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JusticeGH at Soapfest 2008
Another big Nuke event…another long recap. So my Soapfest experience started bright (actually not so bright) and early Friday morning, when Melissa arrived at my place between 3:30 and 4am. We headed off to the airport around 5, and watched sunrise over Boston. I love the city skyline SO much…and at sunrise on a beautiful day…amazing.
It was bizarre seeing another Nukie off on a Nuke related trip and not going with them after doing most of my Nuke related traveling with Team Nuke New England. I wish I could’ve left on Friday, but it was literally my busiest day of the year at work, so I had to wait for a Saturday flight.
Saturday morning, my sister gave me a ride to the airport at 5:30am. I flew through DC and on to Ft. Myers, and arrived around 1pm. I had planned to rent a car, but Melissa asked around for me, and Sherry graciously volunteered to pick me up at the airport. Melissa came in and found me, and I headed out into the gorgeously warm Florida air. It was about 85 and sunny…a far cry from the 50 and rainy I’d left behind in Boston.
We hopped in Sherry’s van, and I met Sherry’s friend Karen. I got to take a look at the AMAZING photo books that Sherry had made for the boys as we headed to meet the rest of the crew, who were eating lunch. By the time we joined them, lunch was over…which was fine, since there was no room for us anyway. Still, I got to meet Vicky, Frances, Beth, Michon, and Angela for the first time, didn’t get to meet David yet, but saw him, and got to see Shirphie, Lisa, Lyddie, Theresa and Jammi in their spring/summer clothes. Nukies in bright colors FTW!
We headed back to the hotel, and mass-signings began…cards for Vicky, Angela, Jake, Van, the books for Van and Jake, Jake’s banner. I had to think of so many sweet things to say in such a short period of time. Yeesh. Kendra, Anthony, Rachel, Champayne, Angie, Cathy…plenty more faces in and out of the room. I was definitely back at a Nuke event!
Things finally quieted down. I ironed my shirt for the dinner, and Melissa and I went out to grab some lunch at McDonald’s. We also stopped at the gas station to buy beer to pre-party a bit. You can’t buy beer at most convenience stores in MA…so it was nice to have easy access. We headed back to the hotel, got changed, and drank a bit before gathering in the lobby. We headed off to Marco Island to the church hall (um…WAY nicer than my church hall) where the VIP dinner was being held. We were among the first to arrive and waited outside while Vicky checked us all in to save time. I felt a bit weird coming to a church hall to ogle soap stars and support the gay couple (even if they’re fictional), but whatever…just one more surreal thing to add to my Nuke experiences. I got to meet David, and Charlie, among other Nukies.
We headed in, bought Soapfest T-Shirts, and found our table. I hadn’t spent the extra money for the VIP upgrade, so I was seated with the “I figure I’ll see Van and Jake later and save more money for liquor” Nukies at the table reserved for Vicky. We quickly decided we had the true VIP table. We chatted, ate some bread, watched photos from previous years up on the screen behind the stage and screamed whenever Van was shown. Melissa had committed to making sure I stepped up my Nuke event game a bit, and she tried her hardest. When I pointed out the hot photographer, she started chatting him up, and then asked him for a photo with the two of us. This led one of the other photographers to come over to us and say “Ooh! Lemme get this shot…are you famous?” She was disappointed that we weren’t…just as much as Aaron (that was his name) was confused as to why we wanted his picture. It was highly amusing.
Eventually I went to the men’s room, and realized I was next to Mick Hazen. I chose not to strike up a conversation. Which, just so you know, is no different than any other time I’m at a urinal.
I was still in the bathroom when I heard people from our crew scream. I figured the boys must’ve arrived. When I headed back inside, there was no sign of them, and something distracted me so I forgot to find out why there had been screaming. Shortly thereafter I wandered over to the silent auction table and discovered the reason—THE shirt and tie were up for auction! It was so cool to see them in person. I chatted with Eileen and Melissa about them. Eventually Melissa convinced me to get my picture taken with them…which was a bit embarrassing, but I’m glad she talked me into it. Other auction items included Luke’s sweater from the “moving in” episode, the Luke and Noah dolls from the Victorian Christmas episode, and Luke’s Navy t-shirt. Scott wandered in around this time, and we got to say hi to him.
