Typical Day on the Road
April 2006
April 1
We've decided not to buy the new van, but to sell everything we have, retire from performing, and fulfill our lifelong ambition of selling etchings door-to-door in Ecuador.
On the other hand, we're still in Chicago, and we decided to go to the YMCA to indulge in a Pilates class and do some wall climbing. No fooling!
April 2
Taking care of business in Chicago. After a long day, we were having dinner in the deli of a Whole Foods when we were surprised by our friends Kim and her son Matt. Actually, two of us were surprised -- Zephyr had been talking to them on the phone, and had arranged for them to drop in on us.
A very rainy night, with tornado watches in effect for much of the region, and indeed for the entire Midwest.
April 3
Sunny today, but windy and chilly again -- winter is still trying to make a comeback. We hear that there was a great deal of tornado damage last night in Arkansas and Mississippi; the town of Marmaduke, Arkansas was half destroyed.
We returned for a workout at the Glen Ellyn YMCA, where we indulged in the rock climbing wall among other things.
April 4
A long day at Wegner Elementary in West Chicago. First, we had two shows in the morning, then we returned in the evening to perform for students and their parents.
After the morning shows, we had lunch at a quaint Rock'n'Roll themed restaurant that looked as if it belonged at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The walls were decked with concert posters from the Fifties and Sixties, as well as other memorabilia such as guitars autographed by The Monkees and other performers.
After lunch and laundry, we stopped by the West Chicago Library, which features the world's largest published book. It's a travelogue book, about half the size of the (unpublished) book we use as a set in our performances.
April 5
An evening performance at a school in Chicago, our first time (so far as we remember) actually to perform within the city limits of this little town. It was a grand old school building, about a century old from what we gather, a structure such as they just don't make anymore. In the bathroom, we expected to see Moaning Myrtle pop out at any moment. (That's a Harry Potter reference, in case you didn't recognize it.)
April 6
Another three-show day, this time in Oswego, Il. Fortunately, the performances again were all at the same school.
April 7
After a workout at the YMCA in Downers Grove, we picked up pizzas and headed over to the home of Kim, Matt and Dan in Darien. After chowing down, we drove Matt and Zephyr to a punk rock concert in Chicago by several bands, including one that Zephyr has been wanting to see for a while. It was sold out, and as we lined up outside in the will-call queue blending right in with the black-clad youngsters sporting Technicolor Mohawks, several people came along asking about spare tickets. One fellow even offered 50 bucks each for the tickets for which we'd paid 15 dollars!
While the kids were getting their eardrums assaulted, the parents went to a movie theatre to see "Take the Lead", a reasonably enjoyable flick starring Antonio Banderas and Alfre Woodard. It's a quasi-true story about a ballroom dance teacher who turns a group of inner city high school misfits into self-respecting championship dancers. Predictable plot, but a few very funny moments, and of course some great dancing. Think "The Breakfast Club" meets "Shall We Dance" meets "Coach Carter".
April 8
Another wintry day in the Chicago suburbs. We were in Panera this morning when we were surprised by Matt's brother Nick who saw our trailer and popped in to say howdy.
April 9
Same as yesterday, but the weather is warming up again. Matt and Zephyr hung out and went to a movie theatre (they saw "V for Vendetta", the third time for Zephyr) but it's a theatre unlike any other we've seen. The lobby is decked out to resemble Mann's Chinese Theater in Hollywood, for one thing. But what makes the place really special is that it's also a restaurant, with a little counter in front of the seats where food is served during the movie.
April 10
Took Zephyr by a Guitar Center for the umpteenth attempt to get his guitar repaired, but were told -- again -- that the technician is not in today, and he'll have to come back Thursday between 4:00 and 8:00 p.m.
Then we checked into the Sheraton Four Points Midway, where we'll be staying for a week. It's close to the Midway Airport, of course, but it's also next to a mall, a couple of supermarkets, a Target, an Office Depot, and everything else we'll need within a block or two. There's even a Firestone, where we finally (we hope) can have the van's electrical problem remedied.
April 11
Day Two at the Four Points, and we're hibernating in our room. Especially Zephyr, who is ill and spent the whole day in bed.
Dennis has finally completed his first full-length play (a reworking of a one-act play he wrote -- and Kimberly starred in -- in San Francisco 12 years ago) and he is devoting this week to submitting it to as many producers as possible.
April 12
Took the van to Firestone first thing this morning, and they corrected the problem (knock on wood) rather quickly. Turned out to be a short in the tail light.
Dennis caught a train back to the UIC dental school to have his teeth worked on -- a scaling of the teeth on one side of his mouth. (The procedure is every bit as lovely as it sounds.) Kimberly stayed glued to the computer and Zephyr hardly got out of bed except to get a root beer from the ice chest.
