Christy Snow: The Latest

Hi and Happy Holidays!
I am thinking of all of you wonderful people tonight that have taken the time to be interested in my path. This holiday season I hope that yours is one of peace in the moment, thanksgiving and ease. Yes, ease. I am reminding myself daily these days that life doesn't have to be hard:-) So, there's my thought for the season...ease & gratitude in each peaceful moment.

I wanted to say that all of you wonderful folks in Huntsville, AL were very missed this past weekend. Sorry we weren't able to make it but the van decided she had gone without TLC long enough and had to have some extensive lovin'. Look forward to getting back to beautiful Huntsville soon!

Texas, Alabama & Georgia I'll be coming back to see you in January and looking forward to it, see performance dates page for more details. So if you are in Houston or Austin, TX or Mobile, Al or Decatur, GA and would like to help me spread the word please sign up for the Christy Crew by sending an email to my friend Leigh at christycrew@christysnow.com

Now, for your shopping pleasure:-)
I just wanted to put in a plug for some friends that can help you with your holiday purchasing:-)
Silver Jewelry with a Spiritual connection
http://www.krobinsdesigns.com Best massage in Charlotte!
Greg Kidd 704-281-9306
Books, music, jewelry & more...Phoenix Rising
http://www.phoenixrisingcharlotte.com Favorite Get-away! High Rolls, NM
http://www.goodlifeinn.com Awesome selection of unique and eclectic gifts and original artwork
http://www.offthebeatenpathstuff.com
Also, for the month of December Buy one Christy Snow CD at full price and take $5 off the rest of the CDs you purchase that day. (In person or mail in orders only. To order by mail send check or money order to:
Christy Snow P.O. Box 221176 Charlotte, NC 28222)

That's all for now. Hope to see you soon.
Peace & Ease:-)
Christy

Renee & I have had such a relaxing and spiritually full experience in Milwaukee with our friends. It's hard to leave. Which could explain why we haven't yet:-) We had originally planned to leave yesterday but couldn't pull ourselves away from everyone (including Leon's). This past weekend was great. I enjoyed performing at the Bremen Cafe in Milwaukee and Cafe Carpe in Ft. Atkinson but the highlight by far was being present for and a part of the first service of the Religious Science of Greater Milwaukee! Our good friends Revs. Lisa Stewart de Sno and Scott de Sno have started an amazingly powerful and beautiful new Spiritual Community in Milwaukee. We were honored to be a part of the first service and moved to tears on more than one occasion! Spirit was definitely "in da house"! You would have thought that we rehearsed the flow of the service between the 4 of us for days. Instead we simply let it flow. Lisa & Scott are powerful speakers and teachers and we were blessed by being there. I am so grateful for their example of faith, love and friendship in my life. Here's to ya. Wait we already did that cheers thing at that awesome restaurant where we celebrated after service:-)

Well, we really are going to head home tomorrow so I guess that's enough about the toll roads, architecture, great lakes, cool cities, spiritual growth and good friends. I better get some sleep. More from Florida in a week or so I'm sure!

I had a show this past Sat. night at Cafe Mariah in Madison, WI. I've been to Madison several times now and each and every time I have been there it has rained. As you might remember, last time a tornado siren even sounded at the end of a show and we were told to seek shelter. So, keeping with tradition it began to rain on the way from Milwaukee to Madison. As a side note I will say that I still love Madison and think it is one of the most beautiful, charming, and interesting cities that we visit.

Now, maybe it was the rain, rain, rain or maybe it was the fact that Cafe Mariah is relatively new but the turn out was very low. I loved the place and I loved the owner and look forward to another night there. I enjoyed very much the people that were there but I was very disappointed with the fact that there were only a few people there. I had looked so forward to having a night of singing until I felt purged and fulfilled with that part of my creative expression, the performing part. The part of me that loves interacting with the audience and having that exchange of energy and fun.

However, like I mentioned earlier about the Barking Spider, life has a way of working out for the best even when it doesn't look like it is working out at all. I kept telling myself that something good was to come out of that night as with every night even if it looked like I had just performed a private concert to 4 people. Something good did come of that evening. Lots of good came of it. One of the things I want to share is that out of my audience of 4, one of them teaches 6th grade and scheduled me to perform for the 6th graders at her school. This is more than an extra job on a tour. I have been expressing interest in doing more work with middle school age kids and this is another example of life saying yes and here you go.

Another good thing that came of it is that I got the opportunity to see that even though I felt so depressed Sat. night it didn't last. Heard the expression, "This too shall pass" well it's true and it did and I got something out of it. Not just the extra gig or the fulfillment of singing to the students but the reminder that you don't get out of the car on a bumpy road, you remember first of all to be grateful that your car has shocks because man how uncomfortable it could be if you didn't have something to absorb the shock (aka faith) and second of all you remember that bumps in the road are just bumps, they are not the road as a whole and they pass.

Now, I am writing all of this today feeling very positive and able to see the blessings in disguise and able to acknowledge how wonderfully everything played out but I will admit to you that I was not so sunshine and roses Sat. night. As a matter of fact I was depressed. I had a whole onslaught of doubts from "Why am I doing this?" to "I must not be any good or more people would have been there" and on and on. I am admitting this now because I think that it's important to point out that everyone has doubts and everyone has moments of feeling like "Why bother". Why bother being positive, why bother standing guard over your thoughts and refusing to believe in the oh poor me stuff that our fears can try and feed us. Well, I bother and I bothered with it Sat. night even though I was not very pleasant to be around and I was far from positive on the outside. I still bothered and even though I was down I kept reminding myself of what I know to be the truth. Our thoughts are creative and we are creating our experiences one thought at a time. A very popular saying in Religious Science is "What we think today walks tomorrow" and I kept thinking of that when I was feeling depressed. I wasn't able to keep myself from feeling sad and disappointed but I was able to keep myself from staying in those why bother thoughts because that is not what I truly believe. I truly believe that I AM doing exactly what I am supposed to be doing with my life and that last Sat. night was just a moment in time that doesn't hold a candle to the majority of my experiences. Whew...thanks for letting me purge:-)

Sunday morning rolled around and I was still feeling pretty down but I made it on over to the Madison church. Rev. Mark Accomondo from the Chicago church was the guest speaker and Renee & I were the guest musicians. I was up in front of everyone waiting for the meditation person to come up and read so I could play flute behind it. There was a mix up and the person that was supposed to be on wasn't prepared so someone else came. Thank God for synchronicities like this one that had just the right person saying exactly what I needed to hear at just the right moment. Thank you Doug for the meditation that got me back on track by forcing my heart back open and reminding me that I have one job and that is to be LOVE and the rest works itself out. I played the flute and sobbed behind a beautiful heart felt and heart opening meditation.

Rev. Mark's talk and workshop continued to push the doors of my heart back to fully open again and once again another growing pain was behind me. I don't believe that growth has to be painful and hard but I do realize that sometimes it can be. I'm just glad to be still seeking with an open and thankful heart instead of saying oh the hell with it like I wanted to say Saturday night.

I performed a flute meditation at the Chicago church bookstore tonight. I have decided that I will be doing many more of these. The flute music is the most intuitive music I have ever been a part of. It takes on a feeling and a direction of it's own and flows through me out to the people and back. I know that all music does this but the flue is always a magical experience for me that I always look forward to recreating.

Wow, we sure gave Milwaukee a bum rap the last time we were here. We had been traveling so much we didn't feel like seeing the town and we didn't know the first thing about it so since Lisa & Scott were not here last time we were just home bodies last time we were here. This time, Lisa & Scott have shown us around and we can honestly say, we were wrong and Milwaukee is a cool city and beautiful. Another city with gorgeous architecture and history overlooking Lake Michigan...wow! Oh and there's Leon's. Got to tell you about Leon's Frozen Custard. Let's just say for two "Non-dairy" girls Renee & I sure consumed more than our share of Leon's over the last few days. It's probably a really good thing that we don't have this in Charlotte!

OK, so I can tell you really quickly how many church services that I have been the guest musician for in which I was late...two. Yes, two and only two out of all the church services I have performed for since 1999. That's only 2 out of over 135 services in which I have rolled in after or as the service was beginning. So, needless to say I was a bit rattled and not quite my centered happy self...until...yes, until Rev. Joette started to give her talk. She was great and the open hearted high energy congregation was just what I needed. I felt like someone had given me a jolt of happiness and I was back on beam and feeling good. Renee & I performed a concert after service and then continued it down the street at their new bookstore. We took in some of the breathtaking architecture that Chicago has to offer and then some excellent Mexican/Puertorican food! Finally, late Sunday night we rolled into Milwaukee, WI, home of our friends Lisa & Scott and two of Max's best friends Bob & Molly. Milwaukee is our home base for a couple of weeks as we play gigs in Chicago, Milwaukee & Madison before heading back home.

Back to the road! Leaving for 3 weeks often takes more preparation than I allow time. Wednesday, September 3rd rolled around and it was time to leave for Cleveland. Only problem was that I wasn't ready. We decided to give it up and accept the fact that we were leaving on Thursday and driving 8 hours straight, to get to the Barking Spider by 6:30 to set up and make it to the radio show by 7:30pm and back to perform by 8:30pm. It was a beautiful day and a gorgeous drive and I was happily surprised that it felt like a much shorter drive. We made it in no time, which was a good thing considering we left later than planned that morning and barely left time for pit stops.

Cousin Dave's Radio Show was alot of fun on WRUW. I left the radio mic at 8:25 and was on the Barking Spider mic around the corner at 8:30pm to start my set.

Barking Spider gig
It's so interesting to me and so wonderful how things work out even when they appear not to be working out:-).
Example:
It was a hopping Thursday night college crowd at the Barking Spider. However, on this particular evening the focus seemed to be mostly on the drinking and socializing going on outside instead of inside where I was singing. Of the 1/2 a dozen or so people who appeared to be listening, there were 3 that were most attentive. Now, "3 people big deal", you might think. Well, before the night was over I learned that one of them was the inventory manager for Borders Books & Music in Cleveland and she bought over $100 worth of CDs. One of the other of the 3 owns his own music store http://www.littlemountainmusic.com and is now my sponsor for Elixir strings and other fun and needed supplies, thank you thank you thank you Doug!!! And yet another person came up to me afterwards and said that my song "Safe" helped her to move past some major personal conflicts in her life. So, my point is, even though there were literally only a few people listening I was extremely fulfilled and grateful! Oh, and even on a slow night I love Martin and the Barking Spider:-)!!

A few toll roads later?Uncommon Ground
Then it was on to Chicago and Uncommon Ground.
I had been looking forward to the UG gig for a while. This was my first show in Chicago and what a line up. I was one of three acts for the evening (check out http://www.lisharvey.com and http://www.girlyman.com). It was great, not only did I get to perform and have a great time doing so, I was able to sit back and be entertained by these guys as well. I had a nice surprise from a woman named Lynn that I had met a couple of years ago at a concert at the Good Life Inn in New Mexico. Lynn came with friends in tow and filled up the front table. It was great seeing you again Lynn and meeting your friends! Thanks also to Sara from http://www.awantonline.com for coming out and bringing a couple of friends and to Rosie for referring us to your massage therapist sister in Milwaukee...it was great to work out the "road butt"!

So, aside from the $50 parking ticket (yes $50...yikes!) oh and the God knows how much in tolls from Cleveland to Chicago, it was a wonderful night in Chicago. The ticket was the result of one of those Duke's of Hazard/Boss Hogg road signs that you can't see because it's covered over by an overgrown tree but then Rosco P. Coletrain is hanging out around the corner to see if some unsuspecting NC van driver is going to fall for it and park in the residential section that looks like public parking. Oh, well.

Renee & I took some much needed and anticipated down time to rejuvenate, refresh, recenter, and renew our bodies, minds, hearts and sense of purpose. We worked/played in the yard. Planted flowers and danced around the yard in the pouring down rain:-) We took weekend trips to Raleigh, Wilmington, and Richmond but spent most of the month at home. It was so good to be home for more than a day or two at a time. Our cats got over being mad at us for being gone all the time and our house was happy to have us but most of all we were so grateful to have some time to spend in our home and with our friends in Charlotte.

So, just reporting in...Life is good!

