We've only been on the road 12 days?? Feels like its been forever! Not entirely in a bad way though, mostly because when we got to Florida the other day it was about 80 degrees and we went swimming in the Gulf of Mexico and 11 days ago I was playing in the snow near Canada. I'm sure all of this is really healthy for my body. Although I've come to the conclusion that I can't really have allergies on this trip because we don't stay in one place long enough. My sinuses don't have time to get used to any one climate except that of the bus, which, if it smells like this after only 12 days lord knows what it'll be like after 3 months. Socks. That's all I'm saying, nobody gets paid enough for that. We do have a little recycling initiative going on the bus however, we have separate trash bags and when we can we unload the recycling at grocery stores or hotels.
I'm attaching a few pics tonight, from the floor of the classy Quality Inn in Panama City, FL. The first (blue theatre seats) is the Yukey in Lakeland, FL, where we were on Tuesday. The second, (reddish purple seats) is the Van Wezel in Sarasota, and the third, (purple-y-er seats) is the Marina Civic Center in Panama City. If you notice, I've stopped taking the pictures and am simply Google imaging the houses. You can usually get a better photo quality. With the exception of the Marina Civic Center, I just couldn't find diddly on that one. The Van Wezel is memorable because they had signs everywhere that said "van-WAY-zel" and then had a picture of a weasel in a circle with a line through it. They must get that a lot.
The highlight of this week would definitely have to be Wednesday in Sarasota. We decided the night before to leave an hour early so we could have some time on the beach. If any of us knew how fantastic the beach would be though I think we would've driven through the night to get there first thing. I haven't been to the Gulf of Mexico in a minute and I forgot what beautiful blue waters were there. It was a nice change from the I-Don't-Know-What-That-Is Foam and random garbage of the Jersey Shore. First thing I did was go buy some flip flops. I was kind of mad at myself for not bringing some, but I figured it was winter and we wouldn't be anywhere beachy. I lucked out though and found the Flip Flop Shop in downtown Sarasota and bought a sweet (albeit a teensy pricey) pair of flips made from yoga mats! It might be the most comfortable thing I've ever owned. A couple of us got a pizza and took it to the beach, smart move until the a-hole seagulls caught on. But I got to see a baby seagull! It was so tiny and running very fast. We hunted for some seashells and took pictures, I've attached some below, and we all got a liiiittle sunburned even though we put on SPF 30. It was worth every minute though because we made new friends on the beach, bartering pizza for the use of a stranger lady's flat sheet.
I do believe the highlight of the beach visit for me however was at a point when I was standing about waist high in the water and talking to my friend Brian who all of a sudden started screaming "FIIIIIIIIIIIISH!!!!!" and pointing at the water around me. Apparently I attracted a school of small fish and they were swimming all around me. Of course my natural reaction was to scream and run (but not really run, more like the awkward "I'm trying to run in water" run) out of the ocean as though he was screaming "SHAAAAAAAAAARK!" I loved beach day. I've decided that I want to retire to Sarasota though...you reading this Randy? ;-)
So now I'm chillin in Panama City (the American one) and tomorrow we leave for a gig in Alabama before coming back to Florida for a few more shows. I still have no concept of what day it is, I genuinely cannot remember where I was yesterday without thinking for a second, and I cannot tell you what room number I have today. Every fact of my existence changes daily, so I've been reduced to very short term memory and only retain things on a need-to-know basis.
That's all for now, see you in Alabama!
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