2009 Summer Tour

It is July 21 and I am in Church Point, Louisiana. It has been raining all day which really isnt a bad thing for the south. Nice and cool and no humidity (well nothing major anyway). The show yesterday in Lafayette was the coolest it has been in several years. We also just finished the Texas swing hitting up Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio. Again, i think it was pretty cool compared to years prior.

Nothing new to report. Traveling is going well with no breakdowns of any sort. We are going to make our way back towards the east. The show is getting tweaked little by little. Hopefully for the better.

I am not sure what else to write. I tried a new candy bar called the "Thingamajig". I guess it is related to the "Whatchamacallit". Wasnt to bad. Kind of flavorless. Had some good mexican food while in San Antonio on Sunday. Food here with the corps has been plain. Lot of processed chicken. So I am getting a little tired of that. Unfortunately that is why I am out and about a lot spending money on food because I am tired of eating chicken patties and chicken nuggets. But such is life.

Again, since there is nothing else to really report I am going to take a nap before our trip tonight. It is 7:30pm (central time) and we are scheduled to leave around midnight. We are off to somewhere in Mississippi.

Peace out and I will write more probably this weekend.

Laytah!

Oh, I posted a few new pictures from Disney.

Wow, cant believe it has been 2 weeks since I have been able to get on to update what has been happening on tour.
We had a minor set back on our way to the Normal, IL show. Our volunteer bus got into an accident. Fortunately no one was seriously hurt. It had only a handful of people on it. It could have been much worse. About an hour prior to that our equipment truck got into a minor accident as well at a truck stop. It just wasnt a good morning for the Glassmen.

Outside of that nothing exciting has been happening. We havent encountered much hot weather (as of now). More rain than anything. But now that we are heading down south I am sure we will start to feel it.

We went to the Chicago area on July 4th to do some parades up there. We (the drivers) even had a catered breakfast thanks to a Niles, IL resident. It all started out in 2007. We parked our buses in a residential neighborhood as the kids marched the first parade. Well the resident of the house we parked in front of was curious on who we were and what our group was. So we were telling her and then she offered us some coffee and soft drinks as well as some pastries. So the whole group go to chatting and the resident stated that if we were to come back for the parades next year she would cook us a full breakfast. So as the months went on one of the drivers remained in contact with her and as July 4 2008 approached she was informed that we were coming back to that parade. On the morning of July 4 2008 we went straight to her house after dropping the kids off and she kept her word. In front of her house was a full breakfast set up with crepes, fruits, donuts, and beverages. What a treat. And the same thing happened as the year before. She said if we were coming back next year (2009) let her know and she will do the same thing. And again she kept her word. We pulled in front of her house and there was the breakfast set up. We were very happy drivers that morning. And I guess there are still some nice people in this world.

So the next day we headed to Michigan City, IN (about 70 miles away). We havent done this show since 2007. This show is very professionally run. What makes it cool is that all the corps get a police escort to and from the show. So picture 4 motorcycle cops pulling up to the school ready to escort you. And then zipping off to the next intersection to block traffic. It was pretty cool. Too bad all shows werent like that.

So where am I at now? I am in Commerce, GA which is in the north east part of the state. Two full rehearsal days for the kids and a time for us drivers to relax and catch up on our sleep. We went out for a driver's dinner because we were tired of eating chicken all the time. So we went to Longhorn Steakhouse. Typical chain steak place. But it was some of the best damn food I have had in a long time. Everything was cooked perfectly. And dessert was yummy. I even had some left over. It was a little pricey but I think well worth it. And to end the night I went back to the school to wash my bus. It was due for a cleaning since it rained right after we washed the fleet a few weeks ago.

I am going to put up some new pictures from Chicago and some random shots as well. Not sure when I will be able to log on again as t is becoming difficult to find internet connection.

Until then keep following my map and enjoy your summer.

Whats up!?!?!?!?! Hanging out here in Dayton, Ohio. Actually in a hotel room. The corps has been rehearsing all day after doing a clinic at Wright State University. Since there is no place for us drivers to sleep they put us up in a hotel for a few hours. Not to bad. Comfy bed..no distractions. Will be leaving the hotel by 11:30pm and departing Dayton a little after midnight. Kind of a short ride up to the Toledo area. But we have to get up early again to take the kids to the University of Toledo for a rehearsal. But we will go back to what the corps calls "G-West", which is their full time rehearsal facility. We will catch up on our sleep there and then go to the show at the Glass Bowl. Then it is on to Normal, Illinois for a big "band-o" show.

Things are going well so far. Will try to get some more pictures up soon. Take care and I will try to post more as soon as I can. It is off to sleep for me (never thought I would be saying that at 7:30pm).

C-ya!

I finally got a chance to get online since tour started. Last year we had Wi-Fi on the buses so I was able to get online a lot. Unfortunately this year the corps decided not to get it to save some pennies. So I am relying on the internet connections in the schools. So far I have been lucky. Every school we stayed in so far has an internet connection.

This is the first time I have actually had some time to write down whats been going on. We finally got on the road Tuesday night. What was supposed to be a short 3 hour trip turned into 5 because we decided to take a longer route due to it being all highway road. So that kind of sucked. Then the trip from outside Columbus to Maryland was long. Took 8 1/2 hours, getting in at 4:30am. Then to top that off we had to leave for a performance in Washington DC at 7:30am. By the time we unloaded and moved the buses and got ourselves situated it was already 5:30am. I tried to take a short nap. But due to one of the drivers snoring beyond all belief I couldnt sleep. So driving into DC during rush hour traffic and without sleep wasnt fun. We were there for a small rally for music education. We parked the buses about a mile away from the rally. So I had to walk back to where the corps was and then help walk them back to where the buses were. So i got my exercise for the day. On the way to and from the rally I got some good pictures of the Capital building. You can see those on the map/photo area. We finally left DC around 5pm and got back to the housing site at 7pm. So 2 hours to go 60 miles. 2 of the buses missed some turns so they were behind schedule.

After getting back at the school I decided t reposition my satellite radio antenna. I think some of the wires were getting cut up so it wasnt getting reception. I put the antenna on top of the bus ad right away I was getting a full signal. I cant get down the road without listening to Howard Stern. He keeps me awake at night.

The kids rehearsed a little bit after we got back from DC. Then we had a late dinner of chicken patties and some chips and pretzels. And several varieties of cakes. We do eat well while on tour. I need to try to watch what I eat. For example toady (06/19) we had lunch at noon, meatball subs. Because we are leaving for the show at 4:15pm they have a "dinner" scheduled for 2:30pm. And this is a full meal consisting of chicken breasts, watermelon (no racists jokes needed), and whatever else they decide to put out there. So yeah, lots of food to go around. And then we will eat again after the performance tonight.

Well thats about all I have to say for now. Check out the pictures from DC and I will write more next time I get out.

Not much to write about because I am tired and cant think to clearly. Started the day off returning the rental car and getting the bus ready for today's trip. The other driver who was supposed to meet me there showed up 90 minutes late. We finally got on the road around 1:30pm. Went through 4 different states on the way up to Richmond, KY. Got in at about 7pm. Went to Hooters for dinner and now just chillin at the hotel. Tonight might be the last I get online for a few days. I will need to be relying on the bus' wireless internet as my days for staying in hotels for the summer is over.

Tomorrow we will be heading in to the Toledo, Ohio area.