Tour blog #4

VIDCON, Day 2 - Conferences like this are always a total blur of a ton of super fun things jammed into a short amount of time, but I think I will stick with the bullet points format of describing what I did. Luke and I ended up missing some of the earlier morning talks and stuff because we wanted to take advantage of our awesome hotel room and actually sleep in while we had the option (because sleeping in is a rare mythical thing on tour) and finally rolled on down to the California level of the hotel around 11:30 or so. We spent a good amount of time at the DFTBA booth, hanging out with Todd and Caitlin and signing things, which was definitely fun.

- Hearing Dan Brown tell his YouTube story and learning about his pogostick meetup before YouTube gatherings were even a thing.

- Having lunch with Kayley and Rhett and Link, and meeting a guy named Nice Peter who had the same camera as me (in blue) and taught me how to use the slow motion feature.

- Taking slow motion footage of Kayley licking my elbow, and of us jumping on the bed in Kayley's hotel room with all our friends.

- Hanging in The Moist Factory, which is the hotel Kayley was sharing with Paige, Robyn Schneider and Karen Kavett. Not understanding why it's called the Moist Factory, and honestly, being okay with not knowing.

- Going to Pinkberry and getting frozen yogurt. Then filming an Apple Store vlog, because I am cliché and figured if there was any time to do one, it was at VidCon.

- Talking to the guys from Orabrush (the company that makes tongue cleaners that sponsored VidCon) and getting to wear the giant tongue suit costume for awhile. Licking Rhett and Link while in the costume. Vlogging in the costume.

- Jumping in the ball pit with Kris (bombsfadeaway).

- Leaving it up to Johnnydurham19 to order pizza for everyone, and having him get the most expensive pizza I've ever eaten in my life. This is why we should never trust the British. xD

- Seeing Autotune the News perform a live acoustic version of "Double Rainbow". Singing along with hundreds of other people in the huge ballroom.

- Dancing with Hank Green and Michael Buckley to DaveDays set.

- Going back up to the Penthouse Suite and meeting even more awesome people and trying to get in as much more hangout time as Luke and I could before having to turn in for the night. We were cursing our early flight as we left the party that night.

The whole experience was really, really awesome. I know we had to miss a few days of tour, and from what I've heard the shows were great (especially their Oklahoma show apparently) but I had so so so much fun at VidCon that it was totally worth it. I got to see so many friends I haven't seen in ages, and got to meet so many people I've only talked to online, and even though there were a ton of technical difficulties, everyone was there to have a blast and I really think we all did. I definitely hope VidCon becomes an annual or at least regular event, because I would probably keep going for the rest of my life. :)

Dallas, TX - Luke and I were very reluctant to leave VidCon, because it was such, such a good weekend. But the alarm was set for 6 AM, so we packed up our things, dragged ourselves from the hotel, and hopped in a cab to LAX. We had a flight to Dallas, which was fairly uneventful, but I managed to get a bit of sleeping done, which was nice. ROFLCOPTOUR picked us up at the Dallas Fort Worth airport and once I stepped outside, I remembered why my suitcase is full of shorts and tanktops. It is so, so hot down here.

Our show this night was at a club called the Prophet Bar, which was kind of cool, since we've played so many shows at libraries and places like that. It was a nice change of pace. The best part about this show, though (aside from the free drink tickets) was how many friends we had there. Adam Dubberly and his bandmate Kyle showed up, as well as Kim, my fellow blogger from our Lost reaction blog (The Pearl! I got to meet her for the first time!). Eia and I were super thrilled, however, that our friend Scarlette came. We all used to be really close, back around 2008, and neither of us have seen her in about 2 years. So that was lovely.

That night after the show we ate at this place where I got fancy grilled cheese and hashbrown casserole (no point to this, really, just wanted to note it down because that's the best thing I've ever gotten to order I think -- come on, hashbrown CASSEROLE?) and then we stayed at a Days Inn where our room literally felt like an ice box. Oh tour.

New Orleans, LA - We played a show at this swim and tennis club, and I know I keep saying this, but I think we met our most enthusiastic fans yet at this show. I believe it was the smallest show of tour in attendance numbers, but I had a blast anyway because everyone who came to see us was so fun. There were people who danced the entire night, and a little girl in a Luna Lovegood costume, and someone who brought us Jambalaya Mix (which was awesome [even though I doubt we'll have time to make it while on tour] ).

That night Matt hot-wired us this fancy fancy hotel called La Pavillon in New Orleans (which was such a huge upgrade from the Super 8 motels we've been staying in all month). This place had ornate arm chairs in the rooms and provided complimentary peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the evening time. Not that I cared about the peanut butter, but I made myself a mean jelly sandwich.

We put our stuff in our rooms and headed out for a night on Bourbon Street. Bourbon Street is a pretty dirty, morally questionable place, but we had so much fun taking a break from being professional and just letting off a bit of steam. We got Hurricanes (a staple of the New Orleans night out) and hung out at The Olde Absinthe House and then checked out this pirate bar where there was a piano player that looked vaguely like Johnny Depp ala Captain Jack Sparrow. In New Orleans the police men ride on horses so we had to keep being careful not to step on poop in the street. It was a very interesting experience.

I hadn't been to New Orleans since Phoenix Rising back in 2007, so being there was a little sentimental for me as well as just being a totally awesome night.

Hattiesburg, MS - Our Hattiesburg show was probably our smallest show of tour yet, but we met a lot of really great people there. We played in this little library that we pretty much took over with our show, and there were a lot of really little kids at the show. That's not actually as common as you would think with wizard rock. The mercy table was a bit back from where the actual show part was taking place, so while the other bands were on, I found a copy of the comic book version of Coraline and got through about half of it before the show was over.

After the show we went to this great restaurant that looked like someone's house from the outside, and I got a sandwich called the Fatty McFat. It was basically just a buffalo style chicken sandwich, but I was pretty proud of myself for ordering something called the Fatty McFat.

DAY OFF (driving to Florida) - I honestly don't even remember anything significant about this day. We got up, we drove to Florida, and then we stayed at Justin's parents' house. She made us dinner. I slept on a pull-out couch bed. I've got nothing else for this day. Hahah.

Random street sign right now: Construction zone; speeding fines doubled.
Chipotle burritos: 14