Who Else

1 bus & trailer +
11 superheroes (one of which was Wonder Woman...I'll let y'all figure out who that was) +
12,207 miles gallivanted +
21,954 happy humans +
2,745 VIP humans +
242 World Vision kids sponsored +
120+ hours of Super Smash Bros. +
50+ boxes of Lucky Charms +
1 dead Bambi +
= Friends & Family Tour 2017

That's the 60-second version of our epic six-week tour across the U.S. The six-week version would take up the rest of my life to blog, but I'm going to do my best.

Let's first paint the picture:

Of the 11 humans on the bus, 1 (hey, hi, hello, that was me) was a girl.
Of the 120+ hours of Super Smash Bros. played, I played many. What the guys won't tell you, is that there were also many hours played on Mario Kart, but because I beat them ALL THE TIME, they conveniently left that out. But now you all know the full truth.
Of the 50 boxes of Lucky Charms consumed, 48 were eaten solely by Folabi and myself. Yes, we love them. No, we did not get diabetes. Yet.

Our first chunk of the tour led us out to the West Coast. The shows were great, the weather not so much (although this is coming from a Northerner who desperately wanted cold weather). Green River, UT was the destination for our first off day and wow, was it....interesting. You could see truck stops and gas stations and hotels for miles. And not much else. Except the taco truck we found - David made me try cow tongue and I'm still having nightmares. Some of the guys formed a posse, because what better to do than that in the MIDDLE OF NOWHERE, and rode bikes up and down the same stretch all day. I found a dinosaur at a gas station. And that pretty much sums up Green River, UT.

We started moving South, toward Arizona and New Mexico. Both of which were still so hot, and I, still so annoyed. On our off day in Lubbock, TX, we did a number of things. Most notable are as follows: "thrifting" at a Good Will that had everything randomly thrown into piles, hanging out at a coffee shop, the first night of tie-dye (Folabi and I are taking orders for $$$ now if anyone is interested) and I had a TV dinner in the hotel room. This was also the night that Lucky Charms first made their appearance, and would pave the way for many boxes after them.

Perhaps one of my favorite off days, was in Waco, TX. As in, the land of Chip & Joanna Gaines. Simon and I looked like children experiencing their first Christmas when we arrived. Judge all you want, but it was very cool. And also hot, which was the worst, but I tried hard to push that from my mind. It's the thought that counts. Right?!

We spent a lot of time in Texas actually and our last two shows there were huge. Dallas was an outdoor show, which was actually pretty sweet. Minus all the bugs at the end of the night...sometimes I still think they're biting me. The next day we were in Houston, and all got to attend church together. Soul refreshing and spirit reviving. It was exactly what we needed. The church also blessed us with an AMAZING meal, which consequently sent me into nap mode, but alas, that could not happen. However, there was a silver lining. We were driving to Nashville that night for a day off and I was SO excited.

When we arrived in Nashville, I got off the bus as soon as I could to head home. Now, I love all these guys, but I was ready for some alone time. One can only hide in their bunk just so long before it gets claustrophobic. I ate lunch, took the LONGEST nap ever, did laundry, repacked, showered, went out for dinner with my roommate and then decided that I'd be a brown noser or whatever and made a loaf of my (famous) chocolate chip banana bread. Andy said, "you shouldn't have." I laughed. And he replied, "no, really...you shouldn't have..." And kept eating it. There was none left in the morning. I guess they liked it. Or else they're all really good liars.

Our day off in Chicago was cold and wet and rather bizarre from start to finish. BUT. I had a great time - and to John and Ray, I thank you again for breakfast. And to Marty, Folabi, Simon, John and Zeek - thank you for letting me tag along and be a semi-obnoxious tourist. I still don't understand the meaning of "the bean" but all the cool kids take pictures with it, so we did and it made this girl muy happy.

The next six days were all show days. And it was crazy. But we pushed through and made it to our day off in NYC. Being two of the few non-married humans on the tour, JoeAngel and I got to spend the day together. First of all - y'all need to understand that JoeAngel is simply one of the best human beings I know and he is a dear friend. And we got to explore and shop and eat through the city all day and it was the best. We started with Stumptown coffee and work so we could 'mostly' spend the rest of the day for fun. Next we set off for ramen and macarons. Wouldn't ya know, we found both right next to each other. I'm embarrassed to say I wore more of my ramen than I ate, but it was still delish. I bought a box of macarons and introduced JoeAngel to them for the FIRST time. Oh and Marty - I'm still salty you ate my macarons. We walked around the city shopping and taking in the sights. Dinner was the AMAZING Cuban restaurant where we ate sandwiches filled with only glorious things. We only used the subway once the entire day, and it was at the end of the night. It was necessary we save our energy for the chocolate bar we found. One word: heavenly.

Over the course of the next few days, some of us got sick, myself included. To the degree that I took a nap on a teeny, tiny couch in the crew room and started taking medicine stronger than Vitamin C the next day. Just my luck I was sick when my mom and sister came down to D.C. to surprise me on our day off. Thankfully it was a low key day of food, coffee, more food (cupcakes) and shopping. It was exactly the day I needed to push through to the end of the tour - the last five shows. The last five were fun, exciting, crazy - the perfect way to end a six-week run. I got to crowd surf on Yurtle the Turtle - and please note, I did not fall off or wipe out. If clarification is needed for that subtle jab, take a peek at Social Club's Instagram for Marty's epic crowd surfing disaster.

NOTE: If my guys are still reading this far, you're going to meet Emotional El.

The last show day was in Fort Lauderdale, right as they were getting hit with a tropical storm. It made for a crazy day, but why not have a crazy last day, right?! I kept my brain focused on work that day so I wouldn't melt into an emotional puddle. Doors opened and chaos entered. I had one (amazing) volunteer which made for a non-stop evening. I think I ate my Chipotle? I can't actually remember. The night was one to remember - poor Yurtle went through the ringer and back. Marty and David survived their wipeouts. It took all of my physical and emotional energy to get through that night. And just when I thought I would be able to push through, John came out to the stand to say goodbye. And thus I turned into a puddle. A sappy, emotional, sobbing puddle.

We made it back to Nashville and as soon as I got home, I crashed. And ordered a pizza. And slept for 13 hours.

I'll end with this. The gents on this tour are class humans and I am beyond grateful for the experiences shared and memories made. I hope they know how much they all mean to me - for taking me under their wings, letting me join in on the fun and making the Friends and Family Tour truly one of the greatest tours ever.

I love and miss you all.


Yuh yuh,
Ellie