This month I get to make a much needed trip home to visit the wife and I get to see the fruit of my drinking. I also wave goodbye to Minnesota and make a weekend trip for a performance in Kansas City with the Blue Team on the way to North Carolina.
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As I said last month, September is a big birthday month in my world. Since our journals are typically due on the 25th of the month, Sharon’s birthday on September 29th gets pushed onto my October journal.
It had been close to 10 weeks since Sharon and I had seen each other and her birthday was coming up so I booked a flight to Florida to surprise her on her birthday. It was really hard keeping the secret from her. I bought the ticket 3 weeks before the trip. Let me tell you, it was the longest three weeks of my life. From the moment I booked the ticket it was like Sharon knew ‘cuz she really started complaining about how long we’d been apart. She complained much more than she did before I got the ticket. I was so tempted to tell her. But, I held out till the Friday before I left. Sharon hates surprises so there was no way I was gonna just show up on the doorstep.
Anyway, I flew in for a whole four days! Woohooo! But it was great to see her and my dog and house, etc. I took her to Bern’s Steakhouse for her birthday. It’s an amazing restaurant. I’d go into a lot of detail but I think I’ve done that a couple times before in journals. Just check the earlier journals or go to their website.
I returned from my trip to Florida refreshed and ready for the last weekend of MRF. It was another beautiful weekend and our shows just rocked! As usual we had our friends the jousters do a cameo appearance on Saturday. In addition to them we had Jon Wray (Lucio) of the Tortuga Blue team visiting on his way to the Kansas show. It was fun! We gave the Jousters (and Lucio) dry erase boards to make silent comments on the show. What a great time!
On Sunday we planned a little surprise. We tried to think of something outrageous and came up with the idea to wear kilts as opposed to our regular tights. Again they were a big hit! Ronn (of course) wore a testicle high pink plaid mini skirt. You know… any chance to get into women’s clothes.
We closed out Minnesota with a bang as usual. Thanks again to our minions and fans that support us from year to year. I really do consider Minnesota one of the places I call home.
Since I only had a six hour drive to Kansas City I was able to stay in town a couple days and get out some goodbyes. I made my rounds to Old Chicago and Buffalo Wild Wings, as well as Granite City and Applebee’s. Thanks to all my friends and bartenders there too! Also, on my last trip to Old Chicago I noticed that my plaque had been mounted for finishing my first beer tour. Awesome! I didn’t think I’d get to see it!
The drive was easy enough. Six hours is a walk in the park to someone that drives 26 hours in a sitting. Crazy huh? We arrived in time for dinner in KC. We spent Thursday at Ann Browns since our hotel wouldn’t be ready till tomorrow. You may remember Ann as the photographer that has done all our amazing pictures.
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Since I had access to Ann and her camera I had to get some pictures taken. Let me tell you… no one takes pictures like her. She is amazing. Not only is she a wonderful photographer, she also excels in touching up and doing special effects in post production. I always say… photoshop is my friend!
The Kansas show went well. Saturday was all about getting used to the other guys timing. You can imagine that after 20+ years with Ronn and Riki, there would be a learning curve to adjust. Sunday was much smoother. I was able to relax and enjoy being on stage. That’s what it’s all about. We did a Monday student day as well. Easy peasy. I hope the guys had as much fun the last weekend in KC without me.
I left young Jon behind in Kansas and made the trek across the heartland to the southeast. I passed thru St. Louis and Nashville, making it to Charlotte in about 15 ½ hours. I missed the first weekend and one student day of CRF. But, I made it and was happy to be reunited with the boys. We LOVE the Charlotte crowds! I’d have to say it’s a toss-up between our fans in MRF and CRF. Don’t worry we love you both and will never have to decide between you.
Once in Charlotte I went directly to TGIFriday’s. I’m close friends with Cory, the GM of the restaurant and he’s opened his home to me this year since Sharon no longer works for Ruth and staying in the booth isn’t an option anymore. Oh well, I guess I’ll just have to suffer with a real toilet and shower. That’s sarcasm, by the way.
Anyway, it’s October and that means the season is winding down and Decorating Elves season is ramping up. I’m sure I’ll have plenty o’ holiday pics in the months to come.
