March 12: We packed up and started the drive by guessing how many miles we would total by the time we got home. The person closest would get $5 from the other band members to buy a cd of their choice. We could change our guess only once, halfway through the trip. We spent the day driving in the direction of San Diego. We took turns playing cds, played car games. Shi Kai and Becca and Art were all good at pulling obscure movie titles out of the air. Especially for movies that started with the letter "E". We drove 15 hours, as far as Stockton, CA. It was good to get sleep.

March 13: After driving through rolling green hills, then more rolling green hills, and MORE rolling green hills in Southern CA, we had our1st show in San Diego at Lestat's. Lou, the sound guy, gave us the best soundcheck we've ever had. Everything was miked and tested to perfection. (I sure hope the folks who trickled in on a Sunday night appreciated it.) Thanks to Shi Kai's friends for driving all the way from L.A. to see us. Thanks to Maya for coming to check us out on the merits of the website alone. And thanks to Lestat's for being a great coffee shop and venue. Rock star waters. A place to check e-mail in the morning. (Becca and I discovered we were addicted to e-mail on this trip.) A final thanks to the state of California for their no-smoking policy in venues. I know. I used to smoke and used to hate this idea myself, even after I quit. But it sure does help the singing thing when you start a tour trying to get over a bout of bronchitis. Campaign for Quiet rocked the house after we played. If you like real rock n' roll, they won't disappoint you. (If you liked "Almost Famous" I have a hunch they won't disappoint you, either.)

March 14: We started the day in San Diego checking e-mail at, where else, Lestat's. Then we drove to Tucson. We saw our first catuses. Or is it cacti? Art regaled us with facts about the state of Arizona, since he has family there. Everything in AZ seems designed to hurt you: cactus, scorpions, poisonous snakes. That said, the state is beautiful. High point of the day: when Shi Kai had us stop in Dateland, AZ for date and cactus shakes. Also we all all rode on a mechanical toy car. There is nothing in Dateland, AZ but the diner with the shakes, the mechanical toy car, and a gift shop. You have to make your fun. (Cactus shakes taste kind of like strawberry shakes.)

March 15: We played in Tucson at the Red Room. (I think we picked up the Hooter's chips on the way to Tucson) The Red Room is a section in the bar of a 24 hour cafe called simply "The Grill". We got a free meal and it was pretty durn delicious. We couldn't play a "rawk" set at this room, so we'd prepared a quiet set for this show. We all enjoyed being able to hear each other perfectly. If you ask Art, this was our best set. (Although rawking out for a bunch of drunk people was decidedly more fun. But more about that later). Thanks to the guy who left 10 bucks on the piano without taking a cd (?) and to the folks who bought cds and signed the mailing list. It wasn't until we had breakfast at "The Grill" the next morning that I noticed all the trophy animal heads on the walls of the bar. (Breakfast was good too. Fresh squeezed orange juice. Mmmm.)