My Fair Lady - Lafayette, MS and San Antonio, TX
The bus ride to Lafayette was uneventful and long. Unfortunately on this already-tight travel schedule, a few people who have awful time management (or no consideration for others?) took their sweet time. We had to wait an extra ten minutes for stragglers before departing first the hotel, and another ten later at the lunch stop for the same reason.
As a result we were 30 minutes late to Lafayette (10 more minutes for traffic.) I don't have load in responsibilities, and was grateful to have enough time to throw dinner items in a bag, get a shower and get dressed before hopping back on the bus to get the 4 miles to the theatre. But I felt very bad for our drummer, who has loads of work to do and didn't get to eat until hours later after sound check :( Lots of people had to "load-and-go" this time. I hope that doesn't happen again.
Like many people I had bought something to eat for dinner while we were stopped for lunch (prepackaged cut veggies with hummus, a tuna pouch, granola.) The show was good, it was an uninsulated pit with cement floors so there was a lot of reverb and the acoustics felt weird, but I thought we all did a really great job anyway. The audience was wonderful and laughed a lot :)
Friday morning I got up early for “me time”, coffee and breakfast, before we loaded onto the bus. It was a LONG travel day, 8am to 5pm with two bathroom stops and a lunch stop at a mall in Houston. I thought I'd resent all the stopping but actually it broke the trip up nicely. And at the mall I had enough time to try on some black shirts, and found one (now I don't have to wear the stinky, ill-fitting thrift store one any more!)
We got to San Antonio on time. The hotel staff were waiting with goodie bags for us! How nice! A bottle of water and some snack foods. As we were queuing for the elevator some folks all in black with Teamster logos here and there pushed past us, shouting that they only had a two hour break so could we please let them go ahead of us. We were all like "Yeah no problem...wait...who are you?!" Turns out it was some crew from the Tina Turner tour! They're staying at the same hotel! Even cooler, we may get a chance to see their show on Sunday since we only have a matinee that day! We'll see if that works out or not, but it's awesome that we're here in San Antonio at the same time.
As soon as I stepped into my hotel room I was flooded with deja vu and memories. It's the same room-layout that I had while here with Tootsie. So many enjoyable things happened, like visiting the Alamo and getting an incredible cream-filled croissant from La Panaderia. And getting my hair dyed red, the first time I ever colored my hair! And let's not forget the part where I got a false positive covid test and had to get a sub for one night, then dramatically returned to work the next night after my PCR came back clean.
Nostalgia aside, the rooms themselves are really nice. A full kitchen on tour is a GODSEND. Too bad we're only here for two days.
Instead of unpacking I bundled up and went back out, walking a little over a mile to Best Quality Daughter. Raven (my sister) generously and thoughtfully got me a gift card to this restaurant, and since we have a lot of shows I figured tonight was my best chance to try it out!
Inside the restaurant was cozy and Asian-hipster, with pink-and-teal floral wallpaper and Asian influenced lighting and decor. I don't have a good picture because it was quite dim in there. I had to turn the brightness up on my phone to get just "meh" photos of the food. The drink was Violette Delights: Charanda (sugarcane rum), Baijiu (sorghum liquor), crème de violette, coconut syrup, plum bitters, absinthe, lemon juice. I found the first sip kind of medicinal, but the coconut came through from then on and softened everything up nicely.
I ordered the Curry Guisada Dan Dan: Peeler Farms Wagyu beef guisada, heirloom tomatoes, fermented black beans, salsa verde cremosa, cilantro. It's not the most photogenic thing, but there were a lot of amazing and complex flavors here!
Surprisingly, the fermented black beans were my favorite part of the meal. They were tangy, earthy and just GOOD. The noodles were perfect and chewy, and the beef was exceptional, I know nothing about guisada but it sure is delicious. Almost reminded me of a mole. If I had one complaint, I would have wished for more beef, but this was locally-sourced wagyu steak chunks and therefore adding more would probably have upped the price of the dish.
Before leaving I saw a display with enamel pins. Must-have, to add to my collection!
Even with getting an expensive cocktail, the most expensive meal on the menu, a souvenir pin, and leaving a big tip, there was still $30 left on the card! I was probably supposed to take someone with me to eat here. Oops. That means I'll have to come back before we leave...probably either Sunday after my haircut if time allows, or Sunday night after we load out. What a wonderful and special treat this was, especially after being on a bus and eating gas station food pretty much all this week :)
I Ubered to an H-E-B because it was a bit far to walk from the restaurant, but after I finished shopping I did walk back to the hotel because that part was only a mile. I put my things away and unpacked, and had time to do laundry! This is way more than I expected to accomplish for one evening and I was very pleased over it :p
Before bed I saw that someone had put up a special compilation video to celebrate the 50th performance (this leg of the tour) of My Fair Lady. We celebrated by saying "The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain" 50 times! I'm Number Four :)
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Saturday, I'd set an alarm for 7:15 and was groaning when it went off. Not ready for today!
