Thu Jul 1 = Today was a driving day with little sun and quite a bit of rain. I saw this interesting cloud formation. It looks like four cumulus clouds lined up. The white circles are rain drops on my windshield because I was driving and took the pic with my Pixel 4a phone.
- On my way to the Cincinnati area, I stopped by the Deerfield Crossing Chick fil-A in Mason, OH for supper and website work.
- Spent the night at the Cabela's in West Chester, OH, northeast of Cincinnati.
- Got to bed at 11:12 :()
Fri Jul 2 = After breakfast I drove down to Cincinnati's Greenhills Branch Library where I updated my blog, my past appearances PDF (now 1,233) and combined some of my videos for production.
- After the library closed I drove to the American Legion Post 530 where I tried eight doors before finding the right one. I met my contact, John Jones. We went up stairs to the hall and discussed the arrangements for my show.
- I spent a quiet night with ideal shade by lots of tall trees on the west side of the post parking lot. It was the coldest night since the first of my tour, with a forecast of the middle 50's for a low.
- Got to bed at 10:54
Sat Jul 3 = This morning John and I put the post's 5' poster up to announce the show and so people wouldn't have to try eight doors before finding the right one for the show.
- I just had to get into a gym so as not to deteriorate prematurely so I drove south to a Planet Fitness for a
poster trim
weekly trimming of my beard, eye brows and little quiff so I match my poster photos
, shower and a 50%-weight short fast full-body workout.
- Back at the post John and I worked out the show details, adjusted the table arrangements, fixed the lose, rattly microphone element and aimed the stage lights. John certainly worked hard to make my show a success.
- For the show we had an audience of 12. They were fun and enjoyed the hour show.
- It was my first charged admission tickets as a headliner:
- For days such as this when I had no time to update my website, I had some archived blog pages ready on my cell phone to upload by AndFTP with a revised latest blog link. The upload took about three minutes and saved me from having to get out my computer and get online.
- Got to bed at 11:28 :()
Sun Jul 4 = John gave me pretty much free run of the American Legion Post 350 so I spent most of the day in the lounge, alone since they were closed for the 4th. Without interruptions I got a lot done. The biggest job was adjusting and producing my last Comedy-n-Sunset show. Since kids were there it was a family-friendly hour of fun..
- Here's the full hour show with Geo Wagner who hosted the show and opened for me:
Here is my 47-minute portion of the show as headliner:
- I even got the show uploaded to Youtube and published.
- This will probably be my last night in the post's beautiful morning shade trees.
- Got to bed at 10:58
Mon Jul 5 = This morning I went into the
Am Legion Post#530, used their WiFi to update my website and bid the place bye and drove down to American Legion Post 69, about a half hour drive.
- I found the nearby Reading Branch Library in spite of Garmin showed it at it's old location about .4 miles north. I hung out there and did stuff like, printing microposters for my next three comedy stops. Laura R was VERY helpful.
- After the library closed at 6, I located an LA Fitness on the way to a nearby Planet Fitness for a short fast medium-weight full-body workout.
- Then back to the
American Legion Post#69 on Reading Road. Down in their Doug Out, I met some of the nice patrons, passed out some microposters and spent the night. Considering that there would be no morning shade, I got to bed pretty late.
- Got to bed at 11:05 :()
Tue Jul 6 = I spent most of this morning (2 hours) switching out the marquee. It was an interesting exercise in logistics. One unexpected challenge was getting some of the letters to not fall through the track. I hope my rubber band solution works. I figured the marquee will be worth it for 4.5 days. Thanks, Gary Blust, for letting me do it. Dark Shadow, about 41, is going to help me change the sign back (second image) on Sunday morning at 10am.
- Then, at the library, I got a lot done. Very technical and time consuming, I rated my last Comedy-n-Sunset Show for laughing and set a record for a full-length show: 6 laughs per minute and the audience laughing 22% of the time. My goal is 6 LPM and 30% laughing.
- After the library and supper I drove down to LA Fitness for one slow heavy set of each of my legs exercises, topped off with 2 minutes of elliptical.
- I had to wait for a slow-moving thunderstorm with lots heavy rain before going out to my van. On the 15-minute drive home some of the I-75 pavement was completely dry.
