Larry, He's the Man!

Our Wonderful Driver, Larry!!



Larry, He's the Man!! ... That's what she says!

This entry is all about our wonderful driver, Larry. I have met Larry many times over the course of the last three years, but never had the pleasure of going on a road trip. Now, after being in the bus with Larry since the 1st of Oct., I have to say he is such a wonderful man and I feel so blessed and privileged that my family has him!

First of all you may not even think driving a bus is such a big deal, but it's an extremely hard job. The other thing is that you put yours and your family's lives in his hands, when he is at the wheel.
I can't imagine ever having a job like this and driving so far each night and maneuvering through so many tight spots. Many nights when I couldn't sleep I would go up into the front area and sit and talk to Larry as he flew down the long endless highways. The passenger seat was so comfortable and I really could have slept there all night. The chair is actually a huge recliner and you are suspended so high, that you are on the same level or higher that most of the semi trucks. You are also totally surrounded by glass, so the view is amazing.

The way it works is that we get to town in the middle of the night and pull into a hotel parking lot. Larry goes into the hotel and checks in for everyone. He then comes back to the bus and puts each of our individual keys on the table, ready when we get up. I was generally always awake and ready to run into the hotel as soon as the keys arrived. Larry would sleep a bit and then drive us to the venue and take a taxi back to the hotel, so he could sleep for the day. He would then take a taxi back to the venue around 10:30PM, to be there and ready when the show was over. After the show he would drive us all night long to the next city or state, and we would do this all over again.

Larry is a great driver!! I spent one evening just talking about his life on the tour bus and his story. He has a business partner and they own this bus and in the process of building another one. Buses are very expensive and cost more that many people's homes. The one that we have been using is valued at around $850,000.00. He is building a second one that is in the 1.5 million range. Ours has one tip-out in the living room and the new one has living room tip-outs, on both sides, and one in the back bedroom.

The beautiful Gibson bus once belonged to Larry and Jonny toured on it a long time, before Larry sold it to Gibson. It's funny to me that the buses can be remolded just like a house.

Larry has been a driver for 27 years and has toured with people and groups like, Journey, Rolling Stones, U2, Ron Stewart and Elton John. There were many more, but I can't remember all of them right now. Larry had some great stories, but I don't feel it would be appropriate to share them here on the blog! LOL

Just a few facts about the bus:
It gets a whooping 5.5 miles per gallon and holds enough diesel for an 800 mile range.

Thanks Larry!!!