Here we go--big blog post!
We spent the summer touring as the opening act for Train and REO Speedwagon, something we'd never done before. Most of the days were the same: get off the bus, get coffee, go practice flute, set up my keyboards on the rolling riser, eat lunch, go practice clarinet somewhere else, soundcheck, warm up on keyboard, warm up on saxophone, eat, play the show (we played for forty-five minutes), put my gear away, go for a run, shower, get back on the bus. Therefore, this will probably be mostly pictures.
July 8, 2024: Somerset, WI. We flew to Minneapolis the night before (the closest airport), and then the next day we took cars to meet up with the bus, which was already parked at the first venue. Right off the bat it was time to put some luggage away and go eat lunch.
 |
| dogs at the venue! |
Since we were just getting situated, this happened a few times--shuffling clothes from a suitcase under the bus to a duffel bag that lived on the bus.
 |
| back of the venue |
 |
| roller dogs |
This particular venue had a backstage area with trailers and this big tent for hanging out.
Show number one!
We used tracks on a couple of songs, but the playback (coming from the electronic drum pad) misfired and played several samples on top of each other, and then it wouldn't stop. Oops! Nackers got it sorted out after a few seconds.
This is Mike, my college roommate. He hasn't seen me perform since my senior recital, twenty-eight years ago. He and his family live in Minneapolis, and we were finally close enough for them to come to a gig!
Most of the guys did not shower on the first night, but I gone for a run, so I definitely wanted to get clean before we left.
In the bunk for our first night! We were warned that the bus would be cold, so everybody went to bed with plenty of clothes on, only to wake up hot, take the clothes off, open the vent, freeze, close the vent. It took a few sleeps to get this figured out.
July 9, 2024: Indianapolis, IN. We had a day off in Indy, so everybody got hotel rooms (which was a good thing, because most of the guys couldn't sleep on the bus for the first few nights).
Pete, Nick, and I did a little TV promo at the local news.
 |
| Indian food for dinner! |
In the evening, we met up with a few of the Train guys for drinks. A tiki bar was the second location.
We unsuccessfully tried a third location...
...eventually ending up drinking on one of the Train band buses parked in downtown Indy.
July 10, 2024: Noblesville, IN. We departed from Indianapolis around lunchtime and headed north to meet the bus.
All of this was still very new. Not much of a backstage, but I did find this shady spot to play.
 |
| cookies! |
So here's a story...after I'd finished our part of the day and packed up and ate and showered, it was still only 8:30/9 PM. I went looking for a place to practice for a while until it was time to go to bed. Train was on stage, so I went into their warmup room and practiced flute in the corner, figuring that 1. playing in here would disturb the fewest number of people, 2. Train was on stage, so they wouldn't be using the room. I played in there for about an hour, and a few people came through, but no complaints (and I did ask each person if they wanted me to stop). When Train's set was finishing up, I packed up and left.
Later in the night (maybe 11/11:30 PM), I went into an empty dressing room to play a little bit of clarinet before giving up for the night. Right around midnight, our tour manager came to get me--he'd gotten a furious, profanity-laden phone call that I was disturbing the crew loading out, so I immediately went out and got on the bus to hide. Oops! I'm still not sure why somebody didn't just stick their head in the door and tell me to knock it off. This whole thing got needlessly blown out of proportion.
By the end of the tour, the retelling of this story included the lie that I was shirtless? Umm, what? I was probably shoeless, but definitely not shirtless.
July 11, 2024: Pittsburgh, PA. So yeah, I woke up as the most hated person on the tour.
This is one of those places where the band can face outward during the summer and play an outdoor show, or they can close the back wall and face inward. Today, the inside area was our backstage.
There was a pretty good multipurpose path along the river right next to the venue--a good spot for a run. The far end of it passed by this old prison.
This was the first gig where I felt like we really nailed what we were trying to do.
July 12, 2024: Cincinnati, OH.
Our dressing room was unused for most of the morning, so I was able to practice there.
After lunch, the maintenance guys let me practice flute in their shed.
July 13, 2024: Tinley Park, IL. Suburban Chicago.
Today I practiced in the pavilion outside of the amphitheater.
There weren't enough dressing rooms to accommodate us, so we ended up in the fitness center for this place.
This place was our first cancellation. There was weather in the area, so the start time kept getting pushed back until it was too late to fit us into the schedule. Whatever storm was threatening ended up going around the venue, so no rain or anything.
