The Great Texodus

After Baton Rouge, we headed straight back to Texas, did not pass Go, did not collect $200. At best, we collected a few more Texas postcards and truck stop photos. Our first stop back in the Lonestar State was Beaumont, not far from Houston and rather sunny and warm. We had a couple days off, which we took advantage of - we visited Gator Country, home of the reality show Gator 911, I ran to the Beaumont Botanical Gardens, which is dedicated to Babe Didrikson Zaharias, the greatest female athlete who ever lived, and we had a group outing to the local bowling alley where our company manager treated us to bowling and pizza. My teammates and I competed for the lowest score, and the outcomes were close. I came in a consistent third out of fifth place, scoring way under 100. Mission accomplished. But after a few days of relaxation and fun, we went back to work. We had a quick cleaning rehearsal on Thursday and closed out the week with a grueling three show day on Friday. Only it was a two show day for me, because my understudy went on for the last of the three shows! I was able to watch the show, and it was actually really fun. I sat in the audience and watched as the kids bolted to the aisles to dance and smiled each time they shouted out their love for Barney. It was nice to see up close just how well our show is received.

From Beaumont, we had a long drive to Hidalgo, Texas, otherwise known as Not-Mexico for its five-mile proximity to the border. We got in late, but were able to enjoy the 85 degree weather the following morning before our two shows. We also soaked up a little sun between shows while shooing away the tropical insect population. The audiences were mostly Hispanic families, and they went wild for Barney. We also journeyed out after the show, courtesy of Senor Shuttle to find the delicious Taco Palenque with its custom-made vegetable fajitas and delightful strawberry margaritas. We woke up the next morning at 5, fueled up on some dollar burritos made fresh at the gas station, and then, finally, took our leave from Texas.

Who knows how many hours later (ten? twelve?), we find ourselves in Sulphur, Louisiana (named for its fragrance!). As a parting gift to our performance director, we made homemade salsa in the hotel. A Leatherman for a knife, a couple ice buckets for bowls, a razor blade to mince the garlic, and a soap dish for a cutting board. We improvised until we were close, but something was missing. A late night trip to Sonic for some limes did the trick. Get excited, Rebecca, homemade hotel salsa is coming your way!

Austin and the Red Stick

Austin made the top three. Which in case you haven't been tallying up for yourself, now reads:

#1. Chicago
#2. Austin
#3. Minneapolis

It's a close call between Austin and Minneapolis, but I think Austin may take the cake. We were only there two days, but we stayed downtown so we could take it all in. Our hotel was a short walk uphill to the Capital building, which is beautiful. We got in early in the afternoon, and were able to take advantage of the sunny day and sixty degree weather. After skimming a few plaques on statues, we decided to head down Congress Ave to the legendary Sixth Street that everyone kept mentioning. It made me think of a more spacious, less Asian-influenced St. Marks Place. Lots of bars, tattoo shops, a couple bodegas and more than a few sketchy characters hanging around. But definitely very cool looking. We were clearly there far too early, so we made our way back to Congress and got some Mediterranean food. Austin was trying to pull an "Abilene" by not keeping a lot of its restaurants open in the afternoon, but we nabbed a Greek woman and demanded hummus and grape leaves. She sat us down, cooked the food and then served it to us without any one else's assistance. It wasn't stellar, but it was good enough and a very pleasant atmosphere.

From there, we accosted a couple of well-dressed college girls and asked where the boutiques were. They directed us to South College Ave which is over a bridge where you can spot bats between March and November. Tragically, we only saw birds but being actors, we were able to take some photographs in which we acted like we saw bats (see above). The shops we found were indeed very cute, but a bit pricey. I did find something I believe my boyfriend will quite enjoy, and this is a little trick to determine if he is reading. We were given a recommendation to one thrift store that turned out to be a little more Carol Channing than Jennifer Margulis, so with that we called it a day. We found a great burger place called hopdoddy that made a mean veggie patty and had a pretty crazy but efficient setup. We tried to blend in and not out ourselves as tourists, and I imagine it was successful. After filling up on burgers, we walked back over the Congress Ave bridge to Ballet Austin, where a few of us took a Jazz Funk class. Apparently, we were pretty funky, because one of the regulars asked if we were professionals. Oh yeah! To cap off Day 1 in Austin, we hit Pete's Dueling Piano bar, where we were about half the age of anyone else in there and the only people who knew the words to Sublime's "What I Got." There were other stops afterwards that included but were not limited to very cheap shots, discovering sweet tea vodka, dancing to live country music and befriending one of Austin's elusive cab drivers.

