taz_39 | Entries tagged with exploring: museums

Our three days of chill started off with a delicious brunch at Eleven City Diner :)

I decided to try the lox with the latke this time, and Jameson got their signature french toast topped with strawberries, bananas, and toasted coconut. Mmmmmm.

Then we hit Menard's for the groceries we'd need for the work week. Back at the apartment, we relaxed and watched TV. Sometimes it's the little things...enjoying a larger living space, a real TV, a real shower, a real bed.

For dinner we found Southcoast Sushi only a few blocks away. We've been here before and it's absolutely delicious. The lighting was too dim for a food photoshoot so believe me when I say everything looked great :) One of the specials of the day was an uni shooter: sea urchin with sake, quail egg, roe, ponzu sauce, and chives. It was very similar to an oyster shooter, and very good. Cheers!

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Because of the six pack, load out was longer and later than usual. Thank you to everyone who busted tail so that we could leave Anaheim. I hope everyone got a chance to rest.

Jameson and I drove to San Diego, to a hotel near the San Diego Zoo. We arrived late and immediately fell asleep. The next morning we decided to grab a late breakfast and head over to the zoo. There was a place called Original Pancake House right down the street, and it had stellar reviews. At the top of the menu were three specialties, an apple pancake, a German pancake, and a "Dutch baby". The Dutch baby was described as a "smaller German pancake", so I settled on that. It came with a side of fresh lemons to squeeze over it, whipped butter, and powdered sugar. The consistency was very much like a large crepe with crisp edges. It was delicious!

(my hand is just there for scale)

I had gotten a side of eggs for protein, not realizing how eggy the pancake would be. It was an egg-filled morning :) Jameson thought he was hungry and got a German pancake. When it arrived, he looked at it in horror and said, "I didn't think I'd be getting a spare tire for breakfast!!"

A while later we stumbled out of there full of delicious food, and drove out to the zoo. This zoo is pretty famous as one of the top zoos in America, and neither of us had ever been there before, so we were pretty excited. And we weren't disappointed. It's a lot of walking and a lot of ground to cover if you want to see everything, but the paths take you in a big circular route so you won't find yourself lost or doubling back over things you've already seen.

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For our second week in Anaheim, of course the train didn't move.
We are in a yard that is fairly safe, but covered in graffiti.

There was a punch party on Sunday night. We enjoyed the infamous bucket-o-punch mixed by the infamous Brett Barlow, and added some graffiti of our own.

(photos courtesy Claudia)

This graffiti is in memory of our trumpet player, Slick. It's supposed to say, "Keep it Funky, Keep it Sexy, Keep it Classy", but a light rain washed some of the words away.

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We finished our week with an early show on Monday. Jameson and I drove 5.5 hours to a hotel in Long Beach, CA. The next morning we paid a visit to the Queen Mary!

The Queen Mary was a luxurious ocean liner in the 1930s. The popular style at that time was Deco, and so we saw quite a lot of brass decor and lovely Deco lettering and artwork.

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We spent the night in Tucson, because why not, it's a whole five degrees cooler than Phoenix :P

In the morning we decided to drive the two hours to Phoenix and eat lunch, then check to see if the train was spotted so we could drop off our luggage before heading to the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM). For once our timing was pretty good; the train arrive just as we were finishing lunch at Zookz Sandwiches. They make a unique toasted "pocket"-style sandwich stuffed with all kinds of goodies! Jameson had the No. 45, fresh mozzarella, tomato, mixed greens and a honey Baslamic dressing. I had the No. 30, thin sliced ham with apricot preserves, Brie cheese and almonds. For dessert we split a Coco Loco, a sandwich pocket filled with melted chocolate, coconut, almonds, and rice crispies. If you are ever in Phoenix looking for a quick but healthy and incredibly tasty meal, this is the place!

