Le Moyne Senior Week

WOW. Le Moyne College in Syracuse, NY KNOWS how to throw a party! It's senior week - they are the only ones left on campus, and they graduate this Sunday. Many were dragging for the afternoon party because of the pub crawl last night. ;) But they pulled themselves together for the prizes (ipods, flip cams, digital picture frames), bull riding, roping, games, BBQ, wine, and beer! (And of course the show).

David opened as usual (he played one of my favorites), and an audience of very well-dressed and excited cowboys and cowgirls were dancing, clapping, and keeping us entertained while we were entertaining :)

Look at how cute all these girls are!!! And the boys weren't hard to look at either ;)














We just arrived in Lima, Oh and it's a little after 3am. We left after the show in Syracuse around 5 tonight, so it really wasn't that bad of a drive!!! We are SOOO excited about the show tomorrow. We are making up the show we missed at OSU because of the Great Nashville Flood. Not only have they been rilin' us up by posting awesome pics of the marquee for tomorrow:


But also - They had gift bags in our rooms waiting on us when we got to the hotel! They are signed by the entire CAB staff AND there was chocolate!!!! Not gonna lie... already bit into my kit kat bar....

Can't wait for tomorrow. Gonna get a little shut eye now so my voice sounds pretty in the morning!

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

GO! To Chipotle.

Another rainy Sunday, another 12 hour drive.

We spent the first part of the day getting the oil changed in the van... not supposed to be difficult, but the giant trailer we pull had to be dropped in order to make that happen. Again, not a problem, except the fact that the universal hitch lock bought for the trailer... well, isn't exactly universal. Our trailer may be one of the very few it doesn't fit, but it definitely didn't fit. James got it to stay on once... but we were able to pull it off. Not exactly what you want out of a lock.

But the guys had an excellent idea. We bought a cable lock, you know - used on bicycles, and locked the two wheels together. AHHH. It worked! And no one stole the trailer while we headed down to Chipotle! :)

I know I've said it before, but I'll say it again. Chipotle is EXCELLENT. We recently stopped at a Moe's which I had never tried before.

Doesn't

Even

Compare.

Not even a little bit. The ingredients and the pure conscientiousness Chipotle (at least SEEMS to) possess makes it an incredible establishment. I feel healthier when I eat there. I just love it. And so does the whole band. Even David, who has a hard time on the road since he is a vegetarian. But we ALL love the Chipotle. :) I think you should go there. Right now. Seriously. I'll time you. 1, 2, 3, GO!

And with that, I bid you goodnight.

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

I Got To Go Home Today! For 30 Minutes!!!

I AM SO TIRED OF BEING IN THE CAR.

Yesterday morning we were in Laurel, Mississippi. We left that morning and drove 6 hours to our gig in Louisiana. We played our gig, got in the car and drove 5 more hours... Spent the night somewhere else in Mississippi... left this morning and have been driving ever since. It is 2:30am and we still have 3 hours left. Ughh.

We stopped in Nashville for less than 30 minutes tonight. I stopped by my apartment and grabbed a sweater. Miguel and James had to swing by Guitar Center for a couple of things to make it through the rest of this week. So Jenn and Ella met Miguel at Guitar Center to give him some extra clothes, too. We all were under prepared for the cold on this trip!!

And then we struck out about 10 times in a row on trying to eat somewhere. We were trying to stop quickly so we plugged in a Dunkin Donuts into the GPS. But it turned out to be a gas station that happened to have a DD coffee dispenser. So then we tried the Arby's down the road. Closed. Called Jimmy John's we ALWAYS go to in Louisville. Closed. Got off at the next exit with a Subway/Gas station... CLOSED. Got off at the next exit because there was a Dunkin Donuts sign on the board. Never found it. Pulled into the Wendy's. Closed. 4 more exits later we found a Subway open. Good Lord. It's frustrating because with all that time driving in circles we could have just eaten with Jenn and Ella in Nashville instead of trying to grab something quickly.

So it's been a long couple of days of traveling. Every time we pass a tour bus I just sigh. And dream. :) Really... it's not even the bus that would make me all giddy. Just having a driver would change mine and James' lives! But this is what we have to do for now.

"Whatever It Takes" right?

Peace. Love. Fiddle.

~natalie

I Want To Go To There

We made it!

We're in GA. And we get to stay in the SAME hotel room for 6 nights. SIX NIGHTS!!!!!!!!!!!!! That is monumental. I haven't stayed in the same place for six nights since we took a break in May to make the record. I wasn't even home that long when I had bronchitis this summer :)

I'm already starting to feel at home here at the hotel in Perry, GA.

And we all laughed when we got in the car today - it was only a 6 hour drive! After the drive from New Hamphsire, that seemed like a hop, skip, and a jump. Although, I got tired after driving 4 hours. The other day it was 10 hours before I needed to switch.

I'm excited about playing the fair all week. I have missed the fair that comes to Columbia for the last 4 or 5 years, but I think playing 3 shows a day for the next 5 days is more than going to make up for it!

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Great Grandaddy was a Fiddle Player?!?!

Today I found out that my great grandfather played the fiddle. I had NO IDEA!!! Granny has never talked about that before. But apparently he had an amazing ear and could play anything. And his brothers all played instruments, too - banjo, guitar, and jews harp. How cool is that!?!?!

We got to Columbia around 8:30 this morning. That means we spent 23 hours in the car non-stop. I am not sure how in the world James finished it off. I went to bed about 11:30am... RIDICULOUS! But we've had a good day of errand running... still doing laundry right now, and hoping to get done soon so I can get some sleep tonight. That took a lot out of me... but we are going to play the Ga National Fair for 5 days in a row! We get to stay in the same place for 5 days! YAY!!!! We have 3 shows a day, but still... it will be nice not to have to shift hotel rooms every few minutes :)

Night night.

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Rock Valley College And On To North Carolina!

Can You say LONG drive?

We're driving from Northern Illinois to North Carolina right now. It wouldn't be so bad... but we've been creeping along in traffic since we left Rockford... over 3 hours now. Oh well.

We played at Rock Valley College this afternoon. The football team and lots of students and teachers came out for the free food, music, and the beginning of their homecoming festivities. The girls that were helping us out with the event were so sweet.

Cara was taking care of us all morning. :)


Some of the awesome peeps that I talked with after the show!



Thanks y'all! You're crisp weather up in Northern Illinois is PERFECT football weather. Have a good game this weekend!

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie