Sat Jul 1 = Around noon I left the Pocomoke City VA Walmart, headed toward New Jersey. The two most likely comedy stops in New Jerseys were Secaucus to the north and Atlantic City to the southeast. When I reached the fork in the road, I stopped and made a couple of phone calls and checked for text and email messages. No comedy, so I headed to Atlantic City.
- I hung around the Atlant City Comedy Club but their bill was filled. I ended up putting on a 19 minute COMEDY show on the famous boardwalk for a delightful family of four:
Hopeton (Dad)
Susette (Mom)
Dillon (13-yr old son)
Rhyon (appx 12-yr old son)
Here's a selfie of me on the Boardwalk.
It was neat to see all the places in the game of Monopoly like Boardwalk Baltic Avenue and Park Place. Well, not quite all. I did NOT see the jail.
- Spent the night in Hamilton Township NJ on the way to Delaware.
Sun Jul 2 = This evening's COMEDY was in Newark, DE at the Argilla Brewing Co. Greg ran a good show: all musicians except me. Greg gave me a flexible 15 minutes. The response was good for my entire 15:40.
- I spent the night at Bel Air South, MD on my way to Baltimore.
Mon Jul 3 = Today I went to Giant for groceries because Walmart does not have fat free cottage cheese or fat free cheese slices. Giant had 24 oz blueberries for $3.69. Guess what I will be eating for the next few days instead of raisins?
- COMEDY tonight was at Teavolve in Baltimore, MD. I did 11:23 for my 12-minute set.
- Spent the night in Chantilly, VA on my way to Roanoke.
Jul 4, US Independence Day = On the way to Roanoke, VA this afternoon I stopped by an Anytime Fitness for a hot shower massage for my back and a light, full-body workout.
- The open mic at Schooners in Roanoke was good. I was the only comedian. I did a 15-minute set about 7:45 pm, and then at 9:45 a second set with Yoga, Boxes and Avalanche while the musicians set up for their jam session.
- The Big Pine Comedy Festival Lineup came out and I am not on. I'll probably go up to Flagstaff for the event September 14-16, 2017 for a little open mic time and inspiration.
- Spent the night in Salem, VA on the way to Beckley, WV.
Wed Jul 5 = This afternoon I hot-massaged my back in the shower at the Anytime Fitness in Nitro, WV and did a full-body medium-weight workout.
- Muncheez has a giant stage (mostly for music), bar and hall out in the middle of nowhere, or Beckley, WV, if you care. I featured for 32:30, sold two T-shirts met some nice people and had a good time. I spent the night across the river at the Beckley Walmart.
Thu Jul 6 = I spent several hours at an Anytime Fitness on my way to appear at Wayne's Place in Middleport, OH for tonight's comedy appearance, found out that Wayne's Place was closed, so arranged to do comedy tomorrow night at The Hartford Coffee Co. in St Louis where I appeared three years ago.
- Spent the night in Sterling, KY on the way to St Louis, MO.
Fri Jul 7 = Hard day driving to the The Hartford Coffee Co. in St Louis. Lucky I was driving from Eastern Time to Central Time.
- The van wouldn't go after I stopped at the stop sign leaving Walmart on my way to return a radiator cap at Advanced Auto Parts behind Lowe's. The van finally did and I eventually made it to Advanced where I added two qt of automatic transmission fluid.
- I was the only comedian at The Hartford Coffee Co. After the initial round of three songs or eight minutes, we were each given one song or four minutes in the speed round. Good people, and Amelia was a good host.
- Spent the night in O'Fallon, IL on my way to Louisville to see a Saturday night comedy show at The Caravan COMEDY Club.
Sat Jul 8 = There were only fancy houses where my Garmin GPS said there was an Anytime Fitness and no other one or LA Fitness on the way to The Caravan Comedy Club in Louisville, so no gym for today.
- The comedians tonight at The Caravan Comedy Club were good although the audience small, 27, I thought for an early Saturday-night crowd. Matt Holt was the headliner with 50:39, Sal Demillia was the feature with 32:03 and Adrienne was the host with 10:00. After the show I got to meat the owner, Diannea (Kerry) Comstock.
- Spent the night in St Louis in the east area of the Mid City Mall parking lot where there would be some shade in the morning. About 7am I moved the van to an unmarked parallel parking place of questionable legality where there would be full shade until 10:30 am.
Sun Jul 9 = The showers there in the Mid-City Gym were out of order so I drove south to the Anytime Fitness at 3622 Mall Rd, Louisville, KY for most of the afternoon. In addition to doing the usual poo, shower and workout, I tried some deep work for comedy writing: from Deep Work... a book by Cal Newport.
- Spent the night in south Louisville.
Mon Jul 10 = Today started out as driving day to see my son and his family in central Kentucky, but ended up at a repair shop in Lexington. The radiator fans, unbeknown to me, quit working going past Lexington on I-64 so the radiator quit cooling when the traffic slowed to a crawl due to an accident. After a couple of hours to let the van cool down, fixing lunch, checking fault codes (none found), researching mechanics etc., I made it to Sturgill Car Care Center in Lexington for the night. Randy and Terry were very accommodating.
Tue Jul 11 = I made it to my son's about 11am. What a delightful day with him, his wife ad my 3-year old granddaughter. Of course she showed me all her favorite toys. Tops seemed to be the spine blocks with which she created all sorts of things. Toward evening the four of us went on a 1.98-mile trail walk. I topped of the evening with a bath.
Wed Jul 12 = My son (a teacher on summer break), granddaughter and I went out for breakfast at the local Cracker Barrel while my daughter-in-law went to work. Our short visit ended at 3pm when I headed out toward Fishers, IN for a comedy appearance.
- I made it as far as Lexington, KY to a refuel stop on I-75, Exit 110 at a Speedway. Just as I arrived, the serpentine belt came off so immediately the van overheated (no water pump action), the A/C stopped cooling and the power steering quit. I got gasoline, pulled up into a parking spot. I got a lot done, including scheduling appearances in additional states, at the McDonalds across the street for about four hours while the van cooled down and traffic became a non-issue for driving to Exhaust Pro where they will install a new serpentine belt in the morning. I had to stop once on the way to let the van cool down for an hour, so fixed supper and read Mark Twain.
- While at Scott's I misplaced or lost my car/house/mail keys. Along with the keys I had my car's door-unlocking fob and my Anytime Fitness entry fob, which I had just moved from my gym bag to my key ring. I am now using a spare key for my van and not going to Anytime Fitness.
- I spent the night in Lexington at a pawn shop next door to Exhaust Pro because I got the wrong parking lot.
Thu Jul 13 = At about 8:15 this morning I drove my van into the last bay of Exhaust Pro and they immediately got started on the serpentine belt. I was away about an hour later with a new belt; not guaranteed off the lot due to oil flipping onto the belt. Hopefully it will get me home to Phoenix... taking the long route home.
- It DID get me to Chicago in plenty of time for the open mic at the Logan Bar And Grill - my first appearance in Chicago. What a show, with two musicians and three comedians. We each got three sets. My first one, Old/XXX/Yoga/Boxes, killed, with an audience of 52. By my second set some of the audience had already left, leaving 30, mostly toward the back. The third and last set, just before midnight, was my somewhat famous Viagra, to a small audience of 12.
- What talent!
Collin McGee, Acoustic Guitarist did things for the open mic that I have never seen done before with a guitar. I hope he becomes famous.
Christopher Sutter did three neat raps.
- I spent the night in Chicago
Fri Jul 14 = Since I could not find an open mic for tonight, I went to thhe Chicago Laugh Factory and saw their show. There I met MAXine who gave me a card for Curtis, suggesting they might be able to get me on for a few minutes while I am here in Chicago. I emailed Curtis, but never heard back.
- I spent the night in Oak Grove Village, which Walmart had good shade, but was a long way from my Saturday performance, due to my miscalculation.
Sat Jul 15 = I had to drive back east into Chicago for tonight's COMEDY. I wondered if I was in the right place, entering a little door propped ajar with a little rock, to narrow scuffed up hallway leading to a narrow stairway. It lead to the No Shame Theater. It was a fun, creative bunch.
- Back to Oak Grove Village for the night.
Sun Jul 16 = Tonight's COMEDY was at Laugh Out Loud, a real comedy club, tucked away in a big mall area in Schamburg, IL. Someone there mentioned an open mic at The Drop Lounge in Chicago tomorrow night so naturally I checked it out and added it to my schedule.
- Spent the night at the Walmart at 646 W Diversey in Chicago.
