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.