The Tale of Abe Lincoln, Fireworks, and Rockin' The Hard Rock...

June 29, 2011

I woke up in my plush bed at home in Branson, but soon I had jumped out of it and started to get ready for the travel day ahead of me. I got showered and finished packing up- so that was out of the way; and then I hopped into my car with my dog (Danny) to take her to the Branson Pet Resort. After I dropped her off I had to run an errand or two, but then I was back to my house a bit early- I still had about an hour before my cab was supposed to be there at 1:30pm.

I hung around the house- turned off lights, and the made sure the air conditioning was off (since I was going to be gone for a while), and then I took my bags out into the garage a few minutes early and waited for the cab. It was a bit warm waiting out there, but I figured they would be there shortly, so I might as well hang out there. Ten minutes past and I was starting to worry. (When I had called a cab in Branson before, it had always gotten there early, I have never had one be late before. And because I have never had one be late before, I had cut it a bit close. It is about a fifteen minute- maybe twenty minute drive to the Branson Airport, and my flight was at 2:50pm.) So I called the cab company and they said that a car was on its way, and would be there in a couple minutes. I waited… By 1:50pm, I was really starting to get a bit upset, my flight was leaving in an hour, and if they had told me the cab wasn’t going to be there until that late I could have just jumped in my car and driven there myself! I called the cab company again and she said he was just about there.

My cab finally showed up five minutes later. I was glad if finally got there! I pulled up to the airport by about 2:10pm. I walked into the small terminal there and saw a scene I had never seen before. There were about one hundred people in line in front of me to check in! I checked the flight board, and my flight was the only one going out for the next few hours, so I realized all these people must be checking in for my flight! I was relieved that I wasn’t late, but I was bummed about the situation in front of me.

I waited in line for forty-five minutes just to check in. Turns out that all the computers at the airport were not working. So they had to manually check everyone in. Yes, that means actually handwrite out boarding passes and bag tags! So that was the hold up! I did get on the plane at close to departure time, but there were still a few people checking in behind me that we had to wait on. However, it turned out that was not all we had to wait on. We also needed to get the paperwork so the plane could take off, and without the computers working, it took extra long- about an extra thirty minutes sitting on the runway.

Cookies!

Finally we were in the air and on our way to Denver by around 3:30pm. We got to the Denver area and had to circle. Apparently the airport had just closed because of a thunderstorm. We circled for about an hour; until we finally ran out of gas and we were diverted to Colorado Springs Airport. We were not the only plane trying to get into Denver that was diverted there either, there was a line of us! But they never let us off the plane, we just parked to refuel and wait (and pray) for the Denver Airport to open back up. (Some people were rather upset that they couldn’t just get off the plane there, because they were actually going to Colorado Springs. About ten people were flying to Denver to get on another plane to Colorado Springs; and there they were in Colorado Springs, but they had to stay on the plane and go back to Denver and try to find another connecting flight. Yeah, I would have been a bit upset too!)

We were on the ground there for just under an hour. Just a couple weeks earlier I had bought an iPad 2, and I got the one with the 3G; and I have to say that it was a good choice! Because had I not had that I wouldn’t have been able to look up flights and stuff while we were just sitting on the tarmac! I could have used my phone, but the battery dies way too quick! They finally opened Denver Airport back up, but we were at the end of the line, so it took a while for us to get back to Denver. However, we did make it there by around 6:45pm.

My connecting flight to Orange County was supposed to leave at 6pm, so I went directly to that gate to see if I needed to get rebooked. But it turned out that my flight had some mechanical problems and was delayed until 7:15pm. I went and got some cookies, because I deserved them! And then I walked past my gate again (it was still packed with people waiting) and got a sandwich at the place right next door. I was there for about five minutes and when I got back to my gate, the whole area was completely empty! I was worried I somehow missed the flight or something! But luckily they were just in final boarding. I still don’t know how they got to final boarding so quickly!

