The Tale of Caribou, Absinthe, and Regina- With an R...

May 4, 2011

I woke up to the alarm clock blaring at 9am. I jumped into the shower, put on some clothes, and then got my bag repacked. After I got a few things done on my computer, I gathered my luggage and went down to my car. I threw my bags in the backseat and was on my way to the economy parking lot at the Kansas City airport.

Within a few minutes, I was parked and waiting for the bus to pick me up. It took a few minutes, but it got there! Apparently it was a very busy time to fly out of the B terminal! The whole bus was full! When we made it to the Delta desk, I checked in and headed on through the security. The guy at the Delta desk actually was really nice, and gave me some free drink coupons for the flight- and future flights. Score! The band will be very happy about that- well, if I decide to share.

I took a seat at the gate and got comfortable as I waited for the flight to board. It was a 12:05pm flight, and we were on the plane and ready to go right on cue! Once we were in the air and on the way to Minneapolis, I just spent the flight reading and writing like usual. It was a quick ride; I think I was there in about an hour and a half. Right when I got off the plane, I went to look for my next gate. Turns out it was only a few away. Right as I made it to the new gate, I saw a familiar gang of guys heading my way- Dad, Tim and Gabe. We joined forces and stopped at the café next to the gate for a bit. Once we were seated, Larry managed to find us. (Of course he knew we would be where the food was. We are kind of predictable.)

Gabe filling out the
customs sheet.

We waited for the flight to begin to board, which was pretty quick because the layover was not too long. We were all seated in the same little area, so we kind of took over a section of the plane. I don’t think I ever even got anything out to do while we were in the air since we were all chatting.

We got on the ground in Winnipeg, Canada around 4pm. After we deplaned, we gathered together and got ready to go through customs. We were prepared for the worst- there have been some issues getting through customs in the past. But we headed down the escalator and into the customs office. And there was no line! We were very excited! Not only that, but we had no trouble getting through the guards and talking to the immigration officers. Right on the other side of the officers was the baggage carousels, and our bags were already waiting for us. It was the easiest time we have ever had going into another country!

Dad filling out the customs
sheet. Looks like everyone
is back in school again!

After we grabbed our bags, we walked out and saw a man carrying a sign that had “Medley” scribbled out on it. We had two drivers waiting for us, and they led us outside to the vans. Right as the sliding doors opened, the very cold wind rushed over us. Gabe noticed the cold more than all of us, because he was wearing a short sleeve shirt, and flip-flops! Dad, Gabe and I ran to the first van and jumped in. Larry and Tim were moving a little slower and they got into the other van soon after.

Bob, myself and Gabe out on the street
in Winnipeg.

The drive was a bit longer than expected because of traffic. But we were at the hotel by just after 5pm. My phone was acting crazy. My text message sound kept going off, but no new messages were coming up. So I knew that my phone might be an issue for the rest of the stay in Canada. We got checked in at the Fairmont hotel in downtown Winnipeg. It was a great hotel!

Gabe and I riding our caribou.

We all met downstairs at 5:30pm for dinner at the fine dinning restaurant inside the hotel. Bob and Jeff managed to get in just in time to join us as well. The host got us a nice table in the middle of the room. It was an awesome dinner! So yummy! Perfect first dinner of the tour.

On the streets of Winnipeg.

After dinner, dad went up to his room to catch “American Idol”, and Tim and Jeff retired early as well. But Bob, Larry, Gabe and I decided to head outdoors to a bar next door to the hotel called Baileys. It was a very cool vibe- very Irish! There was also a pool table, which led to a few games being played. But after a little while we started walking back to the hotel. The sky was beautiful, and so we all screwed around and took a bunch of silly pictures. Gabe and I even mounted up on a caribou statue right next to the hotel. It was a good time!

Once we made it back to the hotel, we hit up the hotel lounge for a nightcap. It was a great night! Once I made it back to my room, I was up for a while getting a few things done, but soon the bed was calling out my name.

May 5, 2011

I had got up and out of my extremely lush and comfy bed to take a shower around 10am. I got dressed and ready to go so I could head out to the underground shopping area someone had told me about the night before. I was out roaming around by noon. It was a crazy underground maze, but a lot of fun to go check out! I even ran into Larry, Bob and Gabe- but they were just on their way back to the hotel so they could leave for sound check early.

I didn’t find too many shops, but I found one store of interest- which led to me buying some treats for the band and I. (Some things to put on the bus, since this was a bus tour.) But I was back to my room early, and still had some time to spare.

We actually got to have a real accordion that
night!