We dropped our things off at the train, the Jameson drove us to the MIM. They've got a vast collection of musical instruments, mostly organized by geographic origin and then subdivided into genres and cultural uses. In addition to viewing the instruments, each guest is given an audio pack and headphones. As you approach the screens mounted behind each display, you are treated to an audio sampling of some of the things you're looking at. It was AWESOME. We were there for about 2.5 hours and STILL didn't see everything! (Which is great, it means I can go back again!!!).

(image stolen from scottsdalerealestates.com)

There were trombones in almost every section (awesome) and most were fairly standard sizes and materials, though they varied in age and condition. In the "France" section I found a dragon trombone!! I've always wanted to see one!! (The real name of this instrument is the Buccin).

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We got off to a late start out of Columbia, but were able to make up some time by flying through the night. We arrived in Norfolk around 6am on Tuesday (I was awake...never sleep well during spotting).

The Norfolk yard is gigantic. Luckily we are parked near an exit road, so it wouldn't be too terrible if we decided to take a walk. This entire yard is used solely for shipping coal, can you believe it??

Once I realized that there was no internet at the yard (again), I caught the bus and hoofed it over to the MacArthur Center to make use of the wifi. Playing Ingress on the way, of course.

After the mall I hit a Harris Teeter, then returned to the train to unpack and relax.

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After Huntsville, Jameson and I decided to borrow Brett's car for a road trip to the next city. Brett needed someone to steal his car so his kids could ride the train, and we needed a mini vacation, so it worked out nicely :)

We drove two hours to Chattanooga and stayed the night at The Chattanoogan. We woke up nice and late, had breakfast at the hotel, and walked to the Tennessee Aquarium, playing Ingress all the way. Nerdy but fun! For April Fool's, Ingress was overtaken by Pac-Man :)

At the aquarium we were disappointed (but not surprised) to find that the "backstage tour" was all sold out. We got regular tickets and enjoyed the Ocean Journey display first. Jameson had brought his good camera, and I had my GoPro. We started with penguins.

We viewed the jellies, beautiful as always.

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I flew home on Monday. The flights were ok, though there was quite a bit of turbulence due to weather. I was lucky to catch an earlier flight for the second leg of my journey, so arrived at the airport "on time" despite both of my flights being delayed. Some of my parents' friends had planned to pick me up, but because it was dark and rainy my Dad left work early to come get me. Thank you Dad!!!

While waiting for him, I played a little Ingress. There are lots of portals in the Philly airport.

I made the fields between gates E and D, and after I left someone else built on those fields at gates C and B :)

Dad and I got home around 9pm. After a much-needed night in a real bed, I woke up late on Tuesday and Mom and I went shopping for "Early Thanksgiving". My sister Kate came over, and together we three prepared some of the food for the next day.

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Jameson and I are celebrating one year of dating!

Maybe that's not a big deal, but it is for me! I've never been a romantic person, but when you find someone who's personality meshes well with yours...well, it's a game-changer :) It's hard to believe it's been a year already. We've had so much fun together...I can't wait to have more adventures with him!!!

Jameson got us the best treat you can ever get a circus person: three nights in a hotel with a REAL bed and a REAL shower and tub and a BIG tv. And he picked an extended stay, so we had a full kitchen and fridge too!

Our "staycation" started off on Monday with a trip to the Houston Museum of Natural Science.
I had gone before, and was excited to bring Jameson, especially to show him the fantastic Hall of Paleontology. We took the lightrail downtown and after a quick lunch, we hit the museum!

First we checked out one of the temporary exhibits, called "Nature Unleashed". Volcanoes, hurricanes, tornadoes, and earthquakes were some of the natural disasters covered in the display. You could 'make your own' volcano with different combinations of gas pressure and lava/ash. In the hurricane area, there were news clippings and witness accounts of Hurricane Katrina. The tornado section was smaller, but there was one really cool immersive experience...a tornado chaser dropped a 360 camera in the path of a tornado, and you could stand in the center surrounded by screens and watch as the tornado hit you and passed over. It was surprisingly intense!

