We went to our first weekend trip out of town with just us! Went to Indianapolis to see the "Brad Paisley Party Tour - 2008." Brad, along with Jewel, Julianne Hough, and Chuck Wicks entertained for four fun-filled hours! Julianne Hough (pronounced "huff") is the 19 year old "Dancing With the Stars" professional dancer that won the competition twice with speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno and Indy 500 champion Helio Castroneves (had to look those names up on the Internet). I had my doubts about her, but she does have a good voice and is as cute as a button. Jewel, and I love Jewel, just seemed to be in the wrong venue. She needs a more intimate place, not the partially covered outdoor amphitheatre of the Verizon Music Center. We had a hard time understanding what she said. She did sing some of her original hits, which was cool. Chuck Wicks was cute....but I hadn't ever heard of him.
Brad was awesome! We've attended his concerts three times and he just keeps getting better! He comes out with a bang and never stops! All the time he is performing, there are huge screens with videos relating to each song, i.e. postcards from everywhere with a bobble head Brad smiling on each card (The World), giant fish/fishing scenes (I'm Gonna Miss Her), high school/reunion pictures (Letter to Me). He sat at the end of the stage and sang several songs without accompaniment from his band....the best being "When I Get Where I'm Going." I love the lyric "when I get where I'm going, and I see my Maker's face, I'll stand forever in the light of His Amazing Grace!" It seems weird that during that moment spent with thousands of others, some not so sober :-), I imagined being in Heaven with the largest praise gathering ever!
We stayed at a Marriott Hotel which was nice, new and clean. Ate at "Cheeseburgers in Paradise" before the concert and "Steak and Shake" at midnight afterwards (had a large vanilla shake that was yummy)! The next day, we slept in, left for Louisville about 11:30 (stopped at Cracker Barrel first...we had a healthy heart menu on this trip - not!), arrived in Louisville at 3 PM, took a nap (we're old), then went to Applebees for dinner and went to see "Get Smart" at the movie theater. Fun couple of days!
