IT'S NOW OFFICIAL- 50 SHOWS IN 50 STATES IN 50 DAYS!!!  (Lots of pics to follow)

When I first came up with this idea more than a year ago, I ran it by my wife.  I once again reminded myself that I married the right woman when she didn't say that I was crazy, but instead got to thinking and she had our route laid out within an hour.  Well, that was March of 2016- and before we hit the road, it was a crazy time of planning, booking shows, more planning, and figuring things out.

Well, it's now official.  We've performed 50 shows in 50 states in 50 days!  Our final show was at First Baptist Church of Honolulu in beautiful Hawaii.  The people there were great and Pastor Barry did a wonderful job of setting everything up.  I had long wondered what it would feel like to take the stage for show number 50, knowing that it was a major milestone for us.  Well, honestly, the last two months have been such a whirlwind that this show really didn't feel different.  It was a blast as always, knowing that you have the greatest job in the world when you get to make people smile (and the fact that you can use your platform to share the greatest message of all).  You can't really do anything different in the show because you want this audience to have the same experience as the folks at every other show.  It's not until after everything is finished that you can look back and realize that it all actually happened!

Gotta say, Hawaii is amazing.  From the monster waves at the beach to the look of paradise everywhere, it's truly a place where you could spend some serious time.  We did a lot during our visit!  Faith, Clay and I went scuba diving:

Aren't those giant sea turtles awesome?  You can swim right there among them and they just treat you like one of the gang.  That was a cool experience.  But, so was this:

That's a Hawaiian octopus!  I never imagined that I'd have the opportunity to interact with one of these guys in his natural habitat!  In addition to the sea turtles and octopus, we saw an eel, LOTS of sea urchins, and we swam alongside a REEF SHARK!

We also went to Pearl Harbor.  Here's the USS Arizona memorial:

There's quite a bit to see at Pearl Harbor, and it's mostly free.  I'd highly recommend it if you're in Oahu!

One morning, we spotted these wild dolphins from a boat:

These are Spinner dolphins, named after the way they spin when they jump out of the water.  It was quite a sight!  There were also a lot of flying fish (Malolo in Hawaiian) that were jumping at the sides of the boat.  I had never seen those before!

Here's Clay in front of one of the filming sites for his favorite movie- Jurassic Park!

We stayed in a beach house on the North shore.  There was a path behind our house which led directly to the beach.  At night, there were a zillion of these huge frogs along the path:

We were situated minutes from the famous Waimea Bay and Banzai pipeline.  At Waimea, there's a huge rock, where you can climb up and jump 25 feet into the ocean:

That's my splash in the water.  Seriously, how can you come to Hawaii and pass up the chance to jump off the big rock?

As for the beaches, they're just what you'd expect for Hawaii.  Here are Grandpa Chester and Eli enjoying the view:

If you ever have the chance, you need to find a way to relax in Hawaii for a few days.  Life's too short to not see all the amazing sites out there!

So- since leaving Cincinnati on May 27, we have put 14,447 miles on our Jeep.  2712 of those miles were in the very beginning, just to get to the Seattle airport to kick this thing off.  Now that we've completed show number 50, we're on our way back to Cincinnati.  We won't arrive until well into August, though, because we've made a stop in Taos, New Mexico.  We're here for a series of shows around the city, hosted by Calvary Taos.  By the time we arrive home, I estimate we will have driven more than 16,277 miles!

So far, we've had 20 McDonald's meals, 13 Taco Bell, as well as a zillion Subway, Domino's pizza, Arby's, Jack in the box, hotel food, gas station food, grocery store food, food from our trailer, food from the venues where we've performed, as well as every other type of restaurant you could possibly imagine.  We've stayed in 14 Best Westerns, 10 Quality Inns, 7 Comfort Inns, and everywhere else in between.  In fact, before Hawaii, we hadn't stayed in the same place for more than two nights!

We've basically been running around the country like maniacs, living out of our suitcases.  We've been through 4 oil changes for the vehicle, several folks needing haircuts while on the road, and two kids losing teeth (yes, the tooth fairy does visit Hawaii).

