Whitney's Walk 2015

I posted a tweet today:

Despite the heat, I enjoy July and especially the 28th because it's my birthday. It's the one day of the year I feel most loved because I get to hear from so many family and friends in such a short period of time. I don't have any other days to celebrate, so I soak this one up.

This year I will be in town during the days surrounding my birthday, which means I will be in town for Whitney's Walk. As with past years, if you feel so inclined to get me something for my birthday, I would greatly appreciate a donation made on my Whitney's Walk page. Heck, you can even join my team and walk with Sparky and I!!!

My team's name is Living for Lynn. Lynn was a middle school classmate/teammate of mine, high school volleyball rival for a year or so and daughter to one of my favorite all-time teachers. She ended up going to Bradley a year after me, where I would see her on the basketball team from a distance. She was a wonderful person and I wish I had reached out beyond my small social bubble and welcomed here to Bradley. Once again, it's my honor to be a part of Living for Lynn.

CMA Fest 2015 - Day 4

It's 5 days after my fourth day at CMA Fest and 4 long days at work. I probably should not be writing at the moment as I've had the tendency to leave words out of any comments/tweets/texts I've made this evening.

So, let's rewind to Sunday morning, a day without an alarm clock, followed by a night sleeping with earplugs (thank you gas station next to the hotel). The first thing on the list was a the Kristian Bush concert I won at the HGTV Lodge, but as you may know, you'll have to visit the KB blog page to get the details.

After seeing KB for the final time, Theresa and I parted ways. She was on the hunt to track down Lee Greenwood, and I had a Donuts and Jam date with Charlie Worsham. I don't have details about the Lee Greenwood meet and greet since I wasn't there, but I did steal Theresa's pic for my blog. Lee also popped in on LP Field later that night to play the Star-Spangled Banner on a saxophone. It was a very nice rendition.

Okay, so I didn't literally have a date with Charlie Worsham, but their were donuts and he did jam for all of us. I caught Charlie for the first time last year at CMA Fest and got sucked in to his music. Being a recipient of his e-newsletter tipped me in on his fan club show. I hope to hear more from him in the coming years! 

He was also playing the BMI Tailgate stage as we entered LP that night and I got to hear the rest of his set from our seats.

To our surprise on night 4, all of the people seated around us showed up for the show. As each day goes on, the crowed diminishes a little bit each night. Ticket hawkers will stand outside the venue as people leave for the evening and purchase tickets from those who won't be returning the next nights. Then the next day you see them walking the streets of downtown Nashville trying to hawk them.

The night began with Neal McCoy and Cole Swindell. Neal was an absolute hoot to watch, he was having so much fun up there and doing his darnedest to get the younger fans to join in. He even sang some sort of rap version of the Beverly Hillbillies theme song. So entertaining!

My favorite of the night was a Mr. Darius Rucker. His voice. His voice. His voice. I honestly don't know what to say. I'm just sitting here thinking about his performance, my mind is turning off and the vocals playing back in my head are giving me such a peaceful feeling.

Eric Church graced us with his presence next. I still hate to admit I enjoy his music, even after he abruptly canceled a nearby show I had already traveled to. Last of the night for us was Keith Urban. He's got good music and puts on a hell of show, so you can't go wrong ending the night with him. I had hoped for a pop-up Miranda Lambert duet, but instead got the Eric Church one. A surprise none the less, so I'll take it.

Who did we skip out on this night. Well, it was Brad Paisley, for the 2nd year in a row on the 4th night. Once again, I would love to know how many people actually stayed through his performance and then the fireworks show.

If you haven't guessed, I had another fun year at CMA Fest and picked a great friend to share the adventure with. Hopefully we'll get back there again someday.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. If you have been paying attention, I mentioned the smokers got us back. Night 4 was the hottest, most sticky night of them all and we completely lost our breeze! Add to that... the smokers on the 3rd level had to gather at the top of the ramp below our seating area, and as you may have guessed, the smoke wafted right on up and hung out with us most of the night. The combination was very nauseating!

