One Day Stands, Strawhouses, & Wind

Today & tomorrow I am in Sumter, SC at the beautiful County Fairgrounds.  We just finished up 3 one day stands in a row, so tomorrow I will, hopefully, get to sleep in a little(at least til 8ish.)  Our first day here was a moderate success, with all the bleachers full of circus patrons.  We also had to sit them on mats on the ground.  This is what we call a strawhouse. 

The first of our one day stands was Johnston, SC & it, once again, rained but we lucked out at showtime.  The rain finally quit & the public turned out on a Wed. night to enjoy 2 spectacular Circus performances.

We left from there & drove a 100 miles to Santee, SC.  It was so cold & windy, not to mention rainy,but even with foul weather, folks still braved the elements to see the performances. 

After Santee, we journeyed 60 miles north to Lake City.  Going north, we left the rain behind but not the wind.  The wind was so strong that my satellite dish refused to cooperate & I was without TV all day.  I learned something new while I was in Lake City though.  It is the hometown of the late Dr. Ronald Mcnair, who was an astronaut on the Space Shuttle Challenger.  I will never forget the Challenger as it met its end on my birthday.  Hard to believe this year marked the 25th anniversary of this disaster. I was only in 8th grade.  God bless their families.

It's been a long day so for now I'll say Good Night & see you down the road!

Cold..Rain..& More Rain

The last few days have turned extremely cold.  Mix that with rain and and it makes working conditions miserable.  Yesterday was the worst yet as it rained from the time I got up until about 8 pm last night.  I had to change pants 4 times because we had trouble with the electric lines that run the sound system.  I was kneeling in mud, mud, & more mud to find out where the lines were shorting out.  Finally got it all straightened out but not before I was on my 4th pair of pants. 

On a brighter note, today the sun is shining, there's a brisk breeze blowing that should dry out the ground, and the high's are supposed to be in the 60's.

Today is our last day in Newberry and then we have 3 one day stands before a two day.  One of the trips in those 3 one day's includes a 95 mile trip.  Should be alright.

Until later, see you down the road!

A Day To Remember

Yesterday, I spoke briefly about being in Williamston for one day.  Let me recap that day's events.  When we arrived, the field we had to set up on was enclosed by a fence.  The gate we had to go thru seemed to be the size of a gate that you could only walk thru.

For some reason, Blogger won't let me upload photos here but I can upload them to Facebook.  If you'd like to see a picture of the gate here's the link:  http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2035340&id=1326529473&saved#!/photo.php?fbid=1641723006065&set=a.1266990757993.2035340.1326529473&theater

In that same album there are some photos of our trucks.  Let me tell you, that's a gate I hope I never have to go thru again.  After getting the trucks in and the lot laid out, it was already 10 a.m.  That left a short 2 hours before I had to go & pick up advance tickets from the Sponsor.  Keep in mind now, I hadn't even eaten breakfast.  So to give myself a fresh burst of energy(I woke up a 5 a.m.) I grabbed a quick bowl of cereal & toast.  While I ate, I checked out emails & notifications that needed attention.  And then guess what?  That 2 hours was up so off I went to get the advance tickets.  After settling up with the Sponsor, back to my camper to call some towns and send some faxes.  I had a short time afterwards to replace the new keypad & card reader for our ATM.  All in all, yesterday was good business, and it was a memorable town I won't soon forget.

See you down the road!

Farewell to Family

Yesterday was our last day near my family and they all came out to spend some time with me.  We all enjoyed the few stolen moments of being able to talk and plan for our annual Labor Day picnic. :)  My cousin brought her 2 year old to see the show for the first time and she was really getting into it.  By the end, she was sticky with  cotton candy, had a pet monkey(inflatable), & a giant crayon for her coloring book.  She was so cute!

My connection still will not upload photos so it may be a while before I get any pictures on here.

The saying "Absence makes the heart grow fonder" really does strike a chord with me right now.  I will miss ya'll so much & thanks for coming out to see me.  It meant alot.

I am now 50 miles away in Williamston, where we will show today only.  For the weekend, we only have to drive 40 miles to Greenwood.

Until later, see you down the road!

Opening Day

After months of hard work & preparation, we officially opened the 2011 edition of Lewis & Clark Circus yesterday.  It was a fair turnout for a Wednesday on Day 1 of a two day stand.  I suspect that today will turn out much better since it's not a church night.  Also, it was extremely windy as a cold front brought in rain.  It seems like it always rains here no matter what time of the year we show here.  I hope to upload some pictures when my mobile internet gets a better signal.

Today is the final day we're here and then we move about 45 miles to the next town for 1 day. 

More to come later...

An Extremely Hectic Day

Today was the last minute rush of final preparations. I had to go thru the task of transfering all the necessary files & supplies needed for the upcoming season from one office to another.  After that, it was time to take care of my own personal needs.  First stop was the propane dealer to refill my tank.  After that, a trip to the grocery store & Fred's to pick up needed supplies.  I just did get done with everything & eat dinner about an hour ago.

Tomorrow, I move to Westminster and hopefully I haven't forgotten anything!

See you down the road...

BUSY! BUSY!

Well there's only 2 days left now to the Circus's season opener & I'm working to get my travel trailer in pristine condition.  I put some brackets in to hold my electronics where I don't have to set them up & down each day.  Also worked on a leaky fresh water holding tank.  Hope that it works. I will be moving to Westminster, SC on Tuesday with the show so I am going to move into my camper on Monday.

Here's a few shots of my home for the next 8 months.

                                           Couch/Bed

                                           Dining Area/ Work Desk

                              & of course the Entertainment Center for my

                                              Deadliest Catch fix!

                                         

Hope everyone has a great weekend!