The Tale of Brightly Colored Dragons, Third Wives, and The Chocolatier...

January 26, 2011

Myself and Heather at Flame for dinner. (Springfield)

There is always so much to do when you are getting ready to leave town for a while. My flight wasn’t until the afternoon, yet I had to get myself out of bed by 8am. I ran circles around my house collecting items to pack, and also just trying to clean up a bit before I left. My cousin Heather and her boyfriend Deven were there and doing the same thing. (They were driving back home to Houston, Texas after staying with me a few days in Branson.) I seemed to get pretty much everything in order- at least the things at the top of my priority list. If you weren’t on the “need to do now” list, you were bumped to the “need to do while I’m traveling list.” A lot of things got bumped to the latter!

Myself and Heather saying goodbye at the
Springfield Airport.

But Heather, Deven and I managed to leave the house by about 10:50am. Just in time to stop by Walgreens and then start the drive back up North to Springfield, Missouri. We had just been in Springfield the night before to do a few things and get an amazing dinner at Flame. (I love that place!) But there we were on the drive up there again. We made really good time, got there by 12:05pm, which was even earlier than I had anticipated. Deven got my two gigantic bags out of the bed of the truck, and we all began our goodbyes. Always sad to say goodbye to your best friend, but we made lots of plans for the next trips/adventures! Hugs all around, then I grabbed ahold of all my luggage and rolled myself into the airport and up to the United desk.

I checked in for my flight and began to give the ticket agent my bags. My big suitcase was fifty four pounds. Which is now a $100 fine instead of the old $50 overage fee. So I opened up my bags and tried to put a few more items into the medium sized suitcase. After I just barely managed to get them both zipped again, I lugged the large black bag back onto the scale. Fifty pounds exactly. I was safe! At least I saved the $100. (And I must add that a $100 fee seems a bit ridiculous for a fifty four pound bag!)

I threw my backpack back on and swung my purse onto my shoulder as I headed to security. It seemed they were filming some sort of news broadcast at the security line. I’m not quite sure what the story was. I waited in the line, it was a bit longer than it usually is at that airport, but it went pretty quick. However, I was behind some slower ladies that didn’t really know what they were supposed to do, so that took an extra minute. I managed to get through pretty quickly; they did do that extra test on my bag though. I’m still not sure what that test is exactly... But I was done before I knew it.

I got to my gate and I had over an hour until my flight. I would have gotten some breakfast, but the one restaurant in that airport wasn’t appealing to me that morning. So I just sat at the gate and kept myself entertained- which was easy to do because I went on an electronic spree the two days before. I hadn’t gotten any new electronics in over two and a half years- and I am a bit of a tech junkie. So I was very, very overdue.

My cell phone was on the last leg of its life, if you could even say that... So I got a new HTC Evos, and I was still learning how to use it and all the different things you can do. My digital camera- which I’m sure you can tell is always by my side by the amount of pictures I always have, but it had been malfunctioning for a while now. It was still working, but I knew it was going to end up crashing soon, and I didn’t want that to be while I was on the road! So I got a new small Canon Power Shot. (Not as good of a zoom as I was hoping for, but I knew I could always change my mind and return it in the first couple weeks.) My big purchase was a new laptop. I had a MacBook Pro 15 inch that I had bought about two and a half years ago. It still worked great- except for the battery life. Off the charger, it only lasted about one hour; and with all the traveling I am doing, and all the hours I am spending in airports and on airplanes, that just was not exceptable! So I decided to get a new MacBook Pro 13 inch to travel with, and use the older laptop as a home computer. I know it sounds like I went crazy on the electronics... But trust me, I was in desperate need, and I should have bought them a long time ago. This week I just finally gave in and pulled the triggers, and I figured it would be easier to get them all at once!

Denver Airport

I messed around with my computer and cell phone for a while, then it was time to board. I got on the plane and we took off without any hassle. My flight took off right on time at 1:25pm, and I was on my way to Denver, Colorado. That plane ride was smooth, and only took about an hour and a half. I wrote the whole time and started catching up on some of the things I didn’t have time to do over the previous days. We were at our gate in Denver by 2pm, about a full half hour early. Always wonderful when that happens!

I got off the plane via some stairs, then made some twists and turns to get to the main terminal from the tarmac. They didn’t really have anyone there to tell us where to go, so we were all guessing as we found our way. My new gate happened to be right next door. But I had over an hour and a half, so I thought I might as well go for a walk and get some food. I found the Paradise Bakery and had a great half sandwich and salad. Perfect thing since I hadn’t eaten yet that day.

Once I finished up, I meandered a bit; but eventually found my way back to the gate. I sat down and waited. There was a Portland, Oregon flight at my gate and that plane was a little late. So at the last minute our gate was changed to a different one. (Luckily, it was only a couple away.) I got on the plane around 3:55pm, which was already ten minutes after we were supposed to take off; so we were running a bit late, but it could have been a lot worse! Once we left the gate, it wasn’t long before we were in the air and on our way to Seattle, Washington. As we were sitting there in our seats completely still- unable to use our approved electronics yet, the nice attractive man beside me just looked over and said, “Are we having fun yet?” I liked his style! Always good to have a sense of humor! Especially when traveling.

View from my window on the plane.

As we started our decent into Seattle, I looked out my window and it was gorgeous. There was a huge snow covered mountain just past the wing, and the sun was just setting. The sky was lit up with a million beautifully bright colors. Flying over Seattle was also cool. It looked like such an awesome city. I had actually never been to Seattle before, but I have been told my many people that I would love it and want to live there.

Before I knew it, we were at the gate, and I was on my way to finding the baggage claim. I found a tram and jumped on. Second stop was mine. As I went up the escalator from where the trams were, I saw a gentleman holding a sign that said “Medley”. I waved at him, and said “That’s me!” I was glad that was easy, sometimes it can be so difficult to find the people that are picking you up! He lead me over to my baggage carousel and we waited for my bags. Once they were in hand, we walked over to the parking garage to find his big black SUV waiting for us.

I climbed inside the back and got comfortable. The driver and I started discussing music- everything from Frank Sinatra, Three Dog Night, to Bessie Smith and Big Mama Thorton. He played me a great CD of a local Frank Sinatra impersonator that was really good, and he also played an amazing live Donny Hathaway disc. Both were exceptional and helped the drive go by quickly. It was only a 25 minute trip to the hotel though- pretty simple!

View from my window on the plane.

We arrived at the Hilton Garden Inn (Seattle/Issaquah) around 6:45pm and I got checked in and up to my room in no time. My dad, (not so patiently) waited for me to get there so we could go get some dinner downstairs. We met down in the lobby and walked into the hotel's restaurant. As soon as we entered, we saw some very familiar faces- Larry, Gabe, Bob, and Peggy (Bob’s wife). We said our hellos and then dad and I grabbed a table just as the band was leaving.

The meal was ok, nothing to write home about. But it was nice to be seated and eating some food, so I was happy. I got back up to my room by 8pm. I got straight to work. I had a long list of things to do, and was looking forward to getting as much of that done as possible! I managed to be pretty successful with that goal before I eventually started nodding off.

January 27, 2011

I had a rough nights sleep- didn’t get too much at all. I planned on waking up at 7am, but I ended up hitting the snooze button for about an hour. But I did get up by 8am and quickly threw on my sweats and headed down to the breakfast. I was going to see if I could just take a plate up to my room with me, but low and behold, Larry, Gabe and Bob had just gotten there; so I figured I might as well join them.

The breakfast was pretty good, and we were all apparently in a social mood because we stayed there talking for about two hours. Tim and one of our sound guys for this gig- Curtis, joined us at one point too. It was nice to relax and chat. However, I had hoped to go to Snoqualamie Falls that morning before sound check, but by the time I left breakfast it was too late for me to try to do that. I guess I missed my shot- I was really bummed about that. But someday I’ll make it back to Seattle and be able to check that out- and everything else I missed!

On the drive to the casino.

Back to my room by 10am and back to work. I got a few things done, then jumped into the shower and started getting ready. I felt like a bit of a slacker- I didn’t make it to the Falls, I didn’t go to the gym, I didn’t do anything outside my room. However, I got a lot done, and was very productive; so I guess that is an okay tradeoff!

Sound Check

I met my dad down in the lobby at 2:15pm and we got into the van that took us to the Casino- Snoqualamie Casino. It was about a fifteen minute drive, and there was some amazing scenery. Lots of big, beautiful, tall trees. I loved it. Very green and lush. We got to the casino and pulled in the back to where the ballroom was. The showroom was great. We said hello to Chad who was doing our front of house sound (he is our regular sound man in Branson), and then we headed to the stage.

Sound check was really quick that day. We just ran the things we needed to and then we were done. I love that! The last thing we did was run “Lovin’ Feeling”, and as dad and I were getting to the big ending chorus, all of a sudden I saw a colorful dragon in the back of the theater! I got dad’s attention and nodded in that direction, soon I got Gabe to look too. We all just lost it. It was just so crazy to see a brightly colored dragon in the show room all of a sudden. But by 3:30pm we were done and had a few hours to waste before the 7pm show. Dad was the only one who went back to the hotel; the rest of us decided to stay at the gig. Tim, Larry, Curtis, Gabe, Brian (Gabe’s brother) and I all went to the buffet. We passed some other restaurants on our walk through the casino that looked like they might be better, but we had free coupons for the buffet- so we stuck with that!