CMA Fest 2015 - Day 3

Good ole Day 3. You started with such disappointment, but quickly redeemed yourself. Last year Theresa and I attended the roasty-toasty City of Hope Celebrity Softball game. After the ridiculously early morning, sun, heat, and lack of skills, we came to the conclusion to skip the game in 2015.

What changed during that time? Well, Little Big Town was announced to play in the softball game. How could I resist seeing 4 of my favorite artists play by favorite game?!?! Theresa was also up for it, so we bought the tickets and prepared ourselves for the early morning.

The game actually took place at a brand new facility that was built for the Nashville Sounds minor league baseball team. I scouted out our seats online to make sure we would be in the shade. No frying in the sun for us!

The celebrity players entered the field to the left-hand side of the dugout in the photo above and were promptly met by a hoard of media.

Theresa took to the right side of the dugout to stalk Brett Michaels. As you can see, she came soooo close, but the event coordinators quickly nabbed him, slapped him in a jersey, and threw him to the media.

As I waited in the shade for a glimpse of LBT and for Theresa to return, I was getting direct messages from Chevrolet through Twitter. I had such huge butterflies while waiting to see what they wanted, as I had entered their contests to get our seats upgraded at LP Field!

To my surprise, they saw my many random Kristian Bush tweets and were prepared to give me a meet and greet with Kristian that same morning as I sat waiting for LBT to arrive at the softball game. I told myself that they would probably find another worthy fan, but I couldn't help but think of the adventure I would have had seeing the backstage of the Chevy Riverfront Stage.

Shortly after I had to turn down the meet and greet, it was announced the LBT would not be able to make the softball game due to a family emergency. Knowing what I know now, I would guess that it was for Jimi to get his voice checked at doctor. Best wishes to him as he heads in for surgery to get vocals polyp(s) removed. If you read my Kristian Bush post, then you'll know that we booked it over to the Riverfront Stage to catch KB perform!

And then after the concert we hustled our way to FanFairX for the meet and greet Theresa won for Kristian Bush.

I've gotta set this next part up...

Last year Theresa totally flipped out when her favorite HGTV stars, the Property Brothers, took the stage at LP Field stage to introduce the artists. As CMA Fest 2015 approached, I kept my eyes peeled for news from our favorite artists and/or celebrities. 

A couple weeks ago I found an opportunity to enter for a meet and greet with the Property Brothers, so I passed it along to Theresa. Unfortunately her contest entry went on deaf ears. 

As we sat at LP Field on night one, the Property Brothers appeared on stage yet again to introduce the talent for the night, and well... at this point... Theresa relieved me of my duties of being her friend. Seriously? It's not like I could call them up and invite them for tea or something! There was no way for me to redeem myself for something I had no control over. ;)

Now return to us standing inline at the KB meet and greet, chit-chatting, and checking social media. Low and behold, Theresa saw a notification on Twitter from the Property Brothers about a noon meet and greet at the HGTV Lodge! But wait, the KB line we were standing in wouldn't even start moving until noon!

Have no fear, our feet were made for walking and being within the first 20 people inline for KB, we had plenty of time for Theresa to stalk the Property Brothers. I also met the twins, and even got a chance to chat with them as there was a random pause in the photograph line. They were extremely nice and have fantastic smiles! 

After relaxing at the hotel late afternoon and filling our bellies, we headed back to LP Field for the 3rd night. Below is the photo I tweeted at Chevy in hopes of winning the upgrade seats. As you can judge by the photos below, we did not win the upgrade.

This was the night we met the bird poop culprit. The culprit, a beautiful hawk that came soaring in and perched itself where my finger is pointing, with it's but facing the seats. That stinker!

