TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30TH THROUGH THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2ND!!!!:
Departed Nashville on Tuesday afternoon with the Bellamy Brothers for a 3 week tour of Australia. Tour includes 5 shows in Sydney, Melbourne, Twin Towns, and Toowoomba plus a 7 day cruise to New Caledonia.
Check in was quick and easy with my friends at Delta. We fly Delta to Los Angeles and then Virgin Australia (Delta Partner) to Sydney and on to Brisbane. Won’t arrive until Wednesday morning the 2nd in Australia. LONG flight!! We had a little extra time to spend in the Delta Lounge and then boarded the plane for an on-time departure. Flight was smooth (thankfully) except for the large blonde guy in the seat in front of me. He immediately reclined his seat all the way – which was bad enough – but then he constantly “bounced” backwards in his seat. Every bounce either hit my knees, my laptop, my tray or all 3. I swear before we land, I’m going to accidentally drop my 50 pound carry on bag out of the overhead onto his head!
Had a really hard time leaving the twins again for 3 more weeks. Zoe has started developing a “tummy ache” because she has butterflies in her stomach the nights before I leave. At least when I get home this time, I won’t travel again until November 6th and 7th when I fly up to DC for the retirement of my dear friend who is a 3 Star General in the Air Force. No more 20-25 day trips this year, thankfully.
We landed on time and found that our flight is delayed but only about 10 minutes. Supposedly there is a strong tailwind and because of airport control, they don’t want us to land too early! Went to the Lounge and got all my devices charged back up. Got all my emails answered and will only have about 200 waiting for me when I land, I’m sure.
We boarded on time but left a few minutes late….again because they didn’t want to arrive too early. It was 4 ½ hours from Nashville to LAX plus about a 2 hour layover. Then 15 hours (that’s a LONG flight) to Sydney and about a 2 hour layover and then another 1 ½ hours to Brisbane and then a 1 ½ hour bus ride to Toowoomba. Haven’t done that kind of travel in a long time!
I watched two movies that were too horrible to even remember the names of. Had the “express meal”, slept, worked, read….lot you can do in 15 hours. Sadly, the flight didn’t have internet or I could have gotten a lot of work accomplished.
Flight attendants were very “non-attentive”….typical. The Immigration form we had to fill out asked if we were bringing in fruit, nuts, etc. Howard threw away a huge bag of nuts he had purchased before leaving Nashville. I kept mind and decided to take the risk.
Arrival in Sydney was a “challenge”. We breezed through Immigration and then our bags were the last ones out on the belt. One road case had been destroyed. Once we got everything picked up, we went through the line for customs inspection but the officials sent David and Susan in a different direction! We had to line up and have the “dog” snif all our luggage. Guess he didn’t have a real sensitive nose because he didn’t point out my nuts!
Then we had to get in an even longer line to “re-check” out bags even though they were already tagged through to Brisbane. There was a priority lane which would have been faster, but the place was so crowded it took 30 minutes to be able to access it! Once we finally worked our way to the counter, we noticed that Randy and Norwood were missing. I went back out into the “fray” and found them. They were waiting for Wally who had already been through. Thankfully David and Susan connected back up with us.
Next we had to take a bus to the Domestic Terminal and then go through security in order to access the date. Our 3 hour layover with time for breakfast disappeared quickly and we had to go straight to the gate. We are on Virgin America and there is a WORLD of difference. The plane interior is beautiful and the flight attendants were great. It was a short 1 ½ hour flight and Marius (our promoter) was on the flight with us. Once we landed in Brisbane, we picked up the luggage again but we were missing one road case. The airlines said they would deliver to our hotel later today.
We had to go through a very circuitous route to get to the van that was going to transport our equipment. Then we had to retrace our steps to get to the bus taking us to Toowoomba. It was about a 2 hour drive and we stopped just after leaving the airport for some “fast food”.
Toowoomba is a really cute little town. We are right downtown and there’s tons of shops and restaurants. The hotel had our rooms pre-assigned so check in was quick and easy. After getting my luggage in my room and establishing that the internet works, I walked out to buy some water for the room. There’s a great “natural foods” store about a block away.
I was working for a couple of hours and checking in with Chris in Afghanistan. He said everything was going great. Then about an hour later, he called with his first problem. Took about an hour to help him with that which involved contacting the production company in Kuwait but I think he got it handled.
I went down to have dinner and David and Susan were coming out of their room as I walked past. All the rest of the group were already down at the restaurant. The food was good but the service was extremely slow. It’s almost midnight here which means it’s almost 9 am in Nashville. I am going to go to bed and sleep for a few hours and then get up and deal with emails. First show is tomorrow. Been a long 30+ hours of travel!
Jude
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3RD, 2014 – PERFORMANCE IN TOOWOOMBA:
Got a great 6 ½ hours of sleep and then got in a 3 mile run in perfect “running” weather. There is a really pretty “park” just a couple of blocks from the hotel. The great thing about this little town is that it is really conveniently laid out and I haven’t gotten lost – yet. Stopped back by the restaurant where we were supposed to have breakfast and a few of the guys were there. Our hotel doesn’t have a restaurant, so they have a “deal” with a couple of places on the same street. Breakfast was awesome…I had a meal that included poached eggs on spinach with tofu, bacon and beans. It was supposed to be served over these huge slices of toast, so I just had them leave off the toast. The coffee is the best I’ve had anywhere.
Had an email from Chris last night saying he was going to bed and only getting 4 hours of sleep. Hmm…that’s about 2 hours more per night than I get when I’m on tour in Afghanistan. J
Really like my room because it is so spacious. Large room, slamming internet, huge shower stall, kitchen with fridge, coffee maker, microwave, TV with all English channels… I could stay here for a while. Not accustomed to all these “luxuries” when we travel.
Showered and then walked back down to the Health Food Store. By the time I returned, it was time to go to sound check. The venue is really beautiful…about a 1,500 seat old theatre. Only glitch so far was the fact that the backline had just arrived when the guys arrived so nothing was set up. Delayed the start time for the sound check but still okay as far as time.
Dinner was at Cottage Thai and it was excellent! I had chicken and veggies in a peanut sauce – no rice.
The show was great – as usual. The audience is very “subdued”….just this culture. But then they clap and clap at the end of each song. It was a good first show in Australia. Off to Tweeds Head – Twin Towns tomorrow.
Jude
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4TH – TOOWOOMBA TO TWEEDS HEAD – IN NSW ON THE GOLD COAST!
At least, my computer and iphone say it is Saturday the 4th. Otherwise I would have NO idea.
What a day……Woke up earlier than I planned at 5:30 am so decided to get up and try to get in a good workout before leaving today. Ha! That was before I opened email and found over 100 waiting for me to answer. At about 7:45 am, one of the musicians sent me a text message that the restaurant where everyone was supposed to have dinner was closed. I called reception only to learn that reception doesn’t open until 8 am on Saturday. By that time, other musicians were also texting me about the problem. I had just gotten out of the shower, so running downstairs was not an option. I waited until 8 am and called reception again. They had no idea why the restaurant was open but called the manager. They got a voice mail and he never called them back. Our promoter told us to just go eat wherever we wanted and get a receipt. The promoter was going to take the van and the equipment and leave early this morning. Then he realized that he also had to take our suitcases. Glad he realized that before he left or we would have been in serious trouble. Hardly anything was open for breakfast on Saturday…strange! Toowoomba is where lots and lots of retired citizens live so I guess it is just a different lifestyle.
Susan sent me a text telling me where they were eating and I walked down to meet them. When I tried to pay, they wouldn’t take my American Express which is the only card I have with the “chip” in it. So I tried my VISA but they wanted a “PIN” number, which I don’t have. Susan ended up paying cash for the bill.
When we got back to the hotel, we couldn’t get an elevator to our floor because the maids were filling up both of them. Had that same problem yesterday. I asked about walking but was told I would be locked in if I attempted it. So we waited and waited. Finally got an elevator and ran in my room to brush my teeth quickly.
