To N.Y.

Rockapella in NY

Travel Day

Thursday, December 8, 2022

I haven't seen a Rockapella Holiday show in several years, so when I saw that they would have some back to back concerts on a weekend I was free and they still had good seats left, I decided to use some of my travel funds and go to New York.  I asked Bro if he wanted to join me.  I was very happy that he said yes!  Bro was able to get a free flight from his miles, so bonus!  That meant that we would be taking separate flights, but we do that all of the time for drum corps finals, so no big deal.   

I couldn't decide whether or not I should park at LAX, and finally decided to take a Lyft, so that I could catch a ride home with Bro when we returned.  So I needed to pack for an extra day.  And for cold.  Possibly for snow.  Somehow I fit everything into one bag plus my carryon in case I wouldn't be able to check my bag.  I made an appointment for the Lyft, then worried that I wouldn't wake up in time for the pickup.  All was well, though, and I was waiting outside early.  The app notified me that my driver was either deaf or hard of hearing, and gave a couple of tips, like waving hello, and texting instead of calling if I needed to contact him before he arrived.  I thought that was pretty cool.  He could hear me fine, though, I think, but I did notice that he did not play any music so that he could concentrate on his navigation app.

I arrived at LAX with plenty of time to check my bag, so I did that, then waited until my appointment to go through security.  They were trying a new thing so that you don't have to stand in a long line, different from TSA pre-check because you still need to take off your shoes and all of that business.  So I texted Bro to let him know that I was in the airport, completely forgetting that he was already on his own flight, up in the air, and couldn't answer me.  My appointment time came up, and I ended up having done all that for nothing, because there was NOBODY in line at security.  I went to the appointment thing anyway, which was kind of useless, because the agent's app wasn't reading my QR code.  But at least I didn't have a long line to deal with. I decdied to get a muffin and didn't like it at all.  Note to self next time for Terminal 1:  don't get the muffins at Urtth Caffe & Bar. Dense and dry.  

Yay for non-full flights!  I talked to the guy seated at the window for a bit.  He was going back to St. Louis, but will be returning in a few months to live with his sibling, because he really likes LA.  I hope the job works out and he can work remotely.  I wasn't going to be staying long at all in St. Louis, but I wanted to know about the food there.  He said that I would have to get ribs since that's what they're famous for, but also that St. Louis has a bunch of different ethnic food because so many people from different cultures have immigrated there because of refugee status or whatever.  So they apparently have a huge Bosnian population there and I should try that food, too.  OK, I have food plans whenever I actually leave the airport in St. Louis!

My flight to LaGuardia must have been uneventful because I don't remember it at all, except that it was a full flight, and people didn't know how to just deal with their carryons and sit the heck down.  When I arrived, Bro met me at my gate and I marveled about the beauty of the airport.  But we had places to go, and it looked like it was going to rain.  

Bro had researched the transportation options for me while he was waiting at his fancy club, and we caught the free bus to the Woodside station of the Long Island Railroad.  I needed to take the elevator because I could not deal with lifting my bag up the stairs, and Bro met up with me on the platform.  I love that we can use apps for all of this transportation!  I downloaded the app, bought my ticket, and we got on the next train.  There wasn't room for two seats together plus my bags, so I sat in a different row as Bro.  The train stopped at one of the stations and I couldn't really hear what the conductor was saying.  We finally figured out that there was an accident at one of the stations down the way, and we were being told to get off to take another train because this one was scheduled to go toward that accident and needed to stop.  That took a while, though.  I texted Bro.

S: "Just hoping that there aren't any zombies at the Deerpark."

B: "Now that would be an adventure.  Got your running shoes on?"

S: "I'll just kick off these shoes and run in my socks."

If you haven't seen "Train to Busan", go watch it now.  It's on Netflix, and it's so good that I recommended it to Bro, completely forgetting that he's the one that recommended it to ME.  

The train we ended up riding blew through a bunch of stations without stopping, to make up for some time.  It was a crazy mess when we got to Farmingdale Station, because of all of the rerouting and people trying to get alternate rides home, and all of that.  I requested a Lyft, and I think I had 3 drivers cancel before we actually got picked up because it was so crazy. Like, people didn't even know how to get into the parking lot.  On a later day, we realized that it's because that area is kind of confusing with the parking lot situation.

Bro and I were hungry by the time we got to the hotel, and we decided to walk to an Italian restaurant down the street called Trento.  I was tired.  I was cold.  It was a little windy, too.  It seemed far because of that cold.  We passed 3 eating establishments on the way, but we were still determined to get there.   There were a lot of cars in the parking lot.  We hoped we could still get a table.  There was even a bouncer at the door.  It was really jumping for a Thursday night, with a DJ, people dancing, and dressed up for parties.  It turns out that there were two big parties there, having their holiday festivities.  While we were waiting for our table, I took a matchbook from the hostess station.  I think Bro took a pen.  Oh, I think I took a pen, too. The bouncer was amused by us and nodded as we took the free stuff.  

We were seated at a table right next to the dance floor, so it was really loud.  The drink menu folder did not actually have a menu inside.  Bro pointed it out to the server, and he apologized.  When he did come back with the drink menu, Bro ordered a Fragola Rock because, well, Fraggle Rock!   It contained Grey Goose, St. Germaine, Lemon, Strawberry Puree, and Prosecco.  I ordered The Temptress, made of Titos, Basil, Cucumber, St. Germain, Lime, and Agave.  Both were yummy.

Scotcherbreadman is here
 and ready to party! 

For our starter, we ordered the Eggplant Ripieno.  The menu did not mention that it came covered in a tomato-based sauce, but I ate some anyway.  It was really yummy.  

The food was taking a while, and the server felt bad, so he comped us a second round of drinks.  I think he also felt bad about the no-drink-menu thing.  We didn't care, but we're good with free alcohol, especially when it's this tasty!

I ordered the salmon, which was delicious with the brussels sprouts and cipollini onions.

Bro ordered spaghetti with seafood.  They brought over spaghetti with marinara, and no seafood.  The server again apologized and brought the correct dish. So Bro not only had 2 drinks; he also had 2 entrees!

Eventually, people from both of the parties ended up mingling on the dance floor, and we enjoyed watching all of the activity.  I wondered about all of the dynamics because one party was a business function, and the other one was a big family that always has their holiday dinners there.

We were quite full by the time the server asked if we had a dessert in mind.  Like, we were already going to wrap up one of Bro's entrees and the rest of the appetizer.   So we said no to dessert and made our way home.  The walk didn't seem as long at that point, probably because we were nice and full and needed the walk!  It was still cold, though, and we were thankful to get back into our cozy hotel room.  

What a great find that was!  If you're ever in Farmingdale, you should definitely try Trento.  I'm not just saying that because of the free stuff we got.  :)

I wasn't really that tired, because I was still on West Coast time, so I watched movies and played games on my phone.  I could have blogged, and did draft some notes at the time, but when I looked at them today, I'm glad that I didn't publish anything. They were kind of a mess, probably because of those two drinks.  

Next up: ROCKAPELLA!!!!!  

DLR LotD 01/20/2023

Disneyland Resort

Line of the Day

Friday, January 20, 2023

"There's a banana in my pocket, and I am also happy to see you."  -- Sherry, to Glenndy, at Flo's V8 Cafe

Birthday Banana in a Clamshell

 

DLR LotD 01/19/2023

Disneyland Resort

Line of the Day

Thursday, January 19, 2023

"Don't they know we're doing a photo shoot here?!" -- Sherry, to photopass CM, at the hub

Celebrating the Double Nickel birthday
 with Bananaman at the Happiest Place on Earth

DLR LotD 01/15/2023

Disneyland Resort

Line of the Day

Sunday, January 15, 2023

"Because that's what you need: one more huge plate on the table." -- Mox, to Linda, at Catal

We're kind of all in there.
#typicalSherrySelfie

DLR LotD 01/01/2023

Disneyland Resort

Line of the Day

Sunday, January 1, 2023

"Wait.  Where did the bottom go now?!" -- Sherry, in the Toy Story Parking Lot

Holding the bottom of my shoe
 in my hand

DLR LotD 12/31/2022

Disneyland Resort

Line of the Day

Saturday, December 31, 2022

"Is it OK if we stay until midnight?" -- Sherry, to Hannah, multiple times at Catal

Last cocktail for 2022:
Chilly Chata at Catal

Captain Morgan Rum, Fireball,
Rumchata, housemade horchata,
whipped cream and cinnamon stick garnish

Delicious Opera Cake at Catal

Day of Days at LA Live

Day of Days

Saturday, November 12, 2022

X-Box Plaza at L.A. Live

Los Angeles, CA

It's been a few years since "Days of Our Lives" has conducted its "Day of Days" fan event .  I've only attended once before, mostly because of conflicting schedules.  That time was five years ago, at Universal Citywalk.  This time was in Downtown LA, close to my office, so I decided to take advantage of my parking space and my free time to attend.  None of my friends are regular watchers of DOOL anymore, so I just attend by myself and soak in the whole atmosphere.  So this probably won't interest anyone that regularly reads my blog, and is mostly for my own memory diary.  