Mon Jul 17 Got a scare this morning. My refrigerator high-temperature alarm went off because the refrigerator had quit working. It turns out that it the cigarette lighter plug came loose from its socket on my LiFeMnPO house battery. To get to, find and fix the problem I had to move a lot of things.
- The Drop Lounge (their logo is a drop of water) is sort of a cave atmosphere half underground in Chicago. My Viagra routine went over fairly well. It was a fun group. I think it was the second time I have ever done COMEDY in the dark, this time with a few Christmas lights over the bar area. Poor guys, you couldn't even see the Black comedians.
- Spent the night in Niles, IL
Tue Jul 18 = On my way to Wisconsin I saw a touchless car wash so washed my van. It needed it after driving in the rain the last week or so.
- Mason, at Anytime Fitness was super. He got my membership fob replaced so I can again use my membership. The gyms are scattered almost everywhere.
- My only appearance in Wisconsin and Milwaukee was at Frank's Power Plant. Another good show. There certainly are a lot of good people in the world. Too bad most people do not seem to see them.
- Spent the night in Milwaukee.
Wed Jul 19 = This morning, since I had lost my Jawbone Bluetooth headset and my old Jabra one one was cracked to the point of the battery not making a connection, I bought a new Plantronics Explorer 102 at Walmart.
- Lake Michigan was calling my name, well at least the beach was. After several days of overcast skies and heavy rain, it was sunny today and I hadn't gotten any sun since the last of June. I did a beach run and sun. The beach was certainly not clean like with OBX where the Atlantic washes all the human trash and little round rocks away.
- On to Chicago for COMEDY at Cole's. This seems to be the happening place for "young" comedians, with more than I have ever seen in one place in Chicago.
- Spent the night in Bolingbrook, IL
Thu Jul 20 = Major problems with my Nexus 6P cell phone today. It did an auto power off during the night and would neither turn on nor charge. I measured its input current, voltage and wattage. The upshot is that when it becomes fully charged, it will stop charging and will not start charging again, even if the battery runs down completely, until it is disconnected and reconnected to a USB power source.
- This evening I went to The Brew to ave a chicken salad, socialize and tell people about my Sunday show there.
- Spent the night at a Davenport Walmart.
Fri Jul 21 = I hung out in the Rock Island Public Library until it closed. I recharged my shaver - the second time it needed it in this trip.
- I found an open mic (they call it a showcase) at the Speakeasy in Rock Island, IL. I did my Dominican Republic hurt hand routine. James Draper the host and al were great.
- Spent the night in Moline, IL one of the quad cities.
Sat Jul 22 = Today I phoned into the Leo LaPorte the Tech Guy national talk show, about finding cameras that will record hour-long video for my comedy appearances.
- The Moline, IL Public Library was my office until it closed, then a Moline Anytime Fitness.
- This evening, I drove north across the Mississippi river again to The Brew in Davenport, IA to tell patrons about my comedy there tomorrow night.
- Had one of the quietest, shadiest nights yet at 16 Crest View Ave in Davenport. My motivation to try a residential area: there was no nearby Walmart with shade in the morning.
Sun Jul 23 = Since the libraries around here are closed on Sundays, I spent most of the day at Anytime Fitness working and working out and hyping my comedy appearance at The Brew tomorrow evening.
- I have to be careful that I don't jeopardize my future be being a YOLO (You Only Live Once) or suffering from GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome). Sort of related to the former, I mailed in $3 to the SJTA for the toll I missed paying on the Atlantic City Expressway earlier this month.
- COMEDY tonight was awesome at The Brew in Davenport, IA I had published a 9pm show, but it turned out to be at 10pm. Some people came to see me at 9 and could not stay for the show at 10, so, on the patio, I put on a 20-minute show just for them and some others who were there, giving me an audience of 8. The 10pm show was a good open mic. The audience of 24 particularly liked my STINKY BABY punch line. It was sort of the theme for the rest of the night. The bar tender said that I got more people to the open mic than anyone else ever had. Cool!
Mon Jul 24 = Driving to St Paul, MN I got a little drowsy so took two short naps on the way.
- COMEDY tonight in the Camp Bar Showroom was a lot of fun. Ski, the producer, was full of energy.
- Spent the night in Lakeville, MN.
Tue Jul 25 = Fifth time my van broke down this trip, and the second time because of the cooling fan relay. Fortunately none of the breakdowns effected my comedy schedule. Two times the serpentine belt came off due to oil from the power steering pump (we think). One time the van was overheating due to a radiator problem.
- This time the van overheated after I left the freeway for fuel at Urbandale, Iowa near Des Moines. While I was on the freeway, the ram air kept the engine cool without the fans.
- I spent the night in the parking lot of Ultimate Automotive in Urbandale, IA. It was the hottest night yet this trip. I kept cool with my ceiling fan on high and spraying my extremities with water three times during the night.
Wed Jul 26 = Ultimate Automotive got me underway with a new cooling fan relay and socket, thanks to, mechanic, Ryan Roth. Since the parts are from NAPA, they AND the labor are guaranteed for 12,000 miles or 12 months. Now, THAT is worth the extra expense of buying NAPA parts.
- I made it to Omaha in time for a light workout and web work at Fitness Anytime before heading to The Barley Street Tavern.
- The Barley Street Tavern is a neat place. More than half of the footage is a large showroom where Bill hosted a good open mic. It seems that Omaha has a whole lot of open mics and other comedy shows around town. I included my Pee sequence for the first time in a long time. It went over pretty well. My new approach with T-shirts was not to put out the display but, rather, go around before the show telling the comedians about the shirts. I sold 5 of them and got two donations to Duet
- I spent the night in Omaha just north of the Mount Nebo Baptist Church. Pretty quiet and pretty good shade.
Thu Jul 27 = This afternoon I drove to Sioux Falls, SD, stopping by a Walmart on the way for an oil change.
- The Ronning Library in Sioux Falls, SD is everything a library should be, and everything that the libraries in Illinois are not.
It has:
Extended hours ('til 9pm most days)
Reasonable printing prices (10¢ per page)
Easy and free guest pass (which I used for one of their computers to print out new announcement slips)
Staff that was eager to help
An excellent paper cutter for patrons to use
Good Wi-Fi with no logon junk
It's too bad I have to leave for Denver, CO. after tonight's show.
- Tonight's comedy was weird and not as planned. It turns out that Wacko's Comedy Club closed its doors on Monday. I was desperate to do some comedy because South Dakota was going to be my 35th state. I checked with a number of bars, Karaoke locations, a pizza place and even homeless shelters. No dice. Thanks to a bartender at Billy Frogs, I was able to corral five people out on the patio for a 14-minute show.
- Spent the night in Sioux Falls, SD.
Fri Jul 28 = Driving day: Both my Garmin and phone GPSs took me through lots of scenic but deserted, back highways in Nebraska. I spent the night in the big city of Arnold, NE - two gas stations, neither one of which is tended.
Sat Jul 29 = More driving today: Anytime Fitness is everywhere - unless you look in places like North Plat Nebraska. While in North Plat I refilled my van's running water system. Thanks, Dollar Tree!
- Got to Denver, so this evening I went to Be On Key, met some of the staff and told a few people about my comedy appearance scheduled for Tuesday.
- Denver does not have any Walmarts with good morning shade trees, so I spent the night at a Walmart Super Center in Aurora, CO,
Sun Jul 30 = My van looked shiny and new this afternoon, but couldn't be driven because the serpentine belt popped off when I sprayed the alternator pulley with engine cleaner at a car wash in Denver.
I spent about a half hour, down and dirty, trying to put the belt back on myself. The back of my left hand is blacker than the front!
Damian (720 296-6560), excellent mobile mechanic put it back on and told me how to possibly do it myself in an emergency situation.
- Spent the night on the west side of the Anytime fitness building (3698 W 44th Ave, Denver) for morning shade.
Mon Jul 31 = In spite of what I might like to think, I'm a wuss. I was leaving Anytime Fitness this afternoon and a big guy wanted to come in without a key fob. I told him I couldn't let him in, so he barged his way past me, saying he was a member and was coming in anyway. The guy in the office nodded at him that he was OK. Guess that's it for their member security. Next time I just won't exit in that situation.
- I spent the rest of the afternoon at Denver's Woodbury Branch Library until they closed at 6pm (tomorrow's hours are 12-8), and then in their parking lot comparing the Dell XPX-13s from Dell and Best Buy.
- Spent the night on a quiet, shady residential street in Denver a little north of the Woodbury Branch Library.
