I just wanted to say thank you to Nancy Merchon from University Praise. She gave us the most thoughtful gift. A prayer quilt that she made for our many travels. Nancy, Tyrone and I are so grateful for your prayers and the beautiful quilt that wraps around as we take turns sleeping on the road. You and your beautiful heart are a treasure to us.

The Beautiful faces of Home
I know that it has been a long time since I have written here and some of you have actually scolded me for not keeping up with my blogs, so I apologize and I will do my best to catch up with my life.

First of all, I went home for a couple weeks and missed my husband terribly, but it was good for me to be with family and friends and go home every night to the same bed, of course home isn’t truly home for me unless Tyrone is home with me, but nonetheless it was a wonderful time at home for two weeks. I took a break from everything, including blogs!

Here are some wonderful photo memories of some of the people that make me smile when I am at home:

My niece Atalia and I (her cute version of “Twinkle, Twinkle” is featured on my CD)

She is so good a glamour shots:

Friendly Supporters at my show in Rowland Heights ( thanks Mike Devroede for believing and briniging friends out to support me):

Went out to swing some golf clubs:

With my friends Cat and Darren. Darren thanks for the lesson! (I am learning to play golf because Tyrone and I want to play golf on the road. When Tyrone came home we went and played golf 2 day in a row, it was fun. I think I’ll become like Tiger Woods if I get a couple more lessons in)

Saw my nephew Caelum run hard in soccer:

Hung out with a favorite friend of mine Tamila (also my sister in law) here with her beautiful daughter Chantal who is a great soccer player too.

Caught up with old friends like Rosalinda:

And my ladies group (Gina, Marisa and Leslie):

My old high school buddy Nani Brown came out to see me at one of my shows in Riverside. Thank you so much Nani it was good to see you.

Jolynn and Heather are sweet ladies to hang out with (wives of members of Tyrone’s band Skypark):

Well that was a brief album of my time at home and now I am back on the road. In my future blogs I’ll be sure to write about NYC and Toronto etc.

New York City

Let me talk about one of my favorite cities in the entire world, New York City-Manhattan. Not that I have seen every city in the world, but I have seen quite a few of the popular ones to know that New York City is still at the top of my list. It is hard to explain all that it means to me, but I’ll try.

New York has a vibe that I like. Everyone is going somewhere, everyone is doing something. Above you everywhere you turn is a high rise where more people are stacked up on each other doing more things. Creating new businesses, dreaming, having dinner with friends that have come from all over the world to live in a city that they believe will inspire them to accomplish their dreams.

New York is where I came for the first time when I was traveling with my theatre group from Castle High School (we had been invited to open the entire International Thespian Festival with our musical- that is a huge honor) And on our trip we stopped in New York City to take in a bunch of Broadway plays and be inspired by the performers ahead of us.

New York is also where I returned with my Polynesian performance group and we danced Hula, Tahitian and entertained huge Italian families that like to throw huge parties. Then I stayed a while longer and conquered the city by myself (which makes you feel great when you figure out the subway line and where you are going all by yourself ) I also went to Union Square and busked (played my guitar and sang for tips) and made about $1 a minute.

New York is where I brought my then boyfriend Tyrone Wells, just to share with him what I loved about this city and we ended up writing our song “Dream Like New York” in Central Park.

New York is where Tyrone brought me back to propose to me!

New York is where they are now playing our song “Dream Like New York” at every Knicks game and for the commercials of “The Greatest 50 Moments of Madison Square Garden”.

New York is where my husband’s record label is on Broadway. (funny that our song says “Dream Like New York, Run on down Broadway”

New York City will always hold a special place in our hearts and so I want to share it with you through my pictures and memories of our last trip.

This trip we asked our brother in-law and sis Kevin and Tamila Zahrndt, to join us on tour so we could share with them our love for this special city. I think that they felt the magic. They also experienced how friendly New Yorkers can be when you are in their way or taking up their time. (some locals are tough on the outside, but I believe they are cuddly teddy bears on the inside you just have to warm them up from the cold)

My brother in-law Kevin always comes up with great picture opportunities:

At Battery Park we got a cartoon portrait done of us:

The artist made Tyrone and I look like Hispanic siblings!

I think Tamila and Kevin got a portrait that resembles them more:

This is the amazing view we had from our hotel suite:

We were in lower Manhattan, just a couple blocks away from Ground Zero. On Sunday we went to St. Paul’s Church (The church that survived the 9/11 attacks with no damage, even though it was right across the street from The World Trade Towers. This church served as an aid and refuge for many. It is also the church that our 1st President George Washington would come to worship when he was in town. His pew is still standing.

We took Kevin and Tamila to the restaurant we got engaged in, Inagiku in The Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Tyrone had reserved for me a private Japanese Tea room, so we reserved one again.

This the room where we got engaged. Some of the staff there still remember us.

