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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.
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Previous Visits to Atlanta:
Circus, February 2014: It was one of the rare times that we had show cancellations due to weather. But they added an extra show to Monday to make up for it, giving us an infamous 9-pack (9 shows and 23 hours of playing in 3 days!)
Circus, February 2016: Looks like the weather was better but we still had a heavy show schedule. I did a lot of cleaning around my train room. It was Valentine's Day week so there were lots of cute little cast events and PR events to celebrate. This was also the city where the Ringmaster's dog got out and ran around all over the arena floor during the finale!!! LOL! There are lots of animal pics and vids in this post, if you're interested.
Circus, February 2017: We knew that the circus was closing and I was using a lot of time to apply for jobs and take auditions. We also had a member of the circus make a choice to "stop their own clock," either due to general depression or due to the closure. Something that I've given up trying to explain is that the circus, and Ringling in particular, was more than just a job for most of the people in it. Generations of families were Ringling performers. They were born, grew up, lived, worked, and died in this circus. For that to come to an end as suddenly as it did, and to be faced with learning a whole new way of living when you have known nothing else, was a deep shock and very painful for a lot of people.
Tootsie, January 2022: For the first time I got to actually see some of Atlanta! I went to Ponce City Market, the Aquarium (saw the whale shark!), ate at Bellina Alimentari (Italian), Sweet Hut (Japanese bakery), Momonoki (Japanese cafe), and Publik House (pub attached to the Fox theatre.)
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MONDAY
As usual with this lifestyle, adventure likes to pop up where I least expect it. There are lots of photos again. Buckle up buttercup.
I was up fairly early to work on El Paso Foodie Finds and have breakfast before the bus call. Jameson was back in the US, having enjoyed his cruise ship vacay, and will spend today riding the Brightline back to Orlando. Meanwhile we had a good bus ride to Atlanta. Partway there we stopped at Buc-ee's in Calhoune!! Everyone was VERY excited about this :) It was Memorial Day so there was lots of patriotic merch and shirts, much of it commemorating America's 250th "birthday."
The mascot character was out and a lot of our cast queued up for photos! I did not because I was too shy. I'm also not allowed to reshare photos of cast members without asking their permission (and I'm too shy to do that too) so this is a stock image. The one we saw today was wearing a Hawaiian shirt just like this.
(photo courtesy someone on Tripadvisor)
As usual everything about Buc-ee's is big, loud, exciting, and overwhelming. Like a gas station, a Walmart, and an amusement park had a baby. If you've never been to or seen a Buc-ee's before I highly recommend CLICKING HERE to watch this short hard and fast 1-minute rundown to see what it's like. For one thing, there's loads of beaver mascot merch, from cups to clothing to dog toys and plushies.
The walls and aisles are lined with bags and bags of Buc-ee's branded treats like gummies, popcorn, nuts, and jerky. You can also get canned goods like pickled quail eggs, jellies and jams, pickled vegetables, etc.
At the prepared food area there are kolaches, burritos, roasted and candied nuts being made fresh on-site, fudge being made on-site, and a huge soda fountain with every flavor you can think of. But the most popular of all is their slow-smoked brisket. 1000x better than most gas station food.
Buc-ee's is known for having large and incredibly clean bathrooms. I took advantage of these before doing anything else...and outside the entrance was a display with Beaver Nugget-scented potty spray!! LOL!
Based on the packaging design alone, this HAS to be a collaboration with Poo-pourri toilet spray. There was a travel size so I did get one! I also grabbed an OverBite, which is like a giant 1/4lb (4oz) peanut butter cup, but shaped more like a hockey puck and with Buc-ee's face on it of course.
We loaded back onto the bus with our treasures and continued on our way. Got to the hotel right on time and had no trouble checking in, but I ended up having a funny and kind of full circle moment story to share:
I had stayed at this hotel before while on tour with Tootsie in 2022. Being a non-equity tour with a lower budget, they booked us in standard rooms (common practice.) Because this happens to be an older and historic hotel, the standard rooms are very small and don't have the best accommodations for a long stay (little counter space, few outlets, box fridges, etc.) Nothing wrong with that at all, it's just how this hotel is.
