Sexy Helen!!!
By then, it was nearly 9, and I thought we should head towards the big tent—so we could invade again. LOL We aimed for the merchandise tent, and on the way, I spotted Steve. "Steve!" I cried and he paused. "I wanted to thank you for that kiss last night. You made all my friends so jealous…and that happens so rarely!" While I spoke, he hemmed and hawed, but once I said the last bit, he got this sly look on his face and grinned, saying, "Ooooh, I doubt THAT! No, no, I really doubt that...mmmhmmm!" And he gave me that look again!!! I wish I could describe the Look--it was sexy, dreamy, and, as my sister says, he has "bedroom eyes". Oooooh...Steve is a married man...Steve is a married man...*sigh* LOL
We spoke to Steve near the side of the merchandise tent, so as we came to the front, I looked over to the left and spotted Patrick. I told Sarah to look over there--she got a grin on her face for some reason. I can't imagine why! LOL He spotted me and came over to say hello. He thanked me for the whiskey from the night before, and asked if I had any more. I had refilled it the night before, just in case!! So I got the flask out and he drank some more, asking what kind it was. I told him and he nodded, saying it was good. He sipped it again and then closed it up--without breaking it! LOL I teased him about popping the lid out Friday night, but assured him that it was easy to fix. Once he walked away, I had to harass Sarah for standing there, not speaking. How can she call herself "Patrick's future wife" if she can’t even talk to the man? LOL
We went around to the other side of the tent, with the Internet girls, and spotted Bob unpacking again. I waited until he seemed to be almost done, then took Sarah up to say hi. After getting a huge hug (LOVE BOB!), he asked me if I had his gift with me. A moment of panic, my heart dropped, and I said, "Uh, I gave it to Steve and he said he'd get it to you!" He acted relieved that it was okay, but annoyed that he didn’t get it yet: "If anything happened to it, I’ll have to kick his royal @ss!" ROTFLMAO
Remembering I wasn’t alone, I said, "You remember my friend Sarah, the girl from the picture!" (in the gift) He grinned, and said, "Sarah, of course! I'm so glad you’re here!" I asked if they were going to the Dublin Pub again that night, since this time we would be able to go. Bob laughed and said, "I don’t know if I should, after last night!!" He then groaned and touched his head. LOL We chatted for a minute, then let him get back to what he'd been doing. But every once in a while, he'd look over and smile at me. When's the last time I mentioned that I love Bob? Oh, not since the last paragraph...well, it’s still true...*G*
While we were standing there, I spotted Tom--from the local Trek club. I went over and said hi, and introduced him to Sarah. We chatted a minute, then I went back to make sure we didn't lose our place with the gals.
Shortly after this, the act before Gaelic Storm was done and people started leaving the tent. Once again, we invaded the front area. Only this time, the Internet gals wanted to be in front of Steve—seems they felt he’d been snubbed the night before, since we'd all been down by Patrick and Bob. I told them, "Sorry, Sarah and I are sticking to Patrick and Bob again!" I wasn't about to leave my sweet spot right smack in front of Bob!! Not even for Sexy Steve! LOL
We stood there, goofing off and I tried to keep Sarah from bouncing through the tent ceiling. LOL There was a giant fan set up next to the stage, and Bob was enjoying the breeze. He had a towel and wiped his face with it--and the fan blew it around. So he started playing with it, making it blow around his face and stuff like that. Then he put it on top of his head--he saw that Sarah and I had been watching him. So he posed for me! Time to mention I love Bob again!! *G*
Okay, I can understand his point, that's gotta suck to not be able to see. But at the same time, these people were sitting during the shows (who can sit still during Gaelic Storm?), and it wasn't as if they'd PAID for those front row seats! It really ticked us off, but we opted to sit on the ground. We perked up a bit when the guys were coming out doing their sound checks.
Just barely before the show, two girls showed up, holding up white t-shirts. Each shirt said something like "We travelled all the way from North Carolina" and "Let us hold Bob's Bow!" That, of course, refers to that awesome thing Bob does when he has (usually) two people holding the bow at each end, then he kneels between them and plays the fiddle. And not just PLAYS, but plays really fast, and so well!! It's amazing!!! Bob spotted them and burst out laughing, then had them come over to had their picture taken holding the bow, at the side of the stage. They put the shirts on over their regular shirts, and posed with Bob and the bow.
The show was once again absolutely amazing--the guys seemed to be in a great mood. There was only once that that I thought maybe Patrick was a bit annoyed--during Johnny Jump Up, the young girls up front sang so loudly, they nearly drowned out the guys! He kind of sighed and rolled his eyes, and even paused in his own singing once or twice. Maybe it was just the sound system wasn’t picking up the guys as loud, or maybe the microphones were picking up the girls too much...whatever it was, the expression on his face passed.
That was one thing I loved about being right up front—I could read their expressions and see their eyes...
After the show, they said they'd be at the autograph tables again. Sarah and I headed out to get in line. We stood there awhile, and watched as Bob came running out late. LOL Another line formed in front of him and I wondered what it was. Sarah and I hypothesized that it was a line JUST for Bob, and since it was shorter, we went over. I had my NEW program to be signed, and we got pictures with him.
Once at the table, Twigger greeted us, calling us "ladies". Again, I was reminded why I love accents--especially when the one with the accent is a gentlemen. LOL Sarah took my picture with Twigger.
