coffee and bagels - the real america

So we're sitting in this tiny town in the heart of California. It looks a little like an old western film and there are posters around advertising "bluegrassin jams" and "spaghetti western" film nights. It's very cute, and, this cafe has WIFI!

We've all had bagels and coffee and now my heart is bursting out of my chest - the coffee is mega strong here.

Thank jeepers for technology really. Mel (wato) picked us up from our hotel in San Fran on Wednesday night and we squished into the car the next morning for our first road trip of the tour. It really didn't look like we were going to fit into the car, but with some good will and some swift kicks we got the gear stuffed in. All i can say is i have a talent i am only just realising. I'm a fantastic car arranger.

So we got in the car and drove around in circles for a half an hour, trying to decide which way was north and which would, as a result, have been south, and finally ended up on the highway going the right direction. A few exits missed (mel and sam very excited to be catching up), and we were on the way. Mel had printed out the directions to Sutter Creek, our first stop, which was fantastic except half the page was missing. A fact we only realised once we were firmly in the middle of the 20 lane highway with no way to get off and go find a map.... Bring on the mobile phone GPS. I think I am going to have to sell my soul to Optus when i get back to pay my mobile phone bill... i wonder how much it's worth. Maybe Sophie's would be worth more, I might have to sell hers...

Anyways, it was a beautiful, hot, drive and we ate rice snacks and fruit and chatted and got lost twice more and finally ended up in this beautiful tiny town standing outside the Sutter Creek Theatre, where we played that night. It was such a supportive crowd and the theatre had great acoustics so the audience sounded 3 times bigger than it was which was fun for us!

At the end of the night the lovely theatre owners handed us the keys, some beers and went home, leaving us to run amuck in the theatre. We cranked up the PA and jammed for 3 hours, pulling out the grand piano and having a wild old time. Then we went upstairs to our apartment (!) and crawled out the window onto the roof and chatted with a man in a rocking chair on an opposite veranda, until sam felt we were being to loud. So we crawled back in the window, lugged ourselves up the stairs and fell into sleepland. And now, coffee and bagels digested, we're heading to Berkley for show number 2. Ah...

Signing off, Route 66 Rosie