The 2 hour drive to the Gold Coast actually took 3 ½ hours because of traffic. And there was no apparent reason for the “traffic”. It also took forever to check everyone in because some of the rooms were not ready. Then, they forgot to tell us that we were in a different “tower”. Everyone had loaded their bags in the elevators and gone up only to find their rooms were on that floor. They all came back down and we hiked over to the adjacent tower. I put my keycard in and opened the door and there stood an elderly couple….obviously already occupying the room. I don’t know who came closer to having a heart attack – me or them. They were very nice but that mean I had to hike all the way back to the front desk to have my room changed. I just said to heck with it and left my bags sitting in the hallway while I went back down. They had put me in Room 431 and I was supposed to be in room 531!
This area is beautiful….right on the beach where all the surfers come. I remember this from the 1999 tour because it was my favorite place in Australia. Susan and I visited an animal park on that tour and held Koala bears. We’ll do that again but in Sydney where we have several days off after the cruise.
I walked down to a “Protein Shake” shop and bought my “lunch”. Lots of shops in the area with great food and clothes. The room is nice but about half the size of the one in Toowoomba.
Walked over to sound check with the guys…which did not go well. The guy who was bringing down the backline from Toowoomba hadn’t arrived which mean the guys couldn’t do anything until he did. Then the venue didn’t have enough cables for their equipment. Sound check was supposed to start at 1 pm (although we didn’t arrive until 1:30 pm today). It started at about 4:45 pm instead.
Not going to get much sleep tonight. We have to leave for the airport at 6 am tomorrow morning!
Dinner was a “not so good” buffet, except for the Pumpkin Soup. We had the option to order off the menu but I was in a hurry and just ate the buffet food…big mistake.
I have a balcony with a beautiful view of the pool and a partial view of the beach. I walked out to snap a few photos and didn’t realize that there was a large “step down”. I launched myself all the way across the balcony and had to grab the guard rail to keep from falling the 5 floors to the ground below! There was a couple of the balcony of the other tower who found my “trip” very humorous.
Walked the guys over for the show and we met a promoter and production guy that they worked with over here years and years ago. Showroom is packed and it was a great show…but one “for the books”. About one-fourth of the way through the show, the fire alarm started blaring. And, no one could get it turned off. The guys finally had to try and “play over it”. It lasted through a couple of songs and when it finally went off, everyone still thought they could hear it. We learned after the show that there was a wedding on the 3rd floor (show was on the 5th floor). The DJ providing the entertainment had a smoke machine and turned it on. It not only set off the fire alarm but the sprinklers on the 3rd floor. Had they not been able to get it turned off when they did, the next announcement would have been to evacuate! That was a first….even for a Bellamys show.
It was a really good show – even with the added drama – and I hope we can come back here in a few years and keep working this market. We have a 6 am lobby call, so going to bed soon.
Jude
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 5TH, 2014 – GOLD COAST TO CRUISELINER:
I set my alarm for 4:30 am and when it went off, my iPhone gave me several time zone options in Australia. Since I had a clock as well, I knew what time it was. However, several of the others weren’t so lucky. They actually went to the lobby at 4:30 am thinking it was 5:30 am. When they left their room, their phones indicated it was 5:30 am. When they reached the lobby, their phones indicated it was only 4:30 am. What we found out is that the hotel is actually in TWO different time zones. The side where our rooms are located observes Daylight Savings Time and the other side of the hotel does not. That’s something that would have been very good to know when we checked in yesterday.
The hotel also told us that the restaurant would not be open for breakfast before we departed at 6 am. Wrong! There was one of the nicest breakfast buffets I’ve ever seen and most of us didn’t have time to enjoy it before leaving.
The airport was literally 10 minutes from the hotel. We arrived and as I suspected, there was NO “group check in”. There were also no skycaps or large luggage carts so we had to rent little hand carts and take all the equipment and gear inside. Then there were only 2 clerks at the Virgin counter for “Economy check in”. The counter for Bag Drop and Priority check in didn’t have any people there. The line was extremely long so we just waited about 15 minutes and someone finally came to the other counters. I was able to get my seat changed BACK to a window seat. But when they checked Susan and David in, they were not seated together any more for some reason. I tried to change it when we got to the gate but it was a full flight so no luck. Once we got on the plane, they were able to switch with Frank in our group. Then when Howard boarded, they told him he had David’s boarding pass and blamed him for the mix up! Maybe that’s why David and Susan weren’t seated together.
It was definitely a full flight and took about 1 ½ hours. Our van and a trailer were there to pick us up and we stopped on the way to the cruise terminal to pick up Gregg’s and Jim’s wives who had flown in the day before to join them for the cruise. Our van driver was great and since our promoter wanted us to kill a little time, he gave us a “mini-tour” of the city. We filled out reams of paperwork prior to the cruise – all with the understanding that we would not have to stand in any lines. We would be treated as “crew” and whisked onto the ship. Right! Again there were no baggage carts so we had to take all the luggage and great up to the area where they were tagging. I asked when they tagged mine if I needed to take it to Customs. The lady replied that I would not need to touch it again until I got off the ship. Then when we started to walk onto the ship, we were told to bring the bags! I complained and we didn’t have to bring them.
We were told to stand in this really long line with all the other passengers. That’s when I became really unhappy and told our hosts we had already filled out all the paperwork and were supposed to be taken through as crew. After much discussion, they took us in one direction and the wives in the other. Of course, the security had no idea why we were coming through where they took us so we waited and waited and waited to get cleared. Then they gave us even MORE paperwork to fill out. We finally entered the ship but not without another confrontation with the Security Officials manning the door.
We were taken upstairs to the Guest Services Counter where we waited again. The wives met us and they had already been completely processed. We still had to wait to have our photos taken and even then they couldn’t give us our “Sea Passes” and were told to come back to Guest Services at 3:30 pm to pick them up.
We walked downstairs to check on the cost of a “water package”. Small bottles of water cost about $4 each and even though we are considered “crew”, we were told we had to pay for water! I paid $140 to have unlimited bottles of water, sodas, premium coffee, etc…..everything but alcohol. The “wine/alcohol packages” were “sold out”….. strange but I guess they MAKE more money if they don’t make the packages available. We went to out cabins which were ready for us but our bags had not arrived. Dropped off our carry on bags and went to the buffet to eat.
So, this cruiseliner doesn’t come close to being anywhere as nice as the Disney Line. With Disney, you fill everything out on line and it usually only takes about 5 minutes after you arrive before you are in your cabin.
The food was “okay” – “buffet” food. By the time we finished eating, most of our bags had been delivered. Except for Gregg. He was still waiting for his at 8 pm tonight! We had been told that there was a “private” dining area just for the entertainers upon the 11th deck. So we went up there….and “NOTHING”. So we ate in the main dining room. We were told we absolutely didn’t have to attend the lifeboat drill at 4 pm. I found that very strange and figured it wasn’t true. It wasn’t. They knocked on all our doors and told us to go to our “stations”.
Once that was over, I set up my office and unpacked. Internet worked for several hours after we left the port but eventually even with the wireless device I had rented, we lost the signal. However for $225.00 you can purchase unlimited internet as a “crew member”. Only when I entered my info, the website said that my birth month and year didn’t match their records. So I called guest services and they gave me a code for 24 hours free and told me to go to guest services the next day have it fixed.
I went to pick up our Sea Passes with our photos on them at 3:30 as instructed. Of course, they weren’t ready. I was told to come back after the lifeboat drill but to go to the Hospitality Desk instead of Guest Services. Several of the guys’ key cards had quit working as well.
I decided to take a “tour” of the ship and find out where everything was located. Thankfully I ran into “Zen”, (our host) and he took me around to the show room area, green room, backstage entrance, gym, spa, etc. We were given another “card” in an envelope in our room and that was the one that allowed us access to the private restaurant for entertainers only but it wasn’t on the 11th deck. It was on the 6th deck and “hidden” way behind a show room.
I went down to dinner at 6 pm even though I wasn’t at all hungry. Wanted to give all the others some “info”. Only I was the only one who showed up. So I left and decided I’d either order room service or go to the buffet again. I did some work and then around 8:30 pm, went to the buffet. It was much better tonight than it was for lunch.
It’s almost midnight and for the past 3 hours, the ship has been rolling from side to side to hard my cabinet doors are swinging open. There’s no “weather” outside so I guess this is going to be the norm for the tour. I don’t drink, don’t gamble, and don’t lay out in the sun. Guess I’m going to get a lot of work done if this internet thing gets worked out! J Good news is the cabins are on the 8th deck near the back so there’s less “motion” than in the front of the ship. Cabins are also very nice and large, which is a plus! The average age of the passengers is around 70. And there are lots of Bellamy Brothers fans on board which is also good.
