The past week has been something of a suburban nightmare. I swear I've been inside a mall every day and a Starbucks at least three times. Not that I should be complaining. At first, the thought of this kind of civilization seemed appealing.
We arrived in Merrilville, Indiania in the midst of a snow storm, but the good news was there was a mall with a movie theater not far from the hotel. There was also a bar inside the hotel, which was better news than we realized at the time. So a friend and I set out for the mall. We asked the front desk to call us a cab, and she said one would be arriving in about thirty minutes. We were standing by the front door when five minutes later, 24/7 Taxi rolled up. We entered the vehicle to find a very disheveled man who reeked of cigarette smoke. I attempted to close the door to the van, which looked like it was under construction, and the driver huffed at me, "Ya gotta do it from the outside." I thought perhaps he didn't realize I was actually going on the excursion. I politely said, "Oh, but I'm going, too." He rolled his eyes and wheezed, "No, you get out of the car, shut it halfway, then close it the rest of the way from inside. Jeez!" My knowledge of opening and closing doors in decrepit vehicles clearly leaves much to be desired. He then proceeded to terrify us with his driving through the snowstorm and pulled up to an abandoned movie theatre. My friend noticed the theater looked abandoned, got out to check and confirmed that there was indeed no sign of life to be found. Our chauffeur then rang up his buddy to ask the whereabouts of the other movie theater, and then explained to us he needed to get out more. In the fairly small town of Merrilville, it was difficult to believe someone would not know the location of the single operating movie theater. And yet, during his phone call, Prince Charming was overexerted and decided to enjoy a cigarette with the windows considerately rolled down to keep out the snow, sending me into an allergic coughing fit. He agreed to put it out when I said that I was allergic. The king of consideration himself dropped us off at the proper movie theater, failing to mention that the mall where I was headed was located at the opposite end of the parking lot, so I was forced to run there in the storm, shielding my face from the freezing rain, and simultaneously obstructing my vision of oncoming cars (thankfully, I am fine).
Once at the mall, I was able to do some holiday shopping for my boyfriend, my family and a couple of my friends. But a couple hours later, I looked outside the bookstore to discover the sun had gone down and the storm was even worse. I ran into a friend from tour who was waiting for the esteemed 24/7 cab company to retrieve him. I asked if I could ride back to the hotel with him. Sure enough, it was that delightful face of 24/7 I had met earlier. He seemed equally pleased to be reacquainted with me. Once again, his driving terrified us, and then he went to light up another cigarette, sending me into yet another coughing fit. This time he was kind enough to roll down the window, exposing us to the wintry conditions and joking whether I was still mad at him. Upon our arrival back at the hotel, after running a red light and cursing another driver, the gentleman decided to charge three times the cost that the meter displayed. We were all too weary and cold to argue in the storm. Moral of the story: Don't leave the hotel.
However, the Irish Bar and Grill at the hotel was very good. And the hot tub combined with homemade cocktails was lovely. The bartender made a wonderful special called the "Mint Chocolate Chip Cookie" and it washed down the bitter taste of the showshoe shot I finally sampled. Doing a three show day the next day? Now that was a bit of a challenge. But having my own dressing room? Somewhat divine. We also had our lunch catered by Panera, which was a brilliant decision to lift our spirits and fill our stomachs. Between the second and third shows, we did a holiday photo shoot in all of our costumes, which was super cute, and you can see my favorite one at the top of the page.
After Merrilville came Independence, Missouri, which is not far outside Kansas City, but too far to run. And my faith in cabs had been crushed. So for me, Independence was just another town with a mall, a Starbucks and a Noodles and Company (which, by the way, is the company I am most tempted to buy stock in).
And now here we are, our final city before Christmas break in Wichita, Kansas. I found a running trail this morning, but I can't say it led anywhere terribly exciting. A Super Target, but these have lost their appeal after being on tour for a couple months. I was able to taste the first snowflakes of the day in my mouth. That was pretty cool. I came across a few other runners, which is not a common occurrence in these Midwestern suburbs. We ate dinner tonight at Carino's; it's a chain Italian restaurant, but a very good one. I entrusted my food buddy with the decision, and sure enough he did not fail me. I'm looking forward to eating leftovers tomorrow between our final two shows. And then...New York for six days! Boyfriend! Puppy! Family! Friends! CHINESE FOOD!!!
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