Columbia and Perry Recap...
Alright, recap…..
So, my “WEEKEND OF EPIC PROPORTIONS” started Friday night after work. Texas Jen got in about 7ish and after I finally got home from fussing with Alltel, we packed up her car with my stuff and headed to Walmart for hair dye, then started our hour long trek to Bama Jen’s house.
We giggled, we laughed, we put 2 bottles of hair dye on Texas Jen’s hair… We finally made it to bed at around 3 am… Just to be up in 2 hours to hit the road for Columbia.
At 5am the alarm went off… We crawled out of bed, got dressed, packed the car again, and headed out. I pretty much drove the whole way until about 5 miles from our exit to Perry on Sunday. (More on that later.)
We made it to the store right down from the house when we made our first “pit-stop”. Yeah… I needed coffee…. 2 hours of sleep and no caffeine does NOT make Heather a very cheery person….
So, we drove, and drove, and drove, and drove………. 7 hours, several thunderstorms, several pit stops, and many, many, many giggles later, we arrive in Columbia. No thanks to the TomTom that like to tell us to “Turn Left” on the INTERSTATE!
After we FINALLY get checked in to the hotel, we call the 142547859746597457885 people that we had to call/text/send smoke signals too and the head out to get food. We were starving at this point. Oh, and, word to the wise, if you ever find yourself in Columbia, SC. Don’t go to the BK on…… what the hell was the name of that street??? Well, shit… I don’t remember….. Anywho, they apparently can’t speak English, and don’t understand 3 JR. WHOPPER COMBOS… Sorry, ranting… LOL!
We eat, we laugh, we get ready. Sylvia finally gets to the room. We proceed to take 5, count them, 5 unsuccessful pictures….
Until we finally gave up and just said we would wait ‘til we get to the venue and have someone else take the damn picture.
Met lots and lots of WN! *waves to them all* I will never remember all of your names….
After we get in the venue/stage area/arena/concrete slab that was the place we were going to rock out, we squee about our seats and how close we are. And, proceed to talk/meet/hug and squee all of our friends that we have been dieing to meet. (David will never understand just how many people he has brought together.)
SHOWTIME!
It was cold… I mean really COLD. And, raining…… But, as soon as the show started, I didn’t really care anymore!
There was no opening act… So, we got all David! I was a little bummed that Ryan wasn’t there, but, it’s was okay. I got over it.
I had a completely, 100%, unobstructed view of Neal Fing Tiemann! I. WAS. IN. HEAVEN! I bitched at my camera. Took like 7 pictures before I gave up and just enjoyed the show and took some video. Apparently, my camera doesn’t like me to be more than about 5 ft from the guys… I can’t say that I blame it… But, it was a tad frustrating…
My one good picture.
I have a whole new appreciation for “Light On”. That is a slight inside joke. It involves NFT, and it’s kinda dirty….. But, just know that I will NEVER look at that song the same way EVER AGAIN!
Barbasol had to be the sexiest performance of that song that I have EVER seen. It wasn’t just David, all of the guys were in the zone! I just stared with my mouth gaping open…..
I FINALLY GOT MY LIE! As most of you know, I haven’t seen the guys since Feb. in Tallahassee. He didn’t play “Lie” then. That is my favorite song off the album and I have been PINING for it. And, the crowd was mostly quiet. It was beautiful! You don’t understand until you hear it live. Words cannot describe it. It was just…. GUH!
After the show, we head out to head back to the car. Manage to walk around in a circle, find ourselves back in front of the arena…. Seriously, this place was HUGE and confusing! We follow out a couple of girls and head back in what we think is the direction of the car. Come to find out, we are on the clear other side of the fair, and now have to trek 3 miles back to the car… Bama Jen was in heels.. It was not pretty… So, after bitching/walking/dodging traffic/almost getting hit by a car/running across a busy intersection…. We make it back to the car. I proceed to kill everyone in the car with my videos on my camera. (They actually looked much better on the camera than they did when we uploaded them.) My camera just kinda got passed around. It was kinda funny.