Jude
MONDAY, OCTOBER 6TH – FIRST DAY AT SEA:
Well, I was “rocked” all night but slept pretty good. Got up and answered a few emails and then worked out. There are very few Nautilus machines but lots of cardio and free weights. Got in a good 45 minute set and then went to the dining room that is supposed to be for entertainers only. It truly is private but doesn’t have any hot food….only pastries, cheese, etc. Definitely NOT breakfast material for me. I went to the same buffet restaurant where I was yesterday and ran into Howard there. He had been to the “private” dining room, too, and was disappointed. When he went in, he had to walk through a Line Dance Instruction Lesson taking place and they tried to include him. LOL
I was able to get an egg white omelet that was awesome. Breakfast food is much better than lunch yesterday. After breakfast I went to the Hospitality Desk to do battle on oh so many issues. They were super nice which sort of took the fight out of me. We got all my questions resolved and then they sent me to Guest Services to work on getting me online. I was there well over 45 minutes and they finally advised that it was a “technical” issue and affects our entire group. So, they gave me a special code for everyone and we get free internet the entire cruise. That’s a savings of about $225 per person!
Went back to the cabin and showered and then met the Bellamys for a video interview that will shown on the ship encouraging the passengers to attend their concerts. That only took about a half hour and then we went to lunch. I tried to Facetime or Skype with Zac and Zoe but the internet connection is just too slow. Ended up calling them for I’m sure about $10 a minute but it was worth it. They were ready for bed and had gone to see “Frozen” earlier in the afternoon.
After lunch I went by the Spa and booked a full afternoon of services. Since we are considered “crew”, we get a nice little discount!!!
Worked for a while and then went up on deck to sit in the sun with tons of sunblock and a hat on. It was much too windy, so only stayed less than an hour.
Tonight is “Formal optional” dress night for the cruise. Will be interesting to see how the passengers dress.
Well, I was doing so well all day today thinking we had finally ironed out all the “hiccups”. Then “dinner” happened. As I said, most of us purchased the “drink” package which includes unlimited water, premium coffee drinks, non-alcoholic cocktails, and sodas. BUT, it has been a nightmare at most of the places where you can get the beverages. I stopped outside the fitness center today and asked for a bottle of water and a latte. She said she couldn’t give me “both”. What??? She said she would give me the latte and then I could leave, walk around the pool, and come back and then she could give me the water. You do realize how stupid that sounds. Said they don’t want one person purchasing the package and then giving friends and relatives drinks as well…as if there is really a way to monitor that!
So, we sit down at dinner in our fancy dress clothes (photos on Facebook) and I notice that there are bottles of Evian opened on the drink tray next to us. When he took our drink orders, I told him I wanted the Evian and handed him my “pass” so he could scan it and see that I have the premium beverage package. He came back about 5 minutes later and told me they don’t have Evian. Hello? I told him I saw several bottles sitting on the tray and now he has removed them. Then he told me that my “pass” doesn’t include Evian, only other types of water. For God’s Sake! I asked where the Maitre’d was and made him give me back my “pass”. Then I went to the Maitre’D and explained the problem. He agreed with the waiter and said we had to pay for Evian because the package didn’t include it. I told him to give me back my card (because it is also the room key) and I would just go to my room and get one of my many bottles of Evian that I had gotten from the various bars today and bring it to my table. He told me to go sit down and he would work it out.
I sat (fuming) and waited for the results. One of the musicians had already moved to another table to avoid the fireworks. The waiter came back with 3 LARGE bottles of Evian, not the individual small bottles. He said he was giving those to us tonight only and tomorrow night we could only have the other brand of water. I told him we did not need 3 large bottles, just 3 individual bottles but he insisted. I opened mine and poured a glass as he walked back up with a “bill” charging us for two of the bottles. I gave him back the two unopened bottles and told him we would just “share”. He refused and said he could not take them back because they had been opened….which they had not.
By that time, I had just had enough. I got up and went to Guest Services and asked for Barbara the tour director who helped us yesterday. After about 10 minutes, they located her and she asked what had happened. I apologized but told her we were all just fed up with every person on the ship giving us a different answer to the same question every time we tried to purchase anything! She was very kind and said she would take care of it. I went back to the table and a few minutes later – Alec – the bartender came by and apologized and said if I had any more problems to see him. Trust me, tomorrow night I will walk into the restaurant with my bottle of Evian.
I have signed up for three of the treatments in the Spa. Howard had the Bamboo Massage tonight and said it was great. That’s one of the things I’m having tomorrow. I’m sure if anything can go wrong, it will with me!
I might actually get in bed before midnight tonight! The ship is not only “shaking” but it is “jerking” now. When I’ve done cruises before, we were always very close to an island. We are in the middle of the ocean here with no islands anywhere close by. For someone who only likes water that I can see and touch the bottom, this is not fun for me!
Jude
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7TH – ANOTHER FULL DAY AT SEA:
Sometime around 1 am, “something” started rolling around on a deck “somewhere”. It was intermittent with the rocking of the ship but was very loud and continued until 6 am this morning. Not a good night’s sleep at all.
I got up at 6:30 am and went for a jog around the top deck of the ship. Four laps made 1 mile. But it was incredibly windy and at one point the railing is only about waist high. I struggled to stay on my feet on that side of the deck. Had breakfast and then took a shower and worked until lunch time.
It isn’t always easy to find a table in the dining room. I found one for 2 people and put my salad down on the table with my silverware and left to get the rest of my meal and drink. When I came back, the waiters had removed my salad and silverware and someone was sitting at the table!
At 2 pm, I went for my massage, facial and body treatment. The massage was a Bamboo massage. They use a piece of heated bamboo instead of their hands. The heat felt good but she wasn’t able to get the knots out of my neck and shoulders using the bamboo. The facial and body treatment was also just “okay”. Glad I did it but won’t be doing it again. With each treatment, they tried to “sell” me their products. I finally said, “Look, we are over here for 3 weeks. If I had so much as a piece of paper to my luggage, it’s going to be overweight”!
Had to rush to take my shower and be ready for dinner at 6 pm. It was Italian night and I had the chicken marsala and a caprese salad. The caprese salad was tasteless but the chicken was good. Pretty typical “cruise” food!
The weather forecast for tomorrow is still calling for rain all day. I didn’t purchase one of the shore excursion packages. Will just see how it looks and then get off and walk around if it isn’t too miserable. I’ve been to Isle of Pines before and it’s tiny. Know we saw everything there was to see the last time we were here. But it is exceptionally beautiful. Will be interesting to see how “commercial” it has become since we were here in 1999!
We had to attend a cocktail reception with the man who chartered the ship for the “country cruise”. The hours were from 9:30 pm until 1:30 am!
He is a really nice man and is from Skopje, Macedonia. He was so impressed that the Bellamys and I have been to Macedonia. I was there many times with entertainers when we were going into Kosovo to entertain our troops. We met his wife and two of his three children as well. I gave them an autographed Bellamys cd and took photos with them.
The reception was in his suite which was very nice but not nearly large enough for everyone attending. I think he thought people would arrive at various times and instead, most of the guests arrived at 9:30 pm! The ship was really, really “tossing” too which made it even more difficult to stand and talk. Susan started getting claustrophobic so we slipped out after about an hour.
Hoping the weather changes and it is pretty tomorrow at the Isle of Pines. I need to get off the ship so I will have cell phone service. J At around 5:30 am tomorrow the ship will pass through a very narrow passageway. I’m going to set my alarm to get up and “watch”.
Jude
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 8TH – DOCKED AT ISLE OF PINES, NEW CALEDONIA. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SON CHRIS.
So I did set the alarm for 5:30 am and got up and went out on the balcony. There was an island very close to the ship. Then I realized that to be able to tell if we were between two islands, I would need to go up on deck – in my pajamas and the rain! That did not happen!
I got up at 7 am and answered the emails that had come in overnight. Then went to the gym and worked out and had breakfast right afterwards. There were a LOT of people on the ship in the gym and in the restaurant. I guess the weather is just too bad for them to get off and go to Isle of Pines. It is still raining.
