Well the sun has set and so its time to take Destiny down in preparation for tonight's drive to Detroit. There is a BBQ tonight at 9 and bus call is I believe 11:30 so I guess I better get to work. Its my job; naybe I can start calling myself the Road Manager....nice title...nice to be needed, right?

Happy trails,

MLH

The girls and I met another very interesting guy today named Joe who has a band called Shut Up and Deal. He has a great Warped Tour story but I'll let Alec tell in her documentary. Long story short, she and Liz have been offered jobs for next summer doing another film project for the band while on Warped so they are beyond thrilled. Even if it doesn't come to fruition they are happy to have been given the offer; it validates the work they are doing now.

I also talked to Kevin Lyman today; such a nice guy!!! The more I get to know him the more impressed I am. Smart, sincere, compassionate everything you wouldn't necessarily expect from the head honcho of a rock festival. He was glad to hear that Double G had taken the girls and I to Dwayne's grave in Macon. Put a smile on Kevin's face..

Aunt Edna

So unfortunately my Aunt Edna in South Dakota has been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and is now in Hospice care. My mom and brother Steve are flying out on Saturday and the girls and I may have to cut Warped Tour short to head that way ourselves. When I was with Edna just over 3 weeks ago she had been diagnosed with a kidney infection, but someone the cancer was not discovered ??? In any case, we will do what we need to do. I love my Aunt Edna and want to make sure that I do what I can to comfort and care for her. Such a total shock and bummer. It reminds that we should all make each day count, right? Do what you want to do now because you can't predict what tomorrow will bring. If Alec was slacking a little with her filming schedule she is running triple time now to make sure she gets all the footage she wants before we have to cut out.

The other Warped Tour reality is the Port O Potty. I've always abhorred them but now, I'm so happy to have one within a 1/4 mile walk of the trailer that I don't complain about the stench or lack of toilet paper. Even better, a semi clean restroom at a gas station. What I hate though is when there are blow dryers for your hands instead of paper towels; makes it harder to wash your face and other places. Baby wipes come in handy daily; I am even in the habit now of brushing my teeth with them while I drive. Sexy yes? Very effective though. So if you think that rock stars have it plush, not true. They are using the same facilities. That is why Warped Tour is not for sissy's and likely why there are so few female performers. But the community feel and the support of the staff is beyond believable and keeps people coming back year after year. The bands all get to socialize with each other and listen to each others performances which is quite rare I am told. The baby bands get to hang with the biggies and recieve mentorship and encouragement. Its pretty fun to observe.

We've also spent hours asleep in a gas station parking lot, some industrial parking lot and a few other sketchy spots. Unfortunately the Rest Stops don't always appear when you need them, though I certainly appreciate them now more than ever before.

The night before that, or rather about 2 AM when I was starting to enter a dream state while driving, I pulled into a McDonalds parking lot which seemed safe, and large enough to maneuver Destiny without getting into trouble. About 6 am I woke up and looked over my shoulder to discover that I had parked directly parallel to the drive through and there were about 20 cars lined up all of which had passed by my window by about 5 feet. The guy that caught me waking up was cracking up and shaking his head. I wonder how many My Space pictures were taken by those Kentucky commuters buying their Sausage Mc Muffins?

I mentioned our dietary style in a previous post but I wanted to write about the sleeping accomodations.

Last night Lizzi pulled into a rest stop somehow backwards from the flow of traffic and had to park facing the opposite direction between 2 semi trucks. Pretty funny picture I'm sure...California plates on the pop-up and three snoring blondes. The truckers are kind people.