Typical Day on the Road

February 2003

<- January 03 - February 03 - March 03 ->

2/1/03

9:00 am getting haircuts, Harrisonburg, VA
10:30 am watching the Columbia Disaster on TV at the mall (not a happy moment)
12:00 pm working on computers and watching the news at our motel in Harrisonburg, VA
3:00 pm see above
6:00 pm ditto
9:00 pm chatting with friends and family via AOL IM and Yahoo! messenger

2/2/03

All Day - working at motel, Harrisonburg, VA

2/3/03

9:00 am Kimberly working on graphics for PTO and NAESP conventions; Zephyr is still zonked out; Dennis taking our new shirts to Mark-IT to be embroidered - in a motel, Harrisonburg, VA
12:00 pm Kimberly still working on graphics; Zephyr is doing his writing assignment; Dennis writing press releases in a motel, Harrisonburg, VA
3:00 pm Kimberly hasn't moved; Dennis and Zephyr practicing music on the keyboard in a motel, Harrisonburg, VA
6:00 pm beginning to think Kimberly is a statue; Dennis picking up our new Act!vated Storytellers jean shirts (they rock!); Zephyr watching the Anime (Japanese Animation) DVD's he rented for the weekend, in a motel, Harrisonburg, VA
9:00 pm checking Kimberly for signs of life, in a motel, Harrisonburg, VA

2/4/03

9:00 am Kimberly updating Web site while everyone begins the tedious process of checking out of the motel, Harrisonburg, VA
12:00 pm setting up for 1st of 3 shows at John C. Myers school in Broadway, VA (we're doing Broadway!!)
3:00 pm striking the set after 2nd show at school, Broadway, VA
6:00 pm setting up for Family Night show at John C. Myers, Broadway, VA (our encore on Broadway!)
9:00 pm Dennis filling gas tank and heating soup in microwave at gas station, Zephyr and Kimberly discussing plans for upcoming PTO convention, Harrisonburg, VA

2/5/03

9:00 am Arriving in Roanoke, VA
12:00 pm emailing graphics to Kinkos in Greenville, SC from Kinkos in Roanoke, VA
3:00 pm Still at Kinko's. And, coincidentally, still in Roanoke.
6:00 pm Ditto. Ditto.
9:00 pm En route to Marion, Va.

2/6/03

9:00 am 15 minutes before show time. Dennis and Kimberly meeting with Librarians from Wytheville and Independence, VA (we'll be at their libraries in July). They came to see our show this morning. Zephyr hanging out with the 8th graders who will be performing with us in the show.
12:00 pm Striking after 2nd show (we were scheduled for 3 but school is closing because of an incoming snow storm), Marion, VA
3:00 pm Hightailing it south - We've just seen a few snow flakes and plow trucks at the ready. Thankful it is not snowing yet or icy as we head down 9% grade.
6:00 pm At a truck stop in Duncan, S.C.
9:00 pm Barnes & Noble bookstore kicking us out at closing time (a frequent occurrence) Greenville, S.C.

2/7/03

9:00 am Hello Greenville, SC
12:00 pm Picking up graphic work at Kinko's, Greenville, SC
3:00 - 9:00 pm Catching up on office work and getting ready for PTO convention. Kinko's may want us to sign a lease soon.

2/8/03

9:00 - 6:00 More office work, Greenville, SC. This time, Office Max has the pleasure of our extended company. Fortunately, they have a little office cubicle for each of us!
9:00 pm Back at Barnes & Noble. Tonight they can tolerate us until 10:00.

2/9/03

9:00 am laundry, Greenville, SC
12:00 pm back to the "office" (a.k.a. Kinkos), Greenville, SC
3:00 - 9:00 pm buried in books at the bookstore, Greenville, SC

2/10/03

9:00 am Van being maintenance - folding fliers while we wait, Greenville, SC
12:00 pm Would you believe... back at Kinko's.
3:00 pm kinkoing
6:00 pm set-up for show for Hollis Academy Family Night, Greenville SC
9:00 pm passing exit #35 on 85 south in SC, hoping to make it past Atlanta tonight

2/11/03

9:00 am stopped to get water jugs refilled, Lithia Springs GA - suburb of Atlanta
12:00 pm (Changed to Central Time as we crossed the Alabama border) Peeling off sweaters as we pass exit #144 Moody, AL 20 miles east of our "home for the holidays" Birmingham, AL - Dennis composing music; Zephyr doing math; Kimberly gripping steering wheel
3:00 pm a dusty gas stop ($1.62 per gallon) 17 miles to Mississippi border, AL - Dennis checking oil and discovering slight radiator leak, Kimberly calculating distance to Dallas (537 miles), Zephyr working on his latest comic book
6:00 pm zooming by exit 52 on interstate 20 heading west (at the edge of Jackson, MS), Zephyr dreaming about buying land to build a theme park here (someone's been playing too much "Rollercoaster Tycoon" )
9:00 time for more gas, and more driving, Jackson, MS

2/12/03

9:00 am pit stop - Dennis checking van's fluids, Zephyr grumbling about math, Kimberly trying to identify the birdies - a cardinal? a hawk or a falcon? and trying to learn to distinguish a bayou from a muddy river, at exit 145 interstate 20 west, Holly Ridge, LA
12:00 pm Putting on sunscreen as we drive through Shreveport, LA - where the billboards say "Ya'll Got Milk?". The east side of the river looks like a mini Las Vegas - the west side is made of brick. Zephyr is studying astronomy (and staring into space), Dennis is writing an article about Cape Canaveral.
3:00 pm more gas! Kimberly is calling clients in Washington state. 34 miles east of Dallas, TX.
6:00 pm at hardware store getting last minute supplies to make our booth display for the convention in two days. Irving, TX (suburb of Dallas-Fort Worth)
9:00 pm They have a Kinkos here too! Irving, TX

