It’s been a busy week running around and looking at apartments, but I found one and signed the lease on Friday! I’ll be moving to Fort Washington Ave between 177th and 178th (about four blocks from where I lived before I went on tour) starting on November 15th. I have my sublet until the 30th, so that gives me two weeks to paint and get some furniture moved in before I actually have to live there. I am so excited!

The apartment is a beautiful pre-war one-bedroom on the top floor (6th floor) of the building. The building has an elevator (yes!) and laundry facilities (double yes!). Oh yes, and FOUR closets! My broker told me that the landlord’s grandfather actually built the building (in 1941).

Here are a few photos as a preview:

Living Room

Bedroom

Entry

Built-ins in the entry

Kitchen

Day 8:  St. Paul, MN to Sobieski, WI.

It was an easy drive on Monday to Sobieski, where Ryan lives. Of course, I HAD to stop on the way in Wassau, WI. for a soft-serve cone from Briq’s. I discovered this place a couple of years ago driving to Ryan’s, and I just love their soft serve. It is the perfect balance between creamy and icy. Yum!

I arrived at Ryan’s early in the afternoon and we hung out around the house for the afternoon. All the improvements that Ryan has made on the place since he came home in April are fantastic. The house is looking really great, and he had just gotten a bunch of new furniture the week before, which really made the house feel like a home. Unfortunately it was dark and kind of dreary weather all week, which made the house interior really dark, so I didn’t really get any good pictures of the inside.

That night, we had dinner in downtown Green Bay at a restaurant called Cafe Espresso, which is one of Ryan’s favorites. I had to laugh because it seemed like everywhere we went over the next couple of days, starting with Cafe Espresso, Ryan knew someone. I asked him,  “do you know everyone in Green Bay?” Hilarious.

Day 9: Sobieski, WI.

On Tuesday we went for a walk at Baird’s Creek – a wooded park in Green Bay that has skiing hills, a frisbee golf course, bike paths and hiking trails. It was so pretty there – it had rained, so everything was wet and lush. It was so nice to see all the beautiful fall leaves.

Before we left the house, we made an Irish stew and put in the slow cooker, so when we got home that night, we had a delicious dinner waiting for us. Yum!

Day 10: Sobieski, WI.

On Wednesday I took Tallulah for a “kitty hike” around Ryan’s property. He has about six acres of land around his house, so there is quite a bit to explore. Tallulah did so well! I had her on harness and leash, and she actually walked and responded to the leash tugs and led the way! We were out for about a half an hour.

In the afternoon Ryan and I went to a couple of yarn stores! I bought some yarn for a sweater in one of them. We also did some shopping at Kohl’s, where I bought a slow cooker on sale. I really don’t like to cook at all, but I think the slow cooker might be a good way for me to go – throw everything in in the morning and then you come home to dinner! We’ll see how it goes.

That night we got together with a group of Ryan’s friends – Neil and Tara, Kris and Steph, Dan and Rick. We had drinks and dinner at a local bar – it was two-for-one perch plates, and they were super good! It was really fun meeting all of Ryan’s friends – they all seem like really nice people.

Tallulah on a kitty hike

Day 11: Sobieski, WI.

On Thursday, we met up for lunch with Ryan’s dad and sister, Renee, and her two kids. We went to a yummy Mexican place and had a nice time catching up.

After that Ryan and I did a little shopping – I went and looked at some furniture and we went back to Kohl’s to pick up some more things for Ryan’s house.

That night we had dinner at Jake’s Pizza, Ryan’s favorite pizza place. It wasn’t as good as Cicero’s – but it was definitely a close second – really yummy crust. I was glad that we had leftovers so I could enjoy it for lunch the next day as well!

We went home and watched a movie and lit a fire. We actually had fires every night in the fireplace – so nice!

The view from Ryan's living room - he lives in the country!

Day 12: Sobieski, WI. to Chicago, IL.

It was with great reluctance that Tallulah and I left Ryan’s house on Friday. I had such a nice few days there in his cozy house. Hopefully I’ll get back there soon.

I drove on to Chicago, which took longer than it should have, thanks to traffic. I checked into the Hotel Indigo in the afternoon, and met up with my friend Kevin, who used to be in “Spamalot”, for coffee. Kevin is currently in “Jersey Boys” in Chicago. It was so nice to see him and catch up. We’ve kept in touch through email, but I hadn’t seen him in person in about two years. We had a nice visit before Kevin had to leave for his show, and I went to meet up with friends for dinner.

Carolyn and Lauren are both friends that I got to know through Flickr, an online photography website. I met up with Lauren the last time I was in Chicago, but this was my first time meeting Carolyn. We met at Carolyn’s apartment in Belmont and made pizza and sat around and knit. It was so fun! Lauren and Carolyn’s friend Sara also came over and we just had the best time chatting and knitting and drinking beer. I’m so glad I was able to get together with those girls while I was in town.

Lauren

Carolyn, wearing her in-progress knit hat

Day 13: Chicago, IL. to West Middlesex, PA.

Nothing much to report for Saturday. I got up and drove to Pennsylvania. I saw cornfields. I had dinner at Red Lobster. I went to bed. The end.

Day 14: West Middlesex, PA. to New York, NY.