Fast forward to today, on tour with Disney, an EQUITY show with a higher budget. I had seen that we'd be staying here, remembered what it was like, and lowered my expectations accordingly. Got to my room and just like last time it was tiny, as expected. But there was no fridge at all, and I do definitely need one for a week-long stay. I called down to the front desk and asked if there were any box fridges available, and if so could I have one please. The concierge GASPED and oh-my-goshed and said she'd be right up. I assumed someone had just forgotten to put a fridge in the room and she was bringing one up.
Within minutes there was a knock on the door and as soon as I opened it the concierge blurted, "We gave you the wrong room key!" They had given me 1101...and if you turn that upside down...that's right, I was supposed to be in 1011! Lol! The concierge was apologetic but I thought it was hilarious. Thanked her and took the key to my new room, feeling glad that there would probably be a fridge in this one...
...and the new room was a gigantic suite with a living room, dining room, full kitchen, and even en suite laundry!!!
And Disney has booked every single one of us in a suite for the week.
I was utterly flabbergasted. What a difference from my experience at this hotel with Tootsie four years ago. And what a difference these nice rooms will make for our stay here in Atlanta!
That's the DISNEY Difference™, folks. The EQUITY difference.
Anyway, after freaking out about the amazing room I walked first to a nearby Publix for basic groceries and then to Whole Paycheck for dinner at the hot bar and fancier eats (tofu, favorite protein shakes, etc.) On the way back I got caught in a downpour but had luckily brought my umbrella. Still had to hang up my wet pants and blow the hair dryer at my wet shoes! Unpacked, hydrated, and typed up this post which is already much longer than expected for a Monday.
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TUESDAY
Woke up after a pretty good sleep and feeling like a little princess in my posh suite.
A lovely breakfast, chatting with Jameson, and working on El Paso Foodie Finds.
Today is Jameson's one-year anniversary with Disney Event Group (DEG) as a Producer. I remember the day he was offered the job so clearly, and how excited and relieved he was, and what a big deal it was for him! He has worked incredibly hard and overcome much more than people realize to get that job. I'm endlessly proud of him, and excited for what his future holds :)
At some point in there I packed my snacks for the day, watched some episodes of Rooster Fighter (a hilarious nonsense anime that I'm using to counteract the dark and gory Invincible on Amazon,) and a brief walk back to Publix because Jael (Physical Therapist) had tasted my Drizzilicious snack MONTHS ago, told me she had been thinking about it all this time, so I thought I should get her a bag!
Then it was off to the Fox. This will be the third or fourth time I've played this historic theater.
(photo from Flickr, watermark at bottom right. I tried to get a similar shot but failed.)
To get to this pit you have to actually enter the audience area, which is annoying for practical purposes but does allow us to enjoy the full beauty of the space before climbing into our hole. My pictures don't capture it all but I tried. The Fox is another 1920s Moorish architecture (Egyptian/Islamic-inspired) theater palace, with tons of history and lore which you can read about HERE if interested.
And this is backstage, the Stage Right entrance, where performers are reminded to "Play it pretty for Atlanta" before going on!
Set up my spot in the pit, found our dressing room and set that up too (no one had put up tables or chairs so I did that all myself) and found the trunks and dug through mine. Near the trunks are these autographed memento photos of famous people who have performed at the Fox. I'm certain you'll recognize many of them (ye olde reminder to click on an image to open it in a new tab then click again to enlarge)
Sound check was fine. This pit is shallow so I will get to see some snippets of the show! Yay!
Back to the hotel for a quick dinner and unpacking trunk stuff, then back to the theater for the opening night show. The Fox has 4,665 seats which is twice as many as usual, and we are 97% sold out in this city. That should give you an idea of how the crowd sounded! They were loud and enthusiastic and it was WONDERFUL.
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Wednesday: Taking my winter coat to the dry cleaner, possibly going thrifting. One evening show.
Thursday: No plans as yet and one evening show.