| San Diego March 17-19, 2001 |
| DAY 2 Terri and I talked on the phone and decided that we wanted to go back to the hotel and do some boy hunting that afternoon. Because of the post with the hotel info, we expected a huge mob but luckily there weren't too many people hanging around. Terri and I met Adrienne, Bren, Kel, and Lisa outside the hotel and just waited around to see if anything would happen. We were hungry so we all got food at the same restaurant/bar from the previous night. We sat on the patio (the one with the lovely view of the pool table from the night before) so Kel kept an eye on the back door, the street, and the driveway. We talked, we ate, we performed the GAB routine sitting at the table. LOL As we ate we were joined by Vicki Hanna and her husband Jim, who are working with Kevin coordinating Just Within Reach. Later that afternoon Vicki was on her way to meet with Nick about his oceans charity. I just kept thinking, "I'm sitting with people who will be meeting with my Nicky in an hour." I felt like I was playing "2 degrees of separation" from Nick all freakin weekend! Before she left, Vicki said she doubted that he would be on time if he showed up at all, which it turns out that he didn't. Adrienne, Bren, Kel, and Lisa left to get ready for the show, but Terri and I wanted to hang around and check things out a little bit more. We had someone take a picture of us in front of the pool table from the night before (better late than never I guess!) and in front of the "Nick fountain" (a very large, "interestingly" shaped, ocean-themed fountain outside the main entrance of the hotel ROTFL). As we were hanging around outside, we saw Billy wandering around and several large vans with tinted windows, both good signs. Then a hotel security guy asked us if we were guests at the hotel, and he said if we weren't then we'd have to leave. If they're making people leave, something is going to happen. We told him that we were waiting for our friends Bobbi and Jeanine and gave their room number, so he had us wait inside while he checked it out. He MADE us wait INSIDE! How dumb is he?! Why don't you just hand BSB over to us buddy? The thing with Bobbi checked out of course, so Terri and I got to just sit in the lobby and wait with a decent view of the hallway leading from the elevator to the vans. Bobbi and Jeanine showed up a little while later and waited with us. Pretty soon we saw Howie coming from the elevator, and it took a couple seconds to register in my brain. He was wearing ayellow/red/orange shirt and his hair was kind of curly but straight at the bottom. And of course we all froze. He walked outside to the vans where there were a few fans waiting. We noticed that he stopped to take pics with people and sign autographs, so Terri and I headed out to do the same. He was incredibly sweet, just like his nickname. We got our picture taken together with him. Terri told him that she liked his new hair style, and he said that he had just gotten out of the shower. Thinking about any of the Boys taking showers makes me weak in the knees! *thud* I asked if he would sign my cd cover (the WHITE part on the INSIDE--thanks Heidi for pointing that out--with a SHARPIE this time) and he said sure very graciously. I told him that the night before I had tried to get his autograph but the pen didn't work and he said that he remembered. Howie remembered me! Neato! Well, not really ME, but the situation. It still counts though! Before we left Terri complimented him on his beautiful songwriting, and he seemed genuinely thankful for the compliment. Incredibly nice man. One down, four to go! We went back to wait in the lobby and sure enough a little while later Nick and Billy came walking through. Nick was wearing the same beenie from the night before and his infamous baby blue hooded sweatshirt. Terri said, "Nick, do you have time for a picture?" and he said no and just kept right on walking. DIS #2 I'm a "glass is half full" kind of person, so I look at it like this--we got to see him leaving the hotel, Terri spoke to him and he spoke back. Not too shabby, although it would have been a nice opportunity for more. A couple minutes later we had a similar experience with AJ. He was walking and talking with his new lady (Sarah? tall brunette with a big chest). Terri again asked, "Do you have time for a picture?" and AJ's bodyguard said "No, we have to go." AJ didn't even acknowledge our presence. I tried to get a pic of him walking away too, but all I got was his hair, not even a profile, because someone's hat got in the