This hotel has breakfast so I got some coffee and oatmeal to have with the Greek yogurt and fruit I'd brought.
Then prepping for the day by packing intermission snacks, getting dressed, etc...and walking to La Panaderia for "el favorito", a round croissant sandwich with ham, cheese, eggs, and avocado-should-you-choose-to-accept-it (I didn't today, will add my own veggies instead.)
There was a line to get into the restaurant--there is ALWAYS a line, they are super popular--but I had preordered thank goodness so had time to throw the sandwich in the fridge for later before heading off to sound check.
As with the hotel, I have many fond memories of this theater. It's modern, spacious, and comfortable.
Sound check went well and then back to the hotel for lunch before the 2pm show.
My stomach was giving me heck all morning, not sure if it's from stress or the travel or the food/drink last night.
But by the first show of the day it had calmed down so it was probably stress + the alcoholic drink. Idk about you all but the older I get, the more alcohol does WEIRD stuff to me. But I enjoy alcohol so TOO BAD.
Everyone seemed out of sorts, honestly. I think because we were snowed in in Jackson ( a full day of inactivity) and then had several long bus rides in a row this week, perhaps we are tired in ways beyond the physical. We will recover, it'll just take a little time.
I had my lovely croissant sandwich for dinner and it was so dang good.
The evening show was fine, though I made weirdo mistakes because I was so tired and unfocused, and I think our bassist almost fell asleep standing up.
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Sunday I got up early again...I certainly didn't want to but I DID want that haircut!
Walked to the place, and everything mostly went fine except that
A) It took TWO HOURS. To take maybe an inch off my hair. By the 1.5 hour mark I was fidgeting and glancing at my phone, worried I wouldn't have time for lunch before the afternoon show. No idea why it was such a process.
B) I didn't get the cut I asked for, again, as usual. I give up, you guys. I brought TEN damn pictures, plus pictures of the haircut I'd gotten from this same salon previously and liked...and walked out with nothing resembling any of them. No amount of visuals or verbal descriptions seem to actually get anyone to cut my hair the way I want it cut. When you're paying $80-$100 per cut, you don't want to walk out with something you didn't ask for but here I am doing it yet again.
C) She couldn't style my hair!! The right side flips out naturally instead of curling under. She was using a large roller brush (way too large for the problem) and kept dumping a ton of product in my hair on that side, and couldn't figure out why my hair wouldn't curl under. I told her that I usually use a much smaller brush, or an iron if necessary. I literally showed her what to do to fix it. And she just shrugged and said, "Oh well, it's flipping out so I guess that's that." So not only did I not get the cut I asked for, but we also couldn't be bothered to style it correctly either.
I always say "I'm done with this!" after haircuts, because I'm so sick of walking out feeling ugly and like I just got ripped off. And yet I keep going back because my hair hits that certain point, where if you don't get it at least trimmed you'll have a weird mullet or messy layers for months until you get past that "ugly spot." At some point I've GOT to just let it happen, for an entire year so my hair can grow out. THEN get it trimmed and be done with it until it's down to my ass. I am seriously so sick of getting excited for haircuts, getting my hopes up, and always being let down. A haircut is not something that I get to enjoy anymore, it's become just another racket to avoid.
Anyway I had to power-walk back to the hotel, eat lunch very quickly, restyle my hair (it took 30 SECONDS to get it to curl under with a plain hairbrush and a dryer) before hoofing it to the theatre. And no, no one noticed that I'd gotten a haircut.
The show went well, we had a really responsive audience and a lot of people who came up to the pit to check us out before the show and during intermission. I botched my solo and was mad about it, plus mad about the haircut, so was in kind of a foul mood for the first half. Chatting with my peers at intermission was helpful. After the show I packed up for load out and ubered over to Best Quality Daughter again to use up the rest of the gift card from my generous sister.
This is the Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken with white pepper salt and basil ranch dipping sauce, and the "Charge It To The Room," gin with pear liqueur, pear shrub (a vinegar-based soda), and aquafaba (which is used the same way as egg whites would be in a drink.)
It was incredible. The chicken was so flavorful, the batter was seasoned in addition to the white pepper salt, and the meat was really dry and almost jerky-like which is my absolute favorite type of fried chicken! There was something a little bit sweet in the chicken seasoning mix, which connected it to the pear cocktail...which itself was slightly spicy probably due to ginger. I chose this combo based only on what I liked, but they went together so perfectly! What a great way to say goodbye to San Antonio.
I decided to walk back to the hotel and logged 1.5 miles doing so, then showered and finished packing and went to bed early.
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On Monday we have a flight to Charlotte NC, and from there it's a 1.5 hour bus ride to Columbia, SC.