- Got to bed at 10:29
Wed Jul 7 = This morning I had to redo all the letters for my marquee out front after learning how to correctly insert them into a tiny channel instead of the obvious rail. Now the letters will not fall down or rotate. Also I changed 7/10 to Jul 10. I even got the J turned around the correct way (corrected sign is pictured above).
- I decided to do the show up in their hall so ALL the setup and teardown will be my responsibility.
- At the Reading library I made a real mess that took the rest of the morning to mostly recover: I accidentally deleted all the 2021 videos from my
XPS
Dell XPS-13 laptop computer with 13.3" touch screen, 60WHr Integrated Battery, Windows 10, Intel 7th Generation Core i7 CPU, 16gb memory and 1TB SSD
. It is the first time I successfully used the free version of RECUVA to get files back. Fortunately I realized my error before writing anything to the XPS's C: drive.
- I finished off the day with a little Walmart shopping and a shortened slow heavy arms workout at LA Fitness.
- Got to bed at 10:47
Thu Jul 8 = After breakfast I analyzed the lighting situation in the post hall up stairs and assured that my long XLR mic extension cord worked with their PA system.
- At the nearby library I used my EaseUS Free backup program to retrieve most of the rest of the files I had erased yesterday. It was simpler than I had expected. Just had to open the directory and right click on a file, which gave me several options. Double clicking on a backup file opens it so one can view pictures and watch videos that have been backed up.
- I was going to make a contribution to EaseUs but since that was not an option on their website, I subscribed for 2 years for $40.
- After supper in the library parking lot I bought some turkey at Walmart and, because they did not have any 97% Fat Free Beef Franks or Fat Free individually wrapped cheese slices, bought them at a nearby Kroger.
- Then I did a shortened slow heavy torso workout at a nearby Planet Fitness.
- Got to bed at 10:22 in the post parking lot that will have no morning shade.
Fri Jul 9 = First thing after breakfast Ron (Shadow) and I set up everything in Post 69's hall for tomorrow night's comedy show. I will be with my son and his family until show time tomorrow so Ron will start my chasing LED sign at 10am when the post opens. Thanks for all your help, Ron!
- This afternoon I drove up and checked in at the hotel for my son and his family. Since I had time and a good place for it, I did my
poster trim
weekly trimming of my beard, eye brows and little quiff so I match my poster photos
, took a bath and trimmed my toenails... the first trim (second image) since my pedicure back on May 3rd, 9.5 weeks ago (first imge).
Gauging from my pedicure, today I trimmed my toenails shorter than in the past and farther into the cuticles than ever before.
- I officially canceled AMVETS Post#44 in Struthers, Ohio for July 31st, 2021 because they never contacted me, or answered my phone messages or emails.
- This evening my son and his family arrived here at the MainStays Hotel in Blue Ash, OH. My granddaughter and I played Sorry and Stratego. She beat me at both.
- Got to bed at 10:53
Sat Jul 10 = After our mutual breakfasts we drove, in our separate cars up to the King's Island amusement park, about 25 miles northeast of Cincinnati. Roller coasters were our main amusements. Smaller ones with my granddaughter and the big ones with my son.
Our itinerary included:
Eifel Tower with this spactacular view
Snoopy vs Red Baron
Boo Blasters on Boot Hill
Blackout Stunt Coaster
Woodstock Gliders (The spinning motion made me a little sick at my stomach)
WindSeeker (The spinning motion made me a little sick at my stomach)
Domonback
Orion, their highest and fastest roller coaster, 91 mph (horizontal component, by my GPS was 51 mph)
Next time I'd like to include the Drop Tower and Viking Fury, but not the spinning rides.
- I about finished off my old sandals with all the walking.
- Back in Cincinnati for the evening show, Garry, the
American Legion Post#69 manager, was not excited about having my comedy show up stairs in the hall because most of the people would be in The Dugout Bar, their downstairs bar. The hall turned out well. I had an audience of only 16 but they all went to the trouble to come up for comedy. We had a fun 63 minutes of comedy. It turns out that there was a large, loud birthday party in the Dugout Bar during my show time.
- After the show I wrapped up my cameras and other stuff, but left it all up in the hall, to get to bed earlier.
- Shade was not an issue for parking my van because the forecast was for clouds in the morning.