The Asilomar Conference in Pacific Grove, CA just outside of Monterey is one of the highlights of my year every year but this year was something special! This is a Religious Science Conference. For those of you who may not be familiar with RS, it is a Spiritual Philosophy based on the teachings of Ernest Homes, author of the Science of Mind. As I said it is always a wonderful time but this year there was more of an all inclusive feeling of love, acceptance, and nurturing than I have felt in the past. Also, it just seemed that everything from the workshops, to the music, to the speakers just flowed beautifully and seamlessly together. I told everyone the "Love Vibe" was higher this year:-) and that it felt as though I was levitating around the grounds...hee hee.

A big thanks to several people who encouraged and challenged me to be more of the person I want to be just by being around them. Some of those people are: Revs. David Leonard, Lisa Stewart, Ken & Deborah Gordon, and Charles Geddes to name a few oh and also, Oriah Mtn. Dreamer, one of my favorite author/speakers who attended this years conference. The way that these people came from such an open heart and a sense of mindfulness encouraged me to do the same and to be completely mindful and present with each person and each part of my days & nights.

However, there were a couple of moments that did not appear to be so "mindful". Some people believe maybe it was the infectious "Love Vibe" that got to me and blissed me out and others say it was working round the clock with the music team that kicked my sleep deprived rear, and yet another theory is that it was to prove that what's meant to be yours will be yours but whatever it was I had the opportunity to have an incredible demonstration one night.

Renee & I were staying off grounds at a hotel a few miles away in Monterey for the first part of the week. So we would get up around 6am in order to make it over to the Chapel by 7am and then we would be on grounds at Asilomar all day and usually get back to the hotel by midnight, go to bed and do the same thing the next day. Our days were filled with lots and lots of music and we were so happy to be part of the exceptional music team with Karen Drucker, David Ault, Donna Michael, Daniel Nahmod, Jack Fowler, and others.

So, one night we made our way back to the hotel and got in bed around midnight for a quick nights sleep since I was to play flute for meditation the next morning at 7am. The next morning I was standing at the sink brushing my teeth when Renee says to me in a concerned voice, "Where is your guitar?". Tooth brush still in mouth and tooth paste foaming I took off for the parking lot. There sat our friend Joe's truck that we had borrowed but there was no guitar in the back. I remembered putting it in the back of the truck to drive to the hotel but did not remember taking it into the hotel and since it in fact was not in the hotel I could only assume that I had left it in the back of the truck and someone had found themselves an early Christmas present. I went back to the sink and resumed brushing my teeth and worked on finding my previously discovered happy, Zen, blissed out place. Much to my surprise my happy place hadn't totally left me. I was not freaking out. I was a bit in shock but I wasn't freaking out. The next thought through my head was Suz Ogden at Eastern Conference telling me that I was welcome to leave my guitar in the main hall unattended for the days and nights that I was there instead of taking it back and forth to the room. She followed that up by saying, "Whatever is yours by Divine Right will always be yours. If that guitar is meant to be yours nothing and no one will be able to take it from you and if it is not yours then nothing you can do will keep it." I rinsed the tooth paste and thought, wow I guess my guitar doesn't define me and I guess the world will still turn if I lose my guitar, this sucks but it will be ok. Just then I turned to see Renee carrying my guitar in from outside. It turns out I had taken it out of the truck and placed it on the ground in the parking lot beside the truck the night before and had left it sitting in the parking lot beside the truck (on the other side from the side I had just ran to). It had sat there all night and was waiting for me the next morning. Thank you God, guess it's mine.

I may not have been mindful on the surface about the tangible things such as the where abouts of my guitar but I am very happy that I was mindful of my thoughts the next morning in realizing that our things do not define us and no matter how much something is uncomfortable, as my friend Jordan says, "It will always be ok."

Wow! My first time at the Religious Science Eastern Conference in Atlanta, GA and it was incredible! Thank you to all of the wonderful musicians, ministers and conference attendees who made it so great. A special thank you to Suz Ogden, Lisa Ferraro, Amy Conley, Marti Capodiferro and that breathtaking choir that welcomed Renee' & I so quickly and so warm and lovingly into the fold when we arrived last Thursday night. We felt as though we had bonded with you all week and we loved what you added to our songs!

We were unable to attend the entire week this year due to our schedule but we are already on board for next year...see you there.

The music was not the only thing to write home about of course...the speakers were top notch. This year's conference featured Dr. Terry Cole-Whittaker, Rev. Dr. Mary Manin Morrissey, Rev. Paul Gonyea, Rev. David Leonard, Rev. Kathy Hearn, Father Leo Booth, Rev. Dr. Arleen Bump, Rev. Marigene DeRusha and many more. There were workshops and lots of music and all of this took place right there on the Chattahoochie River in Georgia at the beautiful Simpsonwood Retreat Center:-)

As I said earlier, we packed an "overnight" bag because we had just returned off the road and would soon be leaving for another trip and needed some time at home to prepare. However, once we got there we couldn't pull ourselves away the next morning, or the following evening or the morning after that. We ended up leaving and going straight to the House Concert I performed at in Charlotte on Sat. night;-)

I love the Asilomar Conference in California every year and as a matter of fact I am heading there tomorrow but I wanted to let you know how wonderful of an experience Eastern Conference is as well and let you know that Renee' & I will be there next year and hope to see you there!

Check it out:
www.easternconference.net

What a wonderful time at the Creative Life services this morning! Thank you one and all for making it such an awesome visit. I look forward to joining you again soon and hopefully I'll pick a cooler month for a visit next time:-).

Renee & I have had a pretty kicked back day as we've been taking the scenic route home. It started with me wanting to show Renne what I've started calling "Alligator Alley" from Max's Alligator camping story (Spring 2002 tour). So, we detoured off hwy 10 just into to Louisiana in a little place called Westlake (I think, not sure). Anyway, we followed the little brown signs that eventually led us to Sam Houston Jones State Park. Alligators aside, it is a beautiful place. The swamp with the bald cypress and Spanish moss go on and on. Renee was spellbound, she loved it and agreed it is one of the most beautiful places she has ever seen. I was taking her picture by the swamp as she began to read the plaque beside her with a picture of an alligator on it. "American Alligators can grow to be 10 to 12 feet in length and live is swampy waters such as these" she forced out through a clinched smile for the photo.

Before long we were back on the road and it wasn't long before we were trying to decide where we would look for some dinner. I had originally had my heart set on making it to New Orleans for some Jambalaya for dinner and so I was searching the billboards for some Cajun cuisine. Finally I saw a sign for Mullete's (spelling not guaranteed:-) original Cajun cuisine, this exit. We took the exit and debated, as we made several twists and turns away from the interstate, as to whether or not they would even be open on a Sunday night at 9:30pm in a little town called Breaux Bridge, LA.

Side note: Driving all over the country like we do we are always saying "Hey this looks like that place where" or "Doesn't this remind you of the time" Well, I said to Renee, "Hey this reminds me of that exit we took last year when we were trying to escape the heat long enough to make and eat a sandwich and we found a do it yourself car wash and parked under the car wash for shade." Just then she pointed out the window, there was the very car wash I was referring to. Out of all of the places we have stopped there we were back again at that very place.

This time back in Breaux Bridge was a much-improved experience. We found Mullete's and not only was it open, it was hoppin'!

We were seated for maybe 3 minutes before I said "Hold on I have to have my camera for this." I left the table, went back to the car, grabbed some film and my camera. I wanted to capture the moment forever! I had some trouble with the camera and I'm not sure the pictures will turn out. So, since I want to capture the moment and since of course I want to tell you about it anyway, here goes?

The town - Breaux Bridge, LA
The place - Mullete's or Mullet's or Mulette's Original Cajun Cuisine Restaurant
The scene:
Hundreds of business cards cover the ceiling of this little treasure to the locals in Breaux Bridge. A five piece Cajun bands dressed in matching red shirts and igniting the dance floor directly in front of the door catch your eye next as you enter the place. The hostess escorts you to your table where you are served up your choice of some traditional Cajun dishes like my personal favorite, Jambalaya and/or one of their signature dishes like the Cajun Catfish! It seems as though the whole place is taking turns hitting the dance floor from young to old and lots of combinations there of.

I felt like I was on the set of a movie. Of course movies are often real life set to the big screen anyway but I had just never experienced it being my "real life" that was a snap shot out of a movie frame. The smell of gumbo accompanied by the sound of the accordion and the occasional "Ah Yeah" from the lead singer provides communion for locals and travelers alike. In keeping with the custom of the area, most of the lyrics are sung in English but a good portion of them rang out in French. Old men were asking young women to dance. Kids where asking older people to dance. A couple of "Ya Ya Sisterhood" looking ladies were cutting a rug by themselves and with each other. Young couples, old couples, you name it. It was something to be experienced (hope the pictures turn out). And isn't it cool that unexpected traffic and other delays as well as a spur of the moment scenic detour made it too late to make it to New Orleans tonight and we ended up there instead. Wouldn't have had it any other way.

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Almost home!
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Here's a tidbit for you - I love maps. I love learning where towns and cities that I've heard about really are and visiting them. I especially love it when I pass through a town that has a song written about it. The down side, if there is one, is that whom ever happens to be riding along with me at the time gets to here things like this??.
"Houston, Houston means that I'm one day closer to you. Oh honey Houston, Houston means the last day of the tour and we're through. You ask, God in heaven above do I love what I do and you know that I do but honey Houston, Houston means that I'm one day closer to you."
AND
"Operator won't you put me on the line gotta talk to my baby just one more time.calling Baton Rouge."
AND
"I smell the Pontchartrain I hear the silver wings and then away Merle Haggard flies"
AND
"Oh Mississippi, carry me home tonight, your rivers and your bayous well they make me feel all right in Mississippi."
AND
"Gonna stop off here in Lafayette Lord and have me another night, cause I've been working in corners"
AND
"The day the squirrel went to church..in the sleepy little town of Pascagoula"
AND
"Make me an angel that flies from Montgomery?"
Of course, all of that was just since yesterday from Houston to where we are about to get some sleep tonight here in Montgomery.

The first detour:
Well we did make it to New Orleans today. We detoured off long enough to grab some Jambalaya and some pralines, at least that was the plan. We found the place that I have had Jambalaya in the past. I had bragged about how it was the best I'd ever had, etc. We glanced at the menu and there in big bold print were the ingredients at this particular establishment. Rice, Cajun seasoning, sausage, shrimp and RABBIT!!! Yes, little bunny fu fu. My first reaction was, "I don't think so." My second reaction was, "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh, I've had it here at least twice before! Eating bunny fu fu by mistake is one thing but willingly and knowingly, I just couldn't do it, so we left.

I was consoled however by the best darn pralines I've ever laid lips on!!! They were fresh and hot too and the words "We'll take a pound came right out of my face before I knew what hit me."

Another Christy tidbit and another detour:
Here's another Christy tidbit for you - I love cemeteries. I know, I know, some people think they are pretty creepy, however Renee' Leboa is not one of them. She loves them too.

Today we took another scenic detour. We have driven right by Biloxi, MS some many times and have never stopped, until today. It's only 20 miles or so off hwy 10 and it's right on the Gulf. It's beautiful. We stopped long enough to have dinner, put our toes in the sand and the ocean, take a few pictures and head on up the road through Pascagoula. But as we were heading on up the road we saw a really old "Savannah or New Orleans" type of graveyard. An immediate U-turn followed. Large old trees with Spanish moss were shading these 100-year-old tombstones and mausoleums as the sun, huge and fiery red, set in the background. We eeewww'd and ahhhhhhhh'd and got back on the road.

That's it for tonight. We should be home tomorrow and this tour will be at an end but I'm going to keep writing to ya whether we are on the road or not now that I am able to log on and share my thoughts anytime I want...look out:-) Talk to you soon.
Christy

We checked into the Red Roof Inn today just north of Houston just in time to change clothes and make it to my concert at the Creative Life Church. The problem was that they checked us into a smoking room on the 2nd floor. So after lugging our stuff upstairs we asked to be moved. Then tonight upon returning to the room after the concert, very excited to feel the cool cool air conditioning, we opened the hotel door to the smell of burning metal and heat. The AC was busted. They moved us again and we are now settled in and to the relaxing point. :-) But here's the thing we had such a great time tonight that changing rooms "again" didn't even bother us.

