Melanie’s Most Excellent South Bend Adventure

When: My 25thish birthday (i.e. November 28th, 2007)
Where: Mainly on the highway, a brief time in South Bend Indiana
What: Clay Aiken’s Christmas in the Heartland concert.

First of all. I don’t know why I’m an Official Fan Club member. The special pre-sale tickets reserved especially for valued members like myself are not even worth the $29.95 I paid for the membership. Clay’s occasional blog might be worth it though. Maybe. Ok, yeah. I talked myself into it, I’ll renew my membership.

Anyhoo.

After much ticket stress I got my tickets through the theater’s website, not the OFC, because their seats were worthless. Center orchestra, Row E, which actually translates into about row 10-15. You choose. After having them for about two months it was finally the day of the concert. Finally.

Somehow Susette and I got on the road late. I don’t know why, I’m always on time, if not early, for everything. I’ll blame her. We made a quick stop by Wal-mart, buying enough junk food for five trips to Indiana, and off we headed to South Bend. Which, in case you didn’t know South Bend is actually north. Very north. Google maps should have reminded me of the fact that this was going to be a one day trip and to wait and see if there were going to be any other concerts scheduled in the area before buying tickets. I’ll blame Google.

As a passenger I had four jobs. 1. give Susette the quarters when we got to a toll, 2. keep an eye out for cops, 3. directions, 4. freak out about the traffic that was delaying our arrival at the theater. I did a good job on number 4 anyway. And I think I did an ok job holding the phone and repeating everything that my VZNavigator was instructing Susette to do because I couldn’t understand the actual directions on a map. Moving on.

The show was fantastic. My pictures were not. I obviously bought my camera too close to the time of the show and didn’t know how to use it. I got one perfect picture, that being of Quiana, not Clay. Go figure. But the show was wonderful and Clay was amazing. On a kind of same note (haha. Note. Clay sings. Get it?), we found out that Clay is in love with a stripper, either that or he was talking about the song I’m In luv Wit A Stripper. Whichever. But I assure you it fit right in with the Christmas season and what he was bantering about. Kind of. I would add a completely appropriateish comment on this subject now, but unless you’re a 50 year old Claymate it’s not worth it. Ha.

We decided that we weren’t about to drive the however many hour drive it would be to get home. Instead we found a nice cheap, or inexpensive, motel and followed my VZNavigator directions to said motel. I don’t remember the name, it’s probably best that I don’t. I will however make a brief mention of how classy it was. The floors felt like they were wet, maybe due to the heat being off, maybe not. The cups provided in the room had a nice big crack in them, so I had to share my daily allowance of water with my sweater, and, hmm, it’s probably best I don’t remember the name.

In the morning we went to Ihop. I had never been to Ihop and until recently firmly believed it was a club. It’s definitely not a club, but they do serve some very good breakfast. The hot chocolate not as good, or not good, but either way both of us ate too much and have the pictures to prove it.

We hit the road and were back home in no time. Ok, not really no time. But it was uneventful anyway.

I didn’t get to introduce myself to Clay yet but I’m working on it. I carry around my special rabbit foot 24/7 in the hopes it will help me out. Or not really because that’s cruel to the rabbits. But maybe the next tour will bring me better luck. Mwaa!