The Waldorf Astoria Hotel is a very famous and historic hotel. John Jacob Astor and Henry(?) Waldorf (some of the richest men in the country at the time) wanted to build the world’s largest and classiest hotel, and it was, at the time. The Waldorf is the hotel that invented “Room Service” and set the new standards for hotel customer service. The Waldorf is also where Frank Sinatra and Diana Ross got their start performing in the lounge there. President Eisenhower lived in The Waldorf from time to time and has his own suite there.

Our sweet friend Judy Kao always visits with us and takes us around when we come to town. Judy is a social worker in the Bronx and Upper Manhattan. I am so proud of her. She has an amazing heart and is a great friend.

This a view famous for many movie scenes. Right under The Brooklyn Bridge.

Gramaldi’s is famous for their New York Thin Crust Pizza with all fresh ingredients. We like to go here every time we are back. There is always a line out the door. Gramaldi’s is located in Brooklyn right under the famous old bridge.

Can you see the silhouette of Lady Liberty?

For a free and amazingly beautiful experience, take a walk over the Brooklyn Bridge at dusk:

Me and my best friend

I am so happy that one of my closest friends has become my sister:

The subway experience is a must, you can get everywhere. (Judy’s sweet friend Miranda joined us for the day too):

Poor things, we have been rushing them all over the city:

If you ever get to, go to the cocktail bar at The Mandarin Oriental and you’ll get a great view of Central Park. The Beautiful fall colors brodered by really expensive condominiums.

Wide open streets for the NY marathon. We watched and cheered many of the runners on and got teary eyed and inspired about how we would someday try to run a marathon…wishful thinking. We can’t even get up in the morning to take a walk when we plan to!

This is the pond in Central Park that we were looking at when we wrote our song “Dream Like New York”

This is where we sat and wrote the song. This is also where Tyrone originally took me to propose to me, but it was winter and the grass was dead and the area was fenced off. So it was not the romantic scene he imagined, so he said “I just wanted to bring you back here because it’s special place for us, okay we can go now!”
Later he proposed to me at The Waldorf Astoria, which was much more intimate. You did a great job sweetheart.

Serendipity’s Famous Frozen Hot Chocolate (Have you seen the movie “Serendipity” filmed at this restaurant? It has great New York Scenes, they even stay at The Waldorf in the film) This was our last day with Kevin and Tamila.

We saw a great musical called Avenue Q. It pushes the boundaries, but you find yourself laughing the whole way through. It’s like Sesame Street for adults. Puppets can still teach you life’s greatest lessons. The cast is only about 10 people, but they are so talented and their energy overflows.

I got to go with Tyrone to see him showcase his songs for VH1. He did a wonderful job as usual:

This is a reality for life on the road. Organizing our luggage on the streets of Manhattan.

Judy and I had a sweet day together. Enjoying fondue and skaters at Bryant Park. You can ice skate for free!

Did I tell you that we are seriously thinking about adding a dog to our travel family ? We would someday love a big dog (Rodeisian Ridgeback maybe) but it’s not possible for traveling. So a cute dog like this will do:

This is Friday in her winter outfit:

With our cousins Charles and Socheata (and their dog or their girl Friday) who live in New York City. Charles and Socheata host us every time we come out. They are independent filmmakers who are now promoting an amazing documentary about Socheata’s family in Cambodia. Soch’s family experienced the devastation of the Khmer Rouge and the film is about love, joy and pardon. Keep your eyes open for ‘New Year Baby”, you’ll like it, guaranteed!

There is much to see in New York City. I still have not seen it all. I guess we’ll just have to keep going back.
What is your favorite city and why? What makes this city special to your story? I would love to hear your input, there are always more cities to recognize and visit.

Toronto

At the end of our East Coast run we headed up to hang out in Toronto, Canada.

One of our favorite things to do together on the road when it is Mark’s turn to drive is watch episodes of “24″. Mark’s friend Sasha who joined us for this leg took this picture of us, probably finding it amusing that we were so enthralled and I of course will make faces and talk to the TV screen as the suspense builds.

The last time, I was in Canada I remember that I was with my family crossing over the the border and I was in the back seat sick and throwing up ( I was about 11 year old). All I saw in Vancouver was a hotel room, the toilet and my brother, sister and Dad talking about all of the places that they went.
(My mom sacrificed her time and stayed with me in the hotel room, thank you so much Mom). I do remember feeling better and being able to enjoy the sights of Victoria.

Canada is a beautiful country and the people are very friendly. I kept forgetting I was in another country because my surroundings did not feel foreign in any way. In Toronto it was cold and overcast but we still managed to get around the city and have a great time.

Mark and Sasha. Sasha came out to give Mark a break from the newlyweds. Sasha is such a cool and easygoing guy:

On the top of the Siene Tower, the tallest free standing structure in the world. They have a glass floor that you can walk over and it feels like you could fall:

After Toronto, I left the tour to go and hang out with my dear friend and sister in-law Kerinda and her beautiful daughter Channing in Jacksonville, Florida. Marty, her husband is the East Coast scout for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Kerinda is pregnant and is presently on bedrest for the next 2 months. I went down to help her out because it was her drama clubs’ dress rehearsal and big show week. She needed my support and extra hands and feet. It was a wonderful time to join them in their daily lives. I’m so happy I went.

