Today is just a travel day from Tennessee to Missouri. 

I'm just enjoying time to reflect on how amazing our team is. 

Myra is constantly making sure the cars are taken care of, gas is in them, we are fed and to where we need to be, setting up the lobby and merch, checking in with the reenactors and the Quilts of Valor contacts and just loving on the veterans. 

Jack is always around, even when you don't expect him to be- conducting interviews, making reels, recording shows and being awesome. We love having him on the team! 

Grace is constantly talking to venues, making sure we have everything we need for tech, running load in and load out, setting up our props, giving us calls, and troubleshooting sound.

And Tyler is doing an amazing job assisting Grace in whatever she needs always, and adapting to new lighting boards and situations at each and every venue to make the show look great with the lights. 

We are SO lucky to have SUCH a great squad. Only 31 more shows to go!  

Our hosts for our official Tennessee stop of our tour was the Old Glory Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. For more than 120 years, the DAR has been dedicated to preserving American History and securing the future through better education for children. They are an incredible group of ladies! 

The crowd for the show was so much fun, and included our good friend Joseph Land from Camp Liberty, our good friends Linda & Tom who we met during the 75th Anniversary of D-Day in Normandy, France, a man who looked remarkably like Santa Claus, and a very sweet 102-Year Old WWII Veteran! 

After the show, Jack, Myra, Dan and Erinn took our last bit of energy to drive to Nashville and see the lights of Broadway at night. We didn't stay long, but took in the atmosphere of the live music EVERYWHERE.

​Tennessee will always have a special place in our hearts. 

Today we left John and Claudette's home and traveled to the beautiful Diamond Caverns in Park City, Kentucky! In 1859, a slave of landowner Jessie Coats discovered a pit in the floor of the valley near the road to Mammoth Cave, and the cave was given its name when the first visitor thought the calcite formations looked like diamonds!

The cave is mostly limestone, and there are some awesome creatures in there too! Camel Crickets AND Southern Cavefish- unpigmented fish who have no eyes that are only found in two areas of the world, Kentucky and in the Ozark Mountains! 

After we left the caves, we drove to Tennessee, where we checked in to two beautiful and cozy homes that the DAR was putting us up in for the event tomorrow in Franklin. 

We are grateful for everything along the road. Thanks for joining us. 

Known for the Kentucky Derby, world famous bourbon trails, Louisville sluggers, bluegrass music and KFC... we found nothing but smiles, hugs and friendliness in Kentucky! We had the privilege of staying with our good friends John and Claudette who we know rom our time at American Queen Voyages. They were the most incredible hosts and we enjoyed a beautiful sunset over their backyard of the Ohio River. 

The show at the Kentucky Center for Performing Arts was wonderful! The facility was beautiful and there were many amazing veterans in the audience. We also had the privilege of seeing our friends Mary and Mike (who brought us delicious Kentucky bourbon  candy), and we also saw Jeff and Michele from the American Duchess, and our good friend Aramie who used to live in Winston-Salem!  John and Claudette also got to see the show which meant so much to all of us. Also a new friend, Colette, taught Erinn the phrase"Merabile Dictu" which is a Roman phrase used to describe a wonderful event.  

The quilt of Valor when to an amazing Vietnam Veteran, Mike who also works with the Woody Williams Foundation! There were several reenactors at the show as well, and we were so impressed with the amazing staff at the Kentucky Center! 

That night after the show, we had pizza at John and Claudette's and played Codenames with the team. Stop #19 on our tour was tops! 

Hello, Indianapolis! 

We drove to Indiana today, where we stayed with our good friend Jeff! Jeff was our cruise director when we worked on American Queen Voyages, and is the owner of Old World Gondoliers, the premiere Gondola company in the Indiana Canal! If you're ever in Indianapolis during the season, you should definitely check them out, as they are a GREAT affordable way to spend the day in Indiana! Check out their website HERE.

The show was at the Irving Theatre, a historic theatre that was built in 1913, and had a very USO-Style vibe! We had a full house of incredible veterans, friends, and even got to meet Quilt of Valor Volunteer Services Director, Doug Chapman! We loved working at the Irving, and would return again! 

After the show, Jeff took us to see the Indianapolis Canal where Dan photographed the moon over the city (be sure and check out his photo on DAN BECKMANN PHOTOGRAPHY'S FACEBOOK PAGE! After we enjoyed the view, we topped off the evening with an incredible Thai dinner at Thaitanium. 

The day started out live on WTOL in Toledo! We had a great time on the Good Morning show talking about the show with their incredible staff. 

After the show, we met our new friends, Al and Melissa who took us to the world famous Tony Packo's Restaurant!  The restaurant has been around since 1932, and you may have heard about it on the TV show M*A*S*H, as Klinger talked about Packo's in 6 different episodes, and the actor Jamie Farr and was from Toledo! 

We stayed at an incredible Air B&B with the team- a poker table, pool table, game room, projection screen, pinball machines and game room! Here we are reenacting one of the paintings on the wall.  

Our official Ohio show was the Maumee Indoor Theatre, and was a ton of fun! The crowd was very enthusiastic, and filled with lots of veterans of all generations, friends/passengers from the American Duchess, and reenactors- including our youngest reenactor of the tour to date who was 7 years old! 

We presented our friends Al and Melissa with our Ohio coin, and enjoyed another very special quilt presentation from the Quilts of Valor to Susan Theisen, an amazing veteran! 

Also, if you scream "O-H" in Ohio, someone is bound to scream back "I-O"! 

​The things you learn on tour. 

Today was a long travel day, but it included a very special stop!

On the way to our show in Ohio, we stopped in to see a friend of Myra Miller's: M/Sgt "Al" Klugiewicz, who is 106 years old! Al landed at Omaha Beach on D-Day plus 17. On July 4, his division engaged in its very first battle in the village of Sainteny after relieving the 101st Airborne Division near Carentan. That day, the 83rd lost 1500 men in combat. Al KLugiewicz participated in all subsequent battles through Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace and Central Europe.

Thanks to the Quilts of Valor, we had the opportunity to award Al a very special quilt to wrap him in love from a grateful nation.