What do your relationships look like with those you meet on tour?

When I was a kid my mom got this book for us...

Orlando goes on a summer vacation and he is bummed because he will miss his friends.  He soon realizes that friends are all around even though you might be with them for 15 minutes at a rest stop or an afternoon at a lake.

Our relationships look a lot like that.  I know that little-while friends are important and special, but you have to seize the moment to make them.  Those moments can be incredibly awkward or surprisingly natural.

I hear you, Maddie.

I don't feel particularly talented at initiating conversations (I do think Kevin is.) but it's why we are out here...to build relationships...to encourage people.  So I try to learn from my mistakes and not hide because it is hard.  And look we have made friends....

(To be honest I am old and don't take pictures of myself making friends...weird.  SO I am filling this post with pictures of friends we have made while touring the past few years.)

Our relationships usually involve hugging, sometimes even before we learn each others names.

Sometimes new friends become tour mates.

Our relationships look like a 5 minute conversation after a show, or very long conversations that end in the wee hours of the morning.  Sometimes little while friends become long time friends.  I thought being on tour, and not being around friends all the time, we would miss out on big moments in each others lives. Thankfully, that has not been the case.  We seem to be around for a lot of real life moments. Lots of the rejoicing and the grieving that life has to offer.  I am truly thankful for it all.

We got to help with and attend the wedding of our dear friends Jon and Alli.  Kevin met Jon about 10 years ago.

We got to hold baby Arrow 2 hours after he was born. Kevin met his parents before they were even married.

Being on tour has meant we can keep in touch with friends from college even when they move a bunch...yes we are stalking you Jo.

We like to play games with our friends (even if they cheat to win).

P.S.  Thanks for the question Jason.  I realize this only answers half of your question.  We can answer, "What our relationships look like with each other?" another time.

Do you play too?

Nope.

I do have other talents though.

Well, now that we have that covered.  We can move on to the business at hand.

1. If you would like to follow my blog you need to sign in with your google account, on my blog page on the right you can click on that Google + thingy to follow.

2. The original intent of this blog was to answer common questions I get about this touring life.  I think I have covered most of these questions, but perhaps there are more...

 If you have a question about our life on tour please leave it in the comments below.  

Where do you go?

 "Where do you go?"  The answer is almost everywhere that doesn't require a boat or a passport. 

The ever cold and windy Oregon coast.

Boston, MA

Coast

to 

Coast...

Instead of listing a long list of dates and places, I wanted to create a visual aid for you.  If you're wondering why it has been so long since the last post, creating this "visual aid" is one of the reasons.  It was a nightmare for me to create.  My first attempt was in August with a completely different program.  Now, in FEBRUARY, I have something to share...not my original vision but it will have to do or I will never publish another post again.

The map in the link below is roughly a year of touring according to Kevin's "Never ending Tour" excel spreadsheet.  (The same spreadsheet that he started in June 2011...Who knew?)  Of course the time we stay in each place is not represented but it does give you a picture of how often we hit certain regions of the country in a year.

http://www.animaps.com/pb/139150001/91/Tour_2015