ROAD TRIP!!!!

We gave Delaney tickets for Emerson Drive, Terri Clark and Big and Rich in Red Deer as part of her Christmas gift. The stretch of highway between Calgary and Red Deer can be treacherous, so I booked us in at the Holiday Inn where the Red Arrow bus stops and I became a weathernetwork.com addict. My plan was to take the bus, if the roads were going to be bad.

As I am wont to do, I ended up with 2 extra tickets to the show (I had already bought one set, and "went back in" for a second Ticketmaster visit and got better seats.) I gave the second set to my friend Tara, who in turn, invited Isabelle, from Red Deer.

It was a bright sunny day as we headed up the highway to Red Deer, sadly, I was not in great shape, just starting my second day of penicillin and fighting a viscious cold. I really would have liked to cancel but in my back pocket I had a special surprise for Delaney. A "meet and greet" with Emerson Drive.

We arrived at the Centrium at 6:00 and I was surprised to see a large number of fans who had been selected for the "meet and greet." I started chatting with a couple of 18ish looking girls who seemed to know their way around. Yes, they did. This was about their 4th "meet and greet" with the band. In fact, they were following them to each city on their Alberta tour. As much as I want to support Delaney's love of country music, I'm not sure I'm ready for that commitment!

At 6:15 we were whisked back stage for the "meet and greet" which was really a photo op. And, the Delaney's ear to ear grin as she snuggled with Brad Mates was worth the many pieces of lung I lost on the way up!

We loved Emerson Drive's and Terri Clark's sets. Of course, I had to hold back tears as Terri sang "No Fear," which was used as a theme song for Special Olympics.

Perhaps the highlight of Delaney's evening (well, next to meeting the band) was the arrival for Tara and Isabelle, and their claiming the as yet, vacant seats next to us. For much of the night, I had been barely vertical, and almost immobile, save for the occasional uncontrollable coughing fit. I sat quietly as Delaney swayed to the music.

However, our placid evening was about the be blown wide open by the arrival of these two ladies. Within moments, Delaney was up, dancing and swaying with my friends, and I watched happily as she got a chance to be "one of the girls," a rare experience indeed.

Frankly, she was having such a blast, I could probably have flopped right off my seat and she would have continued on dancing with her friends.

We snuck out early, I wanted to beat the traffic and we would have had a substantial head start had I not gotten lost in the parking lot. And, my worse fears had been realized. It was snowing.

Back at the hotel, she collapsed, exhausted into bed, while I worried all night about driving home on icy roads. We were up early, and I had hoped for a warm, relaxing bath before tackling the highway. However, it appeared that the hot water was on holiday at the Holiday Inn, so we packed up and headed south, for a thankfully, uneventful, white knuckle drive home.

Terri Clark No Fear

I used to hit every wall there was
I used to run away from love
All I ever wanted was right here
But I had to reach way down inside
I had to have faith I find
No fear


http://emersondrive.musiccitynetworks.com/

http://www.terriclark.com/site.php

http://www.bigandrich.com/