HEY! I'M TRIPP AND I'M HEADED OFF TRYING TO MAKE IT AS A MUSICAL THEATRE PERFORMER. I'M CHASING AFTER BIG DREAMS AND GETTING TO HAVE A BLAST ALL ALONG THE WAY! COME ALONG FOR THE RIDE AND SEE WHAT CRAZY THINGS I END UP DOING AND THE FANTASTIC CHARACTERS I WILL MEET ALONG THE WAY! FOR PREVIOUS ADVENTURES.... TRIPPAROUNDTHEWORLD.BLOGSPOT.COM AND OFFEXPLORING.BLOGSPOT.COM

Monday, October 24, 2011

Baltimore or Less

Our second week on the road was spent in Baltimore, MD. We stayed downtown in the Radisson Lord Baltimore, a really beautiful old hotel. I didn't realize that this city is so dangerous, but apparently there is a very large and quite aggressive homeless population in the city of Baltimore. We learned quickly just to be smart and walk with others, especially after dark. That being said, we played the Hippodrome Theatre, which had great crowds and we felt so welcomed there. It was also fun to have a bunch of people from our home office of NETworks come to see the show and we were able to have a big party one night with them.
I loved the inner harbor area of Baltimore. We had great food there and I found it to be a great place to relax and take in the great weather we had, enjoy being by the water, people-watching, etc. Once day a group of 5 guys all took a car and drove down 30 minutes to Annapolis, MD. Having been there before for my brother's graduation, etc. I knew that it was a gorgeous seaside town and with the Naval Academy being there I thought it would be a great excursion to take. We wandered all around, taking in the campus and pondering what life would be like to actually go here or what it may have been like in WWII, when our show is placed. It is just a remarkable thing to see all those young men and women and know the sacrifice they are willing to make for their country. We learned a lot on the campus and enjoyed the history of the whole thing very much. At lunch time we knew we had to find some great crab somewhere so I started searching and found a gem for us. We drove out to Cantler's, a restaurant right on a creek/inlet. It was very unassuming, sitting back past neighborhoods down a tiny winding road, but I knew we were in for a treat, and boy were we happy! The crab was just out-of-this-world fresh and the atmosphere and company only added to the day. What a great time!
We also did a big outing to the National Aquarium in the inner harbor of Baltimore. It is a fantastic facility with so many incredible species. I forget how amazing creation is sometimes, but watching the jellyfish, sea turtles, and octopus definitely brought me back to that place of wonder and curiosity. How God could create such things, but then not be satisfied still and decided to make man... in HIS image... is just ridiculous. I find it humbling and flattering and wonderful all at once. Makes me feel loved that he sees those creatures, but wants us to have relationship and communion with Him.
Baltimore proved to have some really nice weather, too. We walked all around and went to a great art museum in town called the Walters Art Museum. Hidden jewels like that in towns are always so surprising. It was a really large museum with a great collection. Afterward we headed over to an area called Fell's Point that had really fun shops and restaurants and just enjoyed meandering near the water. I ended up meeting up with Katie Reid and her parents for a GREAT dinner that night, too. Having the Reids visit was so fun and kind of made up for the fact that I haven't gotten to see my own family in a while. Anyway- the Reids treat me as their own (Sometimes better than their own! Ha ha!) and I'm always happy to see them.
That just about wraps up Baltimore, I guess! Tour is going well overall. We are just heading to our first stretch of shows traveling by bus and with fewer sitdowns after being spoiled with such a great schedule. This year of tour has already been so different than last year. Much better in some ways, but harder for me, I think. I'm having a hard time finding my life on tour. I don't feel like I know exactly what I'm doing. I don't know how to put it other than that. It sort of feels like I'm just floating around doing shows with these people and for what? Of course I believe in the work and know we are bringing a great show to audiences, but I miss my family and friends on the road so much. I think that it actually gets worse and worse. It's not something that I get used to, but I just crave them more and more the longer I am living this strange vagabond life and seeing them all living in community with each other... in houses... and with cars... hmmm- what a thought! I'm definitely having fun and making building great friendships, I just have to also find my own life on the road; maybe it's time to create something like choreographing a piece or arranging a song or learning something new or something. Maybe I need a project. Ha ha!
I miss you all tons. Call me!
Tripp

1 comment:

  1. Aw, Tripp. Your last comments make me so sad for you. It must be so hard when you see pictures of all of us together. But YOU KNOW we miss you and ALWAYS think of you and wish you were with us. The time will come, I think, when you'll decide to stay in one place for awhile. And when that happens, I sure hope it's close to HOME! We are so proud of you, and love you so much! Mom

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