I love Rev. Jesse Jennings and his fine group of folks at Creative Life. I ALWAYS have such a great experience and I am so glad that I was able to share it tonight with Renee (her first time here and of course they loved her). I am looking forward to the services in the morning. Speaking of which, 6am will come quickly so I should get to bed. Goodnight.

Well, thank you to my friends Chris & Holly for the hospitality and for one of the best birthday parties I've had in a while. I had a pool party:-) What fun. Got to see my recently relocated nephew Robert and some other friends and Holly made me a wheat free/gluten free birthday cake! Now we're off to Houston...more later.

Captain's log - Monday June 9th
Ever heard of St. Olivia? Well, you will now. It's Monday evening and my sister Libby just called. It's the night before Renee and I are to hit the road for New Mexico and Texas in the morning. Now, just a side note and reminder that last year when Renee & I started our 2 month cross-country tour in the van, the AC stopped working and we crossed the desert in the heat before we could get it fixed in CA. Well as it turns out it was a temporary fix and when we took it in to the garage last week to have it fixed again they said "Sure, no problem, that'll be $1385." We said, "Hmm, not right this minute, maybe it won't be that hot in TEXAS!!!!" Ut oh.

Now, back to my sister's phone call, she said that my brother-in-law had just started a new job and would get his company car tomorrow and therefore we could barrow their extra car, with AC! So, tomorrow we depart for Atlanta, by way of my sisters a couple of hours north but well worth it to trade cars.

Day of departure ~ Tuesday June 10th
First singing engagement = High Rolls, NM but first stop = a "hug layover" in Atlanta, GA. We planned the Atlanta stop over just to visit with my friend Ruth. What a great night, we had dinner on the patio in paradise (that would be her back yard) and talked about Spiritual concepts, beliefs, and just good ole life. See ya on the way back through Ruthie:-)

The driving days ~ day 2 June 11th
The first few days of this tour are consisting of lots of driving, as you can imagine, from NC to NM. What's that been like you ask? Well, glad you asked, it's been extremely fun (and cool in the AC!!!). Day two was Atlanta to Shreveport for another "hug layover" with friends Gwen, Stephanie and Emerson. It was so nice to catch up with you guys over dinner tonight we've been missing you. 10 hours of driving today and lots of ground to cover so we turned to one of our favorite ways to spend the time - music. Well, the Taurus doesn't have a CD player so we were laughing, singing along, and carrying on to oldies tapes and various classic radio stations. I am sure you would have loved to have been a fly on the car window to listen to the on AND off key singing along to the wide variety of our favorites, here are just a few to give you an idea: From the The Temptations, to Randy Travis, to the Judds, to the Beach Boys, to Kenny Rogers - The Early Years, then White Snake, Journey, Brian Adams, John Cougar, Phil Collins, Conway Twitty, Skinard, Zepplin, The Stones, Buffet, George Jones, Mary Chapin, Charlie Daniels-The Drinkin' Years and more all while driving through great named places like Tallapoosa, Talladega, Tuscaloosa and Tallulah and stopping only to hit the bathroom, to stretch, and to shop at the Flying J Truck Stops (our personal favorites).

Day 3 ~ Shreveport, LA to Hobbs, NM
Good morning, well fine so it is afternoon. I just finished my coffee so technically it's still morning to me. You'll be happy to know that Renee is driving and that I am not typing and driving. I draw the line at writing and driving, we must be safe after all. So far today it's a classic country music day, some things you can definitely count on in Texas. Oh wait, I can't leave out how we really started the day - with Renee's "Brush With The Law!" Did you know doing 67 in a 45 mph construction zone is frowned upon by the High Way Patrol in Louisiana? Yep, it's true. In Renee's defense, however, they were not currently working on the road. So it wasn't like she was blowing through causing men & women of the state to jump for their lives into the nearest ditch. Also, in her defense, it had just been a 65 mph zone. So it went something like "Hi Officer, was I speeding?" (eye lashes batting and turning on her southern belle voice better than I could - me, the true southerner). Just kidding...It was really more like..."I'm so sorry, I didn?t mean to be speeding!" and "$300!!! Oh please don't write that ticket!!" the nice officer decided to lower the offense to something minor like a seatbelt violation that was only $25 thank you God! More to come I'm sure but for now this screen is causing my eyes to cross and I have Patsy Cline to sing along to, so I've got to go.

Day 4 ~ June 13
Hobbs, NM to the Good Life Inn in High Rolls, NM
The Day:
Starting this day as one should in New Mexico, we checked out of the hotel and headed for the first Mexican Restaurant we saw. As fate (or the universal experience of living in the flow) would have it, there was a coffee shop across the street. So, "coffeed" & "enchiladaed" up we headed through the desert to Cloudcroft, NM - one of our favorite places on the planet. Well, the car had been performing exemplary and we had no problems, until we stopped at the convenience store in Cloudcroft. The car went dead and would not restart. We sat there befuddled a few minutes and tried it again. It started and we headed down the grade a few miles to High Rolls. It's important to mention that word grade because we were at elevation 8000 and something and we were heading down a steep grade when the car died and in doing so, so did the brakes. We slowed to the shoulder grateful that there was one and that we weren't going very fast to pull off. It just so happened that there was an overlook there. Partially because I didn't know what else to do and partially because I was hoping the car just needed to rest a few minutes, we walked across the street and viewed the canyon below. We gave it a few minutes and tried again. It started fine and we made it on down to High Rolls and to the Good Life Inn hoping it was bad gas and that we wouldn't have a repeat experience.

The Inn:
Ahh...the Good Life Inn. Tonight was my 3rd concert at the Inn but the first time that I have had the absolute privilege of staying as a guest. Oh my God! I totally recommend this experience. The proprietors, Guillian & Melise Zoe, have thought of everything to make their guests feel like royalty or as our friends up the road at Off The Beaten Path like to say, "They'll pamper you silly".

The Show & Painting The Picture:
Tonight was a smaller crowd than in the past but a very fun one none the less. We had a great time, sometimes the smaller crowds lead to more intimate settings. For example, it?s not every night that I change clothes on stage:-) The temperature can change drastically in the New Mexico mountains and then add the fact that the wind can kick up pretty heavy at times. So, I went from a sleeveless linen outfit to a sweatshirt and hat before the night was over. Two distinctly different looks I assure you. For those of you who haven't had the opportunity to visit this area, let me paint you a picture. High desert around 6000 ish elevation, pine trees, grassy fields with horses grazing in the distance and mountain ranges all around. Now add a beautiful house with 4 bedrooms, a rec room, a jacuzzi room, a living room, a kitchen, an awesome deck and a front porch with a porch swing. Add music loving, people loving people, a full moon and ta da! I played the flute under the full moon in the cool night air, bare foot as the coyotes and birds echoed my call. Thanks again for another magical night you guys. Can't wait for another show under the stars! www.goodlifeinn.com


Day 5 ~ June 14
High Rolls to Albuquerque
The Drive:
We added some gas treatment to the car and some high-octane gas and hoped that bad gas was the cause of the stalling problem yesterday. Then we headed out across another 4 hours of desert from High Rolls to Albuquerque. We stopped at my favorite little desert oasis "The Indigo Lizard" to check their hours for our shopping experience tomorrow and then headed on to Alb. We had left a little later than planned and were rolling into Albuquerque with just enough time to set up and sound check. As we sat at the traffic light only a few blocks from our destination, the car (which had run fine for 4 hours) stalled. Some nice folks came along and pushed us out of the intersection. I said, "Well, there's nothing we can do about it now and there's no use in missing the show." So, we called the Restaurant owner and 3 women in a van came to our rescue (thanks Donna, Racheal & Beth). We transferred my equipment, guitar, etc over to their car and told the Taurus to have a good nap and feel better soon.

The Show:
A few times tonight I began to wonder if the tornado winds of the Mid West had followed us from our last tour. The wind was blowing so incredibly hard during my performance I half expected Toto to fly by and this time, me without my hat...cute hair...not exactly! Thanks Donna & T for the opportunity to perform at Red or Green...it was great...better than a vacation don't you think?

The car & our hostesses:
Back to the car after the show and guess what...yep...started like a charm! The proprietors Donna & T were kind enough to put us up for the night, so we followed Donna home...thanks guys. Well, I've checked email, washed my face and fallen in love with Zubbie and No. 1 (Donna & T?s dogs) so I guess I should call it a day.



Day 6 ~ June 15
Albuquerque Church of Religious Science
The Day:
Well, you guessed it...the car started right up and we made it to the church on time:-). Yesterday on the way to Albuquerque I spoke with my good friend Rev. Lisa Stewart (I mean Lisa De Snoo...hee hee). Anyway, Lisa asked if I was going to Rev. Bernardo's church in Santa Fe. I said that I loved him and his church and would love to perform there again but this time I was booked with another favorite, the Albuquerque church with Rev. Patrick Pollard. So, get this, I showed and they told me that Rev. Patrick was out of town but that there was a guest speaker that day...yep...Rev. Bernardo! What fun. His talk was right on the mark with what I needed to hear. It was based on his book that he just wrote called "Faith It Til You Make It". He talked about when things come up as the always will in life to condition ourselves to the knee jerk response of faith. I thought of the day before in the car and how I first went to disaster fantasizing instead of a realization that I had been taken care of up until that point and would continue to be. Thanks for the reminder that Spirit is in all things, all people, all situations, all the time. Such soul food today from the wonderful folks at the Albuquerque Church Of Religious Science. A special thank you to Mr. Rod Stewart (great name), Bonnie, Ardy, Stu and the rest of that awesome Jazz band as well, of course, as Rev. Bernardo!

Back to High Rolls:
Brief stop for lunch at the Wild Oats and off we were back to High Rolls. The car performed perfectly again today. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Until...we had made it within 2 miles of the Good Life Inn and it stalled coming up the grade. We made it into the driveway of the Veterinary Clinic and called our friends. We decided that rest was the answer before, so we went back to the Inn, had dinner and picked up the car several hours later when it ran perfectly back to the Inn. I know if you are looking at your maps you might have realized that from Albuquerque to Dallas (our next stop) High Rolls is not exactly on the way. Well, you would be right in saying so. We knew that when we planned it but we had to plan in some long awaited quality time with Berle, Rand, Gillian & Melise.



Day 7 ~ June 16
Life at the Inn
We woke this morning, had breakfast with Guillian & Melise and continued our souls connection with these two beautiful spirits! I don't know if words can do justice as to how much it meant to Renee & I to share time, meals, space & conversation with them. The beautiful view while eating meals on the front porch was icing on the cake compared to the generosity, love and connection we experienced. Thank you! By the way, Melise's maiden name is Snow and we are pretty sure we are related. It's not hard to believe that we are related when you see how much we both love to tell a story. Then add in the fact that Ms. Renee loves to tell a story also and poor Guillian barely got in a word:-) we had a great time!

I called an auto supply store that my friend Berle recommended and he got me an appointment for tomorrow for the car to be worked on. We had planned on leaving today but we were not real excited at the prospect of crossing the desert for 11 hours wondering when the car might decide it needed a siesta. So, another night at the Inn with the girls?yay!



Day 8 ~ June 17
Spiritual Gremlin
I showed up at the Auto Supply store to find the owner, Steve, waiting at 7:50 am with the parts that he thought I might need. He said "Just take 'em and pay me later for whatever the mechanic decides he needs to use." Ahh, small towns, people are so helpful and so nice. So, off I went with $100 worth of parts to the garage down the street. Jay, the mechanic was extra nice as well. He worked on the car all day running tests only to find that he couldn't find anything wrong with it. "I can't get it to mess up," he said. Hmm...well I guess thank you. Thank you to the Spiritual Gremlin that took hold of the car to teach us the lesson of going to faith no matter what. It was really an easy lesson if you think about it because we were always taken care of and we made it safely to our destinations each time, even if it had to be with a little help. Thank you to the Spiritual Gremlin for a couple of extra days off at the sacred and serene Good Life Inn with our family of friends. Sometimes unexpected and unexplained things happen to give us the opportunity to savor life. We did and we are grateful! Thank you.



