On our way once more!

We have benefited from our time "ashore" these past winters, but this one seemed longer.  After five years doing nothing but traveling and performing, it's weird not to be in front of folks, doing what we do.  Then, it's weird getting back into it!

Getting ready to perform is a matter of ramping up from "practice" to "rehearsal."
Fingers will hurt for a while, but it all comes back pretty quickly.

Getting ready to travel, however, is a different critter.

We moved from the van into the apartment and added household stuff--some from storage--and found a place for everything.  Now, we've had to determine what of our current household needs to be reinstalled into the van, and where.  

Hours and hours dragging things out, back and forth, countless miniscule (but important) discussions and decisions--all in hope of avoiding that "Oh, no" moment out on the road when you realize you forgot something that is going to affect your daily lifestyle until you replace it, if you can.  A life this compact involves some very customized applications for "just right" items it took a lot of searching to find.  They fit and work just right, and the trivial becomes large, like a grain of sand inside your sock.

Judy spends hours planning where we're going to stay on the way to the gig, directions, schedules, where we want to be on days off, times we definitely don't want to be on the road, hours not to hit major cities, bypasses and beltways--all the minutia comprising an itinerary for true itinerates.

Anyone who has seen us perform can imagine what goes into the maintenance, organization, and transportation of instruments, props, and equipment.  The other traveling pros we know all deal with these issues as part of the creative process beneath the surface--the big, tough part of the iceberg.
It's the off-it-for-months aspect that's caught us a bit off guard.

But, we got it done, and in a couple of hours we'll be pulling out and we'll be performing again tomorrow afternoon.

Hope to see you out there!