I could not get to New York fast enough on Sunday! By then I was completely sick of driving. It was actually a beautiful drive through all of Pennsylvania, through the Poconos, but I just wanted to get there! My leg and foot were falling asleep by the afternoon. Finally, finally, I reached the George Washington Bridge! And of course, traffic ground to halt. I discovered that Sunday was NYC marathon, so lots of streets were closed off, making for traffic jams around the island. It took a while to figure out how to get to my sublet with all the street closures, but I finally did – and then had to carry all my stuff up four flights of steps. Argh! A rude awakening back to New York City living!

Seriously though, it was great driving across the bridge and into the city. I always get such a rush when I see the Manhattan skyline. It is such an awesome, awesome place to live. I’m really happy to be back.

My apartment in Harlem is great – cute and charming and comfortable, with a fantastic roof deck with a “West Side Story”-esque view of all the surrounding rooftops. I love it. I am here for a month, and then hopefully I’ll be moving in to my own place!

And – I’m actually going back to work next week! Only for a week though, which is good, because I really do need to focus on looking for a place to live. When my friend Phyllis emailed me (she and I did “BARE” in 2004) and asked if I wanted to do a reading with her of a new musical, directed by Kristin Hanggi (who directed “BARE” and also was nominated for a Tony for “Rock of Ages”), I couldn’t say no – I had such a  great time working with the two of them on “BARE” – and it will be a nice way to get back in to the swing of things in New York. I’m looking forward to it.

***

So, there probably won’t be many “travels” with Tallulah any time soon, but I’m sure there will be stories, so I think I am going to continue this blog to keep at least my parents apprised of what I’m doing (does anyone else read this???). I thought about changing the name of the blog, but I like how “Travels with Tallulah” rolls off the tongue, and plus everyone knows it as that name, so its probably easier to keep it. And… I kind of think leaving it as “Travels with Tallulah” is kind of like positive thinking – hoping and willing that there will be more travels in the future!

But for now, I am more than content to unpack my suitcases for a while and put them away! New York City, I’ve missed you!

On the rooftop in Harlem

Day One: Huntington Beach, CA. to Scottsdale, AZ.

It was an exhausting morning getting out of Huntington Beach. I had to switch rental cars, which ended up taking longer than I had planned, and I had to thoroughly clean my rental apartment before leaving – which in retrospect, I shouldn’t have done, seeing as I am still only getting half of my cleaning deposit back. Ah, well. I got on the road around 10:30am, and it took a while to get out of Orange County. I couldn’t wait to get out of the city and onto an open stretch of highway. Luckily I eventually did pass through Indio and on through Joshua Tree towards Arizona. It was funny to see the saguaro cacti again – very deja vu. Wasn’t I just here? I reached Scottsdale in the late afternoon and after a dinner at Claim Jumper, settled in for the night.

Arizona, we meet again!

Day 2: Scottsdale, AZ. to Las Cruces, NM.

Another fairly easy drive – I left Scottsdale around 10am and headed east. Before too long I was back in Tucson, where I just was three weeks ago! As I drove through the city, I decided to pull over and get some gas, and in the distance I could see the Aircraft Boneyard. Ryan and I had driven by the Boneyard on our last day in Tucson three weeks before, and didn’t have time to stop. The sight of all those thousands and thousands of old planes just sitting there on acres and acres of land was quite stunning, and I really wanted to get a few photos. I decided to drive by quickly and try to get a few snaps. Unfortunately I couldn’t find any good place to pull over and get out of the car, so I had to make do with some shots through the car window. One day I will get back to Tucson and properly walk through the Boneyard!

Parts of the afternoon drive were quite stunning. New Mexico is just so beautiful. In the early afternoon, big puffy clouds filled the blue skies, but as the day went on, the clouds got bigger and darker and lower, and later in the afternoon I found myself driving through some pretty spectacular thunderstorms. It would have been kind of beautiful if I hadn’t been so freaked out that I was going to get struck by lightning! I made it safely to the hotel, though, around 6pm, and lucked out by being given a two-bedroom apartment at the Towne Place Suites as I am a platinum Marriott member. Woohoo!

Airplane carcasses at the Aircraft Boneyard in Tucson

Day 3: Las Cruces, NM. to San Antonio, TX.

A long, long drive this day across I-10, which was surprisingly beautiful. I thought it would be barren and dusty, but it was actually quite green with some beautiful rock formations. I was thrilled to see that the speed limit along that stretch of I-10 was 80 mph! Yes! I made really good time in part because of that, and in part because I didn’t see a single highway patrol car all day. In Arizona, the highway patrol were everywhere, and if not a live cop, then a parked car with a camera. I must have seen at least 20 highway patrol cars the day before, so it was nice not seeing ANY once I passed into Texas.

It rained most of the afternoon, but the driving was fine, and no scary lightning! I reached San Antonio around 7pm, having passed through a whole time zone that day! My hotel was on the Riverwalk, but I was too tired to venture out.  I ordered in food and settled in for the evening.

A dreary day in Texas

Day 4: San Antonio, TX. to Houston, TX.

A nice sleep in and an easy drive to Houston from San Antonio. There was even time to stop at a yarn store before heading to the hotel I checked into the Hyatt downtown and had a nice afternoon and evening in, relaxing. That night I met up with my dear friends Fran and Tanya for drinks at the hotel bar. They are both working on the “Mary Poppins” tour which is playing the Hobby Center in Houston. Fran toured with me on “Spamalot” in 2007 and Tanya and I have known each other since our early twenties when we were both working as stage managers in the Bay Area. I love both those girls to death.