Once I was on the plane, we actually got up in the air a few minutes after 7:30pm. I had an interesting guy sitting next to me on the plane, he had a smug “I’m better than you” attitude that I was not a fan of. But I got him to quite down his talking after a few minutes. Then it was a smooth flight to Orange County. I landed and got my bags by just after 9pm. Dad came to pick me up, and we headed to my parent’s house.

I was at their home and having a snack by 10pm. It was nice to finally be on the ground. All of the travel issues had just made it a stressful day. I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it to California at all for a while there! So, soon I got my suitcases open, and got ready for bed!

June 30, 2011

I had a nice morning just relaxing around my parent’s house for a bit. But then I had to get showered, dressed, and pack an overnight bag. By 2pm, I jumped into the car and started driving to San Diego. Dad was following behind me.

Once I was a few miles down the freeway I got a call from Gabe asking when I was heading down to San Diego. I said I was on my way. He had said that was cool and he thought he would leave soon then too. I calmly inquired as to why he wasn’t there already, because I thought he needed to be there for sound check starting at 2pm. He said he didn’t think so. But soon he looked on the itinerary and realized that he was wrong and I was right! So he jumped in his car and started hauling butt! He was just a few miles behind my Dad and I. There was some traffic on the way, but never anything horrible. By the time we exited the freeway and found our way through downtown and I was turning into the parking lot for the U.S.S. Midway, Gabe was right behind us. He actually managed to catch up to us.

Gabe at sound check.

The group at sound check on the U.S.S. Midway.

We all went up onto the ship and finally found our way to the stage on the top back of the boat. (It was quite a walk to get there!) It was such a cool view though! The harbor and downtown- while standing on a military ship! Pretty awesome! Also, another military boat was docked right by there, and it is a now famous one- the boat that they threw Osama Bin Laden’s body off of. We had a perfect view of it too! So that was pretty cool! We did our sound check rather quickly, and got us sounding as good as we could! It was a bit of a different band- Tim and Gabe were the same, but Bob and Larry couldn’t make it, so some musicians and friends of ours that used to be in my Dad’s band were there to fill in. Jamie and Candy. It was a lot of fun, and great to see them and catch up!

Gabe and I inside a helicopter.

The group at sound check.

As we were walking off the ship after sound check, I couldn’t resist taking a few pictures on some of the really cool planes they had on display! It was so great! After that we all made our way to our hotels. Dad, Tim, Gabe and I were all at the same hotel, the US Grant. And it was awesome! It was an old hotel that you could tell had a lot of history, but it was redone wonderfully. It had some cool modern art touches and a very unique flare! Gabe and I went straight to the incredible looking bar downstairs- which actually used to be the first speakeasy in San Diego. We got a drink and then met up with Dad to walk over to the restaurant we were all meeting at for dinner called Ostera.

Loved the planes and helicopters on the U.S.S. Midway!

That is me sitting in that plane! So awesome!

The whole group of us- Dad, Tim and his wife Mary Shannon, Gabe, Bill, Jamie, Candy and I all met there. The food was amazing! Some of the best seared tuna I have ever had! It was a lot of fun just hanging out there and enjoying a wonderful meal together. After dinner we all headed back to our hotels. Dad, Tim, Mary Shannon, Gabe and I all stopped in the hotel bar to have a night cap- and enjoy the live jazz going on in there. It was the perfect way to end the evening. By the time I got up to my room, I got to sleep pretty quickly. I knew we had a rather early morning ahead of us.

July 1, 2011

My alarm started blaring at me by 6:30am. I gave in and hopped into the shower. I got all dressed and ready for the show. By 8am I had my bags packed and Gabe and I headed downstairs. I left my bags with the valet, and then Gabe and I walked down to the U.S.S. Midway, which was about a twenty minute walk probably. (But of course we stopped for a Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf on the way… Yummy!)

We arrived just after 8:30am, and we walked up to the stage area and began our wait. There were some other people I knew that came down for the event, so it was nice to catch up with them while we waited. Plus, Abe Lincoln was there! So I had to get a picture with him too! The event we were working was a Naturalization Ceremony for a few hundred US military people. (Naturalization meaning they were citizens of other countries, but they joined the military when they got here, and this ceremony made them official US citizens!) It was a very cool cause. I was excited about it.