Day 2 we actually had to work. But that did not put a halt to the exploration. I ran over Congress Ave bridge in the morning and discovered a small pedestrian bridge a quarter mile out on the dirt trail by the river. It was really pleasant, though quite a bit colder and windier than the day before. We had two packed shows in the Frank Erwin Center, and managed to squeeze in some delicious Indian food in between. After the second show and some freshening up and bundling up, we walked about forty-five minutes across the campus of the University of Texas. The campus is huge and stately, and the main strip is pretty funky. Finally, we arrived at the Spider House, which had been raved about by several parties. And with good cause. It's an old house converted into a restaurant/coffeehouse/bar/chill spot for college kids. We had spiked hot beverages and delicious hot food. They make a veggie philly cheesesteak which is one of my favorite dishes in the entire world. We stayed for a while before fighting a long battle to track down a cab. Once we did, we directed him to Fourth Street to meet up with some friends and hit the gay bars. The first one was very nice until I was told I had to pee outside because I'm a girl! After that, I just went in the men's room - it's not like they were checking me out. We hit a few more clubs on the strip and I tried my hand at being a wing-man. It was a pretty awesome night.

We were sad to leave Austin the next morning, especially because it meant an eight-hour bus ride to Baton Rouge. Which is actually turning out to be quite lovely. Our venue is downtown on the river, so we took a stroll to the water between shows. They have a giant statue of a red stick that is meant to symbolize the town's namesake. We read that the French explorers spotted a bloody stick that was used to indicate hunting quarters and thus the town was named Baton Rouge. The waterfront is very pretty, and the venue was fantastic.

Two good cities in a row -- that's a pretty good week.

A Tale of Two Cities

The first, San Antonio, for my lovely friend Joel's birthday (or rather, the beginning of his birth-week), and the second, Abilene, the town of no food.

Our performances in San Antonio were awesome. We were performing in a domed rodeo with dressing rooms the temperature of winter in Alaska, but the kids and parents loved it. And that warmed us up enough to do two great shows. After the second, we took a cab downtown to the Mexican restaurant, Mi Tierra. It was a blast of color the second we walked in, with pinatas hanging from the ceilings and full-bodied senoritas strutting around in red, white and green off-the-shoulder blouses and floor-length skirts. A mariachi band floated around the premises serenading tables in exchange for a few dollars. A bakery the length of the restaurant was the first thing you smelled when you walked in, and the aroma made you want to stay forever. The margaritas the size of my head were no small perk, either. As soon as we sat down and started sipping our margaritas, we relaxed and started to enjoy the evening. The food came quickly and was delicious. The decision to have fried ice cream shortly after was a simple one. The dessert was massive and phenomenal, with tiny flakes of coconut adorning the ice cream which was cased in a shell of fried heaven. And on a furtive trip to the ladies room, my friend Megan and I summoned the mariachi men to come and sing "Feliz Cumpleanos" to our birthday boy, which they did, and then gave him a purple and green balloon (how they knew those were Barney's colors, we're not sure), which he proceeded to carry around the San Antonio Riverwalk.

The San Antonio Riverwalk had just been drained for cleaning and the water was replaced the morning of the day we went. We had feared we would be seeing a River-less Walk, but in fact, time was on our side. The Riverwalk was charming, with its winding roads and twisting staircases. There was very little light, which made it a good choice for a romantic stroll, or a few tipsy performers in search of more fun. The fun we found was a sports bar, which seemed to be one of the few places open. Apparently, Tuesday night's not such a big night in S.A. But we had a great time and threw back a couple birthday shots of Patron with salt and lime.