Wynonna Judd kicked off the night. I was pretty excited to get to see her, but was sadly disappointed. The mix of sound was not music to my ears. The bass and drums were so loud that it drowned out her voice. Really... how do you do that, she has such a huge voice?!?!

Theresa was tasked with another year of being in charge of the selfies. This night she text one of them to her husband Jim, who just happened to be sitting with my brother at a Peoria Chiefs game. Theresa kindly requested a selfie of Jim and Tom, but we were denied!

I promptly text Tom a "You Bum!" text and just about demanded a selfie.

I got the best laugh out of this photo. Tom captured a selfie with Carol. She ushers at the Peoria Chiefs games, worked there when I did in 2002 and takes swim classes with my Grandpa. This pic was just Classic!!!

Next up on stage was Chris Young, who we did not get to see last year because he injured himself prior to his performance. I gave him two awards this night.

Most fans blinded during one song! Please note that the photo below only captured about a 10th of the lights. There was one point it which all lights on stage were directed at the audience. Kind of like the glow of Christmas lights for the movie Christmas Vacation.

Chris also won the award for best firefly audience participation. Wish this translated better to a cell phone photo.

We then enjoyed a set by Thomas Rhett and Brett Eldredge before Little Big Town took the stage. It was during LBT's first song, that we finally realized there was a small stage 1/3 of the way into the crowd on the floor. Their band was on the main stage playing, the side screens only showing a CMA logo, and I couldn't understand why they were singing off-stage. I believe it was Theresa who finally put two and two together.

I'm still shaking my head about that small stage. It took us 2.5 nights to realize this. No other artists had used the stage up to that point, but I believe there were many an introduction taking place from that stage. I recall seeing the empty main stage, CMA logo, and mystery voice from backstage several times each night. Yes, I know, quality!

Wanting to leave on a good note (thanks to Little Big Town's performance), and avoid parking lot hell, we stumbled over our neighbors yet again and headed home. This night, we missed Carrie Underwood. Say what you will, but have you left the CMA Fest after the last act before???

CMA Fest 2015 - Day 2

Our first mission on day two was to head to FanFairX so Theresa could stalk one of her longtime favorites. That opportunity wasn't until mid-morning, so we got to sleep-in and enjoy a Waffle House breakfast. Breakfast is just done right in the South.

As we arrived at our designated LP Field parking lot, so did a monster rain cloud. For the first time we took advantage of the shuttles that run around the perimeter of the various downtown stages. It was perfect timing! The skies didn't fully unleash until we took the last two open seats on the bus.

The rain subsided by the time we made it to Fan Alley, so we took the opportunity to walk the booths prior to making our way to FanFairX where Theresa was hopeful to meet Phil Vassar. As you can guess by the photo below, she accomplished her mission.

I wasn't familiar with Phil's music, so I made my way over to the Close-up Stage for a 90th Anniversary Opry Panel. Two other artists accompanied Kristian Bush to tell stories about growing up listening to the Opry, their first Opry performance, and how they were asked to join the Opry.

Jeannie Seely was the one Tomato on the panel. She had some great stories to share from her many years as part of the Opry. All three artists left me wanting to hear more stories and hoping that I someday make my way back to Nashville to see a night at the Opry. 

Below is Josh Turner, the 3rd artist on the panel. After the meet and greet we had with him last year, which left me not thinking too fondly of him, it was nice to see some of his personality come through. It's hard for me to wrap my head around, but it would seem that someone who performs in front of crowds of 1,000's can be very reserved when speaking and or meeting small groups of people.

At some point prior to the Opry panel I caught the majority of The Oak Ridge Boys during their time on the Close-up stage. Yet another group I was unfamiliar with, but I seem to not be able to absorb enough music career related stories. What I didn't know at that time is that I'd be seeing them later that evening at LP Field. And better yet, they brought out Little Big Town to join them! This combination began the best night at LP Field.

