Fri Jul 1 = Never did hear from Beach Performance. All the times I have been trying to give Mike some of my business, he has NEVER contacted me, as he has said - several times. I hope his mechanic skills are better than his communication skills. Maybe I am expecting too much, thinking that people will do what they say they will do.
- At the airport, 4-year old Caleb came with his mother and his little 2" toy airplane. He was thrilled when he got to go up the air stair into a twin turboprop Beach King Air that had just landed. Caleb was thrilled. Who knows, that experience might have changed his life.
- This afternoon I stopped by Rex, a Frisco mechanic. He confirmed that the right half shaft needs to be replaced, but also, that it probably would make it to Phoenix, especially if I don't cut the wheel too hard.
- Some of the Canadians who work at Ride Hatteras have decided that I am famous and wanted white pocket T-shirts with my picture. We have been negotiating for several days and, this afternoon I ordered 12 of the shirts. Thanks for thinking of the idea, Pedro.
This evening I went to my YouTube Channel and counted 110 videos that I have uploaded so far. Most of them appear various places on my website.
Sat Jul 2 = I found a new gym today. The Fort in Frisco, on the way to the Billy Mitchel airport.
- I found how to take a good shower, almost, after a beach run down at the Bath House. Wearing my swim trunks, in the bath room I put soap in my hair and under my arms, rubbed it around a little, went out to the out-door showers, rubbed the soap around some more and then rinsed it all off in the cold water. The only part I missed, I take care of every day after a BM somewhere in the privacy of a rest room on the island.
Sun Jul 3 = First thing after breakfast, and before driving my van, I checked the air pressure in my tires and compared the results of old Radio Shack gauge, which I found, after having lost it, with the new Slime gauge I had bought at Walmart as a replacement. The Slime works a little better, is more consistand and reads about a pound lower. My new goal tire pressure with the Slime will be 31.5psi rather than the old 33.0psi with the Radio Shack gauge.
- BMs and Stools? AFRAIDTOASK.com has an extensive and excellent article I found that should answer almost any question you might have.
- I discovered, comedian, Brad Williams - very creative; rapid-fire; here on Being a midget.
- Ever wonder if your hearing is up to par? Find out from a simple, private, sophisticated and standardized test with a phone call to 1-844-938-7223 (must be a regular phone, not a cell phone). Through Clark Howard, I learned about this National Hearing Test.
Mon Jul 4 = At 4:28am this morning I had my first
LVD
Low-Voltage Disconnect. To avoid battery damage, it shuts off the load of my LiFeMnPO battery at 11.5 Volts.
of the trip. I was awakened because my ceiling fan turned off at the same time as my refrigerator. That woke me up for a pee and to idle the van for ten minutes to recharge the
to last until I drove off in the morning.
- I am enjoying reading Franklyn Ajaye's interviews of famous comedians, including Jay Leno. Comic Insights: The Art of Stand-up Comedy was kind of an expensive book, but very insightful.
- The main thing I did at the airport today, other than give advisories and greet people, was to make 256 Comedy-n-Sunset reminder tabs. On the way back up north I stopped by the new Dollar General in Buxton and bought 96 q-tips, which I immediately gave away so I could use the plastic case, for my reminder tab so they don't get all dog-eared.
- I may have made a major decision today. This may be my last trip out here to
Some of the best tropical winds are during the same months as the OBX winds.
It's a lot of work and trouble to come out for the few (4 so far) days I do kiteboarding.
I have gained a lot in comedy with the 56-minute sets I have done as the producer/comedian.
I have learned to make quality 3-camera videos and process them fairly efficiently
I have done my first two gigs for $50 donations to charity out here
I have made a lot of friends out here from all around the world
I believe I am ready to try getting some
paid
with a donations to a charity
gigs, probably near home, at least for now
- Traffic was unbelievable near The Avon Pier where fireworks were to start at 9:15. I found a nearby side street with beach access at the end. Matt let me park in his driveway during the fireworks. The world is surely full of nice people. Thanks, Matt!
- I had about 40 minutes before the fireworks started to publicize my Comedy-n-Sunset show tomorrow, with hundreds of people on the beach for the fireworks.
- After the fireworks I drove up to
KHK
Kitty Hawk Kites kiteboarding center in Rodanthe, NC.
in Rodanthe for the night. It was windy the entire night.
Tue Jul 5 = I was on the water at Planet of the Apes by 11am with my 8m Best Nemesis and AXIS Vanguard 132 x 41cm twin-tip board, for a mostly solo downwinder - my first full Planet run this year. I spent a little over an hour in the No Ache Island slick working on my jumps. I didn't do many of the inlets, somehow missed the dogleg canal, but took the cross canal. Then I packed things up and went into the comedy mode.
- Comedy-n-Sunset was interesting. It was pretty windy. I had no audience until a couple came along that had a few minutes before they had to leave, so I had an audience of two... one after the wife left. It was a fifteen-minute show. The guy laughed quite a bit, especially considering he was alone at the last.
Wed Jul 6 = I spent most of this morning working on open mic comedy stops for my drive back home to Phoenix. Also I phoned Oregon Scientific. One of the cups had broken off on the wind vane on my Oregon Scientific weather station. Matt, in the Philippines, OS's customer service rep, informed me that the easily broken wind vane is not available separately, but one must purchase the entire outdoor assembly for $100. There goes my loyalty to OS!
- Pretty good comedy today. At 6:30 I took two piping hot large Gidget's pizzas to Ride Hatteras for a pizza party for my friends there. We all enjoyed the excellent pizza, good conversation and 20 minutes of comedy. They were a fun group of six. They were particularly interested in my bit on almost losing three fingers in the Dominican Republic.
- At 8:00 I went down to
Haulover
The Haulover Day Use Area south of Avon, NC - sometimes called, Canadian Hole.
to publicize tomorrow's show. Among others, I met a family that wanted my picture with the dad and to buy T-Shirts. Since selling things is not permitted in a parks area, I had to direct them to Ride Hatteras for the T-shirts. They were a lot of fun and I hope they come to tomorrow's show.
- By 9:00 I was at Turner's High Moon Bar for Chad and Rory's open mic. I went up about 9:40 to a good audience of 33, which is a little unusual for a bar crowd. Because they were mostly attentive I went for about 15 minutes. Fun! I forgot to turn on my recorder for my set!!
Thu Jul 7 = Today I finished getting 10 comedy appearances scheduled for my trip back to Phoenix, taking the southern route and adding five states to my appearances list for a total of 24 so far.
- Before the comedy show I added 12 oz of freon to my van, the first since I had the AC serviced months ago. I hope this is not a trend.
Fri Jul 8 = Great day for comedy! I double checked all my 10 comedy stops for returning to Phoenix.
- At Frisco Woods Camp Ground this evening I joined Oto and Jenny, friends from Chapel Hill, NC that I meet every year out here, for comedy and supper. I walked around the west loop of the campground, informing the people that I saw that I was going to do a comedy show at 8:45 in front of Cabin #9. I had a fantastic audience of 29, all younger adults for my 47 minute show. It was one of my most fun and responsive audiences yet. Most sat on the grass, some had beach chairs and at least two had dogs to add to the mix. The left side of the audience seemed to laugh harder. One guy, sitting on the grass, laughed so hard he pounded the ground... several times. What fun! I hope I have time to do a laugh analysis on this show.
- After the show I had supper with Jenny and Oto, who cooked up his usually delicious meal... this time fresh shrimp and vegies, mostly from their garden. Thanks for including me as a guest at your campsite, Oto!
- Earlier in the day I washed my van with a fresh-water undercarriage rinse/wash at Askins Creek BP in Avon and added 10 more ounces of power steering fluid at 320,422 miles (316 miles after previous 10oz). The power steering gave out with no singing or warning.
Sat Jul 9 = Around 5pm Oto and I did a downwinder from the Washout to Frisco Woods Camp ground. We both took our 12s and there was just enough wind for me to ride and do carves to toe-side and back with kite loops, but not enough wind to jump. Being heavier, Oto said he spent about half his time in the water. But we DID make it OK.