- Got to bed at 10:36
Sun Jul 11 = After breakfast in my van, I took advantage of a break in the rain to take down my marquee messages (one on each side of the post's sign). Shadow helped me put up the post's original messages. He was a great help betting everything in the hall put away and helping me repack my van. Thanks, Ron!
- With everything packed up, I went down to the post's Dugout and researched auto dash-mount cell phone holders. On my trip north I stopped by Target bought a few grocery items and the iOttie Easy One Touch 5 dash-mount cell phone holder. The check-out price was $5 more than the online price. When I told the cashier, he immediately reduced the price for me. Unusual, and appreciated.
- My visit to Walmart did not go according to plan. They had no bulk water dispenser. Without raising an eyebrow, I replenished my van's depleted water supply with five gallons of tap water from their Garden Center using my little 6' hose. I also bought a pair of new sandals. It is the first time I bought a NEW pair. The size 9's have adjustable heel straps and fit me well.
- There was a lot of rain on the way to the Vermilion, OH Amvets Post 22. It was good to meet Joni Calamia after two years of trying to put Saturday's show together.
- Tonight was the first time I saw my name In Lights!
- Parking on the west side of the post's building, or the first time this trip, I stretched out my 50' extension cord to power my van's little refrigerator on 120v for the night, eliminating the need to idle my van to charge up the van's LiFeMnPO battery.
- Got to bed at 11:07
Mon Jul 12 = Before leaving my night parking spot I set the location as my GPS Home and reorganized the refrigerator extension cord to make deploying and stowing it more efficient. I found that it is not necessary to unplug the 12v cord. There is some sort of a relay so powering up the AC side automatically disconnects the 12v side :)
- I spent much of the day at Vermilion's Ritter Library, mostly working on my blog.
- After the library I found the best strip mall in town with a Dollar General, Anytime Fitness, Dollar Tree, Goodwill and a True Value Hardware store.
- I installed the iOttie Easy One Touch 5 dash-mount cell phone holder using the dash-mount circular adhesive pad that I had put on my dash 24 hours earlier. The holder is slick, and everything that I could hope for with firm one-handed operation. I hope the circular adhesive pad does not come loose.
- Back at the
AmVetes Post#22,
I carted in all my merch and comedy stuff for Saturday's show and had fun selling T-Shirts and bantering with some of the members.
- Got to bed at 10:35
Tue Jul 13 = First thing after breakfast I used my Weldwood contact cement to glue the half-off sole of my old right sandal. I am wearing the old sandals because my new pair is bothering my left big toe. The project was a success but I spent the rest of the day picking the dried glue off my fingers.
- Within walking distance of the post is the VacationLand Federal Credit Union, a shared branch, so I deposited the cash from my last two weeks of T-Shirt sales.
- It was a mistake trying to do things right. At the Ritter Branch Library I started EaseUS to backup my
XPS
Dell XPS-13 laptop computer with 13.3" touch screen, 60WHr Integrated Battery, Windows 10, Intel 7th Generation Core i7 CPU, 16gb memory and 1TB SSD
. Before I did, like a good guy, I updated EaseUS. It took extra time to uninstall the previous version first, and they still showed me with the "trial" version, after already purchasing a 2-year subscription five days ago!
- I finally got started with the backup at 2pm with an externally powered hub, so I could not remove it from power and let the process finish in my van. The backup took about four hours, so I was about an hour late getting to the post for their Trivia.
- At the post I was able to set up my merch and make a weak announcement about my Saturday show.
- Got to bed at 10:08 :)
Wed Jul 14 = Google sent me this map of my travels for the month of June:
- The following will likely become my daily routine for the next few days... without the beach visit
This morning after breakfast in my van, I:
Went into Amvets Post 22 to update my website, which is difficult to do at the library.
Went to Anytime Fitness for a workout and crdio on their Jacob's Ladder
Went Grocery shopping at Giant Eagle
Got a little sun at the Main Street Beach, with thin clouds, the closest thing to sun so far here in Vermilion
Went to the Ritter Public Library where Chloe Browne helped me stop my smart phone from pinging about every two minutes and with a spreadsheet sort which gave me in my following appearance numbers as of today.
Appearance type
Number of shows
Open Mics
898
New Faces
20
Guest
29
Host
49
Feature
44
Headliner
82
- Got to bed at 10:42
Thu Jul 15 = After breakfast I updated my website at Post 22. Now I am passing out my microposters as tickets for the show, rather than just for publicity. For that I have my Show Slips. - I did a short slow arms workout at Anytime Fitness and did another sun/run at the Main Street Beach at solar noon since the sun was brighter than yesterday.
