9 Days Out ....... U S A ROADTRIP

Day 1 .... London to Chicago .... Sat 5th May 2007

Alarm woke me up at 06:00 am GMT (00:00 am US) up case & me  plus loads of concert ,plane & hotel tickets .in taxi to margate train station , 7am to london (2hrs) then subway to Heathrow London Airport , then 12:15 american airlines to o'hare Chicago , 9hrs , land 2pm chicago , Rhonda picked me up at o'hare , drive to Elgin ,sat in car in community centre car park , met loads of forum friends , bill s melissa & nico , gary, drank jello shots , wore smiley face masks , Show was brilliant  seeing Carmine & Rick too, after show about 10 of us hung around . joe came out was talking to patty, rhonda , nancy & he said i heard michael lynch is here , i came forward from my seat , he said "dude what you doing here" made me laugh , had a photo with jb , talked with bogie & carmine , went back to patty's sisters & stayed there at the hotel bonamassa
Great night.

Day 2 .... Chicago to Sullivan , Missiouri .... Sun 6th May

Me Rhonda Patty Bev & dave went to Red Apple for breakfast , i had a butcher block ommlette mmmmm , said goodbye to Patty but not before we sung an acoustic version of "you upset me baby" with me & photogal , great ..... me & rhonda then went into chicago to the Sears Tower , as we pulled up at a car park which said $20 per hr , rhonda said f**k i'm not paying that , i said we'll do a quick visit to the top & back , so when we got in , they had one of those 15 minute preview shows , i said to rhonda when the doors open & the people come out , we'll duck thru the barrier & join them , so we did saying " good show , good show" funnee , then up 103 floors , what a view over the windy city , fantastic in 55 minutes , then 6 hour drive to rhonda's house in sullivan Missouri , stopping off for petrol , i had to use the restroom , but the mens was in use , so i dived in the womens , of course when i came out , who should be looking , rhonda just laughing , stopped off at schnucks store for beer & burgers for BBQ , got to rhondas house , met her husband Boot and son Robbie and daughter Jordan who let me have her english room , thanks jordan ... Sleeeeeeep.

Day 3 .... Sullivan , Missouri .... Mon 7th May

Up went for breakfast at coffee house had pannini & mocha mmmm , then on to Boot's friends , Larry & Mary who had a lovely house right by a lake , got on great with them , done some fishing , shooting guns at mannekins ( including a heeavy duty magnum ) lovely sunny time there drinking laughing , then rhonda took me & robbie to some large underground cave system , fantastic place , then we went to a Steakhouse on Route 66 , had me a steak platter , nice
then back to rhondas , watched kws dvd very good indeed , helped rhonda choose photo's & speech bubbles for joe's birthday book , bless her i went to bed at 2 , she worked on that til 4 ..... zzzzzzzz zzzzzzzz

Day 4 .... Missouri to Oklahoma .... Tues 8th May

Set off around 3 as rhonda put finishing touches to book , long drive south through springfield 6hrs again to Oklahoma , Rhonda and i checked in to our hotel on 39th nr Roadhouse and the rain was coming down , got changed then rhonda dropped me off at roadhouse while she went & collected glossy photo's for book at local walmart , when i got in roadhouse it was in complete darkness.... Joe had blown the house electrics , he then proceded to do an acoustic 20 minute set like the old days  , Brilliant , he had a few drinks already , but i was thinkin' what a brilliant way to spend your birthday , At a rowdy Roadhouse on Route 66 with friends in the dark havin' a drink and a storm outside & a Tornado touching down less than a mile away , sounds cool looking back , gave joe an England Baseball Cap (well he keeps wearing that NY one) wished him happy 30's , had a chat with carmine .. nice guy ..... NO RHONDA , she apparantely got lost and caught up in storm plus went to 4 differant walmarts to get photos , i walked back to hotel in rain , got soaked , but she was OK , I said call boot tomorrow & ask him if you can deliver photos to jb in Dallas. NIGHT

Day 5 .... Oklahoma to Dallas .... Wed 9th May

5 hr Drive south into TEXAS , always wanted to visit the lone star state , oh visited the OKC Memorial , was very touching & quiet , never forget the feeling of loss there............ played some great music while we were travellin' ... especially "TRAVELLIN' SOUTH" as we crossed into Texas , got to Dallas checked in to Quality inn on market centre blvd
then downtown to House of Blues , nice on outside , but a bit small on inside , me & rhonda went for a meal in hicks across the street , had to wear some hats that had rude writing on them , well mine said "rub my head , i don't care which one" cant repeat what was on rhondas , at show , rhonda could'nt take her camera in , so she watched show for a change , great show ........ she finally gave joe his birthday book , that had some great photos in it & bloopers , met some nice people at front ........... getting tired , back to hotel & sleep

