Gettin' Our Kicks on Route 66!

So we started kicking up dust early in the morning, and made our way on Route 66. Our only "planned" stop for the day was Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo Texas. We did end up taking a detour at the Midpoint Cafe. We were actually looking for the cafe that Oprah and Friends visited on her road trip, but we're pretty sure that wasn't the same place. We also have a theory that her road trip was a very finely edited video....one that she most likely did not participate in herself. hmmm.... Erin did get some "Route 66 Beer" (gasp!) and we got to sign the Midpoint Cafe truck.





Then back on the road. Next stop....Cadillac Ranch! We were armed and ready with 2 cans of spray paint, because Erin couldn't decide which color to get, and we were ready to leave our mark on Route 66. Leave our mark we did...we hella-tagged them there caddy's right up. (that's LA meets West Tx) We met an interesting professor from Lansing on our way out of the ranch. He gave us some tips on cool classic places to stay on Rt66 if we travel back that way. There was also an old man there gASSing up the Caddy's if you know what we mean:)! funny, gassing is spelled with the word ass in the middle, how appropriate.



(LIL' LEELEE...MELISSA'S NEW NICKNAME COURTESY OF MELANIE)

From the road, we saw the largest steel cross in the western hemisphere (impressive huh. do you feel the Holy Ghostttahh?) and the "leaning tower of who knows where?" For old times sake we swung through Shamrock Tx and found the old hotel we stayed at when we were kids.



Then we drove, and drove and drove some more. Driving long distances is somewhat difficult without cruise control. We made it from Shamrock to Tulsa where we conveniently got gas right next to a casino. We forgot to mention earlier that we had started a magnet collection to help pimp out our van. We still needed a magnet from Oklahoma, so naturally we needed to go into the casino to find one. LUCKily we won enough to purchase the overpriced magnet in the hotel gift shop. Next stop...Chad's bachelor pad in Springfield MO. We got a good dog licking and then went to bed. We got to have breakfast with chadwick the next morning, that was fun and then we headed out, because we were cutting it close to making it to NY on time. We saw the Arch and the other largest steel cross in the western hemisphere(confused)?? 7 states later and we found ourselves in Lockport NY. We found out that finding lodging was quite a bit harder than one would expect. Our budget is $50 a night and we couldn't find anything under $75 so we drove and drove until we found one guy who said he would give us the Wal-Mart special at a Red Roof Inn. We struck gold with a Cold Stone Creamery and then went to bed....wake up call 5:30am.
(THIS IS ME TRYING TO STAY AWAKE, WHILE ERIN IS...)
(SLEEPING!!!)
(AW...WE LOVE EACH OTHER <3)

ARIZONA TO ABQ

currently i am typing from satellite coffee in albuquerque NM. today we made the trip from phoenix, and by this time your probably wondering who's Thelma??? well Thelma would be our scary kidnapper man van. we're testing out name's and while driving on the 17 to flagstaff AZ i decided to test out the name...so yea tomorrow who knows we could be driving bernice. any suggestions let me know... well now for a break down of the day our first stop was Rock Springs Cafe, located somewhere between Phoenix and Flagstaff, this is where my great-aunt shirley has been stopping for pie for about 30 years, sadly she wasn't with us, but we thought of her:) I also got to see a tattoo shop called HOOSIER DADDY TATTOOS!!! seriously :) next we were chugging along in Thelma through some of the most beautiful scenery in the good ol' USA! next stop was Flagstaff, which is on my list of possible places to live next, so i took melissa around and we ate at a deli in the downtown, next we drove to winslow on route 66 where we came across a sign that read IMPACT zone! see america's largest metorite crater! so naturally we had to stop and check this out, $15 later, and an introduction to a real life cowboy/actor/founder of the wild west, named walter, melissa and I headed back out onto route 66 for more kicks! geographically that landed us in Becca's old stomping grounds, ABQ. (she's one of my past roomies and best friends) so we found a Dion's to eat dinner since it's a must, got a place to stay @ her mom's apt.and some great coffee. Tomorrow will have to be an early day thanks to the metorite. this is long and that 's enough for now i'm falling asleep at the computer!
(WINDMILL FARM ON OUR WAY THROUGH CA)
(NATHAN'S FRONT YARD...DON'T TOUCH THE CACTUS!)
(IMPACT ZONE!)
(WALTER THE REAL LIFE COWBOY...HE CAN GET A HORSE DOWN TO THE BOTTOM OF THE CRATER AND RESCUE A COW IN AN HOUR...SO HE SAYS)
(PART OF THE METEORITE 14,000lbs OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT)
(DION'S PIZZA...YUM)