Houston skyline, as seen from my hotel room window

Day 5: Houston

A lovely day off with no driving! I slept in and then met up with Fran and Tanya for lunch and some thrift shopping. We had a great afternoon, catching up, laughing and making some good purchases. I scored a handful of vintage dress patterns at an antique store for a dollar apiece! That night I went to see “Mary Poppins” (which was really good!) and then went to the opening night party with Fran and Tanya. They both came and hung out with me after the party in my hotel room while I packed. It was hard saying goodbye to them both – I love them both so much!

Fran

Tanya

Day 6: Houston, TX. to Wichita, KS.

Probably my hardest day of driving so far – it was a long day, 600 miles of driving, and I was tired from staying up late. Now I was headed north from Texas. I pulled over at one point to take a cat nap at a rest stop and felt much better. It was frustrating driving in Texas – there was lots of traffic and numerous road closures – I was very happy to see the “Welcome to Oklahoma” sign! I was also relieved to be off the hugely massive wide Texas freeways and onto the smaller midwestern highways. It was a really pretty drive through Oklahoma and Kansas – the sunset was especially beautiful that night. I got to the Candlewood in Wichita close to 8pm and tumbled into bed early – time to catch up on some much-needed sleep!

A long, long day of driving

Day 7: Wichita, KS. to Saint Paul, MN.

Another long drive – another 600 miles. I began listening to the new Dan Brown novel “The Lost Symbol” and became totally engrossed in the story, which made the day pass fairly quickly. As I drove through Iowa and into Minnesota, the temperatures kept dropping, and the leaves on the trees changed into all varieties of bright autumnal colors – finally, fall! I had to laugh when I recognized a shopping center outside Kansas City with a Cracker Barrel and Walmart that we had stopped at for a dinner break during a tour bus ride from Fayetteville to Des Moines last year with “Spamalot”.  That says something about how much traveling I have done on the country’s highways when I recognize specific Cracker Barrels!

I arrived in Saint Paul around 6:30pm, and had a quick dinner at Chili’s before heading back to the hotel for a restful evening.

Signs of approaching winter in Minnesota

Tomorrow, a shorter drive to Wisconsin, to Ryan’s, where I will be until Friday! Almost 3000 miles of driving under my belt in one week – whew! I’m ready for a few days off!

After 1435 performances, the “Spamalot” tour comes to a close today.

For me, it was 1124 performances, 90 cities, 38 states, 3 years, and endless fun.

Thank you, Spamily.

The past week and a half has been all about lasts for me. Last city. Last load-in. Last sound check. The goodbyes have started, the packing has started, the cards from the creatives are arriving. Its weird. But, I’m also ready for this journey to be over, as I think most everyone is. I will miss a lot of things about my life out here – the people, the job, the travel, the paycheck – but it’s time to move on to something else. This is by far the most performances I have ever done of one show – I think I’m at around 11oo performances now. Before this, the most I had ever done of a show was I think about 200 performances. I would be lying if I told you I would miss “Spamalot” the show – I love it, but after 1100 performances, I am pretty bored. I’m ready to be challenged by something new.

So, the Costa Mesa stop, for me, has been all about tying up loose ends, readying my trunk for shipping, gathering all the items I think I’ll need over the next few weeks before I see my trunk again, including my winter coat and snow boots! I think by the time I get back to New York I will have missed fall entirely this year. I have a feeling I’m going to be going straight from the summery weather of California and Texas, to winter in Wisconsin and Chicago and New York. I am driving back to NYC, taking two weeks, and visiting some friends along the way. As of right now my schedule is: Huntington Beach to Scottsdale, Scottsdale to Las Cruces, Las Cruces to San Antonio, San Antonio to Houston. Two days in Houston visiting Fran and Tanya who will be there with the “Mary Poppins” tour. Then Houston to Wichita, Wichita to St. Paul, St. Paul to Sobieksi – where I’ll stay with Ryan for four days at his house. Then Sobieski to Chicago, where hopefully I’ll catch up with Flickr friends Lauren and Carolyn, and then Chicago to somewhere in Pennsylvania, then PA to New York City. All by November 1st. Whew. Had to go out with a bang, right?

So, back to Costa Mesa. We are playing the Orange County PAC where I saw “Jekyll and Hyde” while I was in college, with my voice teacher at the time, Sandie. It seemed like an enormous theater then, and now it doesn’t seem so big to me, but it is nice and spacious in comparison to other places we have played – a nice theater to end with. I was so happy to complete some of my load-in tasks for the last time, namely directional signs – which can be so tedious in some of the labyrinth-type theaters (Orange County PAC is one of those). I will be happy to take a break from killing a tree every Tuesday in copy paper.

Early on in the day, Ken, Jovon and I found some Spam can costumes in a rehearsal hall, left over from a press event, so we absconded with them, and wore them to sound check, to everyone’s delight. They ended up becoming a novelty item, being passed around through the cast, everyone taking turns wearing them during the sound check.

Ben and Merle sound checking "Song That Goes"

Find Your Grail

Ben Whiteley conducting the final sound check

Wednesday was Ken’s (the PSM, my boss) last day. Ken is starting work on a new musical called “Wonderland”, which is doing experimental runs in Tampa and Houston, with an eye on Broadway. It was so strange saying goodbye to Ken, who has been with “Spamalot” since the very beginning. It even seems now like he’s on vacation, rather than really gone. Jovon organized a party for Ken, after the show, at Mastro’s steakhouse. Almost everyone came out to say goodbye to him. Ken got really choked up making a speech at the party about how proud he is of the family our whole company has always been. Its such a rare thing to have a company – from actors, to crew, to musicians, to management, all genuinely enjoy spending time with each other – both onstage and off. Ken was definitely a leader in guiding the company in that direction, and he should be proud of that. I got teary when he thanked Jovon and I. Its been so nice working on a team and in an office that is happy and full of laughter 95% of the time. It makes such a difference in wanting to go to work, and being happy there. I hope I get more opportunities of working with such great teams in the future.

