Whirlwind World Tour

In the last 2 weeks, we have played shows in Rota, Spain; Sigonella and Naples, Italy; Bahrain; Djibouti, Africa; and on the flight deck of the USS Nassau.

Seriously? That's my life.

I have just logged onto facebook for the first time in about 4 days (longest I've been without any internet for years) and I am overwhelmed at the posts I am getting. This trip has been life-changing. To see a small glimpse into the lives of these American soldiers - the obstacles they endure... like the Black flag waving in Djibouti which means they are not allowed to physically train outside - it's TOO HOT. Yeah you know... the average 130 degree, run of the mill, temp...

OR 3 of the 5 Air Conditioning units on the Nassau being OUT... and sailing in 96degree waters... as if it isn't hot enough with ALL the AC's running.

You think you know "hot" and "humid" growing up in the south and playing shows in the deep south outside. Nope. Not even close. I'll forever be thinking about our Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines in full gear having to carry heavy packs... when I'm thinking "Ughhh it's so hot out here".

I have no way of uploading photos, but we have more photos and video footage than we know what to do with after this trip! I'm so excited to go through it all. I haven't even seen hardly any of it.

One of my most bizarre moments of the trip was in Bahrain. We went to dinner with a whole group people from the base and MWR. Now, keep in mind - we were in the Middle East. We were told not to dress "too American" and of course out of respect, I was making sure that I was covered - being that I am female (even though it is about 115 outside).
Ok. So we're at dinner in the Middle East - eating at a Mexican restaurant, listening to a Filipino man sing Keith Urban and Garth Brooks. Hmmm...
Oh! And we ran into a bunch of Navy Seals that had been on our flight over. So we ran into people we knew out in town in Bahrain.

Most of the people on this trip have gotten really sick. Somehow, the bass players and lead singers of both bands did NOT get sick. But pretty much everyone else has had a rough go of it to say the least. Our sound guy puked on the Osprey Flight on the way to the ship. (They couldn't find a bag for him, so he puked into the fruit bag) James passed out after the show on the ship - and they took him down to medical to get an I.V. Dave, the lead guitarist from Safety Suit, threw up TWICE during their show on the ship. We had two very large puke bags ready for everyone for that very reason. Poor Dave has been sick for over a week now. Some of the Safety Suit guys got it first, and then it started spreading. I didn't start feeling bad until after the show on the ship - which was our last. And mine wasn't even close to what everyone else had.

Needless to say - once everyone is healthy again and back home... we have some pretty hilarious stories to tell. :) It's already provided much laughter, but it will be even funnier when everyone is in the right place to laugh about it.

We are about to head home and I can't believe this trip is already over. It seems like it went by so quickly and yet somehow, shows that happened 2 and 3 days ago seem like they happened 2 or 3 months ago. I'm STILL feeling the motion of the ship even though I have been off of it for over 24 hours. :) It's kinda cool, actually. taking a little bit of it home with me :)

Can't wait to write more when I get back home. We have lots of stories to tell and LOTS of men and women on this side of the world to brag about!

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie