Getting settled here in Nashville. Taking care of the usual relocation stuff, including getting renter's insurance. The folks at State Farm were kind enough to add a chocolate pastry to the deal. Sold! I wonder if they would have offered the same thing if I was getting my health insurance from them?

The move has been very inspiring. I've already been to 7 concerts and written three songs. Music, it's what they do down here.

What an amazing summer it's been already! I finished up my Northwest tour with a stop in Bonners Ferry, ID. A good place to get your teeth cleaned. Thanks Hank and Paulette!

Then, I spent a few days touring some more national parks. Awesome! Glacier NP-



and Badlands NP, or was it Mars?-

I took that photo under the light of an almost full moon.

I arrived safely back in the Midwest and am so grateful to God for all of the opportunities I've had to meet people and see the country. Also, for a car that has never broken down (ok. A couple flat tires. Not the car's fault) and for sturdy boots on my feet (read the sign)-



On Thursday, I'm officially moving down to Nashville! I'm excited to get involved in the scene down there and see if I'm man enough to handle the summer heat. If it gets too warm, I suppose I can always book a short tour up to Canada!

As I reflect...

...on this tour, it's so much to take in. If I don't stop to remember each event, it can seem like a whirlwind. So, as a memory exercise, I'm going to post pictures from the previous week's house concerts and write a specific word or two about each one. I'll leave the rest of the details up to your imagination.

Portland, OR (Curry soup)-

Seattle, WA (wrestling match)-

Seattle, WA (mural)-

Ballard, WA (ask-a-nurse)-

West Seattle (Mr. Munchers)-

Spokane, WA (tiny dancers)

Alright, I think that was a good workout. I mean, I don't want my brain to get rusty.

Sometimes just regular words aren't enough. As a tribute to this last week of touring (good to have my dad with me for a week!), this entry will be summed up in the song "America the Beautiful"-

God Bless America,
Land that I love.
Stand beside her, and guide her
Through the night with a light from above.

From the mountains

To the prairies(with mountains)

To the oceans, white with foam

God bless America, my home sweet home...Jackson, WY

Boise, ID

Boise, ID again

Meridian, ID

Eugene, OR

Eugene, OR again

Salem, OR

Beaverton, OR



Now there are a couple verses missing from the song. The verse about the bear

The verse about Mario from Argentina who finished the Ironman event in Idaho with a taped up knee

The verse about crowdsurfing at a house concert in Oregon

And the verse about getting into the outdoors so much that it goes to your head

But all in all, I think it's a pretty good song!

Ok, things are going great! I've fallen a little behind on my photo posting, because I've been too busy taking photos to post them. This tour is doubling as a sight-seeing vacation. So far I've made stops in Colorado, Utah, and now Wyoming. Including the group picture above from Littleton, CO, here is a small photo album.

Greeley, CO-

Provo, UT-

Salt Lake City, UT-

Jackson, WY-

I mean, check out some of those backdrops! Here are some more scenery shots-
Red Rocks Amphitheater in CO-

Garden of the Gods in CO-

A bird posing on top of a dam-

Rocky Mountain National Park-

Aspen trees on the mountains of Utah-

Lake Desolation, UT (a somewhat cold afternoon hike destination)

A gang of bison that surrounded my car-

Leigh Lake in Grand Teton National Park-

I'm also happy to report that some friends at the house concert tonight gave the toastman some much needed attention-

He came out of the surgery very well, and is ready for more adventures. As am I, starting at 5:30 tomorrow morning. More photos to come!

Here's a short segment on midwest culture. Every summer, the town of Lake Geneva, WI has a huge influx of folks from Illinois. Due to the traffic increase, etc. some(not all) WI locals don't look too fondly on these part-time residents. In fact, they might even refer to them as "Flatlanders", a derogatory term, referencing the lack of character in the landscape of their home state. However, last week, I played five house concerts in Illinois, and found the terrain to be quite interesting. I mean, check these people out!

Gurnee, IL-



Rockford, IL-



Villa Park, IL-



Grayslake, IL-



Batavia, IL-




Speaking of terrain, I drove sixteen hours yesterday, mostly through this-



Until I arrived at this-


Hello Colorado. The Northwest Tour has begun!

I'm writing a movie. It's called "101 Kittens". Where did I get the idea? From a weekend's worth of concerts. I played in Burlington, WI (above) at a house that had recently been blessed with a litter of kittens. Kittens. Cute.

It will make my movie a best seller. Where did the "101" come from? Well, on Saturday, I played in Mukwonago, WI-

There was a women there who was 101! I'm pretty sure that's my oldest audience member ever.

Last night I played in Walworth, WI

And at the house next door there were African geese, Sebastopol geese, guinea hens, chickens, etc. Hmmm...kittens...chickens...the plot thickens...

There's a circus going on outside. I can hear the voice on the loudspeaker. I'll be the fourth ring of the circus tonight, playing in someone's living room in Columbus, OH. I've also been in Southgate, MI(picture above), although I didn't get around to stopping by the Sonic, which I was told is a pretty big deal.

I did play at a nursing home in Newbury, OH and only a couple people fell asleep. I'd consider that a successful event! Here I am with some of the staff.

Last night I played a backyard concert in Grove City, OH, and was introduced to Atomic Buffalo Turds (smoked pepper, cream cheese, sausage and bacon on the grill).

After all this craziness, I think a bonsai break might be in order-


But there's another concert to play tonight. I hope I can fit my guitar in the clown car.

A few more concerts under my belt. I think I'm getting close to 100 for this year! Moving quickly. So quickly in fact that the house concert host in Caledonia, MI didn't even have time to finish building their house! It was a half finished place right on the Thornapple River. One nice thing about an empty house- great reverb.

I also got a warm welcome in Holland, MI, right at the height of the Tulip Time Festival! Besides the spelling on the sign, you can see another indicator that I was in Holland if you look very closely at the yard across the street- a windmill.

With all of the miles I still plan to cover, I'm very grateful for the gift I received from my Holland host. A pair of red wooden shoes!

As you can tell, I'm very excited about them. Thanks Holland!

I'm in Holland, MI, and it's Tulip Time. Although roses are more closely associated with "love", I think "two-lips" might make a little more sense. A point not worth arguing. Why do I bring up "love" in the first place? Well, the picture above is from this last weekend. A friend of mine was directing a production of "Romeo and Juliet" at Lakeview High School in Battle Creek, MI and he invited me to play some pre-show music...The play was fantastic! I actually watched it multiple times and was very impressed with the performance and effort of the entire cast and crew. Well done! Here they are trying to represent their characters in a still frame.

I also bring up love because I just completed another loop of touring and have realized again that I love doing what I do. I finished up with 3 concerts in Pennsylvania. Erie-

Where love is "that thing you do" (movie reference- check it out!)
Trafford-

Where love is the first and greatest commandment (there were a few pastors in the room!)
and Pittsburgh-

Where love makes families grow (there were a couple expectant mothers in the room).

Keeping busy with a few more concerts later this week, though I will take time to stop and smell the...