April 13
Still at the Four Points, and Zephyr is beginning to stir again. In fact, he went with Dad to the nearby Guitar Center, and finally, finally, FINALLY was able to get it repaired. (They also saw a 7-string bass guitar, which they'd never seen before.) So now, he's able once again to plug it into the amp and blast away. Mom and Dad are so thrilled!
April 14
Good Friday, and it just missed being the 13th. Zephyr went with his friend Matt to attend another multi-band concert, and then went over to Matt's house to spend the night. Mom and Dad had to endure peace and quiet for an agonizing 24-hours.
Actually, they weren't entirely undisturbed. An entire busload of folks arrived on a bus from Mississippi, apparently a church group, with a number of kids who run around unsupervised, and a number of adults who also seem to need supervision, considering how noisy they are in the halls.
April 15
Normally the ides of Uncle Sam, but this time it's postponed until Monday. Dennis more or less completed his gargantuan task of submitting his play to about 50 producers. Zephyr returned home exhausted (having stayed up all night, apparently), and reported that the concert wasn't very good this time, but he only had to pay 2 bucks to get in.
The church group that checked in has an odd habit of hanging out in the lobby at all hours - grandmas and grandpas and parents and teens and little kids, just sitting there in their Sunday best, in the chairs and on the sofas and in the floor. Tonight they were there until well past midnight.
April 16
Easter Sunday, and we did decorate some eggs, but we just stayed in our hotel room to enjoy our final day at the Four Points. Our friend Kim joined us for dinner.
April 17
Dennis made his last trip to the UIC School of Dentistry to get the work completed on his teeth. Kimberly and Zephyr checked out of the hotel all by themselves.
April 18
The 100th anniversary of the great San Francisco earthquake.
After doing laundry, we took Zephyr over to visit his friend Tim the computer whiz. After chatting with his mother, Karen, we went to take care of some errands, including replacing a rubber cap on one of the trailer wheels that has ruptured, causing grease to ooze out and get scattered all over the wheel. We've had a difficult time finding a replacement part for it. Dennis also finished mailing the batch of scripts and queries to producers, hopefully resulting in at least one mounting of his new opus.
Tonight, we happened to pass an enticing miniature golf course with a horror movie motif (statues of Dracula and the Frankenstein creature, et al) and even though it was nearly 10 o'clock, the place was still abuzz, so we investigated and learned that it would be open until midnight. Well, we've never played a game of golf at such an hour, so we couldn't resist making this another first.
April 19
On our way out of Chicago, we stopped at the chiropractic office of our friend Kim, who gave us all a bit of a going over - especially Kimberly, who's been experiencing some neck problems.
April 20
Pulled into Minnesota, where we'll be performing tomorrow.
April 21
A performance at a school in Mahtomedi (which we learned how to pronounce with some difficulty), a suburb of Minneapolis. We were a bit taken aback when we noticed that many of the kids were wearing T-shirts and sweatshirts with "Zephyr" on them. Turns out that is the name of their mascot! After the show the staff presented Zephyr with his very own Mahtomedi Zephyr sweatshirt. Then we headed toward Rochester, where we ourselves expect to be entertained in grand fashion tomorrow.
April 22
We're in Rochester, Minnesota, and today, for only the second time ever, we attended a live performance of "A Prairie Home Companion". (Our first time was last May in Madison, Wisconsin.) Today's performance was held at the Mayo Civic Center, an arena which appears more suited to rodeos or hockey games. But we were closer to the stage this time, and the venue had an amenity the previous one very much needed: a large screen placed on either side of the stage, so the action could be projected and magnified for those with limited viewing. These screens were used prior to the start of the show for displaying the trailer for the forthcoming film by Robert Altman inspired by the long-running radio series. Garrison Keillor came out a few minutes early to warm up the audience, including leading us in singing the National Anthem. Then we heard the familiar excerpt from Bach, followed by the champagne-voiced female announcer for American Public Media, and presto! We were on the air with Garrison singing the same opening number he's sung for years.
Today's performance featured a somewhat funnier than average Guy Noir skit involving a visit to the Mayo Clinic, and an excellent Lake Wobegon monologue (and we're so impressed by how he does the latter every week without even looking at a single notecard.) There was also quite a bit of other funny business and some good music, as well as a few dead spots and not-so-good music. Our biggest complaint is that there were too many duets by Emmylou Harris and Mark Knopfler, both of whom have enjoyed distinguished careers separately - she as a folkish country singer and he as the lead singer and guitarist for Dire Straits. Now, they've recorded an album of duets, and this was their first appearance together to present material from it. We, alas, were not particularly impressed; the songs didn't sound that distinctive, and neither did their voices. It was actually quite difficult at times to understand what they were saying. (Were they poorly miked?)