Kerinda and I:

Adorable Princess Channing:

Channing and I had fun dancing to a Cinderella dance video together:

Kerinda with her energetic and lovable drama group on the set of their show:

I am so proud of you Kerinda, your students did a wonderful job and you can tell that they have built wonderful memories of you and their time in the drama club.
Back on the road (Memphis, Tennesee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Denver, Colorado):

The Waffle House (Tyrone peer pressured Mark and I to eat here. Mark and I are the two out of three who try to eat healthy)Only in the south are these as frequently seen as Starbucks:

Someone told us “you gotta have BBQ in Memphis!” (my husband is being naughty!):

Men with meat (Fill me in: Is pointing at the camera the “cool” thing to do?):

New Friends at our show in Memphis:

From Memphis to Arkansas

Here comes the snow (this is us packing up from the show in the freezing cold)I’m an island girl, so I freak out if the weather dips below 70 degrees. I’m pretending that this is fun:

In Arkansas, I bought a Bill Clinton magnet ( we are trying to collect a magnet to put on our fridge everywhere we go). But my main souvenir from Arkansas was a big bruise on my hip.

It starts like this, when I see Christmas lights, I get all giddy like a little kid and right next to our hotel in Arkansas, there was this town square that was full of lights that stay on all night with Christmas music playing. So I told Tyrone that after the show we have to return there. He promised that we would. So then we get done with the show, and we go back to the hotel and I am so excited about walking through the lights with my husband that I am not even thinking. Right then, I take the meanest slip and fall I have ever taken. I rushed into the revolving door on slippery tile and I just ate it. I was face down with my guitar on top of me. Tyrone was terribly concerned and so was the hotel (hmm..lawsuit?). I got a huge bruise on my hip and a slight sprain in my finger. But the first thing I said to Tyrone after my fall was, “Can we still go to see the Christmas lights?” and he just laughed and said “You are always so determined.”

You’ve gotta have a little bit of Christmas on the road:

Walking in a winter wonderland (Mark opted out from joining us. He didn’t want to hang out with a couple that was singing and frolicking in the snow):

We have seen a lot of beautiful sunsets on the road:

Boys are so lucky they can just make it happen anywhere.Sometimes I envy them. Yuck! The steam is rising!

rise and shine, and MORE SNOW!!!!

Warm and cozy with our hand made prayer quilt from Nancy.

We took a break to see our USC Trojans dominate Mark’s UCLA Bruins, but it started to not be so much fun when Marky Boy was cheering more than us:

We met Marks wonderful cousins Stacy and Eddie from Colorado Springs.

It was so great to meet you both! Stacy, you remind me so much of your mom Marlene! You two are so cute and huggable!

What is your favorite thing about Christmas? What makes you giddy like a kid? (post it here)

Seattle Seahawks
seahawks vs. broncos

cold

denver form our room

our friend Andy

Photos:My New Son’s First Blog

Hi everybody! MY name is Pono it’s Hawaiian for “righteousness” or “goodness”. Mommy and Daddy think that I’m pretty righteous and good!

I am now 12 weeks old and I just want to show you a little bit of my life with Mommy and Daddy so far.

This is the box I got taken home in:

This is me on the scale at my first Vet Check up. I way a hefty 2.5 pounds!

When mommy and daddy came to pick me up they found out that the song that they wrote “Dream Like New York” was requested to be sung by daddy for the Inauguration of the new Attorney General of NEw York. He spoke of his dreams for the New York and then Daddy sang “Dream Like NEw York” at the MET just steps away form where mommy and daddy wrote the song and got engaged!

so they brought me to New York with them. they bought me a coat and I stayed at the pet friendly Le Parker Meridian Hotel. All the hotel employees wanted to hold me and their voice would get all squeaky when they talked to me. They called me the hotel mascot.

Me at Rockefeller Center with the skaters and the big tree!

Oh and mommy and daddy came too:

I explored the city next to Daddy’s warm chest. We went to The American Kennel Store and mommy and daddy got me chew toys. My favorite one to chew on is a stinky tendon bone that makes both of them gag.

This is me with Mr. Wolfie in my travel bag. I fit right under mommy’s feet and the buzzing of the plane puts me right to sleep.

I am getting better at potty pads and I know how to “sit” and “stay” too!

Hope to meet you on the road soon!

love,
Pono

We hung out with Mimi’s folks Diane Wall and Jay who took us over to their place and out to a local bar.

Thank you guys, you made us feel very welcome! Meeting your pig was also a highlight on the trip for sure. There was also a cute dog (sammy?)who jumped for bubbles and liked to give wet kisses. I think he new that the pig was the unique spectacle, but he sure put on a good show for us. Eyes bulging with excitement and doggy charm.

