Sioux Falls

Sitting in our fancy hotel on Friday night...and loving it. I'm wiped out from the combination of work and sight seeing. After we got to the hotel yesterday, Amy crashed but I was wide awake. Today its  reversed. We'll see if I get much sleep. Usually when Amy is wired or has had some caffeine I end up waking up to her smiling face above me..."hey! Are you asleep?" she whispers after a suspicious poke in the side.

Last night we did some exploring of the falls, here in Sioux Falls. The water level is way down and you can almost get across without touching the water...but if you were to mess up and slip it could be potentially life threatening. I decided I'm not done traveling, so I gave up and went across the bridge. We ate at Chedd's which claimed to have the 4th best grilled cheese in the world (Royal Oak, MI was on the list as 6th place: Muse Cafe). I got a Ruben :)

This past week we had five separate shows in three different states.  I enjoy seeing the little towns (like Walthill, NE). I'm also glad to be back where people call it "pop". The work is good. For those that don't quite know, this is what we do:

-Arrive to school 1hr 45mins ahead of show time
-Setup 3 giant screens, 3 projectors and 4 speakers
-Wait for youth to file in, give intro "this is the most awesomest, bestest, radical movie...yada yada"
-Push play
-Watch 40 minute inspirational movie (Anti-bullying, anti-drugs, do your best, self-confidence, etc.)
-Give conclusion "you are awesome. I challenge you to be awesomer...yada yada"
-Pack it all up, thank administrator
-Leave

Well...I had my chance to sleep. Now Amy is pulling my arm to go sit in the hot tub. Ahhh....life is hard.

Rrrastro!

The Jetson's had a robotic dog named Astro. If memory serves, Astro would respond to a prompt by repeating his name much like Scooby Doo. We have a white Astro van that we affectionately refer to as Rastro.

Rastro made it over the Rockies! On our last 10 miles into Denver the "check engine light" came on. We stayed the night with Wyatt and Julie (Wyatt is Amy's brother) and have booked our hotel for the next two nights in Junction City KS. That will make six different states in just three days: California- happy to make your acquaintance but that is all you will ever be (atleast Southern Cal)
Nevada- Las Vegas is ridiculous and the rest of your state is uber-boring
Arizona- Pretty and fun to drive through, but maybe you could buy some trees
Utah- ZZzzzz, oh nice city, zzzz
Colorado- Almost as soon as we crossed in you gave us GREEN. I like CO and the Rockies.

Onward, to the bread basket of the world. I am anticipating rolling to flat landscapes with roads that my wife will feel more comfortable driving (20 hours in 2 days is taxing). From Kansas, we will be darting around to Nebraska, South Dakota and Iowa.

We are in high spirits and have been laughing at the silly games we create to pass the time. From here on out things should be relatively normal....if there is such a thing on a Camfel tour. Gotta go.

Training II

Disaster! We got done with an exceptionally sweaty day and came back with a sweet little treat on our minds. Amy brought Fruit Pastilles from england (one of my favorite candies) for me. At the airport we shared half of a roll. But now they are no where to be found! They simply disappeared. I believe they got thrown out with the trash just minutes before we got back.

On a happy note, Amy and I were 2 out of 4 people to pass our setup test. 21 other people took it and just two couples passed. We were asked where we were hoping our tour would be (our idea of the pacific northwest turns out to be not real likely). After learning more about the company and how everything works, we decided to say western midwest. However, that doesn't mean we will get it or stay in any specific states. But it was nice to know we are doing well.

This passed weekend was nice as well. On Saturday we explored the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium and the Fermin Point Lighthouse, followed by a trip to Huntington Beach for my first sunset over the Pacific. Sunday brought us to Venice beach to showcase the oddities of the human race (for those with a similar disposition I would skip Venice beach).

Now its back to training. Just four days to get ready for "game day". We have learned how to setup screens in countless variations, align projectors in any condition and master audio like no else. I think the hardest part will be introducing and concluding the show. Amy would like to know exactly what to say and when to say it. I, on the other hand, would much rather "wing-it" with just a few guidelines of what I need to say.

All in all, we are doing well. Our bodies are tough and resilient and yet so very fragile (food poisoning on friday night was rough). We are learning so much and yet need to know so much more. We are thrilled with the adventure we are on and yet we miss our friends and family.

P.S. Sorry for the lack of video and pictures. We have a bunch, but I don't really have the time to figure out how to add it. After training I should have a little more free time.

Training I

Quick update here from California. We are on day 3 of training. Starting to get used to the time change. Training is supposed to hit warp speed today. There are 3 other married couples that we are having a lot of fun with. The church we are training at is just a short walk from the motel here. Camfel is providing breakfast, lunch and dinner. The days here are pretty full. However, as we get more and more rest we will be able to take more and more advantage of our free time. Yesterday it went until about 7:30pm (10:30pm Michigan time). We will update photos and our first video soon. Thanks for being patient.

GO!

The whole idea of what I’m doing has suddenly hit me. I’ve got the good and bad butterflies, my mind is racing and I’m triple checking all my stuff. I’ve been very busy and I sold my truck. I’ve packed and repacked. But, I still feel like I’m forgetting something major. As if I will get to LA and someone will say “Where are your arms?” I’ll stare blankly as I remember exactly where I left them.

This new adventure is unlike any other I’ve had. I went to college, but that was close enough to drive, if need be. I’ve been to quite a few foreign countries (Canada excluded), but those were short trips. This is going to be both out of my known region and almost a year in length. Ultimately I am excited and look forward to the challenges. 

I’m guessing I won’t have much time to update in the next couple days. I’ll try to post some pics and more info about the job and company as soon as I can. I would greatly appreciate you all keeping us in your prayers.

GO!