So the tour bus heads for Nashville from Fremont, OH – about an 8 hour drive. I hang out in the front lounge area of the bus with some of the other guys for a bit, and then head for my bunk. And by bunk, I mean a coffin with a sliding curtain on the side. Yes, these bunks (12 on the bus) are about 6’ x 2.5’ x 2’.
Although they are nicely appointed with their own A/C vent, flip-down TV/DVD player, power outlets, and light, they do make for a cramped area for someone like me who likes to sleep all stretched out like a crazy person. Oh, and one of the “features” of this ceiling-mounted DVD player, was this large blue LCD display, that really “displayed” anything that I could see. But the bright, glaring light did a fine job of keeping me awake for quite a while each night. Many of the band members brought back strips of gaffer tape after the show to cover up the “Blue Eye of Death.”
Once in my bunk, my two biggest fears revealed themselves: dying in a fiery, high-speed bus crash, and having to get up in the middle of the night to pee. I figured I would deal with either of those when they came up. (BTW, in the bus bunk, you sleep with your feet toward the front of the bus, so in case of a sudden stop, you don’t crush your head like a ripe melon.) So after a bit, my long day was starting to catch up to me, and I dozed off.
At some point, there was a change in the pitch/intensity of the bus sounds that had lulled me to sleep. When I heard the air brakes, I first thought we had arrived in Tennessee. But upon referring to my iPhone’s clock and GPS, I discovered we were in Dayton, OH at around 2:45am. A rest stop maybe? It seemed too early for that. (I later learned we had to stop at the Dayton airport to pick up the drummer, Wes Little, who had to return a rental car, or some crazy thing.) After a bit, the bus rolled on, and the hum of the engine and tires (which I SWEAR were right under my bunk) soon lulled me back to Z-town… at least until I started hearing a repeating stacatto BRR, BRR, BRR, BRR. Hmmm. We’re hitting the rumble strips on the side of the highway at a pretty good rate of speed. So either we’re in a construction zone with lane shifts, or the driver fell asleep and we’re gonna die momentarily in a fiery bus crash. Fortunately, it was the former, and after a quick check of time and place (about 7am between Elizabethtown and Bowling Green, Kentucky), I nodded off once again, thankful I did not die in a fiery bus crash, or have to get up yet to pee.
I woke up about 90 minutes later to the sounds of the bus stopping again, along with the repeated opening and closing of the door next to my bunk, which led to the rear lounge / sleeping area. We were at BNA (Nashville airport) dropping off Joe for a flight back home (Texas.) At this point, I was no longer tired, and thought I’d get up to see what was going on. And to get coffee. And pee. But not in that order.
After dropping off Joe, we continued southwest for about 20 until we reached the rendezvous point for everyone – the Cool Springs Wal-Mart parking lot. With the bus parked, everyone unloaded their luggage, guitars, etc. from the cargo bays under the bus. We loaded everything back into cars and went on our merry ways. It was a fun first leg of the trip, but I was noticeably drained because of the on and off sleep pattern of the night before. But at least I was able to look forward to a nice, long relaxing day…
of moving my son into his new place. <insert Napoleon Dynamite sound of despair here>
(Link to Part 4 below)