We made it through the winter!
Touring through the winter and one-week engagements per city have been a bit taxing. I was separated from my family for a while, and the cold destinations were character building, but spring has sprung! Here are some highlights from the past few months:
London, OH- Coldest place on earth.
We performed in the Budweiser hockey arena. One night we experienced temps of -40 degrees. What?!
The lonely hall of my Canadian home. a.k.a. The Quality Inn.
I discovered a kitschy consignment shop across from the arena as well as the cool Covent indoor market.
Newport News, VA- I have absolutely nothing to report on this town other than it snowed buckets during our stay. I took no fun pictures nor did I eat much other than groceries out of my dorm room sized fridge.
Gainesville, FL- Home of U. of Florida. It was nice to be in the temperate, humid air. The college town was cute. We stayed in another skeevy hotel call the Paramount Plaza. I think there may have been some “full time” guests living there.
Florida is a creepy little state. I suspect a lot of good ideas have gone south in Florida. Abandoned t-shirt huts, adult book stores, motels, and roadside liquor shops. The moss hangs heavy from every tree and electrical line. I have always had a fascination with swamps. It goes back to my favorite childhood book called, “Liza Lou and the Yeller belly swamp.”
If you get to Gainesville, a must is the breakfast diner on campus called Bagels & Noodles. I had my first knish. I then went back a few days later and had my second knish.
Bloomington, IN- We were teased with one week in Florida, then it was back to cold and snowy Bloomington, IN for a week. The University of Indiana is a beautiful campus. I had the chance to be with my family which was awesome after a 5 week fam deficit.
Highlights included, Bub’s Burger & Ice Cream- The home of the 22 ounce burger. The deal is,iIf you finish the challenge of ingesting that much meat, you are rewarded with your picture hung on the restaurant wall. Iris and I opted out but had yummy, small burgers that were more our speed. Bub’s also had board games to play while you're waiting and IPA beers to choose from. Nice features.
We took a walk and found Yarns Unlimited. This was a beautiful yarn shop on the downtown square. It had a funky smell in my opinion (water damage maybe?) but they were helpful in assisting me with a new project. I could have spent hundreds of dollars on yarn. Not having a place to call home definitely keeps me from buying too many unnecessary things.
I have a membership to Massage Envy. Massage Envy is a corporate massage and facial spa chain found all over the country. It has truly saved me and I look forward to a massage in almost every town I've been. The massages are affordable, convenient, and the quality is always good.
Sarasota & Ft. Myers- Finally hot weather! It's nice to be in a warm climate for no other reason than to switch from winter to summer wardrobes. When I don't have a closet of clothes to choose from, the same 6 garments get old quick!
Florida was nice because Iris and I stayed with my in-laws, Tony & Mary. They were so gracious to house and feed us for two whole weeks. I'm sure having a granddaughter around sweetened the pot.
I rented a car using RelayRides for the first time. It was kind of weird but cheaper than a rental car company. It basically is renting a car from an individual. I picked up the car from their driveway, drove it 3,000 miles for 2 weeks and returned it to their house. I never met the owner. It's similar to the Airbnb lodging model or Uber taxi model. It cuts out the middle man.
Florida Highlights- Bambooty- A hippy dippy store in Venice, FL. Cute workout clothes and jewelry. Iris bought a hula hoop there. Kind of made me want to hackie sack.
The Nokomis Grove orange stand- This is a must for anyone visiting Nokomis, FL. The soft serve orange vanilla swirl ice cream cones are to die for after a day in the sun. The line wraps around the building but moves fast. The stand also has fresh produce and a gift shop.
Since I was commuting from Nokomis north to Sarasota, then south to Ft. Myers for two weeks, I was in my rental car quite a bit. I listened to my first podcast and I'm hooked. Granted, it was Serial, the 12 episode series produced by NPR and This American Life.
It was so riveting! And like a great book, I'm sad that it's over. Here’s the premise: High school murder mystery dug up from 1999. Holes in evidence, strange witnesses, interesting back stories. Juicy goodness.
Austin, TX- Austin brags that it's keeping Texas weird and I would approvingly agree. I loved Austin. I had not visited before but heard of the BBQ, music, food trucks, cowboy boots, and neck bearded hipsters. I experienced all of the above.
Congress street is the hip main drag with live nightly music at the Continental Club, Guero’s tacos, antique and consignment shops, and boutiques. Austin is the capitol and the beautiful building is at the top of Congress.
We stayed in an affluent neighborhood called Travis Heights.
The only downside of Austin was the traffic. Austin’s exploding popularity is too much for the small town infrastructure. The highways are like parking lots most hours of the day & night.
The weather was perfect! I’m sure the first week of April is always lovely compared to the rest of spring and summer, which I'm guessing feels like a never ending hairdryer.
Durham, NC- Pat tells me that I have a nose of a hound dog. I'm sure he means that I have a keen sense of smell versus a nose that literally resembles a hound dog, although I have a pretty prominent nose. One of my favorite things about traveling is the different smells of each state. My sniffer is up and out as soon as I walk out of an airport. You can smell the types of flowers, coniferous trees, whether it's arid or humid. Durham smells good. It helps that they've had spring storms and so much is blooming.
The Duke Gardens- Not only does Duke have a killer basketball team, they also have an amazing green space! This free outdoor acreage on the Duke campus is one of the prettiest places I've walked through. Fountains, rose gardens, koi ponds, and the spires of the tall Duke university buildings in the distance. The Hogwarts-like chapels peek through the tall trees to remind me I’m in a Harry Potter movie...wait.. I mean on the Duke campus.
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