As a ventriloquist I have about done about a dozen or so performances. All of them have been either at my church or as a volunteer through the local library. My next goal is to start getting paid for my performances. This past Tuesday I received and unexpected blessing that I consider a step in that direction.
I was given a gift card to Barnes & Noble book store as a "thank you" from the local library. This may not seem like a big deal to you but it is my first financial reward for something that I love doing. My relationship and experiences with the local library has been both a wonderful way to serve the community and launch my ventriloquism career. Based on the result from reaching out to that organization I am very much encouraged to look for other avenues of service. I believe performances in nursing homes will be next.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Vacation Week So Far...
Although I have been on a "forced vacation" since April my wife has not had any significant amount time off at all this year. This week she's on vacation. We aren't going to any specific destination just spending time together and relaxing.
Sunday night we spent the evening at home together and watched the movie "The Bucket List." We both enjoyed it. The most interesting thing to me in the movie was the periscope glasses that Jack Nickelson was wearing in the hospital.
On Monday we drove to town my wife met up with her sister and they went to see the new movie "Momma Mia." A trip to a local Japanese restaurant for some sushi followed. Not interested at all in either of those activities I went to see the new Disney movie WALL*E. You can read about my experience with that movie in the post before this one.
Tuesday afternoon about 2PM we left for Nashville. The movie theater at Opry Mills Mall was our initial destination. We wanted to see the new Batman movie, The Dark Knight, at the I-Max theater but it sold out as we stood in line. We did get to see it on the regular screen though.
I enjoyed the movie but knew a lot about the plot because I had read a detailed review beforehand. There was a lot of action, plenty of plot twists, and lots of character development. Heath Leger's final performance as The Joker is worthy of at least an Oscar nomination. His role would have been memorable even if he hadn't died before the film was released.
Once we were out of the movie theater we hurried to the other side of Nashville to one of our other favorite entertainment spots, Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theater. We arrived just in time to go through the buffet line before it closed.
I was disappointed to find out that after 8 years of going to Chaffin's and enjoying their wide variety of desserts on their dessert bar they have changed the way the serve dessert. There is still fresh fruit and jello desserts available on the buffet. However any of the other cakes, cookies, pies, ice creams or other desserts you now have order from a menu and pay for in addition to your theater ticket. I guess the change in the economy and food prices has hit everyone. I'm sorry that Chaffin's had to make this change. But I did order dessert. I had to have my traditional piece of Chaffin's peanut butter pie.
One good thing about the evening though was that our waiter was a guy who'd played our favorite character in the play "Smoke On the Mountain" that we'd seen last year. It was great to talk with him. I even got a new ventriloquist joke from him.
Anyway enough about the "dinner" part of our evening. The "theater" part was a play called "The Bop She Bops." It was about a trio of high school friends who made their singing debut in a high school talent show in 1962 but made awful fools of themselves. Ten years later they reunite and start practicing to perform at their high school reunion.
It was a musical and included songs by all the girl groups from the 60's including the Shirelles, The Chiffons, The Dixie Cups, and The Supremes. There were also a lot of other songs from that era. I enjoyed the music but the overall performance of the show was not among the strongest we've seen.
So that's been our vacation week so far. We'd like to do something else fun before the end of the weekend. We are thinking about going to the drive in tonight or Thursday night.
Even if we don't do anything special just being with my wife all this time without worrying about her job and just enjoying each other's company is something we've needed to do for quite a while.
Sunday night we spent the evening at home together and watched the movie "The Bucket List." We both enjoyed it. The most interesting thing to me in the movie was the periscope glasses that Jack Nickelson was wearing in the hospital.
On Monday we drove to town my wife met up with her sister and they went to see the new movie "Momma Mia." A trip to a local Japanese restaurant for some sushi followed. Not interested at all in either of those activities I went to see the new Disney movie WALL*E. You can read about my experience with that movie in the post before this one.
Tuesday afternoon about 2PM we left for Nashville. The movie theater at Opry Mills Mall was our initial destination. We wanted to see the new Batman movie, The Dark Knight, at the I-Max theater but it sold out as we stood in line. We did get to see it on the regular screen though.