The rest of the week was spent doing more packing, and more reflecting on what a great experience this has been.

Our official closing notice was posted. Carissa threw a farewell, thank you shot night.

The closing notice

Carissa's shot night

Over the weekend I took some more photos of the show – I wanted to try and get some shots of some of our newer cast members, but also just want to get in all the shooting I can while I have the chance! What will I take pictures of when this is all over? Its been an amazing photographic opportunity – and to have had the freedom to shoot whatever and whenever I want has been great. I’m so thankful to all my coworkers for allowing me!

Nikki Della Penta, one of our newer showgirls

Can Can girls

Bows

In keeping with tradition of “never a dull moment”, the weekend of shows was no exception. We had a number of people out and then Matthew Greer, who plays Lancelot, injured his leg at the Saturday matinee, so we had to put Tera-Lee on one last time (hopefully!) in a male ensemble track, to cover David Havasi, who understudies Lance. Its always fun when Tera is on as a guy, and her husband was in town, so he was able to come and see her “butch it up”. Sunday night was Cara Cooper’s last show (one of our ensemble girls). Cara has a wedding to go so she unfortunately she has to miss the final week of shows. She has been with the company for almost two years and it was sad to have to say goodbye to her early.

On Monday night it was time for a little fun. Mitchell and Paula hosted the second “Hell Party” (the first being in Dallas in 2007). They went all out decorating their rental house for Halloween, and everyone did an amazing job coming up with costumes. It was a really fun night – a great way to let off some stress and be together one more time before the final week of shows.

Angela Dittmar-Lykins

Jason Goldsberry

Roy Turpin

Mitchell Beck

Steven Wenslawski

The weather this week has turned windy and rainy. Its the perfect weather for staying indoors and watching a movie – or in my case, getting my hair done, (which I did on Tuesday), getting a massage (Monday’s activity) and catching up on blogging. I’m hoping the weather is good enough tomorrow for my final hike with Suzanne. Friday will be all about packing and cleaning the apartment, and then we have the final weekend of shows.

An overcast day at the Huntington Beach

Not much time left now – just trying to savor every moment. And gearing up for life back in New York!

When we were first told that we would have a lay-off week before our final engagement in Costa Mesa, I thought it sounded like a huge drag. But when it came right down to it, I was ready for a little break, and it was nice to have one more “vacation” before unemployment, when I know I won’t want to spend the money on any more travel for a while.

Ryan flew out to Tucson for our last weekend there and busied himself with a rental motorcycle and some exploring, while I finished up the weekend of shows. On Monday we spent the day driving to Sedona, where we would spend two nights. It was a beautiful drive, and we made stops in Flagstaff, and Jerome (a small mining town on the side of a mountain) along the way. Our rental house in Sedona was perfect – centrally located with great views, and lots of space.

We spent Tuesday exploring Sedona. First we drove up to the Chapel of the Holy Cross, a chapel that is built into the side of one of the cliffs, and is said to be a “place of power” in Sedona. We took lots of photos – there is an amazing panoramic view from up there. After that we grabbed some lunch in the “uptown” area, and then drove out to Boynton Canyon, where we did a six mile hike. Boynton Canyon is one of the “vortexes” of energy in Sedona, and we spent some time hanging out by the Kachina Woman rock formation and taking in our surroundings. I don’t know if the “vortex” thing is real or not, but it was definitely extremely peaceful there.

Chapel of the Holy Cross interior

Chapel of the Holy Cross

Boynton Canyon

Kachina Woman

That evening we drove up to Airport Mesa, which is another vortex site, to watch the sunset. There were dozens and dozens of people up there with cameras. There were some clouds in the sky, which made for some dramatic photographs.

Sunset at Airport Mesa

On Wednesday we packed up the car and headed north to the Grand Canyon. We met up with Suzanne, who had also just arrived, for dinner at El Tovar, the nicest lodge on the national park grounds. We got our first glimpse of the canyon (Suzanne and I had never been there before), and then had a delicious dinner. Then it was back to the hotel and to bed, so that we could get up and back to the park in time for sunrise the next day.

We were up and driving to the park by 5:15am! It was FREEZING. After the temperatures being in the high 90’s in Tucson, it was quite a shock to be in temperatures as low as 20 degrees. We ran around and did jumping jacks while we waited for the sun to come up. It was worth it, though. The early morning light on the canyon rocks was just beautiful. As soon as the sunrise was over we went back to El Tovar for breakfast, and luckily got a table by the fireplace!

Suzanne at the Grand Canyon at sunrise

After breakfast we headed over to Bright Angel trail to start our hike. It takes two days to hike all the way down to the bottom of the canyon and back, so we decided to just go down about three miles and then hike back out. There were a lot of people on the trail, and it was interesting to hear people’s stories along the way. There were a lot of people who had camped out at various places along the trail, and we met one group of women who were finishing up a “rim to rim” hike, which had taken them the better part of a week (they hiked down the north side, camped on the canyon floor, and now were making their way up the south side). We saw a few mule trains, although most of them were carrying rangers rather than tour groups. The hike was definitely difficult – going down, and back up, but we made it the six-mile round trip in about five hours and were very proud of ourselves!

