We left Columbus about 2:00 p.m. Thursday and the next couple of hours Chrissy and I spent chatting and getting to know each other a little better. We followed the directions that Chrissy had gotten from AAA and ended up in the middle of BFE! This road had all these hairpin turns and narrow bridges and led absolutely nowhere! So after a few minutes Chrissy made a call and we turned around and got back to the freeway. We got checked in about 4:30. We went to our room, which was really cool because our window overlooked the hotel lounge. We freshened up a bit and then went in search of food. We grabbed some drinks and sandwiches at an Arby's up the street and took them back to our room.

This is where things get interesting kids! We walked back into the hotel and just kind of glanced into the lounge. We made a beeline for the elevator and started to giggle. Vivian was sitting in the bar! We run to our room and too the window just to make sure our eyes weren't deceiving us. Yup, it was the irish lep alright. Pretty soon we see Ricky Warwick, Rick A, Phil and Malvin. I wish you guys could have seen us! Every time we saw somebody else we squealed and giggled like a couple of looney birds! See the thing is we'd been kind of bummed because we were so far from King's Island. We figured the band would be staying much closer to the park. While we ate we kept taking turns peeking out the window. We saw a bunch of crew members, including Wolfie, Ronan, Rick's drum tech(I think his name is Chad), Kenji and a host of others milling in and out

We finally decided to calm down and go have a drink in the bar. We were hoping Joe would make an appearance because I'd brought a birthday gift for him and hadn't been sure how I was going to get it to him. We sat at a table at the edge of the bar and just kind of absorbed everything that was happening. By this time Vivian was the only band member in the bar. We overheard snippets of conversations (fireworks were still a BIG topic, as was Wolfie's lack of a sex life!) and sat in awe. At one point Phil came back down and peeked around the corner. We waved and he grinned and waved back. Viv made several trips to the men's room and later when ricky said it was his turn, Viv made a big deal of telling him to make sure to wash his hands because the faucets were so cool!

I went to the front desk to see if Jean and her hubby had checked in. They had so I called to tell them we were in the lounge and that they were in for a surprise. They came down and we chatted for a bit then they went to get something to eat. Meanwhile ricky and Viv had also been discussing leaving for a meal so we went back to our room to make some calls.

About 9:30 we went back to the bar which was almost empty. We sat there for quite a while until finally Ricky Warwick came back in. We saw Phil coming down the steps and motioned for him to join us and he said he would but he got side-tracked by some other fans who'd wandered in and we heard him tell them that he was on his way to pick up Rory so when he left them we didn't bother him. Viv came back in and sat on the other side of the bar but all too soon it was last call. We went back to our room again, made some more phone calls and got ready for bed. While I was on the phone with Lisa (savsloveslave), Chrissy went to get some ice. When she came back she was saying "EWW, EWW!" I asked her what was wrong and she said she had just seen Malvin standing on his balcony in his bathrobe!



We got up and got moving early the next morning because we'd heard Viv, Ricky and the crew talking about the rides at King's Island (seems rollercoasters are the only thing Mr. Warwick is scared shitless of!). We hoped we might see some of the others there as well. I'm going to make a very loooong morning short here.We hung around the park until about 1:30 and saw nobody! Okay to be fair we did see Kenji and some of the nameless crew.

We decided to go back to the hotel even though we'd already checked out. On the way we passed a bus going toward the park and figured we'd guessed wrong yet again. We parked a few blocks away and walked back to the hotel. We went in and asked at the front desk if Jean and her hubby had checked out (even though we knew they had!) and saw some of the same faces we'd seen at the bar the night before. We went outside and stood up the street for a while. We were just about to give up when I see Rick Allen walking up toward the hotel from the opposite direction that we were in. We quickly make our way to the opposite corner! Once there, we met a guy who was trying to get the bands' autographs (to sell no doubt as he kept asking us if we knew how much the autographs were worth!) We did make good use of him later though!

Phil was the first one out and I asked him if we could get a picture and as usual he said it was no problem. Then I asked him "Are you sure? We don't want to make you late." He told me to relax and that it was fine. Then he turned to the guy that was with him (I assumed it was a crew member) and said "Rory go check out for us." RORY! I looked at Phil and said "Oh my god, that was Rory?" to which he replied (very proudly I might add!)"Yeah, he's growing up!" Rory is now officially taller than his old man! We ended up having quite a conversation with Phil because after we got pics I thanked him and told him one of these days I'd like to get some pics with the other guys. He asked me why I hadn't and I told him I was too scared to ask! He laughed and I said if you think that's bad I've been walking around for two days with a birthday gift for Joe and probably wouldn't have the nerve to give it to him if I did see him. The I got really ballsy (Phil is sooo easy to talk to!) and asked him if he'd give it to Joe. His reply? "Hell no! He'll be out in a few minutes, you give it to him! He doesn't bite you know!"

As Phil was walking away, the 3 Ricks walked out of the hotel. I think he must have told them to be nice to us because he stopped and said something, looked back at us and nodded. Okay, here it was. Would Mr. Savage be nice, or would we get the brush off I've heard so much about? I was barely able to breathe as i walked up to them. I wasn't worried about Rick A or Ricky but I was scared to death to speak to Sav. I decided to go for broke and speak to him first. I stepped up to him, put my hand on his chest and begged! "Rick can I please, please get a picture with you?"

