Day in Buffalo….

Again this is a bit back to front so read the post before this before reading this one!

Didn't do a lot today during the day, did go and use the gym in the hotel though and did a 30 minute run on the treadmill while watching the Crazies zombie movie on the TV at 10am in the morning! went for a dip in the pool to cool off after as well. felt good to run off those wings from the night before!

Just chilled out in the room and watched some TV till early afternoon before heading over to the Mall for a look round a few stores, Kami bought a few things as she had a hot date tonight!! Id pulled a few strings and she was going to meet Dave K before the show and at intermission, she was pretty excited but obviously need a new outfit! i just hung out while she went shopping.

I got a call from my friend Tony around 4 to say he had arrived at the hotel, he had driven over from Rochester with Dawn whom id last met up with in Cleveland a week or so ago. He’d brought along a couple of friends too, Keith and his friend. the six of us headed over to a TGI’s a few miles from the hotel and had dinner together. Doesn't matter where we all go there's always Floyd/Roger references everywhere, Kami pointed out the Hendrix album cover on the wall next to our table and said “Hendrix perm” i then added “its obligatory”

Bob from Toronto called while we were there and we arrange to meet at the venue after we’d eaten. Dawn, Tony and the others headed back to their hotel but as Kami and i were ready to go we drove the 4 miles downtown to the venue.There very little (if not nothing) at all at the venue itself and we parked up in the parking lot and went inside to the will call window. It was around 6:45 and the doors to get inside the venue weren't open yet but we were fortunate we were able to get in before all the plebeians,lol

 

Bob called again and he had found a bar a couple of blocks away, he was gonna walk up to the venue and I'd meet him when he got inside, Tony and Dawn were gonna do the same. At 7pm the masses were let in and 10 minutes later i took Kami round the back to the Hospitality room to meet the band. I went to meet up with Dawn and Tony and spotted them as they walked through. Same with Bob and Andy,  Chris also called my cell phone and let me know where he was with his dad whom he was going to the show with.
Was great to see Chris again and meet his dad who was really looking forward to the show. ever so sorry we didn't have more time to meet up and chat but glad you both enjoyed the show.
Partying like a rock star Kami!
 

I watched the first half of the show from the front right on the rail, i just cant get enough of seeing the show from that rail! hearing the monitor speakers instead of the PA  just makes it so much better for me! At intermission i found Kami who was 13th row dead centre and we both headed back to the hospitality area. Was great to see Dave, we had chatted on facebook and text but it was the first time we’d met up so far on the tour. Dave and i share a love of a guitarist called Michael Schenker, we went to see the guy together in London last July and that was the last time we had hung out together. Dave's a great guy and a good friend and doing a fantastic job on the tour. There were very few people in the hospitality area, probably no more than 8 which is a HUGE difference from the 160 some that were packed into a room for 70 people the night before in NY!  Mark (Lennon) spotted me and came over to say hi and he and Kipp looked as though they were the only people who had friends there! With 7 minutes left till the second half we said our goodbyes and headed back out to our seats. Roger was talking to some guy about playing Golf the next day as we walked out.

I sat next to Kami for the second half of the show, I'll make another post about the shows but it was THE best version of Comfy Numb I've heard and there's a reason for that which ill explain in my show post.

After the show we had arranged to meet up with  everyone at the bar that Bob & Andy had found a  couple of blocks away. While walking over there we spotted a guy walking down the street carrying a full brick!! How the hell had he got it out?? but more importantly for Bob and Andy how much would he accept for it! The guy was pretty trashed and everyone was stopping him wanting their pictures taken with said brick. Andy caught up with the guy and offered him $300 for it! At first the guy seemed real interested but just carried on walking and it was clear he had no idea what was going on, what he had or where he was!! i bet he did the next morning though! not many people can say they have a full brick from the wall! We had a couple of drinks before Kami and i headed back to the hotel, we were both tired, I've no idea why you were Kami as all you;d done the day before was sleep all day! id driven 6 hours!

Dawn, Tony and the others were at the hotel when we got back and we all said our goodbyes as we were all leaving early the nest morning, we had an 8 hour drive to do down to DC!

New York to Buffalo….

This is a bit back to front as this is from 5 days ago when i left NY but am catching up.

So Mark, Beth and Kami (these guys deserve their own post on here and will get it soon:) had made the trip up to New York for both the shows from just outside Washington DC. The next show was Buffalo and then Washington DC after that. I was staying at Mark and Beth's for the night before and of the DC show. Kami and i have travelled round a lot over the years seeing shows together so it went without saying that she was more than welcome to come up to Buffalo with me in the car while her mom and dad went back to DC and we’d both then drive back down to DC after the Buffalo show.

I got a cab over to Penn Station at 10am and met Kami outside, We got the train from Penn station out to Newark Airport where id already arranged my rental car pick up.

