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Tootsie Yr2: Orange & San Antonio
May. 4th, 2023 05:59 am*Rant Alert* Regular blog continues after rant.
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Our bus call was at 7am, so around that time I stepped into the hallway with all of my luggage to find a queue for the elevators that wrapped partway down the hallway. There was a robotics competition in town, and I guess all of them were leaving at the same time as our group...and there was only one working elevator.
Heart sinking, I texted our tour manager to make sure she knew what was happening.
This hotel has been, frankly, the worst hotel I've ever stayed at in my life.
Even worse than the terrible, dirty Golden Nugget where they made me come to the lobby with 102°F fever and an active case of Covid on Memorial Day Weekend because they wouldn't let their staff bring food to my room.
Friends, seriously, if you go to Dallas do not under any circumstances stay at the Crowne Plaza Downtown.
Over the course of the two weeks:
My key cards stopped working three times,
I was walked in on by hotel staff three times in a single day,
had a clogged sink and leaking toilet in two separate rooms,
had to switch rooms (and no one checked to make sure fixtures were working in the new room),
lost a night of sleep to a massive after-prom party that ended in violence and a mass-arrest,
lost last night's sleep to a crazy/drugged up/irate adult man screaming in the hallway and POUNDING on the door across from mine,
....and finally, to leave this hotel, I waited FORTY-FIVE MINUTES for an elevator.
I am unfortunately not joking. I was in the queue at 7am, and by the time I got on a car it was 7:43, made it to the lobby at 7:45 on the dot.
The bus was supposed to leave at 7:30. I was on the 19th floor with close to 100lbs of luggage so could not use the stairs, and in any case the stairs at this hotel don't lead to the lobby but to an attached parking garage.
I was not the only one trapped on their floor, several others from our group made it to the lobby at about the same time as me.
Pardon my french but this entire stay has been incredible, inexcusable, mind-blowingly awful bullshit.
As I got on the bus coworkers were asking if I was ok and I couldn't even answer because I was afraid I'd say or do something that might get me fired or at least written up. That's how livid and fed up I was. And I'm not only going to write reviews across multiple sites for this hotel, I'm also going to contact their corporate. No one should be giving money to this location until they get new management. I don't care if that makes me a "Karen", no one staying in a 3-star hotel should have to go through what I went through these past two weeks.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Let's get back to some positivity.
Once on the bus, I had time to doze and de-stress.
I ate some snacks and chatted with Jameson and felt interested to see Orange, TX.
This will be my view for the next several days.
We stopped at a Buc-ee's in Madisonville.
I exercised incredible self-control and only got an enamel pin (I've been looking for a Buc-ee's enamel pin for a while but the FL locations haven't had any), no food despite all of the tempting offerings. This location even had a Beaver Nugs scented candle! Good grief.
We continued on and got to Orange somehow earlier than expected, so I had just enough time to unpack a bit, get a shower, and get quarters for laundry from the front desk (that's another thing, the Crowne Plaza would not give quarters for their washers, wtf). Then it was back onto the bus to get to the venue.
Orange, TX and the Lutcher Theatre were actually the very first place that I ever performed on tour, way back in 2010!
It was strange to be here again. I was so much younger then, so nervous to be on my first tour and certain I'd be sent home the very first day for sucking at the trombone lol.
Now as then, the wonderful staff of the theatre offered us a home-cooked meal which was VERY appreciated as most of us, especially crew, had ZERO time to find dinner. The meal was homemade chicken or cheese enchiladas, rice and beans, beef soft tacos or nachos, vegan chick'n dip, and an assortment of desserts served with sweet or unsweet tea. It was very good!
After dinner we had sound check, then I went for a walk around the grounds.
On the way to the theatre I had seen little statues of oranges on many street corners, in front of local businesses and landmarks, and in seemingly random places, scattered all throughout town. I thought, this is the only time I get in Orange...why not try to find some oranges!
( CLICK HERE for Oranges )
I had fun finding as many of these as I could, and got some exercise too after being on the bus all day.
The show went smoothly, and we immediately packed up and loaded back onto the bus, because tomorrow we do it all over again!
----------------------------------------------------
Tuesday was indeed wash-rinse-repeat, with the exception of WORKING elevators so that we could actually leave on time.
Our lunch stop was at H-E-B, a Texas grocery chain that's pretty good.
I got shrimp spring rolls and a few proteins for the week, then we were off again.
We arrived at the hotel nearly an hour early (they've been planning for traffic) so I took the opportunity to walk to Mi Tierra in Market Square.
There are lots of other shops here selling Mexican crafts and clothing and such, but I didn't have time to explore sadly.
The bakery was big and colorful.
I wanted one of everything!
(CLICK HERE to see the bakery cabinet)
Instead of baked goods this time I went for the dulces, Mexican candied pumpkin and sweet potato.
I had thought these would be sold by the pound (like American candies are) but no, it's sold in huge hunks...whole candied sweet potato halves, and huge wedges of pumpkin. So, I got one of each.
Close-ups to show texture:
I chopped them up to share at work since I hadn't been expecting to get so many.
