Quick Post from Roseburg, OR

Our last golden day off on tour was spent in Roseburg, Oregon and it was a pretty lazy day for me.  Started out as a cold, drizzly day so I pretty much stayed in the room.  Mike O and I walked up to Walgreens after the rain let up.  Mike, Robin and I went back to Casey's for lunch then I came back to the room and read and slept through most of the afternoon.

Just to get out of the room for a while Mike O and I decided to take a walk in a park not far from the Windmill Inn.  The clouds broke up a little and we got a chance to taste a little fall foliage, Roseburg style.

The Umpqua River which runs through Roseburg

Sunset over Roseburg

Back in the room for the night and watched a little of the World Series. (Did you know Lou Gehrig had the highest World Series batting average?  .361)  We get that extra hour of sleep tonight (just in case I didn't get enough during the day) but we leave at 8:30 in the morning for Longview, Washington and a 3 PM matinee.

Happy Halloween!

From Santa Rosa, CA to Roseburg, OR

Haven't had a lot of spare time to make blog entries the last couple of days, so I've got a lot of ground to cover - both metaphorically and geographically.  Santa Rosa is almost as far away from southwest Virginia as we get on this trip, but it was also the place where I have seen the most people with connections back home.

Robin and Hardy warming up before the show

The stage at the Wells Fargo Center for the Arts

Entrance to the theater

We arrived at the Wells Fargo Center for the Arts Thursday morning for a sold out student matinee.  The show went well and afterwards I had a chance to visit with Don Bowman and his girlfriend Julie.  Don is the son of Larry and Joyce Bowman, friends back in Bristol.

During the afternoon break Robin, Mike O and I took a cab to Paradise Ridge, one of the many vineyards that make the area around Santa Rosa known as California's Wine Country.  It was a quick but relaxing visit.

Mike O and Robin kicking back with a view over one of the Paradise Ridge vineyards

Llamas on the hillside overlooking the winery

Had our second show that night and things went well.  The Wells Fargo Center hosts a lot of different types of entertainment, from music acts to comedians to plays.  In fact, the folks there told us that Wells Fargo is one of HBO's main places to tape specials.  The folks there were incredibly kind and accommodating.

Wells Fargo marque at night

The front of the theater reflecting the sunset

After the evening show I had a chance to visit with Mary Ann Slaughter and her husband Allan Moss.  Mary Ann is a friend from way back.  She and I worked together in radio theater in the 90's and even did some Theatre Bristol work together back in the 70s and 80s.  She now lives in Napa (about an hour from Santa Rosa) and had seen in the San Francisco newspaper that we were going to be in Santa Rosa so she'd made plans to drive the hour from Napa to attend our show.  Mary Ann also has a Barter connection.  Her daughter Lisa was once an apprentice at Barter several years ago.

The next morning we headed north from Santa Rosa toward Oregon.  As has been the case so often on this trip, the scenery continued to awe us.

Ben and Sean appreciating the northern California countryside

Going into northern California takes you into the southern end of the Cascades and near the town of Red Bluff we could make out Lassen Peak, the southernmost active volcano in the Cascade range.  Before Mount St. Helens, Lassen Peak was the site of the last volcanic eruption in the Cascades (in 1915).

Lassen Peak

As we moved further north the terrain became even more mountainous and in the distance we could see Mount Shasta.  It pretty much dominated the horizon until well after we made in into Oregon.  As we continued north clouds began moving into the mountains and stayed with us all the way to our stop in Roseburg, Oregon.

Mount Shasta

Clouds roll into the valleys of the southern Cascades

Sunset in Oregon

After we checked into our hotel several of us walked a couple of blocks to Casey's, a highly-recommended diner.  We weren't disappointed.  It wasn't crowded and the service and the meals were outstanding.

Vince ordered the special for takeout at Casey's.  It took two huge bags to hold it all.  If you're ever in Roseburg, go there to eat.  It's well worth it.

This is our last golden day off on tour so we're not travelling today.  It's a rainy day in Roseburg and even the locals admit that there's not much to do in town.  Several people are renting cars for drives into the mountains or over to the Pacific, about an hour-and-a-half trip either way.  Some of us are taking advantage of the time just to chill and relax here.

I have to say that even though there's not much to do, the people I've met in Roseburg have been - without exception - some of the friendliest and most outgoing folks we've met on tour.  If the folks at the Windmill Inn and Casey's are any indication, Roseburg is a truly cordial community.  So I might just make a visit downtown if for no other reason than just to chat with folks along the way.  Not a bad way to spend a day off.

Leaving San Francisco for Santa Rosa

We left San Francisco on the morning after a cable broke on the Bay Bridge so (along with everybody else in the city) our way out to the north was across the Golden Gate Bridge.  We were sort of concerned that traffic might be bad but we didn't have a show yesterday so there were no time constraints.

We drove through the heart of downtown to get there so I got lots of pictures.  Here are some of the best ones:

Candlestick Park

Heading into downtown

The streets of San Francisco

City Hall

Note the cablecar in the center

Down the hill toward the bay

The Golden Gate Bridge

Alcatraz from the Golden Gate

One last look back at the bay from Sausalito

Traffic really wasn't so bad for us since we went through right after lunch.  We got to Santa Rosa in mid-afternoon and I headed for a laundry to wash clothes.  A pretty quiet night and a good night's sleep got us ready for two shows today at the Wells Fargo Center in Santa Rosa.  We've got a packed house of 1600 students for this morning's show and I think we've got a pretty good house for tonight.  Tomorrow we head to Oregon.