View of NY from the airport.

Picked up the car, hit the Buffalo hotel in my tom-toms favourites and set off on the 6 hour drive up there. We stopped about an hour into the trip for something to drink and a snack and then did the drive without stopping till we hit Buffalo. Kami was asleep in the front seat within 30 minutes of us picking the car up and later got into the back seat and crashed out and i didn't see her again till we were in Buffalo!

Ha, this pic serves you right for sleeping all the way!

The drive up was nice, the weather was great and the fall colours on the trees were beautiful.Its real hard to get across the colours of the trees from the pictures.

    

We arrived in Buffalo around 6pm, went straight to the hotel and crashed out for an hour. For the last few days when id been telling everyone i was going to Buffalo they al told me i had to try the wings up there. I wasn't aware that Buffalo (chicken) wings originated from there!  When we arrived i called  Chris, a good friend of Laurens and arranged to meet up with him at the best wings place in Buffalo called Duffs.

We got to Duffs around 8:30 and Chris was waiting for us in the bar, Id never met Chris but Lauren had chatted to him for 4 or 5 years online and he was a real nice guy, just a normal down to earth guy:) Once he’d explained the menu system to us we ordered 30 wings in total plus a large fries to share between the 3 of us and an order of Mozzarella stick(but these never came) I don't like real hot and spicy food so we ordered 10 plain and 20 mild.

The before picture                             Chris and the famous wings              Kami and I and my first taste of Duffs
   

Chicken wings are around in the UK but they are nowhere near as popular as they are in the USA and there's certainly not the variety of sauces available on them that you can order in the US, you just get the wings with BBQ sauce of your lucky!

I have to say they were one the the best things I've eaten while over here! i know i keep saying this but they were, really! the meet just dropped off the bone and the coating was just right and crunchy plus they were hot (temperature wise) and the mild sauce we had ordered on the 20 was just right for me, just left you with a little tingle on your lips, not too hot at all.

The after picture,                            Chris and I                                    Duffs!!

Chris hadn't seen the show yet and we chatted as much as we could about it without giving away any spoilers. Kami kept us all entertained with her stories of being such a world traveller having spent 16 months in China in 2008/2009 and 12 months in Japan a couple of years before that.

After destroying the wings and most of the fries we were all full up and kinda glad the Mozzarella sticks hadn't come, although i bet Kami could have eaten them! She wanted dessert after but Duffs wasn't really the place for desserts, they had one mina thing on the menu and that was it! We said goodbye to Chris and said we ‘d  and made our way back to the hotel, I did offer to try find a place for dessert for Kami on the way back to the hotel but we ended up going straight back. I have a few friends arriving tomorrow so am looking forward to seeing them again, Bob and Andy are coming in from Toronto and they haven't seen the show since the first 3 shows so I'm looking forward to hearing from them how its changed and if they think things have got better!

Buffalo to DC…..

Well its to West Virginia really not DC.

Sorry this is a bit backwards but I'll fill in the 2 days before this day later on. Lots to type and not enough time.

Kami and i left the hotel in Buffalo around 10am, we filled up with gas and were on the road for 10:15. Bob and Chris’s dad had said the best way to go was from Buffalo to Pittsburgh and then down to DC. There was a shorter route but this took you on mostly two lane roads and through the country. We just wanted to get there without any stops and as soon as possible really.

The drive was pretty non eventful, my rental car didn't have cruise control which was a bit of a pain when you hit a road and it says on the tom-tom, “ stay on this road for 167 miles” threes very little on the road and my foots gotta keep on the pedals.

We didn't stop till we hit Pittsburgh, about four and a half hours into the drive. Had my first Taco bell of the trip! I hate fast food but Taco Bell is different,lol from stopping to getting back on the road it took us about thirty minutes, we then had another three and  a half hours left till we got to DC. The scenery on the second part of the drive was really beautiful, a lot of the leaves are changing colours now and unlike the UK where most of the trees are just plain green, the ones here change to purple, yellow and the most amazing colours of orange and reds!

  

We hit a bit of traffic about 30 miles outside of DC, took us nearly an hour just to do the 3 miles. Mark & Beth called to say they were heading over to Kim's place as she had cooked dinner for us all (yay tacos!) and that we should go straight over there to meet them all. We got to Kim's place around 7pm, took us a total of eight and a half hours to do the drive! Kim's friend (and Kim's housemates boyfriend ) Kenny was there as was Kim's housemate Becca. Id met Kenny a few years ago at a Horror Convention that id been to in New Jersey with Kim, Kenny’s a great guy and we got on well in NJ. I remember him telling me about the Jet ski he had and promised that if i ever came back we’d try go out on it. The weather had been beautiful all day today and Kim and Kenny had been out on the Jet ski today and said if the weathers the same tomorrow we would go out on it!! I've never been on one and was looking forward to it already.