I found the dragon costume backstage... I couldn't resist trying it on while no one was looking!

The food was actually great. It was even Brazilian night, they came around table to table with different Brazilian grilled things to try. It was wonderful. Our waitress had a very strong personality and was a lot of fun too. But even taking our time there, we only wasted about an hour and a half. We all headed back to the dressing room area. I made a couple calls and then got out my new computer and was showing the boys. (We are all into computers and electronics!)

View from the casino. Gorgeous!

After a while, things started to get a bit more busy backstage. Dad came back around 6pm, and Tim and Bob also had some family in town, so we had some visitors backstage too. Dad had a meet and greet at 6:30pm, and then we were all just hanging out until show time. However, at about ten minutes until the show, two faces I know very well popped by backstage- Doug Heath and his wife Laurie. Doug is the guitar player for Paul Revere and the Raiders, and was also our guitar player for about four years up until 2010. He lives in Seattle, only about thirty minutes from where we were working; it was so great to see him and Laurie on their home turf.

Brian (Gabe's brother), Gabe and Curtis backstage.

The show started late, we had a ten minute hold. The audience was ready to rock though. Sold out crowd! (That show was actually sold out a month and a half in advance.) When my dad hit the stage, I could hear the audience erupt from the backstage area. I was excited to hear that kind of enthusiasm. After I got myself touched up, I headed toward the monitor board- walking through the dark tunnel area behind the stage to get to the other side, (and trying not to trip!).

I made it there safely and found Curtis waiting for me with my microphone in his hand. He showed me how to get out to the stage because there were curtains blocking it. I waited to hear my name, then I swung the curtain open. I found a way to cut through to the front of the stage- which you wouldn’t think would be difficult, but with our new stage set up, it makes it a little bit harder.

The Theater

Once I got out there, I realized my in ears were not working correctly, I couldn’t hear any sound out of them. Thankfully, I only wear one in ear, so I was still hearing some sound from the stage through my other ear. But I stayed calm (which luckily I always do in emergency situations), I reached back to my in ear pack- which was not located in the best place for me to access it because it was hooked on the back of my shirt which was in the center of my back; and I cranked up the volume. That didn’t seem to help much, only a little bit. About halfway through the first song I sang (which was “Time of My Life” with my dad), I had an idea. I reached back to my pack again and felt for the two up and down arrows. I hit one of them a few times and all of a sudden I started to hear my voice clearly. Those buttons can balance the volume so you only hear the sound in one ear, and it must have accidentally gotten changed after soundcheck, and it balanced all the sound to my left in ear, and I only wear my right one! But the problem was fixed. I was so excited! There were a lot of people in the audience that I knew, and I didn’t want to not be able to hear myself for the whole show.

After that, everything seemed to go pretty smoothly. We did our blues/R’n’B medley instead of the Rock and Roll medley because in the blues medley everyone takes a solo, and everyone in the band had friends and family there, so it seemed like more fun to let everyone show off a little. The audience loved the show! They were a great crowd! There were some people in the front row that were really enjoying the show... and their bottle of wine! They were getting up and dancing. They even got my dad to taste their wine. It was hilarious. My dad gave them a CD of his, and the woman responded, “What am I supposed to do with this?” My dad paused for a second to giggle, then he said, “That’s exactly what my third wife said...” It was a loose fun show- which are my favorite kinds!

Dad and I went out to sign after the show, and it was incredible. Very long line of some very sweet people. They were all just so happy that we were finally in Seattle to perform. I actually managed to break my CD sales record again! Not by much... But I did break my previous record that I had just broken two weeks ago- but at this gig I sold fifty five! It was a really fun night. I saw lots of people I knew and met lots of friends and family of the band.

We went backstage when we were done. There was a lot of Tim Lee’s family hanging around- including his mom and his sister who is an amazing Chocolatier! (She gave Tim a box of her chocolates and a bag of her coffee for everyone in the band! It is so good! I love her chocolate! It is called “Pirates Chocolate”.) I also talked to someone in his group that informed me that Tim is a “butt head” and encouraged me to call him that sometime. You have got to love family! I love being able to talk to the band’s family and hear all the annoying nicknames and such!

Pirates Chocolate. Made by Tim's sister!

While we were standing around, Matt and his girlfriend Cathy came walking through the door. I hadn’t seen him in over a year, I was so excited he made it to the show. (Matt was the drummer for Paul Revere and the Raiders when the Raiders were our band.) He also lives in Seattle like Doug, and he didn’t want to miss our show; he is so sweet. We all caught up with him for a bit, and then it was time to get back in the van and head to the hotel.

I was back in my room by 10:30pm. Not a bad night! I started getting some work done, but when my eyes were starting to see all blurry, I decided to give up and lay down. It had been a good day in Washington.

January 28, 2011

My alarm rang out to me at 8am. I got out of bed and started to get ready to leave. I still had to repack, which proved to be a scenario; I barley could get the bag closed. I was sitting on it- and jumping on it! And of course a phone call I had been waiting for came when I was wrestling with that issue. But I did get it closed. I walked downstairs at 9:15am and found all the guys waiting in the restaurant. Although, once I got there we all ventured out to the cars. I rode in a town car with my dad and the band led the way to the airport in a large black van.

We got there rather quickly, only took about twenty minutes. Checking in was a piece of cake, and security was painless as well. We all hopped on the tram to get to the N terminal. Once we arrived, we found the first place to eat, and took a seat there. It was called “Big Foot Food and Spirits”, and the food was okay, I just got a chili bowl so I could put something in my stomach. I was a bit drained that morning. But I was holding somewhat together.

Tim, Larry, Bob and Gabe were on a flight that left about a half hour before my dad and I’s flight. (The band was off to Texas to back the Texas Tenors for a one nighter.) We all said our goodbyes around 11:30am. Dad and I went over to our gate and waited to board. Of course I was in the last group allowed to board, so he waited with me. We made it on the flight though, and we were in the air on time at 12:30pm.

I spent most of the flight on my computer. It was a pretty smooth trip. It was a beautiful ride into Orange County. We flew over the ocean and then circled back in to the coast. Beautiful view, and so much fun to watch all the boats going by down below. We were on the ground by 3:10pm. Dad welcomed me when I got off the plane, then we headed to our bags. The bags took awhile- they always do in Orange County. Then as we walked out to the curb, the cop was just telling my mom to circle around again, so we had to wait.

At the Cannery in Newport Beach, Ca.

I was at my parents house in Newport Beach before 4pm. I have to say it was a very easy travel day. My parents and I even had time to go have an early dinner at a new favorite restaurant in Newport Beach called the Cannery. I had gone there years ago, but just went there again a couple of weeks ago and realized that I really love that place! It was a perfect end to a smooth travel day! Now we have the next week or two off. I know all the boys are looking forward to not having to work on Superbowl, and I am looking forward to just being able to relax for a bit and catch up with some friends.

The Tale of Crazy Southern Hats and The Road to Hiawassee...

January 20, 2011

The sunrise in Newport Beach, Ca.

My alarm started buzzing at me by 6am. My body did not want to hear that sound, it was just starting to recover from the last few days on the road. But alas, I had to get out of my bed and start getting ready. I was set to leave on time at 6:40am.  My mom drove my dad and I to Orange County Airport and we got there on time at 7am. We checked in right as Tim was getting his bags checked too. We went through security and decided to get some breakfast at the restaurant there. Soon Gabe met us in the café and our group was complete.

All signs showed that our flight was on time; which was extremely relieving! We soon arrived at our gate after a quick stop off at the shop for some water and magazines. The plane was a little late to start boarding, but eventually we were on the jet bridge and on our way. I had a nice comfortable window seat, and a personal TV on the seat in front of me. I was set! The flight even took off on time at 8:45am, which was an exciting bonus. I watched some “On Demand” TV and did some writing. I made a whole lot of notes and lists; I realized that I had a lot to get sorted out in the next week.

Soon we were on our decent, and so I lifted up the window covering; my window was directly in the middle of the wing of the plane. The view was so peaceful. The clouds were a perfect fluffy marshmallow layer below us, and the rest of the sky was crystal clear. I couldn’t help but let my mind wander… It seemed like it would be so easy to walk out on to the wing and just sit there. It looked so calm and magical outside my window. But then reality kicked back in and I realized my daydream was just that. A dream.

Once on the ground, we taxied to the gate. Hello crazy busy Atlanta airport! So many planes in and out. It took a while to get to the gate, but we did eventually get parked and we were allowed to exit. Dad, Tim, Gabe and I gathered together and then began finding our way to baggage claim. Finding baggage claim seemed to prove a bit more confusing than usual. It was a long walk, and it just didn’t seem like we could possibly be going the right way. But luckily we found it right before we hit the end of the line. Our bags were all waiting for us on our carousel.

A familiar face became visible through the crowds of people. Bob had found us; he had flown in from Las Vegas. We got some carts for all the bags, and then headed out to the curb to wait for our ride. We walked outside- where it was a bit brisk, but could have been a lot worse. We waited for our car service, but didn’t see anyone for a while. Tim called the driver and found out we were waiting in the wrong area. The part of the Atlanta Airport we were at had two different sides of the building we could exit out of, and we chose the wrong one… Figures! We walked around the building and began waiting again.