- Later in the evening I took a shower.
- When I got to Food Lion for some bread, I realized that I had no rear window sunshield, which had been custom made for that exact window. Evidently the shade had fallen out and blown away somewhere during the day when I had the hatch open. Most likely when I was parked at the Bath House and fixing supper.
Sun Jul 10 = Before eating breakfast I went on a search for my rear window sunshield at the bath house, the washout and at Frisco Woods Campground. No where to be found. There wasn't a lot of wind since I lost it so I hoped to find the sunshield downwind from where I had parked. Now I have another project - making a new one.
- After stocking up on motor oil and power steering fluid at Dollar Tree, I drove up to spend the night in north Rodanthe.
Mon Jul 11 = Up early (6:50 for me) this morning to cut my hairs (final time for this trip) and take a shower. Thank you, Kitty Hawk Kites!
I drove down to the Orange Blossom Bakery in Buxton, which closes at 11am, and got a bag of their famous apple uglies. Here is a little history from the Orange Blossom Bakery website:
The history of the Apple Ugly is a wonderful accident - a visiting baker showed the Oakhams how to take the leftover donut dough and mix in some apples and create a fritter. But the name Ugly has many different people who claim it as there own - and it's a natural. When you see one in person, you'll agree that the really are the most ugly baked good you've ever seen - and probably the best tasting one as well!
With an increased nod to better diets, we also serve a baked Apple Ugly (meaning that it isn't fried), and many who have tried that insist it's better than the fried versions, but we can tell you that the lines out the door in the summer are for people clamoring for a bag of the good ol' fried ones. We joked for months about putting chocolate on an Ugly - because no one could imagine any more calories on it, and one day we did. That gave birth to the Chocolate Ugly - or as we call them "Krupas". Those turned out to be very popular as well, so now they are a part of the Ugly Family! The name comes from the Polish word for "turd" (kupa) - which is really what these look like - and where can you go, order an Ugly and a Turd, and absolutely be in heaven?
- The special order of 12 T-Shirts arrived today at Ride Hatteras. The young
Canadians who work there have been very supportive of my comedy and decided that I am famous and wanted white T-shirts with just my picture on the pockets. Now they've got them. I ordered three extras to get a price break at a dozen. I'll have to see if I can pawn the three off on someonewho thinks I am good looking. As usual, all profits go to
.
I had a half of an apple ugly as my treat tonight. The Ride Hatteras crew eagerly helped me with the rest of them.
Tue Jul 12 = I have been having increasingly bothersome diarrhea for about a week. I don't understand why it requires an almost superhuman effort to make it to the toilet in time. As you near the depository point mother nature seems determined that things are going to get messy. This morning I made the biggest mess I have ever made in a toilet. I did not realize that my high-pressure expulsion did not make it into the receptical, but instead, plastered the lower part of the lid and the back part of the seat with the brown semi-liquid substance. Since the weather was warm, everything in the port-a-potty was at body temperature and I did not realize I had plopped down right into the soup. I later talked to Tim, pharmacist at The Beach Pharmacy who gave me a plan, that included Loperamide Hdrochloride tablets, that, hopefully, will take care of the problem.
- I stopped by Frisco Woods Campground to speak with Sue, the events coordinator, about the possibility of doing a weekly comedy there next year. No one seemed to know where she was or when she would be there. Guess I'll keep trying.
- For stand-up comedy, I had an audience of 23, the largest crowd yet this year, although not all at once, as it was a sort of a come and go situation.
Wed Jul 13 = This morning I had my oil changed by Josh at Auto Banks in Frisco. He found that the brake pads are almost non-existent. I may have to get the brakes fixed in Tampa. Then I'll be going back to Phoenix with only a leaky power steering pump and a clicking right half axle drive shaft.
- I replaced the AAA in my ancient Jabra BT110 Bluetooth headset. I have dropped it so many times that the only way it will hold together for battery contact is with a rubber band around it.
Thu Jul 14 = My final morning here on OBX and I finally figured an ideal morning routine:
From Buxton:
Before breakfast put on my swim trunks & cargo shorts
Head down to the Bath House
Do a beach run
Soap under my arms and maybe on my head
Rinse off under the outdoor cold shower
Sit on a plastic sheet to keep my bed dry while I...
Fix and eat breakfast
Put on my Comedy T-Shirt etc.
Head out to the Airport, or wherever.
- Tonight's final Comedy-n-Sunset show for the season had an audience of only six for the 15-minute show. They couldn't stay for a full show due to their little one, but they were a good and responsive group.
- After the show I headed toward Phoenix, and home. That meant driving north to Rodanthe for the night, being light on my brakes, as the driver's side is scraping metal from the rotor.
Fri Jul 15 = This morning I fixed but did not eat breakfast. Not wanting to let myself deteriorate, I jogged .35 miles in 4:10 minutes along Highway 12. Then I took a shower. Thank you Kitty Hawk Kites!
- About 9am I ate breakfast while heading toward Savannah, GA to visit two of my granddaughters (Anne and Robby's) and their other grandparents, Bob & Karen. The girls are staying with their grandparents for a while, as Mom and Dad are in the process of settling in after their move from Germany. You may remember that Robby is an Air Force Colonel.
- On the way, there were some pretty significant thunderstorm winds. I was caught in the I-95 blockage for about 2 hours after a 75-foot tree fell across all southbound lanes and extended more that half way across the median. While waiting with lots of other drivers for the tree to be cleared, I jogged down the .16 miles to look at the tree and .16 miles back, visiting with people all the way. Then, back at my van, I buffed both of my van's headlights and scrubbed all the white letters on my van's tires.
- When I finally got to Savannah, it was about 9:30 and the girls (granddaughters) were ready for me. How exciting. Grandma had had them take some long naps so they could stay up later. After eating a bite and doing some visiting, I did a 15-minute comedy show for them and Bob. They were a good audience.
Sat Jul 16 = Bob graciously volunteered to fix my van brakes with an offer I couldn't refuse. Getting them done now, before driving to Tampa, and done right is a big plus. While he was working on my brakes I had additional time to spend with my granddaughters, swimming and another 15-minute comedy show. This morning Brooke learned to put her head under water and, this afternoon, learned to swim under water. She is so proud... and a real ham, as you can see in this video.
Hi. I am Brooke Hanovich. I just learned to swim. Would you like to watch me swim under this?... OK... Thank you... Bye.
Heading Toward Tampa this afternoon, I spent the night at the Walmart Supercenter in Bushnell, FL.
Sun Jul 17 = I met Robby and Anne (daughter and son-in-law) at The Corner Bakery for a late lunch, then hung with them at their apartment. Then we went to look at some houses with Susan, their realtor. I spent the night with them in their apartment. Thanks, kids!
Mon Jul 18 = This morning I went up to the roof-top gym and outdoor pool there. I did a medium-heavy full-body workout. After a shower I was ready for some comedy.
Tonight's comedy was fantastic. I left the apartment about 4:30 and went to the
James Joyce Irish Pub to leave a note requesting that John Jacobs, the host, sign me up for after my comedy at Sacred Grounds.
- Then on to
Sacred Grounds Coffee House for a fun show with an appreciative audience of 35.
James the producer there asked me if I would like to do another show tomorrow night from 9-10pm. Of course! How exciting!
-
James Joyce Irish Pub had a neat, responsive audience of 29 for my five-minute set. Thanks, John!
- I got to bed a little after midnight.
Tue Jul 19 = This morning I did a P90X3 exercise routine with Anne. What a neat and intense workout! The rest of the day we visited and I processed last night's videos from Sacred Grounds and got the video uploaded.
- Anne and I did some shopping together since Robby has their rental car. Their own two cars have not yet arrived from Germany. Later, Anne went with me to the Sacred Grounds Coffee Shop. There was no audience until about 9:45 so I had time for about 15 minutes of comedy. It was a small, but responsive audience.
