Midwest, Allergies, NYC, NJ

So I have not been too good at updating my blog this tour. That is a first. We have been very busy and had a lot of shows and time with friends. So I will rewind a bit. 

Minneapolis had a stellar show. We hung out in Mall of America for an entire day, because that is about how long it takes to walk through it. We met some great people in Minnesota who showed us how to make some incredible vegetarian food! It makes me want to go back to being vegetarian on tour. I had a great run with that last year and it was one of the best tours health-wise for me. 

I had a funny experience in Ames, Iowa. About 3 songs into the set, I realized I had tangled up my headphone cable going to my mixer. If you have seen us this tour with me playing drums, you know I stand on my drum set from time to time through the set. Apparently, in all that rambunctiousness, I managed to disconnect the foam earpiece from the actual headphone. So when I went to adjust my headphones, I realized the foam piece was lodged in my ear canal. It was so far in my ear canal that I could not feel it, even with my little finger pushed all the way in my ear. Bad news. Luckily, throughout the set I was able to work my jaw muscles to move it back out of the canal. I got it far enough out to where I could snatch it out. Jordan was waiting with the tweezers. It was a very scary set for me. 

In Chicago, we did our first stay at a RYFO house. It was such a great experience. We spent the night with an awesome family there. They were so kind to us. They had another band called The Radiance Effect staying with them. Check them out if you get a chance. And if you have a chance, go to http://www.ryfo.org/ and join, adopt a band (like us!), and keep up to date with prayer requests and hang out times with these guys. It is such a blessing to have this available! 

Michigan was as great as always! We have so many friends there and they always show us the best time ever. We had 4 shows in the area and so we got an extended stay with them. Everything from shows to cooking to seeing Thor to late night bubble tea to the zoo...it was so much crammed into a few days! So awesome! 

Then New York City. I love NYC, but Central Park is where all my mini allergy attacks of the midwest culminated into one giant pot of death and attempted to destroy my soul. I have not had allergies that bad since I was a child. My seasonal allergies, my cat allergies, and and regional allergies banded together into the incarnation of death. My eyes were itching so badly. My nose was running incessantly. My throat was on fire. Luckily, Andrew's niece, Lauren (who dances for the New York City Ballet Company), gave me some allergy medication and I got some eye-drops. I felt much better. I felt well enough to eat raw octopus, eel, and salmon!

Now we are in New Jersey and we had a great house show/bbq here! Anyone who knows me know that I love to grill! It makes me happy. Couple that with music and I am in Heaven! Tomorrow is Philly and that means cheesesteaks! I cannot wait! This is the our last week on this tour. Gotta make it count!