I was able to go for a run--about a mile and a half down the road, there was a neighborhood where I could safely accumulate some miles.
July 14, 2024: Cleveland, OH. Day off. Pretty much everybody did laundry. The hotel didn't have any quarters (and no plan how to get any more), so we were scrambling to figure that part out.
Other things--went for Indian food, and either I didn't know how the place operated or they didn't have any servers, but after sitting around and not getting served, I ended up at a Subway. On the way back to bus, I stopped in a CVS for supplies, and a homeless guy asked for a money. On the way out, I noticed he was following me, so I had to alter my route to keep from getting mugged.
I also went for a run and did a little hotel room practicing.
July 15, 2024: Cuyahoga Falls, OH. We got back on the bus on this morning and rode the short distance to the venue.
 |
| morning flute practice |
This particular venue set up a small petting zoo in the afternoon. No dogs, but it was still pretty cool.
This place has cool architecture.
Parking lot laps after our show. There was nowhere else to go. The parking attendants thought this was really amusing, and I got cheers every time I went by like I was running in the olympics.
 |
July 16, 2024: Maryland Heights, MO. Suburban St. Louis.
This is Piper, one of the truck driver's dogs.
I was out practicing flute in the pavilion as the rain moved in and I was forced to find somewhere else to go.
I ended up in this single-seater bathroom, but it was stuffy, so I propped the door open. As the rain intensified, it came closer and closer until it crested the threshold of the door, so I had to shut it. Then, the rain began to come in under the door, so I backed up to stay out of the water--no big deal because there was a drain in the middle of the room. The water kept coming and the drain couldn't handle it, and I ended up basically pinned to the back wall between the sink and the toilet as that was the last high spot in the bathroom! After about an hour, the rain subsided enough that I could escape.
 |
| lunch |
Later in the afternoon the rain finally moved on.
July 17, 2024: Kansas City, MO. The loading dock/backstage area was too small for our busses to park, so we were stationed outside the fence next to a park. There was a picnic area close by, so I practiced there.
After lunch, the picnic area was used as the meeting place for the local security/hospitality crew, so I moved clarinet practice down the road.
 |
| got it |
I ran before the gig, but stopped to say hi to this dog standing on the sidewalk.
July 18, 2024: Indianapolis, IN. Day off/travel day. The drivers slept while we did our own thing. For me, the usual mix of practicing, running, and laundry. Great weather.
At the end of the day, we got back on the bus and rode overnight to the next show.
July 19, 2024: Lewiston, NY. Basically Niagra Falls.
 |
| a sad lunch |
 |
| not much room to preset our gear, so today it sat in this trailer |
 |
| Canada is right over there |
 |
| Canada, right over there |
 |
| another weird meal--a bed of rice and then a bunch of salad toppings |
 |
| not all the food was bad |
We played here a couple of years ago, randomly opening for Richard Marx (you can see that here).
Nick had flown home from Kansas City, and after really bad airport delays due to a nationwide computer failure, he came screaming back to us with about two minutes before we were scheduled to begin. Made it!
This place had showers, but they used well water that was cold and smelled like sulfur. I went for a run before the gig, so I had to shower before the end of the day, but this was really terrible, and I smelled like rotten eggs for hours afterwards.
 |
| parking lot hangs |
July 19, 2024: Toronto, CA. In the middle of the night, we did the border crossing thing. We'd been warned that it could be miserable and take hours, but the border guard came on the bus, checked our passports, and let us go back to sleep. Kip had handled the paperwork beforehand through some kind of private agency, and that kept the delay to a minimum.
There was some kind of Formula One race practice going on for most of the morning.
Post-gig run pics:
 |
| dog fountain |
As I was putting away my clothes at the end of the night, I realized that somewhere in the day I'd misplaced my laptop! I checked inside my rack in the gear trailer, but it wasn't there. I checked the green room, but it wasn't there. It dawned on me that I'd put it down while packing my stuff after we played, and I never picked it back up. Fortunately, someone on the loading dock turned it into the local production office, so I was able to get it back before we left.
July 21, 2024: Clarkston, MI. Outside Detroit. In the middle of the night, we did another border crossing. We had to go inside and present our passports to the US guys, so it took a little longer.
Pine Knob. Pure Michigan.
 |
| Patron practice room |
I went for a run after the gig, but I missed my turn and ran a mile and a half past it before I turned around.
July 22, 2024: Buffalo, NY. Day off/travel day.
 |
| parking lot practice |
We had a band dinner at The Anchor Bar, the place that invented buffalo wings (read about it here).
 |
 |
| we walked back to the bus |
 |
| I practiced a little bit more on the bus before we left |
July 23, 2024: Saratoga Springs, NY.
July 24, 2024: Bethel, NY. Woodstock!
We watched most of the Woodstock documentary on the bus that night.
July 25, 2024: Cherry Hill, NJ. Day off/travel day.
We had hotel rooms here, so everybody went inside, leaving me the back of the bus to use as a practice room.
 |
| clean sheets |
In the evening, we had a band dinner in Philadelphia. This was good, but I needed two or three times as much to fill me up.
We also stopped at an Irish bar.
Some hotel room practicing.
I also got my laundry done. Someone else had brought their laundry (and suitcase) in, and promptly abandoned the whole idea. Hopefully when they woke up, the came back for it.
July 26, 2024: Camden, NJ.
After we played, I went out for a run, so I asked the security guard if I would be ok. "If you stay on this main road, you'll be ok." Except that the main road was only about a mile long, and then it got super sketchy, so I turned right and ran along the Rutgers/Camden campus, still ok. Then I ran over by the hospital, still ok. Then I tried to turn back in the direction that I thought the venue was in, NOT OK. Sooooo, I headed back to the hospital, back to the Rutgers, back by the Delaware River, then things got sketchy again, so then I went back by the venue and ran on the main road.
July 27, 2024: Jones Beach, NY. This place is pretty great.
 |
| green room practicing |
 |
| music stand |
There were bikes available to ride, and a path on which to ride them. We all partook at different times of the day. This particular model's handlebars were loose at the stem, and they would drastically slip if you hit a big bump.
Evidently I have stolen Stumpy's mojo. Much sorrow!
July 28, 2024: Gilford, NH. This is probably the only place that could top Jones Beach.
I sat in with Train at this show, soloing over their song Mississippi, so nervous that I could barely play.
Afterwards, there was a big hang out by the pool (just past the mini golf course).
July 29, 2024: Burlington, VT. Day off.
Scenes from my run:
On the way back to the hotel, a mentally ill guy threatened to hit me with a rock if I didn't keep a passing cyclist (who he claimed had hurt his daughter) away from him. That was nuts.
July 30, 2024: Burlington, VT.
Our part of the evening was cut because of weather, but Train played, and I once again got to sit in on Mississippi, which went a little better.
July 31, 2024: Syracuse, NY.
I decided to try and do laundry here. Unfortunately, the staff washed all the dinner pots/pans/serving trays at the sink right next to the machines, and at one point, they dropped a large pan that had been used to cook and serve fish, and the liquid from the pan was sort of pushed down the drain in front of the dryer but not really cleaned up, and damnit but I dropped a shirt in that when I was transferring it from the washer to the dryer and it smelled fishy and awful, and I had to handwash it later to try and get enough of the smell out.
August 1, 2024: Holmdel, NJ.
There I was, playing flute in the pavilion next to this delivery of light beer, when three weirdos in a golf cart came zooming by--some teenage boys working as grounds crew. They swung the cart around next to me, listened for a little bit, applauded, asked me to play something. I couldn't think of anything from this century, and they couldn't really communicate what they wanted (there was a bit a language barrier), but I blew them off enough that they left without a song.
About a half hour later, they came back, whipping the golf cart around the pavilion, and once again they wanted me to play them a song. I don't know why it popped into my head, but I played The Hustle and they liked it, the three of them drumming along with The Hustle on the golf cart, and that finally satisfied them. With a cheer, they left. Do I need to have a Taylor Swift melody in my head for self defense?
Later on, I moved over to the merch area because I could lean my iPad up against the boxes to see it.
This venue had a pet adoption/petting zoo thing after lunch, and we had a good time loving on the puppies.
The gig was crazy looking. No telling what sort of acoustical challenges it presented to the front-of-house guys.
 |
| Tiny green room, but a pretty good shower |
 |
| two shower heads and soap provided! |
August 2, 2024: Hoboken, NJ. We awoke in a parking lot in New Jersey, directly across from Manhattan.