Before we left, I asked Steve about Bob's gift--I was afraid to think that something had happened to it!!! I said to him, "Steve, I have to harass you again. Last night, I gave you Bob's gift...but he didn't get it." He got a stricken expression and said, "I put it with all of his stuff last night!" I thanked him, and said I'd let Bob know. Which I did, almost immediately--Bob seemed relieved and said, "Oh, okay, it's probably in the van with all the stuff we put there last night. I'm sure it's fine." Steve is lucky. LOL
It was just after midnight by then. Sarah and I decided to go to the Dublin Pub, and hang out there—hoping to see the band there. Sarah got to be the COOLEST person—when we walked up to the door, the bouncer (who I thought looked familiar), asked for our ID's and $5. As I dug out both, the bouncer suddenly exclaimed, "Sarah?!" Well, it turned out to be a guy we went to high school with!! He didn't recognize me at first, but once Sarah introduced me, he refused to look at our IDs, and wouldn’t take my money! So, Sarah got us in for FREE, without having to show ID. She’s so cool. LOL
We walked into the Dublin Pub and it was LOUD!! LOL I don't know who the band was that was playing, but I didn't like them. Every song they played sounded like a funeral dirge—even when I recognized one song as "Hills of Connemara". I tried to get to the bar, but it was really crowded and I soon realized that that wasn't going to work. The music was VERY loud, so Sarah and I went out to the patio area. We found a quiet spot by the railing, watching for anyone from Gaelic Storm. I don't know what I expected...to hang out with some of them, to talk to them...just to be near enough to watch their antics...It didn't matter, I suppose.
Well, soon enough we saw Twigger, Ryan and Tom. We went back inside and I was looking for a table or somewhere to sit. Patrick came in and headed straight for the bar--talking to a pretty lady, of course. LOL Bob arrived too, and came right up to give me a hug again. Love Bob, in case I haven’t mentioned it recently! I spotted my pal Russell—and a few others from the local Star Trek club I'm in—and went over to say hi. I asked if he'd been at the Festival, I said I had been, and asked if he'd seen me with my Bob. Did I say my Bob? *whistles innocently*
Well, it was a bit hot and loud—so Sarah went out to talk to the Bouncer a while. Soon after she went out, I got an empty table. Keeping myself occupied with watching out for Sarah’s return, and people watching, I tried desperately to enjoy the music. I gave it a chance, I really did--and there was at least one song I kinda liked...too bad I couldn’t understand anything they said (distortion and volume, not accents or anything). Anyway, Sarah came back in and joined me at the table. Bob came by, and I gestured to see if he wanted to join us. He motioned back that he was making the rounds and sat up front to watch the band.
The waitress came by and I ordered my first Guinness ever. It's pretty good! I know from my Irish friend that they pulled it right—there was a nice head on it. I thought it tasted like a strong beer, so I was all set to drink it all. Well, after about four swallows, I realized my stomach was empty. Alcohol on an empty stomach is never a good idea, most especially in my case--it makes me REALLY silly. But I'm always silly and I didn’t have to drive, so I didn't care. LOL
Sarah wanted to get going soon, to be home by 2 am...but I thought I’d like to stick around. That's why I wanted to take separate cars at first...but we'd agreed to leave at 2 am, so I was prepared to leave. But, sitting there, sipping my Guinness, my eye caught Russell and I had an idea: I went and asked how late he was planning to stick around. "Until they throw me out!" he said, so I asked if he could give me a ride home later. He agreed to it, so the plan was set: Sarah could leave when she wanted, and I’d go with Russell...or so I thought! LOL
We went out on the patio again—somehow it was even more crowded than before!! LOL But we discovered that Steve and Bob were with some other musicians, jamming. And of course, as we approached, they stopped. LOL Sarah said she was going to go ahead and leave me, so we said goodnight. I stood there with my Guinness, being jostled, and waiting for the next jam session. Something was wrong with the bodhran Steve had been playing, so he left to go fix it. I glanced over my left shoulder, just in time to see Twigger finish off a glass of Guinness. Considering my own, and feeling the sloshy sensation in my stomach, I turned to him. "Twigger, honey," I said. "Do you want the rest of my Guinness?" He laughed and smiled, and took it, saying, "You couldn't handle it, could you?" I explained that it was the first time I'd had it, and that I was going to be leaving soon, and didn’t want it to go to waste. To which he replied, with a twinkle in his eye, "You just couldn't handle it..." I laughed, especially when he started picking the soppy remains of my napkin from the glass, complaining that I'd given him a mess. LMAO
I'm not sure when I’d decided, but I was ready to leave. I spotted Sarah talking to the bouncer still, so I went over to the rail and told her I was coming out. As I turned towards the exit, I found Steve, still adjusting the bodhran. I touched his shoulder and said, "I’ll see you tomorrow, hun." Once again, that charmer gave me his sexy look and said, "You take care now..." Hoo boy...the temperature went up suddenly!! *giggle*
I caught up with Sarah, and we chatted with the bouncer again for a few minutes. Finally, we left the Dublin Pub. Once in the car, I felt the Guinness kicking in. I started talking really fast, going over the day with Sarah, and teasing her about missing out on Friday’s events. By the time we got to my house, I was...tipsy. My shoes felt wobbly and I couldn't stop talking fast!! LOL My sisters both came outside--at 2 am, when they had church in the morning (I was skipping, tsk tsk) what were they doing up?!--they went on and on about how drunk I was. I wasn't drunk. I was tipsy, and my stomach was a bit sloshy. I said goodnight and stumbled into the house (stupid shoes LOL).
I have no pictures from the Pub--I had locked the digital camera in Sarah's trunk, and the opportunity to need my other camera didn't come up. Oh well, it's not like I didn't take tons anyway!! LOL
