2014-15 Holiday Train Tour Schedule / Journal

2014-15 Holiday Train Tour Schedule / Journal

New York - Wednesday, Dec 10

Raining
Took cab to Penn Station (Lyft)
Left station ~3:30 pm
Took train overnight to Chicago
Slept mostly on floor behind coach seats

Chicago - Thursday, Dec 11

Arrived ~11 am (scheduled for ~8:30)
COLD
Got ‘Red Cap’ ride
Put luggage in train station storage lockers
Left guitar in security closet
Ate skirt steak sandwich at ??
Walked back to station to check bags for change of clothes
Bought Day Pass at Fitness Formula Club for $30
- Shot basketball
- Stretched
- light weights
- steam room
- shower
Coffee / Pasta at ??? near Union Station
Boarded train ~9 pm
Worked on train
- Sat next to ‘Dr. —— Hatch’ until Champaign, IL
- Pediatrician
- Woodworker
- Studied in UK
- Went to snack car to eat until ~3am
- Slept in Disabilities car

Memphis - Friday, Dec 12

~6:45 am Woke to announcement of train leaving for New Orleans
Threw all luggage off train
Shared cab with elder couple from Chicago to hotel then Greyhound station
arrived at greyhound station ~7:30 am
bought bus ticket to Nashville
ate bus breakfast at station
tv’s played Jerry Springer and Good Times reruns
ate cheeseburger lunch
boarded bus ~1:30pm
- didn’t have proper luggage tags, so boarded last
bus was half-full
stopped in Jackson, TN
bus filled up with students from Elaine college in Jackson
bus was over-booked
girl requested to ride on friend’s lap
bus driver called in to the office to verify
bus driver declined request
elderly woman in front volunteered to get off bus and wait for next bus (4-5 hours later)
loud, obnoxious, disrespectful students debated current events for rest of ride to Nashville
- Ferguson
- #I Can’t Breathe
- Al Sharpton
Arrive in Nashville ~7:15 pm (scheduled for 5:30)
Went to dinner (sushi and Pho) with Steve and Jen Thurmond
Fell asleep watching ‘Tusk’ by Kevin Smith (awful)

Nashville - Saturday, Dec 13

Woke ~ 2 pm
Ate cereal
Rehearsed
Picked up sound system from friend of friend (Bill?)
Stopped at Guitar Center to buy SM58 mic ($120)
Drove to Franklin, TN to James Watson’s house ~7pm
Set up and waited for friends to arrive
Ate mac / cheese, snacks, drank beer
Started living room show ~ 9pm
- Set List for James Watson’s house in Nashville, on 12/12/14
  1. Make it rain
  2. Need her more
  3. Here it comes
  4. Testify
  5. Let Me In
  6. Smile (didn’t play)
  7. Calm
  8. Save the Flames
  9. Jolene
  10. Other People
Drove back to Nashville ~ 12am
Sleep ~ 2am

Huntsville - Sunday, Dec 14

Woke for breakfast at Steve’s house ~11am
Packed clothes
Got call from Wayne Thornton that he was 30 min out
Ate breakfast biscuits
Wayne arrived during breakfast ~12pm
Met Mason (Wayne’s son)
Drove to Huntsville, AL
Settled in, played guitar, reminisced
Went to eat hot wings and cheese fries at Bouregards(?)
Got coffee and walked through ‘holiday lights’ in downtown Huntsville
Went home ~10pm
Shared new music with Wayne
Went to bed ~1am