The big surprise was Jearlyn Steele, whom we've always thought of as a singer of gospel, a genre of which we are not particularly fond. But she made an excellent choice of old Tin Pan Alley type workhorses and delivered them with gusto and flair. She pretty much stole the show!
All in all, it was another magical event, a poignant reminder that with all the bombs and bigotry in the world, the human race is still capable of so much better. But perhaps the most magical thing about the show came after it was over, and most of the audience had left, the few stragglers, including us, who stood admiring the stage had the privilege of being able to meet the legendary host in the flesh when he came out, as he often does, to greet his fans. And it wasn't just a quick autograph and handshake; he was, as always, sincerely cordial and generous with his time. We told him that we, too, are touring performers, and he asked, "A family band?" Dennis said, "No, we're on a much lower rung of the ladder than that - we're actors." When he heard what we were called, he joked, "I think with a name like Act!vated Storytellers, you might frighten children in Minnesota."
We again had an opportunity to be awed by his memory when we heard some of the other fans chat with him about having met him years ago, and he would indicate that he remembered.
April 23
Happy birthday, Billy Shakespeare!
Today we drove through Baraboo, Wisconsin, the site of the Clown World Museum, which we'd been hoping to see ever since we were in the vicinity last year. But while the museum itself is open now, the outdoor participatory activities do not begin until sometime next month. So, as the desolate-looking tents and cannons and other big top paraphernalia stretched out in the background, we decided to pass up the experience this time.
On we went into Wisconsin Dells for the first time ever, and this place really caught us by surprise. The town has a population of only about 2000, but you can bet the tourist traffic on any given day (especially, no doubt, during the summer) far exceeds that. We were reminded of Branson, Orlando, Myrtle Beach and Rehoboth Beach all at once. We spotted a number of attractions that were common to these places and many other touristy spots we've visited, but Wisconsin Dells also claims the distinction of being both the Waterpark Capital and the Go-Kart Capital of the nation. We certainly can believe the former, as there seems to be an elaborate configuration of waterslides everywhere you turn - some of them even located indoors, so tourists can enjoy them even on a nippy April day. (Also nearby is the Ho-Chunk Casino, one of numerous Native American gaming establishments dotting the heartland these days; and like many of the more recent ones, it's quite spacious and attractive, with a décor acknowledging both Nature and Native American culture.)
At first, we were reluctant to shell out our bucks (of which everything seemed to cost quite a few) for any of these attractions, since, being highly seasoned, if not somewhat jaded travelers, we felt we'd already been there and done that. But we're delighted to say that we couldn't have been more mistaken. We stumbled upon something in this little town that was highly memorable, not too expensive, and (thus far) entirely unique.
It's called Wizard Quest, and initially we just figured that it was the kind of computer-generated virtual adventure that would be exciting only to Zephyr, who called it to our attention. Instead, it turned out to be an enthralling, enchanting expedition through a maze of fantasyland imagery that exercises powers of observation in a thoroughly fun manner for all ages.
Upon entering the door (oops! Portal) you assume a team name (We spontaneously chose Ragtag Ragamuffins) and you're issued a "magic wand" with a barcode on it that can be scanned at a terminal located inside the complex, to keep track of points. And you score points by solving riddles with the aid of carefully concealed clues. The objective is to "free", within a 90 minute time limit, four trapped wizards, each of which represents one of the ancient "elements": earth, wind, water and fire. (The wind wizard is named Zephyr!) Each of these elements is represented by a distinctive realm within the complex, with detailed layouts that even incorporate, in a creative way, such traditional funhouse features as slides, mirrors and secret doors. It all sounds a bit confusing, but within a few minutes, you have the hang of it, and you're a kid at any age. Fans of Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings or Narnia should be in hog heaven.
At the completion of our quest, we spoke to a young man in the gift shop who appeared to be a manager, and asked him if this place was part of a franchise. He said that no, this was the only location of its kind at the moment, although there was the possibility that it would branch out in the future. We hope so; even though on the one hand it's a good thing to have such an activity that can't be found anywhere else, on the other hand it's such a blast that it should be accessible to more people.
Our next stop was Pirate Cove, a miniature golf place with FIVE courses. This makes it definitely the largest that we've ever encountered - the norm is TWO courses. We considered playing through them all, but we arrived at closing time (6:00 on a Sunday), so we had to save it for another visit.