Redwoods, Pacific, and the City - What a Day

Our day off in the San Francisco area was incredible!  Mike O, Vince and I started out early Tuesday morning and headed south,  In no time at all we were climbing the Santa Cruz Mountains.  From the top we could easily see the Pacific off to our west and the peninsula to our east.

Looking east from the Santa Cruz mountains at the Peninsula south of San Francisco

Look from the mountains west toward the Pacific

We stopped in the delightful little town of Boulder Creek for a sandwich for lunch before heading into the Big Basin State Park and the amazing redwoods.  I was mentally prepared for the idea of these huge, ancient trees but I couldn't really appreciate either their size or age until I actually saw them.  All three of us were like kids, but Vince especially wanted to climb every tree.

Downtown Boulder Creek, California

Look in the lower left on the downed trunk to find Vince

And I thought Mike O was tall....

One of the smaller trees at the entrance to the park

What can I say?

Shooting straight up in the midst of a redwood circle

We finally tore ourselves away from the woods and headed for the coast.  It was cool and windy but beautifully clear.  I'm so used to the eastern coast and the flat, open beaches.  California is much different.  Driving up the Pacific Coast Highway was a thrill in itself, but stopping every so often to take in the cliffs and the kitesurfers and lighthouses and caves and beaches was a jaw-dropping experience.

From a cliff overlooking the coastline

We made our way down the cliffs to this open space

Wow...

Mike O got this great shot of  the lighthouse at Pigeon Point...

...and this shot of kitesurfers taking advantage of the high winds.

Check out the spray from the wave hitting the rocks in front of Vince

Vince admiring the Pacific sunset

After sunset we stopped in Half Moon Bay for dinner then headed north into the city.  It was late, but we drove across the Golden Gate into Sausalito, then drove back into town to meet some other cast and crew in the Top of the Mark, a bar on the 19th floor of the Intercontinental Mark Hopkins hotel that offers a full view of the city of San Francisco.  What a city!

Driving across the Golden Gate Bridge at Night

The San Francisco skyline from the Top of the Mark

It was a day of incredibly diverse landscapes and terrific fun with my friends.  I can see why folks around here are willing to risk the occasional earthquake.  It's worth it.

Our Last Run Through Steinbeck Country

Woke up to a beautiful morning in San Luis Obispo.  SLO is one of the most beautiful little towns I believe I've ever seen.

From my hotel window in San Luis Obispo

We went back onto the campus of Cal Poly for a student matinee at 10.  The show went well, the students were attentive and it was a thrill to play again in such a wonderful facility.   California obviously doesn't hesitate to put money into its universities.  The Christopher Cohan Center is stunning inside and out.

The Christopher Cohan Center on the campus of Cal Poly

After lunch we loaded back into the bus and headed north again, this time for San Francisco.  Our route went right through the land where Steinbeck was born and grew up and through the land where Of Mice and Men is set.  Route 101 runs directly through both Soledad and Salinas (Steinbeck's hometown).

The fields outside Soledad

As we neared Soledad, Hardy and I discussed how neat it would have been to try to find the places that inspired Steinbeck to write the story.  The fields are still heavily farmed and you could easily imagine George, Lennie and the rest of the men of the ranch out working.  The Salinas River (where presumably George and Lennie camped and where Lennie hides out at the end) runs just outside Soledad.

You just know George and Lennie are out there somewhere

But we rolled on through the countryside headed for our time off in San Francisco.  We left San Luis Obispo in calm 80 degree weather but the weather in South San Francisco was a startling change.  It was cool and blustery with clouds rolling in and the shorts I wore in SLO just didn't cut it.

A glimpse of the bay as we approached South San Francisco

We checked into the hotel and (after changing clothes!) several of us walked a couple of blocks to a Thai restaurant.  I've not eaten a lot of Thai food, but based on what I had and everyone else's reaction to their food we made a great choice.

Today is a golden day off with no travel, so everyone has plans to scatter to the four winds and see as much of the city and the country around it as possible.  Mike O, Vince, Matthew and I are renting a car and driving to see the redwoods in the Big Basin south of town.  I expect some cool pictures.

San Luis Obispo, CA

Last night's show in Modesto was outstanding and it was fun to hear how folks from the area enjoyed the local  references in the story. We left Modesto relatively early this morning for our four hour drive to San Luis Obispo.  We went through the San Joaquin Valley again, this time heading southwest and even a little closer to Salinas, Steinbeck's home town.

The San Joaquin Valley with the Sierras in the background

The fields in the valley are the largest expanse of fertile and productive land that I've ever seen

We arrived in San Luis Obispo in time to check into the hotel and headed to Cal Poly and the Christopher Cohan Center where we would be performing in a 3 PM matinee.  San Luis Obispo is a beautiful town and the theater was incredible.

Shot of the Cohan Center auditorium from the back of the set

The Christopher Cohan Center

Looking over Technical Director Michael Catalan's shoulder during sound check

The show was great and I was told that our production was the first play performed in the center in 12 years!  Apparently for the past few years the center has only been used for dance and music recitals.  So it's kind of nice being the show that brought straight theater back to the center.

After the show the folks there provided a delicious meal then several of us rode in the bus for a short five mile trek to the coast near Pismo Beach.  We got there just in time to get a few fleeting shots of the sunset.

Sunset over the Pacific

Vince, Mike O and others shooting from a cliff overlooking the shore

The beauty of the Pacific Coast as night falls

We're up and out early tomorrow for a 10 AM student matinee before loading up the bus and heading to San Francisco for a day off and our last run through the heart of Steinbeck Country.