Day 6 .... Dallas .... Thurs 10th May

Me & Rhonda went to Denny's for Breakfast , quite nice , Moons over Hammy and Iced Tea ? , then we went looking for CD shops throughout Dallas , i bought some great R L Burnside cd's Snakedrive , i wish Joe would cover that song WOW. and a zz top cd in texas , then we went to House of Blues to get some clothing & bumped into joe had a brief chat , rhonda had a good talk , then back to hotel , and had to say goodbye to my Roadtrip buddy , she had to get back home to her family , that cut me up i' tell ya , got taxi to 2nd show  at hose of blues , right at front again .... This Was the best Joe Bonamassa show i have been to this year , Totally Awesome Display of Live Rock/Blues Music there was a bunch of us at front going crazy , singing dancing , just a truly great show & night , got lift home by garrett & Oscar
....... Put " FASTEST GUN IN THE WEST"  Post on Forum before i went to bed at 3 ........ now really tired

Day 7 .... Dallas to Amarillo .... Fri 11th May

Up Early for flight from DFW Airport to Amarillo , taxi to airport , check in luggage , 55 minute flight across texas , quick
pick up luggage at carousel , then taxi to motel in centre of Amarillo , check in , to room & fell asleep all afternoon , went to restaurant "aculpulco" mexican , in town , had a steak in texas , nice fountain in restaurant hall & a guy playing acoustic . good ... told him about joe , said he'll check him out , i said you wanna if you play acoustic , at show met Lloyd , what a real nice man ....... the show was wild and so was the crowd in TEXAS , joe & the boys looked good with carmine & rick really getting into the groove & bogie's solo was to die for ...... after show lloyd & myself met joe , lloyd got to talk with joe , that was great to see , he signed lloyds ticket and my Bloodline CD with personal message , cheers j , me & lloyd went & got 6 pack of beers from gas station then drove back to theatre & parked by tour bus & talked for 2hrs bout music sport politics wars life ....... thanks lloyd great meeting you ........ sleep at motel at 2 .... my god

Day 8 .... Amarillo to Oklahoma .... Sat 12th May

Up Stupid early for Stupid early flight out of Amarillo , taxi to airport , then 50 min flight to Dallas change to connecting flight to Oklahoma , DFW to OKC 45 min carousels & checking in madness , taxi from okc airport to Hilton garden inn nr airport , pulls up at hotel , steps out of cab & see joe dave donnie in car park by tour bus , wave over , check in & another nap before taxi to downtown Oklahoma , stupid cab driver drops me at wrong theatre area , 2 mile walk to stage center , boy when i got there i downed 2 millers gen draft in no time , got a seat at front next to Brad (ultimatejackson) we had a great night ' and joe did deliver again right in front of me & brad (oh and support group THE MIGHTY ORQ good good great singer/guitarist , ....... after show said to donnie that i was flying back to London tomorrow and could i go and say goodbye to joe & bogie , he said you'll find 'em backstage , said my goodbyes . sad
and jim moody rang me a taxi , thanks jim , well that was funny cos this taxi driver has the worse case of burping and belching i've ever heard , nearly all the way back to Hilton he was burping loudly , i said "are you ok" he said with a loud burp "i'm fine BUUUUURRRRRPPPPP" i think not ,...... to bed long flight tomorrow .... 6 SHOWS WAS WORTH IT

Day 9 .... Oklahoma to Dallas via Houston .... Sun 13th May

Up for taxi , pack case for last time , thank f**k , then to airport check in , fly to Houston ? for a connecting flight from houston to Dallas DFW , a not so funny thing happened when i got to Houston , my bags were going straight to connecting flight but me was not so easy , I had 1 hr from landing to cross from Terminal B to Terminal E , straightforward you might guess , only the monorail skyway had broken , so i had to run back to gate 67B to get a Bus shuttle , but seems like the whole airport was trying to get on the next bus 100's & 100's of travellers , well i pushed in to the front , 20 minutes til my flight leaves , 1st bus is going to Terminal A S**T , next is E , YES  bus stops at E Terminal , i get off and then begin to run through Airport like Bruce Willis in Die Hard 2 ,  1st gate is No 1 , mine is the last gate No 20 , i make plane with 5 minutes to spare , PHEW , cos i 've got to make Connecting flight to London , any 50 minutes later get to Dallas , & my London flight is delayed 2hrs , I Buy Sharon an I POD & Duty free , Take Off at 9pm Dallas time

