Saturday, August 29, 2009

FTE On Tour_ARIZONA & The Grand Canyon 8/19

Arizona & The Grand Canyon


Lunette's rear left tire has a slow leak in it. Thank gooodness for FREE AIR at truck stops.
After checking the oil & filling the tires, we press on westward to Arizona. A lot can be said about the majestic splendor of the Grand Canyon. But I won't. I'll let the pictures do the talking.







We woke up at our campsite in the Grand canyon to some unexpected guests: a heard of Elk. Whoa. Huge, beautiful animals that make tiny noises like air escaping from a balloon. We took pics, smiled, packed up and headed out to fill Lunette's gas tank.


















Diesel gas turns out to be more expensive than expected so we put in just enough to get us to our next destination: Los Angeles.

Lunette the bus starts acting strange, bucking wildly upon acceleration. We pull over at a truck stop and a friendly couple (Danny and Mama Sue) take a peek under the hood. Turns out we bought BAD DIESEL GAS!


After filling the tank with Good diesel, Danny & Sue invite us to pick vegetables from Sue's organic garden; a small oasis of love, color & flavor in the middle of the desert. We picked amazing veggies (and cantalope OFF THE VINE!) while singing our signature tune 'The Magic song". Mama Sue thanked us repeatedly, teary eyed and happy.






And with a full tank of GOOD gas (!), a bushel full of organic fruits & vegetables and Mama Sue's blessing, we head for the City of Angles.

Friday, August 28, 2009

FTE On Tour_ROSWELL, NM 8/18

The ROSWELL Experience



Flying saucers. Little green men. Yeah. Those are the images one conjures up when the word ROSWELL is mentioned. Maybe its because of a news article telling of the crash landing of a UFO in this tiny town of New Mexico, or the (kinda) popular TV series that lasted only one season. Either way, Roswell seems to be synonymous with extraterrestrial sightings & culture. So much so that the town boasts a UFO museum, "alien" -themed gift shops and a McDonald's shaped like a alien spacescaft.



















The fairies were excited about this adventure. They wondered what new, strange & exciting experiences lie ahead for them. A viewing of an alien space craft? An interview with someone that has made first contact? Maybe E.T. could show them how to call home without using a sim card.




As Lunette made her way down the center of town, a hush fell over the fairies as they saw no one. The streets of the town were as barren as the desert that surrounded it. Where was everyone? The fairies had hope that answers were coming soon.

Lunette parks in front of a gift store called "Gifts From the Angels". (Seemed like a perfect place to stop.) The fairies de-boarded Lunette and went inside.

Inside the store were racks of "alien"-themed items along with gifts pertaining to magic and natural healing. Along the wall behind the counter were ceramic figurines of Fairies. The travel-weary sojourners smiled and engaged the propriertor who stood, smiling at them.

His name was SCOTT. He was a middle-aged man with long hair, dressed in black. His smile was as welcoming as the store's air conditioning.

After digesting a barrage of questions, Scott magnanimously revealed the very answers the fairies were seeking:

1) The streets were empty because of the 100+ degree weather.
2) Area 51 was NOT in Roswell.
3) There is evidence of extraterrestrial life.
5) The Government is probably covering it up.
4) The UFO museum is mostly a research library.
5) Traveling across the country in a "hippie bus" is not crazy.
6) It's important to stay hydrated in this section of the country.
7) Stay alert when camping in Roswell.
8) There were possible places to perform fairy tales in Roswell.
9) If you decide to alter your states in Roswell, strange things will happen.
10) You will receive protection from Angels if you thank them.

After hearing about the "performance painting" part of the fairytale experiment's show, Scott invited the fairies into the rear section of the store. Back there, he dug into a pile of storage and revealed a huge, fuschia-colored cloth.

"I don't know why I kept this", he said with a wrinkled brow.
"I guess it was waiting for YOU".

Indeed it was.

After an incredible night in the desert under a spectacular star scape (more on this later-mature audiences only), The Fairytale Experiment performs in the parking lot of a gas station on main street, in front of a new performance painting by Rose Robin, using the "Magic" fuschia-colored fabric as an enchanted canvas.






































After the show, Charlotte plots our course to the next location: The Grand Canyon.

















Arizona...here we come!


















Oh, and FREE AIR is a good thing.

Monday, August 24, 2009

FTE On Tour_TEXAS: (Part 3;Final) 8/16-"Love In Iraan"

OUT OF GAS.

Smack dab in the middle of Texas. Hmm.

