Two days, three shows, and three states!
Since the show in Leesburg, we had a couple of days off to enjoy Florida. We stayed for two days in a town appropriately named Treasure Island. The ocean is much calmer and clearer, and the kids were thrilled with the assortment of shells to be found. Here's Silas near the beach, feeling like the karate kid:
We moved on to Tallahassee for two shows. The first was a small show at an educational center- nothing huge but we've been there for the last six years straight! On more than one occasion, it has been our first show in Florida that year.
Our second show of the day was the big show, for our friends at Celebration baptist church. We've performed there at least seven times that I can think of. Here's Faith showing what a gymnast does to warm up before the show:
This was a big crowd, and they were great! We're always happy when we find out that we'll be returning to Celebration in Tallahassee. We hope the next time comes along soon!
The next day we performed in Mobile, Alabama. The venue was a huge Christian drug and alcohol rehab place called "Mission of Hope". They're very serious about what they do and they have a no nonsense policy. When we got there, they had six guys unload our trailer in record time. Ordinarily it takes a bit of time to unload (and we know what we're doing), but when you have six big guys and you can just point, it's truly a luxury that we don't have often- and we sure appreciate it when we do!
So, what better place for a magic show than a strict rehab community? After all, isn't magic just for kids? Well, if you've ever seen our show, you'll know that we don't do a "kiddie" show. Sure, the kids in the audience will have a great time, but we want the entire family to have fun. In this case, we had an audience comprised entirely of adults who are dealing with some very serious addictions. Our show carries a strong message about hope that is found in Jesus, and this place is founded on the same thing- so we were able to really connect. Over all, we had a great time!
This was an afternoon show, so we headed out right away to get some miles behind us before stopping for the night. On the way out, we passed something that we remembered from last time:
The next day we performed in Mobile, Alabama. The venue was a huge Christian drug and alcohol rehab place called "Mission of Hope". They're very serious about what they do and they have a no nonsense policy. When we got there, they had six guys unload our trailer in record time. Ordinarily it takes a bit of time to unload (and we know what we're doing), but when you have six big guys and you can just point, it's truly a luxury that we don't have often- and we sure appreciate it when we do!
So, what better place for a magic show than a strict rehab community? After all, isn't magic just for kids? Well, if you've ever seen our show, you'll know that we don't do a "kiddie" show. Sure, the kids in the audience will have a great time, but we want the entire family to have fun. In this case, we had an audience comprised entirely of adults who are dealing with some very serious addictions. Our show carries a strong message about hope that is found in Jesus, and this place is founded on the same thing- so we were able to really connect. Over all, we had a great time!
This was an afternoon show, so we headed out right away to get some miles behind us before stopping for the night. On the way out, we passed something that we remembered from last time:
That's a rail car stacked atop two trailers. Ingenuity at it's finest!
We drove all the way to Nashville, Tennessee and spent the night. We'll be here one more night before our show tomorrow in Kentucky. We like to stay more than one night in a spot if possible, because it's less checking in and out of hotels. Today, Eli made a friend at the pool:
We drove all the way to Nashville, Tennessee and spent the night. We'll be here one more night before our show tomorrow in Kentucky. We like to stay more than one night in a spot if possible, because it's less checking in and out of hotels. Today, Eli made a friend at the pool:
Isn't it amazing how kids are just automatically friends when they meet? We could learn a thing or two!
Doing what we do involves a good deal of time driving. That means lots of car meals, which Eli has mastered:
Doing what we do involves a good deal of time driving. That means lots of car meals, which Eli has mastered:
Yeah, good parenting right there . . . but you gotta do what you gotta do!
Here's something else we do all the time- have you ever ordered a hot fudge sundae at McDonald's? Most people have, and most people don't eat the nuts they give you for the sundae:
Here's something else we do all the time- have you ever ordered a hot fudge sundae at McDonald's? Most people have, and most people don't eat the nuts they give you for the sundae:
Well, years ago we started hanging onto those those little packets. We drive all over the country with those sitting in the console. When we pass an area where there are ducks, the kids like to hop out and feed them. The peanuts are perfect!
These ducks happily ate nuts from Alabama and (I think) Montana. You know, we love to see all the amazing things around the country, but it's incredible how much our kids love something as simple as feeding ducks. In fact, when we performed in Las Vegas, we took some time to see the Vegas strip among all the lights- and yet the highlight for the kids was when they got to stop outside one of the mammoth hotels and feed some nearby ducks. Mark my word- one day some smart person (probably the same guy behind the adult coloring books) will create an "experience" where adults pay $59.99 to enter an "exclusive" area where they'll get to feed ducks. I thought of it first!
So, tomorrow we head on to Kentucky for the final show of this tour. It's crazy how fast these trips always fly by. It seems like just yesterday that we were laying out the route, and tomorrow, it'll be finished. Now, we'll still be heading back to Nashville for a couple of days for some private events, but that route we worked to fill with shows will be finished once again. There will be one more blog post for this tour- watch tomorrow for final mileage, state count, and all the statistics from these past two months!
So, tomorrow we head on to Kentucky for the final show of this tour. It's crazy how fast these trips always fly by. It seems like just yesterday that we were laying out the route, and tomorrow, it'll be finished. Now, we'll still be heading back to Nashville for a couple of days for some private events, but that route we worked to fill with shows will be finished once again. There will be one more blog post for this tour- watch tomorrow for final mileage, state count, and all the statistics from these past two months!
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