Next we checked out the new permanent Egypt exhibit. In addition to artwork and writing samples, there were real mummies! (Warning: mummified remains ahead)
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On Monday we had a blissful day off. No moving, driving, etc.
I woke up with a nasty cold, so spent the day puttering around and watching Frozen and fetching groceries.

On Tuesday Jameson and I went to the National Aquarium. It was awesome! Four floors of fish, sharks, crustaceans, turtles, alligators, birds, and even monkeys! We learned that box turtles have a hinge on the underside of their shells so that they can close up like a box, and that electric eels can put out as much as 800 volts of electricity depending on how long they are!
Apr2-2014-1

We saw the aquarium's rescued sea turtle, who is missing a front flipper. When she was rescued she was only 50lbs...now she's 520lbs!!

(photo courtesy nationalaquarium.wordpress.com)
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After Sunday's shows, Jameson and I drove to a hotel as usual.

The next day we crossed PA to reach my parents' house. The drive was long and boring; nothing but farmland for five hours :p My parents gave us a nice warm welcome :) After meeting Jameson, they took us to dinner at Rose Marie's, a nice Italian restaurant in downtown Bloomsburg.

We also drove around a bit, showing Jameson some of the more "interesting" sights to be found in our little town such as the Civil War memorial, Bloomsburg University, and the Fairgrounds. It was too dark to see much of the Fairgrounds unfortunately, but we described to him how the Bloomsburg Fair has been operating for over 150 years, with the only exception being 2011 when a terrible flood prevented this annual event from happening.

How the fairgrounds normally looks:

After the 2011 flood:
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Bloomsburg is at the bottom of a series of floodgates, and also positioned between Fishing Creek and the Susquehanna River. Flooding occurs about every five years, but lately the water level has been higher and higher, and has become a serious problem.

Anyway, we had a nice visit. Originally I had wanted to stay all day Tuesday, but a buyout show was scheduled for Wednesday evening so we had to hit the road first thing Tuesday morning. Well, almost first thing :) We visited my sister's house for breakfast. She made an awesome breakfast casserole! My siblings Raven and Jonah were also home from spring break, and I was really happy to see them and introduce them to Jameson. Although it was a brief visit home, it was wonderful to see everyone :)

Saying goodbye to my car was a little rough :P I wish I could bring it with me always, but it's expensive to have to get hotels every week, and extra hotels when the train is late, plus gas, tolls, parking, etc...at some point it's just no longer worth it. But it was convenient and fun to be able to get groceries whenever I wanted, offer rides to people, and visit friends in other cities. I'll probably do it again next year.

On the way to Jameson's parents' house we stopped in Centralia, PA to have a look at the cemetery and what remains of the abandoned coal town.
If you're a gamer, you might recognize this town as the setting for Silent Hill.

As a local, I'd driven through Centralia many times but had never bothered to stop. We visited the cemetery first. There were many interesting graves.
A LOT of people died before the age of 50 here, and most were Irish immigrants.
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We also took a look at the closed portion of Route 61, where burning coal seams have torn the road apart, releasing toxic fumes and making the road impassable. Pedestrians can access the area, but at their own risk.
Here you can see that many college students have defaced the condemned area.
Mar19-2015-3

The road is cracking from the heat of the fire underground. Sometimes steam and toxic fumes rise from the cracks. And sometimes it's hot enough that you can stick a piece of wood in there and it'll burn.
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Jameson checking out the cracked road.

There was no fire or steam while we were there, but the ground was certainly warmer to the touch than it should have been on a 30 degree partially cloudy day.
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Our venue in Toledo, OH was cancelled this week,
so most of us here on the Red Unit got to enjoy an entire week off!!!