Day 9 ~ June 18
More desert crossing?High Rolls to Dallas, TX
Starting the day:
Melise is such an amazing cook! We started our day with hands down the best french toast I have ever eaten!!!! It was hard leaving today! I met Guillian, Melise, Berle & Rand in April of 2001. Then Renee met them in the fall of that year. Each time we visit they become more and more like family and when it's time to leave it becomes harder and harder each time. After breakfast, coffee, loading the car, and lots of hugs we headed up the grade through Cloudcroft and on to Dallas. The plan was to call Berle & Rand at Off The Beaten Path (www.offthebeatenpathstuff.com) and tell them we were sorry but we were running late and couldn?t stop. Then we said, "We've got to stop and at least get another hug!" So we did. We got another hug and some beautiful handmade by Berle silver ear rings. Like Guillian & Melise, Berle and Rand are highlights from this trip. It's not just that we love shopping at their cool store either:-) The four of these gals make up a family of sisters that make it hard for us not to pack up and move to New Mexico...you never know. Oh and we cant forget the children...Ottis & Mashaka helped us with our kitty withdrawls:-)

The Drive:
Not a bad drive today and we made great timing. We hardly stopped except when we needed gas or a potty break. Speaking of a potty break. We had our most interesting rest area of all times today!!! It was a roadside stand of fruit, Native American jewelry, etc with a sign that said "Clean Restrooms". I was browsing while Renee went to the rest room. As we were leaving I said, "Well, I guess I should go to the bathroom too." She said, "Yeah, you owe it to yourself" and smiled. I walked over to the edge of the property following the signs for the restrooms. Then I noticed that I was being led into a pasture. Yes, through a gate, into the pasture, past the horses, past the pond, and past the sign that said "Not responsible for any accidents" and on to the restroom. The restroom was a little white block building with men's on one side and women's on the other. Pictures to come soon...it was too cute! The car? Yes, the car did great, not a moment of hesitation! We rolled in to my friends Chris & Holly's around midnight. We're on the homeward stretch of this tour. A show and a church service in Houston this Sat. and then a Jambalya layover in New Orleans a Hug layover in Atlanta and we're home. I feel quite certain there will be a few things to report between now and then, so check back. Thanks for checking in:-)

Frank & Jesse James, Crystals & Tornadoes

Huntsville, Al to Kentucky
Starting a tour feeling less than 100% is not my preference, especially a month long tour. However, it still turned out to be a wonderful time. Thankfully there was an opportunity for rest at the very beginning. After performing for our friends at the Unity On The Mountain Church in Huntsville, AL we headed north to Kentucky. We camped at the quaint little State Park known as My Old Kentucky Home State Park. The Park attendant, Bill age 83, was the first of many fun and warm loving connections that were made on this trip. Actually this was a reconnection. Bill remembered me from last year when Jordan & I camped there for a few days. Pretty good memory for an 83-year-old! This time around as I said, I was pretty sick at this point and didn't feel like even getting out of the van. So, I slept day and night for the majority of that first week. Bill would ride by in his golf cart and check in and also drop off tourist info in case we ever decided to venture out to historic Bardstown, the town in which we were staying.

Elizabethtown, KY
Wednesday rolled around and though I was far from better at this point I was sooooooo excited to see my Elizabethtown, KY friends over at the Backstage Cafe. Those guys are so much fun. Carla, Bruce, Les, Gary, Inel and especially my angel friend Big John. I could be happy spending days just hanging out with you guys!

Angel John...yes there's an angel in E.Town. I met John last year when I performed at the Cafe for the first time and have looked forward to a return visit since. Not often enough for my taste do I encounter such an open, love filled and loving fully present individual...that is John. Thank you John for being you and sharing you with us, until next time...big hug!

A little more bed rest was required on Thursday to recuperate from heading out to E.Town the day before but then Friday came and I was feeling much, much better. So, finally we were on our way up the street to take in Historic Bardstown, KY whiskey capital of the world. Bill was pleased and we were off.

Seeing Bardstown
Not only is B.Town the whiskey capital of the world it's also just a few miles from the infamous hideout of Frank & Jesse James and the former home of their cousin's husband who in that day and time happened to be the Sheriff of Bardstown. Hmm?convenient huh? As it turns out the James brothers used to often hang out and hide out within the arms of the law right there in good ole Bardstown where the jail is still standing and until a few short years ago was still in use. Now you can tour the jail and/or stay there as it is today a tourist stop and a B&B. It was so cool, I am a big fan of westerns and stories of the Wild West and there on the wall of the jail hung a picture of Frank & Jesse James with the Sheriff.

Before visiting the jail and having our picture taken in the stockade out front we toured the recreation of the Historic Bardstown village. The village has been recreated to represent day to day life in colonial days and was an accurate looking step back in time. We also visited the "Women Of The Civil War" museum. OK, so that was cool. I had never heard of a museum for the women of the Civil War so of course we had to check it out. We learned a lot about the role many women played back then being spies, soldiers and Underground Railroad instigators. We're talking 1860 ish people and some of these women were dressing up as men and fighting as soldiers. How did I miss that in history class?! If was fascinating!

In addition to all of this and sticking our heads in to look around in the Tavern, built in the 1800's, still standing downtown and still in use...we also toured an old homestead that My Old Kentucky Home State Park (& the song) was named after. Ms. Renee' still needs to see some of those Charleston, SC plantations but this was pretty darn close! So, suffice to say we truly enjoyed our stay in Bardstown Kentucky.

St. Louis, MO - City of the Arch
Feeling a bit rested and rejuvenated we headed Northwest to St. Louis, MO. This is when we crossed over into the tornado threshold, though we didn't realize it at the time. But from St. Louis on for a couple of weeks to come we had tornadoes on our rear. So, St. Louis. Ah, St. Louis...fun, fun, fun. As always it was great seeing the folks at the Center For Spiritual Living. We were guest musicians at the morning service and then gave a concert after lunch following service. Instead of eating lunch however, Renee & I visited with a few folks sharing similar and cool visions. Paul Klein was one of those people. Paul recently started a record label for New Thought called AWANT (Ancient Wisdom and New Thought www.awantonline.com) it's a record label and more! I believe in and share the mission of AWANT, to bring the message of New Thought through Contemporary Spiritual music to the forefront, thereby changing lives. When Renee & I and our friend Lori a fellow singer/songwriter sat and talked to Paul as well as Roy Fisher of Global Center For Contemporary Spiritual Music & Art, the energy in the room was tangible! It was overwhelmingly exciting as we brainstormed and shared ideas for the future. I am still reeling from the conversation and the vision is clear of the inevitable explosion of New Thought music to come.
Whether you are a singer/songwriter with a positive message in your songs or a listener who would like to peruse an online catalogue of such musicians check out AWANT.

In Route to Milwaukee
Sunday night came and we headed for Milwaukee with several tornadoes on the horizon. We didn't know that however, we didn't actually see them. So, there we were just driving along, singing a song (sorry I was channeling the Partridge family for a second). Anyway, the wind and rain became so severe that we had to stop and find a hotel room way before we made it to Milwaukee. The next morning we read in the paper about all of the Tornadoes that had happened just west of us as we were driving the night before...yikes! Feeling rested and grateful that something told us to stop for the night we drove on in to Milwaukee. My good friend Lisa had just gotten married and was off on her honeymoon. Even though we missed seeing her and her new hubby, we enjoyed staying at their love nest and loving on the dogs and cats. Max was very happy to see her friends and have some Bob & Molly play time. Bob & Molly enjoyed us too I?m pretty sure. For example Renee' woke from a nap one day to find Bob's 100 plus lb Golden Retriever body stretched out full bed length beside her with his head on the pillow next to hers...snoring...wish Kodak had captured that!

Madison, WI - Beauty in spite of the tornadoes!
Then it was on to one of my favorite cities and therefore one of my favorite stops on this tour, Madison, WI. I actually had the opportunity to experience a little of Madison this visit. What a great city, three beautiful lakes and lots of parks together with culture and diversity and warm friendly people! We had the pleasure of hanging out for lunch, coffee and lots of good conversation with 2 such wonderful people on Sunday before we left...thank you CJ & Geri! Did I mention I loved it!? I loved college but I haven't really wanted to go back to being a college student again, that is until I took a look at Wisconsin State University in good ole Madison. Man, it's beautiful and right on the lake. All you high school students owe it to yourself to at least check it out before deciding which college or university you will call home.


Madison...ahhhhhhhh...love Madison. You know a place is special if you have only seen it through kind of crappy weather and yet you have nothing but wonderful thoughts of the place. Such is the case with Madison. I've been there three times now and every single time, it just so happens, I've been there during rainy and cold weather. But also every single time, I've had a wonderful time.

The tornadoes definitely went along for the ride into Madison. At the end of my concert people were standing around talking, people were buying CDs and I was signing CDs. Then, "Excuse me, I'm not from here, what is that noise?" I said. The reply that came was "Hmm, that is the tornado siren and sense it's not going off we better listen to the radio to see if we need to seek shelter." "WHAT!!!!" Sure enough, Dane County (the very county we were standing in) was having tornado sightings and they expected that they might touch down in town or on the outskirts. Everyone in Dane County was being encouraged to in fact seek shelter. The crowd quickly dispersed and we loaded up and headed for the hotel while tuning into the local AM station for the latest. Guess what, the "latest" was that there were 2 tornadoes, 1 that was heading south and could possibly touch down in the center of Madison on it?s way and another that was heading off to the northeast. Unfortunately we were in the center of Madison and going northeast at the time. They said the most severe one at that moment was expected to touch down near Sun Valley. Hmm...guess where we were heading? Yep, just a few miles from Sun Valley to our hotel. At that point we turned off the radio and went for it. We were happy to wake to see 4 walls still surrounding us the next morning. One more tornado story to come but first, in route to Hot Springs, AR for crystal mining.

Synchronicity in Bloomington, IL
We're driving along and the phone rings. Before I tell you about the conversation, I also want to tell you that a few weeks prior I was talking to Renee about my friend Becca. I was saying that I missed her and that she & I hadn't spoken since last spring when I was traveling through the same part of the country and she called out of the blue. So, back to driving through Illinois...Here we are driving along, we had just looked at the atlas and said we would stop around Bloomington a couple hours away and have dinner. So, like I said...phone rings...guess who?.yep, my friend Becca. Now remember she & I haven't talked since last year, at which time she was living a couple hours from me in NC. I said, "So, what's up? Where are you living these days?". For some reason I just had a feeling she had moved even though she had lived in NC/SC area for roughly the last 10 years or more. She said she had decided to move back to IL. "What part", I asked. "Bloomington", she said. I said, "Want to have dinner?". "Huh? Sure" was what I got. I told her where we were and reminded her that I believe in synchronicity even if she still doesn't. What a trip, all of the sudden I'm hanging out with my friend Becca in Bloomington, IL...what fun! On to AR.

Digging for crystals, hot springs bathing and R & R with friends
Hot Springs, AR
We rolled into our campsite at Lake Ouachita State Park around 1am. Our good friends Jordan and Elizabeth were waiting there to greet us...yay...hee hee!

Elizabeth & Renee were about to have birthdays and Elizabeth was feeling sweet and generous as usual the next day, so she treated us all to a day at the spa!!!! We went to the Hot Springs Bath House and had the "mineral bath, massage, get treated like royalty" package. Oh my God! It was incredible. Thank you Elizabeth (Princess Sunshine Smiles A lot...Elizabeth's alias given her by Her Holiness Floats A lot - Renee)!!!!!

Following your instincts
As we drove into town from the State Park that day to go to the bath house, I saw a bright yellow building that housed a tiny health food store. I said to the rest of the crew, "I want to go in there, maybe after our bath house treatment." Then I dismissed the thought. Hours later we were heading back out of town. We were all feeling incredible after our royal treatment but we were also hungry and excited to get back to the campsite and cook dinner. Just then we passed by the little yellow health food store again. As we passed the building I said, "Oh, I really wanted to go in there." I pleaded with the hungry bunch until they agreed to make a U-turn and we went to check it out. It was one of those times that I felt I was supposed to go in some place even though I didn't know why. Soon I knew why. We picked up a couple of necessities and were checking out when we met the owner. One comment led to another and the next thing you know she was reading my eyes. Yes, reading my eyes. I think it's technically called reading one's cornea but in any case I was looking at this lady who was looking back with a flashlight in my eyes. She started telling me how I felt and she was right...big time. Then she did the same for Renee, Jordan & Elizabeth. She said some things I needed to hear on a physical and spiritual level and I was changed by the experience. So, the next time you have one of those gut feelings even if you can't explain it (especially if you can't explain it) just do it...go into a store or start a conversation with a stranger or drive a different way home from work. Whatever it is that you are feeling led to do, do it! Because trust me, there's always a reason.

