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!