Well, I'm back in Wisconsin. Doing normal things again, like feeding the dog. Not that I wasn't feeding the dog before...well no, actually I wasn't....it's not my dog...I'm staying at a friend's house.

Anyway, I can't really say I finished the tour, considering I played a couple nights ago, I'm playing again tonight, all of my clothes are still in the suitcase, and I'm setting up more concerts in the eastern half of the country. I think I'll be in tour mode until July.

The most recent section of this extended tour went very well. A couple stops in Indiana. Noblesville (the picture above) and Zionsville-

And then a stop in Bayview, WI-

One of the nice things about being back in the home town for a short while is I'm finding time to do some songwriting. Here are a few lines from a recent little number-

I've got a good plan
I heard it from an old man
He gave me his free hand
And a piece of advice

He said there are few things
I find more amusing
Than making some music
Late into the night

Sounds good to me. The tour continues!

"That's one big fish" I said as I walked into the Georgia Aquarium.

"Make yourself at home" they said when I arrived at their house in Mableton, GA.


"This is yours" said Washtub John as he handed me my very own handmade "candolin."

"So you're basically a drifter" they said as I put on the headphones at 92.9 Dave FM.

"This is a very comfortable couch" they said as they showed me where I'd be sleeping after the concert. (It is a comfortable couch, I'm sitting on it now).

For the record, I also played a few songs on an XM Radio, PGA Tour golf talk show this morning. Yes I did. I also played golf in high school. The yearbook might not show it, but I went to all the practices. And that's all I have to say about that.

I'm sitting on someone's back porch in Woodstock, GA, where the bottom couple feet of the houses have a slight rust color from the red clay that distinguishes this area. I'm feeling grateful and blessed, and I'm realizing that I have hardly the time and means to fully express my gratitude. Not a bad way to live!

After a dinner at Bob Sykes BBQ Friday night, I played a concert in Bessemer, AL. They were nice enough to give me a cigar box guitar-

Very cool. Some other parts to the guitar include a spoon(at the bottom) and a sink drain (for the sound hole cover). You can check out more of their stuff at baconfatguitars.com. Thank you Alabama!

I then drove to Georgia to get up in time for a hike on part of the Appalachian Trail. We hiked to the top of Blood Mountain-

Interestingly, the mountains had been washed white by the snow. A rare sight in Georgia!

I played last night for this group-

I don't think there was any question about which house was hosting the concert!

That's an untapped advertising market.

The party continues! A concert in New Orleans Wednesday night. A little more quiet than Fat Tuesday, but still a good time!

Then, yesterday I headed to Atmore in southern Alabama. Loving it out in farm country. I took a bike ride down a dirt lane and then a walk down a farm lane (yes, there is a difference). There's a cotton field behind the house. They've already picked it, but they gave me a cotton boll as a souvenir-

I spent some time trying to make a dent in the bucket of pecans they collected from them there trees. Then, after dinner, a little shoo-fly pie-

Mmmm, mmmm.

The concert went great.

Although my singing wasn't quite the same as the birds I heard outside my window this morning. Yes, I've discovered where all the robins go when they leave the midwest in the winter. Flocks of them down here. I also saw another red-bellied bird, but he was wearing a blue sport coat to set himself apart from the rest of the robins. A bluebird-

A good way to start the day!

So much has happened in the last couple days! The cake version of the Toastman spent a great Valentine's Day with his cake girlfriend. At least it was great until the end of the concert with this crew-

I barely made it into that photo. I had to run through an office a down a couple flights of stairs!

Then, Monday morning I met up for a breakfast concert with this group of fellas-

It was a debriefing on all of their Valentines efforts. "So, did the dozen roses go over well?" "Yeah! How about the new TV with a year of the sports channel?" "Umm, not so good." (Not really)

Then, we headed to Louisiana just in time to hit the Mardi Gras festivities. Monday night was Lundi Gras. Big parades (this was the Superbowl Champion Saints' float with coach Sean Payton)-

Lots of beads-

And a gator po-boy to end the night-

So good....Then, Mardi Gras morning, a 6:30 wake-up call (my neck was a little sore from carrying around all of the beads) to head into the city for more parades and a whole lot of costumes and people watching.