In the van leaving the airport.

A big white van set its sights for us. We loaded up all the luggage and gear, and then got comfortable inside. It was a big van, which was awesome because we had a 100-minute drive to our location. The driver was extremely sweet, and had the most wonderful southern accent. He informed us about the area and the different drives in front of us this weekend. (He was one of our drivers for the whole time we were there.) The drive went smoothly, but I think we were all starting to fade- and we were all rather hungry by this point!

I have to say it is a strange feeling to be a passenger in a car driving somewhere, and yet have no idea where you are going. No idea what city, or how much longer to get there. Nothing. It is a strange powerless feeling. You just have to get as comfortable as possible and enjoy the ride.

We passed over the Chattahoochee River that took us from Georgia into Alabama. Of course when I saw the sign for the river my first gut reaction was to start singing the Alan Jackson song! How can you resist that? But once we were in Alabama we weren’t more than fifteen minutes from our hotel, the Hampton Inn and Suites in Phenix City.  (We were working in Columbus, Georgia, but we were staying in Alabama- you have got to love stuff like that; than you can say you commuted a state over for work.) And we were definitely in “Piggly Wiggly” country… I saw 2 of those markets within 5 minutes of each other. I think they are the equivalent of a Starbucks for that area- they are everywhere!

Dad and his mini hot dog...

As we walked into the hotel lobby around 6pm, there was a group of people crowded around the buffet area. It was happy hour. Free drinks and snacks. The snacks were hilarious, the smallest hot dogs and hamburgers I have ever seen! Dad just liked holding the tiny hotdogs so he could feel like a giant. We were all entertained. After we got checked in and took our bags up to our rooms, we reunited back in the lobby to go get some food. Dad, Tim, Gabe and I ventured to Applebee’s- that was pretty much the only choice of food that wasn’t actual fast food. Bob decided to stay mellow at the hotel and munch down some more mini hotdogs and call it a night.

Applebee’s was packed! There was a wait for a table, but it only took about 20 minutes. (From the look of the people waiting, we thought it was going to take a lot longer than that!) Dad and Tim waited outside so they could enjoy the fresh air while Gabe and I waited inside and were people watching. I love listening to the thick southern accents, and how different they can be from person to person. That is always intriguing to me.

“Meadows” the host yelled out, “Meadows party of four.” We all looked at each other because we thought we were next. Eventually one of us spoke up and said, “Medley?” She looked back at her scratched up sheet of the groups waiting, and indeed she meant Medley. Good thing we spoke up or else we could still be waiting for a table!

We all scooted into our booth and looked over the menu. I’m not a huge Applebee’s fan, but I found a salad that was pretty yummy, and they had some tasty chili. But honestly I don’t know how good any of it was, because I was starving at that point. It was 8pm and I hadn’t eaten since I got a muffin at Orange County Airport at 7am that morning.  We had a girl training to be a waitress waiting on our table, so that kept things interesting. After she served us our dinner she came back up to our table and said, “Hey everybody, welcome to Applebee’s, can I get you any drinks or appetizers?” She was supposed to greet the table next to us, but apparently she just wanted to serve us again! But she did a good job.

All of us were exhausted by the time we were done with dinner. We rode back to the hotel and retired to our rooms. I stayed up for a while making some phone calls and trying to get my schedule worked out for the next few weeks. I had some flights to book, and some other arrangements to make. I also just wanted to sit and enjoy the peacefulness of my room for a while- watch a little TV, and just relax. The hotel was great. We were at the Hampton Inn and the rooms were wonderful- and the staff was very courteous. It was a very comfortable place to be.

Yes, there is a deer on my room plaque.

I let myself mellow out and began to get ready for bed. I was excited and exhausted thinking about the days ahead. Lots of work to be done, and my brain was a bit wired on the thought of it- a million ideas and work related tidbits running through my mind. My head had just been in one of those none stop thinking modes for a few days; I get that way when I know I have a bunch of things to get organized. But I did my best to quiet it and melt into the serene white bed that had been eagerly calling my name.

January 21, 2011

Sleeping didn’t go as smoothly as anticipated. By the time I laid down I was a bit more wired than I thought I would be; my mind had a million ideas flowing from it. Then once I did get to sleep I received a couple wrong number phone calls. So I let myself sleep later than I had planned, but was still up before 10am to be able to get in on the continental breakfast downstairs at the hotel. I threw on my sweats- with my eyes still half shut, and waited for the elevator. I wasn’t the only one who made it to breakfast just in time- I passed Tim, Larry and Bill with their plates full and heading back up to their rooms. It was quite yummy, and the perfect start to my morning.

I was moving a bit slow though. It definitely took some time for me to get up and going, but I got some work done on the computer and slowly started to gain some energy.  I knew the best option to pump myself up was to go down to the gym. I spent just under an hour there, and I hit it hard! It has been a long time since I have run like that. But it felt great!

Right before I was about to get in the shower, Gabe text me. He informed me that the theater was awesome and had a really cool vibe. That got me excited to get over there and get to work! I made good time getting ready, then waited for the 3pm pickup downstairs in the lobby.  

Me in the beautiful theater in Columbus.

Dad and I were the only ones in the big white van with the driver. We make it to River Center in Columbus, Georgia in just a few short minutes. We were on the same corner as the little downtown area. It was beautiful, lots of old red brick buildings. We walked in to start sound check, and Gabe was right, it was a beautiful theater- very cool style. It even had the small balconies on the sides, which I love! The sound check went rather smoothly, and only took about an hour and a half. We were done by around 4:30pm and ready to eat.

The food’s intoxicating aroma had been wafting into the theater for the last thirty minutes of sound check. I was starving, and that wonderful smell was making me even hungrier. We all attacked the food in the Green Room. It was amazing. Great salad, great veggies, and great chicken… It was all just great! I have to admit I wasn’t expecting too much since I noticed the name of the Green Room was “The Burger King Green Room”. That had me questioning what the quality of the food was going to be. But it was amazing!

After we all sat there chatting for a while, the promoter kept giving Gabe and I a hard time about why (since we are the two young people in the band) we aren’t “together”. Our response… We get along too well, why screw that up. I was feeling like some activity would be a good idea, and Bob agreed. So Bob and I went for a walk around the downtown area. Some great looking restaurants and some interesting shops- not the kind of shopping I am used to, but I am also a “When in Rome…” kind of shopper, I like it all! There were a few shops with a lot of hats. And I don’t mean baseball hats; I’m talking Kentucky Derby ladies hats. They were awesome!

Me in downtown Columbus.

Bob and I made our loop and then got back to the theater. I sat there for a few moments, and realized I was stupid to be sitting there; I should take advantage of the little town. So I got up and walked back to the town, which was a bit of a chilly walk by the way, it was rather cold outside and I only had a T-shirt material jacket thing on. But I knew I would survive. I had to go take a closer look at some of those hats. I tried on a few, one I absolutely loved. However, I knew that it was going to be hard to get home, and once I got it home, when would I ever wear it? But I adored it. It would have been great looking in my closet! I ended up buying some cute beanie like hats for $3; I couldn’t pass up a deal like that! Then I found a quaint little coffee place. (We were in the middle of a college town, and you can’t have a college town without the quaint coffee place that everyone hangs out at.) I got myself a warm drink and sat down and wrote for a while. It was a great setting. I loved it there.

The theater in Columbus.

Soon it was time for me to get back to the theater and start getting ready for the show. I sat in the corner of the Green Room and talked with the promoter while my dad was doing a meet and greet, then I followed my dad into his dressing room for our preshow chat. We don’t really talk about anything in particular, usually just ideas and whatever is going on. At just about 7:30pm, right on time, our video started. So I left to go back to my dressing room to get changed and fix myself up a bit.

The show went great! It was a wonderful crowd. They were really into the show. And I think there was about 1000 people. I know they were all having a great time, and so were we! After the show, dad and I went out to sign, and it was a cluster out there in the lobby! People everywhere! But we had really good sales; I actually got within four CDs of breaking my own personal record- that I had just smashed a week earlier. So it was great. People really appreciated the show, and everyone was so sweet. I love the southern charm around those parts!

We all gravitated to the Green Room again when we were done; there were some meats and cheeses waiting for us there to snack on. Truly a perfect after show snack. Then we got all packed up and headed to the van. Dad, Bob and I were on the first trip back to the hotel. We drove past all the incredible old southern houses. I love that architecture; it is stunning. We were back to the hotel by a little after 10pm.

It was still early in my mind since I was pretty much mentally on California time, so I stayed up for a while talking on the phone and getting some things done on the computer. But eventually I gave in and let my head hit that fluffy pillow.

January 22, 2011

After only 2 hours of good sleep, my alarm started buzzing at me. To say I was disappointed to be waking up would be an understatement. But it was 7am and time to rise and shine. The only thing that made getting up worthwhile was the majestic view of the sunrise outside my window. The whole sky was lit up pink and orange.

I pulled my bags together and headed downstairs to the lobby. I found everyone sitting there having breakfast. I grabbed a plate myself and joined them. We were set to leave by 8am. I drove with Larry and dad in Larry’s SUV. The rest of the boys were in the white van leading the way. Larry drove, dad sat shotgun, and I chilled out in the back. As we were driving through the parking lot to get out of the hotel, Larry mentioned that we shouldn’t mind his speedometer, we glanced over at it, and it said we were doing 80 miles per hour in the parking lot! Larry continued to say that we shouldn’t be alarmed if while we are on the freeway we look over and notice he is going 140 miles per hour. Sure enough as soon as we got on the freeway, we were rockin’ along at 140…

On our drive.

