NAMM Week- 1/13 thru 1/21, 2007

What a week! After a wonderful lunch with Juan we return to the campground for a much needed relaxing afternoon. Saturday is uneventful except for the artic cold that takes hold of California. We wake up Sunday ready for hot showers only to find out that pipes have burst and no hot showers. We are told that the plumber is coming (and the check is in the mail) but no plumber shows because a lot of pipes have burst in sunny southern California and they are working overtime on repairs. No plumber on Monday either (holiday). We decide to check out the next morning (Tuesday) before we head to NAMM and check into a different camp site. We planned on staying in this new site in February, so it’s a good chance to check it out. We head out on Tuesday for the Anaheim Convention Center. Meeting up with Robin Muller from NAMM and she helps secure our parking and the transport of our gear to the executive offices so we can finish up the NAMM amenity project.

So far it’s more than we imagined, a huge conference table, plenty of space to work and everyone is willing to help out. We work until about 8pm assembling gifts and packing for delivery. Our stagehands come back and pick up our gear for load out. We head out to the East Shore RV Park (remember the name, don’t go there) to grab a few hours sleep as we begin our deliveries at 4AM. We arrive at the RV park, head to space F-155 but can’t pull in because of the way others are parked so we pull into another slot for some shut eye. 3AM comes real quick and really cold, we scuffle into our clothes and head to Anaheim. Off the highway at exactly 4AM as planned and start our deliveries. It goes really well, the only way to deliver big projects to hotels is in the middle of the night. We finish 24 hotels by 6:33AM, now off to Denny’s for some hot breakfast and then to the campground. We go to a new space F-156 which has a nice grassy area by the lake and has tons of ducks, geese and coots. This is the only good thing about the site. I feed the fowl for awhile, then ready ourselves for a nap and then lawn mowers start as we lay down, at least it doesn’t last long. Now the one thing I was looking forward to was a hot shower (remember burst pipes since Saturday and this is now Wednesday). We get our stuff and head for the bathrooms, only to find prison type bathrooms in 20 degree weather. Needless to say, no hot water, no shower, my only salvation is getting to John Gabrielli’s on Thursday. That evening back to the truck, tucked in for the night and then bang, Bang, BANG!! on the window. Security guard with an attitude says we need to check in at the office. Long story short and if you know me well, arrangements are made to deal with the situation in the morning. I am not missing my shows or the warmth of our bed for this crap. On Thursday we feed the birds and check out of the hell hole called East Shore RV Park. Of course, the front desk doesn’t care that our stay sucked but I knew they didn’t care by the under maintained facilities that show the lack of pride at this camp ground. They just wanted our money; we just wanted to be gone from there. We head to Starbucks and hang out for awhile on the internet and enjoy a clean place of business. We get a hold of John and he says “c’mon over”. I love you John. We get to John and Robbie’s home, in an undisclosed location. We chat and John heads for the grocery store as I head for a hot shower. It is amazing what hot water will do for you. We spend the weekend eating, watching DVD’s, hanging out and working of course. We go to the NAMM show on Saturday, I am amazed at all the people in one place, the music industry is a wonderful mix of colorful people, all driven by the beauty of music its self. We saw Todd Trent from Ludwig and Garrison from DW Drums and the girls from NAMM. It was a good show – lots of cool new stuff to look at. See you at Summer Session in July. Back to John’s for dinner – a delicious stir-fry and unparalleled hospitality. We make it an early night since we are all tired. At 4:14AM the guy who had been staying in the guest house knocks. He got in a fight with his girlfriend and needed somewhere to sleep. He wants me to open the door. 4:15AM in LA, someone I don’t know – yeah right. Up on Sunday and we have eggs and bacon with John and catch up on more work.

Friday, January 12, 2007

L.A. - now this is a place for restlessness and anxiety for me, early morning gunshots and lots of traffic noise, I miss our mountain top home of peace and quiet. But this trip is all about business not a pleasure cruise. This morning starts off with going to a car wash to clean 3400 miles of road grime, boy she shines now. The one amazing part is that we are meeting great people in our favorite industry and one of them is Juan Lepe, Sales Mgr., Entertainer Bus Division with Prevost Car Inc. Lunch with Juan at his favorite restaurant, Rosa’s, is now one of our favorites too. From the decor to service and you cannot forget the food, posh Italian (the stuffed mushrooms were to die for, it took everything to keep from licking the plate clean of all the sauce). It is always nice to make business acquaintances into friendships. This day ends with a lot of work and some T.V.