Notice the beads hanging from the trees!

The festivities ended last night with a concert in Slidell (just on the other side of Lake Pontchartrain) complete with jambalaya and gumbo. Soak in the flavor!

Now tonight, we're heading into New Orleans for another house concert in the warehouse district. I wonder if the street sweepers have everything cleaned up yet?

Drove through quite a bit of desert the past couple days. As they say, many times the desert has subtle beauty, such as different shades of shadows. Of course, sometimes your eyes can deceive you in the desert, so it's helpful to also have a good set of ears.

My dad is with me for a few days on the tour. We checked out Joshua Tree National Park. Very cool-

Then we headed to Parker, AZ for a house concert. In the winter, people that migrate to Parker are called "snowbirds" and in the summer they're called "river rats". Thankfully, they called us "guests" and treated us to a fresh grapefruit from the tree in the backyard!

On some friends' recommendation, we stopped in Deming, NM on our way east to get some beef and green chile burritos at a place called Burger Time....I know...They make donuts too! Anyway, New Mexico is known for their green chiles. I'm pretty sure a good majority of the green chiles consumed in the US come from New Mexico.

We ate the burritos at a rest area overlooking Las Cruces-

I'm pretty sure that's the most beautiful scenery that burrito had ever seen. Actually, I know it was.

After driving over 1000 miles and seeing and then smelling a surprising number of dead skunks, we arrived for a house concert in Houston, TX.

Thankfully, the only smell was that of the fajita bar. Hello Texas! Eyes, ears, mouth and nose ready for the next adventure!

I've been learning a lot about people lately. Turns out people interpret the phrase "crazy picture" a variety of ways. Thank you Fresno, CA!

I've also found out that people get pretty busy in Tulare, CA in February. It's World Ag Expo time! Hundreds of thousands of people attend. They throw a good party. For this concert I played in a shed, on a shed (a shed in an unopened box was the stage).



I've also been learning a lot about the sky. For example, the folks in Tulare showed me how constellations are made. See, first, you take the skylanterns out of the bag-

Then you light them-

Then you let them fill up with hot air and slowly let them go-

Give them a couple minutes to float away and presto! You've got a constellation!

I still have no idea how to do this though-

Records are being broken. I had my second flat tire of the tour in San Francisco (most flat tires on a living room tour). It was actually the same tire too - front right. First one was a rock, second one was a nail.

Thankfully, I still made it to the concert in Orinda, just in time for some homemade curry. Mmmm.


The weekend was full. A trip to Yosemite was one of the highlights-

Also, there was a coconut adventure. This time I was armed with a machete-

Then, another living room concert with over 100 people(the most at a living room concert)!

Records are being broken.

The Toastman got his first taxi ride last night in San Francisco. I thought about putting him in the trunk with the guitar, but the nitrous tanks were taking up too much space! Plus, he enjoys seeing the variety of buildings and people in this city. (Unfortunately, I could get him to shell out the money for the cab ride.) Some good variety in the past few concerts too- some kids, lots of kids, no kids...one way or another, it's all for the kids.
Fremont, CA-

Orinda, CA-

San Francisco, CA-

The concert marathon continues! But first, a little guessing game on the photo above...Yep, it's a small section of a very large wall of chewed gum in an alley in San Luis Obispo! Amazingly, it's become a tourist attraction-

Just like the chewed up gum on the wall, the living room concerts have been adding up fast. I know, bad comparison, but what would rather I said? The concert bubble is about to burst? Here are some group shots. Some were crazy fun and some were refreshing, just like gum. Thankfully, none ended up stuck to the bottom of my shoe. Help! I need to stop typing. Here we go. San Luis Obispo, CA-

Pleasanton, CA-

Santa Rosa, CA-

Santa Rosa, CA again-

Fremont, CA-

and Fairfield, CA-

Even during the busyness, I try to take a break now and then. For example, I found this highway to the clouds. Very relaxing-

And one more guessing game

Got it? A close up of some fungus on a very fungiful log. Made up word.

Time to play another concert!