Buffalo and on to Philly

Let's just state for the record (for those of you who don't know). Buffalo is a hole. Period. I live in NYC and yes, I call Buffalo a hole. Dirty, repressed, Nasty.

That being said, The Buffalo Local kicks ass. Pure and simple. Our wardrobe crew rocked. Great Ladies, obviously there to work, interested in their work, taking pride in their work. No wondering off, no bad habits. We really wanted to take them with us for the rest of the tour. I stated to my boss at the end of the night, "If only every city could like this one!"

Of course the set up in every venue is a bit different, but the Buffalo show felt backwards. Mainly due to our exits. We have grown used to entering and exiting a certain way and the stage set-up/placement was opposite what we have grown used to. It complicated things at the end of the night, during the load-out, when we found ourselves with no clear path to roll our 5 racks off the floor and back into our wardrobe room. Bad communication between house staff and tour staff, and perhaps even some bad communication between tour staff. All peoples were being funneled out 2 exits and as a result we were trapped center arena for 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile the rest of the loadout and tear down was going on around us. It set us back on our loadout, but never fear, Buffalo local came to the rescue, as a matter of fact, even with the delay, we still set a load-out record. Yes, really. See what happens when you have intelligent, professional people working with you!!

It wasn't only the wardrobe department either. The whole show was loaded-out in record time. In fact, we had to wait for the bus drivers to arrive to take us away, we were that early. Many Many thanks to you Buffalo. You ROCK!!!

On the bus and overnight travel to Philly. (Cheesesteak anyone?). It was a day off once we arrived and I had a fantastic day! My dear Friend Devon traveled to Philly today to join me in a day of sightseeing, wandering, museum strolling (limping in my case), and bookstores. We met at what is becoming a favorite Philly pub named Silante for a nibble before we started our escapades. I did have the special, a cheesesteak quesadilla, which was delicious even when consumed too close to a venti latte to get me prepped for the day.

We found ourselves in a cab and on the way to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology and Anthropology where we spent the afternoon checking out Ancient Egypt, Rome, and a bit of Greece. It felt like ancient egypt too, the AC was non existent, and it was Very Warm inside. We had a great time wandering together though, and chattering away. It wasn't the least bit busy (in comparison to our last Philly Museum trip to the Tut Exhibit), we almost had the place to ourselves and it was quiet enough that we could converse and be heard. I had no idea this place even existed, so many kudo's D for learning about this place. (See, ONE of the great things about being friends with D is her ability to research...) It was also great to see a friendly face after so many weeks in Canada and being on the road. It was a little slice of home, while on the road. We always have a great time and today was no different!

Being so WARM after our educational time, it was the perfect time to grab an iced coffee beverage. Mocha Frap anyone? The guy who was shouting out completed orders was most likely a theatre major who had just completed a Voice for Stage Class. At the very least, he could be considered a booming baritone. I say theatre major because he know to 'lift' the end of his sentences; although I do agree with D, he was loud, but his diction was lacking. LOL

We wandered into the Penn State area, bookstores and computer shops. I needed an ethernet cable (do you believe some hotels still don't have wireless internet?) What century am I living in here? Anyhow, I found the required cable and we browsed the sci-fi and romance sections of the bookstore, rather briefly. We had a used bookstore in mind (ok, D did, I was along for the ride) and we found it, "the Last Word" What a great name, right?

Immediately upon entering the store, we interrupted the doorman (kittah). He was sleeping on the ledge right the door and lifted his head and opened the most beautiful green eyes I've seen since my own dear Bast. Mostly black with small white markings on his face and front paws, with white boots on his back legs. D and I instantly ooh'd and aah'd and leaned over the railing to deliver some pettin's. We then headed back and spent a good long time searching through the stacks for treasures. We both came away with a few books, and while we were both sitting on the floor in the back of the store, the kittah came over for some more loving. Oh, was he adorable. Lester was his name and he convinced me to buy another book too. Crazy cat.

After taking our leave of Lester, we paid for our treasures and stopped in at Ben and Jerry's for an afternoon treat. (I can never refuse B&J, unless it's the one in Time Square). We sat for a while and enjoyed our refreshments, and that gave me a chance to prop my ankle up and rest for a while.

Then we continued on to The White Dog for dinner. I'm sure D will have a bit to say about it, so I'm going to leave that to her, but I will say that the service was deplorable. Many things on the already limited menu were not available and it took 47 minutes to receive our order (and a chicken sandwich does not take that long, unless you are plucking the bird). It was at a very historical site, but again, I'll let D go into that, and I'm sure she will... hehehe

After dinner I limped back to the station (catching a great dragon on the way, more on that later though), and departed ways with my tourist buddy. She to catch her bus back to the City, and myself to hop on the septa back to the hotel.

All in all a great day off. Thanks again D, I had such a great time and I'm so glad we got to spend another day in Philly together.

Now, I'm hours past my repacking for the rest of the week, so I MUST log off and organize my life or else I'm going to find myself missing something very important in the next 5 days, and I won't have time to run to the bus to find, say, underwear.

Tomorrow Philly, then Immediately following we are off to Ledyard, CT and the Foxwood Casino, followed by DC, and then peeps, I'll be tearing into NYC. Please take note and do NOT stand between me and the 7 train. I've got a month of house and kittah to catch up on in a manner of mere hours, and then back to the city for friends, a drink (maybe two) and then it's time for the shows in Newark.

"Ladies and Gentleman, we are now a bus. Welcome to Rock-n-Roll"

Love and Light!