- At Vermilion's Ritter Library, Brian and Paul Neil, from nearby New Albany, who have been harping for 45 years, provided some music. They have amplified harps, but sounded better, and still plenty loud enough, without using the amplifier as with this recording I made with my Sony ICD-UX560.
Brian Boru's March - Got to bed at 9:58 :)
Fri Jul 16 = Although their signal strength was good my computer could not log on to the Internet through the AmVetes Post#22's Wi-Fi, so I did a short slow heavy torso workout at Anytime Fitness and a little shopping at Dollar Tree and Giant Eagle, then went to the Ritter Public Library until it closed at 5:30pm. While there I updated my website and made a couple booking phone calls to Alaska for the first of November. No new bookings as a result :( Yesterday I added an open mic in Toledo to my schedule and my first Name on a mirror here in the post.
- After supper in my van in the library parking lot, back at the post, I COULD get on the Internet, for which I have to sit at the west end of their bar with my computer.
- Got to bed at 10:22 after a day with a little sun but mostly rain.
Sat Jul 17 = Last night there was lots of rain, but I heard not a single train until 10:36 this morning.
- Since it was still raining after breakfast in my van and since I had it plugged into 110v I stayed inside and did a lot of non-Internet work on my computer. It was quiet and I had no distractions.
- After the rain in the AmVetes Post#22 I tried little tiny samples of Joni's Pudding Shots. Yes they contain alcohol. The flavors included:
Almond Joy
Oreo Cookie
Pineapple upside down (my favorite)
Banana Cream Pie
White Reece Cup
- For tonight's show, as usual, there was a much smaller audience than expected - only 42, including the staff. Geo Wagner opened for me; his last time this year. Thanks, Geo!
- The large showroom had a bar at one end and our little two-folded-up-table stage at the other. I was able to involve some of the bar audience. Of course the 10 people who sat up front laughed a lot more and had more fun. It was a good show, with the biggest laughs from my interactions with the audience.
- Got to bed at 10:54, not too bad considering it was a show night.
Sun Jul 18 = I hung around the AmVetes Post#22 in vermilion until after noon, updating my blog, adding Joni to Recommendations on my
EPK
Electronic Press Kit for my stand-up comedy
and uploading and backing up all five media files from last night's show. Then, after lunch in my van, I headed toward Defiance, stopping by the Ottawa Tavern in Toledo where I'll be part of their open mic on Wednesday.
- About supper time I arrived in Defiance, OH at the VFW Post#3360 where I met Angela at the bar and looked over the room arrangements with Jim Thomas. He has his hands full because his bar manager quit last week.
- For the night I got Walmart's only spot with morning shade, in the far corner of their parking lot. I did have to settle for a little freeway noise.
- Got to bed at 10:23
Mon Jul 19 = After breakfast in my van here in Defiance, OH, I did a little grocery shopping in Walmart, deposited some T-Shirt cash in a Shared Branch credit union and had a short fast full-body workout at the nearby Anytime Fitness, where I updated this blog and organized my next booking calls to Alaska. I made a few calls and tentatively booked two additional shows. If they are confirmed, I will be flying to Anchorage the first part of November. Al that took until nearly supper time.
- Then at AldiI bought grapes, yogurt, bread and broccoli and then had supper in my van in the shade of one of their trees.
- Then was my first visit to the Defiance Public library. I had just enough time to make 80 B&W miniposters for Saturday's show and to visit a little.
- I finished off the evening at the VFW Post#3360 working on this blog and eating one of their salads (no Romaine lettuce).
- This was the first time I wore my new sandals all day since, a week ago I over did it and abraded my left big toe by wearing only the new ones.
- Spent a second night in my favorite corner of the Defiance Walmart parking lot
- Got to bed at 9:55 :)
Tue Jul 20 = Buying some sugar free cough drops at Walmart, I met Linda who wondered why I wasn't doing comedy at the Defiance Moose Lodge, and suggested that I try, so I stopped by the lodge and left my card to possibly book the last half of July, 2021. I'm not holding my breath.
