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Published: March 8th 2006
Loa, Utah
Pure beauty in our first townSoooo......
its taken me a while to Blog, but the midwest is infamous for small towns with no internet connection. Its been a really great journey. Markuz and I are hilarious people, so we keep each other entertained. We've been touched by amazing children, and great educators. We have also had a few underwhelming experiences, but thats okay too. I'll share....
Our first stop was in Loa, Utah.....Ahhhh
So cold, and so small. we drove through hours of nothing and landed in a tiny little town. We arrived at about midnight and stayed in the Snuggle Inn. Cute. The teachers and students were great and they told us that we were the best traveling team that they had ever seen. Yay for us on our first show. (Since then in 1 1/2 weeks KB has recieved 3 or 4 other calls about us!)
On our way to Loa we almost ran over a heard of elk in the street…exciting. We also stopped in the freezing cold middle of the night to look at the stars. It was absolutely breathtaking. They were so bright and clear, almost magical.
We left Loa and drove into Wyoming. Not too much to
S&M in Mormon Town
The "Great" Salt Lake.....really see there. Lots of snow covered mountains and miles of nothing. We spent the night in Rock Springs and drove through the next day into Hot Springs, South Dakota. On our journey, we stopped in Salt Lake City, and saw the “Great” Salt Lake. Then we went to a book store to look for gay travel books. HA! Good look in the Mormon capital of the World. We immediately left because we felt judged. We went through Independence Rock, WY, a place where the Oregon Trail travelers stopped and celebrated the 4th of July. We went through Douglas, the Jackalope Capital of the World. We tried to get our Jackalope hunting license, but the place was closed. Instead we got Douglas, our son. You can see pictures of him later. We asked a few people where the Jackalope statue was that was in our book, and when we found it, the statue was GONE! I took a picture like the one in the book to show you guys. Next we drove through Lost Springs, WY (a lot of Spring towns?), the Smallest city in the US. Population one, and they had a bar, a post office, and 1 city building.
Douglas leads the way
This is our son Douglas...he keeps up entertained...and yes he is a real live jackalope INSANE. When we got to Hot Springs we needed a drink We asked Katie at he front desk, our favorite Native American, where to go. She named a few places that we found to be sketchy, and then we found our way to The Bar. It was defiantly the local place to hang out, and to our delight, it was karaoke night! We were stared at for about an hour until we sang, or everyone was drunk, one of the two. We were instant celebrities and had a fantastic time. Thanks to Matt…..much love! The next day, our hung over asses went to Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse. It was a beautiful sight to see. We learned a lot about American History….so basically we’re smarter now.
Our show there was in a theatre at the town center and the kids were wild and so fun. After the show a teacher told Markuz that the girl we chose to be our Good Witch of the North was a special needs child, and the were concerned when we chose her. But after the show they realized that she had the best time of her life, and this would be something that she
yay independance
Independance rock.....yay America will remember the rest of her life. AWWWW!
After SD, we were off to Lincoln Nebraska for Mardi Gras…and two shows. We were able to eat at Cracker Barrel for lunch, something we had been waiting for. ALso, we had to go with the kids for a fire drill after our second show. I haven't been in one of those in a while, but it all come back to you.
We left Lincoln, the capital of Nebraska and headed off to Hartington….the smallest town on earth. We drove in at night and were terrified. It was a scary town. The next day…Ash Wednesday, we performed at a catholic school for grades K-12. And it was Dorothy, we felt so silly, but whatever. The Priest wanted us to mention, after the show, the virtues that Dorothy learned during her trip, and what they can take form it for this time during lent. Being the good Catholic that I am…..I think we succeeded. We later got a comment on the Traveling Lantern Blog from one of the students…how cute.
We left Nebraska and were headed for Kansas….to do Dorothy and the Wizard of OZ….still. We stopped at CarHenge…a car
Lost Springs
Smallest city in the US...this is not photoshopped replica of Stone Henge…hilarious. We took some pictures of me as Dorothy in the Great Plains…fun times. Our first stop was Garden City, and then another show the same day in Dodge City. At the school in Garden City, we met our favorite principal. He was a folk singer and understood the importance of the arts for children. We were also surprised to see many Hispanics in Kansas….crazy. Dodge City was underwhelming and the school had no idea what was going on. After our second performance in Dodge, we left….happy to say…”Lets get the Fuck out of Dodge.” However 20 miles out, I realized I left my Dorothy shirt and we had to go right back.