Back at the hotel, we were watching and uploading the vids when all of a sudden we hear this strange banging coming from the room next too us… Then came the moans and screams.….. And, went on, and on, and on, and on….. For 2 HOURS!! We were cracking up!
Again, we giggled, we laughed, we flirted with the hot Hotel clerk in the lobby when we went to get beer. We climbed into bed sometime around 3am again.. Just to be up by 6am.
Get up the next morning and get back on the road heading to Perry. We drive, and drive, and drive, and drive… We are about 5 miles from our exit, I top the hill, I am in the left hand lane and the radar detector goes off… “LASER”. SHIT! MFing SHIT! They got me… 86 in a 70….. 5 MILES FROM MY EXIT!!!! Basically, my nerves were already shot, that didn’t help. Don’t ask me why my nerves were shot. I don’t know. I was going on 5 hours of sleep over the course of the weekend. I handed the keys to Texas Jen, and crawled in the back seat.
We finally get to Perry, call Lisa to get the room key so we can freshen up. Confusion ensues, an hour later we finally have the room key. Let’s just say that the police just didn’t want to hear that we just need to go down “THAT ROAD” to get a ROOM KEY! *Grumbles* Now we have less than 2 hours to get ready and get back to the fair…. I have NEVER gotten dressed faster than I did Sunday…
We get back to the fair. Go in and stumble across David playing football with Monty. Unfortunately, everyone else was hogging the little slits in the wall, so I only got small glimpses of him. And, that made us feel kinda stalkerish and like paparazzi like… So, we left to find Lisa give her back the key and meet up with Jamie and her husband.
We eventually made it inside the venue and found our seat and got ready for the guys to rock our faces off at 4 in the afternoon… Seriously! Who has EVER heard of a rock show at 4 IN THE AFTERNOON??! Anywho, I digress…..
I didn’t take any pictures. In fact, my camera stayed in my jacket on the floor of the venue. I had Texas Jen’s camcorder, so, I videoed.. a lot.. The MitB vid has to be the funniest. They start playing the first couple of cords and on the video you hear me and the Jens lose our collective shit, the camera goes off kilter, and then you hear “I freaking love you David Cook!” Yeah, didn’t even know I said that… LOL! It’s amazing what you find out you say when you listen back on your videos… LOL! Got the “Deep Fried EVERYTHING” banter again. I think it was just as funny if not funnier the second time around. And then the squeaky toy… I was LMAO for that!
I had this random guy who was about 2 rows ahead of me and like one person over that was, I swear, like 7 foot tall, and couldn’t decide if he wanted to stand up or sit down. I wouldn’t have cared if he stood the whole time, I could see around him. But, when he would stand up, it would auto focus my camera and everything BUT his head would go blurry.. And, it would be at key parts of the show… i.e…. Neal LICKING HIS GUITAR IN BBS! Yeah… I was NOT pleased! I giggled when the guy in front of us completely fangirl when the boys started playing MitB… He brought his girlfriend, but, I think he is now Cookified!
The shows were great. I couldn’t have asked for better. I got several songs crossed off my bucket list. But, let’s face it, I hadn’t seen the guys since Feb. my bucket list is QUITE long….
We hung out with Jamie, her husband, and Sylvia for a couple of hours after the show. And, then head back to the car for our long trek back to Alabama. 4 hours, lots of giggles, fangirling, moaning, whimpering(rewatched the videos from that day) and spamming Neal’s @replies later… (Yeah, sorry about that Neal… we were giggly, punch drunk, and delirious…. I take no responsibility for anything I said on Twitter during that time.) we made it to my house.
I said goodbye to my girls. Hugged, cried, and swore we were going to go to Texas to kidnap Texas Jen back here. I collapsed into bed.
I am still not completely unpacked. I need to do laundry. And, I think I am still in a state of delirium…. But, I wouldn’t have it any other way!
