It all started with a 5:25 AM flight out of Midland to Houston, then from Houston to Newark. Unfortunately, the small five-gate airport in Midland didn’t open the security area until five minutes before boarding time, so things were a little rushed.
2:00 PM, all of us meet up at the Newark airport and take a van to Bushkill, PA. Halfway through, everybody gets hungry, and Kevin is dying for Diet Mountain Dew. The driver somehow gets lost and we end up at a dog supply store. When we finally see a gas station with food, he asks, “Is this OK? Because if not I can go right down here…” Just as the van started moving again, we let out a simultaneous, “This is fine! Stop! Right here!”
We get into Bushkill a little late, and already there are problems. For one, nobody’s cell phone is getting reception, explaining our new name for the town, Cellkill. Business calls are cut off, wives are wondering the status of their respective Pella-husbands, and my cell phone company is having a ball with my roaming charges.
John checks into his room (or “villa” as they are called), only to find a woman already staying in that room. He changes rooms, opens the door, and finding another person waiting in that room too. He loads his stuff into my room until the hotel gives him a two-floor suite. Poor guy.
6:00 PM, the guys get to the venue, a beautiful indoor-outdoor hybrid with nice acoustics. Soundcheck is just narrowly squeezed in before the doors open.
Showtime at 8:05, and the guys absolutely own the place. Every time the guys hit the stage, there was a definite buzz throughout the crowd.
After a long meet and greet and a few snacks, we head back to the hotel…er, villas. However, Kevin’s room key is no longer working. He ends up getting a room all the way across the complex. What’s worse, he WALKED the whole way there with his luggage. Then he walked all the way to the reception, which takes about five minutes by car.
The reception made up for everything, though. For such a sophisticated image, the Boston Pops definitely know how to party. We showed how hardcore we were by shutting the place down, thanks to a loooooooong game of pool that involved George and some local guys. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen the staff turn off the lights to get patrons to leave. Thank God we can sleep in tomorrow.
Until next time,
Justin
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