As for the show itself, we've set up on big stages with and without curtains, small stages, areas where there was no stage at all, lots of outdoor venues, and quite a few areas where we had to be creative to make everything fit.  We've had thunderstorms hit us in the middle of unloading the trailer, and right in the middle of the show on July 4.  The big heavy sound case fell on Silas in Louisiana.  We've had to load our equipment into venues where there were two flights of stairs.  I had a broken rib for a decent chunk of the tour.  We performed in Minnesota with the power completely out, by the light of the audience's cell phones and with a live acoustic band behind us providing our music.  I had a heckler in the audience in Maine (actually a very nice lady, she just disagreed with what I had said).  In Iowa, we had an incident backstage with baby Eli which resulted in Paula and Faith doing some quick work with duct tape to make his clothes look normal when he appeared on stage.

So, here we are in Taos, New Mexico.  I can't begin to explain how amazing this tour has been!  We've been to all 50 states in a relatively short period of time!  I am beyond thrilled that the kids have gotten to see so many amazing things across this country.  We've seen the Mendenhall glacier, Yosemite, Mt. Rushmore, the geographic center of the nation, Mall of America, Lake Erie, a cow milking plant, New York City (the subway and the Statue of Liberty), the ocean in at least five different places, a house in Kentucky that looks like a goose, Gatlinburg TN, two world class magic shows (Branson MO and Honolulu HI), Cadillac ranch in Texas, Four Corners, Horseshoe Bend (of The Grand Canyon), the famous lights of Las Vegas, and all of the amazing sights in Hawaii!

AND, since we've arrived back in the continental USA, we've seen more.  We visited the famous sites in Los Angeles, such as the Hollywood sign:

This is a view from Hollywood Boulevard, with all the stars on the walk of fame.  There's Grauman's Chinese theater, with all the famous hand and foot prints in the cement.  There's also the world famous wax museum, where there are several free photo opportunities out front.  Here's Eli meeting King Kong:

While out on this tour, each kid had a specific thing they wanted to do.  Silas wanted to have a hot dog at Pink's:

Pink's is a small hot dog stand in LA, but it's world famous.  Check it out if you're there!

So, upon heading East, we passed back through Arizona.  In Sedona, we stopped at the place Faith wanted to see:

It's a McDonald's, right?  Well, actually, this one has the distinction of being the "Blue McDonald's", the only one in the world that has arches which aren't the signature gold color.  Sedona is a desert town, and the idea was to make the sign blend in better with backdrop of the red rocks.

We had already seen a taste of The Grand Canyon at Horseshoe Bend, but this time we went to the real thing:

I think we've been just about everywhere!  I love my job.  Doing this tour has allowed us to see all of this and more.  It's awesome to get to see God's creation from shore to shore.  From the deserts to forests, from the oceans to the giant redwoods that we saw in California, this is one beautiful land.

We now get to relax for a week in Taos before doing the big show for the city.  This, by far, has been the most memorable summer of my life.  God sure has blessed our family to have been able to see this country in every corner.

So, some advice:  Get out and see some place you've never been!  Life is short, so you should enjoy every moment.  If you don't think you can visit the other side of the world, trust me- you can.  Just find a way to make it happen.

Here's one more photo of a sign that I've seen in several hotels now:

This made me laugh.  Gets the point across, doesn't it?

Get out and see the world around you!  We've had a blast doing so, and we're not even home yet.  The world is beautiful!

So, you say "Hey Phil, I've been reading this blog, and after show #48, I haven't heard anything"!

Well, here's the deal- we didn't vanish!  What happened is that the blog post for California was almost finished and when posting it online, while on the move, our internet went down.  The next day we were overseas, where the internet REALLY didn't allow this to work, so we are just now getting back into a territory where I can post what happened!  So, here's California, from July 20.  Tomorrow evening, the grand finale:  HAWAII!
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Today was the final show for the continental USA!

California is incredible, but getting here today was an adventure.  We woke in Las Vegas and set out early.  Our destination in California was only 4 hours away.  We followed I-15 for almost the entire trip.

Upon entering the state of California, we needed gas in a serious way!  There really isn't much available out in the desert.  So, we were happy when we saw a gas station in the distance!  I WAS NOT, however, prepared for this:

This is the most I've ever paid for gas in my life.  Everyone at the station was feeling the same sticker shock!

We went on the the next town, Baker, and got out for lunch.  It suddenly felt like we'd stepped into an oven!  Directly behind us was this big thing:

We continued on toward Los Angeles.  Along the route, we passed through San Dimas, which is famous as the location for "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure".  Years ago our family dressed as the characters from that movie for Halloween.  Here are the real Bill and Ted, along with our version from that Halloween:

So, while in San Dimas, we had to stop for a photo at the local Circle K!

After a quick stop, it was time to head on and prepare for show #49.

Our show today was the final private performance of the tour.  The folks in attendance had a great time!  It's funny- most people at our shows know the particulars of the tour, but when you explain to them that you literally are doing 50 Shows in 50 States in 50 Days, they look at you like you're nuts!

So- tomorrow is the finale for this whole wild trip.  We head to Honolulu, Hawaii, for show #50!  It's crazy in that it feels like we just began in Alaska, but at the same time, that seems like 10,000 years ago.  The tour really has gone quickly, as I suspected that it would.  Stay tuned!

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*Again, this entry was written July 20 but thanks to varying levels of internet access, I'm just now able to post it.  Watch for the grand finale tomorrow- Hawaii!

The Las Vegas, Nevada area has long been the place to come if you want to see a magic show, and today, that included ours!

We spent last night in Vegas.  Today, before setting up the show, we visited a little more of the strip.  One of the most amazing shopping and entertainment areas I've ever seen is The Forum at Caesar's Palace.  This is a multi-level place that's HUGE (as with most things in Vegas)!  It's designed to appear as if you're outdoors, walking down a Roman street at night.  All of the decor inside has the right look:

(Notice the kiddos looking through the eyes?)

We explored the whole place and ate at Planet Hollywood inside the giant complex.  Even the escalators are themed- have you ever seen an escalator that curves as it goes up?  Neither had I!  If you're ever in Vegas, you have to visit the Forum!

Next door to Caesar's is the Mirage.  It's the hotel where renowned Illusionists Siegfried and Roy performed.  Outside, there's a huge stone monument to the famous duo:

We had to get to the show, but there was one more thing we wanted to do:  Our family loves ice cream sundaes at McDonald's, but we never eat the little packets of nuts.  When we're on the road, we've developed a habit of saving those so that the kids can feed ducks (and pigeons) if and when we see them.  Last night we saw ducks in the water outside the Mirage, so today, we brought along some nuts (probably from Maine or who-knows-where):

Who'd have though that feeding birds would be one of the fun things you'd do in Las Vegas?  Just watch, some smart person will soon create a big attraction in Vegas where you pay $100 to feed birds.  Remember, I thought of it first!

I also found this sign humorous that was in an elevator on the strip:

Apparently this is a common problem?

It was time to set up the show.  We headed to the church and met with Pastor Russel Marsh.  It's funny, sometimes the biggest crowds can be just "okay" as to their responsiveness, while a small crowd can be dynamite.  This was a smaller crowd, but they sure had enough energy for a group twelve times their size!

We really had a great time.  Thanks again pastor Russel!  After the show, there were a couple of folks on hand who helped us load up and head out.

We're staying a second night here in Vegas, since our show isn't far away.  It's in California, which is the final show in the lower 48 states!  Only 2 left!  This tour has flown by so fast that it's crazy, but I suspected this would be the case.  When you do something for 50 consecutive days and never take a day off, it really does go fast.  We've had an amazing time- and Hawaii is yet to come!

I thought yesterday was busy.  It was, but today- wow!  Three states, a desert hike, a performance in Utah, and Vegas! 

We woke this morning at Canyon Colors, the Bed and Breakfast run by Pastor Manny and his wife, Brenda.  Brenda made us a breakfast that was really great!  This really is a nice place to stay if you're ever in Page, Arizona.

After last night's show, we got the chance to go on over to the Bed and Breakfast and leave the load out until today.  That was a luxury that we don't normally have- usually we have to be out right away to head on to the next state.  Today, though, the drive wasn't bad so we were able to do it this way and stay here.  So, after breakfast we went to the church and got the show packed out.

Pastor Manny recommended that before we leave, we go and see Horseshoe Bend.  It's an incredible canyon that does a 180 degree bend, and you can go right to the edge and look over.  First, though, you arrive at the parking area and see this:

They tell you ahead of time that this is a serious desert hike.  It's exceptionally hot (reached 105 today) and of course there's no shade from trees like we're used to at home.  Fortunately, it's only three quarters of a mile to hike to the canyon.  When you arrive, this view is incredible!

This photo was taken standing at the top.  It's more than a 1000 foot drop over the edge of the cliff.  If you're anywhere nearby, you have to see this for yourself!

We went to McDonald's for lunch (and to cool off), and also to wait while the Jeep received its 3rd oil change of the tour (4th if you count the fact that we had the oil changed the morning we left Cincinnati).  The vehicle is till running like a champ! 

We were on the road again, heading for Utah.  Today's show was another private event just outside of St. George, Utah.  These type of events usually don't always have the biggest audience, but they're always lots of fun.  I'd say I probably do about a zillion private events throughout any given year!

After the show, we had predetermined that we'd drive on and stay the night in Nevada near tomorrow's show.  We did that, and tomorrow's show just happens to be in Boulder City, which is just South of Las Vegas.  So, that's how it happened that tonight, we got our photo on the Las Vegas strip!

Paula and I have been here before but the kids hadn't.  They were truly amazed at the sight and immensity of the Las Vegas strip.  We went to the strip tonight so that they could see the lights at night.  We plan to return in the morning before the show so that we can see the Forum at Caesar's Palace. 

This tour is almost in the books!  This blog entry, by the way, is a day behind- so stay tuned for the entry for Nevada to follow shortly.  47 down, 3 to go!

WHAT A DAY!!!

This has been quite the eventful day!  After staying the night in Durango, Colorado, we left for Arizona.  The show today was in the town of Page, which was only about four hours away- at least, according to the GPS.  We're pulling a huge trailer loaded to the gills with show equipment, so four hours for everyone else means more of a six hour drive for us.

Not a major issue, though- Colorado to Arizona is quite a scenic drive!  There are huge mesas everywhere, reminiscent of all the old Western movies:

As we approached Arizona, we stopped at Four Corners.  That's the geographical spot where the corners of four states (Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah) meet in a single point.  You can stand directly on the spot and literally be in four states at one time!

Have you ever done a handstand and had all four limbs in different states?  Faith has!

They've set up a concrete viewing area around the spot, complete with benches (and tons of vendors).  The parking lot is on the outside, and you can drive all the way around- so in a matter of seconds, you can literally drive through four states.  It's funny to hear the GPS say "Welcome to New Mexico!  Welcome to Utah!  Welcome to Colorado!  Welcome to Arizona!".

We continued on to Page, Arizona.  We arrived in time to set up at Faith Bible Chapel.  This was a nice big area with some great lighting.  The show was awesome- these folks were a lively crowd!

After the show, I got the chance to do something I haven't done in quite a while.  Pastor Robert arranged for an industrial lift to be waiting outside in the parking lot.  So, for a grand finale to the show, I performed the straitjacket escape while suspended upside down over 35 feet in the air!  It's hard to see in this photo, but you can see me just above the light:

Everything went great!

So, after everything was finished, we were preparing to head inside and I was greeted by a member of the church.  Have you ever heard the name Jarrett Edwards?  Jarrett is a professional bass fisherman and has his own outdoors-themed TV series.  He's also a member of this church and a super nice guy!  After the show, Jarrett did something amazing.  He gave me some gift cards worth a VERY substantial amount to Best Western hotels.  When we're on the road for such a long time as this, hotel costs can add up ridiculously quick.  This was a huge blessing!  You should check out Jarrett's show- he's a genuinely nice person.  Thanks again Jarrett!

Tonight's accommodations are awesome.  We're staying in a Bed and Breakfast owned by Pastor Manny, the lead Pastor of the church.  Manny and his wife Brenda own "Canyon Colors" and it's a great place to stay if you're ever in the area.  They take care of your every need.  Brenda also makes a full breakfast!  We just had some of the best homemade ice cream we've ever tasted, and the beds look quite comfortable.  Thanks Pastor Manny!

