SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 18TH – PERFORMANCE IN KRISTIANSAND, NORWAY – LAST SHOW OF THE TOUR!!!
We departed the hotel at 9:30 am for a 4 hour drive from Stavanger to Kristiansand. Only made one quick stop at a gas station and arrived at the hotel a little after 1 pm. Nice hotel but definitely not the “5 Star Hotel” that our hotel this morning told us it was. We dropped bags and immediately went to the venue for sound check. Gunnar will be a “guest” again tonight on the song ‘Livin’ in the West”. I definitely remember this town and venue. Previously we stayed at the Radisson Blu which is much closer to the venue and much nicer than our hotel.
Sound check again took way too long. When it finally ended, Stephanie and I rushed to the shopping street because stores either closed at 4 pm or 6 pm. We found one small souvenir shop which didn’t have a lot of things because it is the “off season”! Also made a stop by Starbucks where I got a Macha Green Tea Latte – the only thing I drink from Starbucks.
Had several hours before departing for the show at 7:25 pm. I told David I was going to stay at the hotel and get Howard squared away and then come to the venue. I gave Stephanie all the details for the Meet and Greet. He should have landed before the show began but his flight departed over 30 minutes late. I went up to check his room before he arrived and make sure there were no stairs. There are two sets of elevators on opposite sides of the lobby. The front desk clerk kept sending me to the wrong set of elevators and I realized too late that there was a set of stairs after exiting the elevator. I got Howard settled and ordered him some dinner and rushed to the venue.
About 5 minutes after I arrived, Howard called to say he lost all his credit cards and drivers license. I had told Karolina (his “escort”) to be sure and check every seat he sat in so I figured he would find them somewhere in a little while. I was right. Thankfully he found them.
Show was great and Gunnar did a good job on the duet. Show finished at 9:30 pm and we all rushed back to the hotel to pack for a 4:00 am lobby call.
Jude
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 19TH – LEAVING NORWAY!
Nothing like sleeping one hour and a 4 am lobby call! Everyone made it on time and it was a short 25 minute drive to the airport. The one lady checking us in seemed to have multiple duties including also finding a wheelchair, opening the security entrance for the wheelchair, accepting the oversize band gear and being at the gate to check boarding passes to get on the flight. We were all watching to see if she would also be flying the plane!
Only an hour and a half flight to Amsterdam. There was a 2 1/2 hour layover there but most of that was eaten up by the long walk to the gate and the long line to get through passport control.
Flight departed Amsterdam on time to JFK. Food was good and I watched a “sweet” movie starring Julia Roberts and George Clooney and then slept. Not sure how long I slept because the interactive flight map is not accurate. Seemed to be an extremely old Delta jet and the flight attendants were barely noticeable. Before we landed, they came around and asked if I wanted a cheeseburger or salad. I opted for the salad and about 45 minutes later, the flight attendant asked if I ever got my salad. Obviously the answer was “no” . She came back about 5 minutes later with a salad, AFTER the pilot had announced that we were landing. I declined since there would not have been time to eat it, which is something she should have realized as well. Oddly enough, I had just received a text message from Delta congratulating me on reaching 3 Million Miles with them and asking if Delta recognized me and made me feel “special” on the flights. LOL!
We landed and a lady met Howard with a wheelchair so he wouldn’t have to walk through Immigration, Baggage Claim, Customs, Security and to the next gate. She immediately took off at a sprint and didn’t actually know where she was supposed to be taking him. I managed to intervene and make her go through the Global Entry line and then to baggage claim. However, once we left baggage claim and rechecked the bags, she again sprinted away. I noticed that she was going through the regular passenger security line but couldn’t catch her to tell her to go through TSA Pre-Check. We all had to get in the regular security line and there was only one lane open for hundreds of passengers. Took us more than 30 minutes to clear security and then walk through several terminals just to get to the departure gate for Nashville. We assumed Howard had been waiting at the gate for us for quite a while but she actually just walked up with him as we arrived! Howard said they wouldn’t allow her to take him through the security check where she had taken him and that they had pretty much walked in circles trying to find the right one and get to the gate.
The flight to Nashville is a small jet. We departed and landed on time with all our bags. Lindsey, Zac and Zoe were there to meet me and I think the Z’s have grown at least another3 inches taller in the 3 weeks I’ve been away!
So many people to thank and I’m sure I’ll forget someone:
Howard and David Bellamy
Amazing musicians and crew: Randy Hiebert, Randy and Stephanie Hall, Jim Heep, Mark Burch, David Parks, and Tim Austin
Kjell for the tour
Ashley and Stageway for the logistical legwork
Nils and Helge for amazing driving
Ruth for keeping the numbers straight
All our local “points of contact” at each venue
Ana from Stageway for his assistance with Howard
David and Anette Genius for taking care of Howard
Gunnar (G. Thomas) for a great duet at 3 of the shows
And all the fans and friends who attended 14 shows in 14 cities in 17 days!
And, yes, Howard is doing great and feeling LOTS better.
Nice to be home for a couple of weeks before heading out for the Runaway June World Tour with AFE.