We Made It!

Just in case you ever need to know:
There aren't a lot of tire stores open on Sundays in Conyers, GA - especially ones that carry trailer tires. Thank goodness for Walmart! They were the ONLY people who had anything close to what we needed.

Turns out that the spare tire the trailer store had given us was the wrong size! Way too big for the trailer... But we got one new tire to get us home and we'll get another tomorrow. Poor Tim had a session at 7pm tonight, and we pulled in RIGHT at 7. He was just a bit late, but I am hoping it wasn't too big of a deal for him.

We dropped the trailer at the gas station, Tim and I headed with the busted tire to Walmart, and James and Miguel stayed with the trailer. They got us all fixed up at Wally World, so all is good! Turns out our original tires were overinflated about 20psi... that'll make em wear strange, for sure!

Any time something changes personel-wise it's like the stars line up differently. :)

Hootie had the women's panties in his bed on the first road trip.

When Peter subbed, the first Suburban COMPLETELY died in Carlisle, PA.

And on Justin's first trip... Amy was also subbing for us (so it was DOUBLE the luck) and that was when we got hit by a semi.
Hmmm...

And Tim got the ever-so-uneventful flat tire.

I don't actually think it means anything. But maybe next time a new element is added, I'll ask for a few extra prayers. :)

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Jenkin's Auto: The Hub of Columbia's Tour Support

How to make an upside down cookie:

Put oven on "broil" instead of "bake". Cookie will be burnt on top and gooey on the bottom. Ummm.... What? I TOTALLY meant to do that tonight ;)

My sister, Stephanie, is a personal trainer and today is the first day I have been able to work out with her in a long time. OH MY LORD. She kicked my boootay, in the best possible way of course :) I am already sore.... actually I was sore before I left her house! How's THAT for a workout? I'm pretty excited , though. I feel like I need to work really hard on keeping up with everything she showed me today, so I can be a good example of one of her clients. :)

James and I were really hoping to get in bed early tonight.... NOT happening :) But what fun would that be? We are heading down to Columbia to get the trailer and it is 3am - our primetime. But we got a LOT accomplished tonight. Miguel and I recorded acoustic demos of all the songs for my session on Monday. Miguel is going home to Chile, so he won't be there with us to play the songs live for the studio guys.

So I guess, I am basically saying that we recorded a bunch of songs so that we can go in and record those same songs. Did ya catch that? :)

(And of course, we squeezed in plenty of hang out/dinner time with Jenn, Ella, and Miguel!!! MMmmmm spaghetti and meatballs. And Ella figured out that if she takes the cushions off the couch, she has a trampoline. Hours of fun right there!)

When James and I got back to our apartment to pack and load up, Ben was hanging out on the porch. Of course, we all started scheming and planning for the upcoming session. We've got a good idea for what the marathon week of recording should look like!! So that was good.

AND THEN... out of nowhere... at 3 am... the BEST THING EVER happened. We have the greatest friends in the entire world. I am still beaming and in a bit of shock right now. I had left the Suburban at my friend, Keith's place. We had a few things that needed to get checked out... and just overall maintenance since she is over 115,000 miles! Keith has a great shop in Columbia - Jenkin's Auto. And I always take the 'Burb to him to get some doctorin up. Keith is basically the reason that Columbia's touring bands can stay on the road so safely!!! He keeps Scott Holt and I going... and going... and passing each other.... and going...

Not only did Keith get all the maintenance done and fix the AC... HE DETAILED THE ENTIRE SUBURBAN. She was as shiny as the day we bought her... actually, probably shinier. And the inside... oh the inside... shampooed carpets, organized, Armor Alled.
Our trip to Augusta and back tomorrow is going to be so FRESH! (and that's not new lingo. I mean, literally. I'm not cool enough to come up with "lingo")

It was one of the more ridiculous things he's ever done for me, and he's done a LOT. He's probably one of the most "on-call" mechanics. I can call him any time with ridiculous questions about "What to do". Keith Throneberry rocks my world. Now the only problem is... it's gonna take me even longer to fall asleep because I need to think of a great way to repay him for this fantastic surprise.

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie