Week 16-17: Anchorage, Alaska!

I don't think I've ever seen so much snow-or been SO cold! Anchorage is a fun little city and we were dead center downtown, plenty of restaurants, bars, and amusement in walking distance. Nice to be sitting down in one place for 16 days. I managed to actually unpack, do laundry and make a few touristy plans.

Our first big plan was to go dog sledding the day after we arrived. Three cars began the caravan south to Seward, but we were attempting to drive through a blizzard with avalanche conditions- in between an ocean inlet and a mountain. Our car turned around pretty quickly while the other two forged ahead, and got stuck in Girdwood while the roads were closed both ways!

Flying in from Seattle we were on the Disney plane!! "Be Our Guest" was actually playing as I boarded...so funny.

We went the to the zoo on the first Wednesday, which was probably the warmest day in our time there, at 35 degrees. After the blizzard everything was just covered in FEET of snow. The animals were all of the arctic variety so they seemed comfy enough.

Me, Jess, and Jen at the zoo. Brown, white, black, and a little green seem to be the only colors in the winter season up here in the Great White North.

This beautiful harbor seal loved us! He came and flirted at the mirror, following us as we walked around. We must have spent 15 minutes with him.

The petting zoo was closed, but the goats were very friendly and came right up the gate...where we promptly gave them lots of kisses and cuddles, and fed our map to them on accident!

We had my first Cabaret benefit in Anchorage at a fun place called Mad Myrna's. All proceeds went to the Alaskan AIDS Assistance Association, and we set a new fundraising record that night! I sang "My Party Dress", a contemporary song sung by a little girl, about her favorite dress. I'm trying to upload to it to YouTube soon.

There was one day when all the trees went from snowy to utterly frozen. It was like being in Narnia.

Brittany (second from right) celebrated her 21st birthday here in Alaska!! She is our second youngest cast member, leaving only our male swing Michael to turn 'legal'. We did a little bar hop downtown and had a great time.

Our dressing rooms were really just one long room with little barricades. We loved popping over the wall and playing with one another.

Gorgeous gorgeous snowy mountains in Seward, where we went dog sledding.

I had on long underwear, leggings, jeans, two shirts, sweat shirt, snow jumpsuit, jacket, scarf, two pairs of boots, hat and gloves. Not cold at all!!

Me, Carly, her boyfriend Brian, Mandy, and our Brian getting excited about the ride.

Me and my team! I rode with the guide, so I got to drive quite a bit, as he liked to jump out and check on people. All the dogs were puppies, about 1 1/2 years old. It was so snowy that day the background is hard to make out, but there's a snow covered glacier...somewhere.

Brittany and me at our riders lunch in a little log cabin. We had lunchables of sorts: salami, Ritz crackers, cheese, trail mix, and hot cocoa.

Me and the team again. Couldn't get over how much snow there was! Must have been 10 feet in some places.

Our whole group after our long day of dog sledding. We had such a blast!

I know this will get mixed reviews from my readers (ie Robert and Susan), but part of my Alaskan adventures was getting a new tattoo in honor of my dad. It is a cardinal in shades of oranges and ochre (for subtly's sake). A few of us found an artist whose color work was beautiful and we all got tattoos from her in one day. It means a lot to me and it turned out better than I could've expected.

After our two weeks in Alaska people were thrilled to be moving further south, even if it was only to Washington state...still pretty far north for January. Next week: Spokane, WA!

Delays

I apologize for falling of the blogosphere. Time flies when you're having fun I guess! I have returned and even though I owe LOTS of episodes, I'll still present them by week.

Here we go....!

Week 15: Edmonton, AB, Canada

This was a lazy daisy week! The continued lack of cellphone service has made me something of a recluse, and I've been catching up on my workouts and entertainment this week. I saw "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" and "War Horse",  finished Tim Kellor's "The Reason for God", read "Sarah's Key" start to finish, and started another book ALL this week....obviously have plenty of time on my hands. The lack of rehearsal helped there too. So lazy in fact, I have very few pictures, except for Sunday....

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo book series is brilliant and I am always a little nervous about the film version of my favorite reads, but this was a truly stunning film. Everything from the acting to the cinematography, even the changes to the story were well suited and appropriate. I can't wait to see what they do with the next two books...I may even have to reread I was so excited!

Wonderful, fast read. Just found out there is a film version as well, starring Kristin Scott Thomas, a fabulous actress I like to keep track of.

Beautiful movie!! We were all just sobbing the entire end. Steven Spielberg really is a genius. Now I just need to see the play on Broadway!

And, the big day finally came on our last day here: I got the opportunity to go on for Belle!! Emily had been feeling bad for a few days and really needed a day to rest her voice, so she called out and I was up! It was truly a magical day, finally living that dream of playing one of my childhood heroes. I felt this peace come over me, that I did what I came to do. Playing a dream role has this whole other level of fulfillment, and at curtain call I was completely overwhelmed with what I'd done. Then I got to do it again! Everyone says your first show is just a blur and very hard to remember. I count myself as blessed for having that evening show to really have fun and play with my fellow actors. What a day!

It was my sweet friend Nick's last day when I played Belle, so he got to see it!! We will miss him so much, but he's back in New York now, and I can't wait to see where he goes next!

Getting ready for the first show, I was smiling so hard it hurt! I love her costumes so much, add the wig and the locket, I was just on cloud nine.

Me and my Gaston, Logan. All the principals were such a joy to work with, I was glad to have so much rehearsal beforehand to try and match their high standards. I'm probably the tallest Belle...potentially ever...but Logan and Dane (the Beast) both wear lifts in their shoes, so I still looked a little smaller :)

And, if you haven't already seen in all over Facebook, the Belle-allels (as my witty friend Ariel so aptly put it). I think I was Belle a few times for Halloween, but here is my four year old self and my 23 year old self, in the gold princess dress. Someone said to me that as a child I must have imagined I looked like my grown up self. What a wonderful realization of a dream!

After a relaxing week and an epic end to it, we got back on a plane heading further North and West to Anchorage, Alaska for the next two weeks! Several well deserved days off coming up!

Week 14: Calgary, AB, Canada

My first visit to Canada! Despite the locals saying there isn’t much to do in the city, we had a wonderful time!! Not as chilly as we imagined it would be until the New Year, when it was 9 degrees on January 1^st. Quite a drop from 30s and 40s! A few people made it up to Banff, a famous skiing area and gorgeous tourist attraction, but I was a little busy exploring the city. Sure looks good though, and might be a good reason to go back to Alberta.

Snow boot purchase! Sorels are the best and even though my big feet make them clunky, I've been wearing them nonstop up here in the Great White North.

There is an amazing place here called Cora's that everyone said to make a stop at for a big, yummy breakfast. They have a little sunshine on their napkins.

Turns out they do have Starbucks here, the cups are just in French. :)

New Years Eve we had two shows, and another two the following day, but the company threw together a little shindig in our beautiful hotel bar. Jen and I got all dolled up, and Dane photo-bombed our pretty shot!

The ladies at the party. I think there was an unspoken Black, White, Red, and Patterned theme.

The two Caroline Janes....

And the two March 13th, 1988 birthdays! Sometimes I still can't believe I have a name twin AND a birthday twin on this tour.  

We hung out into the wee hours, celebrating the New Year, despite having two shows the next day. Amanda, me, Terry (our drummer), and Cat (one of our lovely costume mistresses) toasted to 2012.

Cat (the bassist) and I posing in the hallway. Here's a glimpse of my full outfit. I just had this idea in my head of a long black skirt, sort of columnar look. Idea achieved! I always feel so tall in our cast, and then I run in to Cat...who is 6 feet!

Sleepy Carly at our matinee on January 1st. Those might have been the hardest shows to date after all our carousing the night before...

I've never had Pho, a Vietnamese soup, and we found a place near the theatre with a ton of options. I had a spicy beef Pho with a mango bubble tea...could probably eat that every day.

After celebrating the New Year, we headed even further North to Edmonton for another week at an identical theatre (Jubilee North vs. Jubilee South), oddly enough. Two solid weeks in Canada, definitely weird to be disconnected for a spell!

Week 13: St. Louis, MO

Merry Christmas! Somehow the weather was beautiful all week. Too bad we had a crazy, hectic schedule, even with just seven shows. One show Tuesday, two Wednesday, one Thursday with a rehearsal, two Friday, and one Christmas Eve morning. No rest for the weary. Christmas definitely snuck up on me and there were a few last minute present purchases.

Secret Santas were revealed at the morning show…Dane, our Beast, had me! I got socks the first round, Blue Moon and Junior Mints round two, and a lavender themed good basket on the reveal: yarn, yummy soap, lotion, and a bath bomb. Gotta love a useful gift. I had Amanda, our green Silly Girl. Over the course of the month I got her a pumpkin soy candle, made a Christmas CD, made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, red rose earrings, and a Nook gift certificate. It’s funny how a month can go by and everyone is still surprised.

A group of us stayed at a bed and breakfast so that we had access to a kitchen, which was really nice over the holiday. Here we are! Alan, Lauren, Amanda, me, Kolby, and Jess. 

Two full sized suitcases and carry-ons per person in a minivan equals a pretty squishy situation. We were up to the gills with our bags but we made it in one piece!

The walls of the Fabulous Fox in St Louis have murals of most of the shows that have come through town, and the cast and crew sign each one. There TONS of famous signatures; musicians, actors, you name it. Here is Audra McDonald- an amazing musical theatre actress, who came through St. Louis in the first Secret Garden tour.

Rehearsing our fan kicks on stage.

The girls of the cast at our opening night reception at the Fabulous Fox. We do love getting dressed up.

Alan, me, and Lauren decorating cookies at our house...which we did three times.

My beautiful cookies! I'm so glad we did this because we do it every year at home. Made it feel like Christmas was still coming, even though I wasn't in San Antone.

My mini Christmas tree in our dressing room. We did have a big tree at the house, too. 

Jessica's boyfriend Kevin surprised her and showed up in town for Christmas!! She thought they wouldn't see one another for several more months, but he kept it a secret all the way up to arriving at the house. It was so amazing, he's a great guy and we loved having him.

Here's OUR mural at the Fox, painted by our costume mistress Laci Bradshaw! Some of them are enormous, taking up entire walls...but obviously as time goes on, they are running out of space. I signed just above 2011: Caroline Kittrell "Sausage Curl Girl".

Christmas eve morning we had a show, but we spent the rest of the day cooking, watching White Christmas, and went to a midnight mass at the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis, an enormous, gorgeous  church. I'm used to spending almost half the day at church, so I was glad we heard a few carols and the Christmas message. Being far away really kicked in on the 24th, as it's one of my favorite days.

Here I am with the big tree in my Christmas dress, a Black Friday find at Anthropologie.

The ladies of the house on the way to mass in our Christmas best. Don't worry, we all had shawls on our shoulders :)

Christmas morning the company hosted a brunch at the hotel, which was lovely. A few of us wore our pajamas...like Mandy and me. Being Jewish, it was her first Christmas and we were all delighted to show her the ropes. I also Skyped my family while my babies were opening their presents....one of the best inventions making use of the Internet.

My mom gave me a package in Austin with little presents for the twelve days of Christmas. I contemplated opening them one each day, and would've had I not been on the go, but I decided on Christmas morning I needed to know what was in each one before we headed off to Canada ;) Pretty good excuse to open them all!

Our house group did a White Elephant, which was pretty quick with just seven of us. It was nice exchanging presents for all of us though. Lots of candy, Starbucks, and iTunes all around. 

Christmas at the Kreup's!! Andrew- our LeFou- is from the St. Louis area, and his parents were very eager to have anyone who remained in town for the holidays over to their house on Christmas day. So sweet! Most of us got all dressed up and managed to be merry, even so far from home.

