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taz_39**Disclaimer** The views and opinions expressed in this post are my own, and do not reflect the views or opinions of my employer. DO NOT RESHARE ANY PART OF THIS POST WITHOUT PERMISSION. Thank you.
This post covers Monday and Tuesday.
--- --- --- --- --- ---
MONDAY
It had been snowing when we went to sleep...
And it was snowing when we woke up.
That's the Broad St. view. Here's City Hall from my hotel room, and a close-up of one of the statues that I liked:
I know it doesn't look like it from the photos, but as of 8:45am this morning they'd gotten 13 inches (33.02 cm) of snow! And at time of typing this, it was still coming down. Despite this, our travel plans had not changed. The thought was that once we got out of Philly and start heading west, conditions would improve. I ate breakfast and waited patiently for the charter buses like everyone else. Went down to the lobby at the scheduled time...and the buses had cancelled on us!!
The minute I heard this, I went straight back to my room and got online. There is a Budget rental office just a few blocks from our hotel (it's where I rented my car for the masterclass last week.) I called to make sure that they were open and had cars to rent, then walked over. On the walk I observed that the roads and sidewalks were well cleared. So WHY had the buses cancelled?? A mystery...
I got a one-way rental car for $140. One-ways are always more expensive than if you return the car to the same location, plus I wasn't returning it to an airport which jacked up the cost even more. But I didn't care. This is not my first rodeo, and I could see in my mind's eye what would likely happen next. There would be no buses available to charter today. The company would probably be able to get buses tomorrow, but the drivers would still be required to make at least one stop. Meaning a 6-7 hour trip, meaning even if they left early in the morning they wouldn't get to the hotel until past noon. And that meant arriving in Pittsburgh only an hour or two before sound check and the show. I have experienced this same scenario on other tours.
Not only is this not my first rodeo, I am also inherently selfish, an individualist, and driven by logic and survivalism. There are times when staying with the herd will protect you and save you money...then there are times like now when you yell, "Every man for himself!" and reach into your own pocket to save your own butt :p
This was one of those times. Took my newly-obtained rental car back to the hotel, retrieved my bags, threw them in the back, and off I went. The roads were extremely well cleared and I had no problem or delays. It was a lovely drive. Pennsylvania can be pretty scenic. Here are some pictures:
The snow fell only on one side of this mountain, I thought it looked beautiful!
Around the time I stopped for gas and a break, an email went out with the new travel plan. Which...not to be a snooty booty, but it was exactly as I'd thought. An early morning bus ride but with two required stops, meaning the Pittsburgh ETA was 3pm. And that's with the assumption of no additional travel delays. Sound check is typically at 5pm for a 7:30pm show. I felt bad that the majority of us would be feeling rushed tomorrow...but also, everyone else had the power to make the same choice that I made today, if they wanted.
I pulled up at the hotel a little after 3pm. Check in was easy and my room was great. Dropped the luggage and took the rental car to Whole Paycheck for groceries. Returned the rental car, got back to the hotel, put everything away, unpacked, ate dinner, and was in pajamas typing this post up by 6pm.
Worth it.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
TUESDAY
It was squalling when I woke up. Good morning, Pittsburgh.
I visited the hotel's free breakfast, which is "just ok" again but I got some peanut butter and bagels. Back at the room, breakfast and working on Foodie Finds. I got an email that I'm confirmed to do a masterclass at my alma mater, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, on Thursday. Yay! I ran through the presentation and did all right time-wise (48 minutes) considering I've had several days away.
Walked to Target for paper towels and a few household items, popped into Burlington just for funsies. Back at the hotel my Amazon order of a PPT clicker and a backup black fleece jacket had arrived. Unpacked those, ate lunch and packed myself a dinner and snacks for the theater. The rest of the afternoon was spent tweaking my K-12 presentation because that one's coming up too, and reserving a rental car for Thursday.
A little after 3pm I walked to the theater. It's the Benedum and I was here before with My Fair Lady in 2024 (part 1, part 2). I did a lot over that visit including shopping on The Strip; eating at Bae Bae's Kitchen, Gaucho, The Speckled Egg, and Mancini's; and visiting Phipps Conservatory.