Then we were off to Olathe (it’s pronounced o-lathe-uh). The students were great and the principal told us that she hadn’t laughed that hard in a while. She said that they were in the middle of testing and both the teachers and student needed a break.
We left Olathe and went to Lansing Middle School. We were a bit terrified because the students were much older, but they enjoyed it. I had the best set of flying monkeys. They drug my ass
The family
We're investigating the camera....very interesting clean across the stage, but of course I had it under control. We met a girl who was an actor in town and she was precious. Our last of 9 Dorothy’s in a row!!! We drove off through Leavenworth, Melissa Etheridge’s home town….cute.
And now for the recent story….
We left Lansing and wanted to push our 8 ½ hour drive all the way to Madison WI because we had heard that it was great. We arrived into Madison at about 2 am. We called Econo-lodge and roadway inn, thinking cheep and within budget. The guy at Econo-lodge was so rude and kept me on hold for over 10 minutes while he chatted with his friends, then he told me he was sorry and couldn’t help me by giving me directions. So I called Roadway. Kelly was the sweetest man in the world, except that he talked to us for 30 minutes at 3am! We finally fell asleep for our great adventure the next day. We found a café with internet and stayed there for a while, then drove downtown for food. Gay.com gave us ideas on where to go. The restaurant they told us about was delicious….but not
At The Bar
Me and Matt and the Reno actor in Hot Springs, SD gay. Then we tried to find gay bars. The straight bar in South Dakota was fun, but come on. The first place that gay.com told us to go to was Club Majestic…..closed. Then we went to Opus Lounge….breeders. Then on our way to the Slipper Room, we asked a man in a dress for directions and he told us that we didn’t want to go there. He said we wanted to go to skirt night at the Shamrock Club. So we did. It was alright, but we had to redeem ourselves, or at least gay.com. So we went to the slipper room……$5 cover, a lame band, and straight people. Lesson learned….don’t trust gay.com. So back to the Shamrock Club with us. Next thing you know, a little person was hitting on me. She asked if Markuz and I had ever gone to Club 5. I said “Sorry, we’re not from here.” Markuz promptly asked the bartender how to get there, and we left. Club 5……a real gay club….homos abound. We went in and commenced dancing. Then we realized that for the past 30 minutes we were listening to the same beat…..boring. No one was hitting on us (I have no
After The Bar
Back at home....completely sober.. idea why…we’re hot), so we left.
Depressed and still lonely we did two Mozart shows the nest day at a Children’s theatre. One woman said that 3 generations saw us and all thought that we were amazing. We took pictures which you’ll see and left town.
We watched the academy awards and went to sleep. The next day I rushed Markuz so we could get to Lomira on time (1 PM). When we were half way there, I realized that we didn’t have a show until 7pm! We arrived there and realized there was nothing to do. We asked the Amerihost Inn if we could sit in their lobby and use their internet, and they said sure. When we overstayed our welcome we went to the ONE resturaunt in town and sat there and ate. Then we waited in the parking lot of the lions club for 1 hour. But the people there fed us dinner and we did the show for father/daughter/son night. More adults than children, but we, of course, made it work brilliantly.
We stayed in Wisconsin for our show the next day in Rockford, Il. We went to the Pub connected to our
Buffalo in South Dakota
Within 5 miles, we saw deer, buffalo, prairie dogs, and a bald eagle hotel, and Leah, the bartender, told us that Rockford has the highest crime rate in the Midwest. So basically, we were told not to stop at a gas station or ask for directions. Well, when we arrived, it seemed fine...until we got to the school. The children were out of control because the teachers had no connection with them. They were yelling "shut up" and other things the entire performance. Then.....the bell rang before the show was over and the assistant principal said "sorry, but the bus drivers wont wait," then they all left. By far the worst experience yet. Fortunatley we were able to fill out an evaluation after the show!
Now we are in Chaska Minnesota for 2 shows tomorrow....wish me luck!
Sorry for the book I just wrote…and all the babbling. I had to make sure I wrote it all down. If not for you, for me!
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Amy
non-member comment
Traveling pimps, more like
Wowwy!! The two of you are doing such important and inspirational work.... take pride in that my beautiful friends. You rock, thanks. Viva el teatro!!