MONDAY, JUNE 30TH, 2008 – DAY 12: Up at 3 am and supposed to depart at 5 am but the bus was late. All the trucks were due to start departing (1,500 of them!) at 5:00 am, so we wanted to avoid that traffic. Because he was late, we got into some of the traffic. Bellamys flight was on time to Atlanta and mine was on time to Amsterdam. I had several hours to wait and spent it in the Airline Lounge answering email. Landed in Amsterdam with a one hour connection time. Had to go through Passport Control and I’ve never seen them so SLOW! I waited in line for 45 minutes and then had to run through security and to the gate. Didn’t realize that the flight from Amsterdam to Brussels is on a small prop plane! Glad the weather is pretty.
Took the shuttle to the Marriott Hotel and got checked into my room. No wireless, but there is “wired” cable. Only someone had taken the cable out of my room and it took me almost an hour to get one from the front desk. Gary and the band arrived a little after 7 pm. Gary does not know I’m here, so I knocked on his door but didn’t expect him to answer. I finally called his room and surprised him. I went to dinner with my friend Michael and finally met George – the AFE Coordinator here who I had previously only met via “email” and several of the Lt. Dan Band members. We went downtown to the Market Plaza. What an incredible site. The buildings are beautiful! I’ve only been to the airport in Brussels so this is a real treat. We had dinner at a great seafood restaurant but all I could think about were the Belgium Waffle stands that we had passed on the street. I didn’t eat very much for dinner because I definitely wanted a waffle. I purchased a “community waffle” after dinner and 4 of us shared it. I had them top it with yoghurt that was to die for! I have to get another one before I leave. Going to bed now. It’s after 1 am. Will go see Gary’s show tomorrow and also get to see my friend Colonel Tim Sughre. Jude
JULY 1ST (CAN’T BELIEVE IT) – DAY (LUCKY) 13: Got 5 hours of sleep. Went to the gym and worked out with weights, nautilus machines and elliptical trainer – basically everything that was available to work out with! After several days of not being able to work out, I needed to catch up. Showered and then answered emails most of the morning. Not going over to the show site until 3 pm this afternoon. Nice to be a “spectator” for a few days instead of the “mother”. Everyone is yelling at me because my Road Report yesterday was so short. Here’s the honest truth. When we went out to dinner last night, I drank about a half of a glass of wine. Since I rarely drink and since I’ve had so little sleep, it knocked me out. I could barely keep my eyes open long enough to type the report last night. I had to re-read it this morning to see if I said anything stupid! Ran downstairs to say hello to Gary before he departed for the base this morning. He has several “meet and greets” lined up with VIP’s today. I met him for lunch when he came back and we got to catch up on all our mutual “military” stories. What an incredibly great, dedicated, talented man he is. Rode over to the venue with him and watched him sound check with the band. I know I’ve said it before, but he has a fantastic band. There are 13 people on stage and it is quite the “production”. They play 90% cover tunes from all genres of music so the crowd really gets into the music because at some point during the show, everyone is going to hear at least one song they love. He is big on “crowd interaction” as well which really goes over great with the military audience. Went down to the dressing room with him and the band and I was then going to walk back up to see our production crew and bus driver who were a little ways down the road. I had on my “gladiator” sandals that are as slick as glass on the bottom. I rounded the corner and my foot slipped on the pavement and I went down. Hurt my pride more than anything. I bounced back up so fast, you would have thought I was on a trampoline. Uwe from Public Address was handling the production for the show, so I got to chat with him for a minute. Then Colonel Sughre and his wonderful family showed up. Talked to them until the show started and then walked around during the 2 ½ hour set talking to people and listening to the great music. The audience LOVED the show and they should have. Gary and his group of musicians go out of their way to put on a fantastic show. Normally I would think “Two and a Half Hours! That’s way too long”. But the music is so good, the time flies by. My one complaint to him afterwards is that they performed “Hey Jude” and didn’t dedicate it to me. L It’s really hard for me NOT to work and honestly pretty boring. Was a nice break to visit with Jeff, Bryan, George, Michael, Uwe and Gary though. I am horrible with names but I’ve hung around with the Lt. Dan Band for so long, that I actually know everyone’s name – all 13 of them! The weather here was absolutely beautiful today. Warm and sunny which I understand is unusual for Brussels. The locals say it rains here all the time. I took Tim and his family backstage to meet Gary after the concert. I knew Gary would like him and I was right. They were thrilled to have photos taken with him. Rode back to the hotel and have been answering emails for the past hour. I’ll have to fly back to Zurich tomorrow and spend one night. Not looking forward to it because I am on two turbo prop planes and it’s supposed to rain. I’ve already checked the option of taking the train instead of flying if it’s really bad!
I know. It’s “short” again but this time I haven’t had any wine. But, I am tired and am going to bed very soon. J
JULY 2ND – DAY 14: Definitely NOT my lucky day. Got up and ran on the treadmill in the gym because I’m trying to let my pulled hamstring “heal”. Breakfast, shower and ready to take the shuttle to the airport. Told everyone in the Lt. Dan Band goodbye and off to the airport. It was beautiful weather when I arrived but about 30 minutes prior to my flight departure time, a thunderstorm rolled in. There was lightning on the ground, so our flight was delayed. I only had 45 minutes to make my connection in Amsterdam if it had taken off on time. Knew I wasn’t going to make that flight but knew there were others available. I had sneezed all day yesterday but I thought it was allergies and the fact that they had put bales of hay all around the stage. Nope. I am definitely getting the Bellamy’s “head cold”. We finally left about an hour late and of course, I missed the connection. I was so worried about turbulence because I as in the little turbo prop plane but it was unbelievably smooth! Landed and went to the Transfer Desk to have them route me on another flight. I had to “take a number” and when it came time for my number to be called, they skipped ahead 5 numbers. I had to “break in line” and tell them what had happened. They booked me on a flight leaving a couple of hours later and I asked about my luggage. Oh sure, it will be re-routed. Famous last words. Arrived Zurich and only one of my bags made it. Knew I should have stored everything here before I flew to Brussels and just picked it up today! They have no idea where it might be. And, if it comes in tonight, the airport can’t deliver it because it will be too late. So, I have to take the shuttle back to the airport at 11 pm to see if it might possibly be on that flight. Sure hope it comes because I leave for Norway tomorrow morning! So, the hotel doesn’t have any tooth brushes left and of course mine is in the bag that is lost. I went back to the airport at 11 pm and waited for all the luggage to come in from Amsterdam. Nothing. But, at least their computer now says it will come in on the first flight tomorrow. I asked for a toiletry kit and the guy told me I would have to go all the way back down to the other terminal. I told him that Lost and Found was closed and he was so arrogant and insisted that they were not closed. So, I hiked back down and of course, they were closed! Then I hiked back up to the other terminal and he had about 10 people in line filing claims for lost luggage. I gave up and came back to the hotel and begged the front desk to TRY and find me a toothbrush. They did. J Of course, all my medicine is in my lost bag, too. At least I have Zicam swabs in my carry on. Tomorrow has GOT to be a better day. Jude