Down a long dirt road to the crystal mines!
Just when I thought our time in Hot Springs couldn't get any better, it did!
We went to the crystal mines and went digging for crystals and boy did we find some. Ok, imagine driving down a very long winding country dirt road until finally, finally, finally you see a clearing with the mountains all around you. At the edge of the clearing surrounded by trees and mountains you see a little house with a little front yard filled with crystals for sale. Then past the little house and yard you see a huge area with piles and piles of red dirt. "How you girls doin??" we hear from the front porch. The greeting from one of the three men kicked back in their chairs in the shade from the hot Arkansas sun. We told them we wanted to dig for crystals. "We got 'em" he says. "See those piles of dirt? They're in there. That'll be $10 each, dig as long as you want, take home all you find...have fun."

We paid the man our money and parked the van in the only shade on the hill. Armed with our dollar store digging utensils and buckets we headed for the dirt piles. At first I thought, "Yeah right, like we're going to really find crystals in these piles of dirt." Find 'em?!?! We didn't have enough buckets or bags to carry them all. At first the plan was to dig a while and then carry your dirt clods down to the water hose and see if you had something. Then we decided that it was obvious we had a lot of somethings so we started packing up everything we could get our hands on from obvious and amazing crystal clusters big and small to dirt clods that could possibly have crystals inside. We loaded down the van with a least 100 pounds of crystals and I'm not even kidding. I was in heaven. I still am.

Back at the campsite we had the best fun unearthing the hidden treasures. Out of 12 "dirt clods" only 1 turned out to actually be a dirt clod and the other 11 were filled with huge crystal clusters, small crystal cities or great crystal points for making necklaces etc. It's so much fun. The more you clean off the mud the more you say, "Oh my, oh My OH MY!" Who knows, Renee and I and Jordan and Elizabeth may start a sideline of a crystal booth at festivals or something :-)...so much fun. In hind sight however, I think it would be a better idea to dig the first day and then follow it up with the hot springs bath because...can you say ouch...sore digging muscles...but worth it.

Jordan and Elizabeth had to leave earlier than us Friday morning and we were to meet up with them that night in Tupelo at our friends Star's coffeehouse. Well, Renee & I started cleaning our treasures (the crystals) and the next thing you know we had been at it for hours. We became hungry but we didn't stop. We became thirsty but we didn't stop. The rains started to drizzle down but we didn't stop. The thunderstorm began to crash down but, you guessed it, we didn't stop. Finally at 4pm when we had planned to leave at 12 or 1pm we realized we HAD to stop if we were going to make it to Tupelo. So, we said thank you to our beautiful little campsite on the lake, where by the way we had sat the night before and watched the lunar eclipse, then we headed to Tupelo.

A few hours into our drive we began to feel a little deja-vu. The winds started kicking us around pretty severely but this time add in the fact that the rain was coming down so fast we could barely see the road and so much of it was on the road that we could barely feel the road beneath us. We stopped at a truck stop to inquire about the weather and we overheard a trucker talking about a tornado grabbing a tractor-trailer off the road and tossing it in the air and blowing it up just outside of Little Rock on interstate 30. Did I mention that we had just come from there and that this happened within an hour of us passing through on 30? So, we started thinking that maybe, just maybe it would be in our best interest to find a hotel room for the night and not forge ahead to Tupelo. That decision was firmed up when we saw on the TV that in addition to the tornado warnings for the area we were in, there was also flash flood warnings for the night.

We drove on 12 miles to the nearest hotel. That was quite possibly the longest 12 miles of my life. I was stressed but trying not to show it. Renee was stressed and definitely couldn't hide it. I started asking her questions about her CD that she is working on to try and distract her. It worked for about 9 miles and then as the rain came harder and the wind knocked us back and forth pretty intensely, an uncomfortable silence came over us. As Renee' began to scream "We're gonna die, die, die, we're gonna die!"...just kidding she wasn't quite that freaked or at least she wasn't showing it that much. Then shortly thank God we saw that beautiful Red Roof Inn:-).

The adventure wasn't quite over however. We got our things and Max into the hotel just as the tornado that was on our rear blew through not far away. I'm sure of it because the repercussions our way were in the form of trees bending over to touch the ground and then finally the power going out in the hotel. So, there we stood in the hotel room in the complete and utter darkness. I'm not sure why we felt that a flashlight would be of comfort at that particular moment and I'm also not sure why we thought it was a good idea to run out in the rain, wind, thunder and lightening to the van to get it but I did. Whew! Again we woke happily to find the walls still standing around us.

Birth place of the King
We rolled on into to Tupelo the next day just after noon and consumed all the fun we could in our short amount of time. We LOVE Tupelo! But more specifically, we love; Star, Laura Leigh, Lane, and our other Tupelo favorites! What a magical time, both times in Tupelo have been magic. Last year on the same exact day I played my first Mocha & Music concert there at Starting Over Coffee House and have been looking forward to a repeat visit ever since. My crystal sister Star was very excited to dip into our bucket o crystals from our dig and see what all we found. It was great catching up with Laura Leigh, Lane and some of the other folks we met last year as well as meeting some great new folks. Folks like the very talented Linda who makes the most beautiful Gourd Art and who was so kind and generous as to trade one of her priceless creations for one of my flutes. It was a night of magical connections, thank you one and all and thank you specifically Laura Leigh and Star for setting the atmosphere and the stage for a great night, thank you! (lessed e ;-)

Huntsville again
I have given up what was once all too familiar of a weekend occurrence. I no longer make it a habit of performing on Sat. night until 1 AM only to have to be at a church appearance the next morning on 3 hours sleep. This weekend however was a special circumstance. A couple of years ago at the Asilomar conference in California I walked into the main hall and heard a minister speak by the name of Rev. David Leonard. He blew my heart wide open! This man was such a "heart space" speaker. He was so real, so filled with love for others, for himself, and for life that I couldn't help but be blown open. Well, since that time I have been looking forward to performing at his church and this was the day. So, to go to David Leonard's church I was happy to drive 3 hours on 2 and 1/2 hours sleep Sunday morning. Man was it worth it! I cried the whole service. Just being around him I felt like the Grinch when his heart was growing several sizes (not that I identify with the Grinch just the heart growing part).

Then we finished off the tour right where it began, there in Huntsville with lunch and coffee with our good friend Dale and his son Jason. By the way, this guy is amazing! When we started the tour at the Unity church he listened to a song that Renee is recording on her CD and then accompanied her on it the next morning. Then there we were 3 weeks later and he had not heard or played it since and he accompanied her again even better than the first time, each time totally by memory. I'm feeling pretty sure that these two have some work to do together in the future, great chemistry.




May 2003 - Back in the studio...Renee's turn
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After a brief overnight hello with my friend Ruth in Atlanta we were up the road to Asheville and back at the Rosser Studio. Chris Rosser is a genius and an amazing musician, producer and engineer. He is playing everything from drums, to electric guitar, to acoustic guitar, to bass, piano and more. Renee's CD is going so well. As it's coming together we are dubbing it the Eclectic Spiritual album. It has some covers, so originals and a whole lot of love and passion. Wow, that girl can sing! I'm sure there will be a Blues CD in her future but this one showcases the other side of that talented Gemini. Check out her new website at www.reneeleboa.com.
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Campout VA - Women's Music Festival!!!
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We left the studio on Thursday night around 11pm and drove down the mountain to sleep in our own bed and see the cats, if only for 1 night. We rolled in around 1am; kissed the cats, unloaded the van, put on a load of laundry and fell in the bed. Friday morning my long lost nephew Robert from Alaska (on his way to Texas) stopped by North Carolina for breakfast, coffee and a quick visit. We hugged goodbye, finished the laundry, repacked the van and we were off to Virginia.

Well, I did it again...I took a Non-Camper camping...but it turned out good for all involved I think. Renee is a big time camper like myself, our friend Nora on the other hand...well, let's just say I carried her a few times so her feet wouldn't get muddy. In all fairness, that non-camping friend of ours did really well considering it was extremely wet and muddy at the festival and considering it rained on her tent.

We all had such a great time. Now that's a true testament for the festival in my opinion, the fact that it rained all weekend and we still had a great time! These gals at Campout do it up right. So, if you are one of those folks out there wondering if you should have gone...the answer is yes. The good news is you can start planning now for next Memorial Day weekend. We plan a return visit. Their website is www.campoutva.com
Some of the many performers including yours truly at this year's festival included:
Tret Fure, CommonBond, Jamie Anderson, Wishing Chair, Laura Blackley, an all female African American Reggae band named Infinite, an a cappella choir from New Jersey called Olympia's Daughter's and an awesome Irish Duo called Zrazy. There were lots of amazing vendors there but just a few of my favorites included: the folks from the Twin Oaks Community selling their hammocks (www.twinoaks.com), a very talented jeweler named Kim of KB Designs (www.kbdesigns.org) and my absolute favorite...a jeweler named K. Robins (www.krobinsdesings.com).

Now there's a story here...The K. Robins story
I was given a silver necklace years ago and I was told it was an original design but I never knew where it came from or how to find the artist. I have worn this necklace more than I've ever worn any necklace and in the last several years I have hardly worn anything else. I have realized lately just how appropriate it has been for me in the last couple of years to be wearing this necklace. I have experienced a great deal of change in my life in the last 3 years and the necklace I am referring to is a Kali Ma pendant. Kali Ma is the Hindu Goddess of transformation. So, given the fact that I love the necklace so much and the fact that it represents change (among other things) I decided that I wanted a sketch of the necklace inside the CD booklet of "Change Is Good". So, Renee (the multi-talented woman that she is) sketched an exact replica of my necklace and we had it scanned in for the booklet.

So, here's where the coolest part of the story comes into play. Here we were at Campout VA and I saw my necklace and lots of other really great necklaces in this vendor's booth. I said "Oh my god, you guys have my necklace. Can you tell me who the artist is that designed this?" The lady I was speaking to simply pointed to the woman standing next to her who was looking at me and smiling. You would have thought I just met Santa Claus, I was elated. It meant so much to me to meet the person who had designed this necklace that I loved so much and had worn for years. I explained to her that I had used a sketch of her design in my new CD and that I hope she saw that as a compliment and not a rip off because had I of known who she was I would have given her credit.

Sometimes, I think the Universe definitely has a sense of humor too because K and I had been in a very intimate yoga class earlier that day of only a few people. She was seated right in front of me and she said she had noticed my necklace and almost mentioned it but didn't. Then just a few hours later I wandered over to her booth by accident and asked who she was. Go visit www.krobinsdesigns.com and tell all your friends to do the same for all your shopping and self-adorning needs K is great and so is her work.

Destined to meet
It wasn't just K. that I feel I was destined to meet this weekend. I have been hearing about singer/songwriter Jamie Anderson from Durham, NC for years and even though we have been crossing paths incessantly we met for the first time at Campout and became instant friends. I feel pretty sure that a double bill show is in our future, least I hope so. (www.jamieanderson.com)

Asilomar 2002
Renee & I met at Asilomar, a spiritual conference in Pacific Grove, CA near Monterey in July of 2001. So, this year as we performed at that same conference again it was extra fun because it was also our 1 year anniversary. Asilomar is such a special place. Here you are with literally hundreds of like-minded individuals, hanging out and pontificating the meaning of life and our part in it one minute and laughing hysterically at the talent show the next. It was so great to see all of you again this year and meet so many new friends as well.

From Asilomar we headed north.
We drove up to Ashland Oregon for a couple of shows and over to the tip top of California. There was a forest fire on the small road we had chosen to get us from point A to point B and we spent several hours hoping that the smoke burning our eyes was the only sign of the fire we were going to witness first hand. It would have taken us another day to backtrack so we forged on, again hoping that the rangers and such wouldn't be allowing us on that road if the fire was really that close. Whew, it was great to finally leave the smoke behind.