I arrived at my office building about an hour before the start time of the event, and walked over to the plaza.  They had already started letting people into the area, which had been fenced off from other people at L.A. Live.  Admission was free, but we did have a security check.  Then they stamped one of my hands for re-entry and gave me a lanyard with a card for the event.

An hourglass!  So cool!
Please ignore my horribly dry skin.

  

Each person was given a DOOL canvas bag which contained a box-like envelope, a DOOL water bottle, a DOOL visor, and a DOOL face mask.  There were boxes of individual donuts available to pick up, which were labeled as coming from "Sweet Bits Bakery", a business owned by one of the show's characters.  Nice touch!  

While waiting for the event to start, I sat on one of the chairs facing the stage, where they showed a schedule of the signings.  The schedule included station numbers for each group of actors, and there were already some people lined up to talk to their favorites.  At the other time I went to this event, I really didn't have any idea what to do, so this schedule was very helpful for me to figure out my priorities.  I figured that I could save the ones I had already met as my lowest priority if I happened to have time.   Not all of those people were at this event, although most of the cast was there.  

The schedule was so packed with cast members that there were two sessions: AM and PM.  I texted my friends to let them know that I would meet them later rather than sooner.

There were signs around that had rules, which included the actors not signing our personal items, and recommending masks and keeping a safe distance to protect the actors.  Most people followed the safety recommendations, except for the mask thing.  That part was kind of awkward because each setup had 2 tables of 2 actors each.  Once you finished talking with the first two actors and getting a photo (most took off their masks), you would go to the next table and probably still have your mask off because you're also juggling your phone/ camera and the card the actors just signed for you.

I saw that the station for Drake Hogestyn (John Black), Deidre Hall (Marlena Evans), Martha Madison (Belle Brady), and Brandon Beemer (Shawn Brady) was starting to fill up fastest, so I got in line there.  

The event started, and the MC of the day, Tony, announced each actor's name as they came across the stage.  I was happy that Tony was the MC that day because I watch a weekly recap show that he hosts with a few other people every Sunday, called "Dishin' Days".  The actors already know him because they occasionally do interviews on the show and Tony finally got a chance to act on Days in their "Beyond Salem" spinoff on Peacock, so they are familiar with him already and it wasn't awkward at all.  

Billy Flynn planting a smooch on Tony

Remington Hoffman with Tony

Stephen Nichols with Tony

What I really like about this event is that they furnish the autograph cards, so you really don't need to bring anything but your camera / phone and your happy-to-meet-them face.  This year's cards were very nice, and that box-shaped envelope was in our bag to keep them pretty.  There were people from Peacock there to help with photos, and I asked for help instead of taking selfies because of my history with taking selfies of important moments.

I was behind a woman who was there with her mom and baby, so when we got to the front, Deidre and Drake were completely enamored with the baby and held him for photos and everything.  I was, like, "Why did I follow a baby?!" then realized that it was actually kind of a relief because I didn't know what to say anyway. I talked to a guy in line whom grew up watching DOOL with his mom, and was going to put her on Facetime when he got to the table.  I was going to help him with photos, but got so caught up in the moment that I forgot all about it.  He had help from the assistants, though, thank goodness, because I felt bad.  I just pretty much told everyone I loved them and thanked them, unless there was something specific I wanted to mention.  Deidre and Drake did not ignore me, though, and were very nice, trying to get my name spelled correctly.  

When I met Martha and Brandon, I let them know that Belle and Shawn are my favorite couple on DOOL, no matter who has been playing their part, but I do love the two of them.  I also said that it hurts whenever they're apart because I like the couple so much, and Martha reminded me that the conflicts are what keep them on the show.  I do know that, but I also like to see them be happy together for more than a couple of weeks at a time.  Somehow I was able to say all of that and not get lost looking at Brandon's gorgeous face.  My goodness gracious.  Like a perfectly chiseled work of art.  But I digress.

On the way to the next line, I saw Tony walking around, and asked to take a selfie with him.  For that one we could get right next to each other and take our time, so I felt more comfortable with taking the selfie.  I told Tony that I watch every week but don't post any comments because I feel like my input would be boring, and he told me that it's probably not, so I should post. I did look for the others that do the show, but they were inside the theater conducting some interviews and taking photos.  

With MC Tony

The next station was to meet Linsey Godfrey (Sarah Horton), Paul Telfer (Xander Cooke), Kyle Lowder (Rex Brady), and Bryan Dattilo (Lucas Horton).  Linsey and Paul were clearly having a fantastic time and were perfectly lovely to meet.  

