We're HOME. Cinnamon is Happy.

WE MADE IT!!!

It was a LONG ride, but we are home. And Cinnamon is VERY happy. She's in my lap right now... making it more difficult than normal to type and I am loving every second of it. :)

My body is shutting down very quickly. But I have faith the sore throat and sickliness is going to be gone as soon as I... well... stay in bed ALLL day.

If you are planning on calling me tomorrow... don't be offended if I don't answer. I'm not talking. I'm resting and living up at least ONE day of time off. :)

Today included a stop at the World's Largest Truck Stop. And it was a GREAT sandwich day. We hit up both Planet Sub AND Jimmy John's. But Jimmy John's need to rethink this sign... it seems slightly inappropriate. Either that or you're in trouble. And neither is good.


Night night!

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

I Made It!!!

Whew. We've had ummm 15 or 17 shows in a row with no break... I can't remember right now and I don't have the energy to go count. This whole year I have seen this stretch of shows on the calendar and it was the leg of touring I was the most concerned about. If they were all college shows, it wouldn't have been a problem. But when the book ends (3 days on the front and 3 days at the end) are at some of our longest club nights... well, I just have to be extra careful with my voice.

But yay!!! I made it! I won't be speaking tomorrow at all on the drive home. Give my voice some rest. We won't sleep much tonight - it's already 6:15am and we need to be out of here by 11. But hey, at least I am not singing tomorrow!!! I can always handle little sleep. but when you pair little sleep with lots of singing... it can be rough.

I love Spinnaker. I really do. I went to the beach this afternoon before the show. And James and I just stood up on the balcony at Spinnaker before we packed up and took in one last look at the ocean.

It's been really fun having Justin back on this trip. He is an incredible singer and an extremely charismatic performer - he knows how to get an audience all riled up! I'm gonna miss him!

Heading to bed. And tomorrow I head to my own bed for a few nights! WOOO HOO!!!


Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Bates College

We played at Bates College tonight in Lewiston, Maine!

Ummm... the snow here is RIDICULOUS. I saw a car that was almost completely buried. It is piled up taller than me on every street. I just can't imagine living like this! I mean, I LOVE LOVE LOVE snow. But, that isn't really fair. I have never had to shovel a sidewalk. So I have a very pure picture of snow... For me - a flake of snow meant NO SCHOOL!!! growing up. Actually the THREAT of a flake of snow meant NO SCHOOL! so you know.... snow = pure happiness

The show was great tonight. A lot of students came out in the 3 degree weather (I'm sure the free chai tea and yummy cookies didn't hurt anything!) There were a couple of girls that started 2-stepping during "And Then Some" which REALLY impressed me. There wasn't a dance floor... but they just adjusted and kicked off their shoes. It was great. : )
The student paper did a great write-up for us too!

Bates News Article

And I have to say a big thanks to Meg Crocker for posting videos and pics from the evening!!! I lost my uploader thingy... so I can't get pics off my camera until we hit up a Best Buy!!! But Meg posted lots of pics on facebook -



She had them all up by the time the guys and I got done watching Lost in the hotel! Speaking of... Good Lord! That show is just bananas. I really need to go back and watch all the previous episodes because it's getting to the point where I can't remember half the stuff that's happened. Lost is so addictive. Actually, the last time we were in a Hilton Garden watching Lost - it was our first time in Hilton Head, SC. I remember that so well. We barely made it to the hotel in time to watch it on tv. We've given up on that notion... television, that is.... it's streaming online for us kiddos these days.

We head to Bristol, Rhode Island tomorrow. But it's only 3.5 hours away!!!! We get to sleep in!!!! I am waaaaaayy excited about that. Well... except that it is already 3:30...

yeah... I'm going to bed. Here's hoping for a Best Buy run tomorrow. And maybe a Red Robin? Mmmmm... food... NO! SLEEP!

k.

peace, love, fiddle faddle

If You're Ever in Jonestown, PA...

The guys and I drove for 16 hours today.... we stopped about 95 miles short of Scranton. Scranton was our goal - it was where we wanted to sleep tonight. (Plus, it makes me feel cool to stay where The Office is supposed to be set :) )

But this RIDICULOUS snow storm started. It is gorgeous - huge puffy, beautiful flakes - the kind that you yearn for as a kid and the kind that DEFINITELY gets schools closed in Tn. But also the kind that is NOT good for driving. As we were trying to make it to a gas station, a few trucks passed me in the left lane and when they'd go by, I couldn't see the road. It was ALL white. So, yeah, we decided to stop for the night.

We're in Jonestown PA and the first hotel we came to was a Best Western. Now, normally I really like Best Western's and this one looked brand new. But this one is not on my "favorites" list. (And for some strange reason I feel like I know a thing or two about reasonably priced hotels... hmm wonder why??)

First of all they keep the door locked this late at night. No big deal, but there was no where to ring a bell or pick a phone to let someone know you are standing outside in the freezing cold. I walked around 3 times trying to find a way to notify the night attendant, and then the automatic doors closed ON me. Umm.... how does THAT happen??? Then, when I finally was let inside the second set of automatic doors, the man inside abruptly said "We don't allow oversized vehicles". I know I looked at him strangely. I mean, REALLY!?!?! It's a Suburban pulling a 5x8 trailer.... And I guess, yeah, that would be considered "oversized" but it only takes up one extra parking space. Plus out of ALL the hundreds of hotels we have stayed at over the last few years traveling, no one has ever refused us a room because of our vehicle. It's not like it is a semi. But whatever. It probably wouldn't have irritated me as badly if I hadn't just been slammed in by their door and battling the crazy blizzard outside. I get it's not his fault or policy. And I wasn't rude or anything. I was just very frustrated.

So then we went down the street to the Days Inn. SCORE!!!!!! This place is AWESOME!!!! And the guy at the front desk, John, wiped away all my frustration. He was overly accommodating and just so friendly. After I checked us in, we started unloading the car. Right before we got in the elevator, he let us know that he had just gone up to our room and turned on the lights and the heat. WHO DOES THAT!!?!? That was THE NICEST thing in the world he could have done for us. What an thoughtful man. And the room... It's a business suite, so it has a full kitchen, two beds, a pull out couch (so Hootie and Miguel don't have to snuggle tonight) and a whole little office area.

See? Everything happens for a reason! I am SO glad we aren't at that grumpy Best Western.

Plus, this place inspired some good music! I know it may seem strange, but I come up with a lot of good song writing ideas in the shower. I came up with a really cute one tonight. It's one of those that I can hear almost the whole song - I just need to work out the details of the lyrics. But I know what I want it to say :) So after I showered, I got all bundled and went out to the Suburban to have some quiet to record my ideas. (I say that, but really what I mean is that I get embarrassed about recording song ideas in front of the guys so I have to go somewhere else) But yay!!! So that's ummm over 10 songs that I need to finish now??? Good Lord! That's a whole album! How awesome would it be if they were ALL album worthy!?!

So now I must sleep. We have to leave early early. It's 2:30am and we have to be at soundcheck tomorrow in Maine at 7pm. With all this crazy snow... who knows how long it's gonna take us.

Whew. Life on the road is crazy.

The moral of this story? If you ever get stuck in Jonestown PA - stay at the Days Inn.