Ok, so I've been at my Grandma's house in Ellicott City, MD, just outside of Baltimore, since Tuesday, and man has it been a trip!  I've been able to see my family for the first time in 3 years, except for my parents who came to my wedding in May, and have gotten some much needed sleep and relaxation before the grueling Identity Fest schedule kicks in on Tues the 23rd in Atlanta.  Feels like we are making progress after finally getting a hot meal, a good shower and being able to sit in the air conditioning and reread all my tour blogs so far, as well as go through all the pics and memories of the past 20 days.  Funny thing about being on the road is that you learn things very, very quickly, and so the days seem to peel away at an alarming rate, making the first part of this trip seem like some distant journey.  Something that has already hardened myself and Rachel to the ways of the road.  Just have to keep an open mind and realize that many people have made this journey before, and worse journeys at that, tied to the hulls of boats, or driving Ox drawn carts across uncharted territory to tame the west.   I have a nice European car with a/c that can make hundreds of miles a day.  We've seen and conquered our problems and are ready to move on.  This is not the Donner pass in the 1800's.  We eat almonds and fruit, not each others frozen remains.  
     Anyways, after hauling ass through Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and to the Eastern side of Maryland, we finally arrived on Tuesday to my Grandma's house--the house I started life in.  It was good to see Nan (what I call my granny), and as well, my Uncle Kurt, his wife Darla and my little cousins Amber, Jenna and Evan were all there to greet us as we pulled up.  Nothing like family to wash away the dirt of the road and add some comfort to the other side of a 3000 mile drive.  It was nice to finally get a hot shower and some dinner.  After hanging out for awhile and catching up, it was time for sleeeeeeep.
     Wed was crab cakes for dinner.  There's something truly impressive about a Maryland crab cake that can only be understood when eating.  You can't explain it to anyone without getting some sort of 'Oh, come on they are not THAT good', look from them.  Nor can you explain to the seafood places in San Diego that put veggies in their crab cakes--which btw are the size of a quarter, and not a full POUND of meat like the one's out here--that veggies in a crab cake is like spearing Jesus to Christians.   
     Thurs found Rachel, Gwen and I heading down to Virginia to see my folks, my brother and my sister and her husband--and of  course the addition to their family as my sister just gave birth to a beautiful baby girl named Taylor.  A bunch of us went down to the Lost Rhino Brewery that day to do some beer tasting.  Good beer.  My brother bought me a growler of Pilsner for an early birthday present.  After that we bbq'ed steaks and chicken.  Then it was off to the theatre my brother works at to see 'Cowboys and Aliens'.  Not a bad flick.  Spent the rest of the night drinking some of that fantastic beer and blowing shit up Call of Duty style.  Headed back up to Maryland in the morning.  Friday was spent chilling with family and getting ready for the Baltimore Comic Con which was set to start on Sat. I'm tired as hell right now.  Trying to pack on the sleep and enjoying the food for sure, before working my ass off at Identity Fest.  But I'm still tired, so I say farewell for now, and I'll update some more when I get a chance.....