|
Huge Retirement Party: This Past Wkd in NJ & MD
Sun., Mar. 13. 2011 3:17pm EDT
Our tour this past weekend was like a huge retirement party; we had to re-tire the bus on the way to Friday's concert in Millville NJ and re-tire the trailer on the way home from Saturday's concert in Mechanicsville MD. Of course, we plan to retire the trailer for good once we've raised enough money for a new one, but what we mean this time around is that we needed to put new tires on both it and the bus.
The ApologetiX bus blew one of its rear interior tires near Carlisle PA early Friday afternoon. Thankfully, we were able to nurse it to a nearby tire-repair shop about 10 miles down the road. Unfortunately, the waiting/repair/paperwork process took set us back about three hours and about $250, so we had to start the show late. We were blessed with a patient audience, however, and everything worked out.
Not to be outdone, the ApologetiX trailer blew another one of its tires (destroying another fender in the process) Sunday morning on the Capital Beltway. Amazingly, even though the side in need of repair was right next to a busy highway, our pit crew was able to replace it with our spare in about 15 minutes. Then again, they're getting pretty experienced at changing trailer tires. We have some carpeted two-by-fours that we use when we jack up the trailer, and they just happened to be packed right near the trailer door, which was very unusual and quite providential.
But the adventure wasn't over yet. We'd been searching in vain for a diesel truck stop for the first 130 miles of the morning (including a nice long traffic jam) before we found one. As we made our way off the exit ramp, we could feel the bus losing its oomph as the last vapors of diesel were dissipating from the tank. Thankfully, we were able to just make it to the pump before the fuel ran out. God is good!
Some people might suggest we were having an unlucky weekend, seeing as Saturday was our 1300th concert ever, but considering the way God provided for us each time, we think quite the opposite.
Interesting trivia: The previous weekend, both of our concerts were in places that ended with lin/lyn (Franklin and Brooklyn). This time around, both concerts were in M-villes -- Millville and Mechanicsville. The promoters even had last names that look and sound a lot like each other (Spaulding and Baldauff).
Special thanks to:
Our concert coordinators: Michaela Spaudling (Millville) and Bob & Shelley Baldauff (Mechanicsville)
Our merchandise coordinators: Jenn the Superchick (Millville and Mechanicsville), Rebecca and Miguel (Millville), and Katie (Mechanicsville)
Our bus drivers: One of Canada's most precious exports, Ontario's own Dave "Ripper" Rippon, and the Boys from Butler, Greg Spack and Tom Tincha
Our guest keyboardist: Todd Waites
Our crew: Greg, Chris, Brandon, and Seth (Millville and Mechanicsville) and Rich and Super Dave (Mechanicsville).
Our opening band: A New Awakening (Mechanicsville).
|