Day 9 .... Dallas to London .... Sun 13th May

9hr Flight Home

Day 10 ....Land at Heathrow London England ....Cold Tired , get luggage , train to London , change then train to Margate Kent , taxi home .................... Roadtrip over ............ sleeeeeeep & next day off work   

I Would've Called it "10 Days out" ,, but i believe that's been done already

THANK YOU

CHICAGO ........ Nancy great meeting you talking great conversation and  big hugs and smiles too ........ Melissa great to meet you & little nico thanks for the gift , nico stole joe's limelight for 2 miutes there , he's a star ,  hi to Bill S , loved your enthusiasm & your family too  & you lot wearing the smiley masks , great ........ hello gary nice to talk & meet you . thanks , hi to Bev , thanks for the hospitality , i really loved the time at your house ....... Patty , i love your fun loving character and we had a laugh , it was a pleasure to get to finally meet ya & i marched with you , speak soon & take care my friend ..... michaelluvspatty

MISSIOURI ........... Hi to Rhonda's family , it was great fun staying with you ...... Boot thanks for letting me kidnap your wife and thank you for the afternoon at Larry's & Mary's fishing & shooting , such a nice day ........ hi to bogie's no 1 young fan Robbie , hope you liked the green day dvd & Jordan thanks for your english room & hope you liked the bowie t-shirt , also Hi 4 to the dogs cats & lizards ........ hello to larry & mary

OKLAHOMA .......... A Special hello to Jim Moody , thanks for the Dallas H O B Tix 9th & 10th and also hi to Mike who runs the Roadhouse 66 , enjoyed meeting you & talking

DALLAS ............. Hi to Jerry we had a blast at front on both shows , great meeting you & talking music/life and did we sing and rock .... also hi to AMY you were just great fun , we had so much fun singing all the songs , you are one crazy bonamassa fan , hello to garrett , loved your story about how your uncle got you into joe , you're one of the most enthusiastic young bonamassa fans i ever met , wild young garrett from texas , hi to Oscar , thanks for the lift home

AMARILLO ........ Just 1 ......... Lloyd just great meeting you man , we talked like we'd known eachother for years , you sure got that TEXAS BLOOD boy , great stories too & meeting joe with you was nice to see ... take care lloyd

OKLAHOMA 12th ......... Ultimatejackson , brad , great talking and spending the front row with you . that was cool , thanks for the seat brad,.......................... thank you to Jim Moody again , we had a brief chat & thanks for calling me a cab

THANKS ALSO TO ...................  Dave hi , keep them 6 strings tight ... soon dave .......... also Aaron , i'm gonna get a HOT chilli sauce for you next time , & one day if bogie's ill you gotta have a go , that would be fun to watch
Donnie ......... good to see you on your birthday in Dallas ... keep 'em in line , thats a tough job Donnie
Rick Mellick , nice to meet you , seems like you've got the most sense , infact probably got a higher I Q than the rest of the bus put together , cheers rick it's rockin' now ..................... Carmine ... great to finally meet you Raja , thanks for your time and conversation , you're one cool dude and a damn brilliant bassist , pure class .... Great Choice Joe with the 2 new additions ................................... Dude Bogie .. Always you have a smile and something to say & i love surprising you and just love watching you drumming onstage , it is so tight & powerful , glad to have met ya bogie , Thanks ........................ Rhonda ,.... I could'nt have asked for and got a better host in America , you were like the sister that i wished i had , we had such a brilliant time on the road , the laughs the fun, it was great Rhonda never forget , take care , your new buddy michael ....... "Are You Doubting Me" Thanks  again Photogal you are the best
Joe .............. Because of your music and your guitar playing , personality and friendly nature , this has gave me the reason to travel , meet people , see cities countries , thanks for the inspiration and the time you have given me sometimes on the road , i appreciate it all , good luck with the Sloe Gin , but i think this is your best ,it sounds awesome Take Care my friend and i'll see ya soon .......... Probably in the 1st row 

................................................ michael

P S ............... Road Trip Video Coming Soon To A Forum Near You