Dad and I met downstairs at 3pm. We walked out to the valet area, and asked the limo driver standing there if he was picking up Bill Medley. He said no. We waited there for about five minutes. I called Tim to make sure everything was happening as scheduled, but no answer. Then finally the same limo driver we had talked to a bit earlier came up to us and said, “Wait, where are you going?” We said we were on our way to the McPhillips Street Casino. Then he said, “Oh, wait, actually I am your driver.” So after that mix up, we got into the limo and were on our way to the venue.

It was about a fifteen minute drive, and once we got there we went straight onto the stage for sound check. That went rather smooth. By 4:30pm we were in the cars and on our way back to the hotel. Larry, Jeff, Gabe and I went to the lounge to get some food. It was very tasty! I made it to my room in just enough time to get changed and head downstairs to meet everyone.

We got back to the venue and I hung out in the green room for a bit with the guys. But 8pm rolled around quickly, and soon the intro video was on. Everyone was on stage after a couple minutes, and I was left backstage all alone. But before too long I was joining them up there too. The show was great. Went pretty smooth! Then dad and I ventured into the casino to sign.

Theater in Winnipeg.

Once we made it backstage after signing, dad made himself his famous bologna sandwich- or actually two of them. Then we all jumped on the bus and headed back to the hotel. I ran up to my room and got packed up and into my pajamas, then I headed back down to the bus. We had a 5am call to get on the bus and leave, so some of us decided to just go down and sleep on the bus; and I was definitely in that group. Pajama party on the streets of downtown Winnipeg… That’s just how we roll.

I got back to the bus to find Gabe and Jeff already there. We were using the bus as our own personal bar. Earlier in the day, I had bought some Absinthe. (I had always wanted to try it- even though it is not made with as much wormwood as it used to be, or at least not in the States or Canada. But I figured it would be interesting to try, and I knew Gabe would join me!) Gabe poured out three drinks of the green fairy inspiring 110 proof liquor; one for me, one for him, and one for Jeff. (It even came with the special spoon for the sugar cubes!) It actually tasted quite good! Just like black licorice. Once our first glasses were finished off, Gabe poured him and I each another- Jeff decided to stick to the Crown Royal he had been drinking, a favorite of his. Larry and dad arrived on the bus at some point that night. We all stayed up pretty late talking and telling stories. But eventually we decided to go get comfortable in our bunks. (Well, some of us in our bunks- dad had his own room in the back of the bus.)

There were actually twelve bunks on that bus, so we all had a bunk to sleep in and a storage bunk. Being the kids, Gabe and I had the top bunks (the third ones up) in the front. It takes skill to get up there. (It is especially exciting to climb all the way up there after a few drinks!) Dad walked by and started joking that, “Oh, this couldn’t be the start of anything good, sleeping across from each other up there, someone’s just going to say ‘I’m jumping over!’ in the middle of the night.” We all started laughing, because just the idea of jumping from one top bunk to the other is comical. You would definitely not make it!

Once we all got settled in our little quarters, Gabe and I were freezing, so he grabbed an extra blanket from an empty bunk and gave that one to me. Then he had to get one for himself. However, the only extra bunks were the bottom bunks. But he decided that he could reach. So he left his bunk headfirst. Needless to say, he didn’t reach, and ended up on the ground. But luckily he’s pretty durable and he soon climbed back up to his bunk with his now prized second blanket. We were all passed out pretty quickly after that.

May 6, 2011

I woke up as the bus started at 5am. I got up to run to the bathroom to find Bob and Tim had just gotten on the bus. After a scary/funny incident, (which I’m going to keep to myself- I’ve got to keep some things to myself!) we were on our way, and I jumped back up into my bunk.

Bob and Gabe at the gas station in the middle of nowhere!

I woke back up at about 10am as we pulled into a gas station. I decided to get out and look around. It was an interesting situation there. I can’t even try to explain. Just weird! Then we got back on the bus and we were on our way again. After another hour or so, we arrived in Regina. (Which we found the pronunciation of Regina interesting.) We got to the Delta Hotel around 11:30am, and luckily all our hotel rooms were ready for us!

After I got showered up, I had time to get some work done and then head across the street to the showroom at Casino Regina at 3pm for sound check. That went quickly. We had to check in to get some security badges so that we could get around the casino. Then after that I went back to the room to get a few more things done.

View from my hotel room. Beautiful. 24th floor.

At 7:30pm I knocked on my dad’s door, and we headed back down to the showroom. I made myself a half sandwich and got ready to do some singing. We all headed to the stage area- which was upstairs from the dressing rooms. So as the show started, I just stayed up there by the side of the stage. It was a great show! Wonderful audience, and very cool looking room. One of the funny things that happened that night was dad introducing me, and saying, “It is obviously great having my daughter on the road with me; especially since everything I take on stage is a write off.” The audience started laughing hysterically, and I just said, “Thanks daddy.” Signing went great that night. Then we all ended up back down in the green room snacking on the deli trays.

Everyone hanging out after the show.

Everyone started to disburse; Tim, Jeff, Gabe and I went back to the bus for a bit- which was right out back of the casino. We had a taste, and listened to part of a recording of the show from that night- Jeff had made a recording out at the soundboard. Larry made it to the bus right as we were preparing to leave. We had to walk outside to get back to the hotel, (there are indoor walkways that go across the street and back to the hotel, but it was too late at night to access them) and it was rather cold outside. Go figure, Canada was cold... So we walked at a rather quick clip, and ended up running across the street as cars were coming at us. (We are an accident waiting to happen people!)

But once I made it back up to my room, I got reorganized and then settled into my cozy bed. It wasn’t too long before I was off to a beautiful dreamland.

May 7, 2011

My alarm woke me at 8:30am. I threw some sweats on, closed up my suitcases, and ventured downstairs to the bus. We had a 9am call, and we were all on board and ready to leave as scheduled. Dad quickly went back to his room and fell back asleep, while the rest of us kept ourselves entertained in the living room area. It was about a two and a half hour bus ride. But it went by pretty quickly. When we first got on the bus, after about two minutes of driving, the TV satellite apparently kicked in and just the sound came through the speakers. All of a sudden we all heard, “Warning: May cause pregnancy if not taken with apple juice.” At which point we all started busting up. Oh, and for a classic Larry comment… Larry sneezed, and then quickly said, “I just can’t get over that Ebola virus.”

Our beautiful hotel.

We pulled into Saskatoon at 12pm. It was a beautiful city! We were staying at another Delta hotel that was right in downtown. And it was a gorgeous old hotel; it looked like a castle! So wonderful! Again, we lucked out and all our rooms were ready to be checked into. I went up to my room and jumped directly into the shower and began to get ready. (Everyone, except my dad and I, left at 12:30pm on the bus to head to the venue, about thirty minutes away.) Once I got dressed, I decided to go for a walk. Awesome town! I even found a cool mall at the end of the street, just a few blocks from the hotel. It was great to go get some fresh air too!

Then I got back to the hotel with just enough time to gather my things together and meet my dad in the lobby at 4pm. The entertainment director met us there and drove us to the Dakota Dunes Casino. When we got there, we walked straight to the stage to sound check. It was a kind of cool setup. It even had an awesome set of wooden stairs that went up to the front of the stage.

Can you spot the incorrect name?

Sound check took a while that night; since we were all staying at the gig until after the show- since the hotel was so far away, Dad decided to rehearse a few things. We were done around 6pm. Bob, Gabe and I made some sandwiches backstage- making the most of the deli trays. Then dad wanted to see if we could get the TV working. The satellite was not working, so Gabe checked the DVD player to see if there happened to be anything in there. Indeed there was, and it couldn’t have been more perfect if we had planned it. It was a season of Seinfeld- my dad’s very favorite! So we watched a couple episodes of that to pass time.

But then we went back into the backstage area to finish getting ready for the 8pm show. We had a guitar backstage as well, so we were all playing around and singing a few songs until the show started. The music rarely stops around this group.

Theater in Saskatoon.

It was an interesting show! Dad was in rare form! He was making jokes left and right, and just being really silly! (Most likely because he didn’t get his usual nap before the show…) But the band and I love shows like that! Makes it a lot of fun for us. Dad tried to say the city name- Saskatoon, and he just could not say it right! Plus we talked about the awesome hotdog stand inside the double decker British bus next to the hotel, and so many other randomly funny stuff. Gabe had lost composure, he was laughing so hard at one point that my Dad looked at him and said, “What are you doing over there, you are such a trouble maker! Don’t make me call your parents!” It was such an entertaining show!

Dad and I went out to sign afterwards, and that went great! Then we all got reorganized and back on the bus. We took the bus back to the hotel around 10:30pm, and made it back there by 11pm. We all ran up to the rooms and dropped off our stuff. Then Jeff, Bob, Larry, Gabe and I met down in the lobby. Once we gathered, we walked across the street to a bar Jeff had been told about. We walked in and it was a really loud DJ playing techno, so we decided we should go back to the hotel bar- where we could actually talk and hear each other. As we were walking back to the hotel though, of course Gabe had to comment on the fact that, “Hanging with these old guys, we’ve got to go to the quite bar… If it wasn’t for you old people, Mac and I would be tearing up that other joint!” (There are a lot of young vs. old age jokes that go around in our group!)