Without wasting too much time, I began to fade. I slept most of the first two and a half hours of the drive. I got up when we all decided to stop and use the bathrooms, get some snacks and gas, etc… From that point on I was awake the rest of the hour and a half drive. It was a beautiful area, and it seems we were in apple country. I saw a lot of orchards and signs for fresh apples. Plus a lot of BBQ joints. I particularly liked the one called “Bigun Barbeque” with a neon picture of a fat pig.

Bob, Gabe and Larry.

We arrived at our hotel in Hiawassee, Georgia in exactly four hours from the time we left. We were staying at the Ramada Inn on Lake Chatuge. It was charming and lodge like. My room even had a balcony that over looked the lake; it was quite beautiful. Moments after I got into my room, I heard a knock at the door. It was Gabe informing me that they were going to grab some food if I wanted to join. I agreed, because I didn’t know when my next chance to eat would be. Larry, Bob, Gabe and I walked down to the Chophouse restaurant that was only about a quarter mile away- and it was a beautiful view on the walk. The food was actually pretty good; we were all in desperate need of sustenance. Gabe and Bob were starting to act a bit kooky! Then we walked back up the hill to the hotel- going downhill was a lot easier.

Bob checking out the view.

I sat in my room for a bit while the boys went to go get set up for sound check. My call was 3pm, but Tim called to tell us they were running a bit behind, so probably best to make it 3:30pm. I went to the lobby to meet my dad and the driver right on time, and then we drove next door to the venue. The theater is on the fairgrounds. It is an older theater, it actually used to be an outdoor amphitheater, but they put a roof on it a few years back. (And good thing they did, because the weather is a bit chilly this time of year! After all, we are in the mountains.)

Sound check went good, pretty quick that day. Then the band and I waited for the food, (dad went back to the hotel, he doesn’t like to eat before a show). It was amazing! Good ole’ southern comfort food. The lady that made it was extremely sweet too. But I was stuffed after that! We all got a ride back to the hotel and we had about an hour to get changed and ready for the gig.

I went downstairs to find Bob, Bill and Gabe sitting there waiting. I joined them as we waiting for my dad and one of the local tech guys that was catching a ride to the theater with us. We didn’t have to linger there too long, soon we were all gathered and ready to squish into the van and head back to the theater. I sat down in my dad’s dressing room when I got there around 6:35pm.

A couple minutes later Gabe came in with a box someone had given him for my dad, he said the person had said something about Hatfield. So I opened up the box. There was a beautiful hand made pottery bowl in there and a note from the artist saying that he heard Linda Hatfield was a big pottery fan, and so he wanted us to give this bowl he made to Linda. I read that note and just sort of paused for a minute, I didn’t even know how to react at first. (For those of you who do not know, Linda Hatfield- Bobby Hatfield’s widow, passed away last May.) I decided to forward everything on to Tim and let him take care of it. Just reading that note was enough to throw me for a little bit of a loop right before the show.

It was an early show, 7pm, and we started on time. Once everyone was on, I finished fixing myself up, and stood by the side of the stage eagerly waiting. Everything went pretty smoothly once I was out there. The floor was a little slick for my shoes, but I just tried to be careful, and that seemed to pay off- I didn’t fall! Dad also decided to do the blues/R&B medley that we do sometimes, and it was so much fun! The audience loved it. It starts out with me singing, “I’m a Woman”, and all the women in the audience were shouting out and cheering me on, it was a lot of fun. So empowering!

The theater in Hiawassee.

Dad and I went out to sign after the show, and that took about fifty minutes. We sold some good merchandise, and met a lot of great Georgia mountain people. After that we hustled backstage and got to the van. Dad and I were dropped off back at the hotel to change, which proved to not be the easiest feat since a lot of people that saw the show were sitting in the lobby of our hotel. But eventually we made it to our rooms to get out of the stage clothes and back into something a bit more casual.

We met back downstairs just a few minutes later and the van picked us up to take us to the Chophouse. We all met down there. We had a group of thirteen people- all the band and Bob had some great friends who came into town for the show. We had a wonderful dinner. Really good food there. The bread and their garlic oil was amazing! When we walked back into the hotel, the group in the lobby had gotten even bigger. Dad was a hit with them, I tried to stay semi hidden in the corner. But then dad started trying on the people’s funny hats and such. Classic Bill Medley picture!

But after a few minutes of socializing, we made it to the stairs and went back up towards our rooms. Once I arrived at my room around 11:30pm, I just didn’t feel right. I needed to go to the gym and work off some of that food I had eaten. I walked back downstairs- after I got into my sweats, and of course that is when the people in the lobby noticed who I was and wanted to take pictures of me. I guess I can be thankful that it wasn’t after I had been in the gym and was all sweaty! But I did make it to the gym after a few photos and autographs… I did about fifty minutes there. The treadmill wasn’t working, so I had to substitute with twenty minutes on the elliptical, and then I really hit the weights- I knew my arms were going to be very sore in the morning!

By the time I was done, I was worn out. But I had a bunch of stuff to get done back in my room. So I stayed up writing and on the computer for a few hours. Yet again, I just couldn’t shut my head off! I think I was just in a manic mode, I wanted to get everything done that minute- I get like that a lot! Makes me productive, but also makes me miss a lot of sleep. However, I did let myself fall away into my dreams after a while.

January 23, 2011

Luckily, it was not an early morning! I got to sleep in until about 8:30am. Once I got up, I jumped into the shower and started getting ready to leave our hotel. I was excited that I could take my time getting ready. Our driver called me at 11:10am and said he was down in the lobby to pick us up for the 11:30am pickup. I said, “Okay, great, well we will be down there at 11:30am then.” In a rather gruff voice be barked back at me, “Well what time is it now?” I said I thought it was about ten minutes after eleven. He calmed down a little and said he’d be waiting.

I went down to the lobby to find dad and Gabe waiting. (Everyone else left for the airport a little earlier.) I mailed off some postcards, I love postcards; and then we got into the town car and started our drive. The driver was an interesting man. The drive to the airport was already going to be at least two hours, and this guy- on his own, decided to take the scenic route. We went on a road that had insane sharp turns through the mountains. I never get car sick, but I was really starting to feel it! I barely made it. He was also driving over the centerline, and would jerk the car over right before the oncoming cars were going to hit us. And he was sightseeing. Apparently he had never taken that route back to Atlanta either, so his eyes weren’t even looking at the road most of the time. It was not a peaceful drive! We did pass one really cool little town, Helen, Georgia. It looked awesome! But I’m not sure seeing that was worth the rest of the drive.

The tram in the Atlanta Airport.

We arrived at the Atlanta Airport at 2pm. So our drive took a total of two and a half hours. But we did make it there alive, so that is what is important I guess. We checked in and then went through security. We had about two hours before either of our flights left, so we went to an On the Boarder restaurant to pass some time. It was pretty good, and it wasted about an hour for us.

By that time, we figured we better find our gates. Dad and Gabe were in that concourse for their flight to Orange County, but my flight was in a different area. So I bid them adieu, and was off in search of the C concourse. I had to get on a tram and go a few stops, but I made it. Atlanta airport is a bit crowded- especially in the Delta terminal. My flight was listed as “on time”, and I only had about thirty minutes before boarding would start. I got comfortable for a minute, then right on time, I got on the plane back to Springfield, Missouri.

The flight proved to be pretty easy. We ended up leaving right on time at 4:15pm. No muss, no fuss! I just wrote the whole time, and the trip went by rather quick. Once I was safely on the ground, I sent a text out to my cousin Heather who was in town to visit along with her boyfriend Deven and they were picking me up at the Springfield airport. I was so excited to hear that they were already there. However, it took a while to get my bags because my flight got in about fifteen minutes early, and there seemed to be at least one or two other planes that landed at about the same time- and I don’t think Springfield’s ground crew was prepared for that amount of luggage in such a short period of time.

Heather and I in Branson.

But without too much delay, I was out to the curb giving my cousin a hug and jumping into their gigantic truck. We had lots to catch up on during the hour ride back to Branson. (None of which I can share with you… Girl talk!) But we were actually back to my house by about 6:15pm. Now that was an okay travel day. The drive in Georgia wasn’t ideal; in fact it pretty much sucked! But the airplane travel all went quite smooth. I was so excited to be back home and able to go out and have dinner and catch up with Heather and Deven. It was a perfect way to come home! 

The Tale of The Tiny Rental Car to Cow Creek and Lights Out On The Runway...

At The King Tut Exhibit

As a disclaimer, I must mention that this blog has so far really just proved that touring isn’t as glamorous as most people think. We aren’t out on the road living a party. We are traveling and working- with the occasional stop for a taste after a show or something. We make it fun and entertaining for ourselves, because if we didn’t we would go crazy! But most of the time we are on tour, our lives consist of getting on a plane, eating, sound check, eating, show, sleep, plane, repeat. So this blog really has the truth of the matter in it… But sometimes we will end up having a little fun out there on the road too, and I’ll be sure to fill you in on that as well!