It's just incredible how blessed we've been on this tour.  So many people have done so much for us.  Again, I can't stress enough that there are more good people out there than you'll ever know.  You won't hear about that in the media, because that doesn't sell newspapers, but it's true.  We've truly met some amazing people who have been a major blessing to us.

We're finished with 46 shows!  Only four more to go- Hawaii is in sight!

Ever been to Colorado?

Until today, I hadn't.  Today's visit unofficially makes me the first member of our family to have visited all 50 states!  I say "unofficially" because I've flown into the Salt Lake City (Utah) airport before, but I've never actually touched ground outside the airport.  We'll be there in two days, though, so that will make it official.  Colorado was the last state I hadn't ever visited in any way.  Not any more!

We left the hotel this morning and stopped for lunch at "Serious Texas BBQ".  They're located in Bloomfield, New Mexico, and they're really good!  They don't mess around- they sell BBQ by the pound for everyone to share.  That's a good deal when you're a family of seven, and you don't want to keep getting individual kids meals that they won't finish.  We were able to take our time because we only had an hour to go to reach the venue today.

The show was in Durango, Colorado.  The drive is interesting- if you're coming from the South as we did, you'll drive through the desert and mountains for what seems like forever.  Then, all of a sudden, there's a city nestled at the base of several mountains.  Durango is a huge town for outdoor adventures such as hiking and rafting.  You'll drive past MANY cars with kayaks tied to the top.

Today's show was at Durango Christian Church.  Initially, the show was to be held in a park.  We were in town early, so we went to look at the area- and saw this deer right in the middle of the neighborhood:

Kind of reminds me of the deer we see every year in Nashville, Indiana.  This deer wasn't afraid of people- it has clearly spent some time living near houses.

The rain was looking a bit threatening, so the call was made to do the show indoors at the church.  Durango Christian Church had a great stage and great helpers!  We were able to get in and set up easily.  One thing had escaped our attention, though- every show, we cut through a potato to demonstrate the workings of a giant saw on stage.  So, we have to periodically restock the potatoes in our rolling cart.  Well, we used the last potato yesterday.  I quickly ran to get more before the show, but where does one get potatoes in an unfamiliar town?  Google Maps to the rescue!  We were able to find a "City Market", very similar to the Kroger's stores we have in Cincinnati.  I made it back to the church just in time to finish the remaining setup and begin the show!

The show went great.  The people were fun and very receptive.  Thanks again Pastor Jon!  After the show, we were loading out when Silas and Lydia yelled "DEER!".  We looked outside and there were two deer (bucks this time!) walking right down the street:

Durango really is a nice place.  We're spending the evening in our hotel with Domino's pizza and McDonalds ice cream.  We can't believe we're 45 shows in!  What's even crazier is that we only have a matter of days before we'll be performing in beautiful Hawaii.  This tour has been absolutely amazing and we're hoping that these last few shows are the best yet!

Today was quite a surprise!  Yesterday the show was in Texas, and today was New Mexico.  After yesterday's Texas show, we went to the hotel, and that usually means that we're finished with everything in that state- nothing left but to drive out the next morning and hit the next state.

Well, Texas had quite a bit to offer on the way out!  We were in Amarillo which is in the Northern part of the state.  Our route is laid out such that we can get to the next show without too much distance between states.

First, we had to try something.  Silas was curious as to whether this would actually work (and so were we):

Anyone recognize where that's from?  Apparently you actually can do that!  Next time, maybe we'll try it a bit closer to the Alamo...

We drove on and passed by a big crowd of people gathered around something.  I looked to see what was going on and I immediately recognized something I've seen a zillion times in photos.  Ever seen this?

That's a spot called "Cadillac Ranch".  It's an art thing created in the early 70s and consists of ten Cadillacs half buried in the ground (and supposedly sticking up at the same angle as the pyramids of Giza).  It's actually a really cool thing to see- and they encourage you to decorate the cars with spray paint!

