taz_39 | Louisville, KY again! (Reply)

The train run was looooong.
We were supposed to arrive on Monday night around midnight, but didn't even leave Columbus until after 6pm. We missed our window. It was a long day. In its own way that's relaxing, but still wish I could've gone outside for a bit. Instead I cleaned up my room, made a list of things to do before Mexico, and tried to create my own flavored water using mint/vanilla extracts (a horrible failure as extracts are 98% alcohol).

Old telephone poles:

I recognized this farmhouse...we were stopped in front of it for over two hours the last time we were through. The house itself is gorgeous (not pictured) and so is the barn. The owners were out front waving to us. They have a big brown horse and a dog. I'm kind of jealous :)

I had hoped to take Jameson for a date on Tuesday but he came down with a chest cold, poor guy. So instead I went downtown to enjoy the fine weather. I visited the Waterfront Park again (had been there with Cindy the last time we were in town).

The Ohio River.

A statue of York, the first African American to cross the country. He was a slave, but participated fully in the Lewis and Clark expedition.

The long-distance viewer for looking at stuff across the river. And the view through said viewer :D

Then I went to my bank to deposit some checks and make sure they knew that I'd be going to Mexico soon. Then I went to a nearby salon to get my hair cleaned up, as there won't be another chance for haircuts until June. Then I was going to go grocery shopping, but got hungry and tired and decided to pick up dinner for Jameson and I at Panera instead.

Wednesday was a dark day (dark day = no shows, no load in, everyone has the day off) and it was rainy out. There was a mall run at noon and I opted to go. The mall was quickly forgotten, however, when I noticed a Whole Foods next door :D I spent a good deal of time picking out a few treats for myself to enjoy in Mexico :) We returned to the train around 3pm, and it continued to pour so I entertained myself with a movie and some Sudoku.

On opening day we met our newest trumpet sub for the week, Ryan. He has subbed for the Blue Unit before, and it showed...he's a really excellent player! I wish we could take him to Mexico with us!

We also received two bits of wonderful news during the weekly meeting:

- ALL of the 'hairialists' who were injured in the accident two weeks ago are able to walk...some only a few feet, but still. There were fears that two of the young ladies might have debilitating injuries. This is really amazing that A) no one was killed or paralyzed and B) all nine of the women are recovering so quickly! These girls have a lot of grit, and are truly an inspiration to all of us.

- Several animal rights organizations are reimbursing Feld Entertainment almost $16m for legal fees and expenses paid out during a 14-year lawsuit, in which a plaintiff was paid to testify against the circus.

A great start to the week!

Even better, Slick came to visit us!!! He looks well considering what he's been through lately. I really, really wish he could rejoin us. Perhaps not now, but there's always hope for the future :) Anyway it was great to finally see him, and share a meal, and laugh and swap stories :)

During that night's show we had a bit of excitement: we lost sound in the house for about 5-10 minutes. Awkward! But still, not a bad night :P

On Friday we only had one night show. I would have liked to enjoy some of the sights of Louisville, but instead opted to prepare for Mexico by visiting CVS and Kroger for supplies, and cleaning all of my trombones. Basically this whole week was taken up by Mexico prep. Like most people who went last time, I am trying to do everything I can to avoid the dreaded Montezuma's Revenge and prepare for a high altitude desert climate. We'll see if any of this effort pays off.

On Saturday we had three shows. Crowds were totally LAME. I think there were maybe 800 people at the first show...that's enough to fill only one section in the arena. Argh.

Less lame news, my sister Raven graduated from Fordham University! Wish I could have been there for this important occasion, but was happy to see that she was surrounded by family.

(photo courtesy Kathy)

She has worked so hard, and overcome so many obstacles. She has earned that degree ten times over. I can't wait to see what exciting things are in store for her in the future!!! I'm very, very proud of you Raven. I love you!!

On Sunday we only had one show at 2pm. This meant that many people had one last chance to stroll around and enjoy their last taste of America before making the long journey down south. Fortunately for Jameson and I, our last taste at Dish On Market was pretty exceptional!

Food porn = Jameson's chicken & waffles with creole spiced butter and green onion, and my shrimp & grits with Gulf shrimp sauteed in beurre blanc, applewood bacon, Weisenberger cheese grits, and green onions/cheddar/tomato. He also had a Bloody Mary, and I had a peach bourbon sweet tea :)
Untitled

After this fantastic meal, we walked to a Kroger to pick up our last pile of food for the four day(!) train run to Loredo. I took a lot longer than Jameson to pick out my food items, because I spent too much time trying to calculate what I could carry vs. how much food I needed. It will take a total of about eight days to get to Mexico City; that's eight days without a grocery, and only so much will fit in my little college fridge, so I tried to buy smart.

After reading this post, you might get the impression that I'm a little nervous about going to Mexico. You're right...I have some anxiety about it based on the last experience. But I'm excited too. This trip is bound to be better than the last, because we've learned from our mistakes. Pie Car will have food for us this time. We will have bottled water at the arena. The show schedule is lighter. All of these things will make our visit SO much easier. And the people were friendly, and the country was beautiful, and I'm sure that hasn't changed.

I might post one last time on Friday if I can get signal. If not, it might be a while before the next post.
¡Hasta luego!

More stuff:

If you are interested to see what our last trip to Mexico was like,
here are links to some of those posts from 2012.
Mexico Week 1 and Mexico Week 2

The KFC Yum! Center (the arena)