The Brown Palace Lobby

My journey started out in Branson I guess. I began my trip towards California on January 9, 2011 when I ended up flying from Springfield, Missouri to Denver, Colorado. I stayed there for two nights, which was so much fun! I got to see the last night of the King Tut exhibit at the Art Museum the night I flew in (it was great), and then the next day I did some killer shopping and got to catch up with a very special friend of mine. I stayed at the Brown Palace which was incredible! Truly a magical place. I really fell in love with Denver and everything it had to offer. Then I continued on to Newport Beach, California on January 11, 2011- which did include being felt up by the burly lady at the Denver airport security check point. But I made it to California anyway!

11am shopping in Denver!

On my day off in California, I got to go up to Los Angeles with my dad and meet up with our friend Michael Grimm. He was at his producer’s house- Don Was. (A truly incredible producer!) They were going through songs, trying to pick what would be right for the new CD. It was great to be able to hang out and watch the process for a while. We all love Michael to death, and trust me- his new album is going to be amazing! I’m so glad I got the chance to catch up with him while I was there. However, dad and I knew we had a daunting travel day starting the next morning, so we tried to get home by a reasonable hour!

January 13, 2011

Starting out a four night, five day tour adventure, and so far luck was not on our side… The good news being that we didn’t have an early morning. I actually woke up at 8:30am before my alarm went off. So I lazily got showered and dressed. I finished packing up the last of my bag, and went downstairs (at my parents house in Newport Beach, California) to find my mom sitting there making dad’s coffee. No less than a minute after I sat down and said I was ready to go, the phone rang. It was Tim- an ominous sign indeed. Mom had answered the phone, and then yelled to Dad to pick it up; he had just walked back up the stairs. Mom joked that she hoped Tim wasn’t calling to say there was a problem with the flight. I kept my hopes up and said surely not. But I was surely wrong.

Gabe and I had a little morning chat on Facebook...

Dad yelled down minutes later saying we weren’t going to the airport. Apparently our first flight got delayed, and so we would not have been able to make our connection. Tim was already at the airport, and going through what our possible options were with the airlines. We were rebooked on a 2:45pm flight from Orange County to Portland, had a 4-hour layover there, then on to Medford. Getting into Medford at 9:50pm. (Plus, there was a 75-minute drive from Medford to Canyonville where we were to end up at the Seven Feathers Resort.) So I already knew it was going to be quite a day. I called Gabe to fill him in before he left for the airport, while Tim got the last of everything finalized with the airlines.

Sakae Sushi, Newport Pier

Having this new found few hours in Newport Beach, I decided to go get some food. I really wanted to get True Foods Kitchen- one of my very favorites! But I knew it was going to take a bit too long to get all the way there, eat, and then back to my parents house. So I chose another one of my favorite options- especially while in California, and I got some sushi. There is a small hidden sushi bar by Newport Pier, on 23^rd Street called Sakae- Dusty Hatfield (Bobby Hatfield’s son) took me there for the first time this past summer, and it is amazing! They are so incredibly nice too. I got two rolls, and they also gave me a sample of a “lion’s eye” which was awesome! There are a couple of sushi places I recommend in Orange County, and that is definitely one of them!

After I was stuffed on a Red Dragon roll, a Caterpillar roll, and some Lion’s Eyes, I went back to my parent’s house to wait. Soon it was 12:50pm, and it was finally time to leave for good ole’ John Wayne Airport. Mom dropped Dad and I off at Alaska Airlines and we went up to the counter to check in. As we were trying to check in Gabe arrived. Our fearless leader Timmy was already through security- and had been for a few hours, so we were on our own. Something that usually would not be an issue, but since we were transferred over to that airline from another one, it was a bit more confusing than usual! Or at least it was for the airline people. They also kept referring to Gabe as Gabrielle instead of Gabriel- that made the process a lot more entertaining! But we got everything settled reasonably quickly and headed on our way to security.

We located Tim rather soon after we got into the gate area. We had a good hour and a half before our flight. We chatted and bought some snacks- dad got his “Rock Reading” which basically consists of rag magazines. (Dad can’t fly without some “Rock Reading”.) Before we knew it, the flight started boarding.

I ended up in an aisle seat, not my preferred seat- I like windows better. But to my surprise, the middle seat in my row was empty! Such a wonderful gift! That so rarely happens anymore, but I was definitely thankful! We had a two hour and fifteen minute flight. It went by pretty quickly; I wrote most of the time, and that always makes time fly for me.

We landed at 5:05pm. I turned on my phone, only to find out that everyone had tried to get a hold of me while I was on that flight. That never happens. But I started returning messages as I waited to get off the plane, I was toward the back, so it took a minute. As I walked into the airport from the jet bridge, low and behold, I had my own welcoming committee. I was the last person in our group to get off the plane, so it was nice to have a little gang to welcome me to the Portland airport- however they need to work on their presentation and enthusiasm. (They must have left their “Welcome McKenna, We Love You!” signs at home…)

Gabe had been informed- by a Portland airport regular, that there was a good restaurant in the terminal we were going to. Laurelwood Brewery. We walked in that direction, finally locating the small brewery in the middle of the bustling commuter flight terminal. The food actually turned out to be rather tasty- I got a great spinach salad and a veggie wrap.  The highlight was probably our waiter though. In his mid-thirties I would guess, nice looking young man. He was so positive, and had such awesome energy. (And not too much energy where it is just annoying, he was the perfect balance.) We all commented on how such a great waiter ended up working in the Portland airport instead of some great steakhouse somewhere. He used to live in Santa Barbara, and we agreed that he must have ended up working in the Portland Airport because of a girl. And dad, Tim and Gabe all came to the conclusion that his happy demeanor must be the result of him having an awesome girlfriend, or none at all!

We lingered at the Brewery for a bit, we were in no hurry. It was a four hour layover and we were trying to waste time. But we still ended up sitting at our gate two hours before it was time to leave at 8:55pm. No worries though, we kept ourselves entertained… While Gabe got up for a minute, Tim switched out Gabe’s killer MacBook Pro for his Sony laptop. Took Gabe a while to realize the switch! Gabe was entertained by his “Portland Moose Mints”, and I was entertained by purchasing some cinnamon apple chips that were so good (I must locate more ASAP!) and also some “Mt. St. Helen’s Cinnamon Taffy”. Taffy is just always entertaining. Gabe was taking some hilarious videos on his phone. We were all having a great time and joking around. Our hopes were high since we knew it was almost time to leave.

While we were sitting there, we got some bad news about Larry. He made it from Nashville to Los Angeles, but his flight to Medford had just gotten cancelled. His new flight to Medford wasn’t until the next day. Surely that was a major bummer for him. Shortly there after, my mom called on my cell phone; and as I was chatting with her, I heard them announce something about our flight, so I told her to hold on. I heard the heartbreaking announcement that our flight to Medford had just been cancelled.  The weather was too bad to fly in, and the airport had closed down.

We leaped into action. Tim ran to the desk to get in line as quick as possible. (There were a lot of people rushing the desk to get rebooked!) We all came to the conclusion of renting a car and driving. We were only three and a half hours away from where we needed to go- in fact if we flew to Medford, we would have to drive back towards Portland for 75 minutes. Gabe jumped on his handy iPhone to look up rental cars. We luckily found a company with a van or SUV, and we took it! We needed something semi big since there were four of us- and all of our luggage and some gear too. Never mind the fact that the weather was a bit of an issue, so we wanted something that would be safe.

Eventually we had things planned out, so we headed to baggage claim to get our stuff and start our drive. Thankfully all our bags were there. What a relief! We found our way to the car rental desks- taking a couple of wrong turns on the way… But eventually we located the Budget desk. Tim got us squared away with them while my dad raided the vending machine. He had been on a diet for the last week, and had made it all day at the airports being really good. But when we were about to get into a rental car for a three and a half our drive, he said, “screw the diet” and got a couple bags of peanut M&M’s. I admit, I stocked up too; got a bag of chips and some Jelly Belly’s.

Loading up the rental car.

Then we headed to the garage to find our vehicle. Looking for H14. I found the H aisle and we started walking down it. We saw what was sitting in H14, and I have to admit, considering our day- of course this was the car they gave us. They made it sound like they upgraded us, and it was a big SUV or something. It was a Ford Escape. We had four large sized bags to fit in the extremely small trunk/back area, and also at least five small/medium sized bags to fit in there too! It was quite the puzzle. We got everything to fit, but honestly, just barely. I even had to have my purse on my lap. Dad and I were in the small backseat with his big duffle bag between us, and my backpack too. It was a tight squeeze for sure! Tim drove, and Gabe rode shotgun. We were packed up and ready to leave in our clown car by about 9pm.

The rental car trunk almost didn't close!

We managed to get out of the airport and onto the freeway pretty easily- with the help of our two different navigation systems, one Tim got at the car rental desk, and the other one being Gabe’s phone. The car rental desk navigation system seemed to think we were going to arrive at our destination at 3:30am, while Gabe’s phone said we would get there by around 12:30am. Needless to say, we chose to believe Gabe’s phone.

It was just a hilarious situation, quite the scene! I can’t even describe it, you would have had to be there to understand the true hilarity! I was down right giddy! Surely I was just starting to become delirious, but I was totally entertained by my surroundings. The bummer part was that if we had just gotten in the car when we first got to the Portland airport- instead of waiting for our flight to Medford, we would have already been at the hotel by the time we ended up leaving the Portland airport. That was a rather sad fact, but no use crying over spilled milk I guess!