2/13/03

9-6 last minute preparations for convention (who knew it would be this much work?), Irving, TX
9:00 pm policing over 100 unsupervised little 5 to 10 year old girls who are all dressed like little Miss Americas (though not acting like it), while we scramble to put together our booth for the PTO convention at the Hyatt in Dallas-Fort Worth, TX

2/14/03

9-6 It's convention time! Hello PTO'ers and welcome to our booth! Dallas-Fort Worth, TX
9:00 pm checking email, Dallas-Fort Worth, TX

2/15/03

9-3 Back on the convention floor
6:00 pm stuffing our stuff back into the trailer and leaving the Hyatt, Dallas-Fort, TX
9:00 pm kicking back in one of our "living rooms on the road" - Barnes and Noble, Irving, TX

2/16/03

9:00 am Irving, TX
12:00 pm shopping for groceries in Plano, TX
3-9 pm fingers hitting the keyboards, McKinney, TX

2/17/03

9:00 am It's a small world. The desk clerk at our motel here in McKinney, TX just recognized us from our shows in Edmund, OK (near Oklahoma City)
12:00 pm Dennis and Zephyr making music on the keyboard
3-9 taking care of the "business" side of "show business", McKinney, TX

2/18/03

9:00 am updating the web site
12:00 - 9:00 business, business, business, McKinney, TX

2/19/03

9:00 am Dennis being the Old Man and the Water Spirit falling over the precipice (ie ladder) in the story of "Niagara" ; Zephyr narrating; Kimberly checking props for next story and waiting for cue to enter, Walker Elementary, McKinney, TX
12:00 pm making copies and assembling information packets, McKinney, TX
3:00 pm on our way to meet a family we met online, who also do a lot of traveling!
6:00 pm time to hit the road again. Zephyr got to bounce on the trampoline with the kids and we parents had good time exchanging stories about traveling full time. Duncan, TX
9:00 pm entering and exiting Wichita Falls, TX. Jab (the rabbit puppet) is watching Zephyr draw comics

2/20/03

9:00 am Vernon, TX
12:00 pm driving by cotton fields, Kimberly spotted what she hopes was an eagle (hard to tell at 55mph). Heading north on 287 near Memphis, TX
3:00 pm arriving Amarillo, TX
6:00 pm catching up on business and getting ready to go out to dinner, Amarillo, TX
9:00 pm Amarillo, TX

2/21/03

9-3 pm A lesson for anyone considering a career in Show Business: Notice that the word "business" is 2/3 of the phrase. Amarillo, TX
6:00 pm Studying Japanese and putting Amarillo behind us, heading west on I-40.
9:00 pm doing 55 mph exit #318 on I-40, New Mexico (changed to Mountain Time Zone)

2/22/03

9:00 am approaching (really descending upon) Albuquerque, NM
12:00 pm running errands in Albuquerque, NM

3:00 pm discussing the possibilities of life on Mars and living on Mars with Nigel Hey, author of "Solar System" (what a serendipitous follow-up to our NASA visit in January!) Albuquerque, NM
6:00 pm Kinkoing and getting ready to head west
9:00 pm being blown down I-40 by forceful gusts of wind, #140, NM

2/23/03

9:00 am getting into gear Grants, NM
12:00 pm data entry and dishes Red Rock State Park, Gallup, NM
3:00 pm discussing geology while hiking Red Rock
6:00 pm getting showers, Red Rock, Gallup, NM
9:00 pm Navajo Reservation in Tohatchi, NM heading North on 666

2/24/03

9:00 am trying to get the 7th - 12th graders to move to the center of the bleachers so they can see the show (it'd be easier to haul bricks!) Shiprock Alternative School, NM (they liked the show "Act!vated Poetry" by the way)
12:00 pm getting hugged by preschoolers who saw "Star-Spangled Stories", Shiprock Alternative School, NM
3:00 pm setting up for the show at the library in Farmington, NM
6:00 pm Zephyr hanging out with teens after their meeting and trying his hand at reading books in braille, Farmington, NM
9:00 pm laundry time, Farmington, NM

2/25/03

9:00 am setting up for show for Deaf and HH students at library in Shiprock, NM
12:00 pm checking email and taking the set down at library
3:00 pm listening to hail hit the tin roof and setting up for show at Farmington Boys and Girls Club
6:00 pm striking the set and putting props away while chatting with the kids
9:00 pm arriving Gallup, NM

2/26/03

9:00 am waking up to 2-4" of snow, Gallup, NM
12:00 pm entering Coconino County, AZ on I-40 west - Zephyr is doing astronomy, Dennis is writing an article, Kimberly using drive time to come up with new ideas
3:00 pm exit #277 on highway 17 south, Kimberly and Zephyr doing math on the windows, Dennis playing the keyboard, somewhere in Arizona.
6:00 pm arriving Mesa, AZ
9:00 pm Kinko's, Mesa, AZ updating this Web site for you.

2/27/03

9:00 am Show time at Greenfield Elementary in Gilbert, AZ
12:00 pm working in our "office" backstage at Greenfield Elementary
3:00 pm finishing our 3rd show for students at Greenfield
6:00 pm Kinkos Mesa, AZ
9:00 pm Borders Bookstore

2/28/03

9:00 am Mesa, AZ
12:00 pm kinkos
3:00 pm Dennis and Zephyr watching a Spring Training Game - Chicago Cubs vs. San Francisco Giants, Mesa, AZ
6:00 pm Kinkos
9:00 pm Borders, Mesa, AZ

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