After a run (which was hot and awful), I gathered my saxophone and a backpack, and Mark Bencuya and I took a car to the ferry to New York. Once we landed, I hopped in a cab and headed down to meet Sam Dillon for a saxophone lesson.
Sam is one of my favorite modern sax players on the New York scene, and I was able to schedule some time for a lesson at his home in the West Village.
We played and talked about lots of stuff, and spent quite a bit of time talking about triad pairs within diminished scales. That gives you six notes, which you can play as triads or you can combine into a six note scale and play patterns within that, and depending on which diminished scale you use, you get different triads, aaaaaaaaaaannnnd my brain melted.
I'll just leave it at that--I'm not sure I could explain it very well anyway. Maybe it'll make more sense when I finally have time to work through it some more.
Regardless of all that, it was cool to be in the same room with someone so much better than me, while also depressing to realize that I'll never be as good as that guy.
After grabbing a late lunch, I made it up to Birdland, where Sam was playing an early show with the Birdland Big Band.
 |
| Sam Dillon soloing with the Birdland Big Band |
That gig finished around 7 PM. I tried to find some other places to go and hear some music, but most things were sold out of tickets. I ended up catching this sextet playing at Cellar Dog.
When they went on break, I headed out to grab some food and the last ferry back to New Jersey.
Got a shower in the hotel room we were all sharing for the day, and got back on the bus to go to sleep.
August 3, 2024: Hartford, CT.
I found a good VIP tent where I could practice without bothering anyone.
 |
| not one of my best meals |
 |
| James, trying to look busy at load out while not doing much |
August 4, 2024: Mansfield, MA.
This is another one of those places that didn't have enough parking behind the stage, so the busses were outside the security fence. It was probably .2 miles away, and there were three security stops between the bus and the green room...it was annoying.
We got a ton of rain in a short period of time.
I ran laps in the parking lot on this night.
August 5, 2024: Gainesville, VA. Day off/travel day. All the usual stuff (practiced, ran, laundry, food).
Not much to report about this one. Another parking lot run. I remember this run more than I remember anything about the gig.
August 7, 2024: Virginia Beach, VA.
Lots of deafening jets overhead during practice time.
August 8, 2024: Raleigh, NC. Day off. It rained off an on all day. Things started off with a zoom call about our health insurance.
We later moved to a different hotel with more food options. I went for a run, but kept having to change direction because the sidewalks would end. I got rained on. I ate a crappy pizza and salad. Not a great day.
August 9, 2024: Raleigh, NC. Back to the gig!
 |
| the orange juice machine was entertaining |
 |
| the hanging of the lights and video wall |
August 11, 2024: Wilmington, NC.
This venue was small, so I did some practicing on the bus.
In the early afternoon, the weather deteriorated. Here's a picture of my saxophone case sitting out in the rain.
We eventually set up our gear, maybe even sound checked. Everything got wrapped in tarps, though, as the storm closed in on Wilmington. Everybody waited to see if we would get to play...
...but in the end, the whole gig was cancelled due to lightning. That was a bummer, but it also meant that we got to leave for Atlanta a few hours earlier.
August 12, 2024: Atlanta, GA. Tour break!
August 15, 2024: Atlanta, GA. Got back on the bus around midnight. The drivers came back around 6 AM to drive the bus to Alabama. Everybody else opted to ride in the van later in the morning.
August 16, 2024: Pelham, AL. South of Birmingham. It was hot.
 |
| Our dressing room had a shower, so we did not have to use this. |
I think the batteries in my sax mic died at this gig. Nothing else to report.
August 17, 2024: Alpharetta, GA. Hometown show!
It was hot during the morning, and a blistering thunderstorm moved in right after the gates opened. It felt like our part of the night was going to get cancelled, but we waited and finally got the go ahead. It was great!
 |
| vodka consolidation and management was a big part of my summer |
August 18, 2024: Franklin, TN.
We've played here (the quarry) before with Kenny Loggins.
There is a building down the hill from the loading dock that functions as a wedding chapel, and I was able to practice there without bothering anybody. It was a really nice spot.
 |
| this was excellent |
 |
| rotating clothes |
 |
| hello fren! |
August 19, 2024: Atlanta, GA. Day off/travel day. We all got to go home for a few hours.