Shortly after we cleared the smoke, I had my "Grand Canyon Moment". Like Renee, when she saw the Grand Canyon, I was almost speech less when we saw this particular grove of Red Woods in Northern California. All that I could get out of my mouth was "Stop the car, stop the car, stop the car!" I jumped out, ran down into the forest and the huge ferns, cool forest floor and those gigantic trees seemed to hug me with a welcome. I had a moment, to say the least. It was so beautiful! I never wanted to leave. But we had to move on.

We made our way down the coast with both of us seeing that part of California for the first time. Ahhh Mendicino, such a cute little ocean town. We loved it! Then we found a State Park in another grove of Red Woods just south of Mendicino and set up camp for a few days.

Typically Renee, Max & I are pretty spoiled campers. We really prefer a place with a hot shower. But this time the beauty of the place won out. It was worth forgoing the hot shower for a couple of days to be able to camp in this incredible place. Our friend Devra in Santa Rosa might have thought otherwise about it being "worth it" as we rolled in to her place all "Stank up". Our gracious hostess didn't really seem to mind and we had so much fun! We love Santa Rosa!!!! My shows at Coffee Catz & A'Roma Roasters were both perfect nights! Thank you to everyone who helped spread the word and who came out and joined me.

Another little twist of Synchronicity
Our friend Gail from Charlotte was visiting her sister in Sacramento while we were there. She called us and asked if we would like to stay at her sister's house with them. We thought we were pulling up to bunk on a friend's sister's couch so we could spend some time with a friend. We had no idea that we were pulling up to one of the most unbelievable houses we had ever seen. This house was built at an old rock quarry. The back yard was a huge rock with a drop off into what was once part of the quarry. The huge rock of a back yard had a Jacuzzi, a beautiful wooden patio and gardens through out. It was like a resort out there. They were so sweet, they had us all fixed up with our own room and food, food and more food. What a fun time! Thanks guys!!!

Nevada City
Then it was on to Nevada City for a church service, lunch and a stroll of the town before heading back to the Bay area.

Thank you to Rev. Jaine Ryder for opening up your home to us while you were away. We loved performing at the Concord church. After a gig at a great tea house in Berkley called A Cup A Tea, it was time to head south for a show in Morro Bay.

$37 not $370...yikes!
We stopped at a little gas station just outside of Concord and I went in to pay. I had pumped $37 dollars worth of gas and as the clerk was running my card for the charges she began to strike up a conversation. She said, "Oh, North Carolina I see my sister used to leave in North Carolina. She lived in a little place called Winston-Salem, have you heard of it?" So, the conversation began. Then my check card slip printed and instead of here you are I heard...Oh my, oh my, oh, I've really messed up!!" She wouldn't give my card back or the receipt so that I could see what was going on she just kept saying "Oh my" and "It's ok, it's ok, I can fix this, oh my". Finally, almost in tears she said "I am so sorry, I don't work here. I'm only filling in for a couple of hours while the owner runs a few errands. He should be back in about an hour and 45 minutes and I'm sure he can fix this. She finally handed me my card and a receipt that read $370 for gasoline. Ahhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, let me paint the picture a little more for you. Renee and I use the check card for everything. We hadn't been to the bank to cash any of the checks we had acquired over the last several weeks because we still had $380 or so in the bank and we could get our food, gas and hotels with that. We had spent our cash reserve but were not concerned since all we had to do was pop into an ATM whenever we needed more. So, yes that means we now had about $10 in the bank and it was Friday afternoon with no time to get to a bank and no time to wait for the owner or we would miss my show in Morro Bay and I am not exaggerating when I say that we had $3 in cash on us plus some quarters. The woman kept apologizing and assuring me that once the owner returned he would fix everything. We decided we had to leave in order to make my show so we took off for a several hour drive with a full tank of gas, some snacks and $3 and some change. I called the store 2 hours later and talked with the manager. He assured me that it had been handled but informed me that unfortunately the charges would not reverse until the computers changed over at midnight.

You know, it's one thing to say that you trust the Universe to meet your needs and that things happen for a reason, blah, blah, blah. Well, I had to put my $3 where my mouth was and travel on. It may not seem like a big deal but it was a lesson for me that day of letting go and trusting. And what do you know, everything worked out just fine:-)

We finished up the trip with our good friends at Sierre Madre and then made our way back across the country.

Where to start? How about with the fact that with our busy schedule Renee & I did not take the time to have the AC fixed in the van before we departed for the desert! During the summer! In a heatwave!!! We said "Ah, we'll fix it on the road somewhere, how bad could it be?" Uh huh, bad idea. Well, anyway we headed out for Chattanooga, TN and started the tour with a visit to my friend Lynn's, a concert, and a Sunday morning service at the Unity Church in Chattanooga. Visited with our friends met some cool new folks (like fellow singer/songwriter Tom Kimmel www.tomkimmel.com) and off we went to New Mexico!!!!!


Concert at the Good Life Inn
What an incredible night! What an incredible concert experience! The stars were out, the wind was cool, but not to cool, it was perfect! I was set up outside, behind the Good Life Inn just south of Cloudcroft in High Rolls, NM (www.goodlifeinn.com). Thanks to Guillian & Melise at the Inn, those folks on the Alamogordo House Concert list and several friends from surrounding cities (Debbie & Lisa for traveling all the way from Las Cruces and to those of you from Albuquerque and my wandering friend Karen from NC...woo hoo). Thanks to you all who filled up the chairs and my heart that night. That was probably my favorite concert of all times and if not it is definitely a top 3!

As the sun set over the pine trees and the San Andres Mtns, the sky began to fill with stars. It was then that my Native American flute seemed to come to life more than ever before with the energy of the land and of all the passionate, life savoring souls that have gone before. We laughed, some cried (including me) and we ended the night with a flute song and group visioning for rain for the beautiful but thirsty mountains and valleys of Southeast New Mexico. What a way to start an almost 6 week long tour, I was high on life for days!

The Scenic Route
To say we took the scenic route from Cloudcroft to Flagstaff would be a joking understatement. Basically we looked at the map and said "Look, this little tiny road will take us through the most out of the way, never before heard of places, let's go that way and so we did. I mean come on "Pie Town"! We had to go that way just to say we drove through a place called Pie Town! Not to mention that detour through the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest, oh my God! Yes, I highly recommend the scenic route, especially that one.

Getting out of the way for the magic of life to appear
It is really something to watch the road rise up to meet you when you get out of your own way and let it. We asked the church that I was to perform at in Flagstaff if the provided lodging and they said they might be able to find us a church member to stay with and that they would call us back. Well, they called back and gave us directions to the minister's house where we thought we were going to be guests for the night. Upon arrival we learned that we had a place to stay alright, they had arranged for us to stay in a beautiful townhouse for the evening. A big, wonderful, fully furnished townhouse. We kicked back like Divas and said thank you God!

Synchronicity
The minister told us that the next day was a big one for her because she was going to be telling her congregation that she had taken a job in California and would be moving. She loved the people at her Flagstaff church so much and this was a hard decision for her. We talked about the fact that "change" isn't always popular or easy but that we each have to follow our heart and our path and make decisions that support us. She asked if I had a song that would support this potentially challenging day. It was a "Change Is Good" kind of morning :-)

Grand Canyon
On from Flagstaff to the big hole. Yes, the "Big Hole". That's what Renee kept calling the Grand Canyon! She didn't want to be disappointed, so in case the Grand Canyon was really not as amazing as people say she wouldn't be too let down if she called it the "Big Hole". Well, needless to say she was not disappointed. We had to pull over immediately upon first view of the canyon so we could have a moment and so Renee could cry (my time comes later with a similar reaction to the Red Woods in CA). It was so incredibly beautiful and breathtaking but also HOT! Did I mention no AC? I should mention that again at this point cause it was HOT!!! But we loved it.

Sushi at the Grand Canyon
Soon it was time to set up camp. I set up the tent and Renee began making dinner. By the way, we eat good when we camp, did I mention that. Renee started rolling the sushi and we were joking around saying "Yeah, just like at the Japanese Sushi Bar here we go." Just then we hear Japanese being spoken. It was a surreal moment because camped right beside us were a half a dozen Japanese guys on some kind of Trek America tour. So, we enjoyed our sushi dinner in true ambience!

The Jerome Adventure
Our plan was to head off to Sedona from the Grand Canyon but there was a forest fire threat and the road between the two was closed. So, instead of driving south and then backtracking around and back north to Sedona we decided to visit the old hippie town of Jerome. I had heard so much about Jerome and how it was founded by a bunch of hippie folks years ago and how it was a must see if we were in the area. So STRAIGHT UP A MTN. to Jerome we went. About half way up the van started getting less and less happy by the mile. By the time we reached the top we were sure something wasn't right. Finally we figured out that we had a transmission leak and were in desperate need of transmission fluid. Well, Jerome is a tiny town and they do not have a hardware store, convenience store or any type of transmission fluid carrying kind of store. So instead of the original plan of taking Alt. 89/the scenic route, we had to turn around and coast back down the mtn. Waiting for us at the bottom was a gas station and transmission fluid! We filled her up and headed on. Sounds really simple huh, bet you thought we are so used to the Universe rising up to take care of us that we didn't freak out a second huh? Right! We were totally freaked out for a few minutes but we reminded each other of the many, many times that we have been well provided for and all of the times that things have looked hopeless only to reveal perfection in the moment. Ahh, it's so good to have a partner who reminds you of the truth and for whom you can do the same.

Next...110 degrees at 7am

So, gassed up, transmission fluid topped off, and we were back on the road, destination Phoenix for the night. As we headed south a sky full of those massive desert thunderclouds appeared and blackened the sky. There was an awesome and eerie feeling in the air. We smelled the rain coming and thought, well we need to eat, let's go for some Mexican food and let the storm pass. So we cruised on in to downtown Clarksdale, AZ and found a great restaurant and waited out the storm. By the time we reached our hotel in Phoenix that night it was around midnight and still scorching. We left for CA the next morning at 7am to miss the heat yeah right it was 110 at 7am oh and just an update no, the AC had not been fixed yet at that point!!!!! We were a sight, let me just say. Me, Renee, and Max with our ice cold and wet "do-rags" on our heads. We were literally soaking bandanas in ice water and then wrapping them directly on our heads (Max too). At this point we realized that deciding to get the AC fixed on the road was a poor plan but it was too late, we had a lot of ground to cover to get to CA on time for our other shows (oh and of course to get all of our site seeing in).

~~~Indio, CA meant heat stroke~~~
We topped a hill a few hours later and I could see that we were heading down into a valley. I said to Renee, "OK, so you are from here, is it cooler or hotter in the valley?". Minutes later, I had my answer first hand. The temperature escalated 10 degrees in a matter of minutes. I started feeling really strange. I thought to myself, "I had better get us a hotel room for Max & Renee's sake because I don't want them getting heat stroke, yeah, I'm fine but Max & Renee probably can't handle it." Well, that's the last thing I remember until the next day. I don't remember getting off at the exit, I don't remember finding the hotel or checking us into it, I definitely don't remember the conversations that people say I had with them on the phone that night. I am relatively sure that we had heat stroke. We took cold showers and slept until 4:30 am the next morning when we took off for Los Angeles. However, we had to pry the melted coffee cups off the dash first.

Los Angeles...first stop condo...second stop AC doctor!

We had been talking to Mom Joelle (Renee's Mom) as we made our trek cross country. What we didn't know is that she had been relaying our A/C (or lack of) trauma to a friend. This angel of a friend had arranged an A/C doctor for the van by the time we arrived and took care of fixing it for us. We said a huge Thank You on that one!

~~~~Our Lodging~~~~
I could probably write a book just on synchronistic free lodging and lodging angels. So many times on the road we've had people offer us their homes to stay in because they were out of town or were moving out but hadn't quite moved out yet. Such was the case, sort of, with our lodging in CA for this trip. Our friends Sue & Phil had moved and were selling Phil's condo. The condo was in the process of being purchased so it was not being shown but technically it was still Phil's. So, they let us stay in his semi furnished, really awesome, conveniently located condo in Los Angeles!!!! Ok!

