My Tour Bus Diary- Show Five

Show Five- The Fillmore

Charlotte, North Carolina- January 17th, 2019

Good morning, North Carolina! We are about to pull up to our hotel in Charlotte. Today is a day off (January 16th, 2019) so we have a hotel room for the night. I have been really looking forward to Charlotte because my mom, my aunt and uncle and their two friends are coming in for the concert. They are officially true groupies! My aunt, uncle, and their 2 friends live in Atlanta and my mom lives in South Florida. This was the closest show for them to come to that worked with their schedules. Okay back to getting to our hotel.. my least favorite part about the tour life is the nonstop packing and unpacking. We are given about a 15 minute heads up for ETA to our hotel which means only 15 minutes left to pack what you need to take with you. Now it’s not hard, but I always think I’m forgetting something or I wish I had grabbed that scarf or why did I bring these shoes. It’s a constant game of forgetting things. The bus goes away to park somewhere else so if you forget something, that’s it until you get to the venue on show day. So I grab what I need and head into the hotel. It’s a big room but, I’ve already completely redesigned the layout of the hotel room in my head.

Does anyone else do that? Also there’s a Walgreens attached to the lobby which is great, because I forgot my round brush. It’s always something. Bailey and Jesse stay in the room while I head out to meet my mom for lunch. She arrived about the same time as us and is staying at the hotel across the street! She’s too early to check in so we meet in my hotel lobby and head out to wander around Charlotte. We ended up stopping at a French restaurant for a little lunch and some coffee. It was delicious and perfect for what we needed.

Once we’re done we head back to her hotel, The Ivey’s Hotel, so we can check her in. The tour hotels are nice but my moms hotel is beautiful. Her room is really well laid out and decorated, but the gym is what’s getting me real excited. I immediately FaceTime Jess to show him the gym. Jess decides that he’ll walk Bailey across the street in a little while to come meet up so we can workout together while my mom Bay-bysits.. get it. Meanwhile, my aunt, uncle and their friends have just made it in from Atlanta and are checking into their rooms. Just in time for happy hour. Their hotel has a complimentary wine and cheese hour which is so cute. They all partake while I stick to water for now. I plan on working out in about 30 minutes and I can’t think of anything worse than a tipsy treadmill session. Jess finally makes it over with Bailey and we head in to the gym.

We’re having dinner later in their hotel restaurant, 5Church Charlotte, so when we’re done working out we leave Bailey in my moms room. Jess and I rush back to our hotel to get ready and then we’re right back to their hotel ready to eat! We sit down at the restaurant and order some cocktails. Jess and I both ordered the Viper and it was so delicious, if you go, you must order this drink! For food we ordered lots of appetizers that were all delicious, and for dinner most of us ordered the Dry Aged “60 Second” NY Strip Steak. The waiter said it was the dish that won the chef his job at the restaurant. How can you not order the chef’s signature dish with a story like that?! I could’ve and would’ve eaten 2 of these, easily. After dinner we head up to my moms room to grab Bailey and then Jess and I walk back to our hotel. Now this next part I’m not proud of, but Jess and I stopped at a food truck on the way back to our hotel and got 2 gyros.. and then we ate those gyros in bed. Truly a perfect night with family, food and a hotel room with my 2 besties, Jess and Bailey. Good night.

Good morning, Charlotte! It’s show day, and I’m so excited for my family to see this amazing show Jesse has put together. I’m just so proud, and I love to brag on him. My family decides to hit the mall while I pack up my room, because I have to take everything to the bus parked at the venue. After I finish packing and walking Bailey, I head to meet my family for lunch at South Park Grill. This restaurant is owned by my aunt’s friend and fellow Ole Miss Rebel, so you know it’s good. I had a nice salad and a Bloody Mary which was super tasty and surprisingly light.

After our late lunch, my family drops me off at the venue, The Fillmore Charlotte. One of the reasons I head back is because, I’m meeting with Clean Juice. The Charlotte location has reached out to me on instagram and wants to bring juice and açaí bowls for everyone. The cacao milk was my favorite and I ended up using it in my coffee the next 2 mornings. They also brought Jess and I t shirts and sweatshirts that were so soft and cozy. We basically lived in them for the rest of the tour.

Once we’re done meeting with the Clean Juice team, I hop in the shower to get ready. My family makes it back to the venue in time to watch Jesse’s Q&A with the VIPs.

My friend Wrenn’s family is from near Charlotte, so her mom, Angela came out to see the show. She’s so fun and pictured at the top in the header photo. So, we head to the bar next door, VBGB, to meet her and grab a cocktail. While at VBGB, two sweet girls that were also going to the concert bought me a drink. I love getting to meet y’all. Here’s a picture of another sweet Jesse fan and myself at the venue.

Also at the concert was Dres Reid and his wife. He danced for Jess on the inTechnicolor tour and they are also pictured in the header photo. My family and I watched the show, and by watched I mean danced and sang the whole concert. Afterwards, we all have some drinks and fun backstage before it’s time to say goodbye. I love my family so much for making the effort and time to come see Jess, Bay and I on the road. I’m very blessed to have such a fun-loving, supportive family. Bye mom! The bus rolls out, and we’re off to Raleigh.

xoxo,

the Rebel Blonde