We're only there for three days but it'll be busy for me. I have a doctor appointment, my first-ever masterclass, and a few foodie finds that I hope to hit.
As a result we were 30 minutes late to Lafayette (10 more minutes for traffic.) I don't have load in responsibilities, and was grateful to have enough time to throw dinner items in a bag, get a shower and get dressed before hopping back on the bus to get the 4 miles to the theatre. But I felt very bad for our drummer, who has loads of work to do and didn't get to eat until hours later after sound check :( Lots of people had to "load-and-go" this time. I hope that doesn't happen again.
Like many people I had bought something to eat for dinner while we were stopped for lunch (prepackaged cut veggies with hummus, a tuna pouch, granola.) The show was good, it was an uninsulated pit with cement floors so there was a lot of reverb and the acoustics felt weird, but I thought we all did a really great job anyway. The audience was wonderful and laughed a lot :)
Friday morning I got up early for “me time”, coffee and breakfast, before we loaded onto the bus. It was a LONG travel day, 8am to 5pm with two bathroom stops and a lunch stop at a mall in Houston. I thought I'd resent all the stopping but actually it broke the trip up nicely. And at the mall I had enough time to try on some black shirts, and found one (now I don't have to wear the stinky, ill-fitting thrift store one any more!)
We got to San Antonio on time. The hotel staff were waiting with goodie bags for us! How nice! A bottle of water and some snack foods. As we were queuing for the elevator some folks all in black with Teamster logos here and there pushed past us, shouting that they only had a two hour break so could we please let them go ahead of us. We were all like "Yeah no problem...wait...who are you?!" Turns out it was some crew from the Tina Turner tour! They're staying at the same hotel! Even cooler, we may get a chance to see their show on Sunday since we only have a matinee that day! We'll see if that works out or not, but it's awesome that we're here in San Antonio at the same time.
As soon as I stepped into my hotel room I was flooded with deja vu and memories. It's the same room-layout that I had while here with Tootsie. So many enjoyable things happened, like visiting the Alamo and getting an incredible cream-filled croissant from La Panaderia. And getting my hair dyed red, the first time I ever colored my hair! And let's not forget the part where I got a false positive covid test and had to get a sub for one night, then dramatically returned to work the next night after my PCR came back clean.
Nostalgia aside, the rooms themselves are really nice. A full kitchen on tour is a GODSEND. Too bad we're only here for two days.
Instead of unpacking I bundled up and went back out, walking a little over a mile to Best Quality Daughter. Raven (my sister) generously and thoughtfully got me a gift card to this restaurant, and since we have a lot of shows I figured tonight was my best chance to try it out!
Inside the restaurant was cozy and Asian-hipster, with pink-and-teal floral wallpaper and Asian influenced lighting and decor. I don't have a good picture because it was quite dim in there. I had to turn the brightness up on my phone to get just "meh" photos of the food. The drink was Violette Delights: Charanda (sugarcane rum), Baijiu (sorghum liquor), crème de violette, coconut syrup, plum bitters, absinthe, lemon juice. I found the first sip kind of medicinal, but the coconut came through from then on and softened everything up nicely.
I ordered the Curry Guisada Dan Dan: Peeler Farms Wagyu beef guisada, heirloom tomatoes, fermented black beans, salsa verde cremosa, cilantro. It's not the most photogenic thing, but there were a lot of amazing and complex flavors here!
Surprisingly, the fermented black beans were my favorite part of the meal. They were tangy, earthy and just GOOD. The noodles were perfect and chewy, and the beef was exceptional, I know nothing about guisada but it sure is delicious. Almost reminded me of a mole. If I had one complaint, I would have wished for more beef, but this was locally-sourced wagyu steak chunks and therefore adding more would probably have upped the price of the dish.
Before leaving I saw a display with enamel pins. Must-have, to add to my collection!
Even with getting an expensive cocktail, the most expensive meal on the menu, a souvenir pin, and leaving a big tip, there was still $30 left on the card! I was probably supposed to take someone with me to eat here. Oops. That means I'll have to come back before we leave...probably either Sunday after my haircut if time allows, or Sunday night after we load out. What a wonderful and special treat this was, especially after being on a bus and eating gas station food pretty much all this week :)
I Ubered to an H-E-B because it was a bit far to walk from the restaurant, but after I finished shopping I did walk back to the hotel because that part was only a mile. I put my things away and unpacked, and had time to do laundry! This is way more than I expected to accomplish for one evening and I was very pleased over it :p
Before bed I saw that someone had put up a special compilation video to celebrate the 50th performance (this leg of the tour) of My Fair Lady. We celebrated by saying "The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain" 50 times! I'm Number Four :)
Click to view-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday, I'd set an alarm for 7:15 and was groaning when it went off. Not ready for today!