When I got to the other table, I yelled enthusiastically, "KATE'S BOYS!" and laughed.  I don't know if they laughed, but they were a couple of jokers and laughed at whatever the other one said.  

I didn't have time to get in line for the other two stations, so I walked back to my office to sit down and rest during the lunch break.  I had some snacks, so I ate those and my Sweet Bits Donut for lunch.   Having my office nearby was also nice because I didn't need to search for a restroom, although I guess I could have used one wherever I ate lunch if I had done that.

When I returned to the plaza, the Day Players had already started their brief set.  The Day Players is made up of guys from the show: Brandon Barash (Stefan DiMera), Eric Martsolf (Brady Black), Wally Kurth (Justin Kiriakis), and Carson Boatman (Johnny DiMera), along with another guitarist.  They sang their version of "Let It Go" from Frozen, which was hilarious, and Journey's "Faithfully".  I enjoyed their performance, and contemplated going to see them the next night, but it was in West Hollywood and I just didn't want to deal with a Standing Room Only show after a day of mostly standing.  

Here's a little bit of them singing George Michael's "Faith":

I then saw that the line was starting to get long already to meet Abigail Klein (Stephanie Johnson), Robert Scott Wilson (Alex Kiriakis), Billy Flynn (Chad DiMera), and Greg Rikaart (Leo Stark).  I thought that I was near the end of the line, but it was in a different place than the end of the line for the morning session.  Although I had seen Billy the last time I attended, it was just a quick picture of him and I didn't actually get to meet him, so this was my MUST meet of the day.  But then that group was taking its sweet time to get to the tables, and we all wondered if we would even get to see more than just this group.  They finally got to the table, and the people that were at the front of the line took a lot of time talking, which was a little annoying to the rest of us watching the clock and wanting to meet people, too.  I did get up there and told Robert that I get confused sometimes because he was very recently cast as a different character, but his current one is so different that I'm good with it once he starts talking.  Robert kept messing up the spelling of my name and Abigail had to repeat what I said a couple of times.  He apologized and I giggled. 

I told Billy that he crushed my soul when he was mourning his wife Abby's death, and I cried so much that I was physically hurting.  Yeah, like I almost couldn't breathe, it was that devastating.  I told him that he was outstanding in those scenes, and he thanked me.  I'm glad that I was able to say all of that and not get hypnotized by his blue blue blue blue blue eyes, because they're really blue and beautiful.  I told Greg that he always makes me laugh, and that I loved that he and Billy had drawn on each other's cards.  Just like how I would expect their characters to act.  

I did have some time to get in another line, so I decided I'd best go meet Marybeth Evans (Kayla Johnson), Stephen Nichols (Steve Johnson), George Delhoyo (Orpheus), and Victoria Konefal (Ciara Brady Weston).  When I got in line, Victoria had left for a few minutes, so I was worried that I wouldn't get to meet her, even though it was weird to see her at a table NOT with character Ben, whom was busy being character Alex now, and therefore sitting at a different table with some other woman.  This is what happens when you ride off in a boat into the sunset!  

While we were in line, Tony came over to give away some Rokus.  He wouldn't give any to the quiet people.  I guess he didn't hear me yelling from behind my mask because some people were just way louder.  That annoyed me.  Not that I need a Roku but it was the principle of the matter.  The lady I had been talking to got one and she did nothing but raise her hand.  Later, some woman came up to the woman in line in front of me (the one who got the Roku by raising her hand), and proceeded to talk to the woman's baby for a while.  I asked if they were together because I wanted to know if she was going to also talk to the actors.  They had already closed the line at this point, and we had all been standing in line and it looked like she was cutting.  She said no, she just wanted to see the baby.  It was kinda weird because she obviously wasn't besties with the baby's mother, but they were friendly.  I got kidnapper vibes, but maybe that's because I was in line to see Orpheus.  She did stay for a bit to get photos of the actors (she wasn't in them), and I was annoyed for the other people in line who maybe wanted to get photos from their places in line.  

Anyway, I was happy to meet supercouple and best friends Marybeth and Stephen, because they got together very early on in my DOOL fandom.  

George was involved in trying to sign a bunch of cards, and then apologized and talked to me for a bit.  Victoria, though.  She heard me tell George my name, and asked me if I had heard the song "Cheri Cheri Lady" by Modern Talking.  She said that I should listen to it because they sing my name and it will become my happy song whenever I hear it.  She made sure that our photo came out OK, and also posed with some folks whom had missed her earlier when she needed to step out for a bit.  

