I am walking in a literal winter wonderland here in North Dakota, and I am seriously the happiest girl in the world! We are in North Dakota today, the state that I’ve been just itching to get to since I heard it would be on our tour stops, and I am SO excited to be exploring this snowy state. This morning we woke up at the shining 6:30am (oh goodness) and were on the bus by 7am. We were EXHAUSTED, and slept all morning on the bus. It was a race to the bunks, and everyone was snoring by 7:05 when we pulled away from the Hampton Inn in Watertown, South Dakota. We stopped once at a Loves Gas Station in Fargo, North Dakota to use the restroom/gas, and it was snowing SO HARD! I was so excited, I spent the entirety of the break running around in the HUGE, fluffy snowflakes that were falling. I was SO pumped. I took way too many pictures, but this little Texas girl was just too excited to stop. We then drove the rest of the way to Bismarck, North Dakota, where we got dropped off by the Arena. Before the show, we ran over to the Denny’s across the street to grab some breakfast/lunch before the show, and then we were off to the theatre to do our usual pre-show things such as flight call and getting into wigs/dresses/curly toes and such. It was then time for our matinee performance, Show #5, which was at the Bismarck Civic Event Center. It was our second arena performance of the tour, which was super exciting to get the experience of performing again for such HUGE crowd at such a giant venue. We were nearly sold out, and had thousands of people in the arena at this performance! The show was thrilling, and afterwards we walked around downtown Bismarck for a little while, loving playing in the snow and seeing all of the beautiful white that was covering the city. I again took far too many photos! We then came and got our suitcases off of the bus, and checked into our rooms at tonight’s hotel - the Downtown Bismarck Radisson. Sara and I’s room was nice - a little more snug than the usual ones we had been staying in, but very cozy for this chilly weather. We were SUPER excited to find that this hotel came wtih Sleep Number beds - we had a little too much fun playing with the remotes, trying to find what sleep numbers we wanted. It was too cool! There was a Catholic church right across the street, and Sara and I decided to go to mass tonight! It was the second Sunday of advent, and a beautiful service. Keeping up with religious services can be something that is hard to do with rigorous touring schedules, between shows and traveling. We were very thankful to have no show tonight, and a free traveling schedule, so that we could spend our free night going to mass. After mass, it was 13* outside while we walked home! It was CRAZY how cold it was! I was shocked at how these people at mass were walking out like it was their usual Sunday night - because it totally was - only it was 13* and they thought nothing of it. I thought it was just baffling, honestly. Sara and I came back to the hotel and were starving, so we went down to the restaurant that was on the first floor of the hotel. We were the only ones there, and we were so surprised when the chef himself came up and offered to make us anything we wanted! It was so cool! We asked for some grilled chicken and some veggies (we needed something nutritious with all of this eating out lately), and he made us the MOST DELICIOUS grilled chicken with a sweet honey/balsamic sauce and grilled veggies. He also surprised us with some cheesy potatoes, and everything was so gourmet and delicious we couldn't even believe it. It was honestly the best food that we have had yet on this tour - and we eat out every meal, so we’ve tried a lot of food on the road. It was honestly SO delicious. He came back to chat about how we liked the dish, and surprised us even further with a free dessert - a homemade tiramisu chocolate cheesecake. It was all so delicious and just what we needed - we were so thankful! It was so fantastic! After dinner, Sara and I just had a fun night and went down to the hotel’s hot tub, which was SO nice, because we were chilled to the bone! After hot tubbing, we stayed in our room and watched some Hallmark Christmas movies, which is one of my most favorite things to do at Christmas time :) Well, I’d better hit the hay - we have a super long travel day tomorrow, heading to Mason City, Iowa, and I’d better get some sleep! More updates to come! - Diaries of a Curly Toed Elf Bismarck!
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Today was THE LONGEST travel day in the history of touring. (Well, maybe not, but it felt like it. And tomorrow is supposed to be even longer, so we have that going for us. But seriously, we are PUMPED. Bus rides are fun because we play games and watch movies and nap and chat - what more could you want?) This morning we woke up at 8:45 and we were on the bus, ready to go, by 9:30. Breakfast was not included in this fancy Pzazz Hotel and Casino that we stayed at last night, how sad. Sara and I were super thankful that we had thought ahead and packed oatmeal packets that we could cook in our microwaves in the hotel, so that we had breakfast that we could make in our room before the long drive. It was also nice to not have to eat out and spend that per diem. It’s the little things, y’all. After everyone was loaded, we drove for 4 hours until we stopped at a Jimmy John’s for lunch. We napped pretty much all morning, and watched some more America's Next Top Model on the bus. Lunch was great, and there was also a grocery store next door that some people went to, and some of us also went and checked out a thrift store that was in the same block of stores as well. Then we drove for another hour and a half, until our bus driver needed gas and some people wanted to stop for more snacks and a chance to stretch out our legs. The gas station was right next to a Dairy Queen, and we all had a blast getting blizzards, even though it was 30* outside, haha! We then drove 1 1/2 more hours to the Show Me Arena in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, arriving around 5pm. When we arrived, security was tight around the arena, which was new, as usually when we all arrive in a pack off the bus they aren't as strict with checking our tour badges. It was also very cool that the arena provided a catered meal for the cast before the show. We all were provided with lasagna, portobello mushrooms, salad, bread rolls, green beans, cookies, and drinks before our performance. It was such a nice thing to have our meal paid for, and have such a healthy and delicious one at that! We had a full performance tonight at the Show Me Arena, which was our first arena stage of this tour. It was SO cool, the house and the audience were HUGE, and the stage literally looked like we were a concert coming in to perform. It was set up almost like the concerts at the Rodeo back at home, where we had a huge arena that spread all around the stage, and the stage was at one end. This was how our stage was set up too - which was so cool to experience. Usually arenas are thought of as more of a theatre in the round, but ours was more more of a thrust-style stage, as we use drops and a flight rail, so we cannot do a theatre in the round, we need some sort of curtain. I have never had a theatre experience like this one before! We were all so excited to have the opportunity to feel what an arena stage was like. After the show, we had 30 minutes to do the usual routine - out of wigs/mic/dress/curly shoes - and hop back on the bus. Tonight, we had a ton of fun playing a few rounds of Mafia, which has quickly risen to our favorite game of the day. We played it in the back of the bus all afternoon and all night. We have gotten very strategic, and very good. We then drove 4 hours to Columbia, Missouri, where we are staying the night. We are super excited because tonight we are staying in the Stony Creek hotel again, which is the same hotel we stayed in on Sunday night before we opened in Missouri. We really loved this hotel and it’s cozy, cabin-like feel, and were so excited to be back. We unfortunately arrived past the hours for the hot tub, which was disappointing, but that’s okay. This hotel also has an option for guest laundry, which many cast members took advantage of, since it has now been 6 days without the ability to do laundry. There was only one washer and dryer, however, so not many people were able to squeeze in there. It is cool, however, to see that in the week since we’ve been here, they’ve decorated for Christmas!! I loved seeing all of the fun holiday decor, that is one of my favorite parts about all of our traveling this Holiday season. Well, this little elf is exhausted, and we have a big travel day to South Dakota tomorrow, so I’d better get some rest! More updates of the fun and SNOW of South Dakota to be posted tomorrow! - Diaries of a Curly Toed Elf On the Road again...Cape Girardeau!Back at the Stony Creek Hotel!IT’S SNOWINGGGG! Oh my goodness gracious I have been SUCH a happy camper today, getting my first taste of a white Christmastime. Today was a travel day, so we did not perform today, we traveled to our next location. This morning we woke up in our cozy Stony Creek hotel, and made our way downstairs for their home-cooked breakfast. There were fresh waffles in our hotel today, and boy-oh-boy were we pumped! We had waffles and fruit before we hopped onto the tour bus to start the long journey. We drove for a few hours until we hit our lunch spot, which was somewhere in upstate Missouri. We stopped at a Chili’s, where we all enjoyed getting a hearty meal before we hopped across the street to the Target and Starbucks to get hot coffees/hot chocolates to warm us up! It was 32* in upstate Missouri, and starting to rain/snow. I was getting SO pumped that we might finally be seeing some snow! We had a little bit of a delay, as the bathroom on our bus had broken (that is not a good thing to be broken, folks. We couldn't flush the toilet, and as you can imagine, that was a bit of a problem…). However, over the lunch break, our WONDERFUL tour bus driver, Steven, got it all fixed up, so we are now good to go! The toilet was only broken for the morning travel, so we were never in dire need or anything. This is probably a weird thing to be blogging about, but hey, this is the full experience of the tour! Once we were finally back on the bus, we had a ball playing some more card games together. I had to get some AT&T posts done, so I was working on that, and caught up with Facetiming some old friends. These long bus rides are GREAT for that! We were starting to get more north, coming through Iowa and Nebraska, and IT STARTED SNOWING! Our whole bus was erupting with excitement, and everyone was pumped. (I have to admit though, I was definitely the most pumped.) We had to pull over at a rest stop, and let me tell you - I was barreling out the doors of the bus as fast as I could to experience the snow. I LOVED getting to run around in the thick snowflakes that were falling, and see the fields covered in a blanket of white. After a few minutes for gas/restroom visits, we had to get back to our schedule and our route, so we were back on the tour bus. It was still so exciting driving through the snowy fields and cities, everything covered with a layer of fresh, sparkling, white snow. We then had 4 more hours until we would arrive at our destination - Watertown, South Dakota. This is where we would be stopping for the night, before driving the rest of the way to North Dakota tomorrow morning before our matinee show in the Bismarck Arena tomorrow! Once we arrived to our Hampton Inn in Watertown, we all were STARVED! Kyle, Rashaun, Sara and I walked next door to an Applebees, and that hit the spot! (That 2 meals for $20, y’all, is a beautiful thing) Then we all came back to the hotel and played a fun game of Quiplash, which is a voting/answering game on the computer/smartphones with a group of people, and it is HILARIOUS. We were all laughing so hard! After a few rounds, we all went our separate ways to get some things done, and now Sara and I are going to try to tackle some laundry in this hotel before we hit the hay for the evening. I’ll have to keep you updated as to how that goes. We don’t have many opportunities to do laundry on the road, so we have to take them when they arise! Thanks for checking in with us elves at the North Pole, more adventures to come tomorrow! - Diaries of a Curly Toed Elf UPDATE: No laundry could be done tonight, as Sara and I realized we didn't have any coins to pay for laundry. Rookie mistake, dang it. Let it Snow...Show #3 today - WOO HOO! & it’s officially December WOO HOO! (abcFamily’s 25 days of Christmas started today, and Sara & I are PUMPED.) Today was a busy day, full of traveling and performing! This morning we woke up in Madison, Wisconsin (FREEZING, I might add…) and hopped on the bus, departing from our cozy little Country Inn & Suites. We rode on the bus from 10 - 1, and got an hour at our lunch stop. All morning I napped off and on, and they had HDTV and re-runs of America’s Next Top Model going on the big flat screen TVs on our bus! It was WAY cool - I didn't realize that our bus was equipped with cable until today! We all really loved getting to have a chill day of watching television on the bus. At our lunch stop, a big group of us decided to go to Cheddar’s for lunch, which was in the mall that we stopped at. It was SO nice to get to sit down at the restaurant, rather than the quick food courts that we had been frequenting recently. (Don’t get me wrong - the food courts aren't bad, we have many options that way, but it was nice to get a nicer meal in our systems.) We all ordered things like chicken pot pies, potato soup, baked potatoes, and chicken fried chicken, among other comfort foods that we had all been longing for. It was SO nice, and very well needed. After lunch we were refreshed and ready for another long drive. We watched some more of America’s Next Top Model, and napped some more. It was definitely napping weather outside - grey, cold, and blustery. It took us 2 more hours until we arrived in Des Moines, Iowa, at the Civic Center where we would be performing! The bus dropped us off at the stage door, and we had some time to explore around the theatre and backstage, and set our belongings in our dressing room. This theatre had SUCH a crazy layout - there were rows and rows and rows of seats, and NO AISLES. It was WILD! Just literally a sea of green, blue, and red seats. We didn't know what to think! It was so crazy to see so many seats just stacked side to side, up and down, with no aisles running between them! How wild! And they were such crazy colors - how odd! However, there were SO many - this theatre sat around 3,000 people!! It was HUGE! The seats just kept going back further and further and higher and higher! We had an hour to kill before our call time, so we all wandered around downtown Des Moines and found the coolest coffee shop, that we all loved getting a quick coffee or hot chocolate to warm us up - it was only 4:30 but the sun had already set (WILD) and it was around 31* outside! SO cold!!! We then wandered around downtown some more, and could see the capital of Iowa, as well as some other official buildings and lots of beautiful Christmas lights! :) I loved seeing all of the beautiful lights. Once we got too cold, we headed back to the theatre and started getting ready for the show, and going through our usual pre-show checklist. We did a flight call, as well as brushed up on a few dancing notes with our dance captain that we had received after our last show. After putting on the wig/dress/pointy ears/curly toes, we were ready! It was also fun to get to meet two kids who came backstage for a backstage tour before the show - they were precious and SO thrilled to meet us, and couldn't wait to see the performance. Y’all, this audience was UNREAL. We had a full, sold-out house, and everyone was SO PUMPED. It was so full of kids and families, and they were LIVING for this performance. The most special thing about this performance, however, was the fact that the entire first row was filled with special needs individuals, who were smiling, laughing, and so filled with joy for the entirety of the performance. They all had such bright, loving, joyful faces and beautiful, bright smiles. Some were in wheelchairs, some sat beside caregivers, but all were so filled with cheer and excitement for the whole performance. It brought tears to my eyes during the curtain call to see how excited they were, and how much they had truly loved the show. By the end of our finale dance after curtain call, as the curtain was falling to close the performance, the audience was ROARING. In all of the shows I have ever performed in, I had never heard an audience as cheerful, joyful, and supportive as this one. There was so much love in the air, and they were all so genuinely appreciative of the work that we were doing and of the story that we were sharing with them. I couldn't stop smiling all night - I am truly SO blessed to do what I do, and get to share this experience with others. It is because of shows like the one that we had tonight that I do what I do. I am truly so thankful for this tour and show, and the joy, light, and cheer it brings to families all over the US this Holiday Season. After the show, with a happy heart, we all hopped back on our tour bus and were off to our next destination - we drove for three more hours to Burlington, Iowa, where we are spending the night tonight. The bus was wild with excitement because the Cowboys game was on TV, and naturally many of our cast members were quite excited to watch the game. The bus was such a party tonight! Tonight, we are at this fun and fancy hotel - Pzazz! Pzazz is a Resort Hotel and Casino, also complete with a Water Park, Spa, Arcade, Event Center, and more! It was SO cool to wander around this awesome place and explore all that it had to offer. Unfortunately, we arrived at midnight and are leaving tomorrow morning at 9am, so we won’t be here for much of anything to be open. Sara and I did enjoy exploring though, and loved seeing all of the fancy things that this hotel had to offer! Now we are back snug in our beds and ready to get some sleep before our long day tomorrow! Tomorrow is supposed to be our craziest, tightest scheduled, most hectic day of the entire tour - so say an extra prayer for us tomorrow! I cannot wait to update you on the crazy adventures that it will bring. Show #4 in Cape Girardeau, Missouri tomorrow - let’s gooooo! Goodnight, Burlington, Iowa! - Diaries of a Curly Toed Elf Adventures in Des Moines, Iowa!Show #2 today - WOO WOO WOO! Today was spectacular and we LOVED the beautiful Weidner Center for the Performing Arts here in Green Bay, Wisconsin! We had such a blast today, enjoying some time indoors on this rainy, cold day!
This morning Sara and I got to enjoy some time watching the Food Network (my favorite!) which was especially nice, because we don't have cable at our house at TCU, so we were living like kings. Then at noon we got to do a phone interview for a TCU 360 Radio Podcast! Our good friend, Caroline Love, was doing a piece on both of us being in the National Tour of Rudolph, and we got to phone in to be on the air! It was super fun, we loved getting to promote the show and share our fun touring experiences with the listeners over at TCU! It was a great experience, I had only done two or three radio interviews before, so that was quite exciting. At 1pm, we all loaded up onto the tour bus and were deposited at a nearby mall, where we had 4 1/2 hours to kill before our call for the show. We decided to go and spend some of the time seeing a movie, and decided on Moana - the new Disney movie that just came out! It was PRECIOUS, and I love Disney, so I was one happy camper. The movie’s score was composed in part by Lin Manuel Miranda, the composer to Broadway’s Hamilton and In the Heights, so that was especially fun to see his influences in this new Disney film. Overall, it was beautifully produced and the technology that is out in today’s age is INSANE with how realistic the creators can make these animated films. After the movie, we all decided to grab some lunch from the Food Court, where we yet again battled the Healthy Eating train. It is so difficult to find healthy meals in a food court and on the road, but we are staying diligent. We found some grilled BBQ chicken, rice, and stemmed veggies at a Chinese place, and that did the job. After lunch/dinner (this meal was counting as both today!) we roamed the mall a bit, enjoying popping in and out of different stores, perusing their beautiful Christmas items and decor. Once the clock hit 5, we all went outside to load the bus. Let me tell you, folks - IT WAS PITCH BLACK DARK. It was WILD! We had checked our phones, and apparently the sun had completely set by 4:12 PM! Isn’t that crazy?! Apparently it is just wacky fast how early the sun sets here in Wisconsin - the days are short and the nights are long. This threw all of us off on our way to the theatre, because we felt like it was 11pm! We then were shipped off to the Weidner Center, which was 20 minutes away from our hotel/mall. On our way to the theatre, we passed by the Green Bay Packers Stadium! It was SO exciting, and we were so pumped to see it, even though it was dark and in passing. But the stadium was all lit up, and still looked jaw-dropping and massive. It was so thrilling! Once we got to the theatre, we had a little extra time to explore, and BOY OH BOY, this theatre was STUNNING! It was HUGE, and seats 2,021 people! The multi-tiered, ornate, gorgeous house was dazzling, and it’s lobby did not disappoint. It had a huge glass chandelier with blown glass into different shapes and unique sizes, all colored to make a very original and creative fixture. It was so cool! Our Merchandise table also looked so cute and precious - this was the first time I had been able to venture into the lobby to see this! Backstage was also huge - we were so spoiled! The theatre asked us to sign their wall backstage, which was super exciting. It was so special to leave our mark in this beautiful theatre. A lot of theatres like to ask their National Tours that come through to sign their walls. We also were asked to sign a few show posters, and that was also super exciting! The show was great - it was our second show of the tour, and we had a ball! The audience was GREAT, and super responsive. We had a ton of kids at this show, who were just loving each and every moment. That was super special. :) After the show, we had 30 minutes to get out of wigs/costumes/microphones and get back on the bus! It is always a quick turn around when we have to travel after shows. Tonight, however, I had a surprise! After I had gotten back on the bus and was getting situated, our company manager hopped on and said “Samantha, you need to step out, you have a visitor!” I was immediately so confused, because I knew for sure that I wouldn't know anyone all the way up here in Green Bay, Wisconsin! How exciting, a visitor! I leapt off the bus and found the most exciting surprise - Michael Gregory, a dear friend and past castmate (we did musical theatre together all throughout high school!) had come to surprise me with a dozen yellow roses and see the show! It was SO beyond kind and thoughtful, and completely made my week. I was SO excited to see him, I couldn't even believe it! WOW it was grand!!! After getting to hug Michael and chat for a short moment, I had to get back on the bus because it was time to go! We were off on the road again, and this time for three hours to Madison, Wisconsin. Here we are staying the night at the Country Inn and Suites before we load up to go to Des Moines, Iowa tomorrow for our next show! Exciting things are happening, folks! For now, this sleepy elf must go to sleep and dream of dancing in the snow tomorrow! This Texas gal is LOVING this chilly, wintery Christmastime! (HOPING TO SEE SNOW TOMORROW IN IOWA - 40% CHANCE!) - Diaries of a Curly Toed Elf |
AuthorHi! I'm Samantha, an elf traveling across America to bring Christmas Cheer. ArchivesCategories |