I worked for a while and then took the “tender” over to Isle of Pines. Ran into Susan and David right before they left for their time to “swim with the turtles”! I didn’t see anyone else there from our group. I had to use my umbrella the entire time I was there. I did buy Zac and Zoe some “Isle of Pines” goodies. Walked around to the little shops but most of the “stalls” that are usually set up weren’t there because of the weather.
When I was getting back on the tender to go back to the ship, a very distressed lady was standing there talking to the crew. She had dropped her Sea Pass with her photo on it when she was handing it to them to scan. It went right between the cracks in the boards and into the water. No way to retrieve it. Sounds like something I would do.
Had a quick, light lunch when I got back and the restaurant wasn’t crowded at all … probably because it was almost 3 pm.
Tonight we are supposed to dress “Hawaiian” for dinner. I didn’t have anything Hawaiian, so I purchased some flowers today at one of the markets and stuck them in my hair.
Susan and David loved the island where the turtles were and Susan got in the water and swam with them. They have some great photos from their excursion.
Had dinner with most of the guys. Howard, Randy and Frank were MIA. Went to the Casino for a few minutes and gave the machine $20. That’s all they are getting from me this trip. J
There is a Lunar Eclipse at 9:30 am but I think it’s going to be too cloudy to see anything. I’ll have some great photos of the Isle of Pines on the JSI website in a few weeks when I return.
Penny who has worked with me forever is on vacation this week. I received an email from her that her father was killed in a car accident and her brother is in the hospital. Keep her and her family in your prayers.
Jude
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9TH – DAY OFF IN NOUMEA, NEW CALEDONIA:
I didn’t get to sleep until around 3:30 am this morning. I had an email from Penny last night saying her brother passed away as well. I couldn’t get her and her family off my mind and feeling very frustrated that we don’t even have cell phone service so I can at least call her! All anyone can do at this point is pray for her and her family.
At 7 am when we pulled into port, I heard banging and clanging and chanting. It went on for about 2 minutes and then stopped for maybe 10 seconds then started up again. This lasted for 30 minutes. Woke me up and of course I could not go back to sleep. It was some “local” group that “welcomes” the cruise ships into port. I told our attendant to tell them to wait until 10 am to welcome us. They were on the street right outside my balcony. Where’s a good B-B gun when you need it???
Had breakfast and was going to run but the deck was much too wet. It was still sprinkling. We waited for Howard to eat and then Susan, David, Howard and I headed into “town”. You have to take a shuttle bus to the center of town. There’s a “market” there and they had some great stuff. We took the “Hop on Hop off” bus to the Meridian Hotel which is located next to Club Med where we stayed in 1999 – the last time we were here! There is one new structure but pretty much everything else looks the same. We got off near the Meridian and “shopped” our way down to Lemon Beach. This is the same area where Susan and I jogged everyday when we were here in ’99.
We found this great French Hat shop. We immediately started trying on hats. Later we noticed a large sign that said, “Do not touch the hats”. I think the amount we purchased made the saleslady a little less angry at us for trying on everything. We passed shop with a beautiful bright purple sarong on the mannequin. As I was looking at postcards, Susan and David went inside and purchased it for me! Can’t wait to try it out. It even came with instructions on how to “tie” it.
We stopped at a restaurant for a late lunch. The waiter did not speak a word of English. He finally wrote 2:00 on a piece of paper and we figured out that they close at 2 pm. It was 1:59 pm when he told us. He did let us order. Howard and I ordered a Mahi Mahi and it came in this amazing banana sauce. David ordered a stir fry but they brought him the Mahi Mahi as well. No amount of trying to explain could make the waiter understand that it was the wrong item. David gave up and ate it!
We walked a little farther and then took the bus back to the City Center where there were TONS of shops. Bought some t-shirts there and then went back to the bus stop for the shuttle to the ship. We ran upstairs at their market and purchased some things we had seen previously.
Susan wore her new leggings that she purchased today. It was the favorite item she purchased. Only David pointed out there were two holes in them once she got them on. Ah well…not so much of a bargain after all. L
After dinner, Susan and I went to see the “acrobats”. They swung from wires on the 9th floor. They are part of the permanent entertainment on the ship. In all honestly, it was boring but thankfully it only lasted 15 minutes.
We have an autograph session from 10 am until 12 noon tomorrow, then a sound check at 2:30 pm and 2 shows tomorrow night. Back to work!!!
Check out the photos on my Facebook page!
Jude
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 10TH – ANOTHER FULL DAY ON THE HIGH SEAS:
Got up at 6 am so I could communicate with the U.S. before office closed. Planned to go jog on the top deck and then have breakfast. Nope. Over 200 emails to deal with, so I skipped my jog – again.
Had breakfast and dressed quickly for the two hour “autograph session”. All the artists participated and the passengers just lined up and moved from one to the other. Moved pretty quickly and we finished on time. I had to deal with the question of “bag tags” for the equipment for our departure from the ship during part of that time. I “think” we have everything worked out, but who knows. Every person will give you a different answer!
Lunch was “quick” too because sound check started at 2:15 pm. I checked in and made sure all was good and then came back and worked for a couple of hours before showering and heading down for the first of two shows tonight.
We are on very, very choppy seas and the ship is rocking and rolling big time. It’s impossible to walk in a straight line. The chair at my desk is vibrating so hard, it actually moves across the room.
The show room was packed. Susan and I sat out front and watched and the audience really loved the performance. But, everyone had a hard time standing in one spot because of the extreme movement of the ship. Guess the audience thinks the Bellamys and their musicians always “dance” during their performance. LOL.
We had less than an hour between shows for dinner, so another rushed meal! Susan bailed on me and didn’t attend the second show…which had some excitement. A very tall large man, walked up right in front of the stage and started trying to engage the Bellamys in conversation in the middle of their show. He was telling them what songs to perform! Hello? The audience started yelling, “Sit down” but he didn’t. Bellamy were beginning to get pretty fed up with him, too. He finally walked to the back of the theatre and they continued their show. I went backstage and told the Stage Manager that he needed to either assign someone to make sure the guy didn’t interrupt the show again OR have him escorted out. The stage manager said he couldn’t do that. I said, “fine, then I’ll take care of it myself”. That got his attention and he sent someone out front. Wally said the guy did the same thing during other shows this week. He has a room down the same hallway from us and every time I run into him in the hall, he has some smart-ass comment to make.
Second show was great as well and I’m still working at 1:30 am. I have to re-pack the way too many clothes I brought with me tomorrow so have to try to get all my office work done tonight! Tomorrow night the Bellamys have to sing 2 songs twice as part of the finale. And then on Sunday, we get off the ship and have several days off in Sydney!
Jude
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 11TH – LAST DAY AT SEA!!!
FINALLY…..our last day of the cruise we had beautiful weather. It was warm but not hot with a gentle breeze. I got up at 6 am and answered emails for a few hours. Then had breakfast and came back to the cabin and answered some more emails. Went up to the 10th deck and ran my 3 miles. I wore shorts and I am definitely not accustomed to running a “track”. I noticed my pants leg was rubbing my thigh but not much I could do about it. When I got back to the cabin, the skin was red and “raw”. As my dear friend George Lindsey would have said, “I was ‘galdded’”! He said his Aunt Ethel was galdded and she put Argo Starch on her inner thighs. But when she walked, little puffs of smoke came out behind her. LOL. Susan gave me some Gold Bond powder and I was afraid the same thing would happen with me.
Got everything packed back up and had some lunch. After lunch, I went up on deck and sat in the sun – with massive amounts of sunscreen and a hat. Came back and showered for the show. Tonight each artist sang 1 or 2 songs as the “finale”. Bellamys sang “Love Flow” and “Body”. Their first call time was 7 pm and the second was at 10 pm. We had time for dinner between shows and the buffet had a stir fry bar. It was the best food I’ve had on the ship the entire cruise. And healthy because I didn’t have rice or noodles in mine.
At the end of the 2nd show, all the artists went on stage and sang one verse with the closing artist. Then a group photo was taken. We were finished by around 10:30 pm – and had to put our suitcases outside our doors. Suitcases are picked up and taken downstairs. Then we pick them up on the loading dock tomorrow and clear customs. We all kept our rolling bags with clothes, toiletries we need for tomorrow.
