We’re back.

Well, we’ve been back since verrrrry early Sunday morning, but we’re finally back into the swing of every day life (well me anyways, can’t speak for Vero!)

We left Thursday morning before noon and got into Merritt at about 1:30pm. Saranna’s campsite was extremely easy to find, so we set up, changed into our swimming gear and headed into the river for some cooling off. I am not kidding when I say that I had sweat dripping sunscreen into my eyes. I wasn’t FULLY prepared for the heat, but it did get easier through the 4 days. We spent a few hours cooling off before we headed back into the campsite for dinner. Unfortunately, our grill was less than stellar and we had to make do with a very slow cooked chicken burger. Very delish! We got all prettied up and headed to the bus stop to take us into the concert grounds. When we were picking up our arm bands, my Dad came over and handed us VIP PASSES! They already had them, but won a set in their program. It came with one free dinner, and the whole weekend access to the VIP Tent (Free pop, water, your own bathrooms…hanging out with the ‘stars’, or lesser known acts…)We browsed the little tents set up with merchandise, Vero picked up a cowboy hat, and we found our seats.

The Road hammers were the first act, and they were awesome!!!! Jason McCoy can be my boy toy anytime. Gretchen Wilson was on next, and I must say her voice is unbelievable. There was nothing to distinguish it from her CD, it was that good. She performed mostly from her newest CD (which I don’t have) so I didn’t know ALL the songs to sing a long to…but it was still a great show! We headed back right before the encore so we missed Redneck Woman :-( .

Friday we headed into town for a BIG breaky at ABC Restaurant. The wait was long, but the food was worth it. We picked up ice, headed back to the campsite, and spent the afternoon in the river again (well...AFTER the wind/rain storm that happened between noon and two when we napped). With the heat, there really isn’t much more you can do! We broke into the booze early, cooked up some burgers, and headed back in to the grounds. THIS was the night I was looking forward to! We missed Johnny Reid, but got there in time for Carrie Underwood…and while her show was a little tame, I knew all the words so I was up on my feet singing like an idiot for most of it! Reba was next, and she really was the highlight for me! She is an unbelievable performer!

Saturday morning we went for breaky at my parent’s campsite for bacon and Eggs, and then spent the rest of the morning and afternoon in the river. Met some interesting people and just vegged. We then headed to the grounds for our VIP dinner. My steak was actually gross, but the baked potato and all the fixings was awesome. Jamie O’Neill took the stage and we managed to grab seats I the 10th row with my parents. Those seats were empty, so we weren’t THAT worried about someone coming to ask us to move. We spent the rest of the evening there. After Jamie (whose a sweetheart!) Emerson Drive came out. Now, the lead singer is unbelievably sexy, but unbelievably WEIRD. He was humping all of his band mates on stage, and I am not lying when I say they looked like they weren’t enjoying it all that much. But they put on an amazing show…and I think I might have a little crush on the guitar player. We left right after in favor of the campsite over CCR… but on the way back decided to pack up and go home. Slightly retarded we realized when we started pulling pegs out of our tent in the dark. Vero is MUCH stronger than I originally though, because half those pegs are STILL in Merritt because we couldn’t get them out. The drive home was uneventful…I kept nodding off and forcing myself to wake up in order to keep Vero awake driving. It was a struggle!! We got home at 2:00am and just CRASHED. I slept till 11:30am the next morning…and missed all the unpacking… DAMN *wink*.

I am already planning for next year. My goal is to fit into a bikini so I don’t feel so out of place in my shorts in the river… HAHAHAHAHA.