Erin's Journal

(CALIFORNIA!)
hey this is erin, i just wanted to give a little update and insight into my life since my fateful last day @ A Different Blend, and during training. i've found the easiest way to do this is to type excerpts from my journal so without further ado...

Aug. 16th ATL AIR TRAN gate D3
...at the moment my life is a muddle of thoughts! my life is about to get CRAZY! as if it wasn't already. The decision for CAMFEL has been made and there is no turning back now. Here I sit in hot lanna just a girl with overpacked bags, confused thoughts, and tired eyes. Today my days of slinging coffee came to an end and tomorrow my days in a white van and the open before me begin. I'm learning to follow where God leads, not scared, but ever hopeful of his overall plan for my life. After a crazy ADB work load, a flight change, $65 later, and one high speed chase to FNT life can finally begin in a rush of chaos!

Aug. 16th en route for LAX flight 41
...so we got a late start off the runway, and I zonked out so my concept of time at the moment is pretty non-existant! I've yet to hear the pilot call for the flight attendants to cross check and all call, or whatever he mumbles during that phrase. So now is as good of time as any to tell you that I had my first celebrity sighting of my tour! I quite literally ran into MAT KEARNEY! Be still my heart! I randomly passed him and thought, "hey I know that guy!" and yes he looks just as cool in person. I was actually thinking, he looked like he would be fun to hang out with anyway this is a long story that involved chili's take-out, warm bottled water, and a long wait. Yes I tried stalking him, he escaped to the baggage claim, and no I didn't get a pic, because I didn't have my camera with me, and I have terrible luck, although a pic would have made my year! One final thing, warning i'm about to rant about something that annoys me concerning airline passengers! Why is that as soon as the plane lands and the pilot announces that cell phone and electronic device usage is allowed does everyone begin flipping out cell phones like they're John Wayne in an old wild west showdown! Seriously...the talking at volumes that their pressurized ears doesn't realize annoys me! one last thing, in all reality the person on the other end of the line, is more than likely to be the person waiting at the baggage claim! can't it wait until we're in the building! enough said....

Aug. 20th Lounge of women's hall Providence College, ONT CA.
....obviously I made it to CAMFEL training. I arrived late Thurs. night Mels and Caitlin picked me up from LAX in the ever classy Jackie O'Nassis the sleekest white kidnapper van you'll ever see it was quite amusing. Had my sister not been there and Chelsey not forewarned me of the CAMFEL transportation, I might have found myself on the plane right straight back to MI in the name of self-preservation. anyway my day began bright and early FRI. with breakfast @ 6:30 am. Going to bed @1:30 made this tricky, but oh well, such is life... my first official day on the job landed me in a crash course of hands on training. Melissa and I were partnered up with the husband and wife duo of Luke and Lissa. I learned, while they practiced giant frames and screens, video projection and troubleshoot, and finally ending just before lunch with a full assembly set-up in just 1 hour and 30 minutes! It was crazy! Melissa's new nickname thanks to Luke is now " The Silent Storm" where as I am now called "Hurricane Erin" together we make one bad @$% natural disaster! Lunch and a team meeting resulted in a half day of training, a show @ a youth lock-in, and Melissa and I going to Sacramento the next day for an overnight. The show on Fri. night was crazy stressful, with a weird set-up, and the newbies on their own! AHHH sums it up, however in the end it was acclaimed a success, and we even got free pizza and pop in the process.


