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Day One-
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Cameraman Brett and I took off from Nashville headed to Los Angeles -
Our first stop on our way to Sydney, Australia for our show's first trip 'down-under'.
In order to make our international connection the following day we had to spend the night in Hermosa Beach - about 7 miles south of LAX airport.
Nice start to the trip.
The Beach House Hotel in Hermosa is probably my all-time favorite place to stay.
It sits on the sand along the famous stretch of boardwalk called the "The Strand".
I used to live in Hermosa. It's always nice to reconnect with the ocean.
An afternoon lunch turned into a late night stay at Hennessy's Tavern. A legendary pub located just steps away from the hotel.
We would pay for the unexpected 8 hour stay at the restaurant on our flight the next day.
Note to self: Before boarding a plane for 15 hours, water should beat beer.
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Day Two-
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A little fuzzy, Brett and I headed to LAX for our long flight over the Pacific to Sydney, Australia.
Qantas airlines treated us great. Amazing service, comfortable seats and plenty of movies.
I slept about 7 hours of the 15 hour flight. Brett slept ....well, he didnt sleep.
He's a movie junkie and couldn't help watching every film available.
We landed in Sydney in the evening. What time and day it was? I still have no idea.
Knowing that we would eventually be headed to the Snowy Mountains I rented a large SUV.
Bad idea.
Most of our time would be spent in Downtown Sydney. A big SUV does not fit in the urban city.
We discovered that fact quickly as we tried to find our hotel.
Thanks to a GPS device we named "Sheila", we eventually did find a parking garage that our behemoth vehicle could fit in and still be within walking distance of the hotel.
We checked into our rooms and hit the sack.
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Day Three-
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Our first full day in Australia.
We wandered the streets of Sydney just trying to get our bearings.
Brett brought the camera and we shot all the iconic buildings and landmarks - Opera House, Harbor Bridge, Darling Harbor, etc.
Not much work to do on that day. Just nice to have some time to adjust to being a day ahead of U.S. time.
That evening, we hit a few pubs including a 3 story entertainment monster called the "Three Wise Monkeys". Traditional pub on the first floor, lounge on the second and dance/concert hall on the third.
On the third floor we discovered a great cover band playing songs you just don't normally hear from a bar band in states. Lots of INXS, Little River Band, Men at Work and an amazing cover of Peal Jam's "Evenflow".
Late that night, we headed back to the hotel.
Australia had begun to infect us.
The people, the energy, the atmosphere. It's the perfect city.
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Day Four-
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Brett and I got up early and headed to the Channel 7 studios located just blocks from our downtown hotel.
The studios are a slightly smaller version of NBC's "The Today Show" in New York.
Glass walls open to the streets. Crowd gathered around. Same deal.
We met Ronnie Dunn and Kix Brooks before their appearance on the Sunday edition of Channel 7's "Sunrise" show.
Brooks & Dunn and their band and crew had already been in Australia for a week. They filled us in on their travels to Brisbane and Melbourne and their 3 sold-out concerts before arriving in Sydney.
Kix told me about his extensive winery tour the day before. He hoped to take his mental notes of the various vineyards back home to his own Arrrington Vineyard just outside of Nashville.
Ronnie and his wife Janine filled their down time with lots of shopping and lots of beach time.
Immediately following their on-air performance of "Proud of the House We Built", Ronnie and Kix were to meet Brett and I at a scenic park overlooking the Opera House, Harbor Bridge and the water.
Unfortunately, "Sheila" screwed us.
Following her directions precisely, we somehow ended up on the ramp headed to the bridge spanning the two sides of the harbor.
"Recalculating", Sheila observantly admitted.
Ronnie and Kix waited patiently.
"Recalculating", Sheila again muttered.
Ronnie and Kix were losing their patience.
"Recalcul....."
"Shut Up, Sheila. Just tell us where to go!!!"
Ronnie and Kix were ready to pull the plug.
My cell phone rang.
"Hey guys. If you're not here in about 5 minutes, we've got to go."
"Crap!!" I yelled at Sheila. We were still on the other side of the bridge.
