THURSDAY, JUNE 23RD, 2011 – GERMANY TO INTERLAKEN, SWITZERLAND:
Was able to sleep 4 hours and then got up to do my Power 90 video workout. They gym next door doesn’t open until 9 am on weekdays! Not sure how people work out before they go to work. It’s not as cold as I expected but is overcast and rainy. Will be a “sleepy” ride to Switzerland.
Had a quick breakfast and got a few emails answered. Everyone was downstairs on time except poor Gregg didn’t start down until about 5 minutes until 10:00. The hotel shut the power off 5 minutes early, so he had to carry his heavy suitcase down 4 flights of stairs. At first we thought he might be stuck in the elevator!
Yesterday when we were eating in Augsburg, some of the group got fortune cookies. Lorrie and Bill decided they would “share” their fortune since they only gave them one. The translation of the fortune was, “Your test tubes will always be fresh”. Hmmmm??? Guess they are relieved….One less thing to worry about. J
It’s about a 5 hour drive to Interlaken and I hope to sleep most of the trip. Got a little work done and will keep up with email via the Blackberry. Lindsey and Heidi Newfield’s group should arrive at the hotel at about the same time we do. Heidi performs tomorrow night as does Lorrie. Then Carlene Carter and Raul Malo perform on Saturday evening.
It rained most of the drive to Switzerland. We stopped at “Marche” and had lunch. That’s the awesome truck stops owned by Movenpick. Took us a “while” to locate one and we didn’t stop until 1 pm. It was worth the weight. I had homemade pasta with fresh tomatoes, zucchini, mushrooms, garlic…all in a really light broth. It was excellent. Everyone was impressed by how great the food was.
Lindsey sent me an email saying they had arrived in Zurich and were departing for Interlaken. We were still driving! The German bus drivers just aren’t that great at taking the best (or the safest) routes! SIX hours after we departed Germany, we arrived at the hotel. It’s still cool and rainy. Lorrie was blown away with the “beauty” of Switzerland. I am here so much, I tend to take it for granted. But seeing it through “fresh” eyes is always a good reminder for me.
Lindsey had already checked everyone in so we said good-bye to Bill (who will be back on Saturday to pick up me and Raul) and went to our rooms. Lindsey went shopping and I answered emails and dealt with problems. Penny is at Wright Patterson AFB in Ohio covering a show we have for their Tattoos Event with Lonestar. So, no one is in the office and it’s pretty busy on my email!
Changed clothes and met Lorrie, Heidi, their tour managers and Lindsey downstairs to go to the Press Conference. It was great to see all my Interlaken friends! And, the food this year was excellent. We were all starving, so we were pretty much first in line!
We were back at the hotel by 10 pm and I’ve been working on email since I walked in. Sure hope to get in bed before 2 am tonight!
Jude
FRIDAY, JUNE 24TH – TRUCKER AND COUNTRY FESTIVAL – INTERLAKEN, SWITZERLAND:
At exactly Midnight, I emailed Lindsey a “Happy Birthday Video” from the Z’s that we made before I left. She had told me she was going to bed so I knew she wouldn’t see it until Friday morning when she got up. Two minutes after I sent it, she had it up on Facebook!
I jogged my 5 miles this morning in absolutely perfect weather. It was in the 50’s and no humidity. And what beautiful scenery to look at when running. Interlaken sits at the base of the Alps between two lakes with amazing blue/green water (run-off from the glacier). Every time I come to Switzerland, I ask myself WHY am I not living here????
Had a really quick breakfast and then got things ready for the day. Lindsey took care of some things for the arrival of Carlene Carter today and I went over to the venue with Lorrie’s band. Then we switched out and I went back to the hotel to take care of things with Carlene and Lindsey went to sound check with Heidi’s band. I also had a meeting with Albi about entertainers for 2012 in Zurich. Made a quick trip to the train station to change money and then to my favorite shop for “gourmet” chocolate in Interlaken. I got one box for Lindsey to give Lorrie for her birthday on Monday. Also got a box for my boyfriend who tells me DO NOT BRING ME CHOCOLATE because he doesn’t want to gain weight. And then when I don’t bring any back from Switzerland, he wants to know why I didn’t bring him any. And everyone thinks women give mixed signals! So if he says, “I told you not to bring me chocolates”, I’m going to sit right down in the floor and eat every piece right in front of him and not share one single piece! Oh wait a minute…then I’ll be fat! J
Lindsey and I were going to try and eat a really quick dinner at a fantastic Indian restaurant right beside the hotel. But it didn’t open until 6 pm and then they were late opening. We had to leave at 6:45 pm for a press conference, so had to give up on that idea. Instead we had a gelato and would have to wait until 9 pm for dinner.