On the way down Kim had texted me to ask if i was up for going to the haunted forest to be chased by some guys with chainsaws! sure i said, if we get there on time and i don't feel too bad after the drive. I felt ok  actually, no where near as tired as i thought. I drove all the way down, ever though Kami could have driven i wasn't real tired and had decided just to keep driving.

Kim, Becca, Kami, Kenny and i headed over to Kenny's house to drop off the Jet ski and and would all go to the forest in Kenny truck. I was in heaven when i walked into Kenny's garage. Not only did he have a jet ski but a couple of nice bikes and a motorised cooler box that did 13 MPH!!

   

Kenny showed me round the house that he had been renovating, he’d had it for a couple of years and was now getting round to re modelling it, he does this for a living. He has the most amazing “beer wall” he’s been collecting the boxes for years and plans to eventually build a castle and send the pics in to Budweiser!!

Kenny's beer wall!

 

We all headed out to the haunted forest in Kenny's truck, i thought my explorer back home was a nice truck but Kenny's Escalade was like a mobile living room with leather arm chairs and all,lol

We were about an hours drive away from the forest, Kim and Kenny had been for the last 6 years, Becca and Kami had never been so there were 3 pretty scared people in the truck! once we got out of the city we headed out into the countryside where there was pretty much nothing but fields and single lane roads.

Driving to the haunted forest was like a scene out of a horror flick, little did i know what was to come!

On the way to the forest                                     

  

spooky road drive

We got to the forest around 10, drove through trees and dirt tracks and then got to a field full of parked cars, very little light apart from flashes, bangs and SCREAMS that could be heard in the forest.

We walked in and had to actually sign a waiver!!

 

Waiver saying we were happy to be frightened to death!     Kim looking excited, Becca looking scared!

                        

 

Id never been to anything like this in my life! and didn't even know things like this existed. There were people dressed up in zombie makeup who would just walk round inside and sneak up behind people and scare the crap outa then, it was great to watch it but no fun at all to have it happen to me! We all got a sticker with a number on as we walked in, we were all group 206, we had to wait till our number was called before we could enter the actual forest trail however there were stalls and things to do while waiting. A DJ was playing music, there were a couple of huge bonfires going,  an axe throwing stall and haunted bus and a zip line that was in the pitch dark and went down through the forest, it was insane!!

Fire guy

 

We bought some funnel cake and hot cider and sat around waiting for our number to be called, it was on 186 when we went in and they were getting through them pretty quick. There was also a haunted hay ride where a tractor takes a trailer full of people out into the pitch black woods and there's people in the woods dressed up to scare the hell out of you! it was about 11:30 when our number was called and we walked through into the woods. There were 2 trails and Kim asked which was the scariest, “number 2" we were told so we headed through door number 2 onto the trail,

Haunted hay ride                         Axe throwing stall                         Becca and Kim

   

Even the first 15 yards we were walking through a pitched black entrance to a little wooded hut type thing and there was some guy in there that scared the hell out of me dressed as a zombie! we had another half hours walk of this stuff!! Its kinda hard to explain what it is exactly but this is the website for the place Haunted forest website

 

Axe throwing

Axe throwing

It was a good 25 minute walk through the forest with killer clowns, zombies popping out of the ground but the best part was the guys with chain saws running round chasing people, it was insane. They had real chainsaws but with the chains removed and would chase you through the forest. You could feel the heat from the chainsaw engines as they ran after you as close as they could without them touching you!  I’ll be 100% honest here, i was screaming like a girl for most of the time!!! especially when i walked past a zombie laying in a bed and a hand from underneath the bed shot out and grabbed my leg! It was frightening but in a good way. Kim, Kami and Kenny took it all in their stride but Becca and i were screaming like crazy. At the end of the trail i was sweating like crazy and my heart was pounding like it was gonna come out of my chest!! i would do it again though in a heartbeat!!

By the time we left it was around Midnight and we got home around 1:30am. Just time for a ride on Beccas sons electric go cart down the street at 3am in the morning!!

Go carting at 3am

Saturday………

Great couple of days in Buffalo, will write it all up for the blog when i can. Best show of the tour last night for me!!
Was great to see Dave K for a while during intermission, also great to meet up with Bob & Andy from Toronto, Dawn, Tony, Keith (and friend) from Rochester, Jeff from Detroit (looking forward to the BBQ at your place in Detroit!) and of course Chris and his dad.  Also hi to the guy that recognised me from my blog and came over and said hi! sorry i cant remember your name.
Driving from Buffalo to Washington DC today, 550 miles, about 10 hours drive!

2nd show day in New York….