Wed Jul 20 = Neat day. Around 1pm I went to the roof-top gym and outdoor pool at Anne and Robby's, did a medium full-body workout in the gym, laid out in the sun and then swam about 100m in 13:27 with a pace of 3:49/100m; burned 16 calories; Strokes/Ln = 22; Stroke Rate = 23spm; SWOLF = 79 (whatever that means). In the mean time Anne used my van to look at a couple of houses and do some other running around.
- The people buying my 5 Wittmann acres are four months behind in their payments. I hate to do it, but may need to start procedures when I get back to Phoenix.
- My comedy tonight was an open mic at The Tampa Improv. Right after the show I headed toward Montgomery, AL, spending the night at the Nebraska Walmart in Tampa.
Thu Jul 21 = Long day driving. Fortunately, I had an extra hour due to the change from Eastern to Central time. There was lots of VERY HEAVY rain on the way.
- The Village Gallery had an audience of 18, mostly comics - a neat bunch. The hosts let some of the comedians go so long, that as the headliner, I only had 16 minutes rather than the 20 that they said I would have. The owners chased us comedians out right at closing time. Fortunately the heavy rain had subsided by then.
- I spent the night at the Greenville, AL Walmart.
Fri Jul 22 = I stopped by the Greenville, AL library on the way to New Orleans to find that it was closed for renovation until the first of the month. There was some heavy traffic, continuing on to New Orleans. When I arrived, I drove directly to La Nuit Comedy Club where I found the place closed up. That's the bad news. The good news is that free street parking is pretty available. I spent my several hours with supper, napping and visiting folks on the sidewalk until I met Jackie Jenkins Jr and his friend, Kyle. Jackie told me that he was having an open mic tonight at 11pm. It actually started about 11:30. It was a neat group of 14 for the show. The room is set up as a comedy room - no bar, which means that it is a higher quality audience.
- These few nights here in New Orleans will be the hottest of my trip. If I can survive them in my van without overheating myself, I'll have it made. The AC cools the van while I am driving to my night spot. The van heats up during the night and even more in the morning. Tonight I used my ceiling fan on low all night. The challenge came sleeping in, in the morning after getting to bed a little before 2am. At the last I cracked some windows, turned my fan on high and sprayed water on myself. I spent the night at the 1901 Tchoupitoulas Walmart. It has big shade trees.
Sat Jul 23 = I slept in again this morning then went to the New Orleans Public Library where I hung around, processing two videos and analyzing the jokes from a show, until their 5:00 closing time.
- There was essentially no audience for tonight's open mic at La Nuit. Finally, at nearly 1am, Jackie, the producer and host, got the show started with me as the first of four comedians, with an audiance of five - the other comedians and Jackie, himself. It was still, a fun show.
- Needless to say, I got to bed late at the Tchoupitoulas Walmart.
Sun Jul 24 = This morning I decided that I needed a special pen in case someone wanted me to sign one of my T-shirts. I don't know who would want that, so the pen should last years and years. Elinor, at the Walmart store helped me find the right pen, that is laundry proof and fast drying. We looked all over the store, in the: following departments:
School supplies
Office supplies
Ironing stuff
Craft
Fabric , where we finally found it
I used her help as an excuse to send a thank you note to Douglas Mcmillon, the CEO of Walmart.
- It was a fun group at the Hi-Ho Lounge . I had a set of 3:56 minutes, being given 3 minutes. I did separate audio with a three-camera shoot... almost. I forgot to start Camera #1, so had to settle for only the wide angle view of camera #2 and the audience view of camaera #3.
Mon Jul 25 = This morning I went to the Elmwood Fitness Center on the 13th floor at One Shell Square in downtown New Orleans and got in free with Silver Sneakers for a shower and most of a medium-weight full-body workout, but the parking garage cost me $10. After that I found that Anytime Fitness, 3817 Chartres St, where parking is free, also participates in Silver Sneakers.
- Then to the New Orleans Public Library where the street parking cost me $6 for two hours. That was enough time to update my website and process last night's video.
- Comedy tonight was at
Bear With Me @ Twelve Mile Limit. You never know what to expect when you go to a venue... especially with a name like that.
- Setting up for the show, a leg on my Panasonic camera tripod fell appart and it was too dark to find the tiny two plastic pieces on the speckled floor that hold the tripod together.
- It was a good show with a big audience, most of whom came to see Tiffany Haddish, who was two comedians before me. She got, and deserved, 20 minutes. The rest of us got four minutes each.
- Spent my last night in New Orleans at the Tchoupitoulas Walmart.
Tue Jul 26 = Early this morning they started sawing concrete near my van, so I drove to an adjacent parking lot to the shade of a big tree where it would be quieter. Well it would have been shade if it had not been raining.
- I looked for a replacement tripod at Walmart and also a Best Buy that was on my way driving to Jackson, MS. Neither had what I wanted. I found a SUNPAK 5858D TRIPOD
Model: 620-585BB on the Best Buy website and located it in the HAMMOND LA Best Buy® store, which was also on my way to Jackson. It cost only $30 (my first not-thrift store tripod), has a camera plate that is interchangeable with the one on the Vivitar tripod I use with Camera #1, has a 360 degree level, is 58" high and has tilt and pan, although it does not have a weight hook or fluid for the tilt and pan.
- Admidts the rain I arrived in Jackson to spend a couple hours in the library before heading to Fenian's Pub for comedy. I was the only comedian on the program. Just before I went up most of the audience exited. There is a strange law in MO that underaged people have to leave bars at 9pm. Matt, the host, and I decided to put off my comedy until 11:50 when there would be more of a crowd. I did about a 20 minute set for an audience of 24. Unfortunately I nearly ran down the batteries on a couple of my cameras taking videos for Matt, so did not get good video of me. I have to remember that it's important to know when to say, No.
- I spent the night at a Jackson, MS Walmart, headed toward Little Rock, AR.
Wed Jul 27 = This morning I drove to Little Rock, AR in some very HEAVY rain. I found an LA Fitness and did a medium-heavy, full body workout.
- I spent the night at a Walmart Neighborhood Market.
Thu Jul 28 = I did another LA Fitness medium-heavy, full body workout.
I did 10 minutes of comedy tonight at the Hibernia Irish Tavern in Little Rock, AR - my first appearance in Arkansas, Little Rock... and my 300th appearance! Good group of mostly comedians.
- After the show I drove across the river to spend the night at the E McCain Walmart in North Little Rock.
Fri Jul 29 = This morning I did a medium-heavy slow legs/chest workout at the North Little Rock Athletic Club under Silver Sneakers and took a shower. I spent a couple hours at the Argenta Branch Library in North Little Rock, which was converted from a post office, where I processed two videos but but did not get my website updated before fixing supper and heading to the Clarksville, AR Walmart where I spent the night. I added a quart of oil to my van.
- The forecast for tonight in Claksville, AR where I spent the night was to have a low of 71° F. By morning my outside pecs were a little sore - a good sign from my workout.
Sat Jul 30 = Today I continued on at a somewhat relaxed pace, driving to Tulsa, OK where I spent the night at the S Memorial Drive Walmart in Tulsa.
Sun Jul 31 = What a neat day! I did a medium-heavy workout at Gold's Gym/Genesis Health Club in Tulsa and sat in on a comedy class, conducted by Ryan Green at The Comedy Parlor. Probably in his middle thirties, Ryan had about 18 students and gave them insightful feedback. He is an asset to comedy. I got drowsy and started to nod off, so I went out and fixed and ate supper, then went back for the last of the class.
- Grovelling can pay off. Just before the open mic was to start, they cancelled the show due to the lack of paying customers. Jason Watts, the owner, let me do 5 minutes for the gathered comedians so I could add Oklahoma and Tulsa to my comedy list. Sean Baker, the host gave an awesome introduction for my 3-camera shoot. You can see my Zoom microphone sitting on the front of the stage (facing the audience). It was fun and the audience was great. Unfortunately I did not turn on camera #1 (my Canon), so here is the result of the TWO-camera shoot:
- I spent the night at the Barstow, OK Walmart, for a head start toward Albuquerque tomorrow.