I enjoyed the movie but knew a lot about the plot because I had read a detailed review beforehand. There was a lot of action, plenty of plot twists, and lots of character development. Heath Leger's final performance as The Joker is worthy of at least an Oscar nomination. His role would have been memorable even if he hadn't died before the film was released.
Once we were out of the movie theater we hurried to the other side of Nashville to one of our other favorite entertainment spots, Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theater. We arrived just in time to go through the buffet line before it closed.
I was disappointed to find out that after 8 years of going to Chaffin's and enjoying their wide variety of desserts on their dessert bar they have changed the way the serve dessert. There is still fresh fruit and jello desserts available on the buffet. However any of the other cakes, cookies, pies, ice creams or other desserts you now have order from a menu and pay for in addition to your theater ticket. I guess the change in the economy and food prices has hit everyone. I'm sorry that Chaffin's had to make this change. But I did order dessert. I had to have my traditional piece of Chaffin's peanut butter pie.
One good thing about the evening though was that our waiter was a guy who'd played our favorite character in the play "Smoke On the Mountain" that we'd seen last year. It was great to talk with him. I even got a new ventriloquist joke from him.
Anyway enough about the "dinner" part of our evening. The "theater" part was a play called "The Bop She Bops." It was about a trio of high school friends who made their singing debut in a high school talent show in 1962 but made awful fools of themselves. Ten years later they reunite and start practicing to perform at their high school reunion.
It was a musical and included songs by all the girl groups from the 60's including the Shirelles, The Chiffons, The Dixie Cups, and The Supremes. There were also a lot of other songs from that era. I enjoyed the music but the overall performance of the show was not among the strongest we've seen.
So that's been our vacation week so far. We'd like to do something else fun before the end of the weekend. We are thinking about going to the drive in tonight or Thursday night.
Even if we don't do anything special just being with my wife all this time without worrying about her job and just enjoying each other's company is something we've needed to do for quite a while.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
The Missed Message of WALL*E
Yesterday I went to see the movie Wall *E . Ironically I had not seen or heard much about this movie at all except for its basic premise. Wall*E is a machine left to clean up all the garbage on earth after the human race abandons it because it is no longer inhabitable. The movie takes place 700 years after the initial abandonment.
Prejudiced by the fact that a majority of the products coming out of Hollywood and network television recently clearly were made to promote an environmentalist agenda, I immediately decided that the premise of this movie was based on an extremist view. I put up my guard and began filtering what I saw in a defensive manner. I interpreted it with the mindset that there was a negative message about the human race attached to every aspect of the film.
As the movie plot develops Wall*E arrives on a large spaceship called “The Axiom.” It is essentially an ark housing the current generation of people descended from those who left earth centuries earlier.
The life style and habits of those aboard the intergalactic ark are depicted as self indulging, glutenous consumers. They are all over weight, have limited ability or desire to move. They spend their entire existence leaning back on a mobile lounge chair while staring at a computer screen. Robots do everything for them including personal hygiene, getting them dressed, and bringing them food and beverages. The only contact one of these people has with others is through the previously mentioned computer screen.
I immediately saw the depiction of these earthly descendants as a negative commentary on the issue of obesity. I interpreted the people's lack of energy, ambition, and deterioration of their bone structure as a consequence of their obesity. This movie was not only taking general shots at the human race it was targeting over weight people. I thought “Hey, I’m part of both of those groups!”
I felt insulted and betrayed by both Disney and Pixar. The companies whose partnership has produced some of the most original and entertaining animated movies for more than a decade has sold out to the environmentalists and the anti-human movement.
The main characters and action in the movie were both interesting and funny. I enjoyed the visual effects and the overall plot line of the film. But I couldn’t get past the aspects that offended me. I left the theater very disappointed.
After seeing the movie I went to visit with my friend Brent. I told him about the movie and what I thought of it. He showed me a magazine article that included an interview with the films writer/producer/director: Andrew Stanton.
Stanton is a Christian. In the interview he openly discusses what his intentions were in making Wall*E. He stated that he did not intend to infer any kind of environmentalist message when he decided to use the human abandonment of earth as a starting point for the movie. He just needed a reason for the main character, a machine, to be alone on the planet just doing his job.