The Fairies realised that they must've miscalculated thier diesel gas reserve. Lunette is is fiesty, hard-workin' '93 ford with a lot of get-up-n' go and good brakes. She purrs like a kitten and runs like a stallion. But her gas gauge is...a bit off. Could be a half-tank, could be a quarter, could be running on frickin' fumes.

Our assesment of (actually) how much gas we have needed to be adjusted. Since she gets ____ miles to the gallon and the tanks holds ____ gallons, we would have to get a refill every _______miles. OOOOOK. Now we know. now all we have to do is get some help.

Huge trucks whizz by, stirring up a swirl of Texas dust with Texas heat. The fairies whips into action, quickly creating a huge sign that says, "OUT OF DEISEL. NEED HELP". (Fairies need spellcheck too.)

The sign stops a guy in a truck who responds with "What do 'ya want me ta do about it?". Hmm. Not the help we were looking for.

Another truck stops. A friendly gentleman (Terrance) from Florida steps out and asks what he can do. C•SPOT & ROSE spring into action and hop into the back of his truck as ERIN and myself wait in Lunette.

30 minutes pass. No fairies. The sun beats down on ERIN & I as we pace & hydrate.

Just then, we are joined by a Texas State Trooper. He was shockingly cool for a cop. He hung out with us and told us stories about the area. Apparently, we were at a prime spot for illegals traveling from Mexico.

He also offered us to sit in his car (for the air conditioning) and played his iPod through the car's sound system. He rocked Dave Chapelle's "P*ss On You" and a selection of songs by 50 Cent. Hmm. Not MY idea of a Texas state trooper. I stand corrected. One size does NOT fit all.

After about an hour and a half (And a visit from another trooper who traded stories about Speeders) ROSE & C•Spot returns with plastic containers filled with deisel...I mean, diesel gas.
We put in the gas, spilling it all over ourselves, hop on the bus, stick the key in the ignition and...

Lunette refuses to start. Too much air in the gas line. The trooper calls his mechanic friend who comes and helps us out. He sprays ether (an explosive aerosal) into the motor with a lit cigarette dangling from his lip. I suppose you call this "Texas Style".

We finally get on our way as the sky darkens into another pitch black starscape. Tired and hungry, we pull into a Kwicky mart/ Godfather's Pizza for rest stop. Parked in the front lot was a pickup truck with the Haliburton logo on the side. I was suddenly overcome with an urge to sing OBAMASONG.

The Faries keep spirits up by dancing to a car alarm. Two men notice this and strike up a conversation. They are very cool oil welders who invite us to camp at thier trailer park. After getting a mess of BBQ wings from the pizza shop, we headed over to set up our next fairy camp-with a bunch o' good ol' boys and a couple 'o cases o' Bud.

For the rest of the night, we laughed and sang and had a great time with these guys. They were perfect gentlemen with great stories a Hi-Tech RV that they gave us unlimited access to.

We must have made a good impression (I don't think they've ever seen faries before) because they told us that they would PAY for us to stay and do a show for their small Texan trailer park community.

Rose cooks up a mulligan stew, we trade jokes, drink too much beer and sleep.

After sleeping in (Whew! we needed that!), we wrote a new (adult) fairytale about a Dragon/Fairy relationship and performed it for the guys.


They were delighted and favored the love scene. It was one of our best shows, yet.










Our Host Was BRIAN (Angel of Texas#2) and CUP (sorry, didn't get the last names) who were quite forthcoming with unconditional love and support for our mission. BRIAN let us ride his motorbike and CUP shared with us his stories of being in the Rodeo (and in the Navy S.E.A.L.s).

The Constable of IRAAN, TEXAS stopped by to chat, quite entertained by the fairies. He assured us that we were breaking no laws by drinking 40 beers.

Exhaling a sigh of relief, we continued to chill with him.

After he left, 3 unmarked cop cars pull up and 3 Sheriff's deputies get out.

"The constable called you. Right? Told you there were some faries here, right?", I asked them, directly.

"Yup.", They replied. "You guys are fine. We're just gonna hang."

Exhaling another sigh of relief,

we continued to chill, getting our "Texas Style" buzz on.

(ROSE'S hysterical Youtube VIDEO)

We awaken to the blazing hot Texas sun, hopefully for the last time. After a quick fairy meeting we decide to leave the SEXTOPUS sculpture on Brian's RV as an installation.

And in a blast of Texas dust & heat, Lunette scurries away, westward & beyond.


NEXT: THE ROSWELL EXPERIENCE