The other lines were closed, so I didn't get to meet anyone else, and I was too late to get a cool Brady's Pub apron that they were distributing.  I did get photos of people when I could get a good shot, though.  I also got some water from the Peacock portable water station and filled up my DOOL water bottle.

Stacy Haiduk and Tina Huang

Dan Feuerriegel and Camila Banus

Leann Hunley & Thaao Penghlis

They then had everyone sit on stage, and they were joined by others who hadn't done the autograph sessions:  James Reynolds (Abe Carver), Jackee Harry (Paulina Price), and Judi Evans (Bonnie Lockhart).  Tony reminded the audience that the actors want to keep their jobs and wouldn't be giving any spoilers, but some people still asked spoiler questions to waste our time.  I guess it is a tradition that Drake and Deidre kiss during this panel, so that happened.  

They then showed a preview, and we all got sad for a few minutes due to some beloved characters getting deathly ill, but then all went bananas, because not only is Kristian Alfonso (Hope Brady) coming back, but so is Peter Reckell (Bo Brady, back from the dead).  Bo and Hope were the reason I got addicted to DOOL, so I was very, very happy.  

As we exited, we could pick up photo cards from the actors that we may have missed.  I was lucky enough to get signed ones.  (So that's what George was doing!).  

Here's the haul of photos I was able to get:

A lot of fans liked this venue more than the other one because it was more organized and in one spot.  I'm not sure if it will stay there because it will probably be bigger next year if there are no virus issues.  But this event had more cast members than any of the previous ones, and it was very well organized.  Thanks, Peacock!  

I had a great time and hope that I can go next year.  

DLR LotD 11/16/2022

Disneyland Resort

Line of the Day

Wednesday, November 16, 2022

"That's a churro cart." -- Glenn, to Sherry, in Frontierland

What I was actually looking for

DLR LotD 11/12/2022

Disneyland Resort

Line of the Day

Saturday, November 12, 2022

"I'm just going to shop a little then go home." -- Sherry, joining Helga while their friends navigated through Disneyland fireworks crowds, at DCA

DLR LotD 10/15/22

Disneyland Resort

Line of the Day

Saturday, October 15, 2022

"We are all going to die." -- Miss O, at Rise of the Resistance

DLR LotD 09/28/2022

Disneyland Resort

Line of the Day

Wednesday, September 28, 2022

"You can reach in Mickey's pants for treats!" "Just grab for a surprise!" -- Glenndy, in Downtown Disney

Yup, a collaborative effort.  :)  

Oogie Boogie enjoying goodies

DLR LotD 09/03/2022

Disneyland Resort

Line of the Day

Saturday, September 3, 2022

"Fa la la la la la la la" -- Creepy kid voices, at Haunted Mansion Holiday

Welcome Back, HMH!

DLR LotD 09/01/2022

Disneyland Resort

Line of the Day

Thursday, September 1, 2022

"He really does look like a hobbitt!"  -- Sherry, to Mox, at the Salon

Yummy fried chicken strips, mac and cheese,
and watermelon cubes at the Salon

Bye, Elliott.
Hope you come back soon.  

Tempus XX

 DCI Finals

Saturday, August 13, 2022

Lucas Oil Stadium

Indianapolis, IN

We slept in a little bit this morning, and then walked to Le Peep for breakfast.  On the way there, we saw that another place we were interested in looked really busy, so we put our name in, and were told it would be a 20-minute wait.  The restaurant is currently under renovation for HVAC updates, so they only had one restaurant available as a unisex restroom.  It was actually a men's restroom, so there was only one stall.  I ordered a Break of Dawn, which was a skillet with scrambled eggs, mushrooms, green onions, bacon, and cheddar cheese.  It was yummy.  Bro also enjoyed his Breakfast Burrito, as did V her Chai Pancakes.  

We relaxed in the hotel room before walking over to Lucas Oil.  We saw a long line wrapping around the corner from the entrance, which had never happened before when we were there an hour early.  V asked which way I wanted to go.  I figured we should try getting to the gates from the other side, which proved to be a substantial advantage.  Then when the guy scanned my ticket, he scanned it twice and let me in.  Then I opened the ticket to locate my seat, and saw that he had actually scanned yesterday's ticket (all of our tickets for the week said "Finals", so you had to pay attention to the date, which I didn't this time).  Turns out that Bro did the same thing.  So this guy was just letting people in after a couple of tries, I guess because he figured that dishonest people wouldn't be trying to get into some weird band competition.  Later, there was a post on social media from DCI, apologizing for the issues getting into the stadium, and adjusted the schedule.  So when we thought that line was unusual, we were right.  I wonder if it was a staffing issue, just like all of the issues with concessions not being open.  I went to the Troopers booth and bought a shirt that looks like it was splattered with oil, along with the Troopers "11".  Yup, a what-the-heck shirt!

