APPLETON, WISCONSIN - FOX CITIES PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE 16 FEB 10
Yesterday was an extremely tiring day in which over 600 miles were covered.  We boarded the bus once more in Springfield, Illinois for another long journey to Appleton, Wisconsin.  A couple of hours in, a lunch stop at a shopping mall proved irresistible for many of the band.  Judging by what was purchase, there may be some interesting excess baggage charges upon our departure from the US.  The bookshop at the mall provided the band with their collectors' books for Statehood Quarters and the cries of 'I'll swap you Colorado for Nebraska', etc., have been heard ever since.  
It was only a short walk from the Paper Valley Hotel to the Fox Cities Performing Arts Centre but it was noticeably colder, with much more snow on the ground.
The performance was sponsored by Boldt Arts Alive which has received generous funding from the Wisconsin Arts Board.  It was a resonant theatre compared to some of our other venues and a fine performance from the band made for an enthusiastic and appreciative audience. 

WAUSAU, WISCONSIN - GRAND THEATRE 17 FEB 10
Today officially marks the halfway point in the tour.  A slightly later departure time today allowed us to explore the town of Appleton.  Located on the Fox River, 100 miles north of Milwaukee, it features such tourist attractions as Hearthstone House.  Built in 1881, this four-story mansion was the first house in the world to be powered by hydroelectricity.  Other attractions included a Harry Houdini exhibit and The Paper Discovery Centre.  However, as music is indeed the 'food of love', some of the band managed to pick up some good accessories and sheet music from a local music shop.
A short journey to the venue enabled us to stop at Prime Outlets, an enormous retail outlet centre in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.  For the Director of Music, who has become increasingly averse to retail therapy, he chose visit the Extreme Air Exploration Museum across the road from the mall.
Instead of food being provided at the venue, we were treated to a Chinese buffet enroute.  LSgt Clarke provided the after dinner entertainment, presenting the Maj Shannon with a fake bill of $3,790 for all of our meals.
The show, sponsored by the Wausau Daily Herald, was very well received by the audience.  Judging by comments, questions and generous donations to the Afghanistan Appeal, we had certainly made a lasting impression. 
A further three-hour journey from the venue to our hotel in Minneapolis marked the beginning of our day off.

OVERLAND PARK, KANSAS - JOHNSON COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE 19 FEB 10
Yesterday had been a well-deserved day off, in which some of the band visited the Mall of America.  Boasting over 520 stores, it also houses an amusement park and aquarium in the centre.  Other members of the band took the opportunity to relax, contact home and even watch a local concert by The Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra.
The journey to Overland Park took us through some poor weather conditions and we witnessed several accidents on the way due to the snow.  Thanks to our excellent driver, Bob Wiescholek, we made it there safely.
The performance, at the Johnson County Community College was part of their Performing Arts Series.  Prior to the show a VIP reception led by the Director of Music, was attended by an array of prestigious members of the US Armed Forces.  This included their award winning Non-Commissioned Officer of the Year.
Unfortunately we found out today that due to incoming snow storms, our flight to Texas on Sunday was likely to be cancelled, so the decision was made to travel by coach through Saturday night instead.

 

OVERLAND PARK, KANSAS - JOHNSON COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE 20 FEB 10
Today, as there was no change of venue, we had the majority of the day to explore Kansas City and rest before our long coach journey to Texas.  LSgts McKay Doidge visited the American Jazz Museum, located on 18th and Vine Street, the jazz district of the city.  Others chose to go shooting at a local gun range, or went for a meal at the Cheesecake Factory, an extremely popular restaurant. 
Our second performance at the Johnson County Community College went just as well as the first and was equally well received.  At the VIP reception, Major Shannon was very surprised to meet a certain Major Michael Shannon from the US Army.  This provided an ideal photo opportunity.  After the performance, we boarded the bus for our 561 mile trip to Tyler, Texas and tried to make ourselves as comfortable as possible for the long night ahead.

LONGVIEW, TEXAS - BELCHER PERFORMANCE CENTRE 21 FEB 10
The journey to our hotel in Tyler proved arduous for everyone.  Our driver, Bob had to contend with not only driving through the night, but also a snowstorm along the way.  A rest stop at 3.30am, gave the band a chance to stretch their legs and an impromptu game of rugby took place on the service station car park.
We arrived slightly worse for wear at 11am, having been on the bus since midnight the night before.  Texas looks completely different from anywhere we've been so far and is certainly a lot warmer.  Standing outside the theatre without coats on or being cold, was quite a novelty. 
The venue today was the S.E. Belcher Jr. Chapel and Performance Centre at Le Tourneau University in Longview.  An extremely large theatre the centre is capable of seating 1,900 people. It had a warm acoustic and we were very impressed when the audience gave us a standing ovation at the end of the first half.  To quote Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known by his pen name Mark Twain, 'People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel'.