With all the other activities in town closing down for the night, we decided to take in a movie. The selection was "Inside Man", which we figured couldn't be bad, since Jodie Foster is in the cast, and she tends to be quite selective about her projects. It was a good decision. This, the latest effort by acclaimed director Spike Lee, was an edge-of the-seat thriller about a well-planned bank robbery, but there is much more to it than that. The robbers are motivated by something that has nothing to do with greed, and the story has enough plots twists to throw you for loops.
As always, we stayed to watch the credits at the end (we're usually the only ones in the theater at that point), and we were pleasantly surprised to see that, for the first time ever that we were aware of, the names of the musicians were included. They give credit to caterers, tutors, wranglers and drivers; why should musicians be treated as fifth-class citizens? We cheered when we saw our friend Ed Meares in Los Angeles listed at the top of the bass section. He's the principal bassist for just about every major film that's been released in the past 20 years or so, and this kind of recognition is LONG overdue!
April 24
Still in Wisconsin Dells. Zephyr just had to stick around so he could ride the wooden roller coaster at Mt. Olympus amusement park. Only a couple of rides were open, but as long as he could indulge in the coaster a number of times, he wasn't complaining. This park also features a Go-Kart course that climbs up inside a wooden Trojan Horse that looks very authentic and even full-scale, if there is such a thing as an authentic and full-scale Trojan Horse.
While he was thus occupied, Mom and Dad were engaging in a theme park ride of their own, of sorts. They took a spin and a splash on an Original Wisconsin Duck - one of the amphibious vehicles constructed during World War II for use by the army, and then recycled as tour vehicles. We started out on a bumpy, woodsy trail, somewhat reminiscent of the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland or the Kilimanjaro Safari at Disney World. Then we zipped into the water (and we do mean zipped), taking a spin down the river and then into a lake, while our loquacious young guide pointed out rock formations to us. We also passed by the remaining ruins of an old city called Newport that was destroyed by fire about a century ago - except for one house constructed of the rare form of limestone found on this river's banks. And we saw some Gothic sculptures that once adorned the old Chicago Board of Trade building, which was destroyed by fire. The sculptures were rescued by a wealthy resident of the area and moved here, where they now stand oddly out of place in the middle of a wooded tract along the Duck trail.
After we reunited our family and found that there were slim prospects in town for getting online, we headed into Monroe, Wisconsin, another Mayberry-type mini-municipality with an old courthouse in the square at the heart of town. We were pleased to see that the library was open until 9:00, and that wireless Internet capability was to be had there.
April 25
Up early for a pair of morning shows in Monroe. The wintry weather returned yet again, with rain, chill and even (we could swear) a bit of tiny hail. We were beginning to think our lucky streak had ended; ever since we bought our bicycles back in September, we've never had to unload them in the rain. The only time we've had a heavy downpour when setting up for a show was at June Bug Theatre in Virginia last fall. But on that occasion, we were able to back right up to the loading dock, and stay dry. Well, the same thing happened today, so our streak is intact!
After the shows, we headed back into Chicago, where the weather was also quite chilly and windy. Zephyr went to see the movie "Brick", which became his latest favorite. Then we stocked up at Trader Joe's for the last time for a few weeks.
April 26
A final visit to Kim the chiropractor before we leave town, then after a great deal of effort we located a branch of our bank to deposit some checks that have accumulated for the past couple of weeks, and to withdraw some badly needed cash.
Then we dropped Zephyr off at his friend Tim's house, where the two of them spent a few hours working on some kind of film project. In the meantime, Mom and Dad went to Panera to get some Internet work done. Then we picked up Zephyr and said goodbye to our friends and to Chicago whereupon we headed to Indiana.
April 27
Checked in at the Caboose Lake Campground, near Wolcott, Indiana and only a couple of miles from the site of our Saturday morning performances. This campground has wireless Internet, so Kimberly is right at home working on several web sites. We're right by the imaginary line splitting time zones, and our performance venue is on the other side of the line. It must get awfully confusing for the folks who live around here.
April 28
Another day at the campground, and Zephyr has made friends with a number of other kids who are staying here.
April 29
Had to get up at 6:30, which is 7:30 across the magic line, so we could get to our shows at 9:00 and 10:15 Eastern time. And we were just getting used to Central time! Zephyr is never happy about these early morning gigs, but this time he sold 26 books, clearly a new record, so he was rather pleased.
Our cell phone registered the time change when we headed toward the show, but coming back across the line, it was very slow to react. Anyway, we're back on Central time yet again, and beginning to make our way south.
April 30
Spent most of this rainy Sunday in Mattoon, IL., at a cozy and quaint little coffee shop which has wireless Internet access. And then in the evening, we continued our drive southward.
