Jacksonville, Oregon

At this late stage of the game we have a winner for gym of the tour, maybe even the gym of the century. On the 4th floor of the Four Seasons Hotel in San Francisco is Sports Club LA, an entire floor devoted to fitness. The gym looks to be a city block long with 40 treadmills, free weights as far as the eye can see, one room devoted to nothing but stationery bikes, and every imaginable machine often in triplicate. Simply walking from one end to the other will burn some calories. After an hour and a half in there I hope I did just that, though probably cancelled everything out with the large coffee and egg salad sandwich that followed.

We flew north from S.F. over the majestic mountains of northern California, passing Mount Shasta, into Medford, Oregon in the southern part of the state. It was a very warm 101 degrees as we drove to Jacksonville, about 15 minutes from the airport. Jacksonville was an old gold mining town back in the 1800's and is beautiful with it's Victorian homes and old downtown. There are several wineries in this area as well. We arrived at the venue Britt Pavilion, a small outdoor theatre with a capacity of 2,200 and it resembled a YMCA summer camp I went to as a youngster. Similar to last nights show in Saratoga with the low stage and the first couple of rows almost on it with you. Great people and these small outdoor shows are very relaxed. Because of the size most of the lighting is left behind and a smaller sound system is used, far more intimate than the normal venues we play. A good show in spite of Glenn Worf having come down with a serious case of stomach cramps just before taking the stage.

On the fight back to San Francisco, Guy began experiencing stomach pains as well. I hope it's short lived and not something we can look forward to sweeping the band. We arrived back at our hotel just past midnight and all turned in for an early evening.

The countdown is on and we have only three shows left of this tour. It will be difficult to say goodbye, but we'll be glad to get home to our families.

So long,

Richard