Working??? hmmm more like "Playing" 9 to 5!

What a surreal couple of weeks it has been!!

2 Weeks in Nashville, a week in Atlanta, and now we are in Charlotte, NC.

Nashville started out with meeting Dolly first thing Monday morning. And she was there for the next two weeks at almost every show and at every day of tech. She made us fudge, laughed and clapped in the audience, sat and ate with us, and made us laugh till it ached. She is everything you would think she is: gracious, sweet, kind, giving, funny, charming, and extremely talented. What a blessing to be able to meet her!

Mom, Me, and Vava

So that was an exciting thing to start with… then it was onto a week of tech. 10 hrs at the theatre every day that week! Before we knew it, it was opening night: red carpets, great first show, and fabulous opening night party!! Not to mention, my mom and grandma got to come for a visit so I was so blessed to have them with me. I had the hottest dates… that’s for sure!

Ryah, Micah, Me, and Jesse

A ton of behind the scenes videos from tech week and from the party are at tpac.org or on TPACS youtube channel. Check them out!

Nashville city highlights:

*BROADWAY: of course! The night life in Nashville is so fun. Each bar has live music, so as you walk down Broadway, the music changes at every door. So we enjoyed that a couple nights post show.

*The Pancake Pantry and Noshville: Nashville’s 2 famous breakfast places. The Pancake Pantry is self explanatory… the best pancakes and a wide variety of kinds. So so good!! And then Noshville is a perfect All American Diner Breakfast. Yum Yum Yum!!!

*2 for 1 Cowboy Boots: I wish I could say that I bought me a pair… but I never made it over there with rehearsal schedule and family time. BUT some of my cast members definitely scored with some great boots!! Lucky them!

Atlanta was the second stop of the tour and what a great stop it was. We got in early Monday and I was able to hop on Atlanta’s easy train system (MARTA) and go visit my aunt, uncle, and cousin in Roswell, GA. I had never been to their place and hadn’t seen them in way too long! They gave me a tour of the city and we had great family time Monday (including a HOME cooked meal… unreal!). Then we got up Tuesday and they drove me around and showed me Atlanta City before I had to be at the theatre to start the week of shows. I got to see them again when they saw the show on Sunday. It was the first time they ever got to see me perform so it was exciting to have them there. My favorite thing about touring is being able to visit with people I hardly get the chance to see. What a blessing to have been able to finally get to see them. During the week, I was also able to catch up with my mom’s best friend and her precious little girl (Erin and Bella Roosen). I hadn’t seen them since Bella was a baby…and now she is 4 and so beautiful! Then my great friend from UC Irvine, Jeff Parker, drove from Chatanooga to come see the show and visit! It had been almost 2 years since we had last gotten together!! What a lucky girl I am to have such supportive family and friends. Can’t thank you all enough for sharing your time with me when I was in town!! Xoxoxo

Dolly stopped by both shows on Saturday. It was thrilling to see the audience’s reaction because it was so unexpected. We had our bows, the curtain went down, then she came on stage real fast, the curtain went up, there was silence in the audience, and then all of a sudden SCREAMING!! People were up on their feet jumping up and down and yelling. So cool to witness. And rumor has it she is making an appearance in Charlotte too… so for all you Charlotte people… you may just want to go to every show just in case. 

Atlanta Highlights:

*Renting Bikes: We had a day off on Monday (traveled to Charlotte today before show), so Micah, Ryah, Jesse, Holly, and I rented bikes all day. It was the perfect day to do so, great exercise, and so much fun!! Check out the facebook album of our magical day!

*The Flying Biscuit: Before bikes, we loaded up on some quality brunch at Atlanta’s hit breakfast place! Highlight of the meal: an oatmeal pancake with peaches. It was unreal!!

*Aquarium: Our first bike ride stop was at the Aquarium. I took so many pictures of our time there. It was like nothing I had ever seen!

*Zoo: Micah, Jesse, and I separated from the group to go to the zoo… but it was closed so we rode around Piedmont park instead. GORGEOUS park! At one point we just sat in the grass people watching and watching the clouds roll by. Life is sweet.

The Gang at Aquarium

And that is a novel of our adventures so far. Some of us have made a pledge to each other to embrace our inner child and PLAY on this tour. So we are definitely PLAYING! Stay tuned for more stories.

Love to all

XOXO

Ash