August 20, 2024: Tampa, FL.
 |
| 10:55 AM |
 |
| 11:18 AM |
 |
| 12:10 PM also, "Best hazmat containers in the industry" is an odd ad for the side of a music venue |
 |
| green room |
 |
| the weather was pretty at 7 PM |
I went for a run after this one. I did a couple of laps around the fairgrounds before a security golf cart tracked me down. "Too fast?" I asked. He didn't think that was funny.
So anyway, I had to finish up my run somewhere else.
August 21, 2024: West Palm Beach, FL.
 |
| drying/airing out some sweaty running clothes |
 |
my lame lunch |
This venue had a pool (and a pretty bartender), so all the YRR people went swimming.
At the end of the night, I realized that I'd lost my tour ID/laminate somewhere. I checked the green room, went around the pool, went through my backpack and my duffel bag, and could not find it. Just as I was falling asleep, I remembered that I'd stuck it in my running shoes just before getting in the pool. Voila!
August 22, 2024: Jacksonville, FL.
 |
| we spent the morning at a children's hospital telethon |
 |
| this place looks cool, but doesn't sound good |
I sat in with Train again. This was one of the better ones.
After the show, the Train guys invited us to play frisbee in the Jacksonville Jaguars' practice field.
 |
| Jerry from Train kicking it. He did not make it. |
Pete and I were barefoot, and the black rubber that is used in the turf turned our feet black, so we had to race back to the dressing room right before the bus pulled away and wash up.
August 23, 2024: Orange Beach, AL.
 |
| more drying of the running clothes |
This stupid shower! The clamp on the wall that was supposed to hold the shower head in place was broken, so the venue just left it like this. This is actually nicer than when I found it with the shower head on the floor of the shower. They might as well have run a hose through the window for us.
Once again, I tried to lose my laptop. After this show, I put it down in catering when I stopped to get something to eat after our show, and then left it there for the rest of the night. When I was putting my clothes away at the end of the night and couldn't find it, I had to retrace my steps from the hours before, and there it was, on the table next to my hat, which I'd also tried to leave behind.
In other news, Pat lost his voice in the middle of the Train set, and Nick, Pete, and Greg had to ten minutes to get dressed and go help out with vocals.
August 24, 2024: Houston, TX. A day off in Houston, in August. Party time. We went to a laundromat instead.
 |
| band dinner |
It turned out that Pat's voice was having serious problems, and so Train cancelled the Houston show and the Dallas show. The entire circus began the journey west. It was a bummer to miss a couple of shows, but we were all kind of thankful to be escaping the heat.
A few of the guys (Nick, Pete, Greg, Zach) booked flights home for a couple of days.
 |
| hotel hallway practice |
August 26, 2024: Amarillo, TX. Travel day.
Pictures from my run:
August 27: Denver, CO. Day off.
The usual. I practiced on the bus all day, and I thought it wouldn't be too bad even if the power was turned off, but it got a little warm by the end of the day.
 |
| The food of India was available just across the street |
August 28, 2024: Denver, CO.
After the coffee and restroom parts of the day were over, I went searching for a place to do my flute practice, and lucked into a spot on top of the office in the corner of Marjorie Park. What a spot!
August 29, 2024: Salt Lake City, UT
It was pretty warm here.
 |
| sweet bomb dogs |
 |
| Ahh, direct sunlight. Not so great for a gig. |
I'm pretty sure this is the place where we had to give up our bathroom to the REO Speedwagon guys from something like 1 PM to 7 PM, like we were kind of sharing it, but it was theirs for the hours that they were actually at the venue (they came later in the day, ate, played their show, and then left early to spend the night in a hotel). Anyway, it was something weird like that where we pretty much had to abandon the whole room because they would be in and out of the bathroom and it was awkward.
I remember this run was a bad idea because the venue was on a hill, but I did it anyway.
August 30, 2024: Boise, ID. Travel day.
This was my first time in Idaho. There were wildfires in the area, so it was smoky and we mostly stayed indoors.
We did go out for a band dinner in downtown Boise. The Lyft driver had a very detailed spreadsheet going with information about all of his trips.
