breakfast, drove a bit and slept. I woke and finally pulled into NYC after getting lost in NEw Jersey, again. I got hold of Emily and Christina. They tried to direct me to where they were but I got lost. Eventually we figure it out and I met up with the two of them their cousin and his girlfriend. After finally getting parking we went and got some Filipino breakfast. It was far from the usual stuff I get served at school, so it was good. We left the place and walked a bit before i realized that I had left my bag there. Thankfully it was still there. We took care of my parking. I think between the twins and their cousin, they might have spent $8 on my parking. I am eternally grateful as I did not get a ticket the whole time I was there. We went to a bar and played some pool that had some very odd outcomes. It seemed to be fools luck that was winning. There was only one game that had a definite winner. After a bit of playing they went to a poetry reading and I went to my Aunt's house. It was a short time that we hung out and I wished I could have hung out more. It is funny how you can hang out with someone anytime you want to and when you get to hang out in a strange place it seems like you have to savor every minute or never see them again. Luckily, they also live in San Francisco, Ya! Silly, I know. To E-pidgeon and C-machine, if I could have got to NYC any sooner you know I would have and I had to visit family while i was there. I am sure you were just joking but thought I'd check with you anyway. :) (who does that sound like...hmmmm). I made my way through the maze of streets and got my way out to Whitestone, NY.. Good timing because it was almost dinner time and we were having manicotti. There is nothing like a home cooked meal, especially when you have been eating pretty garbage like fast food. My Aunt, my cousins and I chatted for awhile before I fell asleep standing up. Such a needed sleep.
August 16th- I woke up around 2pm. Awesome! My little cousins were pissed because they couldn't play video games while I was sleeping in t he game room. Eventually they got their chance but they had to earn it. I ran across the street to Dunckin' Donuts for coffee. The place is so close my family doesn't make coffee at home. I had some pastries left over from the night before. We all went for a walk after that that brought us around the hood and ended up eating pizza, a frozen cappuccino and then shopping. The way they feed me, it was like I was as skinny as high school. I guess they didn't see the gelatinous blob in front of them but I didn't complain. Free meals, you can never complain about those. The kids got their gaming time in and I played Star Wars III on PS2. It was pretty fun but I kept getting killed at the Dooku part. Dang. DL, can you give me some pointers. Next, I packed up my things, shaved (almost beard level) and ironed my shirt. My Aunt packed up a care package for me, that included fruit pastries and audio books for the drive. I headed downtown and got parking in a semi-sketchy area but it was close to the club. I was the first one there and the sound guy chuckled because the rest of the bands that were opening wouldn't show up until later. I went down the street to grab some spanish food and the lady running it was so happy that I was loving her food. It was a families worth of food for $8. I couldn't hang but I was well fed. I headed back to find the first band didn't show and so Toke Squealy was setting up. Alan, the guy who setup the show was the guitarist in this band although I did not realize that until later. The band was pretty good, but the crazy part was that the drummer was playing a cocktail drum set but filling it up. The stuff was good and they rocked the house. During one of their songs, this guy walked in to the bar, walked on stage and did some freestyle over their funk groove. The band kept playing like it was nothing. I later found out that they knew this guy but that moment was totally impromptu. Awesome. The 2nd guy came up and played a couple of originals before staggering through a series of covers including, yes you guessed it: Since you've been gone.. It is definitely the song of my trip. He played quite a few songs. He did have a great voice but i wished he would have played more of his originals. They were decent. Finally it was my turn and I ran through my set with very few glitches. The crowd of girl the 2nd guy had brought cleared out when he left but I still rocked it. It was fun to be on a real stage and have room to run around. Alan came up during my set and accompanied me on Fading. IT was very cool. He used delay to make it sound like cello almost. That was fun. I got off stage to the few people that were down with the program; my aunt and uncle, their friend Veronica and my old friend from SF Tim Reynolds, and a drunk blond girl. Those who know me well, know that I can't prey on drunk people so I let her be and she bolted. Tim was mad at me but that was ok because we got to hang out a bit more. We roamed east village for a while before finally saying goodbye. I found the freeway, drove a bit and crawled into the back to sleep. A good day.	professional video game players! acoustic rawk!