We made it the park only to be greeted by a smiling park ranger advising us that becauseof the speed-boat races in the harbor, no vehicles were allowed down the half-mile drive that led to where Brooks & Dunn stood waiting.
The park had closed off the drive sometime between the time B&D arrived and the time we finally found the park.
Brett grabbed the camera gear, jumped out of the car and boarded Ronnie and Kix's shuttle bus - sent looking for US!
After a few fruitless and agonizingly long minutes searching for a parking space, I illegally parked our monster SUV on the grass and took off running down the half-mile drive.
Out of breath, sweaty and stressed-out, I arrived at the band's bus - parked exactly where we asked them to meet us.....30 minutes ago!
I peeked into the open door of the bus.
"Hey Storme." Kix laughingly greeted me.
"Storme" Ronnie echoed a little less enthusiastically.
"Hi. You're never going to believe what happened....." I tried to explain.
I was interrupted by their manager, Clarence Spalding.
"Sorry Storme. Ronnie has to be someplace for lunch and he's already late. We're going to have to pull out. I'm really sorry."
"No!!" I screamed with my internal voice.
We had it set up perfectly. The "money shot"! Sydney at its best!
Perfectly blue sky. The skyline and water in the background. It would be perfect!
Instead, because of Sheila's recalculations, we would be forced to interview Ronnie and Kix at their show in Sydney the next day against a cold, grey concrete wall backstage.
I smiled at Clarence and the guys and tried to think of some way to convince them to hang around just ten more minutes.
Kix saw the distress in my face and I'm guessing he began to feel sorry for me.
"Come on Ronnie. We're here. Let's just do this."
Ronnie thought about it for a minute and nodded in agreement.
As we ran off the bus to the picturesque interview location, Clarence whispered to me.
"You got lucky on this one."
I shook my head and said thanks.
Despite the stress of almost missing a golden opportunity with the guys, the interview went great.
If you watch closely, though, you can actually see beads of sweat dripping down my face.
After the interview I wanted to hug Kix for saving the day. Instead I just shook his hand and apologized for getting lost.
Australian concert promoter Rob Potts pulled me aside and invited me to lunch.
Brett overheard the invitation and then he pulled me aside.
"Uh, you have fun. I'm going to shoot some more footage of Sydney"
"No problem. Enjoy. See you for dinner".
Rob and his friend, Australian publicity and media guru Karey Roberts whisked me away for an amazing food, wine and scenic tour of Sydney.
They even took me to the castle where Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban were married.
LeKiosk restaurant on Manly beach was a highlight.
Best food and best atmosphere of any beach-side cafe I've ever experienced.
I ordered the special of the day - Flounder.
When it arrived, Rob and I stared at the fish on my plate.
It didn't look like a flounder.
It was great. It just didn't look like a flounder. It had darker scales and the head was cut-off.
Rob questioned the waitress. "Are you sure this is flounder?"
She smiled and walked away.
Moments later she returned with an uncooked and uncut flounder on plate.
"The chef was concerned about your comment and just wanted to show you what your fish looked like before he prepared it."
"Well." I said. "I'll be damned if it isn't a flounder."
We laughed and thanked the waitress and proceeded to enjoy an amazing lunch.
Like our first night in Hermosa, lunch turned into dinner, which turned into after dinner drinks, which turned into a late night stop at the Coogee Beach Hotel and Pub.
By this time Brett had rejoined Rob and myself.
Great day and great night.
I really got to know Rob that day. What an amazing guy.
He basically helped build Keith Urban's career in Australia. Now he's responsible for bringing mainstream Country acts down under to tour a country starved for American entertainment.
We found out we have alot in common. We both love the water. We both have an idealistic passion for music and yes, we both like grog.
There's an interesting rule at pubs in Australia. Closing time is at the discretion of the bar. But instead of cutting off drinks, they cut off the toilets.
When your bladder is full, it's time to get out.
Efficient practice actually.
It worked.
Back to the hotel we went....in a hurry.
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Day Five-
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TO BE CONTINUED!