As far as the depiction of the people and life on the spaceship is concerned Stanton stated that the message he wanted to send was not a negative one about obesity. What he was trying to do was play out the eventual consequences of man’s obsession with leisure. The ability to ultimately have the world at your finger tips, which is portrayed to the extreme in the film, has one drastic drawback: the deterioration of human relationships.
Stanton states that the reason for living is to have relationships with God and with people. The highest degree of this would be a personal relationship of Love with God and his only son, Jesus Christ, but love, friendship and companionship with others is a close second.
As I read about the intention and perspective of the man who created and produced Wall*E I began to understand what the film’s message was supposed to be. As I reviewed the movie in my mind once again I realized that it was communicated loud and clear but I missed it. I was too busy focusing on the wrong messages.
Knowing what I know now about Andrew Stanton and the story he’s trying to tell I need to watch the movie again. This time knowing the true message the filmmaker wants people understand as it's communicated through the actions of a kind, compassionate, faithful machine named Wall*E.
Prejudiced by the fact that a majority of the products coming out of Hollywood and network television recently clearly were made to promote an environmentalist agenda, I immediately decided that the premise of this movie was based on an extremist view. I put up my guard and began filtering what I saw in a defensive manner. I interpreted it with the mindset that there was a negative message about the human race attached to every aspect of the film.
As the movie plot develops Wall*E arrives on a large spaceship called “The Axiom.” It is essentially an ark housing the current generation of people descended from those who left earth centuries earlier.
The life style and habits of those aboard the intergalactic ark are depicted as self indulging, glutenous consumers. They are all over weight, have limited ability or desire to move. They spend their entire existence leaning back on a mobile lounge chair while staring at a computer screen. Robots do everything for them including personal hygiene, getting them dressed, and bringing them food and beverages. The only contact one of these people has with others is through the previously mentioned computer screen.
I immediately saw the depiction of these earthly descendants as a negative commentary on the issue of obesity. I interpreted the people's lack of energy, ambition, and deterioration of their bone structure as a consequence of their obesity. This movie was not only taking general shots at the human race it was targeting over weight people. I thought “Hey, I’m part of both of those groups!”
I felt insulted and betrayed by both Disney and Pixar. The companies whose partnership has produced some of the most original and entertaining animated movies for more than a decade has sold out to the environmentalists and the anti-human movement.
The main characters and action in the movie were both interesting and funny. I enjoyed the visual effects and the overall plot line of the film. But I couldn’t get past the aspects that offended me. I left the theater very disappointed.
After seeing the movie I went to visit with my friend Brent. I told him about the movie and what I thought of it. He showed me a magazine article that included an interview with the films writer/producer/director: Andrew Stanton.
Stanton is a Christian. In the interview he openly discusses what his intentions were in making Wall*E. He stated that he did not intend to infer any kind of environmentalist message when he decided to use the human abandonment of earth as a starting point for the movie. He just needed a reason for the main character, a machine, to be alone on the planet just doing his job.
As far as the depiction of the people and life on the spaceship is concerned Stanton stated that the message he wanted to send was not a negative one about obesity. What he was trying to do was play out the eventual consequences of man’s obsession with leisure. The ability to ultimately have the world at your finger tips, which is portrayed to the extreme in the film, has one drastic drawback: the deterioration of human relationships.
Stanton states that the reason for living is to have relationships with God and with people. The highest degree of this would be a personal relationship of Love with God and his only son, Jesus Christ, but love, friendship and companionship with others is a close second.
As I read about the intention and perspective of the man who created and produced Wall*E I began to understand what the film’s message was supposed to be. As I reviewed the movie in my mind once again I realized that it was communicated loud and clear but I missed it. I was too busy focusing on the wrong messages.
Knowing what I know now about Andrew Stanton and the story he’s trying to tell I need to watch the movie again. This time knowing the true message the filmmaker wants people understand as it's communicated through the actions of a kind, compassionate, faithful machine named Wall*E.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Two BallParks In Chicago
Last Saturday afternoon, July 12, after I-Fest was over I decided to take a quick trip north and visit Chicago. Not the whole city just a couple of selected places, namely the two baseball stadiums. This meant a trip to both the south and north side of the city.Visiting the White Sox ballpark on the South side was going to be easy because the team was out of town and the stadium would be closed to the public so no crowd to deal with. The only problem there could be was just finding it.