Before I go any further I have to say one thing. While Sav isn't my favorite band member I've always thought he was a good looking man, they all are. But while I was inches from his face I realized just how beautiful he is. He looked me directly in the eyes and it was incredible.

Okay back to my story! Sav's reply? "Of course, why not?" My very stuttered reply to him? "I'm always afraid to ask you!" He laughed and asked "Why? I'm just Sav!" then he went on, "You know in the time it took you to do all that we could have had the picture already!" And....he was still laughing! So I got between Rick and Sav and we got a picture. Ricky Warwick had walked away so while "autograph guy" (i told you we made him useful!) took Chrissy's picture with the Ricks, I tracked him down for a chat. I gave him a card with Lisa's (savsloveslave) website info on it, http://www.almightyone.net/index.html and he was tickled pink! We got pics with him and then went back to waiting.

Vivian came out next but he was with several people so we didn't bother him. Autograph guy asked us if there was some reason we didn't like Viv but we explained that we just didn't want to impose on him when he was busy. A few minutes later he came back alone however so I asked him if he had time for a picture. He said yes but we got a little "Rock Star" attitude from him. Never fear, the dear Mr. Campbell redeemed himself during the show!

We barely had time to giggle over Viv when I looked up to see the one and only Joe Elliott, along with Mal, heading straight toward us! Okay it was now or never! With Chrissy and autograph guy encouraging me, I stepped toward Joe and squeaked "Joe? I have a gift for you, and could I possibly get a picture?" He explained that he was already getting yelled at for being late, but if we made it quick he'd do it. We took our picture and Chrissy told me later that Joe said "Thank you, luv," for the gift but I missed it. The next thing I remember is Chrissy and autograph guy asking me if i was okay. Their voices sounded sooo far away and everything had gone really quiet and dark. I DID NOT pass out thank god but I was in my own little world for just a few moments. When I finally came back to reality my hands were shaking so badly I could barely hold on to my camera and purse!

We'd met and gotten pictures with every one of the band. Could it get any better? Well maybe not better but it was pretty wonderful. We had one more brief encounter with Phil on our way back to the car. He asked me if I'd given Joe "the thing!". I assured him that I had indeed got up the nerve and given it to him. He asked me if he'd bitten me and I said no but he came "this close" holding my fingers together. Then I showed him how badly my hands were shaking and he told me to chill out!

We got back to King's Island and headed toward the amphitheater. We bumped into Jean and hubby (Hi Jean!)and a few minutes later Devinee (Hi Dev!). We decided to get something to drink and calm down a little before the show and then finally we got in line to wait for the gate to open. We once again bumped into Devinee and also Lori.

The show itself was awesome as usual. Of course Ricky Warwick came on first. I got some great pictures which will hopefully be up on Lisa's (savsloveslave)site soon! Toward the end of his set Chrissy and I, along with the two girls next to me, yelled really loudly "Tell the cow story!" He gave us a great big grin and said "Uh.....NO!" I also called Lisa during Three Sides to Every Story since she couldn't be with us. The leps opened with "Let It Go" and we went crazy. I've read other reviews that said the crowd wasn't really into the first few songs but we couldn't tell from where we were! They went into "Action" which was a nice treat. I think I've only heard it one other time live.

All of the guys came over and waved and said Hi at different times during the show. During Slang I called Debbie so she and Nicholas could hear it and Four Letter Word. Phil saw the phone and wanted to know who it was but I couldn't make him understand! GRRR! He needs to take lip reading classes if he's going to ask questions during a show! LOL During Animal , Chrissy called her mom and Sav came over and asked HER who was on the phone!

Chrissy and I bought these stuffed leopard hats intending to toss them onstage for Phil and Joe. Chrissy threw one and one of the crew picked it up. I held the other one up and Phil said "I got it, thanks." LOL That one was for Joe! Anyway I stuck the one I had on my head and Phil said "Oh....it's a hat. Greaat!" Somehow I don't think he'll be wearing it any time soon! We never did throw the second one by the way.

I got a little daring during Armegeddon It. I had a shirt on that was kind of low-cut, and I caught Joe's eye and pulled it down just a little bit farther! He grinned and sort of wiggled his eyebrows at me!

In part two of my story I said we'd gotten a little "rock star" attitude from Viv but that he'd redeemed himself during the show. That came during PSSOM. I had finished a roll of film so I sat down and bent over to dig another roll out of my purse. According to Chrissy, Vivian came over and wanted to know where I was. She pointed down and he asked if I was okay! She made a motion like she was taking a picture and he said "Oh! Okay!" Awww, what a sweetie!

It was a great show and the guys seemed really energized after their break. As wonderful as it was though it was also bittersweet. This is the last show I'll get to see this tour. I wanted to end my Lep Treks on a high note and I certainly managed to do that but I can't help wishing I could go to more shows.
Want to see all of Lisa's great photos? Check out her website DefLeppardRocksMy World.com !