August 17th - Here begins the series of entries where driving is the most exciting thing I do. Read on with low expectations, thanks. I woke up, drove a bit, slept a bit. You know the drill by now. I did this all day until night fall when traffic slowed down to a stand still in Chicago. I got a little adventurous and a little map savvy and moved my way through an alternate route. I was feeling good about it until I got to one of those intersections where there is nothing in any direction. Luckily my instinct led me in the right direction but this was still one crazy detour. Also the audio book that I was listening to for the last 20 hours, the one that I was completely enthralled in, the final cd was missing. Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! I didn't check the box to make sure that all the discs were there before I left my Aunt's house. Now I have to wait to find out what happened in the end. IT could be weeks before I get that cd delivered. SO sad. After feeling robbed by the cd player, I pulled into Ottawa, Illinois. I found the last hotel I was able to stay in before running out of money, grabbed a grilled stuffed burrito, took a shower and fell asleep. I did catch some Simpsons and some other TV. My favorite was a commercial for mattresses in Peoria that promised and onion with every mattress purchase. That's an offer I can't refuse. Exciting I know, I try. ;)
August 18th- Yada, yada, yada. I then made stops at every Iowa rest stop to do an updates, since the access was at every stop. The greatest moment of my day was when I pulled into a super target to get some more water. Holy Helmet! I didn't realize that a Super Target meant Target and a super market, i thought it just meant that instead of one city block it would cover 4 city blocks. You're thinking, so what. You don't understand what that means to someone who had just run out of money and hasn't eaten anything solid in a couple days and is equipped with Target credit. I went to town so I wouldn't have to buy anything the rest of the trip. I bought a bag of bagels that covered my meals the rest of the day and enough snacks to get me through. I tried to find another audio book but they had none so I settled on a couple of cd's. I picked up NAtasha Bedingfield and the new Destiny's Child. I already had the pop covered so I picked up some lady singer stuff. This is not the usual fare, but it has proven to be good listening for driving. Judge me as you will but I will give you this for thought. En Vogue was a big favorite of mine was a kid and Destiny's CHild is the much better looking version of that. One thing I don't understand about both groups; Why do they always kick out the the super hot super tall one. I know they don't have the best voice but c'mon, someone has got to give us tall people a break around here. It seems like this DC album was not a good one to end one's career. It is below their own standard and even Michelle Williams' gospel album is better. They are still too bootylicious for ya babe, despite the week album. The best part is the first 8 measures of the first track in which a drumline style beat is introduced before the one hit plays. Its good. AS for Natasha, I was really hoping she was legit. She can sing, she is hot and she is hip hop infused with a bit of edge to her vocal style. It is the right combo but she is only a vocalist and will get thrown in with the britney's and J-lo's. There are 4 solid songs and the rest is pretty good. Unfortunately it is not enough to build a career on but it was worth the 9 dollars. I would still rather listen to her stuff than any of the other non-instrument playing people. At least she has one gem in "These Words" and no true duds. If anyone wants further discussion on this, let me know, I am armed and ready. BAck to driving I had a scary moment in that as I was driving out of a rest stop, a small bird flew in front of the car, chasing a butterfly. I don't know if I hit it or not but I worried about it for hours afterwards. There was no thud, so I think I may be ok but the idea of killing something other than a bug disturbs me. I eventually found my parking spot/room for the night but before I did I passed a helicopter that was stationed on a platform 20 feet from the road. Crazy. What is Airwolf doing parked on the side of the road with a ladder leading up to it and no one guarding it. I know they say radar enforced but seriously, don't they have a base for these things. I have also come to the realization that I love the PT cruiser. It has its problems but the seats come out and there is a table in the back. So not only can I sleep in it, but I can do work in it as well. I would pull into truck stops and jump in the back to handle email and updates. I felt like I was staking out the truckers for illegal use of beef products or flannel. If they made one that was manual transmission and had a better stereo, I might be interested. I think I would get the woody style. It is the touring edition, soooooo....
August 19th-Another day of driving started off with the perfect cup of coffee. The kind of cup that you could pour into your gas tank and it would move the engine like 98 unleaded. oh ya. I drove a bit before stopping to do a little internet surfing and clean the car. I was driving through Utah and all of a sudden I could see this cloud just blackening the sky in the distance. When I finally caught up to it, it was haling. There were rocks falling from the sky. I could not believe it was haling in August. What the hell is that? I drove out of that little pit before pulling into a gas station, only to be rained on with 40mph winds. Here I was, in shorts, having buckets of water thrown at me from the side. Not even from above; from the side. I hurried back in and drove through the rain storm until I could finally see the sun of Nevada in the far distance. My next stop was to be in Little America, a place that has advertising on the highways for 200 miles in both directions. The place was so small that I missed it on the way out despite seeing all the signs. I have to admit, I was intrigued by a place that could afford and would dare to advertise so aggressively for such a great distance. When I finally reached it, it was a truck stop with a colonial type feel. They definitely did have it all though. There was a 24hr mechanic, a hotel with small apartments instead of rooms, a store with everything and a grill. I indulged myself with the advertised $0.35 ice cream cone and a corn dog because that is all my pockets could afford. It was enough to last me to dinner. Dinner did not come to very late in the evening. I finally reached Salt Lake and I had planned to drive a couple hours past it so I would have a short drive on the last day. I pulled over in the next town called Delle. I was hoping to find food but it was so dark that nothing seemed open or even inhabited. I