I made the mistake of checking the weather in Sydney. Tomorrow – Sunday is supposed to be warm and beautiful. Then Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (our 3 days “off”), there is 100% chance of rain plus 30 mph winds! It is dropping to 45 degrees at night. Of course, on Thursday when we have to do sound check and a show, the weather is forecast to be beautiful. I want to go to the Koala Park tomorrow as I don’t want to miss it because of rain!!!
We have to be in the hallway at 9 am tomorrow morning to be escorted off the ship. We will go to the hotel which is only a few blocks away and have the rest of the day off…and the next 3 days! Internet went out at 11 pm and still wasn’t back up at midnight, so I went to bed.
Jude
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 12TH – OFF THE CRUISE SHIP!!!:
Got up at 6:30 am and since I slept in my clothes, I was ready for breakfast by 8 am. We were supposed to meet Barbara in our hallway at 9 am to depart the ship. I pretty much “knew” that would not go smoothly. I was right. Barbara never showed up and since we didn’t have our passports, we couldn’t go anywhere until someone came to meet us. Finally at 9:30 am, one of the other cruise staff met us. We were taken through the “crew” exit which meant we didn’t have to stand in line for Immigration – a process that was taking a minimum of 45 minutes. We collected our passports and were taken to Customs where we collected the luggage and gear. The mini-bus and trailer were waiting for us so we loaded up and drove a few blocks to our hotel.
We are at the Menzies in Sydney. It’s definitely an “older” hotel but still nice. And it is in a great location. The buyer had paid for our rooms for the night prior so at 10:30 am, we were able to check in. There are two “towers” of rooms and they had me in a different one from David and Howard. I had them move me so I wouldn’t spend so much time running back and forth.
Once I got in the room Susan called as said the wireless David rented wasn’t working. I went to her room and we went through the entire “trouble shooting” process about 10 times and the device still wouldn’t reset. I called Xcom Global and they walked us through the instructions and it logged right on. But, it wasn’t our fault that we couldn’t fix it. The directions provided with the device are nothing like what the person on the phone told us!
Since there is still 100% chance of rain for Monday-Wednesday, Susan and I decided to go to the Koala Park today. We couldn’t convince David to go with us because it involved a 45 minute “city bus” ride. Susan got directions from the Concierge and we set off. Actually we didn’t get lost once! And it was a pretty ride and only about 30 minutes instead of 45.
The park was beautiful and not very crowded which was nice. There was a Koala feeding at 2 pm, so we attended that. There was a “private” tour of Asians who got to pet the Koala first and take a photo with one of the Koalas. Of course, it took them twice as long to take their photos because they were taking 5 or 6 per person! The Koala they petted got tired and bored before it was our turn so we petted one that was 12 years old. Got some great photos.
We went to see the Kookaburra Birds, wombats, dingoes, and every other “animal” in the park. We were able to walk around and feed and pet the kangaroos.
When we were over looking at the Dingoes, the lady who had given the presentation with the Koalas came up and started talking to us. She was a literal “fountain” of information. She said she had worked at the park for 16 years. We enjoyed her so much, we went back to see the Koalas and pet them again! I did not know that the Koala is NOT a bear and that it has a pouch on its stomach but it is upside down from what is on the Kangaroo!
The same lady gave the talk on the Wombats. Only there was just one Wombat. They usually live to be 21 years old and the one we saw was 25. They are nocturnal, so she was sound asleep. She roused for a few minutes but not enough to come out of her “log”.
I had strict instructions to purchase a Koala, a Kangaroo, and a Kookaburra Bird. Found all of these for Zac and Zoe at the Park gift shop. Now I have to figure out a way to fit them in my suitcases.
The bus ride back was MUCH longer than the ride up. We didn’t get back to the hotel until after 6 pm. I had a text from Gregg while we were out saying he was changing rooms because his air conditioner didn’t work. Susan called my room almost as soon as I walked in and said they needed to change rooms for the very same reason.
I went downstairs at about 7:30 pm and asked the concierge if any restaurants nearby were still open. He sent me to one that he said was great Italian and only a couple of blocks from the hotel. When I arrived, there was a sign on the window saying they are only open Monday-Friday. When I got back to the hotel, Howard was sitting with David and Susan in the dining room. He needed to change rooms, too.
I got him changed and then decided I needed to change, too, so I could be on the same tower with them again. Of course, I had already unpacked half my stuff so had to repack all of it. My “new” room is about 50% larger and the light in the bathroom is great – whereas I could barely see in the bathroom of my other room!
I ordered room service and have been working for a couple of hours. We have to depart to the TV show at 9:15 am tomorrow morning so going to bed soon. Hope the weatherman is wrong!!!
Jude
MONDAY, OCTOBER 13TH – FIRST DAY OFF IN SYDNEY:
Not a lot to report today. Had breakfast and some of the guys were in there. Buffet was good but there was a kamikaze waiter. He picked up my bowl with yogurt in it and took it away before I have even eaten it! I kept an eye out for him the rest of the trip and my fork “poised” to stab his hand if he dared to touch anything on my table.
Bellamys performed “Let Your Love Flow” on “The Morning Show” on Sky News this morning. It was short and sweet and hard for Howard to sing that early! But, of course, he nailed it. And they had a short “on camera” chat after singing which resulted in the rest of the tickets for the performance in Sydney this Thursday being sold out today.
Howard said he purchased the “internet package” when he checked in and now it won’t work because he changed rooms. He had called the front desk last night and advised what had happened. He also asked them for an extension cord so he could plug in his sleep apnea machine. There is only one plug by our beds and the phone is plugged into that. No one ever came to room so he ended up unplugging his phone so he would have an electrical outlet. I went down to the desk and asked to speak with the manager. He came out immediately and I told him the problems. Howard said he personally came to his room and gave him a new internet code and an extension cord that would probably reach all the way to my room. J
I had some work to do before leaving the hotel and waited just long enough for it to start raining! But, most of the shops are in covered malls so it didn’t matter. I just sort of scoped out everything because we are waiting to hear from Virgin Australia as to how many bags we can check on the flight from Sydney to Melbourne Friday morning. We know we can check 3 each on the flight home, but they might nail us if we have 3 bags to check on that internal flight! Found some great souvenirs I want to buy and beautiful “UGGS”. Might have to wait until we get to Melbourne.
I shopped, had lunch, and walked down to the water by the Harbor Bridge from 1 pm until 5 pm. Then headed back to the hotel. Ran into Howard who was on his way to get a Thai massage. Susan and David had gotten one earlier and said it was great. Since it’s supposed to rain all day tomorrow, I might have to check it out.
I walked down to a little Italian restaurant recommended by the hotel for dinner. It was just “okay”. All the restaurants I saw today – and there were literally hundreds in the shopping area – were either Asian or Juice Bars. They looked like fast food stands but were actually good restaurants. Wally spotted a “chocolate bar” on the drive back from the TV station. They had one in Kuwait and I told him he needed to go there. Since I can’t.
Okay, now I can tell the truth about mine and Susan’s trip back from the Koala Park Sanctuary yesterday. The Park told us to go back to where we got off the bus and get on there. What they didn’t tell us was that we were supposed to cross the road from where we got off and get on that bus. We got on the wrong one and were driving around neighborhoods and apartment complexes. After 30 minutes of that, Susan asked the driver and he told her we had to ride for another 30 minutes and get off and get on another bus. The one we were one would never had gone back to the City.
We got off and spotted a Yogurt Shop so we got a snack there while we waited for the next bus. Susan asked if they had a toilet but they didn’t and all the other shops were closed because it was a Sunday. It took another hour to get back to the City and Susan shot off the bus like a speeding bullet as soon as it stopped and made it to the toilet. She had drunk an entire bottle of water before getting on the first bus thinking we would be back at the hotel in 35 minutes. Over 2 hours later….
Tomorrow we have lunch with a long time friend – Rob Potts. Then depending on the weather, more sightseeing and shopping.
Jude
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 14TH – ANOTHER DAY OFF IN SYDNEY:
At least my computer says it is Tuesday. I have no idea. I do know that the time has FLOWN by! We fly home on Sunday.
I got up and worked out in the hotel gym which I had scoped out previously. It’s a decent gym but there are two weight benches and NO FREE WEIGHTS. I looked everywhere and finally noticed a big sign stating that because the gym is “unsupervised”, they can’t have any free weights in there. How ridiculous. None of the hotels around the world have a “supervised” gym and they all have free weights. Why have weight benches otherwise. I asked the manager and he said they were sued 3 years ago because someone strained their back by lifting weights that were too heavy. DUH. I certainly hope the guy lost the lawsuit. Regardless, the hotel could post a sign advising that everyone works out at their own risk and they are not responsible for injuries and they’d be off the hook.
Had a really quick breakfast, even quicker shower and met the guys in the lobby to go meet Rob for lunch. It turned COLD today. We were all wearing fleece jackets….except Rob who showed up in a short sleeve t-shirt. The restaurant was in a really “rich” area where Russell Crowe, Nicole and Keith, etc., own property. The plan was to sit outside and eat while looking at the beautiful harbor. Susan and I nixed that idea pretty quickly and opted for the “warmth” of indoors.
The food was excellent. Rob suggested we have the “Mud Crab” but when I found out it cost $110, I balked. There is no way I am paying $110 for one crab! David ordered it and I was so glad I didn’t. He worked and worked to get the meet out of it. He said it was amazing, especially the “sauce” which he had all over him. J It was great to catch up with Rob again.
I had printed out directions so we could walk back – only .9 of a mile. Of course, everyone – including me – thought I would get them lost. But, wonder of wonders, we didn’t make one wrong turn. It started raining as we were walking back. It was supposed to rain all day but it was intermittent.
I went back to the room and worked until Howard got back. Then I called the manager and told him Howard’s internet was not working. He had paid $66 online for the “package” which covered our entire stay. But it went out when he changed rooms, came back on for a few hours on Monday night and has been out ever since! The concierge took Howard a new “code” but that didn’t work either. I went back down to talk to the manager and he sent the concierge back up – with me accompanying him. The problem was quickly evident….there was no wireless network available in his room. I looked everywhere in all the hallways and did not find a router.
The manager said they would refund Howard’s payment and move him to another room. He definitely did not want to pack up and move a second time. So he’s just going to sit in the lobby and check his email until we depart on Thursday.
After the TV show yesterday, our show in Sydney sold out! The power of television.
I went out at 6 pm to grab something for dinner. I walked until 7:30 pm and never found ONE restaurant that was open! I went back and asked the concierge. He said we are in a business district, so all the restaurants close up when the business people get off work. What??? So I had to walk a different direction. I found a great “Thai” restaurant. As soon as I left the restaurant, the “heavens” opened up. It was lightning and the wind was blowing at about 50 mph. I had to run back to the hotel….with my umbrella turned inside out.
Back in the room working away waiting for the office to open in Nashville. It’s almost 11 pm here…7:00 am in Nashville, so I have a while to wait yet!
Hopefully the weather won’t be as horrible tomorrow as they are predicting either. I really want to take the ferry across the Harbor. Lots of things I’d love to see – Zoo, Botanical Gardens, etc., but the weather just hasn’t cooperated.
Jude
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 15TH –LAST “DAY OFF” IN SYDNEY
Well, it was an interesting night as far as weather last night. There were some pretty violent storms around the hotel but nothing dangerous. From the emails I received from the States today, it was a lot worse in other parts of Sydney. I do know that it SNOWED in the Blue Mountains of Sydney.
Today was supposed to be my “jog” day and I was really looking forward to running down around the Sydney waterfront. That didn’t happen. It rained most of the day and is COLD! Went to the pitiful little gym in the hotel instead.
I worked all morning and half the afternoon – until 3 pm. Then I hiked a couple of streets over and shopped at the Galleria. But, the only purchase I made was a book! I did have late lunch/early dinner at a great Indian restaurant. The owner started chatting with me. She’s from South Africa and knows all the Bellamy’s music.
I was trying to find these cute little UGG boots for the Z’s but went in 6 different UGGs stores and no one had their sizes. I did learn a very important lesson. There are two different “UGG” stores – both claiming to be original Australian UGGs. However, one of the shops sells UGGs from China and the other sells UGGs made in Australia. The ones from China are very inexpensive and the ones from Australia are extremely expensive. Go figure, huh?
Picked up a few souvenirs that I have been considering all week and that’s the end of my shopping in Australia. Went back to the hotel and have been working for hours and hours.
Tomorrow we pack up and move about 45 minutes outside of downtown Sydney to an area called “Rooty Hill” where we will perform tomorrow night at the Rooty Hill Casino.
Jude
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 16TH – PERFORMANCE IN ‘ROOTY HILL’:
It’s Friday now and trying to remember everything that happened yesterday…Just too tired to write up the report late last night.
We left for Rooty Hill at 11 am and where there by noon. The hotel was great….huge rooms and wonderful beds. My bed at the Menzies was terrible. So soft, it was like trying to get off a marshmallow every morning. All their beds are the “fold up” kind with the bars down the middle. Not fun.
Went to grab a quick lunch in the casino and then met the guys for sound check. As they have been every time in the past, the production company was late. They were supposed to have arrived and had everything set up by 1:30 pm so the guys could sound check. They rolled in at 2 pm and then had to set up and wire all the equipment. I left there at 3:45 pm and the guys had still not played one note. Unacceptable!
I had a meeting with “Jed” – who friends of mine in Nashville referred to me. He works for a large promotion company and they have a really big event in May that they are looking for talent for. I think I can help him. J The “small world” part is, before the job he has now, he worked with our promoter for this tour. He and his partner Eric are super nice people. Feel like I’ve known them for years. I told them my “Indian Promoters” stories and they were appropriately horrified. Then when I got back into my room, I had an email from someone from India wanting to do shows with the Bellamys next February or March. I’ve jinxed myself…..!!!!! We had a nice meeting over “coffee” and then I went to the room to change for dinner and the show. I met Jed for dinner in the hotel restaurant and the food was excellent. But I ran out of time and didn’t get to eat but a small portion of mine.
The accountants that we use in Australia to handle the tax filing came to the show and it was great to meet them. Susan and I sat in the back with Jed. The dressing room was freezing and so was the showroom. Half the audience were “Indians”….must be a “sign”.
Of all nights, tonight we had a meet and greet with 100 sponsors. It took forever! It was midnight by the time we got in our rooms and almost 2 am by the time I showered, packed and “tried” to answer emails. I say “tried” because the hotel internet was so slow, my AOL kept freezing. I looked in the room directory and in the small print it basically said only the crappy internet is free. You have to pay for high speed. I hooked up my little wireless and it was even worse. Couldn’t even open a website. Gave up and decided to get 2 hours of sleep. OUCH!!!
IS IT REALLY FRIDAY, OCTOBER 17TH ????– FLYING FROM SYDNEY TO MELBOURNE:
None of us got more than a couple of hours of sleep. At least we were able to get some coffee and breakfast before departing. That’s when the problems started and just spiraled out of control. The restaurant said we all had to pay for our breakfast. Nope. I called Zen and told him to just “fix it”!
We were supposed to depart at 6:30 am but the bus didn’t arrive until 6:30 am. It was a different driver and he had not picked up all the equipment and loaded the trailer. I went with them to the loading dock and we got that loaded. The trailer they send us every time is tiny and very hard to get everything in. But the guys manage it somehow. We left for the airport and as expected ran into a lot of traffic.
Surprisingly, maybe the easiest part of the day was check in at Virgin. They were super nice and since I already had boarding passes printed out, everything was quick and easy. We noticed that Wally was acting sort of “strange” though. He told Susan yesterday that he had run out of medication for restless leg syndrome a few days ago. He really needs to take it every day. Zen arranged to take him to the doctor as soon as we landed in Melbourne and see if we could get his medicine filled here. Australia doesn’t allow a pharmacy in the U.S. to just call in a prescription. You have to actually see a doctor.
All our bags came and Norwood was able to get a large trolley to transport everything. Zen had rented a mini-bus and trailer and picking that up took another 30 minutes. It was supposed to be about a 30 minute drive to the hotel. We passes the casino on the way to our hotel and I questioned WHY we weren’t staying at the hotel connected to the Casino….which would have been 100 times more convenient. We drove and drove and drove and when I complained, Zen admitted he had taken a wrong turn. As we were trying to get back on the right streets, cars began honking at us. One guy pulled up next to us and said the door to the trailer was open and bags were falling out. Good Grief! Norwood got out and checked and the only bag that flew out was Zen’s. The other driver told us where it flew out and we went back to pick it up. GONE!! And, Zen had no ID on it anywhere other than the claim check from Virgin Airlines.
We finally made it to the hotel at around 1:45 pm and I got everyone checked in. The lady at the front desk was insisting that each person had to sign their own registration card even though Zen was paying the entire bill. I signed all of them and she said that was not acceptable. I shoved them back and her and said, “Don’t screw with them right now. They have had 3 hours sleep and I won’t be responsible for what they do if you approach them.” That shut her up pretty quickly.
As I was passing out the room keys, I heard Norwood asking for a ride back to the airport. What???? Evidently in order to use the large luggage cart, he had to put his passport up as a “deposit”. He was supposed to turn the cart back in and get his passport back. Everyone starts making stupid mistakes when they have not had any sleep. He forgot to turn the cart in and so the airport still had his passport! The hotel was supposed to have an “airport shuttle” but they told us there was not one available. He took a taxi and it cost him $55 one way. The cart was there and so was his passport. He took a “shuttle” back to the venue but was very late for sound check.
We arrived at the venue at around 3 pm. Once again the backline company was still working on setting up and wiring the stage. Unbelievable. The guys did what they could without Wally and Norwood. I went down to the food court and purchased sandwiches for everyone. Tired and hungry are NOT good companions.
While we were at the venue, Susan sent a text that Wally got his meds. And Michael sent an email saying Virgin Atlantic had contacted him and they have Zen’s bag. The world seemed to be getting back on tilt – Wally got his meds, Norwood got his passport and Zen got his bag!
Then we finished sound check just in time for 5 o’clock traffic. There is a beautiful hotel connected to the Casino. I cannot figure out WHY we aren’t staying there? We did at Rooty Hill and Twin Towns. Why not here?
By the time we got back to the hotel, it was after 6 pm and we had to leave for the show by 8 pm. No time for a nap and I was DYING. I didn’t even have time to eat dinner before leaving for the show.
We had a large meet and greet tonight – a gentleman who owns Opal Mines and brought all of us gifts; our dear friends Bill and Susann Loop from Switzerland who spend a lot of time in Australia; and the opening act. A DJ was a “no show” and the man who owns wineries waited until after the show to meet the Bellamys. He had dropped a case of wine off at the hotel earlier today for everyone to share. Nice folks in Australia – free wine and Opal jewelry!
Wally recovered enough to put on a great show. This was a much livelier audience and I saw lots of Indians in attendance. Susan and I went down to the food court and ate horrible Chinese food…after which we saw great Indian food! We watched the rest of the show and then went down and got some Indian food to go for the Bellamys to take home.
Made it back to the hotel at around 11 pm and now it’s almost 2 am and I am about to PASS OUT.
Going to bed…..
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18TH – LAST SHOW IN AUSTRALIA!!!
Forgot to mention the journey through “backstage” yesterday. It’s like most Casinos – through a loading dock, sometimes through a kitchen, always with unpleasant odors. But I think the one here “wins”. We went down this LONG corridor and all “people” who were walking had a “lane” that they had to stay in. And in that “lane” were about 30 “cattle gates” to open and pass through. No kidding. Supposedly, they were for safety??? Then the freight elevator had big yellow “lines” painted on the floor with doors that opened front and back. If you stepped on or over the line, the elevator would not move. Interesting, huh?
I got 6 hours of sleep and it was heaven. Got up and finally got to talk to Penny. The story of the wreck is even more tragic than I imagined. God Bless her and her family.
I went for a great jog and the weather was awesome. But, I had an ulterior motive. The Concierge told me there was a “market” near the hotel and I am still in pursuit of the UGGs for the kids. I decided to jog to it and see if they had them before I made the “official” trip back up later in the day. Turns out that was a good plan as it was 1 ½ miles from the hotel. The market was AWESOME….but none of the UGGs I needed. L I decided not to go back there because I would spend way too much money on stuff for me – clothes, bags, shoes, etc. There was a great food market included and massage bars. Could have spent all day there.
Showered and worked the rest of the day in my room. Lots to catch up on because I was pretty useless yesterday.
We left at 7 pm for the venue and decided to eat in the Food Court again because the food was so good. Plus the hotel restaurant was full and couldn’t accommodate our reservations.
We were riding the freight elevator up and it was the one that by-passed the “cattle gates”. But when we got in, our escort couldn’t get it to move! Susan and I were worried if it did move, we would get stuck. We finally told him we had to get to the showroom and he took us another way….through the cattle gates. We went downstairs and they guys ate at the Food Court. We got “to go” plates for Howard and Bellamy.
There were only 2 people from the cruise for the “meet and greet”. Happens it was the couple that Susan and David had met on the Isle of Pines. They were coconut shopping and David said, “I wonder how much these cost?” The guy was standing behind the counter and he responded, “$4”. David had been asking locals if they knew his friend “Kiki” as he wanted to try and contact him. So, he asked the guy with the coconuts. The guy responded, “Hey man, I don’t know. I’m on the ship with you!” LOL. David did finally learn from one local that Kiki passed away a couple of years ago.
The showroom was packed and about half the audience were Indian. It was a great show. Indians are not as reserved as the Australians. After the show, we waited for the guys to load up the equipment and headed back to the hotel. The freight elevator worked this time! We got back at about 11 pm and have a 4:30 am departure time. Flying to Brisbane, then LAX, then HOME by 3:30 pm Sunday. Yippee.
Jude
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 19TH – FLYING HOME!!!
Only 2 hours sleep and everyone was “feeling it”. We arrived at the airport right on time – 5 am. Then the “fun” began. We are on an International flight and the promoter took us to the International Terminal. I made everyone wait on the bus while I double checked because I had been giving conflicting information about whether we checked in at the International or Domestic terminal. Sure enough, the flight departed out of the Domestic Terminal because we were flying Brisbane – Los Angeles – Nashville.
So, we hiked down to the other terminal. The website wouldn’t let me check anyone in online so we all got in the “Priority” lane. I told the man on duty how many people we had and where we were going. He said that only 2 agents in the Priority Lane were trained to handle International reservations and wanted to split us up and send half the group all the way down to the end of the terminal where he “said” there were 4 agents trained on International reservations. I told him I preferred NOT to split the group and he said, “well, then it’s going to take an hour to check each person in and you will miss your flight”! What an idiot.
We split the group and the agents checking my group in first told me that I was not Priority. I had to get out my cell phone and show her on my Delta site where I am Diamond. She did not apologize. Then we were told that our luggage could not be checked through to Nashville. That required another 20 minute debate and they finally checked it all the way through. Then we were told they could only issue boarding passes from Melbourne to Brisbane and we would have to exit security and go to the check in counter and get boarding passes for the rest of the flight.
I walked down to where the rest of the group was checking in. Out of the 4 agents, there was only one – TESS – who knew how to handle international bookings. She was having to do everyone’s ticketing and she was giving them all 3 boarding passes! So, we had to give her all the tickets for my group and let her issue all their boarding passes, too. As we were standing there, a guy flying to Seattle got in line and said they had sent him to 6 different agents and no one knew how to check him in! I told him to wait right there for “Tess”!
We finally got checked in and headed for the gate…only Jim realized they only gave him one of his claim checks and he checked two pieces. So we had to hike back and get the second claim check.
It was a 2 ½ hour flight from Melbourne to Brisbane but also means the flight home will only be 13 hours instead of 15 ½ like we had on the way over. We landed in Melbourne and had to take an “Air Tran” to another terminal. It wasn’t easy to find and the agents in Melbourne had failed to tell us that the cover they gave us our boarding passes in, had a little “tear off” section which was the ticket for the Air Tran. We finally figured out where to go and arrived at the correct terminal.
Susan was going to try and upgrade but they had told her in Melbourne she would have to wait until she got to Brisbane. So, we asked the gate agent if there were any seats left. He informed us that upgrades could not be done at the airport! I told him I wasn’t able to check anyone in on line so “where” could she have done it. No answer.
I was really looking forward to flying Virgin Australia because it is supposed to be such a fantastic airline. NOT!!! The plane was old, old, old. The flight attendants were nice and the food was good. But nothing spectacular. The movies were all horrendous. I went through 6 “trailers” just trying to find a decent one. Finally ended up watching a terrible one. Then I slept for either 6 or 8 hours straight. Not sure which because I screwed up the time on my watch. I woke up 1 hour prior to breakfast being served! The flight attendants had to take this white “pad” out of the overhead bins and put on all the seats for people when they were ready to sleep. Also the foot rest nearly cut my foot off because it was a sharp piece of curved metal. There is a padded “piece” that goes over it but again, flight attendants would not give it to passengers until they were ready for them to “make up their bed”!