way. :( There was still one van hanging around, but we eventually concluded that it was for Krystal because we saw her manager wandering around saying something about being late. Bobbi and Jeanine headed to their room, Terri drove me back to my hotel, and Terri called it a night, deciding not to go to the concert because she had to work the next day and she was disappointed in Nick's behavior. The show on Sunday was a lot of fun even though I was on my own. I started off with a 15th row ticket on Nick's side, but Bren had gotten a 4th row seat right before the concert, so she gave me her 10th row ticket, still on Nick's side. (did that make any sense?) A few songs into the show (AFTER Shining Star darn it!) I noticed that the girls in front of me kept running up to the front to take pics and the security guys were letting them. Hey, why shouldn't I try?! I found a gap at the end of the 5th row just in time for Nick's "Don't wanna hear you saaaaayyyyy..." in IWITW. Perfect timing, and I was right in front of him. I was also right in front of him for the crotch-grabbing, wind-blowing, and sleeve-ripping in Not For Me, and I made it up to row 2 (right behind Kel and Lisa) for the infamous "Am I sexual?" line in Backstreet's Back. YAH BABY! Because it was the last stop of the first leg of the tour, the guys were extra silly. Someone threw AJ a purple bird hand puppet and he proceeded to perform not one but two songs with the puppet "singing" instead of him. Someone gave Nick some silly string (I've got a pic of him with a devilish grin and the can in his hand), and he waited for the perfect moment to attack Howie. Poor guy, always the victim! During Answer to Our Life someone tossed Howie a green, plastic leprechaun hat so he proceeded to do a little jig, then AJ got his hands on the hat and did a jig himself. Too cute! When Kevin was talking about the charities, someone threw Nick a bundled up package that contained a Japanese-looking robe. Being the utter goofball that he is, he immediately put it on and tied the belt around his head. He and Kevin bowed to each other and pretend to do a little Karate. Then when Kevin said Nick was going to be working with a charity to benefit the oceans, Nick comes up with this classic line: "I like fish." Just the way he said it and the expression on his face were absolutley hysterical! LMAO And then, in keeping with the theme of his robe, he added, "I like sushi." He was totally cracking himself up. It was adorable. :) Again, you probably had to be there,but I was loving every second of it. The crowning moment of the SOMH finale: Nick pouring water on Kevin's head while Kev wasn't paying attention (which Bobbi told me Kev looked pissed about, but I was watching Nicky and he was having fun of course) and then pouring water on his own head. I rushed up to the front row just for a moment to get the Nick/water pic and had the security guy try to cut me off, but the pic came out great. You can even see the water flying off his hair as he shook his head. *sigh* I'm such a goner for that boy! (as if you couldn't guess that! LOL) After the show our whole SD crew again headed to the hotel and the bar to see if history would repeat itself. I figured they wouldn't go to the same place two nights in a row though, and I was right. No more Boy sightings for me, although Bren and Kel had a couple of Howie sightings--a nice birthday treat for Kel! After some food, drinks, and a few more pics in front of the Nick fountain, we called it a night. DAY 3 Not much to tell for this day. It was kind of sad to be leaving because I had so much fun and I was (and AM) already going through concert withdrawl knowing that I won't get to see them again until late summer. By coincidence, Bobbi, Jeanine, and I were all on the same flight back, and by a HUGE coincidence, we were all sitting in the same row! Totally Twilight Zone! So we got to sit together, look at pics, fantasize about Nick and Kevin LOL, and re-live the concerts all over again. :) To all of the great people I met in SD, I want to thank you guys for helping create an unforgetable weekend. You all rock! I hope we can meet up again in the not-too-distant future for more BSB adventures. (LA anyone?!) And if I forgot to say it before, thanks for all the rides too! ;) |
 |
 |
| I did get a pic of him as he was walking away-- the saddest picture EVER, Nick leaving me. :*( But at least I had the sense to take SOMETHING this time! You can't see his face or even his hair in the pic, but it's him, REALLY!!! |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |