March 2006

Over 150 days with out rain and the only 2 days we get have to be on the weekend!? - You’ve got to be kidding me. Last year we actually were trapped on site due to all the rain and flooding. This year with the drought (I know, drought in the desert seems redundant) I figured we were safe. Boy, was I wrong.

As I am still playing catch up financially, I didn’t do a heck of a lot this month. And, with this freak winter storm it was gonna make catching up even slower. Apparently Arizona has been in a drought for a good part of the last year. That was fine with me since rain only hurts festival days and we were on a record pace. Plus, after all the rain we got last year (they added a weekend it was so bad) I couldn’t imagine it could happen again. Wrong again! It rained all day, sometimes not too bad, but enough to keep people from coming to the show. We closed at noon. So much for our record pace. We were still in ok shape though, and ahead of last year. I’m sure we’ll make it up the next week. Strike three!!! Next week came and Saturday was awesome! We had well over 16,000 people there. That’s a great day at this show. We also broke our record for the largest hat in Arizona. But then Sunday came. I didn’t hear anything about any inclement (crappy) weather, but 20 minutes before the gates opened, I was practicing with my whip and it started to hail! Oh my freakin’ god! I can’t believe this is happening again. The hail quickly turned to rain and doused the site. It wasn’t as bad as last week was but would definitely affect the crowds. I think we ended up with about 6,000 people thru the gate. We just can’t catch a break!

 

Ded Bob, performing in the rain for next to nobody

Snow and clouds over the mountains

Although the weather killed business, it does some amazing things here in the desert. Wildflowers pop up everywhere and some things seem to turn green overnight. In the higher elevations (Arizona’s very bumpy) they got like 2 feet of snow! It was the first of the season! In March!? But it sure made for a beautiful view of the Superstition mountains. Their caps of white fluffy snow totally changed the way they looked. But it was gone in about a week. I’m glad Sharon’s coming in time to see it. [Watch the vid in Windows Media]   [Watch the vid in RealMedia]

My highlight for this month was Sharon’s visit from Florida and our annual trip to Mexico. We hate being apart this much but it made sense since she’d make more money working the Tampa show for Ruth. I picked her up from the airport and we went searching for a hotel. I wanted to get a hotel for the first couple of days she was here so we could have some "alone" time. I couldn’t find one ahead of time because spring training had all the major chains booked solid. We found a nice Super8 fairly quickly.

We spent the first couple of days just hanging out and spending much-needed time together. On Wednesday we headed out to the site to pick up our posse and head south to Nogales, Mexico. This years group consisted of myself, Sharon, Katrina, Sam, and Christian. All but Katrina had been before so she was in for some fun.

Every time we go to Mexico we pass the duty free shop on the American side. We always want to get something ‘cuz the prices are nuts! Everything is so cheap, but it has to be going across the border to Mexico. You can’t just buy it and walk back to your car. Well, here’s the loophole. You buy whatever it is and have them escort you to the border. Then you walk over to Mexico, turn around and come right back thru customs and then back to your car. That way the items make it to Mexico satisfying the whole duty free thing. I got a liter of Bombay Sapphire gin for $12.00 and a 2 liter bottle of Absolut vodka for $14.00. That’s just crazy cheap!

 

Drinking a Sol at the market

Katrina and Sharon

Anyway, after dropping off that stuff to the car, we headed back to Mexico once again to have lunch and make our pharmaceutical run. (That was why we were here after all.) There’s a cute little courtyard restaurant directly across the street for our favorite Pharmacia. (As they’re called there) We had a nice lunch and while we were waiting for our food some well dressed men with guitars entered and started wandering around. I eyed them over to our table and slipped them a five. So we got a nice serenade before our meal. They were really good too. [Watch the vid in Windows Media]   [Watch the vid in RealMedia] Two pitchers of sangria and whole lotta food later, we were off to the Pharmacy.

When we got there, I was pleased to see Dr. Pena. He’s the pharmacist that’s helped us the last three years in a row. He’s very helpful and funny. He noticed Sharon and I bickering and said "That must be your wife." Ha ha, very funny. We got Sharon’s birth control pills as always. (About $28 for the year) and we also got ranitidine (Zantac) $10 for 100. I decided to check on allergy stuff too. I got 100 Claritin tabs for $12.50. 100 would be a fortune in the states.

After picking up a few other odds and ends and some supplies for friends, we headed back towards the American side. We stopped for one last drink at one of the little markets on the way. A friendly guy offering shoe shines stopped at our table. Christian asked how much and he said $3 American. He started working on the first shoe and we were astounded at how thorough he was. I stopped him after the first shoe and got a before and after shot. We finished our drinks and headed home.

 

Christian and the shoe shine dude

Before and After shot

We were really surprised that on our way back through U.S. customs none of the officers asked if we had anything to declare. They just looked at our I.D.s and said "Have a nice day." Gotta love that homeland security! Actually, you’ll have to have a passport starting in June from what I’ve heard. So I guess I’ll be getting one soon.

I dropped Sharon off at the airport around 1pm on St. Patty’s Day. She got to see just about everyone and had a great time. It was wonderful to see her but I missed her the second she stepped out of the car. *Awwww* That’s so sweet.

That night Christian said he was making souvlaki and baklava for the joust camp. Christian is Greek by the way. His last name is Stavrakis. It don’t get much more Greek than that. I thought it was odd that he was doing Greek for St. Patty’s Day, so I decided to make a more traditional dish. That’s right, you guessed it... Corned beef and cabbage!

I love to cook and this was a chance to do it for a big group. I got a nice big eight pound corned beef and a big head of cabbage. It takes about 4 hours to cook the way I like it but we did this on such short notice that I only cooked it for about 3 hours and 20 minutes.

It was awesome! Everyone pigged out and really loved everything. There wasn’t a drop of my dish left. Christian’s Greek food was amazing as well. The boy can make some mad baklava! I don’t like it that much but couldn’t stop eating his! Everyone left full and happy. It’s nice when a plan comes together.

 

My super Corned Beef and Cabbage

Steve, Shannon, and I enjoy a St. Paddy's Day dinner

This past weekend was the biggest yet. We had over 18,000 people on Saturday and estimates are over 20,000 for Sunday. I hope the weather holds for the last weekend. I really need the money for gas to get home. Otherwise, I’m stuck here and it’s starting to get hot!

One last note, I got an email from the entertainment director for the Bay Area Renaissance Festival. It appears that they want us to perform after all. It was gonna be weird not doing that show for the first time in 23 years. Obviously, all our fans complaining about our absence really made a difference. Thanks everyone!! It’s not 100 percent sure yet but it looks good. We’ll keep you informed. Keep your fingers crossed.