I chose to stay in Chicago, because Jameson's parents have a condo downtown,
and Chicago is a pretty rockin' place. Jameson introduced me to his mom, who is awesome.
She came to our last show on Monday and loved it. Then she took us to the condo.
I was stunned...both by the view, and by her fantastic homemade chicken enchiladas!

Over the course of several days, she took us to some AMAZING restaurants!
The Little Goat, where I got to experience Fat Elvis Waffles
(waffles with bacon maple syrup, peanut butter butter, and sliced bananas).

The Scout, where we shared a 12" grilled cheese sandwich!
(other peoples' photos HERE)

Eleven City Diner, where Jameson got his favorite Bloody Mary.

Burger Point, where you can get 6 or 10oz of grass-fed chemical-free beef with a slew of fantastic toppings. They also have chicken, turkey, and veggie burgers. (photo of some burgers HERE)

Last but not least, Waffles, where we enjoyed a seriously fantastic breakfast on Jameson's birthday!
Jameson's mom got chocolate waffles with ice cream, and he and I got a Flight of Waffles!

There were four mini-waffles in the Flight:
Red Velvet w/cream cheese whip, strawberries and walnuts,
Green Tea w/lemon whip, ginger & pistachio,
Mexican Chocolate w/orange whip, candied orange and spicy cocoa,
and Leige, a more dense waffle with pearl sugar, white cream and blackberries.

Anyone who knows me knows that I try to eat healthy most of the time. I just want to say, even if you're a health nut, if you're ever in Chicago, don't pass these places by! All the food was fresh and made with REAL ingredients. Every menu had healthier options such as salads, gluten-free, vegan, etc. So no matter what foods you're into, there's something delicious for you here!

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We arrived in Cleveland a little late,
but early enough for Jameson and I to walk to the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame!

(photo courtesy Jameson)

I don't have a particular obsession with rock, but Jameson does and it was fun to go through the exhibits with him giving me little factoids here and there :)

Some items belonging to John Lennon...glasses, DL, Passport, etc.

This David Bowie costume looks heavy! It was used during his Glass Spider tour.

Jimi Hendrix sketched this, the message is clear. Obey Railroad Signals y'all.

We opened on Wednesday, everything went well. It was nice to get up on Thursday knowing there was nowhere in particular to be until nighttime! I spent that day catching up on laundry and grocery shopping. Thrilling stuff, I know, but it needs to be done. The weather was pretty insane--sleet, snow, hail, freezing rain, windy, and thunder/lightning--so even the short 1.5 mile walk to the grocery left me chilled to the bone. Still, it's great to be back east!

The Haunted Clown Car was on Thursday night! Every year the clowns decorate their train car, turning it into a haunted house! This year's haunting featured 3D glasses and blacklights, WOW!!

(photo courtesy Chris)
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Appologies for posting this so late.
I took a mini vacation this week, and was unable to post on the usual day.
Thanks for reading!

Though the run to Bakersfield was short, it was nice to be moving again :)

On Wednesday many people explored the downtown area.
We're only about a mile from the arena, so I get to use my bike all week. Yay!

On 19th Street there are many antique malls, including a Five and Dime inside an old Woolworth's building.

After you're done looking at antiques, you can get an old fashioned burger and shake in the Diner.

For Thursday's rehearsal my boss let me sit out for the end of the 2nd half while he played trombone.
That was fun! I haven't heard the music in the house since winter quarters!

Our Animal Open House was in the Convention Center next door. A strange setup!

(photo courtesy Ryan)

Nothing much else happened in Bakersfield...another laid-back city :)

Next we go to Sacramento, where I'm told there's nothing to do around the train.
So expect a short post :P

( San Francisco )

Monday:
Another lovely desert train run. How do people live out here?! It's so hot!
I don't understand it. But it sure is pretty.

In addition to the scenery, I saw shantytowns similar to those seen in Mexico,
an emu farm, and a few wild dogs.