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Now driving thru all this desert is getting to me but I should only complain about the bumpy road for I get to ride in the back in complete comfort. Thru the desert, over the mountains into the smog we go. Traffic builds to a boil, wow this is such a change. We find our way to the Pomona, Ca. KOA, its packed to the gills with RVs and we are the youngest by 30 years. We are greeted by the ugliest and most unprofessional group of KOA employees and owners I have ever seen except for one nice lady and I get to stay here for ten days……dread. Goodnight!

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Up and At’em as the sun starts to rise, we hurry to pack up and head out. The Grand Canyon is only 60 miles away. Jimmy has been there before and tries to describe it to me but all I cam imagine is a big hole in the ground. He promises me that it will change me some how? On the drive up we listen to Angels and Demons on CD and I wonder what to expect at the Grand Canyon. We arrive at the park and head in, we drive around for a while trying to find parking for our truck and trailer, they should hand out maps at the entrance. We finally park and ready ourselves for a lot of walking, Jimmy’s excited and for me I just hope this isn’t a waste of time. Holy Shit….. It’s amazing, 10 miles across, 1 mile deep and 277 miles long, WOW! There is NO WAY a picture can capture this masterpiece of Mother Nature, the awesome power of time, wind and rain. It has the power to make you feel insignificant in the big scheme of life and as humans we fight over who’s God is better, when we should be loving each other because every God is the same in a nut shell….. Mother Nature. I will return more than once and hope to one day hike to the bottom, to experience the complete magnitude to this blessed place! He’s right I believe I am changed. We now head for Needles, Ca. for the night, this place is barren and ugly but here is a sunset to remember, what vivid colors over the mountains!

Tuseday, January 9, 2007

In the morning, we head in for a continental breakfast, compliments of the camp. Had some rice krispies and tea and donuts and visit with Buddy some more. We will definitely stay here again and enjoy more of the local history. We decide to go to El Morro which is a place where travelers would stop as far back as 400 years ago because there was always a pool of water….200,000 gallons to be exact. The pool consists of rain run off and melted snow. Sometimes this was the only water for several days travel. The walls are made of a softer stone so travelers would carve their names in the stone, a lot of them were very intricate, pure talent. Some date back to the 1600’s. It was a nice hike, beautiful weather and the sun was shining. Again knowledgeable park rangers and they gave me a book so I could play tour guide at each stop along the walk. We purchase a National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Annual Pass so that we can get into all the national parks and other cool places. We head towards Williams, AZ near the Grand Canyon. This KOA has a pool and more importantly a hot tub. Boy do our weary bodies need this treat. We hop in the tub and then head for the showers. My conditioner and protein spray are frozen and my hair is in knots. Finally my spray thaws and Jimmy combs my hair for about an hour. I need to cut most of my hair off anyway. We have some dinner, watch House and while Jimmy reads about the Grand Canyon I fall asleep.

Monday, January 8, 2007

We get up and head out again. We are going to stop a little earlier tonight and stay in Grants, NM. We pull in and we happen to be the only ones staying there, YEHA! They have cable, YEEHAA!!! The owner, Suzanne lets me borrow a coax to hook up to my TV. It is a beautiful thing to have cable again. We get all sorts of info when we check in about where to go, where to hike and we meet the camp mascot/office manager Buddy the dog. What a sweetie, he just wanted some love. We decide to hike around the camp in the lava rock areas and we check out all the tracks, pee and poo in the snow from the wildlife. Apparently in this area they are used to about 2 inches of snow a year and so far they have gotten 20. We make pancakes and ham for dinner on our camp stove. The first 2 pancakes were horrible but then we get the hang of it. We clean up and head into the truck for the evening, remember we have cable. I try to stay awake just to enjoy the TV.

Sunday, January 7, 2007

On the road again... We get to the section of I-25 that we heard about on the news. It is open but slippery. We are driving slow but we still slide a little. Thank you Ford for the 4 wheel drive truck from Hell! This truck ROCKS!! We go even slower and we get along just fine. Love to watch those morons fly by us and pass those suckers in the ditch. I didn’t get a bunch of photos because I was the resident ice watcher. We hit dry roads and stop at Fort Union to have lunch. We decide to go in and find it interesting enough to take a tour, WOW its amazing what the government will make people do for the name of God and Country. It’s very cool to walk around a place filled with so much history, built on blood and sweat. Beats Disney anytime. There were adobe ruins of the fort and the park rangers were knowledgeable about the history of the area and wonderful to talk to. Ran into a man from Round Rock, Texas that was also touring the area. We get back on the road with the intention of heading to Santa Fe but we find out the KOA book is wrong and they aren’t open this time of year. So we head to the Las Vegas, NM KOA where the nice lady lets us check in even though they were closed, had a bunch of snow and they were doing some remodeling. She didn’t want to turn us away. It was just us and a lady with a trailer next door. When she came in for the evening she tried to back in and ran over our campsite sign. I am able to pick up one station on the TV, but watched Masterpiece Theater, The Virgin Queen, It was great but missed the beginning. Kind of having a crappy night, computers Suck, I miss Jeter.