The Cub's park on the other hand was going to be a little trickier to get to because an afternoon game was being played there and had started at 12 noon. It had gone into extra innings and ended just after 4 PM about 20 minutes before I headed north for the hour drive to the Windy City.
As I followed the directions I had printed off of the internet I left Rt 57 and merged onto Rt 94/Rt 90 known to Chicago natives as the "Inner Loop." As I looked out the window at the Chicago skyline I immediately picked out the Sears Tower building. It's the tallest building in the United States. I got off the highway at Exit 56 and turned left and found myself at the White Sox stadium, U.S. Cellular Field.
As I had anticipated all the gates were closed but the entrance to one parking lot was open. I parked in front of Gate 3 and got out to take pictures. I was met by a man wearing a security shirt in a Chevy Blazer with a "Ball Park Security" emblem on the side. He approached me and asked me what I was doing. I told him I was a tourist from Kentucky and wanted to look around and take some pictures.
As any good security man would he started asking me questions. I told him some specifics about where I lived. He asked me if I knew where Beaver Dam was. I told him I had been to Beaver Dam earlier in the year and mentioned the Denny's restaurant there. He said he had a cousin in Beaver Dam and that the service at that Denny's was slow. I made the obligatory "what a small world" remark. Deciding I was legitimate and posed no threat he made some suggestions of where I should go to get the best pictures of the stadium and even where I could find the display of the home plate from the previous stadium, Comsiky Park.
I took some pictures but couldn't really get any good ones. I took what I could of the outside to prove I'd been there.
Soon it was back onto "the loop." Three exits and a couple of turns later I found myself on Ashland Avenue. I knew I was in the neighborhood of Wrigley but couldn't find the turn off for West Addison Avenue. After about 20 blocks I thought I had gone too far. I decided to pull into a gas station and look at a map. As I turned into the station I realized that I was at West Addison Avenue. A couple of blocks later I found myself sitting at a stop light right in front of the famous Wrigley Field marquee.
I drove around the block and couldn't believe how close the rest of the neighborhood was to the park. Oh I've seen it on television many times but in person the intimacy of the field in relationship to the surrounding buildings is unlike any other baseball stadium I've ever been to. There are front steps that lead into brownstone houses just across the street from back of the outfield fences. Someone's porch (or stoop if you will) is 10 or 20 paces from the back gate of Wrigley Field. That was amazing to me.
As I came back around to the front of the stadium again I found a parking place in front of a McDonald's not 50 yards from the Marquee. I got out and took a picture of an Ernie Banks statue that was on display. I made my way to the marquee hoping I could get someone to take my picture taken in front of the baseball icon.Luckily there were two young girls getting their picture taken. After they were finished I asked them if they would like to return the favor. They politely obliged. They snapped three shots and I have posted the best one.
After the picture was taken I couldn't think of anything else to do. The gates were all closed so I couldn't even get a glance at the field. It was kind of frustrating to have come all the way to Wrigley and not get to see the field; but at least I'd been there.
Soon I found myself back in my car looking around at the stadium and all the people still having a good time. It was so cool I didn't want to leave but I didn't know what else to do. Therefore put the Vue in gear and headed back toward my hotel in Waseka Illinois.
My experience made me sure of one thing. I am determined to go back to Wrigley Field to see a game and spend more time there. Next time I'm not going alone. I've got several friends who I know would enjoy the experience as much as I would.
As I drove back down the inner loop and headed toward RT 57 I could think of only one thing that would have made my trip better. Next time I'll make sure I have the soundtrack of the Blues Brothers movie with me so I can hear Jake and Elwood singing away about their favorite place "Sweet Home Chicago".
Thursday, July 17, 2008
An Evening With Taylor Mason
Tonight I went to Nashville to see one of my favorite ventriloquists, Taylor Mason, perform at Zanies comedy club. It's the second time I've seen him this year. This time I went by myself in hopes of getting to talk with him.
As I was walking from the parking lot to the back of the line waiting outside the club. Taylor was unloading his car and going into the club's back door. I stopped and talked with him a bit mentioning that I had attended I-Fest and dropping Doug Nearpass' name at the same time.