Tuesday:
We arrived more or less on time.
It was super hot out, so I just walked once around the train and called it a day :P
Oh, and visited a cool local music store with Brett and Catfish!
There weren't all that many trombones, but I enjoyed playing with what they had
and hearing Catfish and Brett tear it up in the trumpet room :)

( Read more... )

We are in my home state, Pensyl-tucky! Hooray!
I am posting a little late because our last show was on Monday :)

The train got in around 5-6pm last Monday--too late to go anywhere, to early to sleep--so I walked around the yard.
There are lots of snail shells here.

On Tuesday I did some cooking, then walked to a farmers market that Brian had mentioned.
To get there, the fastest way (without crossing live tracks) was to
climb up to this overpass and hop over the fence. Aah, the train life.

The market was kind of small, but they had everything...meat, cheeses, breads, canned goods, fresh produce,
flowers and herbs. I have enough bread for myself, but picked up a loaf of rye and a wedge of cheddar
for Rebecca (wardrobe), then got some veggies for myself.

When I bought this Boston Bibb lettuce, the vendor asked if I wanted the flower,
claiming that it's edible. I didn't take it because it looks like a carnation...and it is,
and they're edible, who knew! Not me!

After dropping my goods off at the train, I cleaned up and met my friend Trish and her man Brian for dinner.
Trish and I grew up on the same street; she's been my friend since we were infants!
We went to Brick City Bar & Grille, a trendy place downtown.
I enjoyed the food and REALLY enjoyed catching up with her! It's been too long!

Wednesday and Thursday shows went as normal.
I had a little time to scoot over to Chocolate World for lunch and dessert for the next two weeks, haha.

I may or may not have bought all this candy...

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Another beautiful train run!
I spent a lot of time on the vestibule again :)

Crepe myrtles in bloom:

Got this really cool pic of a bridge before passing underneath.
I love how the shadow almost continues the line of the bridge.

On the second day I woke up around 9am, surprised at how dark it was.
Then I heard another train go by, and realized that we were parked in a tunnel!

Creepy cool!
Passing through a small town called La Grange, we received a very warm welcome.
The tracks run right down the town's main street!
People came out of their offices and stores, excited to see the circus train.
They lined the streets, waving, taking pictures, and shouting.
That was a pretty cool feeling!

Trainspotters:

As soon as we were spotted in Louisville, Jerome and Catfish and I walked to the nearest point of interest,
a Hooters knockoff about two miles from the train. I wasn't hungry but it was nice to get off the train and enjoy
the weather and the exercise with friends :)

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Day 12

More rehearsal of course!
Brian and I recorded samples for the clown blowoff.
I think we are presenting the blowoff concept to the Felds on Sunday.
I'm kind of nervous, but the ratio of excitement is higher :D

Tonight was Clown Gag Night. This means that the Red Unit's Clown Alley presents their gags to the Felds
and their circus peeps for consideration for inclusion in the show.
Here's a video of Blue Unit's gag night from last year:

It must be very stressful, but all of the gags were very well done and came off well :)
The gags that I liked best were G's 'horse act' gag, Jeff and Aaron's 'construction' gag,
and Aaron's suitcase gag.
As you can see, many of our clowns have other skills besides clowning!

(Photo courtesy Nicole Feld's Twitter)

Day 13

I got to borrow a rental car for about an hour, so used it to run some errands!
Mostly I needed to find a post office. There are seriously no drop boxes in Tampa :/
After that I picked up a pine wreath and garland, and a set of lights I'd ordered from
Restoration Hardware. These aren't ordinary string lights; they're strung on a wire that
holds its shape. I will use them to light my room after the holidays.
The pine smells very nice in my room, and makes me think of Christmasy things :)

Day 14

Tonight was Act Night! This is very similar to Clown Gag Night that we had two days ago, except it's the circus acts performing for current and former circus members, and the Feld family.
Another video clip from last year's Blue Unit act night:

Elliana (human cannon) started the show off by flying across the arena, very impressive of course!
Then we got to watch Duo Fusion's hand balancing act. Those two are SUPER strong.