Saturday, January 6, 2007

We get up to head out of Cheyenne. After a quick trip to the Sierra Trading Post we continue on I-80 West through Wyoming. State Police fly by us and shut the highway down due to high wind conditions. Aw crap! Spoke too soon. Back to Cheyenne and look for an alternate route. We decide to go into Colorado via I-25 to the I-70 but alas there is an avalanche at the Berthoud Pass on the other side of Denver. We stop at a visitor’s center to weigh our options and I buy Jeter a stuffed chipmunk, I bet he eats it. He loves to eat chipmunks. We decide to play it safe and head down the 25 into New Mexico and then through Arizona. On our way through Colorado we stop in Pueblo to camp. The lady that owns the place is from Clifton Park, NY. Very nice KOA and they have tons of quail running all over the place. Way COOL.
We watch the news and hear that they had closed down a part of 25 south due to icy conditions and a bunch of idiots going off the road. By the way, Colorado: worst drivers in the world, next to L.A.. We were so looking forward to going to Cube. Can’t believe we are going to miss seeing their shop. See you guys in Mesa in a couple of weeks.

Friday, January 5, 2007

Happy Birthday Mom! You will get your gift in March. Or your gift is getting to spend these 2 months with your grandson. We head out of Omaha, NE on our way to Cheyenne, WY. We were going to go through Denver and visit with Robert from ShowCo but the weather in that area is too unpredictable. Don’t want to get stuck on I-70. Jimmy is driving as usual and rocking out to all sorts of music. I am in the back of the truck, my office/bedroom. I got the Treo all set to work as a modem, so as we fly down the highway I am on the internet. Now I just need to get my Blue Tooth set up. I received my headset from my pals at Cube Passes for Christmas. Thanks guys! As we were driving along Jimmy saw a bunch of Swainson hawks, a Prairie Falcon and a million ducks. Rode through a little bit of snow showers and we stopped at the World Headquarters of Cabela’s in Sidney, NE. Very cool store. They have this huge display of mounted animals, which just sounds funny…ha-ha, right down to a chipmunk. Jeter would love to run wild in this display. Today I finally got to eat my favorite fast food, Subway. It was great. Forgot to tell you all, right before we left we watched “Supersize Me”. So now McDonalds (and all that fast food crap except Subway) has been banned from the food list. I sure will miss my Egg McMuffins. The plan is to not eat any Mickey D’s on this trip. We get to Cheyenne just after dark and it is about 12 degrees outside with heavy wind. Jimmy is in the trailer boiling water so we can eat some oatmeal. We are still heading west tomorrow, not sure where we are stopping though. Can’t wait to get to Reno and check out the home of Cube Passes.

Thursday, January 4, 2007

Awake by 7am and on the road. We are heading to Nebraska via Iowa. We crossed the Mississippi River. We stop at the visitor’s center to see if they might have ice and actually talk to the information lady. She tells us about a place called Amana which is an old German settlement. Lots of history etc. but she sent us to the Ox Yoke Inn for lunch. Delicious! Jimmy had wiener schnitzel and spaetzle noodles and I had the hot roast beef sandwich. We had a great lunch and walked around the town to work off our lunch. With full tummies we head to Omaha, NE for the night. Need to get in so I can watch CSI. Just to be sure, there is no global warming. So why is it 50 in Omaha in January at sundown. Another nice campground. Lit by the full moon, for a great evening. We feast on grilled cheese and chicken and rice soup. We snuggle up and watch TV for the evening before dozing off for the night.

