It's been almost a week since I got home from hanging out with the guys in the great North West. Melanie (Brian's girlfriend) and I flew in to Spokane, WA last Thursday to meet up with the guys. It had been way too long since I'd seen Cody and even longer since I'd seen them play. I have been having withdrawals and was totally looking forward to the show that night. At the airport we grabbed a cab and headed for the venue. When we got there Bert said that the club was still locked and no on e was there so we headed over to the Hospital to play a few songs for the Children's Miracle Network. That was cool and heart breaking all at once. The radio guys, Coyote and Dave, in Spokane are awesome to us every time we're there. We first met Coyote when we opened for ZZ Top out there. Anyhow – after the hospital we swung by Taco Bell and grabbed a bite to eat. Sidenote – if anyone reading this works at a Taco Bell please, please, please always stock green sauce. Bert loses his mind if there's no green sauce! So, after lunch we went back to the venue and it was still locked and empty. After a ton of phone calls and a lot of stressful moments the show ended up having to be cancelled. I can't tell you how bummed I was – I hadn't seen a show in almost a month and I was jonesin'. Ed hadn't had a chance to sleep yet, so he parked in the parking lot of a strip mall and crashed out. Also in this strip mall was a bowling alley! So, I flew all the way from San Antonio to Spokane to BOWL!?

After bowling the night away I tried to get everyone up early to go take in some of the sites of Seattle. I've become an early riser since child birth. I managed to rouse Bert, Melanie, Brian and Cody – we walked over to the music experience and caught the monorail to the market. Grabbed lunch at PF Changs (Cody wants to know what the PF stands for – I think it might be Pat F^*#ing Changs). Then we caught a little fish tossing and walked around the city a little more and headed to the Tractor for load in and sound check. It started to rain once we got to the club. We were beginning to wonder why it never rained on us in Seattle but it does everywhere else in the country. Fast forward to the show that night: It was great! I was so excited to see them play and they were ready to play a long, energetic set. They had been doing hour long sets out on tour with Dierks and they were pumped to play more than that. The crowd was great – it was awesome to see some familiar faces that far away from home. There were a couple firemen from Alaska that flew in just to see the guys. After the show we hung out in the bar and chatted with some folks. Thanks to everyone who was there and especially the gals that we talked to at the end of the night. Thanks for being so cool and laid back. I appreciate it.

I'll write about Portland tomorrow!
Shannon