The Band Perry was second up and just about knocked my socks off. I have no good excuse for not having gone seen them in concert. Hell, they even played at Bradley University and I didn't go see that. Seriously, what is my problem?!? They were hands down my favorite performance at LP Field and left me wanting so much more. The highlight of their set was when they sang "Uptown Funk"!

There was usually about 15 minutes in between each act, and when you are the top row of the nosebleeds, you have the tendency to want to stay in your seats. Sure, I entered the texting contests they announced, but what to do with the other 14 minutes. On night 2 I turned to my new friend Spidey.

I was unaware of Theresa's dislike of 8-legged beings. This knew found information prompted me to give her commentary of what Spidey and his friends were up to. The younger sibling in me definitely came out during these set changes. Please note that she didn't do much to discourage my behavior. She even loaned me the flashlight on her phone so I could capture Spidey on his web. I must say, it is quite fascinating to watch a spider build a web while the wind is whipping around.

When Spidey took a break, I was forced to dive even deeper into my surroundings to pass the time. I know it's not the kindest thing to say, but I couldn't help but think that the fenced in grass area in the photo below was like a dog park for smokers. Nice green plush grass and ashtrays instead of water bowls for the patrons to gather around. Don't worry, the smokers will get me back during the last night at LP Field.

The second best act of the night was Zac Brown Band. Their song selection renewed my interest in them. The songs I've heard from them since their first album all start to sound the same to me, but the taste of their album Jekyll and Hyde have me intrigued. In addition, they did their rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody. That was just fantastic!

The other artists we saw this night were Maddie and Tae, Lee Brice, Randy Houser, and Lady Antebellum. I am a Luke Bryan fan, but he drew the short straw and played last that night. Translation, we left before he took the stage. Yes, really... parking lot hell is not worth 5 Luke Bryan songs.

CMA Fest 2015 - Day 1

Theresa and I started out CMA Fest 2015 with a quick drive to downtown Nashville, I hike across the pedestrian bridge and then waiting inline for a ridiculous amount of time to be let into FanFairX to see Little Big Town on the CMA Close-up Stage.

We tried to make the best of our wait time and picked up the Kristian Bush fan experience passes we won a couple weeks ago, but the entrance line was still at a complete standstill. The doors were scheduled to open at 10:00 and LBT to take the stage at 10:15. It soon became clear that we would not make it through the crowd, up the escalator, and through security before they started.

But hey, we got inside just in time to watch them play Heads Up with 4 lucky audience members. What?!? Yes, that's right, they played an iPad app game like charades with 4 individuals while hundreds of us watched. I was completely dumbfounded. Below is a pic I took just prior to them switching gears to the game.

We got in the door so late there was no chance of getting close (but I swear that is them above), and we missed all but one of the interview style questions. Below is a pic of a random fan meet and greet I passed by later that day. Other than Jimi, you can match up the outfits with the above pic.

As we moseyed through FanFairX, we came across the section of artist booths. I was drawn to Tayler Lynch's booth because he didn't look like the other male artists that one would assume wrote mostly drinking songs. (I suppose I was judging books/artists by their covers.) He had a couple headsets playing his music, so I took a listen while asking him questions about his music, etc. Before heading away with my autographed CD, Tayler was nice enough (even though he was a Cincinnati Reds fan) to take a pic with this Cubs fan.

Around 11:30 we made our way over to the Artist Close-up stage for the CMA Songwriters Series featuring Sara Evans. I do not recall the songwriters' names that were on stage with her, but a big thank you goes out to their mad writing skills. I got to hear them tell stories and sing songs by the likes of the Dixie Chicks and Luke Bryan. I don't currently own and of Sara's music, but after hearing her live for the 2nd time, I really need to look into that.

At some point Keith Urban swung by the Close-up stage and we got to see him play a song while helping raise awareness for the CMA Foundation's Music Education Matters Campaign. Shortly after the surprise performance, a fellow by the name of Aaron Tippin took to the stage to shared stories and sing a few songs. I was not familiar with his music, but I could have listened to him all day. Knowing that her husband is an Aaron fan, Theresa kept her ears open and found out he'd be available for a meet and greet the next day.

After Aaron Tippin, we caught Kristian Bush and Friends on the Close-up stage. We rounded up our day with a game of PLINKO at the Big Machine Label Group booth. My consolation prize was a towel.

After spending most of the day at FanFairX, Theresa and I headed back to the car via the pedestrian bridge. Who would have thunk Luke Bryan would be hanging out near the elevator? Well, he actually only made it a day or two before someone stole him.

I found a tag on the towel I won that stated I could win prizes if I Tweeted a photo with the towel while somewhere at CMA Fest. I opted for a shot in front of LP Field where the nightly concerts were held. As for the aviator glasses, those were a Tyler Farr freebie that now below to Theresa.

After a stop at the hotel to regroup, we headed back to LP Field for the night. Last year we scouted out the seats. They are only in the sun for about 20 minutes and receive quite the breeze with being located along top edge. The one downside we knew about was the that birds frequented these seats.

We came prepared with handi-wipes. Above is the before and after. The other downside is completely unpredictable. The people nearest the aisle refused to stand up when we needed to get to the aisle. It wouldn't have been such an issue if you didn't have to squeeze by their knees while dodging their stuff, feet, and cup holders. Ugh!

This first night, I was excited to see Alan Jackson who opened the show. I missed him when he came through Bloomington earlier this year during my siblings weekend. He sounded good, but I gotta say out of all the performers we saw during CMA Fest, he had the most abrupt exit off-stage. It was so bizarre.

Here's a happy Jane selfie with downtown Nashville in the background. The pedestrian bridge we cross is lit up on the left.

My favorite artist of the night was Dierks Bentley. Hands down, no questions asked, he rocked it. He also seems to be a very genuine person and shows his appreciation to us fans for supporting his music. I think some artists forget that without the fans, they wouldn't be up there.

As far as performances Rascal Flatts and Alan Jackson were a close second. I'll be honest, I was hoping for Rascal Flatts to blow my socks off like last year, but they didn't pull any surprises on me this time. Don't get me wrong, they were great, but just not able to top Dierks.

Sam Hunt left me perplexed with his hip-hoppy style of country music and singing about a house party at the age of 30.

For those Florida Georgia Line and Jason Aldean fans, I regret to inform you that I am not, and we left prior to them taking stage. We wanted to leave on the fantabulous concert ride that Dierks took us on. Plus, we would be guaranteed to miss parking lot hell.

CMA Fest 2015 - Kristian Bush Style

Quick note: daily summaries to come in separate posts. I couldn't save the best for last.

Once upon a time Theresa and I bought tickets to CMA Fest 2015 without knowing which artists would be appearing. As the months closed in, the schedules for over 9 stages started to unfold and emails for chance to win exclusive events started rolling in.

One of our hopeful goals this year was to win at least one of the many contests we were sure to enter, whether it be for free swag, seat upgrades, signed guitar, concert or meet and greet.

CMA gave all registered fans a chance to win 1 of over a 100 different artist experiences. As you may have figured out from past blogs, when I love an artist/group, I'll soak up as much time seeing them as possible.

Luckily my traveling companion was on-board with my craziness. Between the two of us and our 80 some raffle entries, we managed to win both of the Kristian Bush experiences as seen below.

Last Wednesday we began our trek to Nashville. I can't speak for Theresa's next goal, but mine was to get a hat trick, turkey, or hit a trifecta of Kristian Bush experiences. Why not, we already had two in the bag with our winnings?  :)

As we hurtled down the highway, we approached Southern Illinois and the town of Metropolis, which I had never stopped at to meet Superman. Check that one off the list!