Now, Abilene was not so willing to provide us with tasty food, dessert or even margaritas. Abilene did endear itself to me on run my run, however. Our hotel was downtown, so I was able to run on sidewalks (hooray!) and get a sense of the city. I ran under the train tracks and discovered a park with all different larger than life sculptures. A bronze pig standing on stick-legs with wheels at the bottom, a violet-colored tulip beaming up at sun (which finally decided to emerge) and my personal favorite, a giant wooden buffalo. The buffalo had stairs in the back for visitors to climb up and photograph themselves on top of the buffalo, riding it, which of course I promptly did. Sadly, I was by myself so the pictures came out a bit skewed. I also discovered a fantastic boutique called Ya Ya Gurlz with a mezuzah on the door but plenty of crosses inside the shop. When I inquired about the mezuzah, I was told it came with the building! But I did find myself an adorable pair of earrings amidst all the cowgirl and Jesus wear.

Having discovered this boutique, I assumed there were a host of higher class people in this town and therefore a few good restaurants must exist. I was wrong. It was just the one. And even that one closed at 2pm and didn't open til 6pm. Don't bother trying to eat in this town in the afternoon. There's a coffee shop that's open, but packaged pastries are all they've got in terms of sustenance (but the chai latte and the pressed tea are delightful! It's called Monk). I survived on string cheese and a protein bar, and then headed out to the Cypress St. Station restaurant once it deigned to re-open its doors. It was the classiest joint in town. With a wooden wine rack and polite waiters, this restaurant knew it was our only hope. And it was wonderful. I had a spinach and artichoke penne, and promptly came back the next day for the spinach and artichoke salad (also good). After dinner, we strolled back satiated and stopped in at a gallery opening for a little culture and free wine and dessert. We spoke with one of the artists who was very excited to meet the cast of Barney and introduced us to his nine year old son, who was less than excited to meet us. But it was very charming and everyone was extremely welcoming.

Our shows were great, and we spent a couple hours in the tea room at Monk coffee house waiting for our crew to load out before we hit the road. And now here we are in glorious San Angelo (sarcasm), for two days off! Hooray!

Dallas is For Lovers

My boyfriend came to visit me in Dallas! It was wonderful. Between our four shows, blocking rehearsal and put-in rehearsal for all our understudies, we had a lovely time together.

The weather started out beautiful. We were able to roll down the windows of our rental car on the way for a private Mexican lunch just the two of us at the highly recommended Taco Diner. We shared yummy open tacos and a mound of chips and salsa.

The venue we were performing in was the Verizon Center, which turned out to be a huge venue for concert performers. There were painted murals all over the backstage and the front of house from all the acts that have played there. Some of my personal favorites were Carrie Underwood, Alanis Morissette, Heather Headley and Good Charlotte to name a few. I was hoping for Taylor Swift, but I didn't spot her...

Chris and I went to a Korean place called Namoo for dinner in Dallas' K-town. It was pretty hidden, and we were the only white people in the place. Chris helped me say "please" in Korean and told our waitress about his travels in Korea. She chatted with us while she grilled his meat and I devoured by bibimbop.

The two shows and a rehearsal the next day were pretty tiring - but the houses were great! - and Chris came to the second afternoon performance. The kids went wild at every show and formed a little kiddy mosh pit down in front of the stage. Some parent or kid, even tried to bring Barney a cardboard poster declaring their love for the purple dinosaur. Afterwards, Chris and I and a couple of my friends went to The Blue Grill, a Japanese place near our hotel that looked super hip. It was fantastic, with the exception of the avocado tempura which we all agreed tasted like a dirty diaper, but the waitress was nice enough to bring us a plate of sweet potato tempura instead. We had mochi ice cream which was tasty, and some of us had a good amount of lychee sake. It was a lovely night out.