I love dogs, someday we will own one. Have you ever just thought something was so cute you just wanted to bite it? or you just wanted to squeeze it? Does that sound strange? I love animals! Maybe I can convince Tyrone that we should also own a dolphin, elephant and pig too! We thought about a monkey, but then we read that it could be like having a baby for up to 70 years! I also don’t think I want poop thrown at me. We decided that the best thing to do is make friends with animal trainers and get our “love for all animals” fix that way.

Sept.9, 2006

I’m writing from our hotel
room in Pennsylvania, some small town. I’m already
confused and forgetting all of the places and hotel
rooms that we have been in. So far I like the Holiday Inn Express, Hampton Inn and anything Marriott. (do I sound like a snob? I guess I get to be when I am living in a new home every night) I shall become the Hotel Critic of Budget Inns.

This tour we have themed “the little victories” tour
because we are venturing out to unknown territory
where people are saying “Tyrone Who?” and we know we
are working from the bottom and trying to win over new
listeners, but for the size and the shows it is
turning out to be encouraging, we just all have to
lower our expectations. I am selling a few CD’s at
every show, which should encourage me since I am
only on stage for two songs.

I am also going to take days off where I don’t do a
show and I work on my craft, spend time alone with
God or talk with a friend. My husband is being an
amazing substitute girlfriend for me, but I do miss
the female connection sometimes. (I would love e-mails if you ever have time)

Hanging around guys all the time is good for me. Guys like to offer solutions. Mark and Tyrone do their best to take care of me. But when it gets too much
for my female interests, I just tune the men out when
they start talking about carborators, toads and bodily
fluids.

Sharing my music with my supportive husband nearby:

We have almost been married for 1 year! time flies by!

Philly:

So on Monday, we got a day off and the men followed me with my “USA” tour book to Philadelphia. They were both like “whatever you want to do, we’re yours for the day”. How nice!

So I gladly led us to The Liberty Bell (a symbol of America’s long and continuous fight for freedom) Independence Hall (where The Declaration of Independence was signed and The United States Constitution was drafted.) It was surreal to walk into the small rooms where these amazing documents were written and decided on and where our first president George Washington invented and gave the first ever “State of the Union Address”. It was neat to see the actual 200+ year old chair that George Washington sat in and where the old Benjamin Franklin positioned himself at all the meetings.

Just down a block is where the electricity genius and his wife were laid to rest:

Ben Franklin’s grave:

Independence Hall right behind us:

Everyone told us that we had to have a Philly Cheese Steak at “Pat’s”. But due to the location we were in, we enjoyed a cheesesteak at “Jim’s”, who is Pat’s relative. There are a bunch of Philly Cheese Steak places that all claim to be relatives of the famous Olivieri Cheese Steak inventing Famly.

According to Philadelphians, Pat Olivieri owned a hot dog stand and was hungry, so he asked his wife to go get him some steak so he could cook it up for himself at the stand, and while he was preparing his steak for his lunch a customer came up and asked him if they could order one of his steak sandwiches. And there you have it, he squeezed a little cheese whiz on the sandwich and it became the Famous Philly Cheese Steak.

When you go you need to get the Cheese Steak with the authentic “Cheese Whiz” (Mark ordered provolone and wished he had gotten the cheese whiz) AND you need to be ready to tell them what kind of cheese you want, there is no messing around with these cheesesteak makers! They are busy and they’ve got a long line of locals waiting. (I sound like a travel guide book). Thanks to my brother-in-law Marty’s advice, we got the famous “Road Food” book and now I am on little missions to find the best food everywhere we go!

Philadelphia is a romantic city with old colonial style charm. A City rich with history and the haunted lingering of voices from the past ringing out for freedom and justice.

A kiss at City Hall right acroos from “Love” Park:

This journal is dedicated to Marky Boy Chipello.

Dearest Mark, our tour manager, our percussionist, our brother, our friend and the guy who has to put up with hanging around newlyweds 24-7.

Mark is thoughtful and thinks about both Tyrone and I. He likes to make jokes, and I Iaugh every once in a while. He notices details and reminds our “forgetful artist” minds about everything. He makes space for us as a couple to do ” the couple things” that he would rather not be a part of. He is an encourager and a motivator and he works his butt off to make this tour happen!
We love you Marky!

When Mark and I have a bad day:

“city or brotherly love”:

Written on Sept. 15th. 2006

Our song “Dream Like New York” just came out on the credits and soundtrack of a movie called “Everyone’s Hero” released in theaters nationally today( Sept. 15th)! We found out that it is the 4th song as the credits roll, so hold your bladder and yell at everybody to stay and listen to Elina and Tyrone’s song!

I don’t know how many of you know how special this song is to us, but If you do I’ll tell you again. New York City has been a favorite place of mine since I was in grade school. Even If i would never go there until I was in highschool, I always wanted to go there. Because I grew up on a small tropical island, I think something about a big bustling city with people flying by and something happening around every corner appeals to me.

So anyways, when Tyrone and I were dating I wanted so badly to show him New York City so we took a trip for his 30th birthday. Soon, he shared the same love for the city with me.