The ceiling has a unique octagonal design (photo from my visit in 2024.)
As I was exploring, filling my water bottle, setting up, etc., I saw cast members and management hurriedly setting up their stations. Some of them had brought their luggage with them to the theater (not a good sign!) I found DAR setting up his dressing room and asked when the bus had finally arrived. "Twenty minutes ago!" he exclaimed. Sheesh! I moved on to digging through my trunk until it was time for sound check.
The pit is pretty large, especially with the drums remoted (the drum booth will be in the trap room this city, if I get a chance I'll take a pic so you can see.) Sound check was just fine, and the show was just fine. Audience was really great, and during intermission we had a lot of visitors like we've gotten in some of the Texas cities. Lots of kids asking questions, parents exclaiming over the instruments...it's nice! :)
I dragged all of my trunk stuff to the hotel while other people dragged their luggage. At least everyone got here safely, management was able to pivot in a very difficult situation and get everyone here on time. No one likes to cut it that close, but they couldn't have predicted our buses would be cancelled. Which by the way I discovered had something to do with an ordinance/city government requirement that there be no buses on the street during the blizzard? I don't know the details but on reflection I didn't see any buses when I was leaving, so that must have been it.
Anyway it's over now and we're here! Yay!!
I should also mention that on Monday night, our own Belle (Kyra Belle Johnson) performed at EPCOT in Florida for a special Disney on Broadway concert series event!
They had not only Kyra (the current Belle,) but also Susan Egan (original Broadway Belle) and Ashley Brown (another longstanding Broadway Belle) present, and they sang a specially arranged version of "Home" together!
(both photos from WDWNewsToday)
I can't embed video from Instagram, but please click HERE to hear part of *our* Belle's rendition of "Home." Her voice is AMAZING.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday: One evening show. I'll get up early to do laundry and will do my usual computer work, but otherwise no plans.
Thursday: Driving to IUP to give a masterclass! Then one evening show.
This post covers Monday and Tuesday.
--- --- --- --- --- ---
MONDAY
It had been snowing when we went to sleep...
And it was snowing when we woke up.
That's the Broad St. view. Here's City Hall from my hotel room, and a close-up of one of the statues that I liked:
I know it doesn't look like it from the photos, but as of 8:45am this morning they'd gotten 13 inches (33.02 cm) of snow! And at time of typing this, it was still coming down. Despite this, our travel plans had not changed. The thought was that once we got out of Philly and start heading west, conditions would improve. I ate breakfast and waited patiently for the charter buses like everyone else. Went down to the lobby at the scheduled time...and the buses had cancelled on us!!
The minute I heard this, I went straight back to my room and got online. There is a Budget rental office just a few blocks from our hotel (it's where I rented my car for the masterclass last week.) I called to make sure that they were open and had cars to rent, then walked over. On the walk I observed that the roads and sidewalks were well cleared. So WHY had the buses cancelled?? A mystery...
I got a one-way rental car for $140. One-ways are always more expensive than if you return the car to the same location, plus I wasn't returning it to an airport which jacked up the cost even more. But I didn't care. This is not my first rodeo, and I could see in my mind's eye what would likely happen next. There would be no buses available to charter today. The company would probably be able to get buses tomorrow, but the drivers would still be required to make at least one stop. Meaning a 6-7 hour trip, meaning even if they left early in the morning they wouldn't get to the hotel until past noon. And that meant arriving in Pittsburgh only an hour or two before sound check and the show. I have experienced this same scenario on other tours.
Not only is this not my first rodeo, I am also inherently selfish, an individualist, and driven by logic and survivalism. There are times when staying with the herd will protect you and save you money...then there are times like now when you yell, "Every man for himself!" and reach into your own pocket to save your own butt :p
This was one of those times. Took my newly-obtained rental car back to the hotel, retrieved my bags, threw them in the back, and off I went. The roads were extremely well cleared and I had no problem or delays. It was a lovely drive. Pennsylvania can be pretty scenic. Here are some pictures:
The snow fell only on one side of this mountain, I thought it looked beautiful!