In the rental car.

The drive wasn’t too painful. It seemed beautiful- I wish it had been light outside so I could really see the area. But I loved all the old, crazy tall trees. Amazing. We took the 5 Freeway South all the way to Canyoneville. We discussed everything from ideas for where we should work, to the best places to go in Denver, and the best places to eat in Orange County. We also learned the fate of our sound guy- Bill was stuck in Salt Lake City for the night. So we were the only people who were going to end up getting into the hotel. Larry, Bill and Bob were all going to have to hope to make it into Medford in the early afternoon of the next day, then drive the 75 minutes to the hotel. All of which would wreak havoc on our sound check schedule, but that is something we would have to deal with and figure out the next day. Dad was asleep most of the drive, but Tim, Gabe and I kept chatting. And we also chatted with our navigation lady Simone or Synthia (we were working on finding a proper name for her), nice lady- most of the time…

Gabe and Dad- just arrived at Seven Feathers Resort.

Sure enough, we got to our hotel- the Seven Feathers Hotel and Casino, right at the time Gabe’s phone suggested. We found the hotel check in- after first going to the wrong area. Tim ran inside to start getting us checked in, and dad went inside to go to the bathroom. So Gabe and I were left outside- where it was a bit chilly (not bad, only 45 degrees or something, but we were in light jackets) to watch the luggage. We filmed a quick video on Gabe’s phone, and then him and I started dancing to the song playing on the loudspeaker- “My Girl”. I must say, we have our Temptations moves down- don’t you worry about that!

After a few minutes, Dad came back and helped us get our bags inside the hotel. Tim was just about finished checking in, and we were excited to be able to see our rooms finally. Very nice rooms, and very nice hotel! I love a hotel that leaves chocolate on your pillow at night. I was finally in my hotel room by 1am. If you count when I was ready to leave for the airport the first time this morning, that makes today a 15 hour day- with a lot of twists and turns.  For some reason, I was a bit wired though- I think it was the Jelly Belly’s I was munching on throughout our drive. But my body was exhausted. I was very happy to see a plush bed waiting for me. However, I was also excited to be there, and couldn’t wait to get up in the morning and get to rockin’!

January 14, 2011

I woke up at 9am to find a beautiful view out my hotel window. Realizing it truly was a shame to drive from Portland to Cayonville while it was dark outside. That drive must have been amazing. The trees were so big and gorgeous there, and the grass was so green and lush. I love that. I believe we were on the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians reservation, and I will say they have an awesome home.

Canyonville, Oregon - View from my room.

I started my computer up, and glanced on Facebook. My news feed informed me of some activity from Gabe- so I realized he must be up. I thought I was going to be the only crazy one awake that early after such a long trip the day before. I text him to see if he wanted to go grab some breakfast. We decided to meet down at the Cow Creek Restaurant. It was quite yummy. Both of us ended up getting wraps though instead of breakfast food. But it was good! Gabe played a pick 10 Keno game while we were there. He was hoping for the big money prize. He ended up with a “No money, but thanks for playing” prize.

Cow Creek Menu

After the much needed food, Gabe wandered into the casino for a bit, while I wondered into the gift shop… I think we both spent money, but at least I got something for the money I spent!  Then I headed back up to the room to get some things done and organized. I really wanted to get to the gym, but I had too much stuff to do. Before I knew it, I had to jump in the shower and get ready. I left for sound check a few minutes early because I needed to drop off some mail at the front desk, and then I wanted to send a picture of something in the gift shop to a friend. I accomplished all of that, and still made it to sound check long before my dad did.

Sound Check

My call for sound check was 4pm- which was late anyway since everyone’s travel plans had gotten disrupted; but they still weren’t quite ready for me when I got there. I hung around and snapped some pictures. We were working in a ballroom, and they had the seats set up and ready. I believe we sold about 1200 seats. So we were doing great already! I sat down at the piano and we ran “Try A Little Tenderness”. All was good. We were having some confusion with the monitors, but basically things went smoothly. Gabe had a new toy, a melodica- which is basically a tiny piano you blow into. (It sounds sort of similar to an accordion, but is a lot smaller and easier to travel with.) Dad got down there soon and we finished running everything we needed to. We only had a few glitches during sound check- so that was nice. It could have been a lot worse!

Gabe and his Melodica.

By the time we were all done, it was about 6pm, and it was time to get some food! Larry, Gabe and I set out on a path for quality food. We made a beeline to the Fine Dining restaurant. However, our dreams were short lived. When we got there, they said they couldn’t seat us until 8pm, which was obviously not going to work- we had a show at 9pm. So we ended up at the buffet next door to the beautiful fine dinning room. The buffet was actually one of the nicer I have ever witnessed though. But I really should never be allowed to eat at buffets, I am not equipped to handle such situations. I ate so much food, I felt like I could barely move! Pain was radiating from my stomach, but all the food there was so good; I just couldn’t help myself. But believe me, when I got to my room and saw my protruding stomach in the mirror- that was just plain upsetting! It’s not good news when you eat so much food that you can actually see it in your stomach. But there I was, looking at the food I just ate, and wondering how I was going to get into that little black dress of mine in just over an hour!

I hung out in my room for a little bit, and then attempted to get myself into my stage clothes; as well as fix my hair and makeup. I knew they were coming to pick my dad and I up at 8:30pm so we could head back down to the venue. I walked out of my hotel room and into the hallway. I didn’t know what room my dad was in; I just knew that he was further down the hall than me. So I started walking in that direction. I found a room service cart in the hallway, which helped me narrow it down to a couple rooms. I stood in the middle of the hallway for about a minute, then I heard it. My dad warming up his voice. The noise took me directly to the correct room.

The theater in Canyonville, Oregon.

Just a couple minutes later a security escort arrived at his door. They took us downstairs and then they actually drove us to the other side of the complex. We arrived to find everyone waiting in the backstage area for us. We got there by 8:40pm, only 20 minutes to show time! My dad got his in-ears on while I chatted with the boys. Soon it was time to start the video and get the show rolling.

The show went off without many problems. In fact, I can’t think of anything that really went wrong- surely some little things did, but nothing major! Everyone seemed to love the concert!

After the show, dad and I went out front to sign autographs and sell CDs. It was incredible. It was the line that never ended! We were out there for about an hour and fifteen minutes. Everyone was so friendly and appreciative of the show; and a lot of the people were from Orange County, California too. I actually broke a personal record! I sold a lot of my CDs, by far the most ever in one night- 54 CDs! It was so exciting and rewarding to see that I really did move people- enough that they wanted to take my CD home with them. That is very touching to me.

By the time we were done signing, we ran to the backstage area to meet up with a friend of my dad’s who was waiting to chat. (We also raided the food cart- amazing food at that venue, great spread!) We chatted for a bit, but then we had to call it a night, we knew there was a crazy early morning in front of us.

I was actually up to my room by around midnight. I packed up most of my stuff and got comfy in bed. But I knew the alarm was going to go off so early that I couldn’t get comfortable and go to sleep, so sadly I probably only got about one or two hours of shuteye. But in that situation, every minute counted!

January 15, 2011

The sound of the alarm at 4am was truly painful. I was already awake, but the abrasive buzzing in my ear was a horrible reminder that it was actually time for me to get out of that comfortable bed. I threw on some makeup and packed up the rest of my things. I left my hotel room on time to meet everyone downstairs at 4:30am.

I found everyone waiting outside for the limo. Moments after I arrived there, we got word that our driver was going to be about 20 minutes late. Tim and Larry got into the rental car and started driving to the Medford airport so they could return the car before we all got there. Dad, Bob, Gabe and I waited for the limo. It was taking a while, so Gabe called the guy to check in and he said he would be there in about 12 minutes- apparently he had gotten confused and thought it was a 4pm pickup instead of 4am. We continued to wait…

All of a sudden a long white stretch limo came hauling around the corner, flying over the speed bumps. We packed our stuff in the trunk and crawled inside. It wasn’t until 5am that we actually left the Seven Feathers Resort. We were watching the clock as we drove; we heard it was a 75 minute drive, and our flight was at 7am. We knew we needed to be there by 6am. It was going to be very tight! At one point Gabe and I noticed a sign that said 46 miles to Medford, and it was already 5:35am- that seemed like a bad sign to us.

It was a long road with lots of turns around the beautiful mountains. There was a lot of fog too. Sometime during the drive I looked out the front of the car and I couldn’t see anything- and that definitely stresses you out a little bit! But we seemed to make up some time, because we arrived at the airport by only 6:05am, very lucky for us. We ran inside the tiny airport to find Larry and Tim waiting.

7am - Our plane from Medford to LAX.

We checked in at the kiosk and got our bags squared away eventually. Then we moved quickly through the security checkpoint and they were already boarding the plane by the time we got through. They led us outside to the small-ish prop plane. (I’m not usually a big fan of flying on planes with propellers. But I deal with it…) I got comfortable in my window seat, I was sitting next to a very nice young girl who had been in Oregon to check out some colleges that she could play softball at after she graduated from high school. Soon I let myself rest my head against the window and take a little nap. I knew it was about a two hour flight to Los Angeles, so I figured I could catch up on a few minutes of sleep at least.