We all got something to eat before the show because we knew the lines would be insane later on.  I got a veggie burger, which had a char on it and makes it look a lot like meat, and I wondered if I even had the right kind of burger before realizing that the one with meat also has cheese.  Our seats were in Section 238, Row 5, seats 10-12, on the right 25-yard line.  We used to get seats that were in a higher section, but Bro said that they were way off to the side, so he didn't get them.  I was good with these.

We spent our wait time taking selfies with different views of the stadium.  Which do you like best?

From the right of us

With big board 50

With the Field

They played a video of a bunch of the corps to start the event.  Dan Potter announced loudly, "IIIIIIT'S DRUM CORPS TIME IN INDY!!!!!"  It sure is!  There was a long pause.  We wondered if it had something to do with the fact that the IN-Pact band might still be outside in line, trying to get into the building.  They played "Take On Me" by A-HA.  Then Al Chez joined them to play "Edge of Glory" by Lady Gaga.  Some of the band directors also joined in to dance along.  That was much more fun than in prior years.  I usually skip it because it takes so long for set up and break down and it went by quickly this time.  The band directors' choreography was done by director Michael Reynolds, who does a lot of the body work for SCV.

Al Chez, Dancing Band Directors, and IN-pact

THE COMMANDANT'S OWN UNITED STATES MARINE DRUM AND BUGLE CORPS

Bro saw Vanguard moving their props into the staging area at the same time that the Marines were bringing their pit instruments onto the field, which is from the same tunnel.  He thought for a moment that the Marines were going to use the props before coming to his senses.

They played their "Music in Motion" show, which included some Shostakovich and other stuff that I forgot to write down, ending with "Stars and Stripes Forever".  They also played the Star-spangled Banner and people behind us sang out of tune, but hey, at least they were patriotic.

The flags were brought in by current members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.  The thirteen original DCI corps were represented by a local high school wearing uniforms in their colors. 

Two of the founding members of DCI were introduced and I got all teary when Dan thanked them for creating DCI.  Neither one of them wanted to provide their predictions for the evening.

Dan introduced Voice of DCI Brandt Crocker.  Brandt said that he has announced all 50 years of championship week, and is honored to announce again this week, starting with one of the founding corps of DCI.  I got teary again.

TROOPERS

"For the first time in 13 years, from Casper, Wyoming, the Troopers!"  This year, they played video of a little bit of history for each of the finalists.  I remember that 2009 year when they made it into the Finals after such a long time, starting with the smoke coming from the tunnel.  That was cool.  One of the pit guys uses a bowling pin on his keyboard during warmup.Oh, they DO use those oil barrels as drums!  How did I miss that when I was sitting up front?  I guess I was too busy taking photos of the oil rig.   I really like how the cellist goes from the Morricone into "Nothing Else Matters".  From our vantage point, we could see that the top of the drum major's hat had some shine to it, which was the black stuff that he smears on his face later on.  THIS SHOW!  I love it so much!  I wish I had seen this one as many times as the ones by the California corps.

Intro Video

Shiny Oil

OIL!!!

COLTS

This is the first time in 15 years that the Colts have been in Finals.  Last time was in Pasadena, 2007.  I miss those uniforms in the red/white. A nearby Colts fan was shouting out a list of names, cheering them.  The lady behind me (whom I sat next to yesterday), said their names, too, as if she knew them.  I giggled.   She talked to V before the show and said that she noticed me taking notes and photos and wondered if I worked with SCV.  Her son plays in the SCV pit. I've always liked the Colts soloists.  I like that they have them play up on the carts as a spotlight.

Cocoons and Raw Silk

Colts Delta Formation

Cart for Ensembles / Soloists

MANDARINS

Boyfriend Charles had his best performance of the season!  Wow!  V mentioned to us earlier this week that a lot of the movements were robotic, and wondered how that fit the theme.  I never really thought about that before, but seeing the show after she talked about it, it looks like they are emphasizing the metallic silver in the uniforms, and with Charles wearing the gold when the solo starts, it does seem like the robots want to know what it is like on the other side of the wall.  I don't know who I thought they were portraying before.  GUARD!!!!  Awesome.

PHREGIMENT

I don't know what's going on in this show and I don't care.  It's just beautiful.  I love that drill at the end, classic Phregiment, classic drum corps.  