(IN THE BACK OF THE VAN W/O SEATBELTS IN LA TRAFFIC)

Saturday morning came bright and early once again with an early morning departure for SAC. The drive was 7-8 hours with Caitlin, Kristina, Becky, Melissa, and I as the crew! It was a pleasant experience getting to know everyone aside from the hard annoying bruise giving bench seat in the back of Ol' El Jefe! I can now say i've been to Sac. Set-up a show for a group of awesome high school student leaders. I also met, well sort of... a girl whose heart and internal organs are flip flopped around in her body. Literally she is 1 in 500 million! It was a great experience as the pictures will prove. That night we went to CA state fair, which was held next to the Double Tree that we stayed @ compliments of the seminar, thanks. Had a blast with my new friends, saw fireworks from atop the ferris wheel. SWEET! Sunday it was back to LA. I hadn't taken my driving test yet, so I started out the trip driving from Sacramento. I ended up driving the whole way back so yea i passed and drove in CA traffic. I also got a reprieve from the butt bruising back seat! so now...it's monday morning and the five of us have the morning off, since we worked all weekend. Last night Melissa and I found a Chipotle and went with a couple of the girls. right now i'm sliding into home...over my chicken rice bowl. ! no mas frijoles negros, por favor! I think I might go try to get on the internet at Mickey D's but I don't know if i'll make it that far... well gotta go, smell ya later! :)

(BECKY SHE-WOMAN!)

(TOP OF THE FERRIS WHEEL CALI-STATE FAIR)

(OUR FIRST SHOW DURING TRAINING)

CAMFEL TRAINING AKA BOOT CAMP!
...this pretty much sums it up...

this is Caitlin, a returning 3rd year tech, trainer, and now friend! This picture was taken about two minutes after dealing cards for a game...


Camfel productions is really a melting pot of different people, places, and all out craziness! we met so many amazing people these past two weeks from all over the country coast-to-coast, top to bottom. It's sad to know that we may never see some of them again, due to our tour schedules, and nomadic lives.

TIME TO HIT THE ROAD...
On Tues. Melissa and I passed our time test, which included setting up a frame and screen in just 4 minutes or less, and a whole assembly set-up in just one hour! This was my first time doing any of these things by myself or even with just the help of Mels. WE DID IT! but after lunch Karen (our team manager) talked with us about being comfortable with the set-up and road ready. I of course had to open my big mouth to inform her that I would like to do the full set-up over again even though we passed earlier. So that afternoon melissa and I set up yet another assembly in just under 60 minutes, now in order to do this like the real deal, you must haul all 700 pounds of equipment from the van to the chapel, get frustrated, and extremely sore! EXTREMELY SORE! by late Wed. night, muscles in our bodies that we didnt' even know existed ached! On Wed. morning we pretty much couldn't walk!! It is now Sat. night and we are still feeling the effects in some areas! OK so next on Thurs. Melissa and I spent the day @ the Camfel offices/warehouse picking out our very own equipment, testing it, and getting our sweet van road ready for take-off on Thurs.

Well, here it goes...
For those of you who may not know what in the world Erin and I are doing, we joined a company called Camfel Productions that is based out of LA California. Erin and I are one of several teams of "technicans" that will travel across the country presenting a 3 screen mutimedia program in schools and churches. We just finished up training in CA and hit the road last night. Training was pretty intense and LONG, but we met some awesome people and made a bunch of great friends. For the next four months we will be in the New England area, starting out near Buffalo NY and then heading into Massechusets, Rhode Island, Vermont, Conneticut, Maine, and who knows where else. We'll do our best to keep you informed...
It wasn't hard to figure out which flight was heading to LAX

We were pretty much outside ALL day during training, so I got some nice tanlines...gotta love my TOMS