Michigan

Today was nice- got a lot of things done and had a great show as well!

We stayed last night in Monroe, Michigan.  My Mother and Stepfather came to see our show in Michigan (and see the kids), so we all stayed in the same hotel.  The venue is located roughly 3 miles from the hotel, so we were able to relax and enjoy some time with the family.  The kids had a blast playing in lake Erie:

Especially Eli-

Look at this one.  Doesn't it remind you of one of those posters with a picture like this and some cheesy inspirational quote on the side?

I was also able to go to a local Ace hardware and get some parts for a prop we've needed to fix for a while.  In addition, we discovered yesterday that our A/C blower has apparently breathed it's last.  So, we went to Autozone and got a new one (which, thankfully, they had in stock).  Doing these repairs involved quite a few different tools.  Now, tools are one thing I did not skimp on when preparing for this tour.  I seriously have never understood how I could function out on the road if we didn't bring an assortment of tools.

We headed to the venue.  Today it was First Baptist Church of Monroe.  Here's a photo of our stage setup before the show:

See the tall guy?

That's Paula's Father, Chester.  He' came to Michigan as well and helped us load the show in and out.  So, with all of those family members here, load in and load out went SO fast that I was fairly certain we'd forgotten something (thanks again Mom, Ed, and Chester!).

The show was great.  A show from an illusionist was definitely a new thing for this church but we were very well received.  One little hitch- the air conditioning in the church had gone out a few days ago, and was just being repaired today.  We did the show in 84 degree heat, and if you've seen our show, you know that my show costume is a velvety material.  It was definitely on the warm side!

Monroe is one of those towns where they have just about everything, food and otherwise.  After the show we all went for dinner at Denny's.  There used to be several Denny's in Cincinnati but they've been gone now since 2001- so when we're on the road, we always try to hit one when possible.

We had a good meal!

Back at the hotel, the kids wanted to swim.  The pool here goes all the way down to 9 feet, so it's fun to toss the hotel key card into the deep end and see who can retrieve it first.  The kids are amazing swimmers- I'm proud of them!

The kids also got a visual reminder as to why we don't drink at our house, as there was a guy at the pool who didn't have quite enough blood in his alcohol system.  Among other things, he attempted three times to open the gate to get out, and couldn't figure it out.  He ultimately elected to just hop over the fence, and nearly fell on his head- on the concrete.  I'm hoping the kids watched, as it was like having an after school special right in front of us.

We don't have too far to drive tomorrow, so we're staying one more night in Monroe.  Tomorrow it's on to our home state- Ohio!