On the bus back to the hotel.

The hotel bar was quite entertaining though since there was a wedding just finishing up at the hotel, and people were walking around drunk as skunks. Plus, River Dance was doing a show in town that night and they were staying at our hotel as well. So it was quite a hotspot! We talked the server into giving us some trail mix stuff, and after he brought it over, he left for a couple minutes and then came back to check on us, he looked at the table and said, “Oh my God!” with a face of shock and awe. All the trail mix had disappeared. Obviously he underestimated our snacking capabilities!

I was having a good ole’ night. Definitely a bit toasted by the time I got back up to my room! But it was a fun time! I crawled into bed and crashed… Just awaiting my alarm in the morning.

May 8, 2011

Happy Mother’s Day! My alarm rang at me at 8:30am again. I threw things in my bag and got downstairs right on time at 9am. I walked outside and saw some other tour buses, but not ours. I was a little confused and concerned… But I finally noticed our bus down the street a bit. I walked that way and crawled on the bus to join everyone. Once I got on, I was informed that the other six matching tour buses belonged to Elton John’s people. He was working in town that night. However, Elton was not there yet. But it was quite an impressive caravan he has though!

Leaving Saskatoon for Swift Current.

We were on our way shortly. Dad of course went back to sleep right when we got moving. It was about a three hour and fifteen minute drive. We stopped once at a gas station, and then we were back on our way again shorty. Bob and Gabe were pretending that they were each other. (In other words- Bob was pretending to be Gabe, and Gabe was pretending to be Bob.) It was quite entertaining! Pretty smooth ride- except for when we passed by the big semi trucks and we got shook up a bit. That was a little scary the first few times it happened! We arrived in Swift Current at 12:15pm, and Tim walked inside our Holiday Inn hotel to get us all checked in.

Theater in Swift Current.

Yet again we lucked out and all of our rooms were ready! I went up to my room and I got showered and dressed for the day. I had some extra time before sound check, so I got some work done, and then met my dad at 3:30pm to walk across the parking lot to the showroom inside the Living Sky Casino. But I have to say it was pretty cold and windy outside!

Sound check went rather quickly. We had a few bugs to work out, but it wasn’t too bad. Afterwards, Bob, Gabe and I hit the deli trays backstage. It was perfect! Just the energy booster I needed! Then we walked back to the hotel around 5:30pm. I had a little time to rest; then change and get a little work finished up. But before I knew it, it was time to meet my dad in the lobby at 7:30pm. We had a van to take us to the gig. (Yes, it was within walking distance, but in stage clothes and everything, the car was safer!)

Playing some music backstage.

When I got there, I took a seat in the green room/guys dressing room for a bit and snacked on the deli trays some more. Soon I realized that I better get my clothes steamed out before the show. (I didn’t want to look like a wrinkled mess on stage!) The show started a little bit late, but we had a great show. Wonderful crowd! Afterwards, we signed, which went really quickly; the line just kept moving! So we actually ended up done a bit earlier than usual.

After Dad’s sandwich time, him and I walked back to the hotel. I dropped off my backpack and waited for the guys to arrive on the bus, then I made my way outside to join them. We had a little toast to the last night of the tour. It was a lot of fun! But I eventually did make it back up to my room and crashed pretty quickly.

May 9, 2011

7am, and I was up and about! I jumped in the shower and got dressed and ready to leave the hotel. We had another 9am call. So I finished packing and headed down to the bus right on time. It was about a two hour drive back to Regina. Dad went back to sleep like usual, and the boys and I stayed up in the living room hanging out. The drive was very pretty, lots of farms and land.

Gabe and Bob on the bus on the way back to
Regina to fly out!

We arrived at the Regina Airport at around 11am. We went to check in and were informed of some bad news. Delayed! Bob and Dad were on a different plane straight to Las Vegas, and theirs was still on time. But the rest of us were all on a flight to Minneapolis that was supposed to leave at 1:05pm, but had now been delayed until 2:30pm. Which also meant that all of us were going to miss our different connections. I was flying to Kansas City, and so they had to rebook me on the next flight going to Kansas City, which left me with a four hour layover in Minneapolis, and didn’t get into KC until 11:03pm. (Originally I was supposed to get in at 6:40pm.)

Tim and Gabe went up to the desk next, and they were both flying back to Orange County, and the lady at the desk informed them that they were going to miss their connection, and there wasn’t another flight into Orange County that night. So the desk agent started getting to work on their situation. Larry was going back to Nashville, but they got him a later flight. Jeff was going back to Milwaukee, and they got him rebooked as well. After a lot of trouble, they finally switched Gabe and Tim to United Airlines- that way they could go from Regina to Denver, and then Denver to Orange County. So we were all in okay shape. I had the worst situation out of everyone.

We all gathered in the restaurant upstairs. I had a few calls to make, inform some people about the changes, and also just return some messages. We all were sitting around munching on some food and snacks; and all of us seemed delusional! We were finding all sorts of things funny. Most of the conversation was probably about the name of the city we were in- Regina (with an R). There were a lot of dirty jokes going around!

At the Regina Airport I found this flying pig plane with flames out
of it's butt. I had to have a picture with it!

Eventually we all ventured through security and into the gate area. It was a small airport so there wasn’t much, but it was really nice. We all had a bit of a wait for our planes to start boarding. But they did begin to call boarding for our flights. Oddly enough, our flights were all scheduled to leave about thirty minutes apart from each other- one at 2:05pm, one at 2:30pm, and one at 3pm; yet we all ended up boarding our planes at the same time! Strange.

My flight went pretty smoothly; just did a little reading, writing, and resting. It was about a two hour flight to Minneapolis, and once we landed it was time to go through customs. So Larry, Jeff and I joined forces and managed to get through without too much trouble. I was only reprimanded by security once. We had to get our bags and recheck them though, and then go through security again. I was also reprimanded by the TSA agent; apparently it just was not my best hour!

Once we made it through security we all looked at the monitors to make sure all our flights were still going as scheduled. That is where we parted ways. After our goodbyes, and some congratulations to Jeff- who was getting married in about two weeks, I was on my own. I wandered the airport for a while.

Eventually I found a row of shops and a nice chophouse style restaurant- which seemed to have my name all over it! I had an amazing meal there! Killer cobb salad, some amazing seared tuna, and a stylish blue martini. (I figured I deserved the martini at that point!) The place was called Ike’s, and I will definitely be stopping there again on my next trip through Minneapolis!

After that, I hit up a couple shops as I slowly made my way to the gate. I was still at the gate about two hours early. So I parked myself at one of the handy charging stations, and ended up on the phone with my cousin most of the time- lots to catch up about, and fun Canada stories to tell!

The plane started boarding right on time, and once I made it on the plane I noticed I was sitting next to the same girl I was sitting next to on the flight from Regina to Minneapolis- how crazy is that? Small world! But this time our row had three seats, and the seat between us was actually empty. Added bonus!

The big airplane doors actually closed a few minutes early- which is always welcomed! (Well, as long as I’m already on the plane!) And we made it into the air not long after. Very nice flight back to Kansas City; it is listed as about an hour and a half, but really only about an hour in the air.

We landed right on time, actually a few minutes early, at 10:55pm. I was supposed to call a friend that was planning on driving back that night. I figured it was safer to at least follow him driving; especially considering how tired I was! It had been a long, crazy day! However, he wasn’t going to be ready for another hour he said, so I got my bags, and made it to my car. Then I went to get gas and water at the first place I could find. It had been about an hour since I had talked to him, so I tried him back and he said he was just about to leave, so to start driving South, and he would meet me on that side of town. So that is what I did. I got to an iHop and decided to wait there. But then he said he couldn’t leave that night, and asked if I could get a motel room, and we could leave early in the morning. (Some understandable and unexpected things had come up.) I begrudgingly agreed. (Begrudgingly because I am usually much better driving late night than early morning! After all, I am a night owl!) I toyed with the idea of continuing on anyway, but decided against it. I found a Holiday Inn around 2am and got checked into a room. Sadly, my eyes didn’t get to close until 3am.

May 10, 2011

My alarm went off at 4am, after only one hour of sleep. But I had to get up and get showered and ready for the day. I had a project to work on when I got home that I needed to look good for. So I was ready to leave by 5:30am. My friend had mentioned we’d leave at 6am. But he didn’t make it to my side of town until 7:30am. So I had a long two hour wait. (And time just seems to really crawl by when you are really tired and on no sleep!)

But then he texted me that he was driving by, so I got on the interstate and caught up to him. After a quick pit stop for some gas for him, we were on the road. We got all the way to about Boliver, (which is about an hour from my house), and he decided we should stop and eat- and I needed a bathroom break anyway, so it worked out! We stopped at a really great downhome kind of place. The perfect road trip kind of place to stop! After that I was on my way back home! I decided to drive a bit quicker than him for the rest of the drive, since he was hauling a trailer. I made it to Branson and had to go run some errands. But I still made it back into my house by 12:30pm. And that was only the start of my crazy couple days at home! Certainly there will be more to explain about that later. At any rate, it was a crazy Canadian Tour, but it was definitely a lot of fun!