Inside I got the opportunity to sit at the table front and center next to the stage. I was by myself at a table in the front row.
Taylor's act was about 33% the same as the last time I saw him in May but the other 67% was new or different. During his act he told the crowd that he was a $100,000 winner on Star Search in the early 1980's. I didn't know that.
During the show he premiered a new puppet that he used in the audience participation part of his show. The two people he picked from the audience were very good at working the puppet. It was very funny.
After the show I stuck around and waited for the chance to talk with him again. I found out he lives in Morristown New Jersey. I told him I was originally from Phillipsburg and he said he's familiar with where that is. Finally I got my picture taken with him; something I wanted to do last time but didn't get the chance.
I think one of the reasons I like Taylor Mason's performances so much is because he breaks the so called "established rules" of ventriloquism. These include keeping the puppet alive while it's on stage and always treating the puppets as if they were real people or animals. The rules are not broken in defiance of the "brotherhood of ventriloquists" it's just what works for him. Rather I should say he really makes it work. The things he does on stage could very easily fall flat but his pleasant personality and his comfort with letting them "in on the joke" make them successful. That's why I'll always be a fan of Taylor Mason.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
I-Fest Gives Me Fellowship, Direction, & Focus
I was going to take a couple of posts to give you the details about I-fest but I believe I can sum it all up in one.
As I mentioned in my initial post about I-Fest it was held on the campus of Olivet Nazarene College. It's the same place the Chicago Bears hold their training camp each year. The festival serves mostly as a week long training opportunity for church puppetry groups and their leaders. The place was over flowing with teenagers for whom the festival served as a version of summer camp. I would say that both creatively and educationally the events and classes were focused at a 75/25 ratio toward puppetry vs ventriloquism. However that ratio did not in anyway take away from the quality of the ventrilquism educational opportunities.
Fortunately for me mostly all the ventriloquism classes and events were held in the building that normally serves as the college's school of nursing. This made it easy for me to stay in one place most of the day and attend a variety of classes. Also convenient for me was the fact that the athletic building where the main events of the festival took place (morning and evening programs and vendor exhibits) was only about 150-200 yards away from the nursing school building. This made getting around very easy.
I chose to attend the classes that focused on developing your ventriloquist character. The most memorable ones were taught by Andy Holmes, the puppeteer behind the popular children's character Gerbert; Ella Havell, a ventriloquist from England who at one time auditioned for the show Britain's Got Talent; and Liz Von Segen, a very talented ventriloquist.
I also attended the Senior and Novice ventriloquist competition performances. These really weren't competitions but evaluation sessions. Each performer was evaluated and critiqued by a panel of 4 or 5 ventriloquists with a lot of experience.
I must say that after attending one of her classes, seeing her perform at one of the evening sessions, and watching her MC a ventriloquist competition, Liz Von Segan is now one of my most favorite people in the world. She is classy, smart, charming, and very good at what she does. I can only hope to be close to her level in all areas of my performance some day.
I also met a ventriloquist named Doug Nearpass and his wife. They live in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Doug emceed the Senior Vent completion and was one of the facilitators of my favorite class of the whole festival; an improvisation class.
While I felt like a stranger when I first got there by the time Saturday afternoon came around I realized that the people at I-Fest are "my people." They are people who love puppetry and ventriloquism as much as I do. I hadn't been around anyone like that since I first met the members of the Down Home Friends puppet ministry group at my church a couple of years ago.
The improv class was the one class I knew I was going to be part of at the festival. I looked forward to it from the time I signed up for it months ago. While the class didn't involve hardly any puppetry or ventriloquism it was a good 2 hours of improvising with props and situations. It was as good as I thought it was going to be but I did enjoy it.
The last thing I want to say about I-fest is that it helped me to realize and focus on just exactly what God has called me to do. I picked up some great jokes and lines to use with my characters. I realized that I need to develop those characters to be more believeable. I also learned some new tools to use in my overall ministry to children. Throughout the entire time I was there God impressed on my heart that I should always keep in mind that I am not called to be just a "ventriloquist." I am a "gospel ventriloquist."
One of the teachers in a class that I attended about creativity in puppet presentations handed out a model to use as a guide when trying to come up with a new presentation or act. The model was a series of circles with different elements named in it. At the center of the model were the words "gospel message." The instructor explained and stressed that as a performers we should never lose sight of the fact that in the center of anything we do in our ministry should always be God's gospel message. That is our main purpose for our ministry.
That point really put a solid period at the end of the sentence I had been hearing from God all during the festival. It defines in my head and heart what my focus from here on should be. While it's true I am a ventriloquist what I really am in my heart and soul is a messenger of the gospel.
If nothing else that's the one thing I want to always remember about I-fest and take with me as I walk down the road God has for me.
As I mentioned in my initial post about I-Fest it was held on the campus of Olivet Nazarene College. It's the same place the Chicago Bears hold their training camp each year. The festival serves mostly as a week long training opportunity for church puppetry groups and their leaders. The place was over flowing with teenagers for whom the festival served as a version of summer camp. I would say that both creatively and educationally the events and classes were focused at a 75/25 ratio toward puppetry vs ventriloquism. However that ratio did not in anyway take away from the quality of the ventrilquism educational opportunities.
Fortunately for me mostly all the ventriloquism classes and events were held in the building that normally serves as the college's school of nursing. This made it easy for me to stay in one place most of the day and attend a variety of classes. Also convenient for me was the fact that the athletic building where the main events of the festival took place (morning and evening programs and vendor exhibits) was only about 150-200 yards away from the nursing school building. This made getting around very easy.
I chose to attend the classes that focused on developing your ventriloquist character. The most memorable ones were taught by Andy Holmes, the puppeteer behind the popular children's character Gerbert; Ella Havell, a ventriloquist from England who at one time auditioned for the show Britain's Got Talent; and Liz Von Segen, a very talented ventriloquist.
I also attended the Senior and Novice ventriloquist competition performances. These really weren't competitions but evaluation sessions. Each performer was evaluated and critiqued by a panel of 4 or 5 ventriloquists with a lot of experience.
I must say that after attending one of her classes, seeing her perform at one of the evening sessions, and watching her MC a ventriloquist competition, Liz Von Segan is now one of my most favorite people in the world. She is classy, smart, charming, and very good at what she does. I can only hope to be close to her level in all areas of my performance some day.
I also met a ventriloquist named Doug Nearpass and his wife. They live in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Doug emceed the Senior Vent completion and was one of the facilitators of my favorite class of the whole festival; an improvisation class.
While I felt like a stranger when I first got there by the time Saturday afternoon came around I realized that the people at I-Fest are "my people." They are people who love puppetry and ventriloquism as much as I do. I hadn't been around anyone like that since I first met the members of the Down Home Friends puppet ministry group at my church a couple of years ago.
The improv class was the one class I knew I was going to be part of at the festival. I looked forward to it from the time I signed up for it months ago. While the class didn't involve hardly any puppetry or ventriloquism it was a good 2 hours of improvising with props and situations. It was as good as I thought it was going to be but I did enjoy it.
The last thing I want to say about I-fest is that it helped me to realize and focus on just exactly what God has called me to do. I picked up some great jokes and lines to use with my characters. I realized that I need to develop those characters to be more believeable. I also learned some new tools to use in my overall ministry to children. Throughout the entire time I was there God impressed on my heart that I should always keep in mind that I am not called to be just a "ventriloquist." I am a "gospel ventriloquist."
One of the teachers in a class that I attended about creativity in puppet presentations handed out a model to use as a guide when trying to come up with a new presentation or act. The model was a series of circles with different elements named in it. At the center of the model were the words "gospel message." The instructor explained and stressed that as a performers we should never lose sight of the fact that in the center of anything we do in our ministry should always be God's gospel message. That is our main purpose for our ministry.
That point really put a solid period at the end of the sentence I had been hearing from God all during the festival. It defines in my head and heart what my focus from here on should be. While it's true I am a ventriloquist what I really am in my heart and soul is a messenger of the gospel.
If nothing else that's the one thing I want to always remember about I-fest and take with me as I walk down the road God has for me.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Back From I-Fest
This is my first post since my return to Kentucky after 3 days at the International Puppetry and Ventriloquism Festival in Burbonais, Illinois. I had a great time, met lots of wonderful people and learned more useful ventriloquism and Children's ministry skills. I have lots of things to write about and will be posting them over the next week.
