It was going to be a longer drive today to reach Napa and my last Craigy show of his tour. I didn't want it to be the last one. This west coast trip was beyond anything I could have dreamed so far. There were some great reasons to stay in Napa though. I would be seeing my brother for the first time in a long time, meeting my sister-in-law for the first time, and meeting fellow skelly Melody, who, in the way we #RSA do, had become a good friend even before we met.
I was on the road by 10 AM, figuring I could make it to the hotel in Napa early enough to have time to freshen up for the evening. We were all meeting at Pearl, a popular local restaurant within walking distance of the Uptown Theatre. The drive started by taking me back up through San Luis Obispo and past the Madonna Inn, my first visual comedy call back of the day.
It was a very pleasant drive through the hills. I started to see signs for San Francisco and Oakland, and sharpened up to make sure I didn't miss any turns as I headed for the bay bridge. I had no problem making it through the city, quickly making it to the other side, looking across the bay from an angle I had never seen before. There was the Golden Gate Bridge off in the distance! The bay views continued to be spectacular for a nice long stretch until I turned into the hills again.
When I arrived in Napa, I saw what my brother had told me was the newly renovated west end of town. I was staying within walking distance of all that at the River Terrace Inn. I couldn't resist turning on Third Street first to get a look at the Uptown Theatre.
http://twitpic.com/9ia5c5 Then it was on to the hotel.
The bellman greeted me and helped me with my bags. The lobby was warm and inviting, also very large and lodge-y looking, with an enormous bar on one side. Oh yeah, wine country! And my room, more like a studio apartment! This was to be home for the next three days. http://twitpic.com/9i9hm1 http://twitpic.com/9i9h2g
I called Jim and Christina (my brother and sister-in-law) and they planned to meet me at the hotel. After freshening up a bit and setting up the laptop, I was ready for the evening. I had Jim and Christina's tickets to the show. Melody was picking up our tickets at will call. We would meet Melody at Pearl and walk from there. It's a good thing we were organized, because I was very excited. I still had to double-check that the tickets were in the purse. Okay, breathe!
Jim and Christina arrived at the hotel and it was like we had just seen each other the day before. That's part of what I love about them; we can always pick up right where we left off. Still, it was so good to finally be here and with them. I was already thinking about moving back to the west coast, and here was a very good reason to do it.
We got in my rental car and headed to the center of town. There was some rain in the area that night, so a long walk might be a little damp in our nice clothes. We found the restaurant, where we saw a few people standing around outside. I was looking for Melody, but I had never seen her face before! I just said out loud "I'm looking for Melody" and turned to see her standing there. Why she insists on hiding her face from the Tweety I don't know, but I respect her privacy. That said, she is a very lovely lady.
We were seated at the restaurant and everybody got to know each other. Jim and Christina have had experience running a pre-school and Melody teaches young children, so there was an instant connection. We enjoyed a delicious dinner and chatted away about everything, of course a lot about Craig. Then we took a short walk to the theater. It started raining, so we hurried up to get inside.
The Uptown Theatre is a wonderful art deco renovation. I found this online when I was buying tickets.
http://www.uptowntheatrenapa.com/history/ http://www.uptowntheatrenapa.com/uptown-photos/ What a great place to see a show, and a lovely place to perform! We found our seats and made ourselves comfortable. Melody and I were sitting second row center. She informed me that she might faint, being this close. Feeling like a seasoned veteran of this kind of closeness (yeah right!) I reassured her that it would be okay, she could survive it. http://twitpic.com/9hvxlw
Then there was Craig's pre-show music again. The Uptown was punk rockin' and we were ready for the evening to start! A gentleman came out and made some stage announcements, notably a list of many of the upcoming events. Wow! This young theater is the place to be for entertainment. Then Ted was announced and did another great set, this time mixing it up a bit with some new additions. Craig announced himself and walked onstage, beginning his show with comments about the amount of drinking going on here in wine country. "This is not a comedy show, it's an intervention!" The audience adored him and of course the night was over too soon. Thrilled with the company I had for the show that night, it was a little bit easier to leave, knowing it was my last stop on the tour. Now my attention was turned to family and friends for awhile. I had northern California to explore too! Sunday it would be time to return to LA, with a very special play and a Late Late show taping still in the future. http://twitpic.com/9hvrzt
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