We ate in a private dining room that was decorated with pictures of rabbits.
 |
| I guess they ate the rabbits |
 |
| our man Peter Searcy |
August 31, 2024: Auburn, WA.
 |
| practice spot #1 |
 |
| backstage |
 |
| practice spot #2 |
 |
| balloons |
Here's another story: I opted to try and do laundry here at the venue after we played, so asked someone from the local production office it that would be ok ('cause I'm still trying my best not to get yelled at). We went to the laundry room, where there were a pair of washers and a pair of dryers. She explained that one pair was for the venue and one pair was for the bands, but that they were using all four machines. I could do my load of clothes once the band washer finished.
I waited around, and it finished, so I took their wet towels out, put them on top of the band dryer, and washed my clothes. The local production person never came back to empty the band dryer, so I folded their towels and stacked them, put my clothes in the dryer, and put their wet towels on top of the washer.
When my clothes were dry, I took them out and folded them, and then put the production's wet towels in the dryer and got it started. Never saw the local person again.
September 1, 2024: Bend, OR.
After that, it got too dark and the trail turned back towards the venue, so I ended up on a sidewalk in the other direction.
September 2, 2024: Portland, OR. Day off. The busses we parked at a hotel with more parking, but the band stayed in the Duniway, our chosen hotel downtown.
September 4, 2024: Ridgefield, WA. We got back on the busses this morning and rode for about an hour to the gig.
 |
| lunch--a salad on top of a bed of rice |
The sidewalk situation was not good, so the ol' post-gig run was sort of around the parking lots.
September 5, 2024: Redding, CA. Day off. It was reeeeeeeeaaallly hot. Did laundry, practiced, ran on the treadmill.
 |
| fortunately, the food of India wasn't too far away |
 |
| an army of Tesla chargers |
 |
| a little silent hotel room practice before we got back on the bus |
September 6, 2024: Wheatland, CA. Another very hot one.
 |
| parking lot laps in the middle of nowhere |
September 7, 2024: San Jose, CA.
Good thing the weather was so nice--the busses didn't fit inside security, and the hike back and forth included a big hill.
We shot footage in here for a cool video Nick made for one of our originals. Check it out!
 |
| soundcheck |
Steve Wozniak (of Apple Computers fame) was here, but I never got to meet him (or show him my prehistoric laptop).
 |
| a sculpture outside of one of the Google offices |
September 8, 2024: Los Angeles, CA. The Forum!!!!!
 |
| I was able to procure an empty room for practicing |
 |
| special guest Elliot Lurie! He sang Brandy, of course, and our song Tropical Illusion (which he co wrote) |
Speaking of which, have you heard Tropical Illusion yet?
 |
| dinner |
I went out for a run after our part, and I asked the security guard at the top of the ramp if it would be safe for me to run in this neighborhood. "You should run in the parking lot. We have security guards." Got it! Laps around The Forum.
September 9, 2024: San Diego, CA. Day off. The band landed at our preferred hotel near Little Italy, so after getting our rooms, it was time to eat!
 |
| I've ordered this exact pizza more than once, and always regret this combination. It's vegetarian, but it's just so blah. |
And run!
Bad luck for me--the hotel backed up to the train tracks, and my room was right here on the end, so I caught all the action and all the noise all night.
REO Speedwagon's bassist, Matt Bissonette, has a side project where he (with the help of his brother Gregg and a producer friend Paul) write and record a song in one day, and so in between set ups and soundchecks, the Train guys added guitar, organ, percussion, and vocals, and I contributed a sax solo.
Here's my part.
We had puppies for petting at this gig, so I once again took full advantage.
I had a pretty crappy show, including a botched attempt at the Africa solo. Hopefully I redeemed myself when I sat in with Train on Mississippi a little later on.
September 11, 2024: Phoenix, AZ. Last one!
It was extremely hot. Over a 100 degrees all day.
 |
| rehearsal for us all to play/sing on Hotel California |
 |
| lookin' pretty tired |
 |
| five minutes before sound check |
We played Roll with the Changes in tribute to REO to finish out our set, and the Train guys joined us on stage. It was a cool moment.
As a prank, we all dressed in costumes (things that came out of the giant suitcase props that Train had onstage) and went out on stage during Train's performance. I was a toothbrush.
I got one final shot at soloing on Train's Mississippi.
We all got to jump in on Hotel California at the end of the show.
There was a bit of a post gig/post tour hang for a second where everybody got to say goodbye, and a small donkey with a drink carrier on his back.
When it was over, the bus ferried us a hotel. It took much longer than we thought it would, and I immediately regretted my choice to take an early flight home on three hours of sleep.
The end.