The next day was comparatively easy. We had a slightly later start and only two shows. Chris came by after the first show with a Boston Market feast for us to share and I daresay I ate the better part of it. Bouncing up and down for the next show was a bit rough, but then it was all done, and we had one last night to enjoy in Dallas. I downed a Red Bull and psyched up. It took us awhile but we finally made it to Dallas proper (such an elusive city!) and ate at the Mexican restaurant I was at two years ago when we were in Dallas on the Oliver tour. It's called RJ's, it's right in the middle of downtown and it's fantastic. I was still a bit stuffed from Boston Market, so we shared some quesadillas and I got a salad. I also had a delicious margarita and a tequila-spiked coffee with whipped cream. We all but closed down the restaurant and headed back to the hotel.

We said goodbye the next morning in the cold and the weakest snowstorm I've ever seen. We'll see each other next month in Ohio, where he will be performing "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" at the La Comedia Dinner Theater near Dayton. Until then, ciao, mi amor!

A Trail of Tears and a House of Not-So-Ill Repute

Fort Smith, Arkansas was an interesting city indeed. Less than a couple miles from Oklahoma, it was once the home to thousands of Native Americans as well as an acclaimed house of prostitution. There is an overlook by the river separating Arkansas and Oklahoma, where a sign tells visitors that all the land you can see was once Indian-owned land. The forced emigration of five Native American tribes is what we know today as the Trail of Tears. Not far from this piece of history is a famous former bordello, known for its high-end ladies of the night, as well as their more cultured entertainment of visitors. A couple of the girls bought shirts from Miss Laura's Social Club boasting, "Our brothel still takes care of its visitors!" But, no. They don't.

We also struck gold with thrift stores, a used book store and a great Mexican place, which is my more contemporary idea of a good town. The Mexican place, La Huerta, was incredibly cheap, and each of the three times I went (in as many days), the food was brought out by this tall, dark guy we nicknamed Fabio, who presented each dish with a deep, accented voice that made it sound even more delicious. We called him the "food presenter" and kept going back for more. Last night, we even closed the place down in our sadness to say "adios" to Fabio and his delicious food.

I have also begun a little side job these past few days, and no, it is not as an extra at Miss Laura's. We have a Bulgarian family traveling with us, and they work for our merchandising company. Well, on January 1st, I began tutoring their son, Junior, in English, Math and Reading. He is a quick study and really enjoys learning English. It's been fun for me to work with him and also gives me less time to sit around watching tv. It was a bit tricky, though, remembering how to divide fractions. I can't say that's had much practical use in my life lately...

We drove in to Texas today and are here for the rest of the month. Not here, in Wichita Falls, but here in Texas. This weekend we hit Dallas, where mi amor is coming to visit me! The tallest, handsomest, finest Mexican chef I know and love. Yo estoy muy cansada!

New Year's Eve in Wisconsin

Wisconsin Dells wasn't too bad. Almost as soon as we arrived the snow began to melt. Our two shows went well in the tiny theater and then we had the day off to ring in the new year.

I went for a morning run to Denny's Diner, not to be confused with the chain restaurant known as Denny's - there is no affiliation. Denny's Diner is a 50's themed, jukebox-pumping, color-blasting, hopping place to eat. With delicious raspberry pancakes, I might add.

We also had a lengthy trip to the outlet mall, where we stocked up on bargain items for our upcoming foray to Texas. I got a button-down rose-patterned shirt that I look forward to wearing with my cowboy boots and a rose in my hair. Watch out, cowboys!

For our evening celebration, we went to Ginza of Tokyo Steakhouse and Restaurant. We were seated at a hibachi table, and our chef impressed us with his flaming tower of onions, knife-juggling capabilities and accuracy with tossing shrimp into some of our mouths (I got mushrooms). The food was delicious, and the sake was quite tasty. We stayed til half past ten and just about closed the place down. Back at the hotel, we celebrated the New Year twice - once on East Coast (NEW YORK!!!) time and once on Midwest time. The latter was filled with champagne toasts, confetti poppers, sounding kazoos and boys lauding kisses. What can I say, "boys will be boys..."