It was still dark out when we took off, but I remember waking up a bit and watching the sun slowly rise outside. It was probably one of the most beautiful sunrises I have ever seen. So amazing to watch the sunrise thousands of miles above Oregon and Northern California. It was truly gorgeous. After a few short cat naps, we were soon on the ground safe and sound.

Once we were all together, we found the shuttle we needed to take; however, it had just left and it was going to be about 15 minutes until the next one came. We semi-patiently waited; Larry went to get his Cinnamon Dolce Latte that he had been eagerly waiting for. The bus did end up getting there within 15 minutes and a lady lead us all down some stairs that took us to the tarmac where the bus was waiting.

We rode around LAX and right by some really big and very cool planes; finally ending up at the terminal we were supposed to be at. There was about two hours before our next flight, so we decided to get some lunch. There was a place right were we got off the shuttle, so we figured that was a winner! They served California Pizza Kitchen’s food, I resisted the pizza and went with a Cobb salad instead. We all had a nice lunch and chat.

Once we were all done, we headed to our gate. Things were pretty busy around there, but we managed to find a few seats together. Before too long they began boarding. However, after they checked us in and we went onto the jet bridge, they wouldn’t actually let us on the plane. We were standing there just waiting for about 15 minutes. The line didn’t move at all! But finally they opened the floodgates and all of a sudden things started to move quickly. It was a big 767, two aisles. It was the biggest plane I’ve been on in the past few years. Rather comfortable though, each seat had a personal TV which was a big bonus, especially for a four hour flight!

The flight to Detroit was pretty smooth and time went by pretty quickly. I watched a movie on my TV and then did some writing. Perfect timing. By the time I was done, we were starting our decent. We made it to our gate just a few minutes behind schedule. However, I was informed by Tim that we were going to have a tight connection. We only had 30 minutes to get to our next plane. We got off the plane and started running- but we were in the back of the gigantic aircraft, so it took a while to even get off!

The psychedelic tunnel at Detroit Airport.

Good news, the tram was right next to our incoming gate. Bad news, the tram left right as we got up the escalator to meet it. The next one came a few minutes later though. As soon as we got off the tram, Gabe took the lead, I was a few steps behind him; and we began the sprint to the new plane. (The other fellas were a few extra steps behind me.) We had to go through a long psychedelically lit up tunnel, and then find our connecting gate in the commuter terminal. We saw a familiar face- our sound man Jeff waiting for us there, we made it right as they started boarding.

Gabe, Bob, Jeff, Larry, Dad and Tim all began boarding. I was next in line and they said that I wasn’t on the flight- even though I had my boarding pass, somehow I still wasn’t listed as a passenger. However everyone had to board after she checked them in, so I was stuck out there alone waiting for the agent to fix the situation. But she assured me there were plenty of seats available on the plane. Within a few minutes I was on my way down the jet bridge. It was a really tiny propeller plane, only a 30 seater. We took off on time and began our one hour and fifteen minute flight to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.

I actually had a row to myself, so I laid down on the two seats and took a nap. I woke up to the violent turbulence about an hour later as we were starting our decent. I’m not a fan of turbulence, especially on a small plane while it is snowing. (And knowing it is only 8 degrees where we were flying to.) It was a bit scary. But we got really close to the ground finally, then at the last minute our plane shot back up into the sky- just like we were taking off again. Without hesitation I said, “This isn’t good.” Gabe was sitting in the row in front of me, and he shared my feeling. At least a few minutes passed before the captain came over the loud speaker and informed us about what was going on. He announced that the runway lights were not working, and the airport couldn’t get them on, so we could not land. Apparently they were calling the maintenance people, and were trying to get it fixed, so we were going to circle for a while.

Gabe seems pretty happy for
circling an airport...

Fifteen minutes later, he came on the loud speaker to say it still wasn’t fixed, and that if they didn’t get it working we would have to land at another airport about an hour and a half drive from Sault Ste. Marie. Every fifteen minutes he came over the load speaker and announced we were going to wait a bit longer. The last time he started talking, he said we have enough fuel to wait about 15 more minutes, or we will have to go to the other airport. But only about 5 minutes after he made that announcement, he said that they did get the runway lights working and we would be able to land there after all. We were all extremely relieved! We had already had a very long day, and we didn’t want to think about what another airport would mean!

Bus to the Hotel & Casino.

We ended up circling for over an hour! It was rather nerve racking. I don’t like situations like that. Turbulence, small prop plane, and snow… Not a good combo for me! But I remained rather calm, just stressed on the inside. We finally got off the plane at 10:45pm. It was the smallest airport I have probably ever been in. Our bags came up reasonably quickly; I was rather shocked to see that they had made it. I knew since we had such a short layover in Detroit there was a chance they weren’t going to be making their debut on the Sault Ste. Marie baggage carousel that evening. But we were all extremely happy to be on the ground and have our bags in hand!

Bus Ride

Bus Ride

There was a big bus waiting for us outside to take us to the Kewadin resort. We walked out with our bags and nearly froze. It was crazy cold outside! We all hopped on the bus as quickly as possible. We were informed that the ride to the hotel might take a bit longer than usual because of all the snow, but still probably no more than 45 minutes. That news barely fazed us; it was just too exciting to know we were almost there! We had a great bus ride; it even included an “Almost Famous” moment- but we all started singing along to a James Taylor song when it came on the radio, instead of “Tiny Dancer” like in the movie. It was great.

The drive only ended up taking 25 minutes or so. We were so ecstatic to be there. Tim got us our room keys and we all headed up the elevator to the 6^th floor- all of our rooms were in a row. After we dropped our bags off, we gathered in the hall and went back downstairs to attack the only place that was still open and serving food- the Trail Deli. There was actually quite a line, but the food was really good. Or we were all just starving. But I know it was at least pretty decent! Then I went back up to my room and started to get comfortable; I even got some work done before I began to really crash.

It was at least a 15 hour travel day. Intense, and simply put- it was insanity. This weekend was really testing my endurance. When I got back to my room that night and I started to fade- I crashed hard and quick! I was exhausted- my body, and my mind! All of a sudden I was overwhelmed by a need to close my eyes. I just couldn’t fight it anymore. The bed wasn’t that comfortable, but I think I would have thought a bed of rocks was awesome at that point.

January 16, 2011

Can you think of a better way to be woken up than by the blood curdling screams of a baby? Yeah, I could think of a few better ways too. But that was the beautiful noise I woke up to that morning. I figured I might as well get out of bed. The walls were very thin at that hotel, and there was no use trying to sleep through it; and it didn’t sound like my young neighbor was going to be stopping anytime soon. I decided to relax and order a continental breakfast from room service. Probably one of the worse continental breakfasts I have ever had.

The view from my hotel room in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.

I didn’t want to just sit in my room though, I knew I wanted to get my blood moving a bit, so I went down to the gym. Neither of their treadmills worked correctly, one sort of functioned, but every time you stepped on it there was the sound of metal clanking on metal, which got annoying after running for about five minutes. The weight machine wasn’t in that much better condition, but I kicked my butt on the parts of it that were working. I tried out their elliptical for ten minutes too, but after about 40 minutes down there, I felt like I had experienced enough of that situation.

Sound Check
Michigan

Sound Check
Michigan

Once I got all showered up and ready to go, I went down to sound check. It was at 3:30pm, and it was on time! A big shout out to Jeff, thank you for that! (I know he had read my last blog post and was disappointed when I said “sound check was running late- as usual…” So he made sure to break the tradition this time! And he did a great job doing it!)

Afterwards, Larry, Bob, Gabe and I all decided to go to the restaurant. It was a half buffet, half coffee shop. I hit the salad bar hard- seemed like the best option, and I think I was right. (I am a sucker for a salad bar!) After that, I headed up to the room to get changed for the show; the boys stopped at the bar and were a few minutes behind me.

I got to the small, old elevators only to find that there were over sixty people in line for them. A bus had just arrived and they had all just got checked in. They were all waiting for the elevator with all of their luggage. I knew that if I waited for the elevator, I wouldn’t even make it to the show, so I asked where the stairs were. I ended up walking the 6 flights of stairs back up to my room. It got a little exhausting by the time I got to floor 5, but I made it back to my room- and I must say, in pretty good time! (I guess I can thank my personal trainer for that!)

I had just enough time to get changed and then my dad knocked on my door. I opened it to find my dad and the security guard waiting for me to walk downstairs with them. The security guard took us the back way down to the “Dream Makers” theater, through the innards of the hotel and casino. I sat down in my dad’s dressing room area, and as I sat there waiting, I was starting to fade. My energy just took a nosedive, and I hate it when that happens right before a show. Dad went to do a meet and greet, and I sat and chatted with some of the band on and off- the only bathroom was in my dad’s dressing room area, so everyone came through to visit me on their way to the head.

Theater in Michigan.

It was actually a 7pm show, a bit earlier than usual. Soon the familiar sound of the preshow video started. The band headed for the stage, my dad followed them a few minutes after. I sat backstage while the show got underway, but before I knew it, “Unchained Melody” was playing- which is my cue to start moving that way. I waited to hear my dad introduce me, then I entered the all too familiar world of stage.