The oath that is a part of the naturalization process.

Abe and I.

It was a long ceremony though. Lots of things going on! Some other singers doing a song or two, some dancers, and Abe gave a speech. Parts of it were really cool. Also they had cannons going off on a sailboat right behind us. That was pretty awesome! And the actual Black Pearl that they filmed Pirates of the Caribbean on was there. As well as a killer flyover! We were supposed to perform before the flyover, but the program got running behind, so we ended up doing our thirty minute set afterwards, which was a bit of a let down- because everybody pretty much thought the whole show was already over before we went on! But we only had to do a short thirty minute set, so we were done pretty quickly. There was also a live broadcast going out over the internet, but it cut out in the middle of “Time of My Life”. (So I am sorry to anyone that watched that and didn’t get to finish seeing our part of the show!)

The Black Pearl!

Cannons being shot off!

We were done and walking back to the hotel at about 12:30pm. We had all been sitting in the sun that whole time though- from 8:30am until 12:30pm, and we knew we were all burnt! By the time we reached the hotel and jumped into our cars we all just drove pretty much straight home. We were fried! Physically drained, and also just fried by the sun! I made it home in about two hours. I was so exhausted. I just laid in bed for a while. I had that feeling of being hot but also having the chills. (You know the feeling, we all get it when we get sun burnt!) I had horrible tan/burn lines too! I had total raccoon eyes, as well as a funky farmers tan. Not my best look!

Mom made dinner for us, and I don’t think I ever left the house again. Wait, I just left the house to go get some gelato. But then straight back home! I was definitely looking forward to crawling into bed that night and getting a really good night of sleep!

July 2, 2011

Emerald Bay!

As crazy as it sounds… I woke up, put my bathing suit on and laid out in the sun for about an hour. I put strong suntan lotion on the areas where I was already burnt, but I wanted to try to even out the lines a bit! I ended up talking to one of my friends that happened to be in town that weekend too- Shelley, so I ended up going down to her house in Emerald Bay and we went to the beach there. That is seriously one of the best beaches- probably the best beach in the area. We had a great time laying out and chatting. We don’t get to see each other too often, so it is great to catch up when we can! We even went swimming in the ocean. The water wasn’t too cold, and the waves were perfect! It felt so amazing! After a few hours out on the beach, we drove down to downtown Laguna Beach for some lunch/dinner. We ate at the wonderful Zinc Café. Great food! After a little stroll we drove back to her house and said our goodbyes. Once I got home for a while, I actually ended the night by picking up some sushi from one of my favorite restaurants. It was a perfect California day!

July 3, 2011

The Balboa Peninsula was packed! After all, it was 4^th of July weekend! But it was crazy! I left to go shopping for a while, and tried to stay out as long as I could, but eventually I had to get back on the peninsula. Usually to get from one side of the peninsula to the other only takes about ten minutes. However, that day it took me a full hour! I timed it! Crazy! I was going to meet up with an old friend of mine because his parents just got a house on the peninsula so he was going to come down and visit that night, but he changed his mind- and I don’t blame him! I wouldn’t have made a trip onto the peninsula that weekend unless I had to!

July 4, 2011

The view from the lookout on top of the stage.

Happy 4^th of July! I woke up around 8am and jumped into the shower. I got myself all ready for the sure to be crazy day ahead of me. Gabe came and picked me up at my parent’s house at 10am, and then we started on our drive to Corona. He was my bodyguard for the day. (My parent’s had got some messages about the area we were working being rather rough, so he was supposed to watch out for me.) It took us about forty-five minutes to get out there, and sure enough his GPS was taking us to a junk yard. We were starting to be concerned as to what we had gotten ourselves into. But it turned out he had set the navigation to the wrong address.

Bob & Gene at sound check.

Myself on stage at sound check.

Once we got moving in the right direction we pulled up to Santana Park in no time. However, we had to circle it once to figure out where we were supposed to park. After we got a parking spot, we walked up towards the stage. We were working with Bob, Larry and Tim. Plus some friends of ours- Reno and Gene Sironen (Gene actually is my Dad’s impersonator, and so I have known him for years!) When we got there, no one knew what we were going to do or anything like that. So we knew it was going to be an interesting show!

