Week 10: Portsmouth, OH, Springfield, IL, South Bend, IN, and Richmond, KY

This was our last split week for a while, and thank goodness because it was a doozy! Even a few actors who've been on the tour since the get-go said this was the worst week to date. But we made it out alive.


Portsmouth, OH- can't say I remember much about Portsmouth. Probably a flaw of my being so behind, but also this week flew by and most of it was travel.


Springfield, IL- Where Abraham went from Senator to President Elect. Cute little town, wish we'd had more time to explore the museum and Abe's tomb. Perils of working while traveling. 

Lincoln's family home. This house started as a one story and Abe built on into a gorgeous two story, four bedroom household. There were even a few original pieces- a bonnet of Mary's, few lamps and furniture. Very cool.

Playing around with some street art...the boy is actually tipping his hat to a life size Lincoln and his family.

South Bend, IN: home of Notre Dame University! What a cute little city to spend a few days. The Chicago Seven (the group of actors I came in to the show with) celebrated our 100th show here!! Crazy to think we've been here that long- I still feel new often enough! There was also an adorable Chocolate Cafe, which had hot chocolate that definitely rivaled City Bakery- super famous in NYC. I won't lie, I went there twice in three days.

I wrote on my mirror in lipstick on our big day!

Notre Dame's admissions main building. What a gorgeous campus!

Notre Dame's grotto. A few students stopped to say a prayer on their run- what a unique feature at a school!

Richmond, KY- Again, here for a day...can't remember much. I did start Christmas shopping in my mind here.

The rainbow floor in Richmond. Felt like we were in a disco.

On the longest bus day (THIRTEEN hours!) Lauren and I found survival in Naked Juice Green Machine, Kindles, and Snuggies. We made it through the day in one piece, and much colder, in...

 Madison, Wisconsin!!

Week 8-9: Fort Lauderdale, FL

One place for two weeks? Unbelievably good for the soul! The beach didn't hurt either :) We played the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, a lovely Union house, and stayed at the Sheraton Beach Front Hotel. It was only a little cooler than it is in the summer, sunshine all the time, a really nice blessing after some cold...and approaching a very long winter season.

The lovely beachside pool in Fort Lauderdale!

Same setting from the ocean. 

Lauren and I got pedicures right away in beachy bright hues.

We had a goodbye breakfast for Ben (R), our Cogsworth, as he departs this contract and goes straight in to Scrooge. We will miss this wise little Brit greatly!

Preeeeety excited about the day to come, even standing in line in the heat.

A group of us went to Universal Studios in Orlando on our Monday off, and our first stop was- of course- The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  

Getting Butterbeers at the Three Broomsticks! Left to right: Jen, Mandy, Emily, me and Amanda.

A little Butterbeer mustache. It was so delicious, I regretted only getting one.

Seeing Hogwarts for the first time...enchanted all around.

Lauren and me out on the town in Fort Lauderdale.

Lots of significant others visited over Thanksgiving, including but not limited to the ones pictured here (I think there were 8 total?!) So nice to see people from home!

Thanksgiving morning my roommate Jen, Dane, and I went over to Emily's condo to watch the parade and make breakfast, as all her roommates were elsewhere for the holiday. We also cooked a few things to supplement our dinner later on in the night. 

A little beach volleyball on Turkey day. Definitely a different kind of November holiday, thank you good ol' Florida.

Saying what we are Thankful for at our dinner at the hotel...a few tears here.

Our catered feast. Emily's sweet potato casserole, Jen's deviled eggs, and my macaroni and cheese (dominating the top left quarter) were all made that morning, so we felt like we contributed.

A lot of the girls have gotten in to the Shellac trend- those of your unfamiliar, a different kind of nail polish which is thicker, less likely to chip, and lasts longer. They sell a kit at Ulta, several of which were procured, and now the entire chorus has lovely homemade manicures.

Our final Sunday we only had a matinee, so a few of us went to a casino nearby. I'm REALLY not a gambler, but wanted to see what it's all about. After ten minutes and $15 lost, I was over it, but 

I had so many guests come to see the show here these two weeks, but failed to take pictures with anyone! My friends Phil, Justin, and Erin who I worked with last summer happen to be back at Broward Stage Door, and brought three more along on their day off. My mom's cousin Janet, her husband Eric, and daughter Lauren came the day after Thanksgiving. And our closing Sunday my sweet friend Laura Berg from home happens to be living in South Florida, and came up just to see the show. What a lucky girl I am to have so many visitors!!

Also, a little fun fact: I've had 12 weeks of performances thus far, which is 96 shows. It's crazy how quickly time passes, the group of us who came in together still feel so new to it all. 

Another split week coming up next: Portsmouth, OH, Springfield, IL, South Bend, IN, and Richmond, KY. Back to the midwest!