"I must keep to my own style and go on in my own way."

April 27, 2014

Dear Jane,

I cannot believe that it is the twenty-seventh of April and that it has been over two months since I last penned a letter to you.  I am of the mind to sign the end of my letters, “Yours Unfaithfully, Amanda,” for no faithful pen pal would allow two long months to pass before writing to such a dear friend! I realize that I cannot make amends for my poor behavior, but in truth, I have thought of writing a thousand times! Whether it be daily obligations or that dreaded foe, laziness, something has continually gotten in my way, and I offer my sincerest apologies. I hope that in time, you are able to forgive me.

Since last I wrote to you I turned the ripe age of twenty-five on the seventh of March in the Year of our Lord, two-thousand and fourteen. (This I cannot believe; I am becoming an old maid with no prospects just like poor, Charlotte Lucas! Oh Mr. Collins...!) 

Images from my birthday dinner at the Machine Shed. I visited this restaurant when I was a child living in Kansas. What a coincidence we should find one in Iowa! 

Besides aging, I have been on quite a few adventures, and many of them were quite diverting. The “Are You My Mother?” cast and myself have traveled to so many different places that I never imagined that I would have been visiting this year! We have performed in all of the following states in just under four months:

Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Vermont.

Of course, we drove through and stopped in countless more along the way, but that is quite an impressive list if I do (humbly) say so myself!

Now, Jane, right after my last letter to you we travelled to one of America’s most favorite states…Florida! How can I explain to you how truly wonderful Florida was? Let me put it this way, in the bleak months of winter, after having stayed for much too long in the state of Arkansas (where tumble-weaves are plentiful and Walmart was so popular that it served as the assembly room), Florida appeared to us like a beacon in the night. The warm weather intoxicated us almost immediately and our tired souls were rejuvenated. At the risk of boasting, Jane, I will say that I never imagined that I would be swimming in the Atlantic Ocean during the month of February.  It truly was as if we were in heaven!

I must tell you that I was indubitably grateful and elated that we were able to spend time in the lovely land of Florida, however, my heart was quite set on visiting a Disney Park while we were there. (Disney Parks, Jane, are magical lands where the young of heart are always welcome and fairytales truly do come true.) Luckily, after some clever planning and scheming, myself, along with the cast, figured out a way to spend an afternoon at a magical place known as, “Downtown Disney.” It worked out that we would drive almost right through it on our way to our next hotel, so the consensus of the group was, “Why ever not?!”

I must confess that before we ventured to that magical land, I was behaving as a five year old would have, had they been so close to Disney and not been able or allowed to go.

This was me as we drove past Disney World the first time. I am sorry to say that I am ashamed of how I behaved....sort of.

Nevertheless, the winds of fate favored our group and we were in fact able to have a grand time exploring (while getting caught in a rainstorm of the most terrible nature!) and involving ourselves in all manners of frivolity and gaiety for the afternoon. I am proud to say that I purchased a bag of colorful taffy and some cotton candy while there. What else would one buy at such a location?

Leslie, Tigger, and I after the monstrous rainstorm in Downtown Disney!

The tour seems to have sped up unnaturally after Florida, and we now find ourselves having only six days left! How ever did that happen? One moment we are standing in front of The King’s (not King George III, Jane, but the King of Rock & Roll, Elvis Presley) House in Graceland at the end of February, and the next we are on our way back to New York City.

                                            

                                             King George III vs. "The King," Elvis Presley

I do have one more story for you, Jane. I would be remiss if I did not tell you of the time when Charles and Melissa and myself ventured to find an establishment to dine at, and ended up getting our giant, white van stuck in the mud. Yes, Jane, the mud...

Our harrowing tale begins with a few hungry bellies and a restaurant inside of a train....