A raven on the trail

Suzanne and Ryan on the trail

Mule train

In the afternoon, Ryan and I went back to the hotel and napped while Suzanne took off for Williams, where she was spending the night before heading to a yoga retreat in Sedona for the weekend. Ryan and I headed back to the park later in the afternoon, and drove all thirty-five miles of the road out to Desert View, on the eastern end of the south rim. We stopped at a few of the overlooks, including one for sunset.

The next day we decided not to do another vertical hike, but instead we walked about eight miles along the Rim Trail, from Hermit’s Rest, out at the western end of the south rim, all the way back to El Tovar. I have to say, the views of the canyon from the west side were my favorite. You had less obstructions in the way and were able to get more of an idea of how vast the canyon really is. Even though the trail was relatively flat, we were still pretty beat by the time we made it back to Grand Canyon Village. We went to the bar at El Tovar for a couple of prickly pear margaritas, to celebrate hiking 20 miles total that week!

A panorama taken with my iPhone

After our drinks were emptied, we took the park shuttle back out to Hopi Point for sunset. There were lots of people out there – I think Hopi Point was my favorite lookout spot of the whole park, so I wasn’t surprised to see lots of people there for the sunset. We took lots of photos and then scrambled back into the warmth of the shuttle bus and headed back to the hotel.

Sunset

People watching the sunset at Hopi Point

Having had our fill of nature for the week, we drove to Las Vegas on Saturday We stayed at the Treasure Island casino and had a great time, seeing two Cirque du Soleil shows (“O” and “Mystere”), playing the slots, and just walking around and exploring all the hotels and casinos. I was pretty beat by the end of the weekend and ended up having a little fainting episiode on Sunday evening (no big deal, my back was just hurting from carrying my bag and camera around all day, and it just caught up with me).

Watching the water show at the Bellagio

On Monday I dropped Ryan off at the airport, and then made my way to Orange County, where we are playing our final engagement of “Spamalot” in Costa Mesa at the Orange County Performing Arts Center. I can’t believe the end is finally here!

I am driving back across the country following our closing, taking two weeks to get back to New York. I’m headed first to Houston, where I’ll catch up with the “Mary Poppins” tour and spend a day with Fran and Tanya. Then I’m making a sharp left turn and driving up to Wisconsin, where hopefully it won’t be snowing, to spend a few days with Ryan before heading back to the Big Apple. I’m hoping to see a little bit of autumn along the way since I’m not getting any here in California!

It was really nice to have one final adventure with Ryan before getting back to life and reality. I don’t know what the future holds, but hopefully there are more adventures to come!

This past Monday was the final official travel day for the “Spamalot” tour! Because we have a lay-off coming up next week everyone will be coming in to Costa Mesa from different places, so the travel to Tucson was the last time we were all (for the most part) traveling together. It was sort of bittersweet, actually, as much as I hate the air travel and airports and the hassle of travel day. You couldn’t ask for a better-natured group of people to travel with. We always have a lot of fun, even in the most tedious of travel days.

Vanessa Sonon at the airport

We arrived in Tucson late in the afternoon on Monday – I picked up my rental car and headed downtown to my rental apartment in the Armory District. It is an old apartment building – built in 1903 when everything in that area was military housing. It is charmingly decorated and bright and cheery. I have been very happy there this week – so much better than staying in a hotel! Tallulah has slowly been getting used to not having her LA patio. She has been very happy lounging in the sun room and has not been crying at the front door (like she did in San Diego).

Tucson living room

Tucson bedroom

I really didn’t do anything on Monday evening except go to the grocery store. I was so tired after the travel day that I crashed early. Tuesday was load-in. The theater, the Tucson Music Hall, is part of the big convention center, which is conveniently located only a couple of blocks from my apartment. The theater is spacious enough, although the dressing room space is quite cramped. There’s not much theatrical work in Tucson so our local crew has been quite a mixed bag. There were a few melt-downs during the opening night performance, and our two local prop guys still have not learned their cues (as I type this on the day of our closing performance), but otherwise the shows have been smooth and uneventful. This marks Christopher Gurr’s final week as King Arthur (he has been filling in for John O’Hurley who has been on hiatus from us for the past three weeks. He rejoins the show in Costa Mesa) – Christopher has played Bedevere since the tour started and has been covering the King all that time as well. We are extremely lucky to have had such a strong, dependable cover who has stepped in for many a vacationing or ailing King.

We had a little opening night party next door at the Hotel Arizona. The flyer for the party reported that there would be “heavy hors d’oeuvres”, so you can imagine the surprise and delight when we discovered that full-on turkey legs were provided. It was hilarious watching everyone gnaw the meat off the bones – all decorum just went right out the window.

On Wednesday I walked around downtown for a bit and took some photos. I love the Southwestern architecture, especially against the blue, blue desert skies. I followed the Turquoise trail for a while, which runs by many of the landmarks downtown. I saw the St. Augustine Cathedral and the Presidio – then I headed over to 4th Avenue, which is just south of the University of Arizona campus and is filled with funky shops and restaurants. I had lunch at a little cafe, and then went over to the college campus to the Center for Creative Photography, to see a Robert Mapplethorpe portrait exhibit (which was very good).