This hotel has breakfast so I got some coffee and oatmeal to have with the Greek yogurt and fruit I'd brought.
Then prepping for the day by packing intermission snacks, getting dressed, etc...and walking to La Panaderia for "el favorito", a round croissant sandwich with ham, cheese, eggs, and avocado-should-you-choose-to-accept-it (I didn't today, will add my own veggies instead.)
There was a line to get into the restaurant--there is ALWAYS a line, they are super popular--but I had preordered thank goodness so had time to throw the sandwich in the fridge for later before heading off to sound check.
As with the hotel, I have many fond memories of this theater. It's modern, spacious, and comfortable.
Sound check went well and then back to the hotel for lunch before the 2pm show.
My stomach was giving me heck all morning, not sure if it's from stress or the travel or the food/drink last night.
But by the first show of the day it had calmed down so it was probably stress + the alcoholic drink. Idk about you all but the older I get, the more alcohol does WEIRD stuff to me. But I enjoy alcohol so TOO BAD.
Everyone seemed out of sorts, honestly. I think because we were snowed in in Jackson ( a full day of inactivity) and then had several long bus rides in a row this week, perhaps we are tired in ways beyond the physical. We will recover, it'll just take a little time.
I had my lovely croissant sandwich for dinner and it was so dang good.
The evening show was fine, though I made weirdo mistakes because I was so tired and unfocused, and I think our bassist almost fell asleep standing up.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday I got up early again...I certainly didn't want to but I DID want that haircut!
Walked to the place, and everything mostly went fine except that
A) It took TWO HOURS. To take maybe an inch off my hair. By the 1.5 hour mark I was fidgeting and glancing at my phone, worried I wouldn't have time for lunch before the afternoon show. No idea why it was such a process.
B) I didn't get the cut I asked for, again, as usual. I give up, you guys. I brought TEN damn pictures, plus pictures of the haircut I'd gotten from this same salon previously and liked...and walked out with nothing resembling any of them. No amount of visuals or verbal descriptions seem to actually get anyone to cut my hair the way I want it cut. When you're paying $80-$100 per cut, you don't want to walk out with something you didn't ask for but here I am doing it yet again.
C) She couldn't style my hair!! The right side flips out naturally instead of curling under. She was using a large roller brush (way too large for the problem) and kept dumping a ton of product in my hair on that side, and couldn't figure out why my hair wouldn't curl under. I told her that I usually use a much smaller brush, or an iron if necessary. I literally showed her what to do to fix it. And she just shrugged and said, "Oh well, it's flipping out so I guess that's that." So not only did I not get the cut I asked for, but we also couldn't be bothered to style it correctly either.
I always say "I'm done with this!" after haircuts, because I'm so sick of walking out feeling ugly and like I just got ripped off. And yet I keep going back because my hair hits that certain point, where if you don't get it at least trimmed you'll have a weird mullet or messy layers for months until you get past that "ugly spot." At some point I've GOT to just let it happen, for an entire year so my hair can grow out. THEN get it trimmed and be done with it until it's down to my ass. I am seriously so sick of getting excited for haircuts, getting my hopes up, and always being let down. A haircut is not something that I get to enjoy anymore, it's become just another racket to avoid.
Anyway I had to power-walk back to the hotel, eat lunch very quickly, restyle my hair (it took 30 SECONDS to get it to curl under with a plain hairbrush and a dryer) before hoofing it to the theatre. And no, no one noticed that I'd gotten a haircut.
The show went well, we had a really responsive audience and a lot of people who came up to the pit to check us out before the show and during intermission. I botched my solo and was mad about it, plus mad about the haircut, so was in kind of a foul mood for the first half. Chatting with my peers at intermission was helpful. After the show I packed up for load out and ubered over to Best Quality Daughter again to use up the rest of the gift card from my generous sister.
This is the Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken with white pepper salt and basil ranch dipping sauce, and the "Charge It To The Room," gin with pear liqueur, pear shrub (a vinegar-based soda), and aquafaba (which is used the same way as egg whites would be in a drink.)
It was incredible. The chicken was so flavorful, the batter was seasoned in addition to the white pepper salt, and the meat was really dry and almost jerky-like which is my absolute favorite type of fried chicken! There was something a little bit sweet in the chicken seasoning mix, which connected it to the pear cocktail...which itself was slightly spicy probably due to ginger. I chose this combo based only on what I liked, but they went together so perfectly! What a great way to say goodbye to San Antonio.
I decided to walk back to the hotel and logged 1.5 miles doing so, then showered and finished packing and went to bed early.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
On Monday we have a flight to Charlotte NC, and from there it's a 1.5 hour bus ride to Columbia, SC.
We're only there for three days but it'll be busy for me. I have a doctor appointment, my first-ever masterclass, and a few foodie finds that I hope to hit.