Heading toward CALI!!!

With only two stops left in our 7 show, 7 day, 7 city section of tour, we headed back to Washington and the beautiful little town of Wenatchee. As usual, we didn’t know what to expect even after looking at google maps for research. When I woke up that morning, though, I was thrilled! We were sitting down in a gorgeous valley surrounded by snow-capped peaks and sitting right on a river. It was really an awesome setting. I got up fairly early to explore the riverfront area where a park had been built up and walked around the main street of town. It was really nice to have people say hi as I passed them on the sidewalk and to meet welcoming people that were so willing to help and guide me along my way.

After a workout at the local gym the whole cast met up for lunch at a really fun spot I staked out called Lemelo. It was a funky, bright café with a huge menu of giant sandwiches, pizzas, and paninis! YUMMM! The theatre in town was a beautiful space with a great crew and we were excited to be so welcomed. From Wenatchee we had another quick stop to end this hard week in Medford, OR. Upon arrival we trekked to Sally’s Diner where we grabbed a great breakfast. We enjoyed a HUGE gym in town before getting to walk around and explore. Me and Tavis covered most of the town in about 30 minutes and then met the rest of the cast at a spot Kevin found called Porter’s! They had some pretty sweet deals on great food and we were well-fed for another good show that night!

To celebrate our day off we were in Arroyo Grande, CA and we made sure to make the most of it! Arroyo Grande sits right by Pismo Beach so we figured we better take advantage of it and spend some quality time with sand between our toes! Tavis and I headed down to workout on the beach, but instead of walking, the manager of our Holiday Inn volunteered to drive us! Heading to the water he realized that we were so close to a great spot that he wanted to show us so we turned down and headed to a small grove of trees. There on Pismo Beach were dozens of cars pulled over to see the miracle of the monarch butterfly migration!

From late November to early February over 100,000 monarch butterflies come to this acre of land from all over and live there. What was also amazing is that they only fly and are visible if it is dry, sunny, and over 60 degrees outside. Conditions were perfect and we were absolutely in awe. God is so big and so good. Even if I had planned a trip to see this natural phenomenon it couldn’t have worked out so well. After a nice workout on the beach the rest of the cast came down and we walked around, going to see the butterflies and watching the sun set on the Pacific! It was exciting to be there because I had never been in the Pacific Ocean on all my travels!

From there we walked down the beach to a town area where we scoped out a Mexican place for dinner. Mmmm- I can taste the lobster enchiladas now! After that we had another lucky twist of fate when we stopped into Alley Cat’s jazz club. It was a cute little restaurant with a tiny stage where a trio was playing. We soon met the owners, a young couple who basically had this place fall into their laps and had reopened it only 10 days earlier!!! They were so nice and their son was adorable, running around and keeping us all entertained. We couldn’t resist jumping up and singing, though, and the band was thrilled to find out we knew so much of the music they were playing. The mic was ours for quite a while as we shut the restaurant down!!!

When Alley Cat’s closed down we went around the corner to top off the night at Harry’s. It was quite a dive, with a singer performing everything from techno to Tony Bennett. Bizzarre. We had fun and were quite impressed with Katie R and Kim’s impeccable balance and Katie M’s ability to make great friends so fast! I love my cast so much. A quick cab ride home finished up the night. The next day we had lunch at Orcutt Burger and my burger was topped with avocado and bacon. Yup. Then I got my hair cut at a champion barbershop! My barber was hilarious, giving me advice on how to get my medicinal marijuana card in Cali and telling me about her adventures at Woodstock! Ohhhh, California. We had a great time in Arroyo Grande and our show went really well. It was great to have the owners of Alley Cat show up to see us, also! They are so sweet. I miss you all so much. I hope you are digging yourself out of the snow!

Tripp