St. Augustine Cathedral

The Presidio

On Thursday I got up early and drove out to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, which was kind of a mix between a botanical garden and a zoo. I was pretty awestruck as I drove out of the city into the hills, at the shear number of Saguaro cacti everywhere. They are so alien! And they are just everywhere – hundreds and hundreds of them. I enjoyed walking around the Desert Museum, seeing all the animals and plants, and just taking in the very different and unique environment. After that, I drove south to the San Xavier Reservation and visited the San Xavier del Bac Mission. The mission is such a beautiful, beautiful building – and the whiteness of it against the blue sky made for some very dramatic photographs.

Saguaro cacti at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

Flowers at the Desert Museum

Saguaros

San Xavier del Bac Mission

Chapel

In the chapel at San Xavier del Bac Misson

On Friday I picked up Suzanne at 8am and we drove out to Saguaro National Monument for some hiking before it got too hot (Ha! It was still 90 degrees!). We did a five mile round trip hike to Bridal Falls, which were, of course, dried up – but it was still a beautiful hike and we saw some jack rabbits and deer.

Taking a break with Suzanne at the base of dried up Bridal Falls

That afternoon we met up with all the girls on the tour for a goodbye lunch for Jen Mathie, one of our ensemble ladies who is leaving at the end of the week to go to India to study yoga. It was so nice to spend the afternoon with such an amazing group of women – I will miss them all when the tour is over.

Jen's goodbye lunch

On Saturday between shows I drove to the airport and picked up Ryan who flew in to hang out with me for our lay-off next week. We went out to dinner and then Ryan came and joined me after the evening show for Shot Night. He is off today on a rental Harley-Davidson to explore the area. We leave Monday for Sedona, where we are spending two nights, then we meet up with Suzanne on Wednesday at the Grand Canyon for a few days. Then we go to Las Vegas for the weekend. Should be fun! Its my last “vacation” before the tour is over and I have to tighten up on the spending

It was a great week here in Tucson – I looked at the calendar last week and realized that this is my first “new” city in four months (and my last of the tour) – all the places we have been since Spokane have been familiar to me. It was so nice to get back to a new place and feel the excitement of getting to explore again. It sounds weird, but Tucson reminded me a lot of Anchorage in a way – except of course it is the desert as opposed to tundra. It is a city in the middle of the frontier though, and you don’t have to drive very far to get to the wilderness. I think the heat would kill me if I lived here, but it is definitely beautiful country and I really enjoyed my week here.

So, onto my lay-off adventures, and then my final city of the “Spamalot” tour – Costa Mesa! I can’t believe after three years that it is all ending. I wonder what my next adventure will be?

It was great to drive back up to the Bay Area on Monday and go straight to Mom and Dad’s house in Sunnyvale and just be immediately comfortable – period. No grocery store runs, no sneaking the cat into a hotel, no need to make the room homey. It was heaven. I spent the week in one of my old bedrooms (I think all us kids have called all three of the bedrooms in my parents’ house “ours” at one point – we sort of rotated through them at different points in our childhood). Tallulah and I were upstairs for the week, thanks to my lil bro Simon being kind enough to let us take over his space up there so that Tallulah could have some room to roam, since she couldn’t mingle safely downstairs with Jack (my parents’ Jack Russell terrier) or more specifically, Val (my brother Nick’s pit bull, who is staying with my parents for the time being). It was kind of fun being back in a twin bed and going to sleep under a ceiling of glow stars, which are still up there from when we were younger.

My parents' house in Sunnyvale

I had a mellow evening at home after the long drive, sorting through all the boxes of my crap that I had sent to my parents over the past couple of years every time my trunk got too full to close. I packed a box of winter clothes to travel with me as it will be cold when I get back to New York. Typing this from Tucson where it is 100 degrees out today, it seems impossible that I might need a parka and snow boots in just a couple of weeks’ time, but it could happen. Last year it snowed on the east coast before Halloween – just look back at my photos from my stay in the Berkshires last October.

My mom made a yummy pork roast, and I was able to catch up with my parents over dinner.

It was funny driving down to San Jose the next morning for load-in. I don’t think I had been to downtown San Jose since I stopped working at the Rep around 1999 or 2000. Downtown is surprisingly clean and appealing, and lots of new restaurants have opened up. It’s not super hopping or anything, but there’s a movie theater and a yoga place and a Safeway and plenty of places to eat, so at least I didn’t have to be embarrassed to have our company staying there Way to go, San Jo!

I know I’d seen shows at the San Jose Performing Arts Center back when the Civic Light Opera still existed, but I had never worked in the space. Its a big enough building, with plenty of dressing rooms, and a really nice crew. The Broadway series is a new development in San Jose, so everyone was very inviting – we had a cake given to us by the presenters at sound check, and a really nice opening night party afterward at a nearby restaurant (which had the best party food we have had in a while). There was a bit of a snafu – well, kind of a big snafu – at the box office prior to the show. The line of people picking up tickets extended around the block, and we had to hold the curtain a half an hour before they could get everyone in their seats. Needless to say, the crowd was quite restless by the time we finally got started, but they ended up being a very fun and receptive crowd.

Me in the lobby at the Performing Arts Center

The next day I met up with my best girls at Santana Row, an outdoor shopping center, in San Jose. Mary, Fin, Tristan and I had lunch and then shopped for a couple of hours. It was great to see them all – Mary, Fin and I have been close friends since high school, and I think I’ve known Tristan for close to ten years now, too. Fin is expecting her first baby in December, and it was so cute seeing her with her baby bump!

