2,155 Miles Later

Millington, TN
Hello Friends,
Still having trouble with spell check... Thank you for your patience.

Greetings from the South! This week finds us on Mid-South NAS Base (I believe that stands for Naval Air Support, which would make sense since there is no port or even a body of water on this base) in a the quite berg of Millington, TN - about 20 miles north of Memphis. Mandi and I left Missoula last Tuesday and made quite a trek to get here. So, lets begin-

Tuesday we went from Missoula, MT to Rapid City SD. Mandi (that's my tour partner BTW) grew up there and has a lot of friends and family in the area, so we decided to spend Wednesday there as well thanks to our gracious host Erin (one of Mandi's BFFs) for allowing us to stay two nights on her couches. On Wednesday we went into the Black Hills known for Mt. Rushmore. Having been to Rushmore twice in my life we opted for the summer towns of Keystone and Deadwood to pass the time. Keystone is nestled at the base of Rushmore (you could even see the moutain from the streets) and is lined of numerous shops selling mainly western wears and candy. We picked up a belt with our characters' name on it for the show, some taffy, and some postcards and made our way to Deadwood.

I had been to Deadwood once in my life with my mother when we drove cross country for some reason. I remember not being allowed to touch any machines, being able to drink all the soda I wanted, and getting lots of quaters from my mom to play video games. Needless to say things were much different this time. First off I could now play those machines my mother was playing and second I am a big fan of the Deadwood series that ran on HBO and to actually be in the town the show took place in was awesome! Even better Mandi sepnd a summer playing Clamity Jane in the summer rein-actors and she knew a TON of history about the town. It was like being part of live action History Chanel - I loved it. Deadwood is the original Sin City and has full on Casinos EVERYWHERE. We spent $3 and made $33, so I couldn't complain too much.

After a quick stop to see some of Mandi's kinfolk, we headed back to Rapid City for a night on the town. Rapid City is a neat town that is very liberal for South Dakota. A lot of brew pubs and art galleries abound. It is also the city of Presidents, and at many intersections of the town you will see statues of Presidents (I think it goes with the whole Rushmore thing). Pictured is Martin Van Buren and I. I am pointing at his book, don't be gross.



On Thursday we headed off to Beresford, SD about 30 miles south of Sioux Falls, SD. There some more MCT folk were staying. We drove across the great state of South Dakota in one gnarly windy day. I spent about an hour and a half holding the wheel ascew just to keep the truck on the road. It wasn't fun, but I will take it over snow driving. We stayed up way too late with other MCT folk and got a later start on Friday morning.

So it is called SOUTH Dakota, but in reality it isn't that far south in the nation. I say that because we were to meet up with another tour team in Forrest City, AK on Friday. I thought to myself "Well we are in SOUTH Dakota, so it can't be far away..." Oh I was wrong. I take for granted how large western states are compared to eastern states which I shouldn't because one I have toured before and two I am from the west, but somewhere in my urban vacation I had forgotten. Our trip from Beresford, SD to Forrest City, AK took 16 hours, just 2 hours shy of the MCT driving limit. We got in at 3AM, I do not recommend that to anyone. Thankfully the weather was clear and the driving smooth. Missouri, you are one big state...

Saturday we took in our dear MCT friends Dave and Calida's show of Red Riding Hood at Forrest City. The show was great and they performed in a beatiful performing arts center on a local community college campus. That night we spent enjoying each others company and going to a carnvial set up just down the road from the hotel. There is something to be said for going outside at 10PM and it still is 85 degrees and muggy out. The carnival is just what you would think it would be - sketchy and full of horrible food. It was a great adventure.

Sunday we packed our bags and two MCT Fords headed to Memphis for some good ol' Southern BBQ. We made our way to a Memphis staple - Neely's, which, if I remember correctly are known for their families show on the Food Network. I enjoyed the pulled pork doused in sauce, the ladies enjoyed a three pound platter of mixed meats in sauce while Dave played it safe with BBQ Spaghetti. The food was good and very rich and nice way to get acquainted with southern cuisine. We said our goodbyes and Dave and Calida headed off to Eastern Arkansas and we made our way up north to Millington.

Upon arrival atthe gate we were promptly told to come back tomorrow to get the proper paperwork. This of course was a problem as we were staying ON base that night. And here begins our ordeal with base residencies. Our contact did a great job a getting all the ducks in a row for our arrival, unfortunetly it seems the weekday security staff and weekend staff do not share the same information. Thankfully after some calls we were able to get on base (though we almost had to unload our entire truck for a security inspection) and made our way to housing. This is where we were met by a young employee who did not know how to check us in nor did we know our reservation information. This took another hour yet thankfully we made it to our rooms by dinner time, the whole process took about two hours, but hey, we got here.

Today was my first MCT audition in three years and went very well. The kids are great and we are getting the show under our belts, its nice to be on the road again. The only downside of the day was being stung in the face by a wasp right before auditions and Mandi was stung on the hand right after. There are angry insects down here.

Phew! What a post! Thanks for reading all, time to prep for tomorrow's teachings!

The Adventure Continues - ML