 Now, what kind of adventurers would we be if we did not take advantage of the opportunity to dine in a restaurant that was inside of a non-moving train? The worst kind. I must add, that although this restaurant was right across the street (literally) from our hotel, we were of a lazy attitude and decided to take our van to dinner so that we wouldn't have to walk back afterwards (or before for that matter). That was our first mistake. Anyway, the three of us gathered in the van (Leslie & Hanna chose to stay behind, luckily for them) and drove up the hill to what we thought was the restaurant driveway. How wrong we were, Jane. Not only was it the wrong driveway, but we had to find a way to turn around on a narrowly paved road surrounded by what seemed like dry grass. We learned very quickly that the dry grass was in fact mud. I have never experienced sitting in a car that legitmately got stuck in the mud, and I would never have chosen to experience it in a giant van let alone a regular car. I digress. Anyhow, Charles and I persuade Melissa to "just turn around here," so she did and as we reversed the vehicle, the tires began to spin. Needless to say, we were stuck from then on. We tried everything, Jane. We pushed, pulled, reversed, stepped on the gas, put in neutral, gathered hay, leaves & twigs to place under the wheels for traction...nothing worked! Finally, like a hero out of one of your novels, our savior arrived, and he went by the name of Keith. Keith appeared to us just as John Willoughby appeared to Marianne after she fell and twisted her ankle. He drove down the hill that we were at the bottom of and asked if we needed assistance as it was his land that we were on (someone must have called and reported a suspicious, white van). We were nervous that he would want to sue us for injuring his land, but he was too gentlemanly for that. Keith calmly went to his shed (along with his too young-for-me son) and drove over to us with his tractor. He tied a chain around our van and after a few attempts achieved the impossible. Afterwards, he invited us to dine at his restaurant at the top of the hill, and we readily accepted as we needed to repay him some how and were quite ravenous at this point. Once free of the mud, we tentatively drove up the hill and feasted our eyes upon a quaint lodge-like restaurant. After nervously walking inside, we realized that there was a small group there (Keith's family) and they had clearly been informed of what had transpired at the bottom of the hill for they were waiting with smiles on their face and copious guffaws. We learned that it was in fact, Keith's birthday and he had been celebrating with his family at their restaurant when he got the news of our predicament. Anyway to make a long story less long, we finished the evening with good food and agreed to take photographs with the family who wanted to remember the crazy events that had taken place on their beloved Keith's birthday. What an evening that was, Jane! Below is a collage of how the events transpired...

This has been such an exciting time in my life, Jane, but also quite a tiring one! The idea of traveling from state to state, living out of a trunk, going from inn to inn is truly wild. 

I am happy to report that although we have all had our “moments,” while on the road, the cast and I got on very well and stayed a cohesive, efficient and pleasant group. We performed in some remarkable theaters and saw amazing cities and landmarks along the way. It was truly rewarding to bring such a loving story to young children. For some, ours was their first theatrical performance and they seemed to sincerely enjoy our show. I feel blessed to have had this particular experience, and eagerly await my next theatrical venture. 

On a side note, while traveling, I was fortunate to find a book called, The Jane Austen Marriage Manual written by a Miss Kim Izzo. It is turning out to be quite an amusing novel, and I am thoroughly enjoying it. If there are any Austen fans out there looking for a diverting read, I highly recommend this one! You truly have the most wonderful and loyal followers, Jane, and I am proud to be one of them. (Speaking of marriage, my dear friend, Carolyn Cumming married her true-love, and now husband, Andrew in March!)

Anyway, tomorrow, the cast and I travel to Connecticut to perform at a grand theater there called, The Bushnell. I am quite overwhelmed because this is the very theater that I grew up seeing musicals and concerts at! I have seen everything from Wicked to the Lion King to the Hartford Symphony Orchestra there and now I too will be performing on one of it's stages! It is a childhood dream coming to fruition, Jane! Although we will be performing on one of it's smaller theaters on the campus, it is exceedingly agreeable, I must say.

Hopefully I have written an amusing and diverting letter, and have made up some what for my lack of correspondance. I look forward to writing my next letter as I may have more exciting things to relay to you, Jane! I beg you to enjoy the beautiful weather that is sure to be coming our way now that Spring has finally arrived. Now then, in keeping with my "better late than never" style letters, farewell until next time, Jane!

Yours Faithfully,

Amanda