finally pulled up on a sign that said Welcome to the Delle Hotel, come in and enjoy some food and a drink. The crazy part was that there was the sign but no sign of any building. The road seemed to disappear so the scared third grader in me swung the car around, peeled out and got back on the road before the ghosts, goblins or country folk could take me for their prey. ;) I eventually pulled into a town that was exactly on the border of Nevada and Utah and tried to find something to eat. I pulled across a casino that I had recognized by name as a kid. My friend Danny had been up there a few times in high school and he had stayed at the Peppermill hotel casino. There it was. I went inside to find the most neon I had ever seen in my life. I was starving for a real meal and I decided to head to their 24 hour restaurant and take my chances with my credit card. I figured, even if I had to wash dishes I would be clean after not taking a shower all day. The meal was seriously over priced and subpar but I didn't care, it was solid food. YEs! I drove for about another hour until I saw my destination on a billboard, "Next Flying J truckstop 30 miles." I proceeded along until the saddest part of my trip happened. A hare had jumped out into the road and had made it across the lanes only to stop right in front of my car. It had plenty of time to get out of the way but it was like a deer in headlights, except it was a rabbit. Not being able to swerve out of the way, I silently hoped the bottom of the car would clear it but it didn't. The loudest thud was heard and then nothing. I killed Thumper. I was on the verge of tears for the rest of the drive and all I could think about was how he stood up right before it happened and looked me dead in the eyes and dead he was. The bird from the other day was unsure so I felt bad but this I knew I had done. Even as I type my eyes are swelling. I know I could never intentionally kill anything but a bug because I would probably cry before it even happened. All the way to the truckstop I was in shock and gripping the wheel with extra strength and my eyes plastered to the road so I would not do this again. I finally pulled over but somehow the exit sign for the Flying J was off. I followed its directions even though I had clearly passed the place. It lead me to a dirt road that I had to guess my way back. I finally pulled in an d got set to bed but I laid there a while thinking of my crime. I eventually fell asleep from pure exhaustion but it was a long time before I could forget my thoughts and let my mind rest with my body. This was the first night it was cold and I was so happy to have a sleeping bag. Thank heaven for that Super Target.	a cloud that stretched on for 40 miles hale what is going on here dark, but pretty
August 20th- I woke this time a bit weary and severely annoyed by a group of teenagers who had pulled into the truckstop in their school bus. They were all getting in line and jumping in front of everyone and being loud. It was my first reminder that I was near California because the "dude's" and the slang was flying. I was upset with myself for being annoyed because they weren't really bad and I should know better since I work with kids. I think my patience had worn off with the lack of sound sleep. I got my coffee and got moving. I called home to let everyone know I was alive, especially after no correspondence for a few days. It was nice to hear familiar voices and to be talking of being home later that day. The next site I rolled across was the University of Nevada Reno. The entire school sat in the valley of a ridge of mountains. It looked nice and had plenty of space. The best part was just two miles down, on the other side of one of those ridge's was the state prison. Can you imagine going to school next to the prison? The first place anyone would go after they got out of jail would be the only place for miles, the University. SO funny. I guess those kids got the full college experience. ha ha After the laughter subsided I pulled into a gas station for gas and bathroom needs only to find a post office as well. I had to mail off a box of cds and the lady was so nice. Without knowing it, I had completed all of my errands for the day in one stop. Awesome. I finally hit California and it was traffic from then on down to San Jose where I met the folks from Baily for some food, some conversation and then onto music for the last musical adventure of my trip. We made it down to the Ugly Mug and got set up. I played my first mini-set and then they played and back and forth. It felt so weird to be playing for some reason. It felt like I hadn't played guitar for a while. I guess the drive-sleep-drive pattern doesn't work well for shows when each day is 10+ hours driving. No excuses though, I played ok. Baily was ridiculously good. I have seen them so many times now but I always enjoy it. This time was even better because it seemed very pure. They were having fun and were on. Meegan even broke down during one of the sadder songs. That only emphasized the song, instead of taking away from it. Awesome. There was a guy there from the NY times syndicate and he was reviewing cd's and things. He was really into Baily and took one of their cd's. Hopefully he follows through. We finished up and headed back to the Baily compound for some more conversation and to outline our plans for taking over the world. Once that was done i headed out to Audie's house for some good rest. I watched Star Troopers. It was terrible but I couldn't turn away. I was able to update a bit, take a shower and sleep on something other than the floor of the car. SO nice. I love Audie and Cheryl. This brings us to the conclusion of my travels and the journal. If you have made it this far, I applaud you; you really don't have a boredom threshold. As always, going away makes you realize how much you love home. It is great to be back and in the swing of things although I realized more so than ever that music is a far greater part of me than I could ever imagine. Some of the highlights of my entire year have been spent playing music on the road and in the warmth of Mama Art Cafe. I am not sure what comes next for me but I do know that I will probably start to even out the time that I work and play music. I love this "hobby" too much and there is an incredible joy found in the middle of singing a song. I like to think of life in the Star Wars sense, a connection to a force. I definitely reach Jedi status when singing, for myself...not necessarily for the audience, and the more time I can spend connected the richer life I will have. I hope you have enjoyed this journey and that I will see you at a show soon. If you do come out and see the show and can tell me the proper name of the place I called home for so many nights, you can have a free cd or I'll buy you a drink if that is of more value. Any takers? Ciao.