The press conference had more people than normal. It lasted about an hour and then Heidi went back to change clothes and I went with Lorrie to a radio interview. Mike Parkin who has done the interviews since I started coming to Interlaken retired this year, so it was a bit strange not to see him.
We dropped Lorrie off at the hotel and picked up Heidi and her band to go to the venue for her performance. I was a little worried when we walked in because there weren’t as many people there as in years past. The Country Sisters were performing and when Heidi went on stage, it quickly filled up. Lindsey and I walked out and got some Chinese noodles like we had last year and they were great. Ate them backstage so we could catch part of Heidi’s show while eating. Mikey (our driver) had picked up the huge swiss chocolate ($200!!!!) birthday cake I had bought her and we had it “hidden” in the refrigerator backstage. Lindsey started to open the refrigerator to get a bottle of water and the girl working backstage threw herself in front of it. She told Lindsey she couldn’t get the water herself, that she had to get it for her. Lindsey sat down and whispered to me, “Well that was rude. That lady wouldn’t let me get any water out of the refrigerator!”. LOL
We had to walk over to the office to see Iris and pick up the balances due the entertainers. There is a long “trough” that is a men’s urinal and it’s right out in the open. I pointed it out to Lorrie and Heidi at the press conference today. No one was using it when they walked by so they “posed” in front of it for a photo. When we walked by tonight, it had a “full house”. Hard not to stare….okay, we did!
I had to go back to the hotel to pick up Lorrie’s band and then back again to pick up Lorrie. Lindsey stayed with Heidi and helped her sell merchandise after the performance. The audience definitely loved her performance. She sold everything she brought with her except for a couple of photos! We brought Lindsey’s birthday cake out and surprised her. Oh My God. It is Swiss Chocolate through and through. There was a purse and a car and a shoe on it that is made out of marzipan, too. She is insisting on taking anything that is left with her to Italy tomorrow morning. Glad she is so I won’t eat it.
Lorrie packed out the tent when her performance began. It was really awesome seeing her on the “big stage” and they had a great show. Like I said before, that woman can SING….and add to that fact that she is beautiful, sexy and sweet as can be. She didn’t take the stage until midnight and finished at 1:30 am. Then she signed autographs for everyone in line. And, they have an 8 am departure time to Italy tomorrow morning. Of course I have to get up, too, and see them off.
They were asking me the other night what my first pet’s name was and the name of the very first street I lived on. That’s supposed to be my “call girl” name! My first pet was Ricky and my first street was Highway 82. They would let me use Ricky Highway 82 as my call girl name. So I had to use the second street name. I am now officially Ricky Magnolia! Great.
So, it is almost 3 am now and I’m going to bed soon. It was a good day!
Jude
SATURDAY, JUNE 26 – SECOND PERFORMANCE DAY AT THE INTERLAKEN TRUCKER AND COUNTRY FESTIVAL, SWITZERLAND:
Lorrie’s road manager called just as I was going to bed and wanted to come by and talk to me. Didn’t get in bed until 4:15 am and had to get up at 7:15 am. Short night.
Lorrie and her group departed via tour bus at 8 am to Voghera, Italy – a 3 ½ hour drive. Lindsey started texting me about an hour after they left. One of the musicians didn’t know if his passport was in his suitcase or if he left it in his room. So I checked his room and it was not there. Lindsey sent me another text that they pulled over and he found it in his suitcase. Next text from her said there was a traffic jam on the main road and cars were sitting for 2-3 hours. The bus had to take a detour through a pass. No big deal. We do it all the time in tour buses in snow and ice so I wasn’t worried. Evidentially, no one on the bus had experienced traveling through a pass in Switzerland via tour bus before. Lorrie sprinkled everyone with Holy Water! Lindsey sent me a photo and it was NOTHING. The road was much wider than what we normally travel on and there were even guard rails along the sides of the road – something we rarely have. They stopped at a rest stop at the bottom of the pass and I asked her if it was so everyone could get suitcases out of the bus bays and change their pants! Instead of a 3 ½ hour drive, it took them 6 hours to get there!
Heidi’s group got off to the Top of Junfrau this morning without a glitch. I did my Power 90 workout and then started checking on Raul Malo’s group flying in from England. I finally got a text saying they had landed and cleared customs. They had their bags and were standing on the curb waiting for the bus. I called the promoter who said the bus was there. An HOUR later, the bus driver finally found them although they had been standing curbside with all the musical instruments all that time. We tell the drivers to go inside and even print up signs for them with the entertainers’ name and festival on it and they refuse to get out of their bus and go inside. We also told the driver to call us when they were about 20 minutes out so we could meet them at the hotel. I figured they would arrive at 1 pm, so I stood outside and waited. I waited and waited and no now arrived. It finally became time for me to go meet Carlene so I went to the front desk at the hotel and explained what I was leaving for them and asked that she give them the material when they arrived. She informed me that they had checked in quite some time ago and were in their rooms! My vote is to change bus companies next year!
