Mariann

Friday I got my rental car (I also visited with my family before and after ToRI in CT) and went to the airport to pick-up Kathryn. My new friend and room-mate. We found each other easily, having only emailed pictures, and we were on our Newport Adventure!

We got to Hojo's and checked in and went over to Applebee's. We got name tags and met a bunch of people, had a bite to eat and we were off to find the Vampire Tour. We got there 45 min late and decided to walk around downtown & scope out the scene. As we were heading towards the yacht area a young man in a horse-drawn carriage stopped and asked if we wanted a ride ... for free!! How can you say no to that? So Eric (the cute young man) and his horse Romeo gave us a nice ride. VERY COOL!

So as we were strolling down the avenue Kathryn said "lets go over there" and we went over to an arcade with games and stuff. That's when we ran into Connie and some Cowsill kids. We hugged and were acting like a bunch of crazy HH's! Then Connie said there were people outside for us to meet. There was a group milling about and I INSTANTLY KNEW it was a couple of Cowsills! Not sure at first which ones, but they were bro's for sure! It turned out to be Richard and Paul, their wives and others (HH's, don't ask which ones tho) I was too excited to remember ALL the details. Across the way & up, at Alexander's, was Barry, Susan and MORE people!

My heart was thumping hard as we went over & met Barry, his wife Debbie and more HH's. Everyone seemed to know each other and I just kinda stood there smiling. After a bit, Barry came over and wanted to sign my cast! He made his signature thumbprint, BC 2000 and then kissed my hand! My broken hand!! Well, I wasn't a Cowsill virgin anymore! Thanks Barry! YAHOO!!! After a while people started to disperse and went to Yesterdays. I didn't know THAT until the next day!! BUMMER!! But for me, Friday night was a great start for the weekend.

The next day was the gathering in Connie's # 242 suite. Our room was right down the hall and I was in awe of how many people were in the room and spilling out into the hallway. It was incredible!!

I finally was meeting people that I had been emailing. The cousins' Tracy & Kathy I knew right away. There was so much going on at once! Kinda overwhelming to say the least. Eddie was playing his guitar (very excellent guitar playing dude!) Richard, everyone singing, tambourines shakin'- WHAT A SCENE!! It was awesome! I can't believe how good we sounded! WOWEEE!! Then Gary, the videographer, had everyone step in a circle and we each went in and said who we were. It was ALOT of fun!! I'm sure I'm not the only one dying to see some of the footage from the weekend either. Soon we were ready for the tee exchange. All tees were on a table and people just went for it! A bunch of crazy grabbing and swapping happened all at once! My tee is from the land of Janer & Jesse Ventura, Minnesota ya! I love it!! It has wolves on it too. One of my animal totems! So it was significant to me! Thanks Janer! You are a sweetie and I love your hair! Things slowed down and people started to leave to either get ready for ToRI or whatever was on their agendas.

Kathryn & I went down to the Taste site to scope out the scene and get something to eat. I personally thought the food was great. I love these kind of food fests and enjoy trying new foods. I am not a beer drinker but I liked the Newport Storm Ale.The Mudslides got a thumbs up as well. The vendors were fun to look at too. Nice crafts, novelties and trinkets. I bought a few things for gifts too.

We claimed seats WAY before the show. It was great being up close. So, before you knew it, the band started to show up. Peter & Susan were the first I saw. Then Robby (be still my heart!), Bob, and after that I can't remember who was next! I was just hanging out when Tracy came over and brought me to meet Bob. What a sweetie. Great eyes. I did find out he comes to The U of A on business occasionally so Bob, if you read this, I'd love to take you to lunch sometime if your ever in Tucson. After that I saw Robby standing alone (for a second!) so I went over & introduced myself. He was very charming. Nice smile. Very tolerant of a gushy fan. (how old am I?????) anyway, he signed my cast too and my legs were getting wobbly and knees weak. What a Star-struck dork!! oh well, life is too short and ya gotta have a good fantasy. Right on!!

After that I had to go sit down for a while and get a drink. The show was gonna start  soon and I wanted to be in my place. When the show finally started it was incredible. TRTPAOT was the intro and tears flowed out of my eyes. The harmonies were perfect. Better than you could imagine in your dreams. I don't remember perfect order but, What about Love and Under the Gun had my tear ducts workin' overtime! " I'm a little verklempt, tawk amongst yourselves, it was like buttah" (SNL humor). It was the show of the millenium. I am proud and honored to have been witness to this event. I'd still like to see video footage. (hint,hint)

After the show we headed over to the Narragansett Cafe to see Barry and friends perform. He did some great tunes. I especially liked his renditions of Strangers in the Night and Wild Thing. He did Bombay too. I was starting to get a little tired and was going back to my car, when I heard someone yell "hey Mariann". OMG!! It was Robby!!! Bill & him were going to the cafe. Needless to say I turned around & headed back with them, no longer tired! The music kept going, now with bass and Robby let me buy him a drink. There was so much music happening. It was great! Barry & Susan did an old Delany & Bonnie tune, Never ending Love for you, and soon we heard some Hello, Hello! WHOA!!! The two of them singing harmony still sounded like the whole band! AMAZING!! Their Uncle sang Danny Boy too. Not a dry eye in the house. What a family! The bar closed up too soon and we went back to the hotel for a little rest.

Sunday was the Meet & Greet. The people in charge of the tent had done a wonderful job. Coffee, muffins etc. Then the C's started to arrive and finally sat at the table & started doing autographs. They are the most gracious people I have ever met. To put up with HOURS of us fans was great. Signing magazines, old albums, and everything in between.The best line I overheard was Bill. When he saw Stella's' tee with him on it he said" I'm my own velvet Elvis!!".That cracked me up. It's a beautiful shirt. Soon, Vicky presented the books for each of the Cowsills and they were genuinely surprised. I hope they all like their books. A lot of love went into them, from ALL of us. Soon after we started with pictures. Individual, groups, etc. It went by quickly.

Then started the wait for the next show. More eating and wandering around the wharf area, checking out all the shops & people watching passed the time quickly. I was starting to get sad already cuz after the show I knew I was leaving to go back to Connecticut. The second show was just as great as the first. When Susan brought Aunt Flo on the stage while they sang We Can Fly, I started to shed tears again. If it was that emotional for me I could understand how emotional it was for them, to be home and with family. We saw some true Kodak moments! I loved Paul singing Shine. What an incredible song. HE ROCKED!! There HAS to be a Global follow-up. There are just too many great songs. The show was over before I knew it. I had said my good-byes earlier to a few people as I knew how emotional I can get. I kinda slipped out and went back to my car knowing I would never be the same after this weekend. Thanks to everyone! Cowsill family, you are all the best. Don't ever stop making music. Doesn't matter if you do it as a family or individuals, YOU ALL ROCK!!! I love you all.