the jumping off point (Canton, OH - 29,455 miles)

hello dear ones,

Today finds me in Canton, OH, in a coffee shop called Muggswigz where I will be performing in a few hours. It was supposed to be a "halloween extravaganza!" with myself and shelley miller, but shelley is stranded in chicago (with our halloween costumes) so instead, the audience will get just little ol' me in snazzy street clothes. I have to say that i'm not upset that I don't have to dress up. I HATE dressing up for halloween - it's my bah-humbug.

I met a man in Charleston, IL who has a golden retriever named Dave who can count to 15 and knows American Sign Language. You meet interesting people everywhere if you just listen to their stories for a few moments.

Today was a spectacular day to drive. After weeks of clouds and rain and cold alternating with muggy weather, today was perfect. Sunny and breezy....okay, sunny with gale-force winds, but still, no clouds. Ohio is a beautiful state to drive through. The whole thing (at least what I've seen in the last two days, and especially more on this eastern side) is a picture postcard. Rolling green hills, fields of corn (now being cleared), little red barns and sparkling white farmhouses, picket fences, trees in flame...it's really lovely. Made for a fantastic drive. The only thing was the wind - it was nearly blowing me off the road. It did make for these super-cool leaf storms from time to time - what seemed like millions of gold leaves, swirling through the air and towards my windshield, each in their own little mini-tornado. But all of the beauty outside also made me realize one of the downsides to traveling solo is that there is no one to take pictures....I have been known to take photos while driving, but as I said before, now that I'm the out-of-state-plates-girl, I'm trying to be a model driver...and if I stopped the car everytime I saw something interesting I wanted to take a photo of, I'd never get where I was going. But a navigator/photographer/manager would be a nice combo to take up the passenger seat.

I've been making a list of funny towns/counties/rivers/whatever that I've encountered so far. While Arkadelphia, AR is goofy, Santa Claus, IN is fun, and Licking County, OH put me in stitches, I have to say that Monkey's Eyebrow, KY takes the cake so far.

I played last night in Cincinnati, OH for yet another wonderful audience. I don't know if it's the venues or the people up here or just an incredible stroke of luck, but I haven't yet played a bad venue. Everyone has been so kind and attentive. And this place I played last night was super cool - Roh's Street Cafe. It's a "fair trade" coffeehouse, meaning everything they sell is organic and, well, purchased on the "fair trade" principal that insures the farmers who grew the coffee are paid a living wage. And to top it all off - it's a non-profit coffeehouse that has a full menu (most non-profits sell swiss miss in styrofoam cups), a friendly staff, and live music on the weekends. All of the baristas work on a volunteer basis (read: they don't get paid)...and they serve fantastic cream cheese/raspberry danishes. It was a real treat. I performed again with Emily Strand, who you need to see if you make it up this way, and Sara Beck (Nashville) and Maery Lanahan (Cincinnati), all of whom were fantastic.

This morning we ate breakfast at a good old-fashioned diner (waitress with beehive hairdos), and then I hit the road. I stopped for lunch at a truck stop and had a picnic in my car, thanks to Heather, who sent me off with homemade hummus. Hummus, pita, and baby food & yogurt - good stuff. That's a new trend I'm starting, by the way - baby food. Not the peas, carrots, or that nonsense - but the fruit - that's pretty good. And good FOR you, as it has no added sugar, no preservatives, etc. Mix some baby food fruit in with plain yogurt and you have a darn good snack. Just don't tell the lady next to you in the baby food aisle at Wal-mart what you are up to (even if she asks), because she is more than likely to think you are insane. I'll have to tell you guys that story another time - too much typing before a show does not a good performance make.

Ah yes, one more thing. I heard the mixes of the final 4 songs from "thin thread" that I hadn't yet heard....and I'm so happy and so excited for you guys to hear this album! My band rocks.

So tonight, Canton...Tomorrow, the Big Apple.
love,
vanessa