Birmingham - Monday, Dec 15

Wayne woke me up ~7am
- said his work called, and he would have to bring me to Birmingham much earlier than expected
stopped for coffee and breakfast buffet just north of Birmingham ~8:30am
arrived in Birmingham ~9:30
Dropped off at Urban Standard coffee in downtown Birmingham
- Worked online
- found rooms on Airbnb
  - in Birmingham tonight
  - in New Orleans for Wednesday
  - (left Tuesday open in case of gig in Hattiesburg)
- called friends
- held work conference call
- called leads in Hattiesburg and Birmingham for shows
- had coffee, 1/2 of chocolate cookie dough brownie, soup
- called Amtrak and booked ticket to New Orleans the next day
walked down to Pale Eddie’s Pour House ~3pm
Booked show for end of happy hour ~7
Took yellow cab to airbnb locale ($30)
loaded equipment / luggage up 3 flights of stairs to room
cleaned up, did yoga, changed shirts
took yellow cab back down town for show ($15)
Set up and met bar staff ~7pm
started set ~7:30pm
- Set List
  1. Make it rain
  2. Need her more
  3. Here it comes
  4. Testify
  5. Let Me In
  6. Save the Flames
  7. Jolene
  8. Other People
played ~80 min
entire bar was sitting at bar, facing tv’s behind bar, cheering along to silent film about Miami football
met 3 older men at bar (the only 3 who clapped all night) - who all had contacts to Muscle Shoals, the Allman Brothers, and Fame studios
had 4 beers on no dinner, and got buzzed
got text from airbnb host that he was nearby, and could give me a lift home
asked him to stop on the way home, and bought more beer, cream cheese, and wheat thins
drank 1/4 of one beer, and fell asleep with cream cheese open and on my stomach ~12am

New Orleans - Tuesday, Dec 16

woke up in all of my clothes, hungover, and exhausted
showered, packed, and called cab
took yellow cab to Green Acres Cafe
- thought it was a coffee shop
- got wings, fried green tomatoes, and fries ~11am
took same yellow cab to train station
picked up ticket, and turned around to go back for coffee
got coffee in corporate office building down town
took same yellow cab back to train station
cab driver showed me his Samurai sword
boarded train, and headed to New Orleans ~1:30pm
worked on train in snack car
- researched open mics in New Orleans
- booked airbnb room for tonight in French Quarter (St Claude & Marigny st)
arrived in New Orleans ~7pm
took cab (complaining all the way) to airbnb spot
keys in mailbox, let myself in, cleaned up, left for french quarter ~8:30
walked to Frenchman st, asked around for open mic nights, no luck
found Coop’s and got dinner
- Crawfish Etouffe / green beans, Abita Amber (x2)
walked around french quarter, stopped for music at 1 - 2 places, headed home
got home, met hosts, went to bed ~12am

New Orleans - Wednesday, Dec 17

woke up ~8am
cleaned up, headed to frenchman st
ate Beignets and cafe au lait at Cafe Du Monde ~9:30am
christmas shopped around french quarter
ate hot sausage po’boy at ??’s Po’Boys on Franklin(?) ~2pm
went back to apartment to pack and check into next location
walked with all bags .6 mi down St. Claude to the new location
settled in, rested, got dressed
walked out toward frenchman st ~5pm
walked down frenchman, passed lots of interesting things, made my way to Bourbon st
wandered around for a while, then went to Pat O’Brien’s for dinner ~7:30pm
- shrimp creole
- cesar salad
- abita amber (x2)
walked further down Bourbon st and finally wandered over to Royal St.
- realized that I had been missing out on the best street in the french quarter
- made note to come back
took a cab to Avenue Pub on St Charles (recommendation of Hope) ~9pm
met Kat, got drunk
- 5-7 beers
- 3-5 shots (whiskey)
- 3 cigarrettes
- DUMB
took cab home ~12am
puked...

