FLINT, MI

Hold on boys and girls! This is going to be a long one! Lots of pics and plenty of fabulous info!

People had warned us that there is NOTHING to do in Flint and that it was going to be super boring. I have to say that I have loved my time here (we leave after the show tomorrow) and would be happy to come back again (although probably not for more than 3 or 4 days).

Upon arrival to our Holiday Inn Express, I received a gorgeous bouquet of silk flowers (how perfectly practical for tour life) from my mom and dad as a happy belated birthday! There was, of course, a happy face balloon in them! It was almost like being home for my bday (but still not as good).



Our first adventure in Flint was to the mall. Not too disappointed, but not too much to write home about. I mention it only because I got a really cute pair of shoes at Aldo, on sale, and I"m super psyched about them. Mine are clearly the little ones, the others are Jarvis' new kicks.

Also at the mall, Paul and I decided to try some sens
ible hats at Macy's. Nothing special, you know. Just something to wear around the hotel room and bus.


While here in Flint we celebrated the 21st birthday of our youngest cast member Walter! We celebrated by going to the Olive Garden for some dinner and drinks. Then back to the hotel for more wine and craziness. Here are some highlights of the evening...

A pic with the birthday boy!


A funny face group shot!

And what party would be complete without a motorboat face? Paul did the honors!



Amazing.

So...that was last night. Needless to say it was a little rough waking up at 8:30am this morning, but we did it! Creighton, Paul and I went down to the gym here in the hotel and Jillian Michaels (affectionately known as Jills) kicksed our butts yet again. Look at her, aren't you a little scared already?


Fierce. And we are all going to look like her in no time flat!

So...a great start to the day. From there was went to the Flint Institute of Art where there was a great M.C. Escher exhibit. It was fascinating and inspiring. I haven't been to an art museum in a while. Here are my 3 faves and I think they are good representations of Escher's versatility. I love the geometric tricks that his works play, but I was enlightened with his realism. I have only ever seen his optical illusions and mathematically based works. In the first pic, isn't it awesome how based on which window the bird is in, the landscape outside is different? Horizon, looking down and looking up...so cool. The 2nd, I am fascinated with the detail in the reflection in the center sphere, also how easily you can differentiate the material of each sphere...so cool! The 3rd, I'm amazing that by simply changing the size and length of the black and white lines, he shows dimension, texture, etc...so cool! Ok enough, if you're still reading...I love you!





























We're getting there people, I promise!

There was another exhibit of an artists whose name I can't remember at the moment, but is awesome! Each painting's subject is a famous artist. He recreates one of their defining works (beatifully done) and then paints a portrait of said artist in the foreground. SOOOOO cool. My personal fave was the painting of Chagall. The painting that he recreated was his called "Birthday." I had never seen it before and I'm in love. The scene is (according to the caption next to the painting)...the man has returned home to his fiancee as she prepares to celebrate his birthday. They are depicted floating to reflect their love and how he feels knowing that she is working to make his day special. I LOVE IT!

have you had enough of the art history review? I have! Moving on!

After the art museum, we took a trip to the local farmer's market and had a fabulous lunch at this cafe there where all of the food fresh, delicious, and actually healthy! It was awesome! Then to the venue for rehearsal before the show. Let's just say, it's a long way from Broadway. The "dressing rooms" are, again, converted locker rooms which smell REAL weird. The stage is on top of plywood which is covering the ice rink. Yes, it's true. Between the planks of plywood you can see the ice. It's crazy. Here are the final pics for this evenings epic blog entry...in he next blog because they won't let me add any more. I think I reached the quota. I knew this blog entry was epic, but jeez louise!