Mary and Fin

The next day I met up with an a friend who goes even further back than Mary and Fin – Shawnee and I went to elementary school and have been friends since we were seven years old! Crazy that we have known each other almost thirty years – yikes! We went to elementary, junior high and high school together, and although we don’t see each other very often now, I am so glad that we are still in touch and get together from time to time to catch up. Its always just as easy to be together as it was when we were kids – I love friendships like that. You just pick up where you left off. Shawnee made lunch for us at her house in San Jose and we hung out in her gorgeous backyard all afternoon. It was also nice because I was able to spend a bit of time chatting with Shawnee’s husband, Shawn, who I had only met once before. They are a really great couple and seem very happy together – a perfect match.

On Thursday night my parents came to see “Spamalot” for the fifth (!) time – they saw the Broadway and Vegas companies, as well as our company in Portland and San Francisco (and now San Jose). They brought Rick and Barbara with them, who have been our neighbors ever since we moved to the house on Prince Edward Way in  1982. I grew up with Rick and Barbara’s daughters, and their middle daughter Gina is one of my best friends. Sadly I didn’t have time to catch up with the girls this visit, but it was great to see Rick and Barb, and it seemed like they had a great time at the show.

On Friday I got up early and drove downtown to pick up Suzanne so we could go hiking. It had been a couple of weeks since we had done a hike, and I had missed it! We went to Rancho San Antonio in Los Altos, where I have been dozens of times before with my friends. We did a really pretty five mile hike – it was a great morning.

Crossing of trails at Rancho San Antonio

At Rancho San Antonio

In the afternoon I worked on finishing a couple of projects up – a pair of knit pants and two pairs of cotton bloomers for Fin’s baby. All were very easy, fun projects that I will definitely be making again .

Knit Pants for Baby Draeger

Baby Bloomers 1

Baby Bloomers 2

On Saturday we had two shows, but I met up with my family in between at Cicero’s for some of my favorite pizza and some family time. Everyone was there – my parents, Simon, Nick and Morgan and Becky and Dave. Love my family. Love. Love. Love.

Me and my sibs at Becky's wedding (I totally didn't take any photos of us this trip!)

My parents (when they came to see me in Portland)

After the show I met Mary and Erika (who wasn’t able to come shopping with us on Wednesday because she was being responsible and working!) at the Duke, my favorite pub on the planet. We had a couple of beers and caught up on the gossip before saying goodbye. Hopefully we’ll see each other again soon!

Two shows on Sunday, and we were done. It was fun seeing familiar faces on the crew throughout the week – the hair local I had worked with at San Jose Rep and Shakespeare Santa Cruz, as well as the Lady of the Lake dresser who used to be the wardrobe supervisor at the Rep. We also had some of our local dressers from the San Francisco run on the crew, and it was nice to see them again, too.

On Monday I packed up the car and headed to the airport to fly to Tucson – my last air travel of the tour! (thank god!) For someone who is terrified of flying, I am pretty proud of myself for surviving over fifty plane flights in the last three years, and only chickening out on one of them! That’s a pretty good track record if you ask me. I still don’t like to fly, but I’ve learned to tolerate it if I have to

I waved good bye to my parents and brother again as I set off – it never gets easier. Why can’t New York City be in California? Hopefully I will be back again before too long.

The week in San Diego went by all too fast. I swear I blinked and it was over. I guess going back to a one-week stop after two two-month stops made it seem like a split second.

We played the Civic Theater in San Diego, which is a big performing arts center downtown. I remember going to see shows there while I was in school, including the band Pearl Jam, who I saw from the seventh row! It was really cool being on the other side of the footlights this time. The theater is big and spacious and we had plenty of room for everything backstage. Opening night went without incident and our audiences all week were raucous and appreciative. We had a little opening night party following the first performance at an Irish bar out behind the theater. Casey Nicolaw, our choreographer, was in town – it was nice to see him one more time before we close.

On Wednesday I took advantage of my close proximity to Mission Bay and got up early and went for a run on the path around the bay. After lunch I spent a couple of hours wandering up Mission Street to Garnet Street and browsed the shops of Pacific Beach. I stopped for a coffee at Zanzibar, which is a cafe that I spent a lot of time studying in during college. My friends’ bands used to play there, too. Its not as grungy as it used to be, and now functions as a full restaurant, but it still has the same charm. After that, I walked over to the beach, and walked along the beach back down to my apartment.

Pacific Beach

A surfer on Pacific Beach

On Thursday I drove over to Balboa Park and went to the Museum of Photographic Art to see the Ansel Adams exhibit on display. I spent some time walking around the park, revisiting all my favorite places – Spreckels Organ Pavilion (where I performed with the UCSD gospel choir while in college), the international houses, and the promenade with all the museums. After that I drove over to Old Town and walked around for a bit (I stopped into a gallery there with lots of famous prints from Life magazine for sale – very cool), then went to Shakespeare’s Pub for dinner before the show.