So, my “WEEKEND OF EPIC PROPORTIONS” started Friday night after work. Texas Jen got in about 7ish and after I finally got home from fussing with Alltel, we packed up her car with my stuff and headed to Walmart for hair dye, then started our hour long trek to Bama Jen’s house.
We giggled, we laughed, we put 2 bottles of hair dye on Texas Jen’s hair… We finally made it to bed at around 3 am… Just to be up in 2 hours to hit the road for Columbia.
At 5am the alarm went off… We crawled out of bed, got dressed, packed the car again, and headed out. I pretty much drove the whole way until about 5 miles from our exit to Perry on Sunday. (More on that later.)
We made it to the store right down from the house when we made our first “pit-stop”. Yeah… I needed coffee…. 2 hours of sleep and no caffeine does NOT make Heather a very cheery person….
So, we drove, and drove, and drove, and drove………. 7 hours, several thunderstorms, several pit stops, and many, many, many giggles later, we arrive in Columbia. No thanks to the TomTom that like to tell us to “Turn Left” on the INTERSTATE!
After we FINALLY get checked in to the hotel, we call the 142547859746597457885 people that we had to call/text/send smoke signals too and the head out to get food. We were starving at this point. Oh, and, word to the wise, if you ever find yourself in Columbia, SC. Don’t go to the BK on…… what the hell was the name of that street??? Well, shit… I don’t remember….. Anywho, they apparently can’t speak English, and don’t understand 3 JR. WHOPPER COMBOS… Sorry, ranting… LOL!
We eat, we laugh, we get ready. Sylvia finally gets to the room. We proceed to take 5, count them, 5 unsuccessful pictures….
Until we finally gave up and just said we would wait ‘til we get to the venue and have someone else take the damn picture.
Met lots and lots of WN! *waves to them all* I will never remember all of your names….
After we get in the venue/stage area/arena/concrete slab that was the place we were going to rock out, we squee about our seats and how close we are. And, proceed to talk/meet/hug and squee all of our friends that we have been dieing to meet. (David will never understand just how many people he has brought together.)
SHOWTIME!
It was cold… I mean really COLD. And, raining…… But, as soon as the show started, I didn’t really care anymore!
There was no opening act… So, we got all David! I was a little bummed that Ryan wasn’t there, but, it’s was okay. I got over it.
I had a completely, 100%, unobstructed view of Neal Fing Tiemann! I. WAS. IN. HEAVEN! I bitched at my camera. Took like 7 pictures before I gave up and just enjoyed the show and took some video. Apparently, my camera doesn’t like me to be more than about 5 ft from the guys… I can’t say that I blame it… But, it was a tad frustrating…
My one good picture.
I have a whole new appreciation for “Light On”. That is a slight inside joke. It involves NFT, and it’s kinda dirty….. But, just know that I will NEVER look at that song the same way EVER AGAIN!
Barbasol had to be the sexiest performance of that song that I have EVER seen. It wasn’t just David, all of the guys were in the zone! I just stared with my mouth gaping open…..
I FINALLY GOT MY LIE! As most of you know, I haven’t seen the guys since Feb. in Tallahassee. He didn’t play “Lie” then. That is my favorite song off the album and I have been PINING for it. And, the crowd was mostly quiet. It was beautiful! You don’t understand until you hear it live. Words cannot describe it. It was just…. GUH!
After the show, we head out to head back to the car. Manage to walk around in a circle, find ourselves back in front of the arena…. Seriously, this place was HUGE and confusing! We follow out a couple of girls and head back in what we think is the direction of the car. Come to find out, we are on the clear other side of the fair, and now have to trek 3 miles back to the car… Bama Jen was in heels.. It was not pretty… So, after bitching/walking/dodging traffic/almost getting hit by a car/running across a busy intersection…. We make it back to the car. I proceed to kill everyone in the car with my videos on my camera. (They actually looked much better on the camera than they did when we uploaded them.) My camera just kinda got passed around. It was kinda funny.
