The Tale of Open Bus Doors, Southern Home Cooking, Wilmington, Beaches, and Big Birthdays...

September 14, 2011

The day started with the same ease as most days in Branson. I wasn't in a huge rush; I just needed to meet everyone next door by noon. So I slowly gathered all my things together and by quarter 'til, Gabe and I walked over to my parent's house. (For those of you that don't know, Gabe lives downstairs at my house, and Tim and Larry live downstairs at my parent's house when we are working there. It is basically a big musical compound!) 

Loading up the bus.

We got there just as Bob was arriving, and everyone was starting to get their bags out into the driveway. Not too long after, I spotted a brightly colored mini-bus headed down our rather quiet street. I immediately knew that it must be for us. The driver was actually stopping over at my house, so Gabe ran to the gate and waved him over to my parent's place. 

The bus didn't dare try to come through the gate- because turning around in my parent’s driveway would have been a challenge in such a big vehicle. So we all walked our luggage out to the bus and started throwing it into the back. It was at this moment that I realized that out of everyone traveling- five guys and me. I had the least amount of luggage! Now, how many times can you say it is the chick that has the least amount of luggage? I was- and still am, quite proud of myself for that! No one is going to be calling me high maintenance! 

Once the bus doors closed, we began down the small street to get out of our neighborhood. I had been talking to Bob who was one row behind me, and I noticed something strange. I calmly asked, "Is that door open?" Bob turned around to look at the side of the bus, and he just calmly replies, "sure is." Within a few seconds we got the drivers attention, and made him stop, luckily we got him to stop just in time. It was a side door to the bus that was open, and we were driving down a small street, and we were coming up on a parked car. That door could have done some major damage to that car! So that was the start of our North Carolina tour...

The bus took us to the Branson airport and we got checked in- which wasn't as easy as it should have been. There was an issue with the computers, which just led to more issues! But once we got our tickets we headed into Famous Dave's (once past security of course!). The food took a while. By the time we got our meals, they started announcing that our flight was boarding! However, I do need to add that they started boarding the flight forty five minutes before it was scheduled to depart! So that was part of the problem. 

Charlotte Airport.

We all gulped down some yummy BBQ, and headed onto the plane. The 2:15pm Airtran flight to Atlanta took off a little early. It was an easy flight though, just about an hour and a half. I got a bit of work done- even did a little reading, and then we landed. The good news was that we landed early! We originally had a short thirty minute layover, but this gave us just under an hour layover. And the even better news was that our next gate was only a few feet away! 

Without too much hesitation, they started boarding our next flight- which was going to Charlotte, North Carolina. That was a super easy flight as well. Just about an hour in the air, then back on the ground in North Carolina! Once we landed, we went on down to the baggage claim area to get our bags. We also met up with our sound guy Bill there. 

After gathering our luggage, we went to wait for the bus to take us to the Enterprise office. It didn't take too long to get our cars- we had to get three of them. Dad, Gabe and I were in the first car, and then Larry and Bill, followed by Tim and Bob. We had about an hour drive to get to Forest City. But it was a pretty simple ride- at least for us! (Turns out Tim and Bob got a little lost... Their navigation had them turn early and they ended up on a dirt road with no way to turn around. Adventures!) We all checked into our Holiday Inn Express hotel, then everyone except Dad walked across the street to Chilis. (Dad was feeling tired so he got a hot dog next door at Sonic and then crashed for the night.) It was a good first night on the road. And we managed to get to sleep by a semi-reasonable time too!

September 15, 2011

I woke up to my hotel phone ringing. Tim was calling to inform me that the hotel was going to need to take my mattress. I was a bit confused. But he explained that sadly they were needing to change out all the mattresses at the hotel within the next hour. Within ten minutes they knocked on my door and they came in and took my bed away. And they didn't bring me one back! It was supposed to be a ten minute thing, take a bed and replace it. But they just took mine. I sat in my chair on the phone on and off until about two hours later they finally brought me a bed. Then I managed to get into the shower, and continue on with my day as planned. It was a strange situation. I've never been at a hotel when they needed to change out all the mattresses! 

I met my Dad downstairs at 3pm and we had a driver take us to the venue which was just down the street- yet in the city of Spindale. We were working at a great theater that was located at the Isothermal Community College. (We all discussed the meaning of isothermal backstage... I think we finally got a definition worked out.) When Dad and I got there, they were not quite ready for us, so we all hung out in the green room for a while. Eventually they called us up to finish sound check. 

Spindale Theater.

We ran through the things we needed to as quickly as we could. By the time we were finished, we were running about an hour behind schedule. So Dad went back to the hotel, while the guys and I stayed at the venue for a bit to get some dinner. They supplied us with an amazing meal! But once we finished, we headed back to the hotel for a little rest, and to get ready for the gig. 

I met Dad downstairs at 7pm and we got a ride to the theater. We actually had a 7:30pm show that night. And it was an interesting show! The first half went off as usual. But then we actually took a fifteen minute intermission. (Which we do not usually do during our shows on the road- we usually just do that in Branson. But this venue had requested it.) 

When we got back on stage, things got a bit more interesting... There were some notes waiting on stage for Dad, a lady at the front of the stage with a note and also awaiting a hug, and a woman bringing my Dad some flowers for his Birthday. It was a lot of fun. One of the notes was about an anniversary. There was a couple in the front row celebrating, and so Dad started talking to them. The guy said, "We've made love to your songs MANY times." Dad giggled and replied, "Glad I could help." He paused for a minute then continued, "I hope it works tonight." All and all, it was just a really fun night. Pretty funny!

After the show, Dad and I went out to sell and that went great. We met a lot of great people out there. Once we were done, we went backstage to gather our things and then we got a ride back to the hotel. I text Gabe asking him to bring me some food from Chilis. (All the guys had hurried off to Chilis after the show...) After I finished up my chicken, I got myself ready for bed.

September 16, 2011

I didn't have to wake up too early, just by 10am. But once I got up, I jumped into the shower, and got ready for the day. I also got all my stuff packed up, and I headed downstairs by 12:30pm- I was supposed to meet Dad down there then. I waited about ten minutes, but when he didn't show up I walked inside and called his hotel room phone. Sure enough his wakeup call didn't come, so he got a late start, but he was on his way. 

We ended up running a bit late. But we weren't too worried about it. We had about a two hour drive to get to Wilkesboro. I was in charge of driving. It was a great drive actually. A lot of beautiful houses and scenery! We arrived at our Hampton Inn around 2:45pm. They were just finishing up making our beds in our rooms, so Dad and I sat down in the lobby and he ate his lunch- we had just stopped at Wendy's so he could get a burger.

Wilkesboro Theater.

Bob and Gabe enjoying the cake...

By the time I got to my room, they were actually still finishing up, but she was out of there within a few minutes. I had a little time to kill, then I met Dad back downstairs at 3:30pm to meet our driver and head to the theater. The theater wasn't far away, and was again on a college campus. Great theater, and the sound check went really quickly! 

Myself backstage.

Afterwards, Dad went straight back to the hotel, while the guys and I waited for food. The food was killer! Glad we waited! The Southern cooking around there was just amazing. Then we all headed back to the hotel to rest for a bit and get ready for the gig.

Dad and I met downstairs again around 7:30pm, and we were taken back to the theater. When we got there they took us into a dressing room that was pretty cool looking. I loved the couches in it anyway! And then we started the show just after 8pm. No intermission that night, just a normal road show! It went great though! We had a good time.

Myself backstage.

After the show Dad and I went out to sign like usual, and that went well; then it was time to stop in the green room for Dad to make himself a sandwich. Once we were finished with that, Tim was ready to leave too, so we hopped into his car and got a ride back to the hotel.

I decided that I was going to try to be a good, healthy person... So I went down to the gym for a while. I did a little running and walking, followed by very little weights- they didn't have much of a set up! But it felt good to get my blood moving! After I was finished though, it was time to get back to my room and get some rest.

September 17, 2011

Again we weren't in a hurry, so I actually slept in until about 10am. At which point I got up and started getting dressed and also finished up some stuff I had been working on. Dad and I didn't meet downstairs until 1pm. But then we were off to the next city. Mocksville, here we come! 

When I met Dad downstairs, he was fashioning his new long sleeve shirt that he had bought the day before. (He didn't realize how cold it was going to be- it was in the fifties.) In my Dad's words, "It's going really fast." And it is a good reason why someone should go shopping with him. But anyway, it was only about an hour drive to the next city, so it was rather painless! 

Lovely crib in my room.

We pulled up to our Hampton Inn right around 2pm. I went in to start getting us checked in, and once I finished and was about to walk away, the lady said, "Oh and I had Bill and Tim's room keys, should I just hold on to them?" I replied that she should, they would be here soon. She continued on, "And I have Tim staying in the same room as McKenna, is that right?" And no, that was not right, so she corrected the keys, then I was on my way. To add to the strangeness, when I opened the door to my room I could see something unusual... A crib. Yes, a crib for a baby. Dad was walking by at the same time and saw my confusion, so he glanced inside the room and said, "Something you should tell me?" It was funny! No idea why they decided I needed a crib though! But there was also a gift bag awaiting me in my room! It had a bottle of North Carolina wine, some special cookies from a local bakery, a bag of Jelly Belly's, and also a bag of popcorn! So sweet! I couldn't wait to try things, but that would have to wait...

Snack package awaiting me in my room!

I didn't have long before I needed to leave for sound check, but I took a seat on the bed and checked my email. As I was sitting there, I started to hear some noise coming from my door, then I heard the door open! Apparently, the front desk gave this room to someone else too! So I was a bit concerned to leave for sound check and leave all my bags and stuff in the room. What if they gave this room to someone else too! But I had to leave, so I figured it was going to be what it was going to be.

I met my driver down in the lobby at 2:45pm. Dad decided he wasn't going to go to sound check that day; he hadn't gotten a great night of sleep, so he needed to rest. It was about a fifteen minute drive from the hotel, and it was a very cute theater. Sound check didn't take too long, and by the time we were done, they had our food ready. It was amazing! The chicken actually looked bright pink on the outside, but it was incredible! 

After we all ate- and I must add that we all ate way too much! We headed back to the hotel. I had about two hours to rest and get some things done before I needed to be on my way back to the theater. But that time passed very quickly, and soon it was 6:45pm and I was meeting Dad down in the lobby and heading over to the venue. 

Mocksville Theater.

We got to the theater and got ready for the show. It was a 7:30pm show, and we went on right on time. We actually took another intermission at that show too. It was a good show, but because of how the room was setup we had to play very quietly. I mean compared to how the band normally plays, they were maybe playing at thirty percent! But it still went over very well!

After the show, Dad and I went out to sign and meet everyone; and then by the time we were finished Dad made his sandwich and we rode back to the hotel with Tim. All the guys went to a sports bar a couple blocks away, but I just wanted to get to my room. So I got a microwavable meal in the hotel "store", and headed up to my room. I went to sleep as soon as I could, but that wasn't as soon as I had hoped.

September 18, 2011

I woke up to my alarm at 8am. I got dressed and gathered my bags together and went down to the lobby. Gabe was waiting there for me and we packed our stuff into the car and awaited Dad. Once we all got in the car, we started our trip to Shallotte, North Carolina. It was just over a four hour drive. Gabe drove the whole way, and Dad watched movies on his DVD player most of the trip. 

Wilmington.

Wilmington.

We arrived at our Days Inn motel just after 1pm. I got my stuff into my room, and sorted out a few things, then I jumped back into the car by myself for a little adventure. I have always wanted to go to Wilmington, North Carolina, and it was only about forty minutes away. So I started driving. I have to admit that one of the main reasons I have always wanted to go there was because "Dawson's Creek" was filmed there and "One Tree Hill" is still currently filmed there. And I was obsessed with those shows growing up! I wanted to go check out some of the places I have been watching on TV all these years. 

Myself in Wilmington.

I pulled up into downtown Wilmington, and right away I felt at home. I loved the atmosphere! So many awesome shops, coffee houses and cafes! I actually got lunch at a great place right on the river. It was amazing! I had an incredible time, and saw some places I definitely had seen on TV many times over the years. I know it sounds dorky, but it was very exciting! 

Eventually I started heading back to Shallotte, but I turned off and went for a trip to the beach! I went over to Holden Beach. It was beautiful. I found an awesome community of a bunch of great houses right on the beach. I loved it! I had a great time walking around in the sand! It was a perfect little adventure! And I needed a little adventure!

Myself at Holden Beach.

By the time I got back to the hotel, it was time for all of us to meet at about 7pm and head to dinner. We went to a Mexican restaurant in town. It was actually really good! We had a very nice meal, and then went back to the hotel. (Dad had more Sunday night football to watch!) Personally, I was exhausted from my day; and I was ready to try and get some sleep!

September 19, 2011

Happy Birthday to Dad and Gabe! I got up and dressed for the day a bit early because I had a few birthday missions to run. I went to three markets around the area to find the right cakes and candles. I managed to find Dad a chocolate cake with yellow decorations (chocolate is his favorite flavor, and yellow is his favorite color!). And I got Gabe a carrot cake- since he is a bit more health conscious, and also prefers cream cheese frosting. So my morning was very successful!

Bolivia Theater.

Once I finished everything up, I went back to the hotel and met my Dad at 2:30pm to head to the theater. We had a driver, and it was about a fifteen minute drive to the community college that the auditorium was at. (Technically it was a city over from Shallotte in Bolivia.) It was a great theater though. 

Sound check went rather quick that day, but one cute thing did happen... Dad was singing "Soul and Inspiration", and you could see there was a couple up in the light booth dancing together. It was very sweet! After that, Dad went back to the hotel, while the rest of us got some food. The food that the theater got catered for us was amazing! Seriously, I can't say enough about the North Carolina cooking! 

When we were all finished eating, we drove back to the hotel for a while. I put Tim in charge of the cakes. (I had left them in the bigger hotel fridge by the lobby.) Tim had to get them to work so Dad and Gabe wouldn't know about them! I just finished getting ready for the show, and then met my Dad in the lobby of the hotel at 6:45pm to meet our driver.  

We got to the theater in plenty of time, it was a 7:30pm show. I ran around and had to fill a few people in on what to do with the cakes and such, then the show began. The first half went off without any hitches. And again we took an intermission. (Apparently North Carolina prefers an intermission!) But while we were backstage waiting, the fire alarm went off! And it was very loud! It stayed on much longer than it should have too! But it did get shut off eventually- from what we heard, the fog machines actually set it off. 

Surprising the boys with the cakes onstage!

We hit the stage again for the second half, and as Dad was doing the band intros toward the end of the show, I snuck off stage, and Larry followed quickly behind me. One of the guys backstage was lighting the candles for me when I got there. The cakes were lit and ready to go right on cue when Dad started talking about Gabe and mentioning that it was their birthday today. So Larry and I brought the cakes out. Larry had Gabe's and I had Dad's. Bob started singing "Happy Birthday", and then the boys blew out the candles. It was a really fun moment, and went perfectly! I was very excited about that! 

Dad, Gabe and their t'shirts!

The rest of the show was pretty normal, and then we went out to sign once we got off stage. After that, we all went back to the hotel. There was a breakfast room right by the lobby, and it happened to have a big TV too. So we took it over! Dad, Gabe, Bob, Larry, Tim, Bill and I all sat around watching the end of Monday night football while eating the cakes! Dad and Gabe also had matching Birthday shirts that Gabe's mom had sent them, so they were lounging in style! It was a perfect night. Dad couldn't have asked for anything more ideal! 

But we all finished up eventually- seeing as we all needed to get up and leave in the morning. (In fact Bill had to leave the hotel at 3am!) But it was a really great Birthday night on the road! 

September 20, 2011

I woke up by 7am to get myself ready and organized to leave. At 8am, I met Dad and Gabe in the lobby and we hopped into a van with the same driver from the day before. (Bill had to take one of the rental cars at 3am, so we needed an extra ride to the airport.) It was just about an hour drive to the Wilmington airport. As we got there we found Bob and Larry checking in at the US Airways desk, and Tim was just behind us.

Once we all got out tickets, we headed on our way through security and found a place to grab some breakfast. We had about two hours to waste before our flight took off at just after 11am. But the time went by pretty fast. We all got on board our first flight of the day- from Wilmington to Charlotte. It was a quick hour long flight- however it was a little bumpy… There was a weather system that we were flying through. But we made it!

Chicago.

Bus back to Branson.

Dad's ice cream cake.

Gabe's ice cream cake.

When we landed in Charlotte, we had about two hours before our next flight. So we all found ourselves getting some lunch at Chili’s. By the time we were done and we got to our new gate, we didn’t have long before they started boarding. This flight was from Charlotte to Chicago, and was also on time. It was a pretty short flight as well.

Dad reading one of his cards.

Luckily, our layover in Chicago wasn’t quite as long. So we got to our new gate- which was not very far away, (we had feared that it might be a trek because we were changing airlines to United). We set up a camp by the gate and we all hung out there until it was time to get on our plane to Springfield. Again, this flight left on time, and was a pretty quick flight! (It was a bummer that we had three flights that day, but at least they were all short, and all on time! I love that!)

Dad and Gabe about to blow out the candles on their cakes.

Finally back on Missouri soil, we found our driver waiting for us at baggage claim. After we gathered our luggage, we all headed out the side door to the awaiting small bus. We loaded up our stuff and we were on our way back to Branson. It took us about an hour- and I have to say some of us were getting a bit antsy to get there! But we made it! Once I got to my house at 7:45pm, I changed as quickly as I could and then headed over to my parent’s house by 8pm.

We had a little birthday celebration planned for Dad and Gabe. It wasn’t a big thing, just a pizza night! But we all had a great time. I also ordered some cakes from Cold Stone. (I’ve found we all like ice cream cakes!) And so it was a very fun- and yummy way to come home! But we were all exhausted, so we didn’t party for too long! Eventually we all disbursed, and I went to crawl into my own bed for the first time in a week!