Set List

The show went pretty good, only some technical issues. Tim’s monitors weren’t working, and neither was the bass for part of the show. But nobody knew about that except for us. After the show, dad and I went out to sign some autographs. Right when we sat down, one of the first ladies in line was 104 years old! Yes, one hundred and four years old- and at a rock and roll concert! She was amazing. She loved the show and she appeared to be in great health- no walker or anything; she was just running around digging on some good ole’ rock’n’roll! It was awesome to be able to meet her and be reminded that there are people who are older than baby boomers that do love this music! She was an inspiration. I hope that if I make it to her age, I’m in half as good of shape as she is. The signing went pretty quick, not as long as in Canyonville, Oregon. But we did sell pretty good and met a lot of great people.

Dad and I went backstage again and made ourselves a couple sandwiches; they even had pumpernickel bread and I don’t usually get that as an option, so I was excited about that. (I know it sounds weird that I was excited about a type of bread, but it is truly the small things in life that make me smile!) I took a couple waters from backstage and then dad and I ventured up to the rooms. I dropped off my water, and I got changed out of my stage clothes and back into my regular attire. I sat down for a minute to make a phone call or two. It was still so early, only 10pm or something, so once I was off the phone I decided to go meet the band downstairs for a bit.

The front of the Dream Makers Theater in Michigan.

I arrived at the bar to find Gabe, Bob, Larry and Jeff surrounded by new fans. I took a seat next to Gabe and he informed me that everyone had been buying them drinks for the last hour, and he just couldn’t turn down free drinks! Gabe and I chatted for a bit about the dilemmas in our worlds; it always makes you feel better to talk to someone! After a bit, we all decided to wander the casino for a while. Everyone was itching to gamble- except me. I rarely am itching to gamble, I would rather go shopping and know I am going to be coming home with something in my hand to show for the money I spent. Bob went off for a while to find one of the machines he likes (and he was gone for quite a long time, Gabe and I figured he was either doing really good or he had lost his house), and Larry found a “Let It Ride” table and called it home for a bit. Jeff and I watched Gabe gamble, and Gabe taught us how to play Craps. Eventually I decided I would give in and play $20 on the virtual blackjack game. It was a cool game, there was actually a dealer on a TV screen in front of the table, and then the cards were dealt on a TV screen on the table. I played for about an hour, and walked away with $20.50. So I didn’t win much, but even walking away with what you came with is considered winning at a casino!

Gabe, Bob and Jeff leaving the casino.

Bob, Jeff, Gabe and I decided to leave the casino and hit the Deli on our way up to our rooms. Perfect midnight snack. I was still up in my room by 12:20am. Not too bad for doing a show, signing, and going out for a few hours! I love it when we have early shows like that. I stayed up for a bit getting some things organized, but I eventually gave in and let myself fly off into a beautiful dream world.

January 17, 2011

At least I didn’t wake up to a crying baby that morning, but I did still manage to get up just in time to order my continental breakfast on room service. I knew it had not been good the day before, but I just wanted a little something in my stomach before we left. The breakfast was even worse that morning- which was a rather impressive feat.

Jeff standing outside the airport in 10 degrees
fahrenheit, still wearing his shorts!

I got dressed and ready; finished up packing the rest of my bag and headed down to the lobby at about 12:25pm. I left my bag with the boys to pack it into the van as I ran to the gift shop. They had Mackinaw Island Fudge in there- a favorite of my mom’s, so I wanted to be sure to get her some before we left. (My mom was born and raised outside of Detroit, and spent many a summer in Northern Michigan right by where we were working!)

We all piled into the van and were off to the airport. I have to say, we were all very happy about the late call time. It was so nice to be able to sleep in for a change. We got to the Sault Ste. Marie airport, and checked in. Soon we realized we were there way too early. I think that might be the smallest airport in the world! It was nice, just nothing for us to do to keep us entertained. Eventually it was time to go through security- which proved embarrassing as the guys started stripping down their jackets, belts and shoes while making the noises of the stripper song. But you could imagine it was pretty funny- these boys showed that they are definitely not professional strippers, those were some of the cheesiest moves I have ever seen! No wonder they are musicians!

We got back on the small 30 seater plane we had gotten to Sault Ste. Marie on. Yep, it is still a very tiny prop plane! This time the flight was full though. We did take off on time at 2:30pm, and that was a relief. I sat next to a wonderful lady who was going to Vegas for a convention about some skincare she sells. I chatted with her most of the flight. It was nice to have someone to talk to; it made the flight go by a lot faster!

Arriving at the Detroit airport, we had some issues with the jet bridge, so they ended up just letting us take some stairs. Once we all got off the plane, we said some goodbyes- Larry was off on a flight to Nashville, and Jeff was off on a flight to Milwaukee. It was just dad, Tim, Bob, Gabe and I left in my group. We found our way back to the other terminal with the bigger planes. Gabe was in rare form, and completely entertaining us. We took a long stroll instead of taking the tram, seemed like the healthier choice!

Dad, Bob, Tim and I decided to stop and get a taco at a place right by our gate. It was really good! Definitely the freshest tacos I have had in a while. By the time we were done, our plane was starting to board. We were lucky and it was a pretty quick layover. I stopped to pick up a thing or two in the shop, then waited for my zone to be called. I was the last zone of course, so everybody else got on the plane without me. Dog eat dog I guess!

As I was waiting, my mood changed a bit; but I soon was in my seat and semi-comfy cozy. We only took off a few minutes late, just before 6pm. I was disappointed to find that there were no individual TVs for each seat on this plane. I think we were all super disappointed about that. It was a four hour flight, and that would have made it go by a lot quicker. But oh well!

I ended up writing most of the time and it went by pretty quick. I would have been okay had it gone by a bit quicker though! But we got to Las Vegas at about 7:15pm, and that is where we said goodbye to Bob. It was down to the last of us- just dad, Tim, Gabe and I. I checked the departure screen to find out that our flight was already saying it was 15 minutes delayed- leaving at 8:40pm. This seemed like the beginning of the end, but we tried to think as positive as we could.

At the Las Vegas Airport - Dad, Tim and Gabe.

Dad wanted to walk down to the Ruby’s Diner, and I never turn down a Ruby’s stop! I absolutely love the chili there- among other tasty treats… We all had a little snack, and then preceded back to our outgoing gate. Not long after we sat down the plane arrived and people started flowing out of it. I have to say watching people in the Vegas airport is always amusing; when they are leaving, you can definitely tell who won and who didn’t! Also, it is just an eclectic group of people. I was watching a 30 something year old man- who was wearing jeans, do some crazy stretches and the splits and such. It is insane what you can see there.

All of a sudden they started boarding, and early no less! We all eagerly got in line and on the big plane. Now this plane ride was less than an hour long, but of course this plane was equipped with personal TVs for everyone. Gabe had row 11 all to himself, and I had the row behind him all to myself. It was wonderful!

Gabe and I chatted for a bit before and during take off; then I sprawled out- fully taking advantage of having a row to myself. There was an inflight trivia game on all the TVs- and it was certainly game time!  I started out on fire! I was ahead the whole game- until the last question… Gabe won at the last minute. We both weren’t doing so great on the second round, but by the time we were halfway through that one we were already on our decent into Orange County. It was one of the simplest, most comfortable, and quickest flights I’ve been apart of in recent history.

We landed by 9:30pm. We were rockin’! Ahead of schedule and everything! We walked down to baggage claim to wait for our luggage. Without too much delay, the bags started coming down to the carousel. One of my dad’s bags was the first one we saw- and we saw this as a great sign that all our bags had made it all the way to Orange County. Mine came up next, then both of Tim’s, shortly followed by Gabe’s. The next thing I saw after seeing Gabe’s bag on the carousel was a Gabe shaped streak running from the baggage claim to his parent’s car- he wasn’t wasting even a moment longer in that airport. I don’t blame him!

Gathering bags at Orange County Airport.

We waited a few minutes longer, all the bags from our flight seemed to have already come out, yet my dad was missing his other bag. We were so close to being out of there, and with so little problems! I went to find the Delta baggage claim desk. There was a sweet lady waiting there for me. I explained the situation and she said that there was a note for our flight that my dad’s bag was in Las Vegas still and would be coming into Orange County tomorrow. Wouldn’t be delivered until around 2:30pm, but at least they knew where it was and that it was on the way!

We bid Tim farewell, then dad and I walked across the busy road to the Taxi stand. We got in a cab and they took us back to my parent’s house in Newport Beach. The weather was so nice and refreshing there. Much better than the extreme cold in Michigan that we experienced earlier in the day! We got to the house by 10:15pm- not too shabby. I gave my mom her Mackinaw Island Fudge before she went to sleep, and then I went to my room to get everything situated.

I was exhausted, and I knew we were leaving again in two days- all a bit overwhelming. At least this was only a 13 hour travel day I think. But man, how sad is it when a 13 hour travel day is your short travel day! The good news was that I was alive and somewhat kicking. However, I was a bit of a wreck- emotionally, mentally, physically, and every other way possible! But that should heal. I was so excited to get comfy in my bed and have some wonderful dreams. I think after the past few days, I deserved some amazing and very peaceful dreams.

It was all and all quite a trip. I am just glad I made it; and I am proud of myself. I have a new found respect for myself, and my own endurance. However, within life in general, I always sort of figured that I was on a slow march toward a white strappy jacket. (If you know what I mean...) But after this weekend, I have realized it is more like I am galloping toward that point.