Of course, we had to tag a car with our name:

Not sure who that kid is that's photobombing us from up on the car!  Seriously, this is a great place to unleash that hidden graffiti artist that you always knew was inside.  If you're ever in Amarillo, you should see this.

We headed on towards New Mexico.  Today's show was a private event (the only one on this tour) and it was indoors (thank goodness, because it's hot!).  The folks in attendance were great!

The plan tonight was to get as close as possible to Colorado for tomorrow's show.  We didn't want to go the wrong way so we made sure, when in Albuquerque, to turn left:

We're staying tonight in a hotel in Bloomfield, New Mexico.  We have less than an hour to go tomorrow to reach Durango, Colorado.  This one is for a big community event- should be fun!

Texas- another new state for everyone except Paula!

Our hotel last night was in Yukon, Oklahoma.  Strangely, our neighbor had this sitting outside his door:

We're not really sure why someone would need lighter fluid and grilling utensils on the 4th floor of a hotel.  One can't exactly do a lot of that type of cooking indoors...

Paula also discovered something interesting with the elevator.  Have you noticed that it's now standard that elevators are built with a sensor so that if the door is closing and someone steps inside, the sensor triggers the door to open back up?  Well, the one at the hotel was apparently not working correctly.  The door closed on Paula's arm!  Thankfully, they don't close in any type of guillotine-style grip so she was able to yank her arm out.  It was a surprise, as this is a nice hotel!

We set out on the road again.  Roughly every three to four days, we'll have an occurrence where we're driving at highway speed, Paula rolls down the window (or I do), and FLOOP, we lose some sort of paper out the window at high speed.  "Hope that wasn't important" has become a standard phrase for us.  That hasn't happened in a few days now so we're waiting because we're about due!

We headed for Texas.  This was an easy drive, because even though it was almost four hours, I-40 took us straight into Amarillo.  Texas is a beautiful state.  The diversity of this country has been quite a sight to see, and even the little things are amazing, such as the soil out here- the dirt here is a deep rich color, almost a reddish maroon, whereas Cincinnati is more of a brown.  I would have thought that dirt is dirt, but apparently not!

We arrived at the church for today's show.  Load-in was easy as there wasn't a step anywhere, just a straight path to the stage.  The show began and the crowd was lots of fun.  It was really strange to tell the audience that we only have seven states to go!

The folks in Texas were really great!  Thanks again to Dulcie at Coulter Road Baptist Church!

As we were loading out, Paula and Faith were pushing a case up into the trailer and a random passer-by stopped and jumped out to help!  Where else but Texas?

We had "Freddy's" for dinner- a first for this trip.  Tomorrow we head to New Mexico.  We performed at Calvary Taos in December, and while we won't be seeing them specifically on this tour, we will be doing an event for them on the return trip home.  New Mexico, here we come- seven to go!

Oklahoma was awesome!

I know I sound as though I say that about a lot of the states we've visited, but seriously, this was an amazing place!

Before we left home for this journey, I built a shelving unit in the nose of the trailer.  One of the shelves is devoted to food that we can eat on the road, such as individual applesauce cups, granola bars, microwave popcorn, Mac-N-Cheese, etc.  Well, that sounded like a good idea.  The reality, though, is that by the time we're due for lunch or dinner on any given day, we're usually in a hurry to get where we need to be, or it's very late after a show.  So, with the exception of the small items, the food in the trailer has been largely untouched.

That's why this morning, before leaving the hotel, it was nice that we were able to get some milk and enjoy some of the breakfast food that's been riding around on that shelf since the beginning.  As we were heading out, Lydia didn't want the rest of the milk to go to waste:

Off we went.  We use Google maps for most of our navigating and you have the option to avoid toll roads.  This often changes the route to include lots of back roads.  In Kansas, that means that the road you're on may abruptly change to gravel!

We passed several large vehicles and you absolutely would not believe the cloud of dust that was raised by whatever drove on this road.  It didn't last long, though, and we were back on a regular road towards Oklahoma.