The longest dinner table I've ever been at, around 30 people!! Andrew's parents cooked up a FEAST: ham, scalloped potatoes, green salad, sweet potato casserole, bacon wrapped green beans, macaroni and cheese...and that doesn't include appetizers and dessert! After dinner we played darts, dance dance revolution, We also played a fun white elephant game that included dice, and most presents included a pair of gloves. :)

All in all, it was a very busy week leading up to Christmas, which made it a little easier to get through. I was terribly homesick after the Kreup's party, missing my family and home. Christmas has always been my favorite holiday for many reasons, but especially for our ritualistic traditions. Only last year, our first without Dad, did things change drastically. On a whole I am much better than last winter, but that day it was very hard to be so far away. I was grateful to be surrounded by my supportive, loving cast mates who were all determined to keep the Christmas spirit.

No rest for the weary though. We headed off to Calgary, Alberta, Canada on the 26th! 

Week 12: Austin, TX!!!

So wonderful to be (practically) home! The week could've been triply long and it wouldn't have been enough time.

I spent the week with my friend Adam, out of the hotel. Saved a few pennies, got to bake cookies for my Secret Santa (which she ADORED! I love gift giving), and have a little break time from the grind. It’s funny what a difference a house makes.

On Tuesday I had the priviledge of going home to San Antonio and having dinner with my WHOLE family! Trust me, it's a feat to get us all together. I called it my "mini" Christmas, as it would be my first time away from home. Here's the sibling pic. L to R: Carrie, me, Daniel, Carla, and Catherine.

My beautiful Mom and me at home. She is my everything. 

All my babies! I don't think I could brag enough about all of them. L to R: Owen (2), Berkley (7 months) in my lap, Blake (9), Rylee (8), and Ella (3). 

Our lovely tree. Daniel helped my mom get it all set up.

Austin is Food Truck central these days. East Side King is super popular, a fusion Asian truck with a few locations. Adam and I had fried beets, brussels sprouts salad, and pork belly tacos? I could probably eat there on a weekly basis if I lived in Austin.

One of my oldest friends Marie Louise happened to be celebrating her birthday on the 15th, so I got her a present. She's a big fan of Dia de los Muertos skeletons. I found these cameo earrings on Etsy, and almost kept them for myself. So cool!!

Berkeley's seven month picture. She is getting so big, sitting up on her own! She's got these beautiful deep blue eyes and light hair. What a sweetie pie.

It was really hard to leave home, as usual. Even being in Austin, which isn't technically "home" really put me at ease, made me feel close enough to have access to my family, the slower pace of life, open space, old friends... But the show must go on. Christmas week we celebrated in St. Louis, Missouri!

Week 11: Madison, WI

LOVED LOVED LOVED Madison, Wisconsin! It was freezing (10 degrees one day, not including wind chill!?) but so much fun. Very walkable, gorgeous theatre, membership at an excellent gym for the week, college town, state street shopping. What more could you ask for?

Somehow, I have very few pictures here. Time flies when you're having fun...and too cold to take out a camera!!

Shopping on State Street lead me to some funky, unique stores. I hope to one day feel this way about someone...and own the plate to boot. :)

There was a hilarious movement of purchasing cold weather clothes we dubbed "Arctic Panic". I myself bought a sweater, gloves, 2 pairs of boot socks, a scarf, and a hat. Practically an entire winter outfit! To be fair it was very cold. Here Carly models her new hat, and the general sentiment.

Being a goofball, modeling a funny moose hat at a very cool sports store that made a fortune off our cast.

We celebrated my lovely roommates birthday at a piano bar, where the pianist stepped aside and let Alan and our entire cast take over. I sang "There's a Small Hotel" from On Your Toes, my first musical at my high school. I also lent my book out to two other people to sing....my sheet music got more action in one night than in the last 6 months!!

Lots of understudy performances here! Christie went on for Babette for the first time (Chandon, who usually plays here is also our dance captain, so she swings out regularly to note the show). Logan was also out with an injury, so Carter (pictured here) and Jeff rotated playing the role. Always exciting when something is different!

Next stop is the long awaited: Austin, TEXAS!!!