Day 4: Coming Back Home

Saturday dawned bright and . . . dark. Elizabeth and I woke up at 5:25am and just stayed up. We finished packing the last couple things and started carrying stuff down to the car. Only a couple of staff were even in the lobby and the lights were still off!

Buddy and Kay were up a little bit after us, and she worked on the laptop while we finished loading. Thanks to Walt (who taught us successfully how to fit five pounds into a three pound slot) we had plenty of room. We had one bag with snacks that sat in the back seat with us. The two of us had gotten some little packets of strawberry and grape jelly from the hotel, and we had all the fixin's for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!

We left "on time" at 6:30am. There was a Starbucks across the street, so Buddy and Kay went in to get breakfast and drinks for themselves. Elizabeth and I figured on having sandwiches an hour or so down the road. While they were in there, Buddy got a 3-CD set of Johnny Cash --- his personal favorite singer. How could he resist that? So, we listened to a disc and Buddy told us stories of when he was a "young pup." What Elizabeth and I couldn't wait to hear was the rough mix of Buddy's new CD, so that's what we sang-along to next. Yahoo! This is just going to be Buddy's best CD ever!

The weather was really perfect, and the traffic wasn't too bad --- until we got back into good old Ohio. We were all pretty tired and a bit slap happy and that makes for some silliness. We spent hours practicing how to whistle using your thumb and index finger in the corners of your mouth. I've just got to know how to that. We all achieved a whistle at some point, but nothing concrete. I'm still practicing, though! I mean, that's something that I really want to be able to teach my kids one day --- but, I have to be able to do it first. ;)

We stopped at a travel plaza in West Virginia and the two of us got some postcards and these really beautiful quartz crystal pieces. We got one that's an emerald green color and a dark pink. We also got a nice large iced-tea at Burger King! Not bad.


We made it back to Buddy and Kay's by 2:30pm, and Mom and Dad met us there about ten minutes later. So, that's the story of our trip --- at least the basics. Elizabeth and I really had a blast! Buddy has told us all kinds of stories about recording and the musicians for years, but you know, it's a lot different to actually see it than to hear about it. Buddy and the background musicians are really talented and skilled at their jobs. Wow! I mean, there were hardly any mistakes the whole time. Most of the things that they all "corrected" were just because they could be done better --- not because they had been done wrong. It was a real blessing to get to see them at work, that's for sure! More later.