I forgot to mention that yesterday when Carlene and her group arrived at the airport, this same bus company who told us they would pick up EVERYONE in a bus, showed up with a 4 passenger van for 6 people and all their luggage and equipment. They were trying to stuff everything inside and only take 4 people! Had to get the promoter to call them. Then she had to locate ANOTHER vehicle to meet them at the airport and bring them to Interlaken 2 hours away!
Spent most of the afternoon running back and forth between the hotel and venue. Had about 30 minutes to shop for something for the Z’s and then had a quick dinner at the hotel with Carlene’s guys. Heidi’s group came back from Jungfrau where they had a fantastic time.
Raul performed first tonight and I had a brief panic attack when he started his show with a ballad. But, he quickly switched to up-tempo and had a great show. I had to leave to go meet Carlene but I’ll have another chance to see him Monday evening in Germany. He signed autographs for everyone even though he didn’t bring any merch with him.
Carlene LOOKS fantastic. She and Joe (her husband) have lost a lot of weight. Her show was the best I’ve ever seen. Raul came out and sang “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” with her and Joe and brought the hour down. Then Joe stayed on for another song and when he finished, he tripped over the monitor and landed flat on his back. I never have my camera ready for the good shots! He is okay. J
Carlene had hundreds of fans waiting for her autograph and she signed for everyone. We didn’t get back to the hotel until after 1 am. She and most of her guys are staying tomorrow. Heidi flies back to the U.S. and I take the tour bus back to Germany with Raul and his boys.
A friend of mine who gets the road reports said that guys have a similar “porn” name and the formula for establishing it is the same. His is – are you ready for this? – MAX CANNON. Much better than mine.
Some guy found my address on the website and sent me an email. He said he filmed a short video while he was visiting his niece in TX and he’d like for me to look at it and see what a DIVERSE audience the Bellamys have. Thought I was going to wet my pants watching this. You HAVE to check it out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHTiN9ewkps
Great shows in Switzerland again this year. Night!
Jude
LINDSEY’S ROAD REPORT
Day 3 – Friday, June 24, 2011
Woke up at 8 and went downstairs for breakfast then over to mom’s room to figure out the day. Lorrie’s band has soundcheck at 11:30 and Heidi and her band at 2. Mom took Lorrie’s band over to the venue at 11:30 which left me with a few hours to try and do some shopping. Weather is ok, high of 65 and partly sunny.
Carlene Carter and her band are also arriving today, as they play the festival tomorrow night. Carlene and Joe are staying at a different hotel so I had to go over there and drop off their meal tickets and itineraries.
Grabbed a tomato and mozzarella sandwhich at a little take away cafe and ate it along with a box of truffles before going over to soundcheck with Heidi’s band. Dropped them off then came back and picked up Heidi and took her over. Finished soundcheck around 4:30 and back to the hotel. Lorrie, Jeff, me, mom, Heidi and Gordon have to leave at 6:45 to go to the press conference / meet and greet so mom and I decided to just eat some gelato and then get the really good chinese food out at the venue once Heidi went on.
Press conference went well and were back at the hotel by 8 PM and didn’t have to leave again until 9:15 PM. Carlene’s band made it in and I got to talk to them for a few minutes before we left. I texted my friend Joe when we got to the venue, he is from Zurich and had come out to the festival. We have never met, but became friends a few years back when he helped Ray Scott out of a little bind he was in in Zurich 🙂 so finally got to meet him and he gave me a huge bag of swiss chocolate. Oh.. and Heidi bought me this really cool Swiss hat and truffles for my birthday! So sweet!
While Heidi was performing mom and I ate backstage, there is an area with tables and a fridge with drinks in it. I went to get a water out of the fridge and a girl that works back there said “No, I will get it for you, what do you want” Wasn’t sure what to think so I had her get me a water, thought she was taking her job very seriously… Heidi had a great show! Very high energy! Took her and Gordon to the front of the stage for her to sign autographs, guess we were there about 5 mins and Jrene with the festival came to me and said that mom needed my help backstage. Went back and there was a huge birthday cake! Lorrie and her band had just arrived so they all sang Happy Birthday to me. It was so special and the cake was to die for. Chocolate on Chocolate with the decorations done in Marzapan! Yummy!!
Lorrie also had a really good show. Audience loved her and the band sounded great. I think because she went on so late (midnight) she didn’t have as many people stick around for autographs. Got to say good bye to Joe and then finally at 2 AM we got back to the hotel. Now to pack and try and get some sleep since we leave for Italy at 8 AM!
Thank you all for the Happy Birthday wishes! I had a great one!