Also I made a side trip to Chicago. I visited both the White Sox and Cubs stadiums. I had two different experiences at each and I'll give you that details later on.
Let me start with some details of my arrival trip.
The Road To Watseka
I left for my trip on Thursday morning July 10 at about 7:20 AM. I had my road maps and my googel maps directions with me. Because of a mix up with the way I copied the directions I didn't think I had the right directions. I looked at the map and decided to take a different route that I thought was easier. As it turned out my new route was about 90 minutes more driving than the original directions would have been. It didn't look that far on the map.
Finally I got off Route 57 in Illinois and took Rt 24 to the town of Watseka. The drive on Rt 24 was about 25 miles. I had booked the hotel online at Expedia.com because the website said that it was near where I-fest was being held. I quickly realized from looking at the map I was not "close" at all.
To get to the Olivet Nazarene College campus and I-fest I would have to drive back the 25 miles to Rt 57 then drive 32 more miles north. That meant that I was nearly 60 miles from where I needed to be. The website had severely underestimated the location of my hotel for which I had prepaid.
By checking the map and asking a couple of people at the convenience store next to my hotel I found a short cut to an Rt 57 entrance ramp that would only require me to drive about 10 miles to get the festival.
Once I got to the Olivet Nazarene campus I found the building where the festival was and checked in. I got oriented with the locations, times and places of the various events I wanted to attend over the next 2 days then settled in for the evening ceremonies in the auditorium.
From 9-10:30 I went to another building to watch a ventriloquist competition and then drove back to the hotel. I was really tired on the drive back to the hotel. It was raining and I made a wrong turn. I got lost about 3 times and ended up following signs back to Rt 57, driving south to the Rt 24 exit and once again driving the 30 miles east to Watseka and my hotel.
Before calling it a day I looked at the next day's schedule for the festival and circled the classes and events I wanted to attend. The trip got off to a bit of a rocky start but once I got used to the hotel, the geography of the area and the details of the festival the stage was set for having a wonderful time over the next two days. More on that next time.
Also I made a side trip to Chicago. I visited both the White Sox and Cubs stadiums. I had two different experiences at each and I'll give you that details later on.
Let me start with some details of my arrival trip.
The Road To Watseka
I left for my trip on Thursday morning July 10 at about 7:20 AM. I had my road maps and my googel maps directions with me. Because of a mix up with the way I copied the directions I didn't think I had the right directions. I looked at the map and decided to take a different route that I thought was easier. As it turned out my new route was about 90 minutes more driving than the original directions would have been. It didn't look that far on the map.
Finally I got off Route 57 in Illinois and took Rt 24 to the town of Watseka. The drive on Rt 24 was about 25 miles. I had booked the hotel online at Expedia.com because the website said that it was near where I-fest was being held. I quickly realized from looking at the map I was not "close" at all.
To get to the Olivet Nazarene College campus and I-fest I would have to drive back the 25 miles to Rt 57 then drive 32 more miles north. That meant that I was nearly 60 miles from where I needed to be. The website had severely underestimated the location of my hotel for which I had prepaid.
By checking the map and asking a couple of people at the convenience store next to my hotel I found a short cut to an Rt 57 entrance ramp that would only require me to drive about 10 miles to get the festival.
Once I got to the Olivet Nazarene campus I found the building where the festival was and checked in. I got oriented with the locations, times and places of the various events I wanted to attend over the next 2 days then settled in for the evening ceremonies in the auditorium.
From 9-10:30 I went to another building to watch a ventriloquist competition and then drove back to the hotel. I was really tired on the drive back to the hotel. It was raining and I made a wrong turn. I got lost about 3 times and ended up following signs back to Rt 57, driving south to the Rt 24 exit and once again driving the 30 miles east to Watseka and my hotel.
Before calling it a day I looked at the next day's schedule for the festival and circled the classes and events I wanted to attend. The trip got off to a bit of a rocky start but once I got used to the hotel, the geography of the area and the details of the festival the stage was set for having a wonderful time over the next two days. More on that next time.
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