CAVALIERS

Oh, THAT pendulum!  There were a lot of cool things that I didn't see before, like the tarp clock in the middle with the time of 10:22.  I agree with V: it should have been 8:22, because if it was PM, it would be 20:22 in military time, like the time on those final flags.

Pendulum to the right

Pendulum to the center

Drums

Cavies Guard

BLUE STARS

That's a lot of backflips in a row, sir!  Great horn section!  I like the black lining of their long coats.

Star Formation

<9-minute Intermission>

They cut the intermission short due to the issues at the entrance, for what is a bigger crowd than on the other nights.  This is why we eat beforehand and have snacks on hand.  V and I were fast, though, and were able to use the restroom before the lines got long.  I would have been OK missing the Cadets because of all of the talking, but I'm also glad that I got to see them.

CADETS

I like the portions when the corps is dancing.  They play with the sound system as the speakers are louder on the right side when he says "east", and on the left side when he says "west".  I like the bright yellow lining in their jackets.  

SCV

VANGUAAAAAAAAARRRRRRD!  I did the yell with the other SCV fans/family.  OK, I did most of it.  So those shiny dots give them some sparkle under the lights -- nice.  That ending is just bliss.

Nirvana Found

CROWN

Today's warmup song was "We Will Rock You".  Gosh, I love that horn line.  I forgot to post yesterday that at one point, a few of the color guard members say, "Let's go girls!"  Cute.

Peek-A-Boo!

Crown Formation

BLUECOATS

My ears hurt again.  Damn amps and keytar.  I like all of the hip action during the first segment with those 3 notes.  Remember how I couldn't figure out who was playing something?  Nobody was.  Nobody had their horns up, so it was a recording.  That bugs me, but I still cheer at that part of their "Tilt" show because it sounds cool and forget about the recording every time.  I just don't think they should win music / brass awards if that's included.  I'm thinking that it was a nod to that show.

Getting run over by a car

BOSTON CRUSADERS

I finally got to follow the storyline because I could see everything on the field.  That guard!  Wow.  Horns were awesome.  I just heard the hisses of the serpent.  That's a great show!  The apple reminds me of their 2009 show, "The Core of Temptation".  I loved the apple formation and the "crunch" sound effect back then.  They should have done that crunch again.

Drummers falling from Grace

Serpent Solo

Crunch!

Tango Ending

BLUE DEVILS

OK, I figured it out.  I don't like the trombone part of "Moon River".  Too much sliding.  Dude, why did you drop your sabre on Finals night?!?  They really could have left out all of the art and the talking.  It's a great show all on its own because they execute it so well.

Start of BD show

Dance Break

Retreat

The drum majors from the 3 winning Open Class corps were introduced.  They helped hand out the awards.

Gold, SCVC, and BDB Drum Majors

The guy next to me asked what "Retreat" meant.  "Should we leave now?"  Someone must have told him what it meant, because he stayed for the scores.  He knew a bunch of the shows that were in the videos, so maybe he's never been to Finals.  But marching band competitions have Retreat, too, so whatever.  

Before the corps marched onto the field, we tried to guess what props they would bring onto the field with them.  Troopers brought a couple of oil barrels.  Colts brought their moth wings.  Phantom formed their logo.  The Blue Stars brought their lounge chairs.  Cadets brought their suitcases and toilet-seat shaped chairs.  SCV brought a shield that Bro thinks usually hangs in their corps hall.  Bluecoats brought one of their car screens, and one of the guard members had the steering wheel and pretended to drive all crazy, with the other guard members pretending they were passengers.  BD brought their blue art things.  

Troopers

Blue Stars

Phregiment

SCV

Cadets

Photo Courtesy of V

Scores

12)  86.425 -- Troopers

Jim Jones Leadership Award:  Drum Major from Santa Clara Vanguard(!) -- Alexandra Pugh

11) 87.200 -- Colts

10) 90.013 -- Mandarins

George Zingali Best Color Guard Performance Award:  Boston Crusaders

9) 90.600 -- Cavaliers

John Brazale Best Visual Performance Award:  Blue Devils

8) 90.675 -- Phantom Regiment

Jim Ott Best Brass Performance Award:  Blue Devils

7) 92.775 -- Blue Stars

6) 92.913 -- Cadets

Fred Sanford Best Percussion Performance Award:  Bluecoats

This is Bloo's first win in this caption.  Great for their 50th anniversary!

5) 95.00 -- Santa Clara Vanguard

4) 96.35 -- Carolina Crown

Don Angelica Best General Effect Award: Blue Devils

PAUSE.  This next one would be very interesting, given the tie for 2nd last night.