Around the time I stopped for gas and a break, an email went out with the new travel plan. Which...not to be a snooty booty, but it was exactly as I'd thought. An early morning bus ride but with two required stops, meaning the Pittsburgh ETA was 3pm. And that's with the assumption of no additional travel delays. Sound check is typically at 5pm for a 7:30pm show. I felt bad that the majority of us would be feeling rushed tomorrow...but also, everyone else had the power to make the same choice that I made today, if they wanted.
I pulled up at the hotel a little after 3pm. Check in was easy and my room was great. Dropped the luggage and took the rental car to Whole Paycheck for groceries. Returned the rental car, got back to the hotel, put everything away, unpacked, ate dinner, and was in pajamas typing this post up by 6pm.
Worth it.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
TUESDAY
It was squalling when I woke up. Good morning, Pittsburgh.
I visited the hotel's free breakfast, which is "just ok" again but I got some peanut butter and bagels. Back at the room, breakfast and working on Foodie Finds. I got an email that I'm confirmed to do a masterclass at my alma mater, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, on Thursday. Yay! I ran through the presentation and did all right time-wise (48 minutes) considering I've had several days away.
Walked to Target for paper towels and a few household items, popped into Burlington just for funsies. Back at the hotel my Amazon order of a PPT clicker and a backup black fleece jacket had arrived. Unpacked those, ate lunch and packed myself a dinner and snacks for the theater. The rest of the afternoon was spent tweaking my K-12 presentation because that one's coming up too, and reserving a rental car for Thursday.
A little after 3pm I walked to the theater. It's the Benedum and I was here before with My Fair Lady in 2024 (part 1, part 2). I did a lot over that visit including shopping on The Strip; eating at Bae Bae's Kitchen, Gaucho, The Speckled Egg, and Mancini's; and visiting Phipps Conservatory.
The ceiling has a unique octagonal design (photo from my visit in 2024.)
As I was exploring, filling my water bottle, setting up, etc., I saw cast members and management hurriedly setting up their stations. Some of them had brought their luggage with them to the theater (not a good sign!) I found DAR setting up his dressing room and asked when the bus had finally arrived. "Twenty minutes ago!" he exclaimed. Sheesh! I moved on to digging through my trunk until it was time for sound check.
The pit is pretty large, especially with the drums remoted (the drum booth will be in the trap room this city, if I get a chance I'll take a pic so you can see.) Sound check was just fine, and the show was just fine. Audience was really great, and during intermission we had a lot of visitors like we've gotten in some of the Texas cities. Lots of kids asking questions, parents exclaiming over the instruments...it's nice! :)
I dragged all of my trunk stuff to the hotel while other people dragged their luggage. At least everyone got here safely, management was able to pivot in a very difficult situation and get everyone here on time. No one likes to cut it that close, but they couldn't have predicted our buses would be cancelled. Which by the way I discovered had something to do with an ordinance/city government requirement that there be no buses on the street during the blizzard? I don't know the details but on reflection I didn't see any buses when I was leaving, so that must have been it.
Anyway it's over now and we're here! Yay!!
I should also mention that on Monday night, our own Belle (Kyra Belle Johnson) performed at EPCOT in Florida for a special Disney on Broadway concert series event!
They had not only Kyra (the current Belle,) but also Susan Egan (original Broadway Belle) and Ashley Brown (another longstanding Broadway Belle) present, and they sang a specially arranged version of "Home" together!
(both photos from WDWNewsToday)
I can't embed video from Instagram, but please click HERE to hear part of *our* Belle's rendition of "Home." Her voice is AMAZING.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday: One evening show. I'll get up early to do laundry and will do my usual computer work, but otherwise no plans.
Thursday: Driving to IUP to give a masterclass! Then one evening show.
no subject
Date: 2026-02-25 07:21 am (UTC)🍸
I apologize for my non-native English through the translator.