from Indiana for the last time (28,889 miles)

hello dear ones,

I join you again from the franklin library as i prepare to wrap up my stay in lovely indiana and hit the road once more. Since last we talked, I have played in Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois and Ohio, thereby covering a substantial portion of the midwest. And I have to say I have enjoyed myself thoroughly. Here's a quick recap of the madcap adventures of Vanessa, Colette, and erstwhile tour-manager-map-navigator-fabulous-friend Heather Worrell...

Last Friday we left Indy and headed to Charleston, Illinois to play at show at the lovely Jackson Avenue Coffeehouse. This venue rocked. Fantastic veggie and hummus bagel sandwich, fantastic coffee, and a wonderful listening room, separate from the rest of the coffeehouse, where the unbelievably kind Ryan Groff took care of sound for Shelley and I. The audience was a dream - laughed at all my dumb jokes, hung on my every word, stayed for the whole 2 hour set. Really and truly a treat. Not to mention we got a write up in Friday's Daily Eastern News ... I can't find the link so you'll have to google it ...

En route to somewhere, we stopped at a Pilot for a bathroom break (a Pilot being a travel truck stop, like a Stuckey's, a Love's, etc). Inside the women's bathroom I saw a personal perfume dispenser....yes, that's right....you feed in 25 cents, "cup your hand over the nozzle, and push the plunger to dispense the imitation scent of your choice!" Those are the directions, verbatim. You could try "exquisite replications" of many "famous scents" for a mere quarter. I guess you have to endure the fact that your hand is now going to reek to high heaven for the next 48 hours (as will your steering wheel by association). The dispenser said you would "feel so refreshed!" but I doubt that filling my hand with perfume and then trying to smear it all over my body would do much to make me feel better about being unwashed.

Anyhow - Saturday. Friday night Heather and I took Colette north to Chicago, and after driving rain and half-finished county roads, we arrived at the DellAngelo's, friends of mine from A&M who took us in for the weekend and fed us danish and apple pie (these are a few of my favorite things). Saturday night I played a house concert in Downers Grove, a suburb of Chicago. The concert was organized by the wonderfully sweet Martha and Jim McDonough, cousins of my friend Jenny (who organized a concert for me back in September). Martha made pumpkin bread, rugelach, spinach dip, and even sent me home with a goodie bag that included chocolate-covered espresso beans! What more could a late-night-driving girl ask for? Seriously though - it was another fantastic show, made so by the hospitality of our hosts and the attentiveness of the audience. Thank you!

Scooby's in Downers Grove - best Italian Sausage hot dog ever.

Sunday - Amber, 1/2 of the DellAngelos, played tour guide to Heather and I for the afternoon. Chicago was having a FANTASTIC day (like the day in Ferris Bueller, where he says, "how could I be expected to go to school on a day like this?"). It was beautiful and sunny and crisp and though I was only there for a few hours, I LOVED Chicago. We went down to Millenium Park, which is amazing, and wandered around downtown for a while until it was time to ride the L-train back to Uncommon Ground, where I had a show with Shelley and my friend Dani Linnetz from NY (with whom I'll be traveling next week). UG was another incredible venue, complete with fantastic sound guy Richard Lynch and yet another wonderful audience (and darn fine vegetarian chili).

Have you guys noticed this blog is really a running commentary on food? As Heather and I were driving from Chicago to Indy late Sunday night (I have really become a trucker), we were recounting all the good food we'd had over the last few days (this with our mouths full of Martha's pumpkin bread) and we realized what complete and total foodies we are. Hence one of the major reasons I love Italy so much.

Last night I was in Dayton, OH with the amazingly talented Emily Strand - this girl can SING. and write. AND she is super nice to boot. We have a show on Friday in Cincinnati with a few other songwriters - should be good times. I can't believe how many amazing songwriters I have met so far...and they have all been both talented and kind. How cool.

Okay, too many things to do to keep blogging. Such a fun word, blog. Please tell your east coast friends I'm coming - they can check out the schedule at http://www.vanessapeters.net/live.htm
Thanks to my friend Doug for the kickass music mix he mailed me. Good times and good bands I've never heard of until now but can't seem to stop listening to now...

Speaking of...thanks for listening.
v