Bob during the first set,

Bob during the first set.

Sound check took a while, we were there until about 3pm. And it was very hot outside in Corona! And of course this was an outdoor gig! But at least we had a cover over the stage. That saved me! After we finished up there, Gabe and I drove over to Islands for lunch. Which was just what I needed! Then we headed to the hotel. We checked in, but by the time we got to our rooms we only had an hour before we had to leave for the gig. So not too much down time.

Larry & Bob during the first set.

At 5pm I met Gabe, Bob and Bob’s wife Peggy out at Gabe’s car. We all drove over to the gig together. We got a parking spot in the area that we were informed was the best place for us, and then walked through the crowd and toward the stage. It was actually a pretty cool set up because there were TV monitors throughout the park broadcasting what was happening on the stage. And there were a lot of people! At one point I heard some numbers that were crazy. All I know is there were a lot of people, and they were everywhere!

On stage toward the end of the show.

We got up and did our first set at 6pm. We did just about forty-five minutes I think. In the first set I did about two or three songs, including “Time of My Life”, which I sang with Gene. I have to say it is a little surreal singing a song you always sing with your dad, but singing it with his impersonator instead! Then we took a break while they did some announcements, and then by 7:30pm we were up again, and I did another couple songs in that set too. We did about a forty-five minute set again, but at 8:02pm we had to be sure to start “God Bless The USA” because we were timing it so that when the flyover happened at 8:05pm, we would be in the last chorus. We actually managed to time that really well! And the flyover was incredible! It was a huge bomber plane, and it was flying really flow, and moving very slow- almost hovering over us. I have to say it was really very cool to see!

During the military medley.

We were all let off stage for about fifteen minutes for a few more announcements, and then we did a couple songs with a six piece horn section. That sounded really great! We also did our Veteran’s Tribute to “Bridge Over Troubled Water/Lean On Me”. Then the band finished up by doing a military medley.

Right when Gabe was done playing his last song at about 9pm, we began to speed walk toward his car. We walked through most of the crowd, and we were halfway to the car when the fireworks began. But we kept booking it! When we got to his car, there were people camped out all around it, and up against it! But they all moved when he started it and they realized we were really leaving. We drove out of there and started towards the freeway. The amount of people standing everywhere was insane! Everyone within a couple cities must have been standing on the streets out there watching the fireworks and celebrating the 4^th of July!

Fireworks!

We actually got on the freeway really easily, and we never hit any traffic all the way to my parent’s house! It was great! We were bummed that we missed the fireworks, but had we waited, it would have been hours before we managed to get out of there! So we were glad we left when we did.

When we got to my house, my Mom had made brownies and had some snacks waiting for us. (And a to go box of brownies for Gabe to take with him…) We all hung around and chatted until about 11pm. Then Gabe headed on his way back to his house. (He had hoped the traffic going off the peninsula had died down a bit, but I found out later that it hadn’t! Apparently it was a long drive home for him!) I was pretty exhausted from the whole day, so it didn’t take me too long to decide that getting to my bed was a good idea!

July 5, 2011

This was my last day off in California that trip, so I had to get a few things done. I had to do some shopping with my dad- it is my parent’s twenty-fifth anniversary on July 9^th, so I went to help him pick something out for my Mom. Then I got a little shopping in for myself too. I also got to grab some sushi- I just love sushi, and in California it is just so fresh and awesome! Then I drove down to Shaw Cove Beach to meet up with my friend Elliot, who is actually one of Gabe’s best friends. So nice to just chill on the beach for a few hours! Then back to my parent’s house to hang out a bit, and also get packed and ready to leave!

July 6, 2011

My alarm went off by 8:30am, and so I went ahead and jumped into the shower and got ready to leave town. By 10:30am, Dad and my bags were loaded into the car and Mom drove us to the airport. We said our goodbyes to Mom, and then Dad and I rolled our bags inside to the US Airways desk. Tim was checking in when we got there, and Gabe arrived just a few minutes after we did. We all got our boarding passes and bags squared away, then Dad, Gabe and I headed through security; Tim waited for Larry to get there. Once we made it into the gate area, we walked over to the restaurant for a bite of food before the flight. Soon we were finished and wandered over to the gate to meet Tim and Larry just in time for them to start boarding.

On the plane, and on our way.

We actually took off right on time at 12:30pm. It was a short flight to Phoenix. Pretty painless. Then when we got off that plane, the gate for our next flight to Fort Lauderdale was right across the hall! Couldn’t have been easier. However, we had an hour and a half before our 3pm flight took off, so Gabe and I walked over to the US Airways lounge. (We are not actual members, but he has an American Express card, so he gets in for free and can bring up to two people with him.) So we got a drink and ate some of the free snacks. And of course we brought some of the free cookies out to the rest of the guys waiting over by the gate!

Then Gabe and I decided we better get some actual food- the next flight was going to be a long one! So we got some killer burritos, I was very impressed! But by the time we were done it was time to board our next flight. The seats were three and three on this plane, and I totally lucked out and was in a window seat, but the middle seat was empty! Score! And since that was a long flight- over four and a half hours, double score!

The flight wasn’t too bad; I was able to get a lot of work done at least, and we landed pretty close to on time around 10:30pm. We moved directly towards baggage claim and right as we came down the escalader there was a man holding up an iPad with the name Tim Lee glowing from it. We had found our driver.

Dad signing autographs in the airport.

We had also found some fans. There were about for or five guys waiting there for Dad with records and pictures for him to sign. That kept dad busy for a minute. Then one of them called out my name and had a picture of me on stage to sign. So I did. First airport autograph- who would ever have thought that would happen! Or that they would even know who I was!

But soon we had our bags in hand and began to walk towards the van; it was parked a bit of a walk away. Once we were all in we were off to The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. The airport was only about ten or fifteen minutes away, so we got there quickly. Bob and our soundman for that gig- Don, were waiting for us at the valet entrance. Tim went to get us all checked in and the rest of us discussed our plans for the evening. The majority of the group was too tired to want to leave the hotel, so we ended up just staying there for the night.

Once we got checked into our hotel rooms, and some confusion from the lady guarding the elevators thinking I was in Bob’s room… I headed back down to the bar in the lobby to meet the fellas. We all got a drink there and then decided it was time for some food! There was a twenty-four hour diner, so we were all over that!

Chocolate guitar on my bed, waiting for me!
Love Hard Rock!

It was a really fun first night in Florida. And The Seminole Hard Rock is an awesome hotel and resort! I got up to my room by 2am, and tried to get a few hours of sleep before I planned on scoping out the hotel some more in the morning.

June 7, 2011

I could not get a good night’s sleep! So I let myself sleep in until about 11am. I noticed it was raining outside which was a big bummer! I had high hopes of going to the pool that morning- the pool there looked so awesome! But alas, I didn’t get to. So I went shopping instead. However, the shopping was outside too, but I just kept moving quickly from shop to shop!

Part of the theater - Hard Rock Live.

I didn’t find too much- only a cool shirt or two, and so I was back up in my room by 1:30pm. I jumped into the shower and got ready to head downstairs. I met Dad at the bottom of the elevators at 3:30pm and we made our way over to the arena. When we got there, we had some issues with the security guy at the door. He was not wanting to let us in. He had no idea who was working there that night, but apparently did not think we were it! However, eventually we talked our way in.

The show room there is a great venue! It is a small arena style place. And everything was in top shape- as you would expect from Hard Rock. (They can’t skimp on the music stuff there!) Sound check went pretty good, only a couple minor problems. But it was extremely cold in the theater! The band was beginning to freeze. So as soon as we were done we headed outside to warm up. (At least during summertime in Hollywood, Florida it is pretty easy to warm up outside!)

Tim and our set list and video DVD.

