Hello from San Antonio! I'm currently in San Antonio with the A.R.T & Soul Tour - made up of myself, Rory Partin and Alexa James. Today we played at SIP, a great little coffee shop on the corner of Houston and St Marys Street. Jenn, the barrista, kick started my day with an amazing vanilla latte. Then Rory, Alexa and I played for two hours as folks stopped in for lunch or their afternoon caffeine. It was a fun show and a great start to the tour.
After the gig, when I was waiting for Alexa and Rory to wrap up their goodbyes and final loading in of gear I met Jack. His real name is Joaquim but people call him Jack - and he turned 50 today! Happy Birthday Jack! Jack said that his wife wanted to take him out to dinner to celebrate his birthday, but he told her no because she is a way better cook than any of the restaurants she could take him to. I think that's pretty sweet. And I hope someday I can be such a good cook that my hubby wants me to cook for him rather than go out on his birthday. What a sweet compliment, eh?
Tonight we are staying at the Randolph Air Force Base - which is SO nice it makes me want to live on a base at some point in my life. It's crazy talk, I know - but I feel so safe and comfortable here. We are staying in the AFB guest house, which is where all the foreign dignitaries stay, so you can probably imagine how nice these digs are! There's hand-painted mexican tile throughout the whole house, a massage chair, three bedrooms and a cute little backyard area for breakfast outside. I am loving this place. Many thanks to Scott (a general!) for letting us stay here, and to Alexa for setting it all up.
Tomorrow we are off to Austin. I've never been to Austin when the city is not being invaded by SXSW bands -- so I'm very excited to see Austin when it's normal. Well, I suppose 'normal' is a relative term when speaking about Austin. :)