Saturday, December 16, 2017

Catching up! Dec. 10-12

I apologize to those of you who keep up with my crazy tour blog.  These past five days have been a giant blur as I made it from one coast to the other.  I'm going to try to catch up bit by bit here.

I left OR very early on Sunday morning December tenth and drove down and down and down all the way to Pasadena, where I was taken in by a good friend, songwriter and children's musician Dave Kinnoin, and his family.  They treated me to a lovely dinner out and it was fun chatting with Dave's wife Mary and his two boys, Oliver and Grady, whom I had never before met.  I spent a very comfortable night in their amazing house.  The next day I got the grand tour and saw all the cool stuff they've collected over the years as well as the recording studio that Dave's son Oliver is building in their home.  I would have liked to stay and visit longer with them, and maybe write a song with Dave, but the road beckoned.  MANY THANKS to you and your family, Dave, and also for your kind and generous monetary donation to sponsor the tour.

On my way to Arizona I was invited to lunch by a  Christmas decorator I've known for a long time who lives in Palm Springs.  His name is Michael Simmons, and I've performed at his house twice. He was the first decorator to try to get "The House on Christmas Street" on The Great Christmas Light Fight, unfortunately to no avail. Every year there have been decorators who have used my song in their shows who participate in that TV show but the show never uses my song. I don't know why, but I've given up.  Anyhow, I had a nice lunch with Michael and we caught up a bit, and then, in the immortal words of Willie Nelson, I was "on the road again."  THANK YOU Michael for a lovely lunch with great company!

Oh yes, and before lunch I did get my oil changed at a Jiffy Lube and the guy's eyes popped out of his head when he saw my mileage! 

I got to Mary Lane's house in Sierra Vista, AZ sometime around 9pm, I think?  I loved driving through the desert but at one point I suddenly felt violently ill and had to pull over and get sick.  It was so weird.  I was out in the middle of nowhere and I just walked around a little bit and then I felt fine. I think the exhaustion was catching up with me. Even though I had great places to sleep I just didn't get much of it.  Anyway, at this point things were becoming a bit blurry because of all the driving and lack of sleep, but Mary kindly took in the weary traveler and gave me her wonderful guest room for the night.  She didn't mind that I wasn't really up for socializing after the long drive and I didn't mind that one of her little mini dachsunds decided to raid my canvas tote bag while we were talking!  Mary was Emma's teacher for three years in a multi-age program at her elementary school, and she is a dear, dear friend of our family.  Oh, her husband Jay was there too! The next day Mary treated me to a delicious breakfast out, we caught up a bit, she told me about a trop-rock singer she likes named Matt Mulligan (I think that was his name?  His last name was definitely Mulligan cause I remember Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel) and gave me advice on vacationing in Mexico!  Our visit was way to short as I had to hit the road again for the long drive to Odessa. THANK YOU Mary for taking me in and being such a cherished friend.

On the drive on the 12th I got to go through southern New Mexico, which is my favorite state. It's just like the license plate says:  Land of Enchantment.  It's different from the other southwestern states somehow, and the people are SUPER nice.  I stopped for a couple of hours and did laundry in Las Cruces just to have more time there, but that got me to Odessa much later than I'd originally planned.

I love everyone I've met in Texas, but driving through it can sometimes be awfully boooooring.  Driving through the panhandle on my way to Odessa was a little mind-numbing.  Thank goodness I listen to audiobooks.  The first time you see an oil derrick it's kind of cool, especially if you've only seen them on TV or in movies. By the time you see the 10th, or 20th one it's gotten pretty old.  Thank goodness at the end of my drive there was a very nice room waiting for me, where I washed up and went straight to bed around 11:30pm. And then couldn't get to sleep, and couldn't get to sleep, and couldn't get to sleep. "What the heck is wrong with me?"  I thought as I tossed and turned. The last time I noticed the clock it was around 2:30. I finally drifted off but it was a rude awakening at 6am, when I had to arise because my host, Dr. Bob Brescia, had a full day of activities planned for me beginning with a radio interview at 7:30am.  And that's for the next blog post!

Thank you for reading my boring post.  I'm sorry it wasn't more exciting, but basically these days were all about getting from Oregon to Texas and not having  enough time to visit with the wonderful people who helped me do it.  Dave, Mary, Grady, Oliver, Michael, Mary and Jay....I am BLESSED to have good friends like you in my life. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

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