Temecula
After arriving in the LA area, I had a show and then we headed south to Temecula. This is where I heard an amazing talk. I had been to the Temecula Church before and always love hearing Rev. Pat speak and it's always amazing but this time Rev. Pat was out of town and Renee & I did the service. So, the amazing talk I am referring to was from my honey. Renee blew me away! She gave an incredible talk and I shared my music. What a day, a sign of things to come, much more of this I am sure! Lunch with Sue & Phil and we were off to Asilomar!

Attack of the killer ducks or Alligators, which scares you?

Well, we finally reached Sam Houston Jones State Park and man that place is beautiful! There were bald cypress trees everywhere sprouting up out of the swampy Louisiana waters and Spanish moss hanging from the trees. It was beautiful even in the dark. Oh and it was dark by the way, by the time we arrived it was after midnight. We set up camp in the dark (something I've gotten pretty good at but do not recommend). Then we turned in for the night, excited to see this place in the daylight the next morning.

Then about 4am, not quite daylight, I heard a strange noise I had never heard before coming from my dog Max. She was doing this grunting thing. I looked over at her and she was standing up on her back legs and looking out the tent window. Then as she came back down on all fours she was grunting by my head. I sat up and shined the flashlight out the tent window and into the water (which by the way was only about 20 feet from the tent). What did I see? EYES! Yes, eyes! I saw glowing eyes looking back at me from the water. Jordan rolled over at that point and asked what I was doing. I said, "I'm looking out there at eyes looking back at me from the water."

She spent the next few minutes trying to convince me that what I was seeing was a bullfrog. I spent the next few minutes reminding her that I am a country girl and I know a bullfrog when I see one and that wasn't it! Then as the eyes slowly began gliding across the water in front of us and slower still sunk down into the water and back up again Jordan said "Hmm, you might be right." Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

The next part I can't really explain since I am not really sure who took over my body, unless maybe I was hoping that Jordan was right and I wanted to see for sure. So I got out to investigate. Yes, out of the tent and walked closer to the water for a better look. I don't know. I don't know I tell you. I don't know what I was thinking. I guess I was trying to convince myself that maybe it was a bullfrog or the moon, who knows. All I know is I was shining the flashlight at the water when I saw more than the original pair of glowing eyes staring back at me from the water. Jordan says I exaggerate the number of eyes, and therefore the number of alligators, that were sizing us up but I ask you, does it really matter how many there were? Didn't think so.

Jordan says, "You know, you might be pissing them off with that flashlight." "Click" the light was off and I walked back in the dark to the tent, zipped the door shut, said a little prayer and waited for the morning.

The next day Max & I walked down to the front gate to pay the folks for our campsite and the lady says to me, "Better watch out for your little dog, we got gators round here and they like to eat dogs." Max wasn't the only one yelping at that tidbit of info.

When animals attack!
No, this is not another alligator story but rather we are going to talk about Jordan's frightening animal attack moment now. So, here we are at the campground. I am enjoying the swamp now that it's daytime and I can see my way to the van if I need to run for it.

There I am sitting in my camping chair reading a good book and I her laughter coming from the bathhouse. I look over my shoulder and see Jordan shooing at some geese. I kind of smile and wave at her and resume reading. Little did I know that these were geese of the Anti-Christ! They literally attacked Jordan and bit her, beaked her, bit her, you know whatever. In my defense, it's not often that you see killer geese so I didn't know my friend was feeling as though her life was in danger as I waved and continued reading. In her defense, I may pick on her about being afraid of something that quakes, but I saw these same geese in action later. A Mom, Dad and two children family unit strolled down the street saying, "Oh look, geese" just before they A-C geese chased them running and screaming down the road. Yes, the geese were hostile but when Jordan gives me a hard time about being afraid of THOSE alligators that night I have to ask....alligators? geese? hmm? which terrifies you? (I know Jordan "I'm so funny" huh)

So we continue on with my first visit to New Orleans!

Here I was driving through New Orleans for the first time. Thanks to Jordan we found a room at this cool B & B within walking distance from my show and the French Quarter. Jordan was a New Orleans veteran so she showed me a few "Must Sees". It was definitely a site to see but this was mid week at 10pm and it was still insane with lots of loud drunk people. I can't even imagine Marde Gras (hmm is that how you spell that? see I can't even imagine how to spell it let alone a weekend of it). Still I am glad to say that I've at least been now. The daytime version was much more my style. It was reminiscent of Charleston with the open air market but an added ambient feature was the Dixieland Jazz band playing on one corner and the Zydeco band playing on the next..that was cool! Oh and of course we can't leave out what a site it was to see a steamboat cruising down the Mississippi right in front of us or my favorite part...hot, fresh pralines. That's enough to make me do a detour through New Orlean every time...fresh, hot pralines!!!!!

After leaving Dallas I headed on south to Houston and met Jordan at the airport.

Then it happened again, I picked a random hotel because I thought maybe it was at least on the right side of Houston and could possibly be close to the church that I was playing that next day. Turns out it was right around the corner, I love how that seems to happen a lot. The concert was lots of fun and we had a blast talking to our new friends who are part of the teen group at the church. Several of them performed on my break at the concert and I was extremely impressed! Jordan was impressed as well but her favorite part was when one of the girls said, "Jordan you're so cool, how do you make your hair do that?". Then in the same breath another one said "Christy reminds me of my Mom." I was flattered that she thought I reminded her of her Mom, Jordan just likes to try and get a rise out of me over the fact that I am a "couple" of years older than her. Older and wiser:-)

We had a great time with Rev. Jesse Jennings & the Creative Life Church folks! I have been enjoying reading Rev. Jesse Jennings' articles in the Science Of Mind magazine for a while now, so meeting him and hearing him speak was a treat for me to say the least. This was a huge chunk of "Spiritual Food" for the soul for me on this trip! Thank you! I can't wait for a return visit.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~So Where Is Port Arthur anyway?~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well it ain't in Louisiana I can tell you that! I know because I lost a bet over it and now I owe Jordan a pancake breakfast. Here's how it came up. We left Houston and headed south. We found a State Park on the map and said "Yep, let's go there." We drove and drove and drove until finally there it was the entrance to the park. I'm driving in and the first sign I see says, "Don't aggravate the alligators!" "You've gotta be kidding me. Aggravate 'em, I don't even want to see them" I said.

I told Jordan, "Well, go pee if you've got to, cause I agree with Max, we're not staying here!" We hit the bathroom, except Max she saw the sign and crossed her puppy legs and said "No thanks Mom, I'm fine right here in the van". So we were back to the drawing board to figure out where exactly we were going to spend a few days off before we had to be in New Orleans.

The next closest thing that was sort of on the way was Sam Houston Jones State Park in Louisiana near Lake Charles. Jordan and I started talking about how it was a shame we wouldn't be going through Port Arthur in the day time because we were pretty sure there was a Janis Joplin museum there and how cool that would be. From there the conversation turned to a debate over whether or not Port Arthur was in Texas or Louisiana. I swore it was Louisiana and with a cocky tone I might add I bet her on it. Needless to say she was full of herself when we finally reached Port Arthur and we were still in Texas. I'll probably never hear the end of it, at least not until I cook her that pancake breakfast.

In my business of performing music and booking my own shows I have learned that things definitely go much smoother when I go where I feel led, ie: book the shows that "feel" right. This particular tour started in Tupelo, MS on May 17th, ahhh birthplace of Elvis what's not to love! I knew from the moment that I booked this show, I was supposed to be there. Everything just felt right and fell into place. The papers were contacting me and asking for interviews and CD reviews without the usual work that I put into trying to contact them (due in part to the good production of the series - thank you Laura Leigh). I showed up to a most amazing night and met such incredible people. One woman I met was a kindred Spirit. It was as if we knew each other in other lives and/or on a different plane and had not been in touch in this lifetime. We talked for hours making up for lost time telling each other what we had done with our lives and how we ended up where we were. I knew this was an important connection that would make a difference in my life and one that had already made a difference. I draw a lot of my strength from Native American beliefs such as the medicine of animals or what messages Spirit reveals to us through animals. Well, my new friend Star and I share these beliefs and I felt as though years worth of searching for answers were answered in our conversation. I am sure this was more than just a new found friend but also a sister spirit that I will share many more spirit talks over coffee with.

Another special "thank you" of course goes to Laura Leigh, the producer of the Mocha & Music series (www.mocha-and-music.com). What a great night, thank you! Oh and thank you for putting us up for the evening as well, Max loves Snickers! Until next time.

On to Huntsville, Al...You know, sometimes that urging of Spirit can be so strong that you just can't ignore it. Even when it feels hard, even when it feels scary, even when it feels crazy, the urge is there and we must follow it. In the fall of 2001 I contacted a church with regard to performing at their service during an upcoming tour. While the contact person was checking with her church she also recommended that I contact another church in the area that offered a coffeehouse concert series in addition to their Sunday morning services. This person contacted them on my behalf and then forwarded their response to me. They had visited my website per her request and had rendered a verdict of "No thanks, I don't think she is for us." Well, in the past when I have received "No Thanks" letters, I have said to myself "Oh well, guess I'm not supposed to be playing there." Then I write it off and move on but not this time. This time the urging was too strong. How could this be? How could it be that I am supposed to contact these people? Where was this urge coming from? Was it my ego? I had to check my motives for strongly feeling as though I needed to contact these people directly and insist that they at least hear my music before they say "No thanks".

After a bit of soul searching, I realized that it was indeed Spirit based and not ego based and that I was, for whatever reason, "supposed" to be at that church. So, I emailed the ministers directly and asked if I could at least mail them a package with a demo CD so they could make an informed decision. They agreed that they would listen but restated that they may still have the feeling of "No thanks" and have to decline. I told them I understood and would respect their decision. The ministers contacted me right away and said that they would love to book me for their concert and service. That night and morning in Huntsville were both so wonderful. I met some inspiring people and made some connections that are already proving mutually beneficial and I made some friends that I feel will be lifelong friendships (love you Dale & Shawn and Jason). Most importantly, I absolutely believe that I was indeed "supposed" to be there. Thank you Spirit and thank you Bert & Cristina!

Off to Graceland
Well, did I mention that Ms. Renee's birthday is in May? Yep, and were off to see the King for her birthday. We had a week off and decided we'd spend it in Memphis, TN in between shows celebrating her birthday. We took in as much Elvis as we could on this trip, from Tupelo to Memphis. We toured Sun Studios and stood right where Elvis and countless others have stood recording their songs (I had some major chills going on let me just say). We went down to Beal St. (We were "walking in Memphis, walking with my feet ten feet off of Beal"). We took in some blues at BB Kings place and then last but definitely not least we drove over to Graceland! Oh my God it was something. They have done a really impressive job maintaining the grandeur and class of that estate. It is truly worth the day and the money you spend to tour it. I have always been an Elvis fan since those childhood days of holding my guitar and singing in front of the mirror to my Elvis records, wanting to be him. But I have to say that even if you are not an Elvis fan (can't imagine) I don't see how you could help but enjoy Graceland.

Goodbye at the Greyhound station
Renee and I had such a wonderful time together in Memphis and on this trip in general. We work a lot and so far this year we have not had a great deal of quality time so it was really nice to have some time to ourselves to actually look each other in the eyes and have dinner and conversation for a change. I felt as though we had re-learned how to slow down and be in the moment and that we had fallen in love all over again. Then there we were saying goodbye at the Greyhound station as she caught a bus to take her home for a job she had committed to and I headed on south for the rest of the tour. I have to say I almost ran after the bus and begged her to ditch her responsibilities and stay with me. Well, ok so I did run after the bus but the driver wouldn’t stop for me. So, Max and I drove on to Shreveport and Renee took the long ride home, as she puts it "stopping in every tiny town from Memphis to Charlotte by way of Georgia" (that's not the most direct route in case you were wondering).

I had a brief hug layover with my friends Gwen, Stephanie and that adorable little Emerson (whom I've adopted, in my mind anyway, as another niece). Then I meandered on over to Dallas for another hug layover with my friends Chris & Holly. I always try and make these two places be "on the way" as often as I can so I can visit my friends.

Then it was on to meet up with Jordan in Texas...