- I stopped by Aldi and Planet Fitness on my way to the library where I printed out a map of places for me to visit in Toledo tomorrow, including Office Max, LA Fitness, the Mott Branch Library and The Ottawa Tavern
- It took a while, but I finally got RVParkie to accept acknowledge my submission of the Defiance Walmart to their phone app for free overnight parking.
- I stopped by the VFW Post#3360 briefly, then went to the Defiance Anytime Fitness and then to Walmart for my third night there, anticipating my drive tomorrow for Wed Jul 22, 2021; 8:00pm;
Ottawa Tavern; 1815 Adams St; Toledo, OH 43604 - Open Mic, hosted by Dave Crumbley..
- Got to bed at 10:27
Wed Jul 21 = After breakfast I drove up to Toledo, did a short slow heavy legs workout at LA Fitness and hung out at the Mott Library until they closed.
- So far as podcasts are concerned, Leo Laporte is on vacation and has no new tech shows and since I have already caught up on Clark Howard's podcasts, I downloaded a couple shows from Handel On the Law. I didn't get any from Dave Ramsey because his website is no longer download friendly.
- I got to
The Ottawa Tavern well ahead and had a salad and was first to sign the list and took spot #4. They had a lot of good comedians and Dave Crumbley was a good host. I did my bits for HowOld Silly Worry Wrinkled Gym(abbreviated) T-Shirts Voice. I slipped up and did not record the audio of my set.
- I hated to do it but left the show after about a dozen comedians went up and drove 20 minutes down to the Perrysburg, OH Walmart for the night.
- Got to bed at 10:44
Thu Jul 22 = This morning I drove to Defiance OH
- At the VFW Post I drew this diagram of the arrangement for this and future comedy shows.
- I visited Menards for the first time and the store knocked my socks off :) and spent the night in their parking lot. It is farther from the freeway noise than Walmart's but there is more road noise from Clinton Rd so did not sleep as well as expected.
- Got to bed at 10:26
Fri Jul 23 = Today there was a lot of rain until about supper time. This morning I did a short slow heavy arms workout at the Defiance Anytime Fitness then headed to The VFW Post#3360 where I helped Randy add my poster to the sequence of their bar video screen. We also put up a second 3' poster and figured out how I can use the TV in the big room for my show. As a result I will be changing my stage from the south wall, as drawn above to the west wall of the room... unless I change my mind again.
- My
XPS
Dell XPS-13 laptop computer with 13.3" touch screen, 60WHr Integrated Battery, Windows 10, Intel 7th Generation Core i7 CPU, 16gb memory and 1TB SSD
gave me, TPM device not detected (Trusted Platform Module) and the computer would not let me on due to password problems. When I finally got the computer going many of my programs were gone and all my settings. I had to reinstall the Sumatra PDF Reader and Firefox as my web browser and start all over with its bookmarks. Fortunately I keep the needed information in a file. The good news: all my files are intact. I will be using this as an opportunity to lean out my computer and its desktop.
- After the library closed at 5, at the Defiance Planet Fitness, I did my
poster trim
weekly trimming of my beard, eye brows and little quiff so I match my poster photos
, took a shower and did a short slow heavy torso workout. I finished off the evening back at the Anytime Fitness still getting my XPS set up.
- For the night, it was back to Walmart where I got a good night's sleep.
- Got to bed at 10:43.
Sat Jul 24 = It rained off and on all day and evening. After breakfast I did shopping at Aldi and Walmart then went to the VFW Post#3360 to put my LED sign up on the room divider... with Velcro. Perfect conspicous place!
- The show went well. The arrangements turned out different than eigher my opener, musician TJ Reno, or I expected. Thank goodness for being flexible. There was a pretty good audience of 32. They appreciated the evening of entertainment and comedy.
- Got to bed at 11:18
Sun Jul 25 = This morning I left Defiance, feeling good about my visit. Some highlights from my stay in Defiance were seeing this one-horse carriage giving rides near the Defiance Library. Before I saw it I heard all the bells jingling.
Having TJ Reno open; the first time to have a musician open for me
Getting a new fan: Eva English was the best laugher at the show.
- I arrived at the VFW Post#2133 in Cleveland OH in time for a 1:00 lunch in my van in their shade trees. The post opened at 2pm. What a good bunch of people.