We breezed through Immigration but had to wait a long time because Randy has a Canadian passport and goes through the “visitor” lanes. A couple of the guys got impatient and left with some of the luggage and equipment…including Randy’s bag. Once Randy arrived and we exited through Customs, the Customs Official busted him for not having his own bag. The finally let him go, but it was another long delay before we got to the gate. Fortunately we still had about 1 hour before the flight departed. I worked in the Lounge for a while.
When we boarded, a man sat next to be and he was one of the producers on the Glen Campbell documentary that is premiering tonight in Nashville. Very nice man and interesting talking to him. We were in the second row and this “loud” blonde lady got in and was sitting in the bulkhead. She was putting her things in the overhead when a man got on who was sitting across the aisle from him. He started putting things in his overhead bin and she yelled at him and said “On No. I need that space for my things”. I can’t believe he moved his back to a bin farther down the aisle!
The man next to me called the flight attendant over and told him the plug in the seat wasn’t working. The attendant reset it but it still didn’t work. Then he told the man next to me that the outlets were not designed to “charge” anything only “maintain”. WHAT? Fortunately it started working and we watched as the charge went from 62% all the way to 100%. Maintain, huh?
The blonde lady talked non-stop at the top of her lungs to the lady across the seat from her the entire flight! We all put on earphones but it didn’t drown her out. And she was talking about really “personal” things. Everyone in first class and the first couple of rows in coach had to listen to her for 4 hours. About 10 minutes before landing, she leaned back in her seat and said to the lady across the aisle: “I was planning to read my magazine and sleep this entire flight. Instead all you have done is talk. Now I have to put my head back for a minute”. I couldn’t believe it. She had talked nonstop the entire flight and the other lady never had a chance to say anything. We did notice that her husband was sitting with her. He put his noise cancelling ear phones the minute he sat down and then “pretended” to sleep the rest of the trip. I can’t imagine being married to her and having to listen to that all day long!
The internet wasn’t working at my seat and I told the flight attendant. He “reset” it and it still didn’t work. He said it had to be “weather”! It was perfectly clear and beautiful outside. The internet started working about 15 minutes later and he said “See, I told you it was weather”. LOL
We finally landed in Nashville. Got all our bags and equipment and I was home by 4:30 pm to find that my air conditioning was out. Still glad to be back. Have the Z’s with me tonight and Lindsey gets back from Japan tomorrow night.
Jude
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 19TH – FLYING HOME!!!
Only 2 hours sleep and everyone was “feeling it”. We arrived at the airport right on time – 5 am. Then the “fun” began. We are on an International flight and the promoter took us to the International Terminal. I made everyone wait on the bus while I double checked because I had been giving conflicting information about whether we checked in at the International or Domestic terminal. Sure enough, the flight departed out of the Domestic Terminal because we were flying Brisbane – Los Angeles – Nashville.
So, we hiked down to the other terminal. The website wouldn’t let me check anyone in online so we all got in the “Priority” lane. I told the man on duty how many people we had and where we were going. He said that only 2 agents in the Priority Lane were trained to handle International reservations and wanted to split us up and send half the group all the way down to the end of the terminal where he “said” there were 4 agents trained on International reservations. I told him I preferred NOT to split the group and he said, “well, then it’s going to take an hour to check each person in and you will miss your flight”! What an idiot.
We split the group and the agents checking my group in first told me that I was not Priority. I had to get out my cell phone and show her on my Delta site where I am Diamond. She did not apologize. Then we were told that our luggage could not be checked through to Nashville. That required another 20 minute debate and they finally checked it all the way through. Then we were told they could only issue boarding passes from Melbourne to Brisbane and we would have to exit security and go to the check in counter and get boarding passes for the rest of the flight.
I walked down to where the rest of the group was checking in. Out of the 4 agents, there was only one – TESS – who knew how to handle international bookings. She was having to do everyone’s ticketing and she was giving them all 3 boarding passes! So, we had to give her all the tickets for my group and let her issue all their boarding passes, too. As we were standing there, a guy flying to Seattle got in line and said they had sent him to 6 different agents and no one knew how to check him in! I told him to wait right there for “Tess”!
We finally got checked in and headed for the gate…only Jim realized they only gave him one of his claim checks and he checked two pieces. So we had to hike back and get the second claim check.
It was a 2 ½ hour flight from Melbourne to Brisbane but also means the flight home will only be 13 hours instead of 15 ½ like we had on the way over. We landed in Melbourne and had to take an “Air Tran” to another terminal. It wasn’t easy to find and the agents in Melbourne had failed to tell us that the cover they gave us our boarding passes in, had a little “tear off” section which was the ticket for the Air Tran. We finally figured out where to go and arrived at the correct terminal.
Susan was going to try and upgrade but they had told her in Melbourne she would have to wait until she got to Brisbane. So, we asked the gate agent if there were any seats left. He informed us that upgrades could not be done at the airport! I told him I wasn’t able to check anyone in on line so “where” could she have done it. No answer.
I was really looking forward to flying Virgin Australia because it is supposed to be such a fantastic airline. NOT!!! The plane was old, old, old. The flight attendants were nice and the food was good. But nothing spectacular. The movies were all horrendous. I went through 6 “trailers” just trying to find a decent one. Finally ended up watching a terrible one. Then I slept for either 6 or 8 hours straight. Not sure which because I screwed up the time on my watch. I woke up 1 hour prior to breakfast being served! The flight attendants had to take this white “pad” out of the overhead bins and put on all the seats for people when they were ready to sleep. Also the foot rest nearly cut my foot off because it was a sharp piece of curved metal. There is a padded “piece” that goes over it but again, flight attendants would not give it to passengers until they were ready for them to “make up their bed”!
We breezed through Immigration but had to wait a long time because Randy has a Canadian passport and goes through the “visitor” lanes. A couple of the guys got impatient and left with some of the luggage and equipment…including Randy’s bag. Once Randy arrived and we exited through Customs, the Customs Official busted him for not having his own bag. The finally let him go, but it was another long delay before we got to the gate. Fortunately we still had about 1 hour before the flight departed. I worked in the Lounge for a while.
When we boarded, a man sat next to be and he was one of the producers on the Glen Campbell documentary that is premiering tonight in Nashville. Very nice man and interesting talking to him. We were in the second row and this “loud” blonde lady got in and was sitting in the bulkhead. She was putting her things in the overhead when a man got on who was sitting across the aisle from him. He started putting things in his overhead bin and she yelled at him and said “On No. I need that space for my things”. I can’t believe he moved his back to a bin farther down the aisle!
The man next to me called the flight attendant over and told him the plug in the seat wasn’t working. The attendant reset it but it still didn’t work. Then he told the man next to me that the outlets were not designed to “charge” anything only “maintain”. WHAT? Fortunately it started working and we watched as the charge went from 62% all the way to 100%. Maintain, huh?
The blonde lady talked non-stop at the top of her lungs to the lady across the seat from her the entire flight! We all put on earphones but it didn’t drown her out. And she was talking about really “personal” things. Everyone in first class and the first couple of rows in coach had to listen to her for 4 hours. About 10 minutes before landing, she leaned back in her seat and said to the lady across the aisle: “I was planning to read my magazine and sleep this entire flight. Instead all you have done is talk. Now I have to put my head back for a minute”. I couldn’t believe it. She had talked nonstop the entire flight and the other lady never had a chance to say anything. We did notice that her husband was sitting with her. He put his noise cancelling ear phones the minute he sat down and then “pretended” to sleep the rest of the trip. I can’t imagine being married to her and having to listen to that all day long!
The internet wasn’t working at my seat and I told the flight attendant. He “reset” it and it still didn’t work. He said it had to be “weather”! It was perfectly clear and beautiful outside. The internet started working about 15 minutes later and he said “See, I told you it was weather”. LOL
We finally landed in Nashville. Got all our bags and equipment and I was home by 4:30 pm to find that my air conditioning was out. Still glad to be back. Have the Z’s with me tonight and Lindsey gets back from Japan tomorrow night.
Jude