After that...it was the 'band gag' with Alex and Irina Emelin!
I don't want to spill the beans, but I will say two things:
~ Afterward many people asked whether we had rehearsed the act or not,
which is great because you're not supposed to be able to tell it was rehearsed ;)
~ It was a LOT of fun and an AMAZING privilege to participate in a circus act!!!!
Hopefully our act doesn't get cut...but if it does, I'm so glad we got to do it once!

Alex and Irina are skilled animal trainers as well. Their 'animal magic' act involves rabbits, ferrets and other hard-to-control small creatures. The Emelins make it look easy! And their dog act is totally TOP NOTCH...the dogs performed beautifully and with great skill, needing no corrections.

There were many other fantastic acts, including
the high wire, wheel, aerialists, trampoline, and clown soap gag.
The best part of the whole thing...was being a part of the whole thing!! :D

This was the circus performing for the circus.
Even though I'm just in the band, being there and experiencing the acts before they're perfected for the public really made me feel like a part of this 143-year-old American icon.
The skill, strength and easy grace of the performers made me a bit jealous of those born with circus blood.
But watching them work made me so happy :)

After Act Night, we all went back to the train for a punch party that's still going on as I type this!
Bottoms up!

( Dali Museum )

Kansas City has been a lot of fun!
Definitely another place I'd consider living in.

We were parked within 3 miles of the arena, under a huge overpass.

Right next to four huge haunted houses!
It was their opening weekend. Lots of people went and were scared :D
I did not go. Maybe next time :P

The area around the haunted houses had a lot of old factory buildings, almost all of which have been converted into either apartments or businesses. There were LOTS of antique shops here. Most were open on only the 1st Friday of each month. Missed 'em by a week, ARGH!

On Wednesday, my friend and former NCSA band director Mark Norman came to see the show along with eight of his students!
They came to the bandstand during preshow, and I showed them the music and answered a few questions. It was fun but kind of strange...made me feel old! Just a few years ago, that would have been me...

After the show we went for drinks at Gordon Biersch in the Power & Light district. None of the students stuck around, but it was great catching up with Mark and meeting Kate, an oboe professor who also attended the show. Mark seems to enjoy his new job at Washburn University, but misses NCSA. I don't blame him! That school has a unique environment that you just can't find anywhere else :)

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Quick note, I've edited the privacy settings here so that viewers can comment on posts if they like.

Today was our first day in Austin the capital of Texas!
Technically we got in last night, but it was pretty late and I was already in train run mode so didn't explore :P

Today however, I got up nice and early, ate breakfast and got right down to it!
Untitled

This is more or less the route I took.."A" is our venue.
( LOTS of pictures! )

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taz_39

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Page generated Jun. 15th, 2025 10:12 pm

goofball on a train

(adventures of a touring musician)

Entries tagged with exploring: museums

Circus Xtreme Chicago, IL Week 1 - Shedd Aquarium, No Talent Talent Show!

Circus Xtreme San Diego - I think his name was Dave...

Circus Xtreme Anaheim, CA Week 2 - graffiti, dresses, and general craziness

Circus Xtreme Fresno, CA - 'Merica Day

Circus Xtreme Phoenix, AZ - Beating the Heat

Circus Xtreme Norfolk, VA - Misc. Adventures

Circus Xtreme Columbia, SC - Happy Easter!

Home for a week

Houston, TX 2014 Week 3 - dating anniversary!

Baltimore, MD Week 2

Last Overland to DC

Chicago Is Awesome

Cleveland, OH

Bakersfield, CA and Overland to San Fran!

Tucson, AZ

Hershey and Harrisburg, Family and Friends

Louisville, KY

Winter Quarters Days 12 - 15

Kansas City, MO

Austin, TX - Day 1

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