- This evening it took about an hour out in my van to upload all the media files from last night's show to my 5gb external hard drive and to also back the files up up.
- So far this tour I have had six new firsts - Got to bed at 10:32
Mon Jul 26 = I got a pretty good routine for my days, which I did today. It started out after breakfast by going to a gym, in this case LA Fitness, then going to a library, in this case Cleveland's Rockport Branch, then going back to the post where I had spent last night, in this case, VFW Post#2133 until time to go out to my van for the night.
- My big project at the library was to make seven of my Album 2's using my last seven empty 16gb drives.
- Got to bed at 10:57
Tue Jul 27 = First stop after breakfast was Planet Fitness for a short slow heavy legs workout and elyptical. Then it was the library until they closed at 6pm. Then to the VFW Post#2133 where I added to my Firsts, as my first Opening Comediation, Liz Frisius; Jan 15, 2021; American Legion Post 54; Cooliedge, AZ
- Tanya at the post did a spactular job with the white cotton T-shirt with the white logo that I had given her Sunday evening to die-dye. The colors I chose were black and royal blue:
- Got to bed at 10:46
Wed Jul 28 = I went to the library right after breakfast. At the library I phoned Jerry Jaffe,local comedian and open mic producer. We will keep in touch. By phone I also confirmed the last two shows for my Alaska trip. Now to get it through their email reply.
- FTP did not work with the library's Internet so I could not update my website there. I was releaved when I could do it at the VFW Post#2133. Amy there won't be able to attend my show on Friday because she will be baby sitting for a friend so she bought my Album #2, two T-Shirts and now is on my Fan web page. Thanks, Amy... Duet, which gets all the profit, also thanks you.
- I drove about four miles up to The
Lakewood Village Tavern for their long-running Wednesday Open Mic... my third time to perform there in seven years. The audience of about 38 was not very responsive to any of the comedians. Jeremy Demery was the host.
- A little wildlife in the VFW Post Yard included: Monday morning, this deer and Wednesday morning a lot of birds. Pictures snapped from inside my van with my Pixel 4a cell phone.
- Got to bed at 12:17, having taken an hour nap in the afternoon
Thu Jul 29 = My first stop this morning was at the Rockport Library where I took care of some website stuff, phoned my American Legion Post 29 contact in Alaska and emailed a couple TV stations.
- During lunch in the parking lot I phoned and then texted The Buzzard, a local radio station, about my show.
- I drove to the LA Fitness and did a
poster trim
weekly trimming of my beard, eye brows and little quiff so I match my poster photos
, had a poo and took a shower but did not have time for a workout because I wanted to get back to the VFW Post#2133 by the time they opened at 5pm.
- There I updated my website and checked out the upstairs hall. It is not going to be ideal for my show, but will be workable. I just hope I get a good audience. I also got a new fan, Luci Koch (pronounced, COOK):
- Got to bed at 10:38
Fri Jul 30 = I did a short slow heavy arms workout, a poo and took a quick shower at LA Fitness and then drove to the Rockport Library for lunch in my van in their parking lot and then went in to upload the audio recording to my XPS of my Wednesday appearance and work on my website.
- Tonight's comedy show was one of my best... in a bar. Everyone listened and laughed. Don, the commander had all the TVs and gambling turned off during my show. It was also a record-length show of an hour and 19 minutes including my 4-minute opening and my video.
- Some of the guys helped me take all my stuff up to my van... in one trip. The members at the post were a cohesive group and had more comradery than probably any other post on this tour.
- It was my last full-length show of this tour.
- Got to bed at 11:44
Sat Jul 31 = Before heading toward the Loony Bin in Wichita Kansas, I went to the Rockport Library there in Cleveland to move all the media files from last night's show to my external and backup hard drives, to update my louonstage file and, the big project, to add a hover picture to the bottom of Fans of Luci from last night. She wanted me to sit on her lap. Here is the result:
Luci Koch ("Cook"); Cleveland, OH; VFW Post 2133; 7/29/21
- Then I headed out: stopped by a Columbus Walmart for an oil change to find that they did not have the right oil filter, so drove all the way to Camby, Indiana, southwest of Indianapolis, for the night.
- Since it was late and I had no ftp Internet all day, I used AndFTP to upload my Oct, 2013 blog.
- Got to bed at 11:52
- Here is where Google tracked me during July, 2021:
-
