Sunrise over Atlanta

Atlanta, Georgia

We were in Atlanta for a few busy days.  There was hardly any time to do anything, but I did get to go to the Margret Mitchell house.  This is the house in which she had an apartment.  She wrote Gone with the Wind there.

 

 

On the left is a shot of the front of the house, and on the right is the back.

 On the left is the door from Tara from the movie, and the painting of Scarlett that hung in Rhett's bedroom in the movie as well.

Here is the newel post that inspired a portion of the movie/book.

 The mailboxes outside of Mitchell's apartment door.  Sadly, no photos allowed inside but I'll tell you this, it was tiny!!!  I've had bigger hotel rooms!  My tour group had an excellent guide, and Margret Mitchell was a fascinating woman!

How did I do this before?

How did I post in my blog before so often?  Now that I'm 2 years older than I was last time I was on the road, I find myself just wanting to watch mindless television or going straight to bed when I get home from work.

I have gotten to do a few things. . . this tour has been very busy so far with split weeks (2 cities in one week.)

 Something I got to do early on in tour that I've always wanted to do is to go to the Mall of America, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Here are some shots:

 

 A store that would be better off in a mall in Florida. . . they just sell flip-flops.

You can get married at the mall!

 

On the road again. . . .

I have joined Sesame Street Live's Elmo Makes Music tour.  It has been two years since I was a "roadie." 

The economy is hard for everyone.  However, I have found that it is espeically hard for folks in the entertainment business.  In the early 2000s when I was in college, Walt Disney World recruiters would come out and tell us about all the jobs they always had a hard time filling. . . . .  Except when I got out of college, the economy had taken a turn (it was shortly after 9/11) and tourism has never bounced back since then.

I find myself once again living out of two 50 pound suitcases and in a different city every week.  This time I'm strictly stateside which makes me happy.  I'm not going to lie, I'm getting a little old for this kind of work, but this girl has bills to pay and a doggie at home that has medical bills.  I sure do hope I've made a good decision!

A tough decision

Shortly after leaving Japan, I made a really tough decision. After four and a half years, I've decided to leave Feld Entertainment. It's been a great adventure, but it's just not for me anymore. I'm not sure what's in store next, but I'm looking forward to it!

Closing Day in Japan

Last day in Japan.

Greg walks through the 100 Acre Woods. I pose with my favorite Donkey.

Oh, look! It's Noon in the 100 Acre Woods!

Me and my favorite bear.

Here we all are, Japanese crew included.

Japan Closing Party

Right before we left Japan, we had a big party.

Here is me and Greg. Here I pose with Masami. She was part of the Japanese team.
Crew girls!
Me, Krista, Ale, and Jessi.

Here I am with Shawn. We worked together on the props for the show.

Here is Jason.

Here I am with Jarred. Jarred and I held down Stage Right together.

We don't always get along.

Neither of us was harmed while taking this photo.

The Japanese love speeches.

Here is my boss, Jeremy, giving his speech.

Nax (in the background) translates.

Hiro (head of the Japanese team) gives a speech, he does his own translating.

Mark gives a speech. He was really happy to come back to the show

for our Japanese tour, he really missed it.

2006/2010 team

Here we are, the same people that were with the show in 2006 and in 2010.
Mark, Michelle, Rich, Myself, Sallie (in front of me), Sunny, Nax, and Kevin.

Sam's Bar, Hiroshima

In 2006, we played Hiroshima and visited a

Disney Live!/Disney on Ice institution: Sam's Bar.

At Sam's, people from the shows sign the bathroom.

I signed the ceiling in 2006, you can see my 2006 signature next to the ceiling light.

Krista signs the ceiling too. Look, my signature is still there! Mark can't remember where

he signed the last time we were here.
Fluffy and Krista in front. Mark and me in the back.

Original 2006 signature.

This time, I sign the wall.

Miyajima, Japan

Itsukushima Shrine is a Shinto shrine.

It's often refered to as "the Torii in the water."

The Torii looks to be floating at high tide,
unfortunately, I only got to visit during low tide.

Miyajima Island is covered in wild deer.

This deer, walked up to me and ripped my map

out of my hands and started to eat it.

These deer are really not afraid of people,

I just sat right down to this one.

People stick coins in the cracks of the Torii to make a wish.