One day in Central Park, we took our guitars and plopped down in the grass by the pond with the motorized sail boats directly across the water from the “Alice in Wonderland” Statue. We shared why we liked New York City so much, because it is a city of dreams. From the dreams man had to build structures like the Empire State Building to the dreams immigrants’ had when they first saw the Statue of Liberty welcoming them to her safe harbor. We realized that the city appealed to us so much because we ourselves are dreamers. And that is how the we started writing the song “Dream Like New York” that very day in the middle of the city. Later in February, Tyrone took me back to that spot in Central Park to propose to me and say that he wanted to dream the rest of his life with me.

So that is how that song came to be and that is why it is so important to the story of us. Thanks for letting me reminisce again as sappy as it is!

This weekend is our 1 year anniversary. We’ll be in Boston. Every year we paint or draw a picture of us together somewhere (Tyrone actually started this tradition. He paints me and I paint him. We then paint the background together. We are terrible artists, but that’s what makes it fun! i’ll try to get an image up here for your laughter as soon as I can)

I know this is cheesy but I like this photo:

Sept. 20th, 2006
In order for us to feel sane and productive on tour, we have tried to work out a schedule for ourselves. A schedule will help us to do more than just the usual routine, so our day does not always look like “re-pack and organize luggage, check out, put all luggage back in van, drive, eat a disgusting health bar to hold you over, check in, pull luggage out again, maybe eat before a show or order in, drive, play a show, drive, sleep, check out…….” you know what I mean.

Today, Tyrone and I went for a walk (part of our schedule). We have been trying to go for a walk every morning on tour. We go for a walk and discuss a couple’s devotional we have been doing for more than a year (”Quiet Moments Together For Couples” by Dennis and Barbara Rainey, we highly recommend it for married couples)This book has played such a monumental role in our first year of marriage. It promotes discussion and asks the questions you otherwise would want to shy away from. We have already experienced many challenges, but the growth and the closeness it has brought to the both of us has been beautiful. Someday we hope to take the authors out for dinner and thank them for counseling us through our marriage.

For me, this tour can be a a little tiring. I am an extrovert that likes community, heart to heart discussions and good friends nearby. It’s not that Tyrone and Mark aren’t wonderful people, they are, it’s just that sometimes as the only girl, and the guys being my only talking heads, I get a little weary of this routine. So on Saturday my husband surprised me and took me on a getaway to Newport ,Rhode Island. It was just what I needed to spread my wings and breathe some fresh air. I feel so alive when I can leisurely enjoy a new and unique place. I immediately pull out my guide book and jump on all the cool things to see (I must get this from my mom). Poor Tyrone, I drag him around, but 99% of the time he enjoys it.

The Hyatt Hotel on Goat Island in Newport is where we stayed:

The Package: A beautiful ocean view from our balcony and massages for two weary travelers (my husband is too sweet):

So far Tyrone thinks that he had the best New England Clam Chowder here at The Windward Restaurant at the Hyatt:

I absolutely fell in love with the town of Newport. We realized that we have liked all towns we have been to named Newport.

our lovely feet at sunset:

my lovely husband at sunset:

It’s a town full of boats!

One of our many walks, but more beautiful than any, The 3.5 mile Cliff Walk , with the ocean on one side and beautiful historic mansions on the otherside:

we decided to buy this house when we have children, so each of them can have 10 play rooms:

Captivating and handsome:

We spent one show and one day in the beautiful state of Maine:

My family, my home:

The Locals from Maine said that we could not leave Maine without having the Lobster Roll, so of course I had to have one (thanks Keith and Jess from Bates College, good suggestion):

you can’t help loving all of the brick you see on the East Coast:

And the quaint little streets:

Later that day we played a great show at Roger Williams in Bristol, Rhode Island:

The Game:

Wherever there is a pub, you can bet that the boys (especially my husband) are asking if they have a dart board. And if they do we are all pretty competitive. Mark and Tyrone are pretty good, but I am starting to give them a good scare. Especially this last game I played my husband. I was the high scorer in Cricket right up to the end and I hit my last bulls eye and Tyrone got scared, and when he is under pressure, unfortunately for me, he turns into a very accurate dart thrower. So we were head to head at the very end. I thought I won the game, and I was taking pictures just to be able to prove my victory, but Tyrone went second and had one more chance, and He hit a bulls!!!! We were now tied and then I hit a single bull and I was dancing for joy because I was back in winning position! But then Tyrone came back and hit a double bulls! ughhh! I was fuming!!!

He thinks he’s so good!

Look at my score!!! Look at his sad row!

He’s gloating!

I thought this would save me!