Wednesday, January 3, 2007

We get up early to get packed to head off to DeKalb, IL to the home of Nocturne Productions. What a facility, 35,000 square feet of video gear heaven! Had lunch with Todd at a great place, called Fatty’s Bar & Grill. They had amazing Cajun potato salad and Jimmy says the Durango burger was excellent. Back to Nocturne after lunch; toured the facility of state of the art video systems, WOW. Bob Brigham was in the office as well on Wednesday. It was great seeing him again. I remember back in ‘98 at the Meadows in Hartford when the video system was driving us crazy. Bob fixed everything of course, from his closet space. After our visit to Nocturne we head off for the night to Rock Island, IL which is near the Quad Cities. We get settled in and watch some shows on tape for the evening and then off to bed. By the way, if you plan on driving though Illinois bring a small fortune, the tolls will kill you.

Tuesday, January 2, 2007

6:30am, rise and shine for Jimmy. I am sleeping in a little. Jimmy goes out and walks around and does a little stretching. We are right near the bathrooms – SCORE! I finally stumble out and make my way to the head. It is so nice and warm in there. If I was homeless, this KOA bathroom would be a great place to live. Jimmy has everything set up for breakfast. We fry up some Canadian bacon and eggs and have some bread.

The eggs come from my girls. They laid 3 dozen before we left. Cousins Tony, Amy and Zeb are babysitting the hens now and collecting the eggs. Lucky dogs. I’m still searching for my hot chocolate. It is packed who knows where right now. Jimmy knows where most of the stuff is but the hot chocolate eludes us for now. We are learning as we go along. Note to self: turn on Tony’s heater in the trailer BEFORE we sit down to eat. We clean up from breakfast and head out for Auburn, IN. Driving cross country has been beautiful. Diesel is getting cheaper as we head farther west. I got myself a Treo Palm 700 for Christmas. I’m still figuring it out. I can use it as a modem except I need to download the software. The Auburn KOA only has dial up so no luck there on downloading the software, maybe the next campground, they have free wireless. We get to the Auburn KOA, check in (another score by the bathroom), and we head to Walmart to get a few items (salad, tea, dvd etc.). Back to the KOA to get camp set up. We have a nice salad with chicken for dinner and I eat a Snickers bar for dessert, I was thinking about it all day. After dinner we head to the back of the truck where Jimmy reads his book on hiking in the Adirondacks and I get settled in for my favorite show, Law & Order. Thank God the repeats are over for the season. I checked in on Jeter (a bunch). He is entertaining his Grandma with his antics. Wait until she sees him read time on the stove clock, won’t she be impressed.

Monday, January 1, 2007

Alarm goes off at 8AM. During the night my phone flooded with messages of New Years wishes. Hey, some of us aren’t awake after midnight. This is our first attempt to pee in the portable potty. We met with success. No one peed in the bed. We are now off to Canton, OH to camp at the KOA. Jimmy drives and I decide to lay in the back and chill. Now I love my baby F350 but she’s no Prevost as far as the ride goes in the back of the truck. Or maybe NY should actually do something with our toll money, like fix the roads or maybe pick up some trash. As we drive I miss the photo op of Loudonville, OH, (my home town is Loudonville, NY.) maybe next time.
We pull in to the campground as the sun is going down. Scrambling to get our power plugged in, set up the propane stove to make some soup so we can settle in for the night. My little DeLonghi heater, heats up the back of the truck in no time and with 1200 lbs of blankets we are in for another warm night. I figure I will cut Jimmy a break and read for the first night. There will be plenty of TV to watch later, yes I have my TV in the truck (I am a junky). Between all the primetime shows and General Hospital tapes coming my way he will be a raving lunatic by March. I’m reading the 4th of July by James Patterson, great book. Already halfway through, better slow down or I won’t have anything to read. Time for bed.

Sunday, December 31, 2006

Departure from Berne, NY
Heading down our mountain at 11:15pm to beat the ice storm. With rain and sleet as the temp was playing around the freezing point …success! We traversed the winding country roads to I-88 in Cobleskill, NY and proceeded to pick up I-90. What a New Years Eve, we pass thru a toll booth at midnight…Happy New Year! I phoned my baby, Jeter, to wish him a Happy New Year.

I hate to start off the New Year without him but we have a lot work and a long road to travel before we will return. His grandma is taking good care of him and his uncle plays with him (even though he professes to hate him). I hope Jeter doesn’t lose any IQ points from watching too much Dr. Phil with Gram. We pulled over at about 12:30-1AM at a rest area to sleep. Now the fun begins. We got a piece of 5” upholstery foam from Albany Foam and Supply, covered it with sheets, our duvet, electric blanket (not on yet), 3 Woolrich blankets and a quilt that I made. It was very warm in the back of the truck. I thought we would freeze but no way. We actually had a great nights sleep.