toronto - ygg live

my first time to toronto was last april

while on tour with mates and

i have to admit it wasn't my most favorite place.

i have to think it was just the location

they played and where our bus

was parked because this time around

i was in love!

maybe it was the fact that we stayed at an amazing hotel,

le meridien king edward

or

that the theatre was right down town

and we got to experience the city.

or maybe being there

for 3 days

allowed a proper introduction

to all this city has to

offer.

whatever it was

i am now officially a huge fan of

toronto!

my circle obsession returned while

wandering the city.

i spotted them everywhere!

this was the view directly out the front doors of the hotel

this is the theatre we performed at. 2 days, 2 shows each day.

this is actually the only working

double decker theatre in the world.

quite a fascinating story, our theatre, the elgin was

refurbished in the 80's after having undergone

many transformations from its original days,

last of which was a brothel/burlesque club!

yikes!

the city decided to take it over at that point and restore it to

its original state when it was built in the 20's.

upon inspection before the restoration

process began

a second theatre, the winter garden,

was discovered housing the top 2 floors.

it had been boarded up sometime in the late 20's due

to the decline of vaudeville theatre and completely forgotten about.

they opened the doors for the first time in decades

to discover the theatre was untouched and in its original condition.

the greatest cost in restoring it to working order was

bread dough, the only thing

they found worked to take layers of dust and dirt off the walls

without removing any of the original paint.

we were able to take a quick tour and see for ourselves

this beautifully preserved piece of history!

the only one of its kind left today.

street lamps

the CN tower

sorry for the quality of this picture but the only

time we got close enough for a photo was at night and i wasn't prepared.

i have to include this though

as this is the tallest

tower in the world.

milwaukee - ygg live

milwaukee,

land of cheese and

breweries!

another little gem of a town full of

german influence, freezing

winds and industry.

i never realized how heavily the northwest is

infused with german character,

in both architecture and food.

beer, sausages, cheese.....

this cute restaurant was just down the street from

our hotel and i had to snap a photo.

for some reason it feels like something right

out of disneyland.

made a stop into above restaurant and discovered

giant furniture!

made me feel a little like

alice, in wonderland!

oh the cheese!

if you ever want to experience

a cheese lovers dream, visit the

wisconsin cheese mart

and

you will find just about every

variety imaginable!

the cheese mart also housed

a delectable cheese bar where we ordered

sample platters of

some local favorites. everything from

chocolate cheese to raspberry infused chedder.

isn't this display beautiful!

topped it all off with some locally brewed

cream soda, simply

blissful!

view of the area surrounding our hotel

the cast tried out a new profession for the day!

and check out muno's new ride!

zamboni driver

for the milwaukee admirals

hockey team.

brobee and lance

took a stroll along the river.

soooo glad we made dj lance a winter coat.

it was freezing!

and thanks for stopping by for more

of my random road tour adventures.

snapped a few shots on our way out of town.

the toll ways look so cute and vintage

chi town skyline!

minneapolis - ygg live

once the tour was over

i returned home from CT just in time for

my cousin, heathers wedding,

which was beautiful i must say.

i was in town for only 2 days then off again.

this time on a four week mid west tour with

yo gabba gabba live.

we hit up places like milwuakee, toronto,

cinncinati and fort wayne.

the starting place was minneapolis where we rehearsed

for a week before playing there then heading out on

the road.

i really liked minneapolis.

we stayed right downtown and got to make good use of

all the skyways since it was still late winter.

no snow fell while we were there, but lots of rain.

the bus

view out the front window from the lounge

kitchen area and view to the back

the bunk area

there were 4 sections 3 bunks high

sleeping 12 people total.

our tour consisted of 4 buses total.

cast, crew, management and band.

the back lounge

it was nice to have multiple places to hang out and watch

tv or movies or just chat with everyone

or just be able to climb into your own bunk and shut it

all out.

the city

skywalks

it rained most of the days we were in town

which brought these low clouds resting over the city.

it made for some pretty cool pictures!

our hotel was one of many in the downtown

district located above the nicolett mall.

about 3 square blocks of the street level buildings were the mall

stores and our hotels were the floors above.

it was great to have shopping right there at our fingertips.

the state capital

we rehearsed for a week at the state theater.

found this wall backstage covered with crew passes

from lots of other shows/bands that have

played there.

the actual ygg performances were not held here

but at the huge target center arena a block away.

imagine my surprise to discover that just a month after

us rehearsing here

the jets

would be coming to the state theater for

their big reunion show!

hard rock, MN

the characters catching some of the sights!

while there in MN, yo gabba joined forces with

a non-profit organization called ear candy that collects used

instruments, refurbishes them and donates

them to local public schools.

the fire department was also involved so they

came over for a photo op before our

shows there at the

target center.

these were some of the instruments that were donated!

i don't know about you but i would have loved

to learn the banjo when i

was in school!

pretty awesome, huh!

i should make a blog dedicated completely

to the amazing homemade

yo gabba apparel

that shows up in the audiences of our live shows!

this little gem was made of

all felt and hand sewn together.

i am so impressed by

the handy work of all our fans!

i'm definitely taking

inspiration from

them.

portland, maine

while nannying in CT

jason and kori decided to do a quick

week long tour up the east coast with the girls

and i in tow.

it was a treat to experience even more of the east coast dressed

in winter!

some of our stops included burlington VT, northampton MA and a

surprising little gem, portland ME.

most of the pictures below were taken in this quiet, artsy, hip

little town.

if you couldn't tell,

i loved this building.

i found myself photographing it from all angles and

at all different times of the day.

the geometry of it, the circles, the brick, the cutouts

of course i wasn't surprised to discover it

was the towns art museum!

this pole lived right outside the art museum and

housed discarded badges

as evidence of former patrons.

mags appreciated all the bright colors and

soon after placed her own patrons mark right up

there with the rest.

this is a view of the port of portland, so beautiful.

i never really knew much about maine

but admit i've always been intrigued by its far north eastern location.

for the first time in my live

i looked at a map of the coastline of maine

after being told by a local that it would take just as long to

drive across the united states as it would to drive

the entire coast of maine.

check it out for yourself and see why.

and if you ever have the opportunity check out this amazing little

town. you will be delighted by its local people, buildings,

surprising art scene, beautiful surrounds and all the

other great things it has to offer.

junie, my little breakfast buddy.