Balboa Park

Spreckels Organ Pavilion

Museum of Man

Old Town

On Friday I went to UCSD. I love going back to campus and walking around.  It just brings back so many great memories. I didn’t have a very good time in high school, but I LOVED college so much. I feel like that’s when I started to really figure out who I am. And I had some great friends there – from the girls who I lived with in the dorms freshman year (some of who I am still close to) to my theater friends. I just loved, loved, loved those years. The campus has grown so much since I went there – I think it now has seven colleges (it had five when I was there), and there are so many new buildings. The theater department has been renovated and there is a beautiful new dance building. Some of my old favorite places are still there, though, from the Grove Cafe, to my freshman year dorm, Cabrillo Hall. I spent some time in the bookstore, buying some sweatshirts and a t-shirt, and then just spent a couple of hours walking around. It made me very happy.

The theater department at UCSD

The student center

My dorm, Cabrillo Hall

My friend Mark, who I went to high school and college with, came to see the show on Friday night with his wife Molly. Mark and I did a bit of theater together in high school, but we really got to know each other in college, when I stage-managed a production of “Sweeney Todd” that Mark directed. It was so nice to see him again – it had been at least ten years since we last saw each other, and I loved meeting Molly. She and Mark seem like a great couple. One of the best things about this tour has been being able to reconnect with friends in other cities who I haven’t seen in forever. Hopefully it won’t be another ten years before I see Mark again!

On Saturday we had two shows, and the presenters at the theater threw us a BBQ between shows out in the theater courtyard. It was a really fun way to finish out our stay in town.

On Sunday we played our last two shows, and then it was home to pack. I left early Monday morning and drove to Sunnyvale, where I am staying at my parents’ house for the week while we play San Jose.

It was a fantastic week in San Diego, albeit too short. I hope I get to go back really soon. I miss it a lot. In a way, I like it that way though – San Diego remains for me a fairytale place of simple, happy times. That’s how I like to remember it.

On the way to San Jose, somewhere off highway 5

Ryan flew into town for my second to last week in LA. It was great to see him – I wish he could have stayed longer. We had a really nice visit though – we did a lot, but we also relaxed at home a lot – it was the perfect mix of productivity and chillaxin’.

We spent our first day together gorging on the mammoth pancakes at The Griddle – so good, but SO huge! It took us three days, literally to finish our portions. We hung out at the Grove and explored the Farmer’s Market there and spent the evening barbecuing at the apartment.

Pumpkin pancakes at The Griddle

On Tuesday we drove out to Santa Monica which was an adventure it and of itself. The traffic in LA is legendary, and it took us FOREVER to get out to the coast. We finally did, though and had a nice afternoon walking around the promenade and along the cliff side park.  We ate another ridiculous meal on Wednesday at the famous Pink’s hot dog stand – it was more for the experience than for the food.  I can cross it off my list and don’t need to ever go back

On Thursday we drove to Pasadena to visit the Gamble House, a beautiful craftsman home built in 1908. They just don’t make homes like that anymore – gorgeous! And it was built in only 10 months!

On Friday we met up with a group of people from “Spamalot” and went on the “V.I.P.” tour at Warner Bros. Studios. It was really interesting to see behind the scenes at all the different sound stages and to visit the back lots, and the scene shop and prop shop. It seemed so removed from what we see on TV – to me it just looked like a summer stock theater company – especially with everyone riding their bikes all over the place from stage to stage. It was a really neat experience.

Warner Brothers Studios

Over the weekend Ryan and I spent quite a bit of time taking photos of the fires in the hills near Glendale. The smoke clouds were clearly visible from downtown and Hollywood, and the smoke was very thick in the air, especially in the mornings. I had Sunday night off work, and after dinner in Los Feliz, Ryan and I drove up to the Griffith Observatory to take some photos. They are finally getting the fires under control, but I think at this point over 140,000 have burned in Angeles National Forest.

On my final Monday off in LA (!) we had lunch at the Alcove Cafe in Los Feliz to celebrate Ryan’s birthday (which was on Wednesday) then Ryan spent a couple of hours at Amoeba Records while I ran some errands. We had dinner that night with Christopher and Sean at Cafe Stella (which was so yum!) and then we all went to the Vermont to see my friend Natalie (who was in town with the “Legally Blonde” tour) perform her solo cabaret show. I did “Bare” with Natalie five years ago and we became fast friends. I’ve seen her solo show a few times now and she gets better every time I see her. She rocks. Even Ryan enjoyed the show and he’s not really  a fan of cabarets!

Natalie performing her solo show at the Vermont

Ryan left on Tuesday I spent the rest of the week pretty much packing up the apartment in preparation for moving on to San Diego. I met up with Natalie on Friday for lunch and then caught “Legally Blonde” on Sunday night.

I had a great time in LA this summer. It was a totally different LA than I had ever experienced before, being able to just relax and hike and hang out rather than doing uber-touristy things like going to amusement parks and things. I loved my little rental apartment (and so did Tallulah – she is already missing her yard). Hopefully I’ll get a chance to be back again sometime for an extended period of time- maybe on another tour?

On Monday I drove to San Diego, and had a smile on my face as I drove through UCSD’s campus, then down La Jolla Shores to La Jolla and then P.B. and finally to Mission Beach where I have really cute cottage right by the beach for the week. I was so happy to see Fin’s Tacos is still there (which I of course had for lunch yesterday) and also Zanzibar, Tokyo House and World Curry! I’m looking forward to revisiting all my favorite places this week

On Mission Bay

The tour is most definitely winding down – only a few more weeks now! I have my sublet in NYC all lined up for November and am beginning my planning for my cross-country trip back after we close in Costa Mesa – which includes a stop in Houston to see Fran and Tanya, and then Wisconsin to see Ryan. I’ll be back in NYC before I know it!