Then everybody except my Dad made a mad dash for the Hard Rock Café. We were all starving! And the food did not disappoint! Soon we were very happy campers. We were done and back up to our rooms by about 5:30pm, so we still got some rest time in- always an added bonus! I got a few phone calls in as well, and then threw on my stage clothes and headed up a couple floors to my Dad’s room by 7:15pm.

After I had been there for a minute, there was a knock on his door; it was our security escort. The guard took us all through the innards of the hotel, and finally led us into the backstage area where we met up with the band. We all had some time to hang out before things got started. Then a few minutes after 8pm the intro video started and we all headed down the stairs and towards the stage. The guys got up there and started doing their thing while I ran back upstairs to the dressing rooms to finish getting ready. But I was back stage-side within fifteen minutes, this time I was ready to rock!

It was an awesome crowd! About three thousand people and they were all so enthusiastic. They were there for a party! The show went great, and they even did a three camera shoot. I can’t wait to see some of that! Once the show was over Dad and I ran up to the dressing rooms for just a moment, and then we were escorted out to the front. There was a long line for autographs! Everyone was so happy we were there, and happy that we were sitting out there and signing! I think we were there for about an hour before we finished up and walked backstage.

Dad had his traditional after-show sandwich, and we hung there for a bit. Then Dad went up to his room and I went to find the guys at the bar. But I wanted to make a pit stop first… There was a Wet Willies bar on the property, (one of those bars with a million different kinds of frozen drinks) and so I walked over there to get a drink and take it back to the guys boring and normal bar.

Apparently they had done some gambling while I was signing- and no one was ahead. So they seemed a bit defeated. We didn’t last long down there, all the guys had an early call in the morning (6:30am), so they wanted to get some rest. I was up to my room sometime around midnight; and after I got a salad from room service, I tried to get to sleep myself!

July 8, 2011

I woke up around 8am and was not in a hurry to leave. (At that moment I was very glad I wasn’t on the early trip to the airport with the rest of the guys. I was in no hurry to get home- I might as well enjoy my hotel room a little longer!) I eventually got in the shower and got packed and ready to leave though.

At 11:15am I met my driver down by the valet, and I was off to Fort Lauderdale Airport. When I got there I checked in rather quickly, but the line to drop bags off was rather long for some reason; so that took a minute. Then the security line was kind of crazy too! I noticed a lot of people were not regular travelers, so there were some issues. But I got threw and into my terminal with plenty of time still. In fact I even grabbed a quick bite to eat. I just needed a couple bites of something in my stomach before I got on the plane!

We started boarding right on time, and I got into my seat and ready to go. However, I was not a fan of the guy in the seat in front of me. Before the plane even started rolling down the runway, he reclined his chair all the way back- which aside from being against the rules; it made it almost impossible for me to even reach my bag under his seat! I was less than pleased, but didn’t want to get in a fight over it, so I let it go.

Florida coast line on the way home.

We were in the air and on our way to Dallas on time at 12:50pm. The flight was just over two hours long, so I had a little time to get some things done. But soon we were landing in Dallas and parking at our gate. I wandered out of the jet bridge and towards my next gate. I had to hop on the tram and take it as far away as it would take me- the last stop. When I exited I walked down to my gate only to find that the gate had changed while I was on the tram. Luckily the new gate was still in that same terminal, just on the other side of it. So I walked over there and took a seat.

The plane arrived a bit late, but they managed to get us on there pretty close to boarding time. And we were actually in the air only about fifteen minutes late. The flight to Springfield is pretty short- less than an hour and a half I’d say. And so I landed happily in Springfield at about 5:30pm. I went to baggage claim and luckily it didn’t take too long for my bags to come up. Right when I got them in my hands, my friend Michael text me that he was in the cell phone lot waiting. Perfect timing!

I walked outside and met him a few minutes later. We stopped for a quick bite to eat, and then went to his Nana’s farm for a little bit. Soon I dropped him off somewhere and drove his car to my house- he didn’t need it the next couple days, and it was a lot cheaper than me paying for a cab! So it worked out well! I was home and comfy cozy again by just after 9pm. All and all, this trip had gone pretty smoothly!