The pumpkin tasted good but still had a vegetable aftertaste and a pretty wet texture, so tbh it wasn't my favorite.
The sweet potato was very good, though, and if it weren't so very sweet I could probably have eaten the whole thing.
My coworkers also liked the sweet potato best!
Anyway it was fun to try these, I've never had candied vegetables before.
Back at the hotel I cleaned up and walked to the theatre for the show.
A year ago Tootsie played The Majestic downtown, which is historic but VERY old and cramped.
This theatre is modern and nice, with a large open pit and comfortable backstage.
I ended up having very little time for pictures because of some band issues that required me to actually be a Band Rep for once, but here is the outside of the theatre post-show. Lit up very beautifully.
---------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday was supposed to be a day of non-travel, a day to sleep in and relax, but I had a lot to do so ended up sleeping poorly and getting up early, feeling stressed.
Wrote this post, prepped my Crowne Plaza corporate letter, drafted an email for the Band Rep issue, repacked my luggage because tomorrow we're off again for Tyler TX. Set aside some show tickets for my grandma, who I'll hopefully get to see in a few days in Columbus, GA. Badly wanted to do laundry but there are just no facilities close enough, not enough time, and I'm not paying $50 to have a service rush it.
In the afternoon I had a zoom meeting with someone doing a documentary on the clown scare of 2016, basically she wanted contact info for actual clowns which was easily given. Then a short walk to CVS for necessities, then to the theatre to take the temperature in the pit. I was heckled the entire way by a homeless man calling me names and wanting to know "Where'd your ASS go?"
I think he was saying I've got a flat ass. He's not wrong. I blame the Asian portion of my genome :p
The show went well, although there was a little weirdness with lines and also a bit of disruptiveness in the audience.
I'm thinking we're all getting kind of loopy-tired with all of this back to back travel and endless shows.
But after tomorrow's show in Tyler we'll at least have a travel day without a show at the end of it, and that should help.
It is my dream to do a load of laundry.
-------------------------------------------------------
Other stuff:
Wigs & Makeup area backstage.
The moon was close to full last night, with a beautiful nimbus.
Some reviews of the Asian foods that I enjoyed last week!
- Corn husk tea: also surprisingly good! Slightly sweet, corn-flavored tea. It would probably be amazing with honey and milk.
------------------------------------------
Our bus call was at 7am, so around that time I stepped into the hallway with all of my luggage to find a queue for the elevators that wrapped partway down the hallway. There was a robotics competition in town, and I guess all of them were leaving at the same time as our group...and there was only one working elevator.
Heart sinking, I texted our tour manager to make sure she knew what was happening.
This hotel has been, frankly, the worst hotel I've ever stayed at in my life.
Even worse than the terrible, dirty Golden Nugget where they made me come to the lobby with 102°F fever and an active case of Covid on Memorial Day Weekend because they wouldn't let their staff bring food to my room.
Friends, seriously, if you go to Dallas do not under any circumstances stay at the Crowne Plaza Downtown.
Over the course of the two weeks:
My key cards stopped working three times,
I was walked in on by hotel staff three times in a single day,
had a clogged sink and leaking toilet in two separate rooms,
had to switch rooms (and no one checked to make sure fixtures were working in the new room),
lost a night of sleep to a massive after-prom party that ended in violence and a mass-arrest,
lost last night's sleep to a crazy/drugged up/irate adult man screaming in the hallway and POUNDING on the door across from mine,
....and finally, to leave this hotel, I waited FORTY-FIVE MINUTES for an elevator.
I am unfortunately not joking. I was in the queue at 7am, and by the time I got on a car it was 7:43, made it to the lobby at 7:45 on the dot.
The bus was supposed to leave at 7:30. I was on the 19th floor with close to 100lbs of luggage so could not use the stairs, and in any case the stairs at this hotel don't lead to the lobby but to an attached parking garage.
I was not the only one trapped on their floor, several others from our group made it to the lobby at about the same time as me.
Pardon my french but this entire stay has been incredible, inexcusable, mind-blowingly awful bullshit.
As I got on the bus coworkers were asking if I was ok and I couldn't even answer because I was afraid I'd say or do something that might get me fired or at least written up. That's how livid and fed up I was. And I'm not only going to write reviews across multiple sites for this hotel, I'm also going to contact their corporate. No one should be giving money to this location until they get new management. I don't care if that makes me a "Karen", no one staying in a 3-star hotel should have to go through what I went through these past two weeks.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Let's get back to some positivity.
Once on the bus, I had time to doze and de-stress.
I ate some snacks and chatted with Jameson and felt interested to see Orange, TX.
This will be my view for the next several days.
We stopped at a Buc-ee's in Madisonville.
I exercised incredible self-control and only got an enamel pin (I've been looking for a Buc-ee's enamel pin for a while but the FL locations haven't had any), no food despite all of the tempting offerings. This location even had a Beaver Nugs scented candle! Good grief.