Back at the hotel, we were watching and uploading the vids when all of a sudden we hear this strange banging coming from the room next too us… Then came the moans and screams.….. And, went on, and on, and on, and on….. For 2 HOURS!! We were cracking up!
Again, we giggled, we laughed, we flirted with the hot Hotel clerk in the lobby when we went to get beer. We climbed into bed sometime around 3am again.. Just to be up by 6am.
Get up the next morning and get back on the road heading to Perry. We drive, and drive, and drive, and drive… We are about 5 miles from our exit, I top the hill, I am in the left hand lane and the radar detector goes off… “LASER”. SHIT! MFing SHIT! They got me… 86 in a 70….. 5 MILES FROM MY EXIT!!!! Basically, my nerves were already shot, that didn’t help. Don’t ask me why my nerves were shot. I don’t know. I was going on 5 hours of sleep over the course of the weekend. I handed the keys to Texas Jen, and crawled in the back seat.
We finally get to Perry, call Lisa to get the room key so we can freshen up. Confusion ensues, an hour later we finally have the room key. Let’s just say that the police just didn’t want to hear that we just need to go down “THAT ROAD” to get a ROOM KEY! *Grumbles* Now we have less than 2 hours to get ready and get back to the fair…. I have NEVER gotten dressed faster than I did Sunday…
We get back to the fair. Go in and stumble across David playing football with Monty. Unfortunately, everyone else was hogging the little slits in the wall, so I only got small glimpses of him. And, that made us feel kinda stalkerish and like paparazzi like… So, we left to find Lisa give her back the key and meet up with Jamie and her husband.
We eventually made it inside the venue and found our seat and got ready for the guys to rock our faces off at 4 in the afternoon… Seriously! Who has EVER heard of a rock show at 4 IN THE AFTERNOON??! Anywho, I digress…..
I didn’t take any pictures. In fact, my camera stayed in my jacket on the floor of the venue. I had Texas Jen’s camcorder, so, I videoed.. a lot.. The MitB vid has to be the funniest. They start playing the first couple of cords and on the video you hear me and the Jens lose our collective shit, the camera goes off kilter, and then you hear “I freaking love you David Cook!” Yeah, didn’t even know I said that… LOL! It’s amazing what you find out you say when you listen back on your videos… LOL! Got the “Deep Fried EVERYTHING” banter again. I think it was just as funny if not funnier the second time around. And then the squeaky toy… I was LMAO for that!
I had this random guy who was about 2 rows ahead of me and like one person over that was, I swear, like 7 foot tall, and couldn’t decide if he wanted to stand up or sit down. I wouldn’t have cared if he stood the whole time, I could see around him. But, when he would stand up, it would auto focus my camera and everything BUT his head would go blurry.. And, it would be at key parts of the show… i.e…. Neal LICKING HIS GUITAR IN BBS! Yeah… I was NOT pleased! I giggled when the guy in front of us completely fangirl when the boys started playing MitB… He brought his girlfriend, but, I think he is now Cookified!
The shows were great. I couldn’t have asked for better. I got several songs crossed off my bucket list. But, let’s face it, I hadn’t seen the guys since Feb. my bucket list is QUITE long….
We hung out with Jamie, her husband, and Sylvia for a couple of hours after the show. And, then head back to the car for our long trek back to Alabama. 4 hours, lots of giggles, fangirling, moaning, whimpering(rewatched the videos from that day) and spamming Neal’s @replies later… (Yeah, sorry about that Neal… we were giggly, punch drunk, and delirious…. I take no responsibility for anything I said on Twitter during that time.) we made it to my house.
I said goodbye to my girls. Hugged, cried, and swore we were going to go to Texas to kidnap Texas Jen back here. I collapsed into bed.
I am still not completely unpacked. I need to do laundry. And, I think I am still in a state of delirium…. But, I wouldn’t have it any other way!