Hopkinsville, Owensboro, and Madisonville

Some of you may have been wondering: Why has Andy stopped blogging? Well, it's really a two-part answer. Part one: I was a little lazy. Part two: Most of the places we have stayed during this Winter/Spring tour have had little to no Internet. 

Thankfully, we are staying in a place this week with incredible internet speeds and therefore, you all get to benefit from it. Happy reading!

One of our stops brought us to Hopkinsville, TN. It was a small town, with a dying downtown area. Luckily, the theatre was renovated and the shows turned out to be amazing. Below are some photos from Hopkinsville. 

A "replica" of the Round Table. 

On the college campus, there was a park area with a Greek/Roman architectural design. It was pretty cool. 

After Hopkinsville, we headed over to Owensboro, KY.  We had a residency at the RiverPark Center, which is a large, 1,300 seat auditorium and a great stage. We filled the bottom half of the theatre for a school performance and got many seats filled for the public show. It was a good experience. Near the theatre was an awesome place called "Smothers Park". Quite possibly the best playground I've seen.

Cool piano near Smothers. 

Close-up of that piano-pattern.

A view of the bridge/state line.  

Smothers Park. Awesome. 

 After Owensboro, we headed to Madisonville, KY. We stayed with a lovely 77-year old lady named Patsy. Her husband died of complications with Alzheimer's only two years ago. She loved hosting tour actor/directors and she cooked for us. Every. Single. Night.

She lived on an incredible property and owned a gorgeous house. Gander below.

Patsy's farm. 

Becca. Bein' awesome on hay. 

My room in Patsy's house. 

The outside of Patsy's house.

In Madisonville, there is a place called "The Lost Sea". It's a cavern that holds the world's largest underground lake in the world. It was a neat experience...and kind of creepy.

Near the entryway. 

Down, down, down, we went to enter into the main cavern.

One of the large, main rooms. 

I don't have flash on my camera, but luckily a Pilipino was taking a photo with his flash right when I took mine. 

So far, this Winter/Spring tour has been treating us well. We have had some incredible experiences this far and we can't wait to head back to the east coast for more!

Back on the Road in Memphis

After a terrifying drive through a snow-covered St. Louis on Sunday, we finally arrived in our first residency here in Memphis, TN. It was a wonderful cast and a great way to start our winter tour.

Earlier in the week, I was able to attend a session at the LDS temple here in Memphis. It had been two years since the last time I was able to visit and I was excited. It was such a wonderful experience and I can't wait to find another temple close by to go again.

Memphis, TN temple. 

We were at a Catholic school complete with uniforms and daily prayer. It was actually nice to be in a school where I could tell kids that they could pray to receive help from Above.

The show went great and the audience loved it. We received our first ever standing ovation for the first performance. You could tell how loved the children were by the faculty, parents, and volunteers.

Once the show was over, we packed up our set and headed to downtown Memphis to check out Beale St. and hopefully eat at the famous Charlie Vega's Rendezvous. It was our lucky night and we walked in and got a table.

The ribs were delicious. They use a secret combination of dry spices, and I found out that they can ship you their ribs overnight to any state in the US. So…maybe someday in the future I'll have them again.

It was a quick trip to Memphis and now we're gearing up to our next residency in Kentucky.

St. Louis, Nauvoo, Knoxville, and Evansville...

Becca and I have had our share of incredible weeks this Fall tour. I cannot even begin to describe how amazing this job has been for me and how life-changing. It has taught me the importance of traditional values and bringing up children in a good, clean, and healthy home. Working for Missoula Children's Theatre isn't just changing the lives of children, it's changing my own.

Now...for something completely different--prepare yourself for a barrage of photos.

Half-way through our Fall tour, Becca and I had an unbooked week. That's where no one has hired us. For us, unbooked weeks are rare but that's how we like it. Too many unbooked weeks would just get boring.

For a week of paid vacation (essentially), we were able to stay for free at an acquaintance that Becca knew in St. Louis, MO. We were about 30 minutes outside of downtown STL, and it was incredible. The zoo was FREE, the City Museum only cost $12, and we had just...so much FUN!

The Arch. I was too scared to go up inside it. Too high. 

A sea lion. Eating. 

Gorillas fighting over a hammock. 

THE CITY MUSEUM! 

MORE CITY MUSUEM!

EVEN MORE CITY MUSEUM!!

SERIOUSLY. THE CITY MUSEUM IS INCREDIBLE. THOSE ARE STAIRCASES. 10 STORIES HIGH.

After our unbooked week, we headed back to work in Knoxville, IA. It was a great week. On our way there, we stopped at Nauvoo, IL. It was so wonderful to go see a bit of Church history and experience what life was like for the pioneers. 

The Red Brick store in Nauvoo, IL. Unfortunately, it was closed that Sunday. 

The final and actual resting place of the Prophet Joseph Smith, his brother, and Emma Smith. 

We saw the blacksmith's shop, and we got Prairie Diamond rings and a horseshoe. 

Becca's ready for the trek west. 

Joseph and Hyrum on their ride into Carthage, with one last look at the temple. 

Beautiful Navuoo, IL temple.

When we were in Knoxville, we had time to go exploring around. The Fall colors were beautiful.

View from the observation tower--9 stories high. 

Pretty cool. 

Gorgeous fall colors.

Becca's not modeling, she's just casually watching the waves gently lap at the waterfront. 

Which brings us to our current week, Evansville, IN. It has a small downtown area with gorgeous homes, courthouses and churches. 

Pretty downtown cobblestone street.

County courthouse. Looks more like Versailles to me. 

Creepy old blue apartments.

Old victorian-style mansion in Evansville, IN. 

And to finish off, some random pictures from Woodward, OK, Pella, IA, and a cut. 

Our set in the Woodward, OK opera house. Isn't it just spectacular?! 

A windmill in Pella, IA.  

An endearing drawing and letter from Caleb, who was a member of the Frowny Face Tribe in Woodward, OK. 

Some weeks, we do a theatrical make-up workshop. I do grossies and gories, and this week the kid wanted a "cut" on his newly shaved hair. It turned out pretty awesome. I just wish I could have added more blood--but it was against the school rules. 

Seriously. I love my job. 

Ranch Life Photo Post

We're staying on a ranch this week. Here are some photos.