We continued on and got to Orange somehow earlier than expected, so I had just enough time to unpack a bit, get a shower, and get quarters for laundry from the front desk (that's another thing, the Crowne Plaza would not give quarters for their washers, wtf). Then it was back onto the bus to get to the venue.
Orange, TX and the Lutcher Theatre were actually the very first place that I ever performed on tour, way back in 2010!
It was strange to be here again. I was so much younger then, so nervous to be on my first tour and certain I'd be sent home the very first day for sucking at the trombone lol.
Now as then, the wonderful staff of the theatre offered us a home-cooked meal which was VERY appreciated as most of us, especially crew, had ZERO time to find dinner. The meal was homemade chicken or cheese enchiladas, rice and beans, beef soft tacos or nachos, vegan chick'n dip, and an assortment of desserts served with sweet or unsweet tea. It was very good!
After dinner we had sound check, then I went for a walk around the grounds.
On the way to the theatre I had seen little statues of oranges on many street corners, in front of local businesses and landmarks, and in seemingly random places, scattered all throughout town. I thought, this is the only time I get in Orange...why not try to find some oranges!
( CLICK HERE for Oranges )I had fun finding as many of these as I could, and got some exercise too after being on the bus all day.
The show went smoothly, and we immediately packed up and loaded back onto the bus, because tomorrow we do it all over again!
----------------------------------------------------
Tuesday was indeed wash-rinse-repeat, with the exception of WORKING elevators so that we could actually leave on time.
Our lunch stop was at H-E-B, a Texas grocery chain that's pretty good.
I got shrimp spring rolls and a few proteins for the week, then we were off again.
We arrived at the hotel nearly an hour early (they've been planning for traffic) so I took the opportunity to walk to Mi Tierra in Market Square.
There are lots of other shops here selling Mexican crafts and clothing and such, but I didn't have time to explore sadly.
The bakery was big and colorful.
I wanted one of everything!
(CLICK HERE to see the bakery cabinet)
Instead of baked goods this time I went for the dulces, Mexican candied pumpkin and sweet potato.
I had thought these would be sold by the pound (like American candies are) but no, it's sold in huge hunks...whole candied sweet potato halves, and huge wedges of pumpkin. So, I got one of each.
Close-ups to show texture:
I chopped them up to share at work since I hadn't been expecting to get so many.
The pumpkin tasted good but still had a vegetable aftertaste and a pretty wet texture, so tbh it wasn't my favorite.
The sweet potato was very good, though, and if it weren't so very sweet I could probably have eaten the whole thing.
My coworkers also liked the sweet potato best!
Anyway it was fun to try these, I've never had candied vegetables before.
Back at the hotel I cleaned up and walked to the theatre for the show.
A year ago Tootsie played The Majestic downtown, which is historic but VERY old and cramped.
This theatre is modern and nice, with a large open pit and comfortable backstage.
I ended up having very little time for pictures because of some band issues that required me to actually be a Band Rep for once, but here is the outside of the theatre post-show. Lit up very beautifully.
---------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday was supposed to be a day of non-travel, a day to sleep in and relax, but I had a lot to do so ended up sleeping poorly and getting up early, feeling stressed.
Wrote this post, prepped my Crowne Plaza corporate letter, drafted an email for the Band Rep issue, repacked my luggage because tomorrow we're off again for Tyler TX. Set aside some show tickets for my grandma, who I'll hopefully get to see in a few days in Columbus, GA. Badly wanted to do laundry but there are just no facilities close enough, not enough time, and I'm not paying $50 to have a service rush it.
In the afternoon I had a zoom meeting with someone doing a documentary on the clown scare of 2016, basically she wanted contact info for actual clowns which was easily given. Then a short walk to CVS for necessities, then to the theatre to take the temperature in the pit. I was heckled the entire way by a homeless man calling me names and wanting to know "Where'd your ASS go?"
I think he was saying I've got a flat ass. He's not wrong. I blame the Asian portion of my genome :p
The show went well, although there was a little weirdness with lines and also a bit of disruptiveness in the audience.
I'm thinking we're all getting kind of loopy-tired with all of this back to back travel and endless shows.
But after tomorrow's show in Tyler we'll at least have a travel day without a show at the end of it, and that should help.
It is my dream to do a load of laundry.
-------------------------------------------------------
Other stuff:
Wigs & Makeup area backstage.
The moon was close to full last night, with a beautiful nimbus.
Some reviews of the Asian foods that I enjoyed last week!
- Marinated Quail Eggs: very good! These were “iron eggs” which are prepared a special way and have a smoky, spiced flavor, thankfully not too salty either. Chewier texture than regular eggs but in a good way.
- Hawthorn candy: freeze-dried hawthorn berries coated in sugar. Tasted similar to cranberry with a fun crunchy texture. Yummy!
- “Smiling” chestnuts: I liked these a lot better than other packaged roasted chestnuts because they had a drier texture and were slightly sweet. Good, would eat again.
- Peanut sprout tea: surprisingly good! Tasted like peanut-flavored water. Probably wouldn’t drink it again but glad to try it.
- Coconut drink: I’ve had this before and loved it so got it again.
