It had been 2 short weeks since I had last seen Garth, and the excitement was just as high as it had been the first time. This time would be a bit different. My husband, Darrell and I were not going alone this time. A friend he works with, Harold, and a guy they bowl with, Jerry, were going to be attending the concert this evening as well.

The drive from where we live, in Vallejo, to San Jose is about 80 miles. (On the map to the right, the blue stars represent where we live, in Vallejo, and where the concert was at, in San Jose.) Since we'd never been to the venue, and Harold had, we would meet them at the bowling alley where my husband and Harold work, and follow them down to the concert. We planned to stop for a bite to eat somewhere as well.

The concert was to start at 7:00 pm. We met them at the bowling alley at 4:15 pm and started the drive down to San Jose. We stopped in Fremont at a "Round Table Pizza" for dinner. This was the day Princess Diana had died, and there was a television in the pizza parlor giving the ongoing coverage of the events.

I wondered, while we waited for our pizza, if Garth might mention her death, and perhaps dedicate a song to her memory. I thought "The Dance" would have been perfect. That song always reminded me of my dad, who passed away in 1992, and the video paid tribute to some wonderful people who had left this earth too soon. How true this was in Diana's case as well. Such a loss. *Note* He didn't make any mention of her, however I thought of her when he sang "The Dance."

After dinner, we continued to the stadium, parked the car and walked to the arena. We were about 2 blocks from the stadium.

The first thing I noticed were people picketing. I couldn't figure what they could be picketing about. When we got closer, I noticed the signs saying we were all "sinners," and that we should repent.

The only thing I can think of that they could be upset about is Garth's support of all people being "free to love any one they choose." I must say, I had a strong urge to start singing the words to "We Shall Be Free" when I walked by, but I didn't.

Perhaps I was wrong over what I was supposed to be repenting, but this is the only thing I can think of. If loving Garth's music makes me a sinner, well, then I am one big huge sinner. I'm sorry, but I believe, as Garth does, that people should be able to love whoever they wish, and I don't feel that anyone has the right to judge people this way. That's just my opinion, and I'm entitled to it, just as they are to picket, calling me a sinner.

We found our seats, and I left my camera with my husband, while I went to stand in line at the souvenir stand.

Forty-five minutes later, I came back wearing my new black World Tour t-shirt, and carrying the prizes for the "In Pieces Contest." Seems I missed part of "Chuck and Rodeo's" introduction. They were already playing "Copenhagen," so I worked my way to my seat, which was in the middle of the row, and sang along.

I enjoy "Chuck and Rodeo," so I was rather disappointed that they didn't play as long as they did at the Sacramento show. They did play "My New Tona Lamas," which is always a crowd favorite, so I was happy. I got a couple pictures of Dan and Bryan, but they were blurry, so I didn't bother getting them scanned.

The house lights went on, and we began the long wait for Garth to come on. A guy a section to our right tried to get the crowd in the mood by starting a cheer for Garth. He stood in the middle of two sections, and would point to the left, then the right section, which was our queue to yell, GARTH!!! or BROOKS!!!

After that fizzled out, he tried to get us all into a wave. I never realized how hard it was to get everything coordinated til I watched him work. We started and it went about 5 sections, then died. As more people noticed, and started watching for when to stand, we finally got it going and we went around two or three times. Fun! :)

The announcer made his call for crew and band members to return backstage, and soon it was G minus 5 minutes. Yes!!!!!