The show tonight was at Surrey Hills Baptist Church.  Greg and Michelle were awesome to work with!  The moment we arrived, there were several volunteers ready to move everything inside.  Well, when we opened the back of the trailer, there was a HUGE layer of road dust covering everything- and this is an enclosed trailer!  It's amazing how the dust can penetrate spots where even water wouldn't go.  Still, it's great to be able to simply roll the cases out one by one and watch as the helpers take them all to the stage area.  We have a lot of setup after that, of course, but moving the cases in is one of the heavier jobs.

Surrey Hills has one of the largest stages of anywhere we've been so far.  It's also hardwood, which is great- big props roll best on a solid surface!  Given the size of the stage, we also had the largest backstage area yet.  Here's a common sight backstage:

Eli also had a great spot:

This was a fun crowd!

After the show, Greg and Michelle sent a huge load of Chick Fil-A with us for dinner!  We were really treated well here.  Thanks again Surrey Hills!

On the way back to the hotel, we got gas for $1.84- the second best price of the trip!  I'm really glad that gas is reasonable this summer.I did pay more than $3.30 in Alaska but that was the exception.  In the continental USA, it's been in the low $2 range and often less than $2.

We're staying in Oklahoma at the Comfort Suites.  42 down, 8 to go!

We're ACTUALLY GETTING TO RELAX in Kansas!  How?  An early show, combined with a short drive tomorrow!

Today started off very early.  Last night we arrived in Wichita, Kansas, and got to sleep around 3 A.M.  We had to wake up less than three hours later, just before 6 A.M., to get to the venue to set up for a 9 A.M. show.  The good news is that from what I can see, we shouldn't have to do that again, as there are no early A.M. shows left on the schedule.

We arrived at Word of Life church in Wichita.  Our assistant from the church, Dave, was a gigantic help in getting everything inside.  Now, as early as this was, it was sort of a blessing in disguise- the heat today was forecasted to reach more than 100 degrees!

The stage at Word of Life was HUGE!  We can totally make the show work in just about any space, but it's always nice to have lots of space and to be able to decide what goes where.  As a result, our backstage area also ended up being larger than usual.  That's a good thing!

So, the show began to a fun crowd.  Word of Life has multiple campuses and what they did today was to bus folks in to this location for the show.  We really had fun and the response was great.  Afterwards, Dave helped again and we were able to load up without much difficulty.  At this point, the heat was beginning to increase outside!  We really hope we can come back soon for a return visit because these folks were awesome.

So- it was now still before lunch time and we had the rest of the day to relax!  We're staying a second night in Wichita because tomorrow's show in Oklahoma isn't a crazy drive.  So, we actually got to take it easy!  Lunch was at our favorite place- Chipotle!  Faith is still keeping her accurate records of where we eat.  Chipotle is now up to three for the trip.

The only other thing that HAD to happen today was laundry.  We've needed to get some laundry done for a while and that can be a challenge on the road while running from state to state, so usually we do it overnight at the hotel's coin laundry while we're sleeping.  The problem is, the last three hotels haven't had guest laundry facilities!  So, these last couple of days, we've been doing the road traveler thing and trying to be very creative as to what clean clothes we had remaining (and it probably has looked like our sense of fashion was a bit off).  Today, Paula and the two older kids took all of our laundry to "The Lost Sock"- is that not the greatest name ever for a laundromat?

While they were gone, I took Silas, Lydia, and Eli down to the hotel pool.  It was awesome to just sit by the pool and not have to be concerned with the time!  We honestly haven't had many opportunities like this- we have usually been heading to a show, or seeing a local landmark- and even then, we have to watch the time because we still have to make it to a show or get on the road to the next state.  Today was just what we needed!

Dinner consisted of Knolla's pizza, a Wichita favorite.  It's really good- I would highly recommend it if you're out this way.  No driving tonight- we're staying right here in Wichita (YES!).  Lydia's already snoring away, and everyone else isn't far behind:

Nothing wrong, though, with running down to the snack shop in the hotel:

We're absolutely having a blast on this trip.  We've been on the road (and effectively living out of our Jeep) since May 27.  Paula and I just confirmed that we're thinking the same way, that we are having a great time!  It's such a blessing to get to show the kids all the parts of this country.  Tomorrow we perform in Yukon, Oklahoma- can't wait!