6:30 AM in the lobby of the hotel in downtown Dayton (worst in-room hotel coffee ever!), I asked if the hotel offered a shuttle to the airport—they did, but it had departed fifteen minutes earlier. So I looked for a cab outside, forgetting that Dayton is a very quiet city…no cabs, but the hotel could call for one…it would take about twenty minutes.  Fortunately, I had plenty of time before my flight.  Even more fortunately, the bellman on duty was bored (did I mention Dayton is very quiet early in the morning?), and so he shrugged and offered to give...
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With yesterday’s lunch of fried chicken and dinner of pepperoni and sausage pizza, it was not a good cholesterol day (and it didn’t lead to a good night’s sleep either). My next destination was Dayton, Ohio—and I would be driving from Lexington, Kentucky.  (If I went by air, I would have to fly from Lexington to Chicago, then Chicago to Dayton…a 5–6 hour process, including baggage and security hassles, whereas I could just drive in 2 hours or so.)  The weather had turned to sleet and snow the night before, which left my rental car covered with ice and snow,...
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I left home (alas) back to the Denver airport for my trip to Lexington, Kentucky for the next leg of the Hellhole tour.  I arrived at O’Hare Airport with a lot of extra time—we landed 25 minutes ahead of schedule, but then I had two hours of layover anyway.  I had plenty of time to call Rebecca, our fan club president Deb Ray, and catch up on my email.  I am also starting work on our third Terra Incognita crossover rock CD, and I completed several letters to Shawn Gordon (exec producer) and Henning Pauly (score). I arrived at my...
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The prospect of going home again is worth getting up at 4:30 AM. I left the hotel in San Diego with my suitcases by 5:20 AM, then took a cab to the airport for my early flight back to Denver.  So far, by taking lots of vitamin C, some zinc, and frequent use of hand sanitizer, I have managed to avoid getting sick; on tour, when I meet so many people, shake so many hands, and spend so much time in public places, I invariably catch some kind of crud.  I’m doing my best preventive measures right now, although my...
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