So its been nearly a week since i ran or worked out, i was determined to go for a run today so last night at the meet up i arranged to meet Jason at his hotel and both of us go up t central park for a run. As it turns out Jason had forgot!  Also it appears that my running shorts that i brought with me from the UK are still hung on the back of hotel bedroom door in…… Cleveland!! ugghh. I went down to Paragon sports  about 10 blocks from the apartment and bought a pair of cheap black shorts.

When i was on my way back  yesterday from shopping i noticed one of those bill board type paintings being done on the side of a huge building. There were 2 gantries going down the building, the guys on the right were white washing the wall and the guys on the left were painting the mural for a soon to be released film. I've seen these before but never seen how they are done and was amazed.

I also took my camera down today and on the way back took a few more shots to see how far they had got in 24 hours.

   

It was crazy watching them paint, they had what looked like a hug line drawing  on the whole wall but I've no idea how on earth they stand back and look at it as they go along to see if everything looks ok!! These actually look like photographs when they are done as anyone who has seen them in NY will tell you.

 

I got changed into my running gear and then went over to the Hotel Pennsylvania to see if Jason was there but he wasn't. I took the subway up to central park and started a run round the reservoir. Its a great little run and you get to see all building on the East and West side of the city while running. Man could i feel all those canolis, steaks, Long Islands etc in me!! it was like i was sweating them all out on my run. Its about a 1.5 mile track around the reservoir and it nearly killed me!! i didn't give up though and also ran from the park all the way back down to East 28th street (from East 90th) they say each block in NYC is about 2/3 of a tenth of a miles so you work it out!

Brads wife Julee had been out the night before with one of her friends, the first time since she had had baby Milla 8 months ago! They went to a new Italian Market place type thing that also had restaurants in it and was called Eataly.As i was gasping for air and feeling like id just run a marathon Julee was telling me how good of a place it was and how nice the food was. I went in the bedroom and crashed out for a couple of hours before having a shower and getting ready to go to the bar to meet up with everyone. I felt great tonight, the run was exactly what id needed and i felt so much better than i had the last few nights since not doing anything apart from eating and drinking.

I headed out around 3:30 and walked down to say hi to a friend in one of brads stores. As i was walking back and toward the meet up bar i saw  the sign for the place Julee had been telling me about, Eataly. it was amazing inside, it was like an authentic Italian market with store fronts to buy cheese, wine, Parma ham , gelato, fresh pasta etc etc at the back of the complex were five or six places that you could eat, these included pasta, Pizza, cooked chicken and ham and cheeses.

The fresh meet, Pasta and ham counters at Eataly

   

I headed to the pizza area and put my name down for a table for one, she said to come back in 15 minutes. I wandered around some more in awe at the foods, they were all so fresh and looks amazing.

The bread, chicken and dessert counters.

 

I headed back to the pizza place and ordered a margarita and a glass of red wine. They cooked the pizza right in front of you in a huge log fired brick over and all the pasta was freshly cooked right in front of your eyes.

It was THE nicest pizza i have ever had in my life!! seriously, it was so light and fresh and tasted so good!!

Maria called to see what time i would be at the bar and to see where i was, “heaven” i told her, that's where i am,lol For anyone that lives or visits NY i would 100% recommend this place, its on 23rd and 5th. I shall be going back in few weeks time when I'm in NY again that's for sure. Can you tell from the above that i liked this place ?? lol

Maria was with a few others and had just got Roger to sign a couple of things as he drove in through the entrance to MSG, its cool to hear he is still doing this, he would always sign things if there were people outside waiting. I headed up to the meet up bar and it was great to see Greg and Scott make it up from Philly. We had THE best time at this bar in 2006 and drunk far too many long island iced teas! i think the bar knew Greg and Scott were coming as the frst Long Islands they bought were pretty small compared to the second ones! Theres no trying to con these two guys when it comes to Long Islands!!

Long islands: Greg, Myself and Scott: Mark & Beth, my surrogate mom and dad!: Emil, Greg and Scott

     

Was also great to see my friend Thomas and his son Dennis had made it over from Germany. Elliot & Vito from Queens had made it tonight as had Joe from NJ whom we’d met up with in Boston earlier in the week.

Emil and I                                                  Group shot after the show 

   

 

Second New York show details and trip up here to Buffalo( where i am now) coming soon

Road trip starts now……….

 

So i have 10 days with a rental car now:

New York to Buffalo (today)

Buffalo to Washington DC

Washington DC to Long Island

Long Island to Hartford (via Cape Cod)

Hartford to Newark

Might be a bit of a delay in Blog posts for the next couple of days but will try and get some stuff up when i can. Had a great night last night at the show. Was funny to watch Jim Carey rocking out  who was sat right in front of us, kinda hard to take a pic when he was that close! Here heis below sat with Rogers girlfriend. Also a pic of everyone after the show. More details soon.