The Silence.

Sooooo, after I've last written, some things have happened. Some.

I went to the Space Needle. Yeah, it was touristy, but it really is a must see. On a clear day. Because when it is clear in Seattle, you can see mountains and ocean for miles. I had fun, I took pictures. I drank a space beer. I bought a t-shirt.

Then I was back off to the airport to a red eye back to the bean. I may have slept the best I've ever slept on a plane. There was more sleep, and when I woke up, I had no voice.

I lost the voz near the end of my second show on Tuesday, but could still make noise. By Thursday morning, there was no noise. I was a little freaked. I went to the doctor to discover that I had Viral Layrngitis and had to go on Steroids. Yep, roids. Awesome. Needless to say, I had to take a sick day on Friday. After a lovely, but quieter than normal weekend, I was very pumped for my show today.

See today, I only had one show, and it was in Charlestown. A 9 minute drive from my house- so perfect! Unfortunately when I got the the school, I discovered that they had cancelled their show last week....and due to....whatever....I never got the message. No yo-yo show today. Wa wa waaaaa. Let's only hope tomorrow I'll at least get in the door- then proceed to knock of socks with my mad yo-in' skill. Mhm.

Road trip: Washington

So, I'm back in Seattle. It was time to follow up on my training, so I was flown here for three days, to do two shows that my trainer could watch. Because of booking, or the PTO in Seattle, or whatever, my shows were in Wenatchee, WA. Which is about a 3 hour drive from my Seattle home base. Needless to say, when I first discovered this, I was a little peeved. 3 hours is a long drive. Especially long after 9 hours of flying. But, when I awoke at 5:00 yesterday morning to leave, I was pleasantly surprised. The drive to Central WA from Seattle is one of the most beautiful I've ever been on. Imagine the sun rising while you pass through mountains like this:

And then, passing quaint little towns like this:

The sign says, "Rocky says: Welcome to Skykomish, A Great Northern Town"

A river was coursing through the mountains my entire ride, I wanted to jump out of my car and run into it. This picture doesn't do it justice. It was warmer on my ride home, but just above freezing on my ride in. I was a an elevation of 3600 ft abouve sea level- which I believe is pretty high.

And, tucked inside of all of this natural beauty, after driving for 90 miles without seeing any civilization, I stumbled upon the town of Leavenworth.

Leavenworth, WA is an interesting place. It is modeled to be a Bavarian town. Like you may find in the alps. Everything has a certain look to it, like this:

Yeah, even Starbucks dressed up. And Subway, and the gas stations. There was German music being pumped through the town center. The street signs were in German. This little town intrigued me so much, I took it upon myself to do a little bit of research.

Turns out, Leavenworth was first settled with folks looking for gold, and other things that pioneers did on the Oregon trail. In the 1890s, the Great Northern Railroad decided to plant its tracks right through the town, which apparently turned it into a bustling place of opportunity-complete with a sawmill. The railroad was re-routed sometime around the great depression, taking with it all of the prosperity this small town had. The people lived on the brink of extinction for thirty years- until someone said, "Hey, let's turn our podunk mountain town into a Bavarian tourist destination!". Which worked. According to the town's website, they see a million visitors a year, they have a huge Oktoberfest,and a Christmas Tree Lighting. Who knew?

After all of this adventure, I found myself at a school in a place called Rock Island, about to do a show that my boss would watch. Well, it went just as I had expected. Pretty bad. The yoyo master makes me a little nervous. But then, my second show, well, that was something to write home about. I did all of my yo-yo tricks, like a pro- which is what I'm supposed to be, after all. I was glad. Trainer said I've clearly improved and it's great to see. Phew.

Well, now I sit in a cafe in Edmonds, WA writing to you. I just sat on this beach for a little while:

And, I have 5 hours and 20 minutes until my flight home. I think I'll finally be a tourist and go check out the Space Needle.

Hazards of the Job.

Yup. That's a blood blister. From yo-yoing.

"That's tiny!" You may say. "Insignificant!" "You're a wimp!" Well, yes, you may think this things. And truth is...it's doesn't even hurt. But have you ever gotten a blood blister from a yo-yo? Yeah, that's what I thought.

This week was good, minus Connecticut which always sucks.

Friday I had a morning show in E.Boston, which was super fun, because I got to speak a lot of Spanish. It was so great I wish I could request doing inner city schools every day. Yeah, if the kids were older, it would be a little rough. But they aren't, they're super cute, and so unbelievably appreciative to have a show- and a fun one at that. I was told that I was the first assembly these kids had seen since 2008. That did make me feel kind of cool. Also, the city kids seem to be much more impressed with my yo-yo skill, which is a definite plus.

After the Eastie school, I was off to Longmeadow. East Boston and Longmeadow in the same day you say? Yes. Yes that is what I had to do. But to make the most of it, I went up to Northampton after my shows were over. I love the Pioneer Valley. The weather was beautiful, I walked, I shopped, I thrifted, and I ate the best grilled cheese known to man from the Haymarket Cafe. Yeah, you UMass kids know what I'm talking about. It was so nice. I didn't want to leave. The fall is the most perfect of times to be in Noho.

I could get used to this having weekends thing. It's nice. I went out dancing on Friday, made new friends and it was super fun. Yesterday, slept in with the BF and made omelets. Also, I helped out a couple of friends open a show- which I recommend- find out more at www.unorthodoxarts.org.

Tomorrow, I head back to Seattle. It's time for a follow-up on my training. My trainer is going to watch me do 3 shows, and then tell me what I'm doing wrong. Please don't let me mess up any yo-yo tricks.

Connecticut Sucks.

That is all for today.

Overdue.

All of my posts seem to be overdue. This was my first official week back in the Bean- yoin'!

It's been good. I drove 696 miles this week. I went to Maine, NH, a quick little drive through Vermont and some good old Mass lovin'.

Friday was a good day. I had two shows at one school in Pelham, NH. A huge school. 950 kids. Pelham's pretty close to Lowell, MA, where I went for lunch. I did that because, suprisingly, the most delicious organic veg restaurant I've ever been to (save Earthfoods) is there. They're finally opening a store in Cambridge, look out for it. It's called "Life Alive" discovered by my lovely friend EL. I like their chairs.

It's pretty crazy to stop and think that about 4000 children sat in a gym, auditorium,multipurpose room or gymcafetorium and listened to me talk about life and yo-yo this week. I hope it helped. I also hope they realize that there's much more to life than yo-ing. But hey, if knowing how to yo-yo can pay you, send you around the world and allow you to mold the minds of children maybe it's not such a bad thing to learn.

A little girl asked for my autograph on Friday. Then she gave me some plastic yellow bungee thing. I don't know what it was, but it was sweet of her. My trainer told me that the kids would think I was a rockstar- I guess maybe I've reached rockstardom.

This also, was my first real work week. For the first time since college, it's a weekend, and I haven't worked. Not because I was sick, or requested it off, or couldn't find work, but because I didn't have to. I didn't know what to do with myself half of the time. So now I sit at one of my all-time favorite cafes, sipping on a Pumpkin Latte. I'm not usually one for stuff in my coffee, but pumpkin is the one exception.

Oh and incase you were wondering, I did whip my yo-yo tricks out at a bar again this week. I think that'll be a common occurrence.