As I circled the statue and saw the ginormous flowing cape, I couldn't help but think of the Kristian Bush's lyrics from Giving It Up, "I’m folding up my cape, I am no man of steel". And yes, I did tweet this picture at him. It'd be hard for him to fold up that cape.

Anyway, as we were easing on down the road, I was having fun catching up on Twitter while Theresa was at the wheel. Looky what I found, KB and his team posted his schedule for the week of CMAFest. A total of 7 possible KB sightings once we reached Nashville. I'll have to donate to my local Goodwill as we did not wake up at the butt crack of dawn to catch him there.

The next day was a no brainer because KB would be at FanFairX, which we planned to attend for the Little Big Town opening of the event, followed by Sara Evans and some moseying around. A few hours later, bingo bango, KB is on the stage with Canaan Smith and Michael Ray.

If you can't tell, I was in the 2nd row. Boo-ya! But no standing... Didn't want to obstruct others from the magical performances of all 3 artists.

Oh, remember that Superman cape pic? As KB introduced his song "Light Me Up", he mentioned superheroes, so I held my phone up showing that pic. I do believe Canaan saw it because he grinned pretty big when looking in my direction.

Okay, moving along...

On Friday we happened to be heading to FanFairX for multiple reasons once again, so I added the Opry Anniversary Panel to my list. I worked on scouting out a good seat while listening to the Oakridge Boys artist closeup (very cool!) I slowly snuck forward as their crowd dissipated and grabbed my 2nd row seat.

For the record, Theresa was off stalking her own favorites.

Some events gave away first row tickets, but that wasn't the case for this Opry Panel. As the event started, the red velvet rope was unlatched and I was asked if I wanted to move up, but move ALL the way down. Sit at the edge of the stage, nope, I sat back down. Still looking for 1st row fillers, they nodded my way again. It ended up being perfect timing because enough people flowed in-front of me and KB ended up sitting in the chair almost directly across from me.

The other artists there to share their stories were Josh Turner and Jeannie Seely. Do I think KB saw me? Well it was my 2nd day being so close, and I was sporting yet another Cubs shirt... so, yes.

I could have listened to their stories all day. Being only about a 10 yearish country music fan (thanks to the Dixie Chicks for pulling me in) it was pretty eye opening. Gonna have to get that Opry app for my phone.

Saturday morning Theresa and I woke up bright and early for a 9am City of Hope softball game to root on Little Big Town. I couldn't help but notice LBT was nowhere to be seen during the team photo. Prior to that I thought they were late from signing for the fans outside (that's the kind of people I believe them to be).

Shortly after Theresa got done stalking Brett Michaels, it was announced that LBT had to cancel due to a family emergency. Totally ready to show them some over-exuberant love, I couldn't help but be bummed. Weighing our options, we chalked up the ticket costs as a donation to the charity and booked it over to the Chevy Riverfront stage to catch KB in action for the second year in a row.

And guess what, we still got their early enough to get second row standing. Unknowing to most, I actually could have met KB during the time I sat at the softball game. Seeing that I already won a meet and greet for later that day, I hoped they could find another worthy fan.

All-in-all it worked out smashingly, even though I'm still wondering if LBT can play softball. KB and the band's performance (including Brandon Bush and Annie Clements) rocked the house, and I can't think of a place I would have rather been at that moment.

KB does a phenomenal job interacting with the audience. A couple people shouted some song titles at him. He requested a repeat and the gal behind me "yelled" Flip Flops. He still didn't hear her, so I stepped in and bellowed FLIP FLOPS.

Kristian then started giving someone with a water bottle a hard time about requesting his 1 drinking song. I remember something along the line of him addressing the woman with a "Hey Love" in a sweet, kind of shaking his head about the thought of the water bottle holder requesting the drinking song.

In the 90+ heat, I figured most including myself had water bottles, and proceeded to enjoy the song. Theresa confirmed with me after the show, that I indeed was the "Flip Flop" person. With his sunglasses on, I couldn't tell if his eyes shot over my head or if he was looking at me. Huh, he probably thought I was half asleep or something for not having much reaction to his razzing. Too funny!

Next up was the meet and greet Theresa won, just a short hour after the performance. Let me tell you, it's hard to feel freshened-up in that amount of time after shaking your hips during an hour long performance in 90ish weather, hoofing it up to FanFairX and shoving lunch down your gullet.

Oh, if you were wondering...yes, day 3 also involved a Cubs shirt! Why was I doing this?

1. It's super fun to get other Cub fan reactions while wearing a Cubs shirt out of state or during a non-baseball related event.

2. I thought it might help me stand out in the many KB crowds I would be in.

I gotta say, I had some great Cubs and baseball fan reactions. Apparently that was really the only reason I was wearing those shirts.

At FanFairX, Theresa and I stood towards the front of the line patiently waiting for KB to appear from behind the curtain. Kristian emerged and greeted the CMA host people and the scanned the crowd. I recall hearing something along the lines of "It's you again!" I then proceeded to remind him that it was he who posted his schedule online.

If you haven't been counting, this was the 4th Kristian Bush sighting out of 5 possibilities. Theresa was first up for the meet and greet. I was chatting with the CMA rep and overheard Theresa and KB giggling and they happened to be looking at me. What was said??? I will never know. KB kiddingly would not divulge that information. Oh goodness!

Next! As I approached Kristian I told him that I had bad news... I'll be seeing you at your show tomorrow. He questioned if I'd be at his Opry performance in the afternoon. I regretfully had to inform him I was not that good of a stalker.

He then paused, looking at the photo he was going to personalize for me. He was actually trying to remember my name. Yes, he remember me from our encounter last year during the GAC Breakfast and Signing! I was astounded. (Hope my mouth didn't drop open.)

If given the opportunity, I could have talked to Kristian for hours. But what did I do, I asked about his shoes/boots. I was informed that he and his previous pair made it through 400 shows without missing a date before being retired. I hope this pair tours as much as the old ones!

As I left the booth with a big-ass grin on my face, I recall him saying, "see you tomorrow". That's the type of fan experience I wish upon any recipient of a meet and greet, no matter who the artist, sports figure, etc.

KB kindly signed my CMA Fest badge and he also gave me an autographed photo. Below is a pic of Theresa's photo. Hmmm, possibly a hint as to what they may have been talking about?!?!

Sorry it's upside-down, blogging on your phone is very inefficient.

Here's a pic of my badge autograph on Day 4 after I applied sunscreen and started glistening. Apparently the combination will cause a Sharpie autograph on a plastic surface to turn into a temporary tattoo. Nothing to do but shake your head and smile.

With my new temporary tattoo in place, we headed over to the HGTV Lodge for our 5th and final Kristian Bush sighting. This is the fan experience I won and we were given these stylish wristbands to wear.

Can you believe they got them printed upside-down?

Guess what?!? Yep, I was wearing a Cubs shirt and managed to get 2nd row just off center. No, I did not get a picture of his footwear. As he was beginning the first requested song, Flip Flops (not my request), my phone said it was out of memory! I had to rudely multi-task during this song, so I could take photos. I can only imagine he was even more perplexed that the "Flip Flip Girl" didn't have full attention for one of her favorite artists (I can only assume he figured that one out) while he sings her "requested" song.

I don't think KB took offense, seeing that he tossed me a guitar pick after the show. He's too kind and such a talented singer/songwriter!

Who knows, maybe I'll have a chance to explain myself or strike up a Waffle House conversation with him when Mom and I see him next month in Watseka, IL. Yes, that's right. Watseka, IL.

Oh, and for the record, my favorite song is Southern Gravity, the title track off of Kristian's solo album. To no surprise, I highly recommend it! Check it out!

Here's some pics from the Riverfront and HGTV performances on this websites, so cool!