Lancaster, PA

So yesterday we played our second of four Pennsylvania shows. Pennsylvania--I never want to hear you say AP doesn't love you. Clearly, we do.

Lancaster is a cute little down--"very Pennsylvania" as one of my friends who has family in the area described it. It's also home to the Auntie Anne's (those mall pretzels) corporate headquarters, in case anyone ever needs to know for useless trivia night. Since it was Saturday, everyone got around a little slower since non-tour work stuff wasn't as pressing. Erica, Lycia and I had a nice brunch at a place with the best name ever--Rachel's Cafe And Creperie. I contemplated stealing one of the water glasses, as they said "Rachel's" on the side, but then we discovered our waiter was also a bouncer at the Chameleon Club, so I decided that wouldn't be the best idea... (Side note: AP in no way endorses petty theft.)

The show itself was another great one--the venue sold out, which was rad. It is a really cool space and it doesn't have a huge capacity, so the venue seems pretty intimate. Sonny didn't play, which was a bummer, but him and his gang are back on the tour today, so that will be great. The highlight of the night musically (at least for me and Erica) was watching ATL Zack play with the Matches. He donned a red shirt, vest and hat, so he fit right in. He looked really excited to be onstage, and he totally killed it on bass. Though everyone missed Justin, it turned out well, so we should commend Zack for playing two sets last night.

The rest of the night was fairly low key, as there isn't a ton to do in ol' Lancaster, from what we could tell (but not in a bad way--just in a small town way). Also, us and the Matches split a day room, so everyone was pretty much just intent on getting in their shower, since we'd all gone at least two shows without one.

This morning we rolled into Norfolk, Virginia, which, from what I've seen, is really pretty. (It doesn't hurt that we're across the street from a huge mall, either.) The weather is chillier than I was hoping, but I found out we're spending our off day tomorrow within beach range, so that could potentially make up for the weather today. I also hear it's snowing today in Cleveland (UGH!) so I guess I can't complain too much...

Weather aside, the NorVa is an amazing venue. It has by far the nicest green room I've ever seen--we're talking catering, leather furniture, a pool table, Ping-Pong, foose ball, a hot tub and even a sauna (not to mention four showers!). Not that I'm expecting to use any of the fun stuff, as we're kept pretty busy before, during and after the show, but it's cool to know it's there.

Anyway, it's time for me to finish setting up and get ready for our street-teamers. If you're coming out to any of the shows in the next week, make sure you stop by and introduce yourself. I'll even give you a free poster! ;)