Ty’s winning round

final score!

t and e cliffs

our new house

cliffs ty

Tyrone’s 32nd B-day:
Tyrone had a nice birthday on the road. I got away from him and Mark earlier in the week, and bought him some gifts to open slowly through out the day for continued happiness.(Road tip for wrapping gifts: I used newspaper and hotel front desk tape to wrap the gifts) One thing he wanted to do for his birthday was to watch as many episodes of “24″ as he could with his wife, while Mark drove us from Rhode Island up to New Hampshire. Mark ran into the mall and brought back a Cinnabon Roll for him (my husband’s a sweet tooth) and a new battery for Ty’s Mac (guys get smart practical gifts).Then we got to the new hotel and his sister Tamila had a bottle of wine and wine glasses waiting for us at The Best Western. (apparently she had to pull an arm and a leg to make it happen- most Best Westerns aren’t “high class” service). Then we did a show and our friend Jenn Chinn called the college ahead of time to tell them that it was Tyrone’s B-day and they should do something to celebrate it (you tell them Jenn!) So before the show Tyrone got a huge cake and a sign behind him that said Happy Birthday.

I have wonderful long lost cousins that live in Vermont and they made the 2 hour trek out to see us at a show in New Hampshire, helped us tear down the merchandise booth, waited for a while, then treated us to a late night dinner for Tyrone’s birthday and then they drove all the way home. Thank you to Pat, Anne, Sara and Peter Kaiser (Katie we missed you). Tyrone said “I got to hang out with family on my birthday after all.” It was great to see you guys. Hopefully our paths will start to cross more often. A big thank you for making the trek out to cross our path on the tour.

Good Italian Food in New Hampshire with the Kaiser Family:

What has been fun on the road is to walk around and explore all of these unique little towns across the country. People are so different from town to town and it is fun to watch. I have my big, thick picture filled “DK” USA guide that I open to read whenever we have time to spend in a town or even when we are flying by it and I recognize a town name or a battle site from history. Mark and Tyrone are witnesses to how often I whip open my guide book and read interesting facts about each place. They may be tired of it and tease me about it, but I know that their minds greatly benefit from my constant travel fact interruptions.

Here are some random middle of nowhere photos of life on the road:

the boys like to coordinate their outfits sometimes:

luckily we’ve only hung out here once:

We did a Mark appreciation day. We took him out to lunch and did his laundry for him while he played on his Mac.

Lots of clean clothes

The colors are changing beautifully!

Boston:
So I haven’t been on here much to write blogs because I have been having too many moments of fun all squished together. So the news I am sharing will be late. But I will now start to tell you all that has gone on.

To start it off, I had these few days where I was starting to become a hotel hermit in Massachusetts. I was getting tired of the nightly show life. So I was going to take some time off and do something else, like take myself out on a date or write the world’s greatest song. A lot of these colleges are in really small towns that close down early. (I am so spoiled with conveniences of big city life) I was going to take myself out to a movie while the boys did a gig, but the last showing of any movie was at 7PM.Then I thought I would make myself really productive in the hotel room and I wonder if you can relate to this, I think maybe most of you can, its when you have scheduled time for yourself to do whatever you want and at the end of it you don’t feel like you have accomplished anything, so you kind of feel sorry for yourself. That was my issue, I wanted to accomplish a great improvement in my guitar skills and songwriting but no such thing was happening, I was tired of being in hotel room alone with no inspiration and I wanted to just hang out with a friend.

Then at about 11PM, Tyrone calls me, him and Mark just finished the show, and he tells me to meet him downstairs because they want to take me somewhere. They ask me where I think I’m going and I said “maybe to play darts?” (since it is really easy to guess what the guys would like to do) but we drove for more than an hour and we were in Boston! I had no idea what we were doing at midnight in Boston and then we drove straight in to the airport and parked. Now I was really confused. So I followed the boys, a million thoughts running through my head. Mark and Tyrone were so giddy like it was Christmas. And then I saw her, there was a tall woman facing her back to us looking out at the cars, she had red hair!!! Tyrone said to me “Do you want to go talk to that lady right there?” It was his sister and one of my best friends Tamila. Tears of joy flooded out of me and I rushed to give her a hug. (Apparently Tyrone, Mark and Tamila had been planning this for almost a month). The boys were smiling proudly, knowing they had accomplished the surprise well. Tyrone and Mark came up with the idea when they were hanging out with each other and talking about how I did not have a buddy with me on the road like they had in each other, so they started to make plans. Tyrone said to Tamila and I “You guys have two options 1)you can continue on tour with us for the next few days or 2) you can rent a car and go wherever you want.” I said (maybe too quickly) “we’ll take option 2!”
So Tamila explored the city of Boston and had wonderful girl time!

I must say a huge thank you to my husband for his love and thoughtfulness towards me, he spoils me… and to Mark for his thoughfulness and work on planning all the logistics and details and to Tamila and Kevin for making it work with kids and schedules. I had a an amazing time with my sweet friend and sister Tamila. I love you sis! Thanks for the memories.

tam and me:

We went to a really old cemetery in the middle of Boston where Paul Revere, Samuel Adams and John Hancock were buried:

I was surprised at how tiny Revere’s gravestone was:

Soaking up the history that we have long forgotten. Here is Paul Revere’s house. He had 9 children from his first wife and then when she died he remarried and had 8 more kids with his 2nd wife who then took care of all of the kids:

Beautiful Boston Public Garden:

Great Pizza at Regina’s in the North End “Little Italy”. Boston people are charming, we entered the restaurant and waitress yelled at us “How many are you!?! Go sit over there!!!!” It wasn’t about service, it was about getting delicious pizza out to you quickly. I’d have that waitress any day she was part of the boston experience!

Anniversary
I got spoiled and romanced by my husband on our one year anniversary in Boston (Sept. 24)

A beautiful view from our 10th floor room at the Boston Harbor Hotel:

A wine and cheese plate to enjoy together:

A vase of roses waiting, a poem and a letter from my sweet hubby:

dinner for two:

a stroll in Boston’s Public Garden:

Drawing each other together in the park.( a tradition Tyrone started on our first year of dating, we will continue it for years to come. What makes it fun is neither of us are any good at painting or drawing):

AND THIS IS WHAT Tyrone GOT FROM ME ON OUR ANNIVERSARY! MEN ARE SO SIMPLE (We watched the Seahawks beat the New York Giants. Tyrone, being from Washington is a huge Seahawks fan. When I said we could watch the game on our anniversary he said, “really?” He was so happy and immediately looked for a good sports bar to see it at.)

We saw the original “Cheers” store front and I took this picture for you Dad Chang:

Providence

Every once in awhile it is nice to run into familiar faces on the road. My childhood friend from Hawaii now lives in Rhode Island and we went out to eat in the Italian district of Providence, R.I.. Emilia, it was so good to catch up with you and hear about your life. I’m proud of you and all that you have done and experienced. Thank you for sharing this time with me and building new memories.

Emilia and I:

I have this book called “Road Food” and it has fun, delicious and extremely unique ideas for places to stuff your face at all over the country (recommended by our brother-in-law Marty Miller). Most of the time when we are in a new town I look in the book to see if there are restaurants we should try. While we were in Rhode Island, I read that there was this diner in Providence called Haven Brothers. Haven Brothers has been around for 112 years! It is a restaurant on wheels. Every night before 5PM this truck restaurant pulls up into downtown Providence and hooks up it’s electricity to a street light and is open for business til 3AM. Selling food like the “Murder Burger” and cheesy fries. We( or maybe I) just had to see what it was about. Mark was giving me a hard time because he’s been trying to eat well for almost every meal and here I was dragging him to a heart attack.

Haven Brothers, the restaurant on wheels. Providence, RI.

I’m going to gain weight! and my husband shall forever remain a stick!!! that drives me nuts!!!

Our dear friend Kim Winberg gave us this book (below) before we left on the road to help remind us to take a day of rest or even as little as a half hour of it. We have protected time on our tour and that has been some of our most memorable moments. Muller interweaves great ideas into his writing about how to take a Sabbath in your busy life. Muller was once near death in a hospital, due to stress on his body from his many success driven tasks and responsibilities. Buy it ! Read it! And lets all add some Sabbath to our lives. God must have known how important it is to rest if he put it in the Ten Commandments! Allowing for Sabbath helps us to be healthy, enjoy life and our relationships and be a better contributor to our world after we have allowed ourselves some rest.

Harvard Intellectuals

So Tyrone and I decided that we would pretend to be sophisticated students at Harvard in Cambridge, MA. So we walked to the Harvard Lawn with our books in hand and we were going to soak in the intellectual air that was lingering around us and do our best to fit in among the other students (future presidents and inventors in our midst). We tried to sound intellectual by using big words and quoting famous people but all that came out was “I love you”, “You’re so cute” and
“Crap, I have doggie doo doo on my shoe. How do I get this off?”
“Look for a stick and dig it out as best as you can, that has happened to me before and that ’s all you can do, just dig dig dig. How do you know it’s doggie doo? Can you smell it? Smell it.”
“Awwk, it stinks! I’m gonna throw up.”

a studious man at Harvard:

an even smarter woman:

This dog’s name better be something like Einstein or Beethoven

We decided that being intellectual and fitting in wasn’t all that important so on our way back to the “rock-it” (our van/home), after I had spent most of the time cleaning out my shoe,we started skipping together through the Harvard Campus and got some unusual looks from some smarty pants students walking by. Our joyful skipping must have interrupted them hearing their own voice talk about a new theory.

A beautiful walk
We stayed on campus one night at Babson College in Massachusetts and that was my favorite campus so far on the tour. Tyrone and I went for beautiful walk through the campus and the neighborhood. The neighborhood reminded me of South Pasadena (where I used to live) with the old immaculate homes, the sprawling lawns, old oak trees and fall wreaths hung on almost every door. Walks like this awaken the child in me as I smell the crisp clean air and as I get excited looking at every house as if I was choosing my favorite doll house.

We felt like we were walking in a Thomas Kincaid Painting:

After we are done with the high life of condo living in Southern Cal, we’ll move to a smaller humbler place like this one:

Later in the evening we played a show at Smith College and our brother-in-law Marty came out to hang with us. It was so nice to see you Marty. Seeing family and familiar faces is always a tour highlight.

We always initiate guests into the group by having them play darts with us:

The Marty and Mark team beat the Wells Couple Team twice in darts, but in the second game out of three games my husband and I smoked them and I had to take the victory pictures. Sorry Marty and Mark, I for some reason didn’t care as much to document your winnings.

my winning dart:

shooting for who goes first, Marty was right next to me:

the game we won, the only game worth documenting:

Breathtaking Vermont
Vermont was our secret jewel on tour. We didn’t play a show there or even know that we were going there until last minute. Mark had been telling us for awhile about how beautiful his Grandma’s farm (she calls it Myriad Breezes) was in Vermont and how he wished we could see it and meet her. For some reason , spontaneously, it actually ended up working out on one of our days off. I was so floored by how beautiful Southern Vermont is, I took way too many pictures and they don’t even compare or do it justice to it’s actual breathtaking beauty.

Loved the House/Wooden Bridges of Vermont (Connie Blood this picture is for you, can you see why?)


Wish our “Rock-it” (van/home) could stay parker here for longer than a day:

See the deer (and Ty’s cell phone)?

If only you could see it with your very own eyes…breathtaking

We met Mark’s Grandma Carrie Chipello and his Aunt Marlene and boyfriend John. Great people. I realized how much I love Italian people on this tour! (We won’t forget Aunt Pam either!)

Mark, Aunt Marlene and John at his Grandma’s 85 or so acre farm:

boys will be boys, my husband got so excited to try to show me a frog that he saw

with sweet and cute Grandma

Mark found a cute Bed and Breakfast in Bennington nearby for Ty and I to stay at (Alexandra Bed and Breakfast)

would you like a spot of tea?

garden view during breakfast

Delicious breakfast:

The Bennington Battle Monument (Green Mountain Forest in Vermont):

And right near by is an old cemetery holding the remains of several colonial soldiers and it is also the burial site of the poet Robert Frost:

the grave of Robert Frost

I could drive down a road like this everyday

May life always take you on a journey.

Sometimes all three of us coordinate our outfits. (Mark is being Mark)

Subway is the most frequent stop by the “Rock-it” crew (The “Rock-it” is our 13 passenger van)

A special treat that we all got on tour was that Jenn Chipello (Mark’s older sister) came out to hang with us for a few days. We all admire Jenn for all the challenging and sacrificial mission work that she is doing in Nicaragua. Tyrone and I hope to visit her next time we head down to Nicaragua. Jenn is a sweet and peaceful hearted person and she also keeps her brother in line which is nice!

Jenn and Elina (w/ some strange guy)

Jenn’s a good sis

Sushi with Jenn and Mark at the “Drunken Fish” St. Louis, Missouri

Well what da ya know, darts again!

At a show in Indiana (Kate, thanks for being such a supporter for our music- it was so nice to meet you!)

chicago

I must say that Chicago is up there with New York City as one of my favorite cities in The United States. My husband and I had a wonderful time exploring the city with perfect 71 degree weather on Saturday. We also had fun stuffing our stomachs at the “best of the best” for Chicago Italian Beef Sandwiches, Chicago Pizza and a Chicago Hot Dog (with the works:tomatoes, hot peppers, a pickle slice, onions and spicy mustard- Tyrone was a little scared to try it)

Not only is Chicago known for food it is known for its beautiful architecture. I wanted to take a picture of so many buildings.

Voted “Coolest Public Park Sculpture” by Elina Travel Guide “The Bean” in Millenium Park.

It’s weird because I think people are so fascinated with seeing themselves, people were taking pictures everywhere. The designer was very smart. If you want to make your sculpture popular and looked at by many, just attach a big mirror somewhere to it and it is a guaranteed sucess!

can you see us twice?

We saw a University Praise friend Erin Machey in the hit musical “Wicked”

Erin will be playing the role of one of the leads “Glenda” (we begged her for her autograph)

Voted #1 for Italian Beef: Al’s Italian Beef (the original stop in Little Italy) They dip the whole sandwich in “au jou (?)” sauce then they wrap it like 5 times so the juice doesn’t sneak out. Then they take their greasy good fries and re-wrap the sandwich and the fries together (like subway) to make it one yummy, juicy and greasy smashed mess. You’ve gotta try it to become a real believer. The only way to eat it is to stand and lean over their “stand only” counters and let your sandwich drip over the surface and drip down your arms! You also get to talk to a bunch of locals that swear this is the best place to go in Chicago.

Giardano’s #1 Deep Dish Chicago Pizza ( we like spicy so we had Jalepeno/Pepperoni/Mushroom. Our brother-in-law James would have been proud)

Portillos’ Chicago Hot Dog

Rosebud Restaurant had the most tasty Italian food I have had in a long time:

I can’t believe they call this a lake. It looks, smells and has waves like and ocean. Stunning.

The frisbee champs at Lincoln Park

The Wells at “Wells on Wells”

The fake

The real deal

mark

right where I belong