Well, maybe I should have called this the "Ohio Turnpike" tour. It seems I went across upper Ohio a few times on this trip. I loved this tour soooooo much! I would like to thank every person that contributed to making it such a wonderful time. I also want to mention several people specifically. Let's start with my co-pilot for this trip. No, not just Max. Of course Max (my dog) was along as usual but I was referring to my friend Jordan. I was so excited when Jordan decided to take a few weeks off and be my travel companion for this trip. She really added a lot to my trip and I am grateful for the opportunity to rekindle our friendship.

We started out in Columbus, OH and then on to Cleveland. Ahhhhh the Barking Spider, such a great venue! Thank you David & Robert Childers and Eric Lovell for sharing a wonderful night. A few days later with a stop over in Erie, PA we heard a not so happy sound coming from the van. It didn't take very long for the folks at Firestone to tell me we weren't going far until we replaced the brakes. This was at 4:00pm in the afternoon and when these guys found out that we had to be in Buffalo the next day, they ordered the parts and stayed until 6:30pm (after closing) until the van was ready to go. Thank you, thank you, thank you guys!

Connections
It's cool how you make connections in life. Back at the end of last year I met Greg Klyma from Buffalo, we shared a show at the Six String Cafe in Raleigh, NC and he told me about the Coffee Bean in Buffalo. Then a few months later there I was in Buffalo at the Coffee Bean playing a fun night with friends of Greg's, Leah Zicari and Kate Miller. Loved it, thanks everyone.

On to Madison
Even in the rain I loved it. They tell me that it really doesn't rain all the time in Madison, only when I go there. Still, even though it was freezing cold and raining I had a blast. Lunch at the internet cafe downtown near the Capitol building and then over to the old movie theater for a movie and in and out of cool shops. The rain didn't exactly slow us down. I enjoyed seeing some familiar faces from my last WI visit and the same was true with my Rockford, IL stop just down the road, fun, fun. Then it was off to St. Louis, with a stop in small town Illinois somewhere along the way.

Small Town, IL
After camping at Starved Rock State Park Jordan and I drove back in search of the interstate that we had traveled in on the night before in the dark. To our surprise and with pleasure we noticed that between the park and the interstate was a precious little town. There was a trading post on the right as we hit the outskirts of town. We looked at each other with a glance of agreement and excitement as we pulled into the gravel parking lot. The wooden porch was covered with an eclectic display of what was in store, from Native American jewelry to Harley Davidson accessories and Army surplus. We scanned the arrowheads and turquoise and then made our way to the basement where they kept the "leather".

Anything you could think of wanting to wear while riding your hog, they had it at the Trading Post. Well, neither Jordan nor I have a motorcycle but that didn't seem to curb our desire to sport the attire. Between the two of us we tried on biker jackets, vests, chaps (yes black leather chaps, why not), leather pants and other leather coats. The one that jumped off the hanger at me was a black leather dress coat just past waste length. This coat was exactly what I had been picturing in my mind that I wanted for over a year.

There was only one left. I almost couldn't bring myself to try it on because I wanted it so badly, what if it didn't fit, what if it did? If it didn't fit I would be so disappointed and if it did fit as well as I hoped, how would I justify buying a leather jacket when I already own several and it wasn't even winter. Well, I tried it on and if fit like a glove. It was as if it were tailor made for me, except the sleeves were an inch to long. Ahhh, not a complete yes or a complete no. Well, it fit so well everywhere else that I was about ready to buy it and ignore the long sleeves. Then the rational side of me jumped in (yes I have one). I was just not going to purchase my third leather coat (that looked a lot like my second leather coat) only a month before summer, with sleeves that are an inch to long. Well, just then I hear, "Hi, have you decided on the leather jacket? It looks great on you." I said, "Well, thanks but the sleeves are a good inch too long. Do you think a seamstress would be able to take in the sleeves even though its leather?" The proprietor smiled and said "Hmm, don't know lets go ask Cindy."

I followed her upstairs and across the little dirt road beside the Trading Post and into the back door of the house next door as she explained that Cindy was her seamstress friend next door. "Come on in," we heard from the back of this cute little country house. Cindy the seamstress and Judy the store owner exchanged familiar pleasantries and then Judy ask about my coat. "Is it hard to take in a leather coat like this one, the sleeves are too long?" After careful inspection, Cindy replied that it wouldn't be a problem at all and if we left it with her she could have it done next week. "Well, I am from North Carolina," I explained "and I would love to buy this coat from Judy and have you alter it for me but I am just passing through." Cindy asked "Don't you guys need some lunch or something? Can you give me two hours?" "Sure!" I said without a single hesitation. So for $25 Cindy altered my new coat while Jordan and I went up the street to the local restaurant and had a late lunch. There was a feeling of "YES!" when I first saw that coat. Then when it was the only one in stock and my size, I thought it was supposed to be mine. But after the sweet and talented Ms. Cindy altered it for me in only 2 hours I was sure that it was not a coincidence that the very coat I had been wanting was waiting for me in this little store in small town Illinois. So, upon this recollection, any buyers remorse that I might have had disappeared.

St. Louis
I love synchronicity! A friend of mine says there is no such thing, her belief is that "Stuff just happens". Sorry Bec, I don't buy it. The odds are against so much "stuff" Just happening. For example, I picked a hotel in the St. Louis area that was actually on the outskirts a bit and a little ways from downtown. I picked the hotel before bothering to look up the address for the church I was to perform at that night. We reached the hotel, got online to get directions to the church only to find that of all of the hotels in the greater St. Louis area I had picked one only a few miles from the church and literally around the corner from a studio that someone I would meet at the concert would want to give me a tour of the next day. Cool huh??!!? thought so. St. Louis was a lot of fun and I met a wonderful man with a great vision for New Thought music and we had a great time brainstorming!

Kentucky
Hmm well, this tour ended in Kentucky in literal terms but technically I guess I should say it began there. I met Les Reynolds a few years ago via email when he reviewed my "Solid Ground" CD. We corresponded a few times since and then recently we started talking about the possibility of my performing in the Louisville, KY area. He was such a great help in getting me in contact with folks at the Backstage Caf

I am writing my "Notes From The Road" for this trip in retrospect. I performed at a quaint little listening venue on September 8th 2001 in Pasadena California called the Coffee Gallery Backstage (www.coffeegallerybackstage.com). What a great night! Such a magical room and night filled with a family of new friends (mostly from the Foothill Center in Sierra Madre, thanks guys).

September 11, 2001
Then on the morning of September 11th, I woke early to the sound of the telephone. A few seconds later I am staring in disbelief at the television as the twin towers collapsed. My mind was reeling trying to digest what had just happened. A rolodex of friends that live &/or work in the city started going off in my mind and I was terrified at the thought of the people is those buildings and outside below and was selfishly praying that none of them were my friends. Sleepy eyed and horrified I searched my heart for a shred of faith and hope to cling to. Before 9/11 I never really thought about whether or not I was patriotic, in the time that followed 9/11 I realized many of the things that made me proud to be an American and then later some things I was not so proud of. That morning as well as the next few months that followed was one of extreme soul searching for me. I had to find a way to make sense of the emotions I was feeling, together with the spiritual beliefs that I hold. I believe that what we do to another we do to ourselves. I believe that we are all connected through a universal spirit; God, Spirit, Goddess, The Universe, whatever you choose to call it to me it's all the same. So, there I was with a piece of me honestly wanting harm to come to the individuals responsible, yet another part of me, a bigger part of me truly still believing that we are all connected and that to wish ill will on another is not the answer.

After the 11th I was unable to secure a flight home for days. My partner, Renee, was about to relocate to North Carolina so we decided to drive.

Driving across the country only five days after the attack was a moving and amazing experience. I felt more a part of this country and more connected to the individuals I met on the street, in the truck stops and wherever they may be, than ever before. I felt as though I was at home and belonged in each small town and city across the nation. There was a sense of community that I experienced that I had never experienced before. We saw so many versions of the American flag. We saw a water tower being painted with the flag. There were billboards being erected right and left with "United We Stand" " God Bless America" you name it. We saw cars painted like flags and quotes of faith and courage at every marquee on the streets of every town and city we passed. We had plenty of time to see the streets of America during that first month since we were home for only a few days before turning around and heading back west for a tour that had been planned for months. The tour included North Carolina to New Mexico and everything in between.

I saw a side of America that I had not experienced before or at least very often. The side of acceptance and inclusiveness in community and it truly felt that "United We Stood". I was moved to tears on more than one occasion. One such occasion was in Las Cruces, NM.

Shorty & Fontana Dan
I was performing a concert at a house party BBQ for some great folks that I had met the year before while touring in NM. It was a beautiful day, not to hot, not to windy, just right for an outdoor show. I felt so honored to arrive to hugs, warm introductions and a "Christy Snow in concert" banner on the front window. My friends Debbie & Lisa were the instigators of this fun affair with their friends and family in fine attendance. So, here I was set up with my sound system at the corner of the yard with Max at my feet and singing to friends on a beautiful day.

Just then from across the road in front of me and across the huge field on the other side of the road, I see two guys walk up and sit down at the edge of the canal that separated them from us. I watched as these gentlemen of the road kicked back and listened intently to the words I sang. I was singing my song "Ripples" all about how we change the world everyday with our actions and it's up to us to decide if those actions are going to be positive ones or not. Just then the hosts of the party (Debbie & Lisa's husbands) noticed the men and walked over to them and talked across the canal. I was still singing and could not hear what was being said. I didn't know Deb & Lisa's husbands very well at all and was silently hoping that they were being nice to the men instead of asking them to leave. My hosts came back talked to some of the other folks at the party referencing the two men with hand gestures and a few minutes later they were walking back over to the canal. The hosts were then carrying plates of food and cold drinks. The two men were carrying a heartfelt smile. The four men walked side by side along the edge of the canal until they reached a spot that was small enough to cross. Watching with a tear in my eyes, I looked up above their heads as the four men met. Just above them was a marquee on a building in the distance that read "United We Stand". It was a priceless moment that I am so happy to have experienced!

I had the opportunity to meet the men on my break, Shorty and Fontana Dan were their names. We talked about their life and life in general. The explained that they were not homeless but rather that the road was their home and their job was hopping trains. "We?e train hoppers," they said. They talked about the places they've been and the things they've seen and how much they love traveling around this great country. Shorty said "I wish I? met you 30 years ago Missy and heard the words to that song about changing the world, I might have turned out differently." I said "Seems to me you turned out just fine and after all you're not dead yet, if there is something you want to change, you still can." "Hmm, guess you're right at that", he said with chuckle and a smile. I enjoyed very much meeting and talking to Shorty and Fontana Dan that day. That and other moments from the day can be found captured by Kodak in the Photo Gallery. Who knows, maybe you will have the opportunity to meet them someday yourself. You could very well see them anyplace in the country that has a train track wearing their "Fear is the leading cause of social blindness" Christy Snow" t-shirts!

The tour had an interesting and unplanned twist. All of my shows were in military towns such as El Paso, Alamogordo, Shreveport etc. and folks from all branches of the military and of all ages were represented before it was over. I felt a renewed sense of patriotism, pride, and unity as well as gratitude for these people who enlisted to protect our freedom.

Then in later days there was another side of things that began to surface. I began to notice that unfortunately the love and inclusiveness that I had felt in the beginning began in some cases to feel more like separateness, judgement and vindictiveness. I began to feel as though people, in some cases, where sporting their American flag in a brazen, arrogant, "They've messed with the wrong people" kind of patriotism. I started to then see another flag being waved around and realized I resonated to it more, it was a world flag. I purchased a "God Bless our HOME" bumper sticker that had a picture of the planet on it and covered my American flag bumper sticker with it. I wanted that inclusiveness and united we stand feeling to include everyone not just those of us residing here in the states.

I wrote a song on the morning of September 11th that sums it up, it's called "Stand In Love". Some of the words include; "There's a place we can go to whatever race or creed, a place we can go to together you and me, a place we can go to, to stand in Unity, hand in hand together for all the word to see and that place is love,.I truly believe that we are all one and that we can't afford the carelessness of giving hate a gun so I stand in love."

God Bless America and Afghanistan and Iraq and and and and and and...God bless us ALL!