"Receiving the silver medals tonight..." -- the crowd went crazy.  What?  No bronze?  Had Brandt lost his mind?  Is this happening AGAIN?  Brandt also said, "Come on now!" with a chuckle to calm down the crowd.

2) 97.325 -- TIE: Bluecoats and Boston Crusaders

The corps members from both corps cheered and pointed to each other, and it was awesome.  Had the 1st place corps not been standing between them, they probably would have all done high-fives with each other.

1) 98.750 -- Blue Devils

Another undefeated season for BD!  "Blue Devils, the field is yours!"

They need me to proofread their signs.

Well, not for a while. Many of the drummers were drumming loudly on the 50-yard line.  Eventually, Blue Devils pit got set up, and the electric guitarist and drum kit players started to jam in order to try drowning out the drummers that didn't hear the announcer telling them to leave the field.  It made my ears hurt again.  It took a long time for them to stop.

Encore

Blue Devils performed their show again.  When they took off their jackets at the beginning, they threw them around like crazy.  Congratulations on your 20th Gold, BD!

We realized that we never bought anything out of the frozen yogurt machine near concessions, but they only had Very Strawberry flavor left, and none of us wanted that.  I was hungry, though, so I got some trail mix and candy at the Market in the hotel.  

We ate and debriefed before going to sleep.

The next day, Bro and V went to Jack's Doughnuts to get something for us to eat.  They got a peanut-butter iced cinnamon roll for me, which was enough to tide me over until the afternoon.  While they did that, I made sure one more time that the hotel was OK with me staying in the same room for the additional day that I tacked on.  Bro and V left to catch their flight, and then I went to Cafe Patachou to pick up my order, an egg salad sandwich on a croissant.  I wasn't able to get up the elevator with my card, though, so I had to go back to the front desk to have them update it again.  Luckily, the hotel clerk that I talked to during check-in was there, and she remembered me, so I didn't need to explain too much.  

Seen On My Walk

Indianapolis Home Base

Across From Our Hotel

For dinner, a friend from my college days, Amy, picked me up and we drove to a vegan place that she had been wanting to try.  Earlier that weekend, we saw that the hours were different on different pages of their website as well as Google.  So she called them that day to make sure they would be open for dinner, and they said yes.  When we arrived, though, there was a sign on the door saying that they were closed for dinner.  WHAT?!!?  I was totally set on trying some vegan food.  She saw that there was a King Dough in the area, and she loves a vegan pizza that they make, so we went there.  I had a Sweetie Salad that had blueberries, strawberries, candied pecans,and mixed greens.  I should have ordered a small, because that bowl was huge.  Amy and I enjoyed catching up, as we hadn't seen her in several years.  She moved to Bloomington in 2013 and I never had time to spend with her, so I never contacted her to get together.  She had seen my post on Facebook and I told her I was available for dinner, so there we were.  It turns out that she marched color guard in high school, so she is very interested in attending DCI prelims next year!  I warned her that it would be an all day thing, and she's fine with it.  I would love to introduce her to the wonder of drum corps!

Big Salad

The next day, I took a Lyft to the airport, and had a nice conversation with the driver about his upcoming vacation to the Dominican Republic.  I was happy that I didn't get any special attention at security.  While I was sitting at the gate area, I saw that one of the legs of my flight was canceled, so they rebooked me to fly to San Jose from Denver to change planes again.  Both the flights from Indy and from Denver were packed full, but the San Jose flight was only about half full, so that was nice.  I took a Lyft from ONT to my house, and we talked about his most recent trip to Hawaii, saying that his wife wants to move there now.  Well, they need math teachers in Hawaii, so I hope they can make it work.  Maybe the next time I'm in Honolulu, he'll be my Lyft driver there!

I survived my first trip taking a plane since the pandemic started!  I wore a mask whenever I was indoors in public (except while eating/drinking), no matter what the other folks wore.  I had been anxious about the trip and didn't want to have contact with strangers beforehand because I didn't want to be sick and miss an activity that we didn't have for 2 years.  I'm glad that we went, and we had a great time.  I'm already missing drum corps.  Withdrawal is real, people.  Oh, and I totally forgot to play "Indiana" while I was there!  So I'll just listen to it right now.

It's also time to put away my notebook.  I've used it for 3 full drum corps seasons, starting with 2018, when SCV won with "Babylon".  I wish I had bought more of these, because they don't sell them anymore.

My Trusty Drum Corps Journal

Until next season, I hope you Find your Nirvana, no matter what it might be.