Baton Rouge - Thursday, Dec 18

woke up, hungover ~8am
stayed in bed trying to pass headache
showered, dressed, headed toward frenchman
ate ‘southern breakfast’ at Cafe Rose Nicaud ~9am
- buttermilk biscuit
- cheese grits
- scrambled eggs
- 2 links alligator sausage
- large latte
browsed music store at Decatur st and ? corner
wandered down to Royal St and went into every gallery I found ~11am
called Hope to get an ETA ~1pm
met up with Hope at Cafe Du Monde ~1:30pm
ate at ACME Oyster Co on Iberville ~2pm
walked down Royal St. and revisited a few galleries ~4pm
headed back to the car, drove down Burgundy st toward St. Claude to the rental
checked out, headed to Baton Rouge ~5pm
arrived at Hope’s house ~6pm
picked up by Carlos ~6:30pm
arrived at Carlos & Gracie’s house ~6:50 pm
ate steak, pasta, broccoli
got ride from Gracie to 3rd st ~8:45pm
arrived at Breakroom @ IPO ~9pm
heard from door man that someone had already been at the venue to see me
- “they said you were their youth pastor? they were holding signs… said they’d be back"
met Aaron Carmouche, went across the street for a beer
met Matt & Ian (musicians for the night), and set up the guitars
Aaron / Matt told me they called the police to have Britt & others removed
- decided not to confront the protestors before the show; if they were still there after I would say hi
Irene Miller and her man (?) showed up
Hope Carmouche and MJ showed up
started playing ~10pm
- Set List
  1. Make it rain
  2. Need her more
  3. Here it comes
  4. Testify
  5. Let Me In
  6. Calm
  7. Save the Flames
  8. Other People
  9. I will survive
finished playing, had drinks with friends, turned down shots
got ride home from Irene & her man
- stopped for Raisin’ Cain’s on the way out
  - box of 4 chicken fingers
  - extra toast
  - fries
  - extra special sauce
  - sweet tea
got home ~12:30pm
went to sleep

Baton Rouge - Friday, Dec 19

woke up ~10am
had message from Gracie that she was gone and Carlos would be home later
showered, ate cereal, started game of Madden 13 on Xbox
Carlos w/ kids came home ~1pm
played with kids, got dressed, headed out for movies / lunch ~1:30pm
ate ‘the works’ pizza at California Pizza Kitchen
went to Cinemark to see Night at the Museum 2
I spent most of the time outside in the lobby
- returned phone calls
- checked email
- replied to email from Britt re: night before
headed home ~5pm
hung out / played with kids
- listened to Carlitos (10) play trumpet
- listened to Callie (8) play Xylophone
played Madden with Carlitos and Carson (6)
ate dinner with family ~6:30pm
- gumbo
- chicken fingers
- white wine
  - Carlitos tasted it
    - liked the smell
spent time with family, talked, kids went to bed
played Madden while Carlos watched Fox news and Gracie did laundry ~9:30 pm
went to bed ~11pm

San Antonio - Saturday, Dec 20

woke up to alarm ~8am
took shower, packed, headed down stairs ~9am
Carlos made breakfast
- omelette
- waffle
- bacon
- orange juice
- coffee
Carlos (w/ kids) drove to Lafayette ~11am
- discussed rental properties (6 locations, 13 units)
- 2 vacancies in down town apartments
stopped at gas station to pick up snacks
- water
- starbucks double shot (tall)
- chex mix (spicy)
- beef jerky (burrito)
train scheduled for 12:24, arrived at 12:50, left at 1
left luggage, brought laptop to snack car, set up to start working on journal
- returned phone calls
- checked emails
listened to the rest of ‘God, No’ ~4pm
arrived in Houston ~6pm
got off train, went inside, waited for all bags to get checked, was last person on train with ticket to San Antonio
train left ~6:50pm
brought laptop to diner car
shared table with Chinese law student living in Atlanta at Emery(?) law school
discussed differences between Chinese (civil) and American (common) law systems
discussed differences between Chinese and American corruption
ate dinner
- 2 strips tilapia
- rice pilaf
- steamed veggies
- water
- frappucino
9:31pm (now)… the train is stopped ~30 miles before Luling… no announcement
getting another sierra nevada...
arrived in San Antonio ~ 1 mile from where mom & Stone were renting a room

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