One fun thing about tour is never knowing what to expect. We have no clue what we are getting ourselves into 99% of the time as we pull up to our hotel in who-knows-where, USA. When we arrived in Newberry, SC none of us expected the charming Hampton Inn sitting across from the historic Newberry Opera House where we would be performing 4 shows in 2 days. The buildings sat along a quaint square surrounded by cute little buildings and brick sidewalks. Just a great little setup and a quiet, lazy town. The stage we performed on was TINY, so we had to make some adjustments, but it was a really unique and beautiful space to be in for those shows. Our first day there, though, we had no performances so the 3 boys decided to head out (on a Sunday afternoon) and see what we could find around town. Of course.... it was deserted. Not a shop open in sight, nor a restaurant alive. After asking our adorable front desk lady, we were sent to the Blue Moon Sports Bar, a "private club" in town that would be open. We ended up heading over and finding a nice local tavern where we sat around and had wings and, more importantly, met Nici.
Nici was the owner of Blue Moon and we started asking her questions about town. She was hilarious, telling us her story of settling down in Newberry and she went down the line of every single restaurant and bar in town warning us of steep prices, great chefs, and even a place where we should make sure to check our receipts! Ha ha! She sure didn't hold back and we loved every second of it. That night we decided as a cast we would order Chinese. After calling around, though, we found NO ONE that would deliver. Lamenting to the front desk worker, she insisted that we should call and make an order and that she could take us to pick it up! I couldn't believe how sweet she was, but she said it was not a problem at all. Once it was time to pick up our food I cam down and she directed me to Miss Betty, a friend who would drive the other girl's car with us to the restaurant. We hopped in and within 30 seconds I realized that Miss Betty didn't know how to drive a stick shift and we had stalled the car... twice. I volunteered to drive. I couldn't believe that I was finding myself driving Miss Betty in a stranger's car through Newberry, SC to find food! We had a good time, though, as she gave me the grand tour!
The next day I wandered around town and headed to the theatre where I was pleased to find Miss Betty working on our crew! We had a good show and in between the local ladies in town made us dinner. Such a treat! We also celebrated Katie Mitchell's birthday with a cookie cake and silly string! That night's show was interesting as I tossed a prop across the stage and hit my leading lady in the middle of a dance number! Woops! LIVE THEATRE!!! The next day I ended up having lunch at a great little pizza place before getting to the theatre where we did two more shows. While getting ready for the show in our dressing room Kevin and I heard quite an uproar as the girls got into a HUGE fight in the room next door. All of a sudden Jess stormed out and slammed the door and we jumped into clothes and over next door to see what in the world had happened! The girls just broke into laughter at us. They had staged the whole thing and died laughing seeing us run in so eager to see what could have happened. Ha ha! In between shows we had a FANTASTIC meal recommended to us by Nici at Delamater's a spot right next door to the Opera House where a young chef has really made his mark! Our tummies were sooooo happy for that last show where my sister, Taylor, and her husband, Jay got to come! It was so good to see her and her growing baby bump. We ended our time in Newberry at the Blue Moon celebrating with Katie and then at Pour Richards, a pub where we met the chef from Delamater's! What a treat to get to talk with such a talented guy, Brandon, and his theatre-loving girlfriend, Chris. Overall, such a great stop in Newberry and a great place to have a couple days to explore and get to know town.
On our way to Valdosta, GA our bus got pulled over for speeding, but charmer Joe was able to talk us right out of a ticket. Ha! Once at our hotel I was able to catch up on laundry and we hung out by the outdoor pool since it was SO WARM. I even ended up jumping in with my clothes on at one point! Ha ha! We stayed in the Super 8, but ate at the next door Holiday Inn and then hung out on the bus that night. To get geared up for Halloween we enjoyed a bus viewing of the classic "Hocus Pocus" followed by some fun games. As a cast we love getting to know each other more and more. We played a game of truths and celebrity and laughed. A lot.
The following day we moved next door to the Holiday Inn (because of a flea problem at the Super 8) and while there Tavis led us in an outdoor workout that kicked our butts. We headed to the theatre, which was turquoise. Everything was turquoise. It was amazing. This huge place... all turquoise. The show was good and fun because we had Shirley and Gene in the house one last time, plus a friend of Katie M's. Valdosta treated us well, but it was time to head out.
Getting along our way....
Tripp
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