The tour began right in Kirk and Jamie-Sue's backyard. From the start, Chloe-the-cute-Dalmation (and my faithful side kick for the next month), was rather uncertain what in tarnation the giant-tube of metal on wheels was doing in her backyard, and where in the heck it was going...(or taking her mom and pop!!). What she did come to know was exactly how many pairs of shoes, unders, socks, blankets, videos, powerbars, magazines, vitamin c and bottles of sunscreen one RV could hold.

She doesn't quite recall how she forgot to remind her mom to pack her pants (only one pair...thank goodness for Fed Ex and Good Will!) or how everyone finally got completely packed-up, ready to leave and secured for the trip out west, but lucky for me, she's gotten a little used to not hanging out with her favorite folks for awhile. She misses them all something awful, but is enjoying many-tennis-ball-throwing-moments and long walks on new trails.

The band headed out Friday, May 23 and stayed in Indiana the first night...I can't remember where they were the second night but I remember Ben telling me they were approximately 10 miles north of a tornado while on the outskirts of Kansas, heading into Colorado...("Chloe, we're not in DeWitt anymore!") and that the weather was just about as unseasonal (cool and rainy) as it was in Michigan (well, at least their not bragging about sunshine and temperatures in the 90s YET!).

They've been seeing all sorts of amazing things...elk, deer, herons, snakes and lots of cacti. The scenery is absolutely beautiful--cool mountain mornings spent in the great outdoors. Andy and Greg have been running in the mornings, Ben and Andy have been swimming, Johnathon has been solving all sorts of word and other puzzles, playing games, and making music; Jamie-Sue, Kirk and whoever else have been taking nice long walks, and all in all, taking good care of themselves. Jamie Sue says Kirk is keeping everyone in line and doing a wonderful job of keeping them safe on the road and driving. Greg also helped do some driving through some windy-mountain passes. Andy swallowed a neon green bug (Jamie-Sue has no reports of why or how, but simply that he did indeed swallow it whole!).

They filled the water tanks with Colorado-water but have opted to use it for washing and flushing only at this point--good ole' bottled water keeps the band hydrated...not to mention a few adult beverages carried long-distances (on foot) and purchased from local groceries...the band had a fantastic gig at Sanchos in Denver--lots of cool peops in the area for the show and much enjoyment by big fans of Jamie-Sue's luscious lyrics and the bands mad licks.
Greg had some friends in the Boulder area who took a few of the crew on a little adventure for some good eats and hanging out. Ben ate a curry-tofu-dish ranked right up there with Chef-Jenn in presentation and taste. While on the way to this hangout, one of the guys leaned out the window and lit someone's smoke. Survey says: good peops in Denver, etc.

The second gig in Denver also went well--at a place called Quixote's, the crowd was pleased and made lots of noise for JSS & the IB's. They got some mad love in the mile-high-city, enjoyed the picturesque western skyline, mountains, fresh rocky-mountain air, and spent time swimming, running, hiking, walking, breathing, yoga-stretching and spending all sorts of good-bonding-time playing tunes during the ride in the monster-RV (I'm waiting for someone to fess-up the nickname of the beast--it's a beauty, long, and dressed to the nines in plush fabric, styling audio visual equipment, pillows, cabinetry, and of course the most important cargo--Jamie-Sue, Kirk and the Icebreakers)...

Currently the band is in beautiful (and extremely warm and dry) Santa Fe, New Mexico. There staying at a lavish RV park, where they spent time today rearranging gear in the trailer (they have quite a few acoustic sets upcoming, so Kirk, Ben, etc. made the trailer gear more accessible), napping, hiking, contemplating cacti, running, probably swimming, and generally enjoying the heck out of of life. Jamie-Sue had a wonderful interview this morning on a local radio station (you can imagine my surprise when Ben called to say good morning at 930a EST...a few more hours into the day than it is in Santa Fe!!). The band was up bright and early, raring to go (even the night after a gig!) for the interview and enjoyed the day. When I spoke to them last, Andy was playing some bass in the background, Ben was doing some yoga, there was some mad-laughter going on, and everyone was sending lots of big love back home to their sweeties (Staci, Stacy, Amanda, Chloe and I), families, friends and fans.

More to come!