'Non Stop Fun'- Iowa State Fair

First off let me apologize for not blogging until now.  We had a huge run at the Iowa State Fair with back to back large acts and massive crowds.  I had to choose whether to catch an extra hour of sleep or blog.  Fortunately/Unfortunately, the first selection won! 

Iowa, as always, was a blast!  I arrived on site Tuesday the 12th ready to hit the ground running.  Being on the fair circuit and getting to work with the same fairs every year turns into somewhat of a family reunion.  Some of these folks have been working together for over 20years. 

As most of you know Iowa was hit with some major storms a few weeks ago.  Almost 20" in 3 Days.  Fortunately, it didn't affect the fairgrounds a great deal but did flood many streets in the city as well as large areas immediately north and south of the city. 

We had several huge successes in the grandstand;
Mercy Me/newsboys 5,671
Keith Urban 9,850
Shinedown 6,154
Jeff Dunham 9,238
REO Speedwagon 8,619
Darius Rucker 3,583
Boys Like Girls 2,932
Sugarland 10,813
Sheryl Crow 5,856

Sugarland was BY FAR my favorite show to work with and to watch.  It was the only one that I parked myself at front of house and watch every minute that I could.  Their crew, staff and the artists themselves were a class act.  We had no problems throughout the day and everyone was in a chipper mood.  The tour manager greeted me that morning with a hug.  You can't beat that!!  If I were to tour with an act...this would be the one.  Jennifer and Christian were running around all day.  Christian watched the demolition derby we had on the track that day. 

Jeff Dunham has it figured out...they arrived by private plane at 5:30, an hour before doors opened.  They did a 30minute soundcheck and unloaded the 5 "cases" aka characters.  We figured the stagehands that day were the highest paid ever at $26.00/MINUTE :)  His show was halarious as always!  However, he substituted his encore character, Bubba J with a new one, Diane.  He and 'Diane' are in the new movie 'Dinner with the Schmucks'.  She's not nearly as funny as Bubba J. :(

Keith---Well Keith will always be my favorite, even though by the time the show rolled around I had dealt with so many issues I was exhausted and didn't even care to watch the show. 

REO Speedwagon day was filled with drama and went OK until the end of the night.  Great show, but I can do without the divaism. (my new word (= )

Shinedown was a beast of its own.  These guys are always great to work with.  While success has lead to some preverable body parts exploding most of them are still great.  We dealt with some contractual issues between several of our fairs which made the experience up until the day show a  little rough.  The day of, they were fantastic and everyone played nicely. 

Weather for the fair was absolutely brutal!  For the first 2-3 days it was 110 heat index.  The humidty was ridiculous.  We had some storms on Tuesday with REO which led to some relief in the heat...only a day or so and then it was back to the heat again.  There were several storms that threatened us throughout the 11 days but fortunately there were no severe storms.  Two of our other fairs, Missouri State and Illinois State were not so lucky.  Unfortunately, they each lost two shows.  They happened to be their largest shows, Shinedown (MO) and Lady Antebellum (IL).  Then each of them had to stop and cancel one other show each; Darius Rucker (MO) and Blondie/Cheap Trick (IL).  While we had great producers on those shows and they handled everything well, I sure felt sorry for them and blessed for what we had (or didn't).

I couldn't have a better staff to work with at this fair.  From the caterers, runners, security, matinenance, marketing, ticketing, sound/lights, video, an fantastic Fair Manager, and anyone else that works in the web we weave, I can't thank them enough!  With their glowing personalities, drive to give their all, and just plain dedication and pleasure to be working at the fair...it truly made the 11 Days, Non-Stop Fun!

The fair overall did well in this tough economy.  Considering the weather, natural disaster, schools starting they still had over 968,000 people there! 
I have arrived safely in New York...which I'm writing this from my pillowtop bed, large suite and bathroom with fluffy towels.  My hotel in Des Moines wasn't as luxurious with a very humid room, mold in the bathroom, scratchy towels, a shower that wouldn't drain and housekeepers that don't like to clean.  I've already "moved in" to my new home for two weeks so tomorrow we'll continue building schedules and reuniting with my east coast friends (Happy Birthday to me (=  ).  I'll try to blog more often on this leg but considering we have two bands each day....I'm not making any promises. =)

Susan G. Komen 3-Day- Spectacular adventure!

Team 'The Pink Warriors'

Well obviously this was a great and busy time considering I only blogged once at the beginning!  I can't miss a chance to share the experience of a lifetime with you.  Here are some photos from opening ceremonies.

Lauren, Me, Lindzey, Kim (Mom took photo)

Mom and I

Names were written on these slips of paper of those that we were walking in memory of

Day 1 (Friday)- As I said in my previous blog opening ceremonies was great!  They got us pumped up at 5:30A in the morning.  I was completely exhausted after not sleeping for almost 24 hours at that point.  We set out on our journey through downtown Cleveland; passing Brown Stadium, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame looking forward to the 22mile walk of the day.  The weather could not have been more perfect at a partly cloudy and low 80's.  After we walked about 2 miles we came to pit stop 1.  At the pit stops they had tents for beverages (you could fill up your bottles with water and Gatorade), food and medical.  We were one of the last to leave opening ceremonies and seemed to stay behind the entire weekend.  Lunch was served right on Lake Erie.  We passed through the beach and park...all beautiful scenery. We crossed large bridges, through the "shady" part of town (that included a billboard advertising paternity tests that could be bought at drugstores...), and eventually into the residential areas.  15.1 miles into the day about after about 8 hours of walking I was completely drained.  My feet, legs my body was fine.  However, I was mentally and emotionally drained.  I was afraid if I continued on I wouldn't make it through the next two days and nearly 47miles.  Fortunately, there are opportunities to jump ahead.  The event provides was are called sweep vans. These vans drive up and down the route watch for those that just can't continue on.  There's no shame taking on of these, especially if you need to pace yourself and not burn out on the first day!  A big part of the weekend is pin collecting.  Each van had a different theme; Bippty Boppity Boob, Boob Marley, a bowling theme, We'll Sweep you out of the gutter. =)  In turn each van had a pin with their theme and the event name. They also had SAG buses that were generally used to travel longer distances than the vans like from lunch directly to camp.  I decided at Pit Stop 4 to jump to Pit Stop 5, skipping 5.6miles.  We were air conditioned and most important I completely crashed when I sat down.  I got about a 15min nap and from that point was good to go!  1.3 miles later we arrived at camp.  We were responsible for collecting our luggage and carrying it to the camping area where we set up our own tents.  Luckily we had a little help from crew members in this process.  As we were waiting for Mom and Lauren (yes they  walked the entire 22.0 miles that day!!) I got the tents set up and sat out in the sun napping and of course got my tennis shoes off as soon as possible!  We had a wonderful steak dinner that night.  We got out sleeping areas setup, air mattresses, sleeping bags, etc.  Yes, I can camp outside but I'm still a little spoiled. =)  They had the great sponsor tents setup, Bank of America (Had free massages), AT&T (had phone chargers), New Balance (sold discounted items), Energizer (had phone chargers that you could take back to your tent and an internet cafe) and a Shop Komen store (branded items for sell).  After perusing through these we hit the showers.  It was so humid and hot that showering prior to 830 didn't do any good.  The showers were trailers that were brought in, individual stalls, good pressure and hot/cold water, hardly any wait.  Restrooms of course were porta potties.  Fortunately, because of my line of work I'm used to the porta potties and the showers were just a reminder of how glad I'm not in a college dorm any more.  Once the sun set, about 9:30, we were already in bed.  What a long day but completely uplifting to see all of those involved.

Downtown Cleveland

Day 1- Route 22.0 Miles  Completed 16.8 miles

Mom and Lauren crossing bridge

The greatest sign in the world!

Day 2 (Saturday)- We planned to wake up at 5AM, eat breakfast (which was a hot breakfast of sausage, eggs, danishes, muffins, YUM), get changed and hit the route.  Fortunately, we got to leave our tent up and everything inside since we'd be returning to the same spot.  One of the amazing parts of this event is the out pouring of support from the community.  We had folks out there every day cheering us on, pushing us toward the finish line.  The Hug Lady was at the start and end of the route every day.  She hugged each person!!  Three gentlemen that I named The Three Amigos were at the start and finish everyday and would appear throughout the route everyday.  Jerry, a Komen celebrity =) had lost his voice by the end of the weekend from his constant joy and cheering us on in various locations.  The Kid Crew followed us around town in their van playing music to break up the silence. 

Pink Warriors and Miss Hootie

Jerry and Me

Pink Warriors and The Hug Lady

The crew and volunteers were absolutely amazing.  They were there every step of the way making sure we were safe by crossing streets, bandaging our blisters, serving food and drinks, and so much more.  The safety crew was themed as pirates where pink tutus to boot.  Each pit stop had a theme; Hooterville including an owl mascot, Beach theme, Cat in the Hat, and more.  Once we arrived at lunch (10.8 miles into the 2nd day) we were all hurting.  Blisters and exhaustion had set in.  Lauren was facing a knee issue and Kim at the time was having some terrible knee pain.  Kim ended up being diagnosed with achilles tendinitis, the most painful thing you can have in a sport like this.  Two of us decided the best move was to SAG back to camp.  The rest decided to take a van from lunch to the next pit stop (3 miles away).  Please note this is the only time my Mom got in a van.  She walked the remaining 57 miles!!  Once walking another 3 miles I decided to take a sweep van to the next pit stop and walk into camp.  Josh was performing at camp that night and I knew if I walked all the way through I wouldn't get there until dark.  Lol.  I walked the remaining 1.2 miles back into camp.  The Kid Crew left us a special message on the sidewalk heading in to camp the second day.  "Our Dad thinks you are super heros.  But we think you are pink angels sent from heaven by our Mom's friend Natalie.  She would be so proud!"  We were all crying as we reached the end that day. Candy put on an awesome show for the campers and had everyone pumped up for the last day.  After the show, Josh and I visited the remembrance tent.  This tent is setup at each event and inside features photos and stories of walkers that have passed.  The unbelievable thing was it was people that had died less than year before.  One was my age.  This is what the walk is all about.  The power of this tent is to prove that each walker is walking for or in memory or someone or like me, so this event, that tent does not have to exist.  That everyone deserves a lifetime.  There were 15 white camping tents.  Each tent represented each walk city.  The walkers at those respective cities sign the tent for their city.  It's basically a traveling memorial and extremely inspiring.

Day 2- Route 21.3miles  Completed  15miles








Day 3 (Sunday)-

This was the final day!  While I was ready to be home, I was also extremely excited to complete this and pushed myself to walk every inch of every mile this day.  We had to repack our bags, fold up our tents and be ready to roll.  We hit the route the same as the day before but something was different.  I was clear headed, determined and by myself.  Unfortunately, the rest of the teammates had different paces as me.  Two were always ahead of me and two were behind me.  It made the first two days rough because I easily got bored and thought about my aches and pains.  However, the third day I was meeting folks and chatting with others about their experiences.  I was talking with one lady that was walking with her sister.  I had already noticed her as she had each shin wrapped with a bandage and ice.  Her sister told me that she refused to stop but had been diagnosed with shin splints.  As I past her I told she was doing a good job and to keep pushing...she was bawling she was in such pain.  She had completed the 21.3 miles the day before like this.  I knew if someone was "crazy" enough to do this I surely could bare through the pain of a few blisters.  And then I remembered the reason I was there.  What I was going through was nothing compared to what a person facing cancer has to go through.  By lunch time it was more painful to stop and start than to keep walking.  I had a blister between two toes and few on the bottom of each toe and the most painful was a quarter sized blister on the outside of one heel.  I had worked through the pain until lunch (12.2 miles into the day) when I went to put my shoes back on and the blister popped.  I was being pushed to head to the next stop but there was no way I could move.  It felt like someone had poured acid on my foot.  I ran (well not really, more like hobbled in agony) to the medical tent.  They bandaged me up and I knew I just need to get a few steps in to make it go numb and continue.  Each step was a triumph.  Each stop was another step closer.  This day could not have been better because of the support of the community.  There was someone either in their front yard or outside a business every 2-3 miles.  They had candy, cookies, popsicles, waters, etc. One even had tiny cups of beer!

As we neared closing ceremonies I think we were all getting a little delirious.  We got to the point we couldn't even follow the directional signs! =)

As soon as we saw the sign below I think the neighbors could even hear our sigh of relief!

Proof of walking for 3 Days!

As we crossed the finish line many walkers and crew were lined up to give high fives as we crossed the line.  Of course they were playing one of my favorite songs: Cupid Shuffle!  Lindzey and I were dancing across the line.  It was amazing how our feet could still move and the energy we had after walking 15.8 miles in one day! The next half hour or so was a blur. We we herded into a huge line preparing for closing ceremonies.  For this being our first time we had no clue what to expect.  We lined up, and marched into the fairgrounds.  Hundreds of friends and family members were there cheering, crying, giving high fives.  We saw each of the folks that were there everyday cheering us on, The Kids Club, The Three Amigos, Hug Lady and Jerry!  The entire group of walkers (about 1,000) chanted Jerry, Jerry, Jerry.  It made me tear up seeing his face light up.  We moved on into the ceremony location where we circled around the flagpole and survivors stand that was present at opening.  After a few words from a Komen representative the survivors were brought in.  As the ladies and men began their walk in, each walker raised one tennis shoe, appropriately called the 'Sole Salute'.

  I have never seen ANYTHING more inspiring.  This represented the entire event and the fight for a cure.  We wrapped up with select survivors presented the flags and the flag that says it all was ran up the pole 'A World Without Breast Cancer'.  There was not a dry eye in the house and it's what is an inspiration to carry on the good work of the organization and this event.

Day 3 Route 15.8  Completed 15.8!!!!

After a hilarious battle for a cab and a 20mile journey back to the hotel we were on the road back to Louisville.  Six hours later we pulled up to my apartment and I couldn't have been happier to see indoor plumbing!  The entire weekend was racing though my mind and I was tired...this was at 1AM.  I had already decided to work from home the next since my feet were pretty much numb.  I woke up the next morning with the two blisters still extremely painful.  After keeping my feet propped up and soaking them for the past two days I'm about 75% recovered.  I can't thank my supporters.  Those that donated, texted and sent encouraging messages were what got me through the 47.6 miles I walked in 3 days.  I could not have made it through those days without each of you.  More importantly the $2,444 I raised was a small part of the $2.4 MILLION the Cleveland walk raised.  With the advances we have today and events as special and successful as this there will be a cure before we know it.  I've thought deeply about next year and while I haven't made a decision I know I have to be involved.  My thoughts are learning toward crewing.  These folks are what made the weekend what it was.  All in all I know this a lifetime opportunity and I hope there's not a need for me next year because there will be a cure.

2011 3-Day to be determined. Any suggestions?  =)