Portland, ME
An exhausting last 36 hours.

My mother won't sleep well knowing this, but we set out yesterday from Waterville ME (heading to Claremont, NH) in the throes of a blizzard. Roads were very bad; I was behind the wheel, and although I was proceeding with great caution, and not going over 35 mph, I lost control of the van just as we got on the highway, and we slid to a stop about a foot from the guard rail. Luckily, no one was behind me, and we managed to get straightened up and back on the road before any traffic appeared in the rearview mirror. I drove for another 20 minutes or so, until I could no longer deny that I was scared to death (images of the van flipping over a guard rail into a ditch, or going end over end with my friends' limbs going every which way, etc), and asked for a volunteer to take over. Patrick obliged, and we crawled along at 35 mph for probably another hour. Finally, somewhere in NH, the snow turned to rain, and we were back to being able to kind of go the speed limit. So... very stressful day, yesterday.

Oh, AND, we get to our motel in Claremont, and it's SKETCH-VILLE. The "Best Budget Inn" ... avoid, if possible, if ever in NH.

This morning we had an early show, (great audience; the kids really loved the show), a kick-ass lunch in an old box-car diner, and then we got back on the road. All of us were pretty much zombies, until after lunch. The stage was slightly raked, and ALL of our scenery is built on castors, so shit was rolling all over the place! It was like ... "ship's going down, captain!" as the dinner table rolls by, by itself. We ended up putting wood blocks down in front of the wheels, just to keep the damn set from rolling off the front of the stage. Very entertaining. Made for some sloppy set changes; not that the kids notice, of course. Basically, someone just wiggles their butt on the other side of the stage, and they're happy.

The drive to Portland was fun. NH is beautiful, and we drove right past New London, where I spent two insane summers. It kind of gave me a little sad, nostalgic twinge... but also made me happy to think that if I ever get hired there again, they're going to have to pay me EQUITY wages. Ha ha!

I drove today, since yesterday's shift lasted all of 26 minutes. We listened to music and talked about 'relationships' ...and the Simpson's. Because, really, how can you have a conversation about ANYTHING without referencing a Simpson's episode?

And here we are, in Portland. Hoping to find a place to get a good meal and a beer, and just hang out a bit.

More tomorrow.
OH-- and Tapey had a growth spirt. We'll have to put photos of him up, soon.