Back at the table, I saw the boys arrive, and it took a bit before anyone else noticed they were walking in. They were pretty quickly besieged by folks wanting photos and autographs. Melissa stopped Jake for a quick pic with me on his way to the bar. Jon Prescott stopped by our table and we got a group shot with him and he kept accidentally backing his butt into my hand. Seriously.
Sometime soon after that, Scott stopped by with pepparkakor (I’m just now frightened to discover that I know how to spell that correctly). Van stopped by our table and chatted with Lisa and Shirphie for a little bit.
Dinner was served and we headed up to grab something to eat. We spotted a super hot waiter, and Melissa tried to catch his photo on my camera…but mostly just got the bottom of a serving tray. Dinner was…well, I’m picky. But no one else liked it either. I ate a bunch of rolls to help off-set my beers. Mmm….carbs. Oh, y’know who actually did seem to like it? Jake. Not to bring up a touchy subject, but if anyone thinks he doesn’t eat enough…lemme tell you he can pack it away. I saw evidence of this at dinner Saturday, and on the cruise Sunday.
Walt Willey had been intermittently m.c.ing, and had dubbed us the crack table, on account of our wild and crazy side that pretty much no one else seemed to have (or necessarily appreciate…whatever…I’ll never understand the people who spend hundreds of bucks to go to these things and be sedate). We checked out the celebrity paintings. Everyone in our crew flipped out when they saw that Jake had painted dolphins. It was just too perfect. I bid on Van’s on behalf of Tom…but that didn’t end up working out, since Frances spent way more on it. I outbid Eileen on Luke’s Navy t-shirt…only to be beaten at the last minute by someone named Stephanie, whom Lisa had successfully frightened away from the Casey items. Hssssss.
The following paragraph dedicated to Lyddie: I had mentioned that, for no apparent reason, I wanted to meet John Driscoll. I’ve never watched Guiding Light, haven’t seen him in anything else, but somehow discovered him a couple of months back and just thought he was cute and wanted to meet him at Soapfest. Once he walked in, I had a hard time taking my eyes off him. He’s better looking in person than he is in my pics with him (and he looks pretty okay in my pics!). Anyway, Melissa once again worked her mojo and stopped him to get a picture with me. She said something along the lines of “My friend George wanted to get a picture with you. And I think you’re cute, too.” Which sort of mortified me…and yet was really funny. John put his arm around me…he’s got quite a grip when he puts his hand on your shoulder, let me tell you. <swoon> From that point on, Van and Jake were part of a triumvirate of celeb hotness for the weekend…not just the duo we’re all used to them being. I definitely paid just as much attention to John as I did to either of them from then on.
Tala was the first of the celebs who seemed to genuinely recognize me from our previous meeting at GLAAD, the luncheon and Nuke-a-palooza. As she was walking by our table she said hello, and stopped for a couple of seconds. I got a quick pic with her. From there, Melissa called me over and I got a pic with Van.
The cast Q&As got started, and it was kind of incredible to see how few folks were there from the other shows. ATWT had definitely taken over the place. When the ATWT cast finally got on stage…there sure were a lot of them. I filmed the ATWT Q&A, but others already posted, so I don’t think I have anything they don’t, other than a microphone closer to my high-pitched laugh.
We supported Frances, Kat, David, and all the tour-winning Nukies through their live-auction wins. We also contemplated spending more money than we had…but luckily for our wallets, the stakes just got too high even for our pie-in-the-sky expenditure dreams. I did find it amusing when Lisa dropped out of the race for the studio tour when it hit $500, but was wondering if we should go for it again at $700. Too funny!
When all was said and done with the auctions, it was time to head to Vandy’s for the celebrity bartending bash and karaoke. I checked in with Tom and Barbara via phone, and then hopped in Frances’ car to head over.
Once at Vandy’s, I remembered that I needed cash, and asked the girls at the front door where there was an ATM. They sent me to a neighboring restaurant. The restaurant sent me to a bank behind the restaurant. Which didn’t have an ATM. What kind of bank branch doesn’t have an ATM?! I finally trudged through ankle deep wet grass in my flip flops across a four lane road to a 7-Eleven. Yeesh. Thank God I needed the money for liqu---I mean charity. Or I’d have been heated.
I headed back inside and bought some drink tickets, and pretty much immediately headed to the bar. Jon Prescott was on the bar at that point. I quickly realized something about celebrity bartenders…they’re celebrities. Not bartenders. Jon asked what I wanted, and while I really wanted a Long Island, I knew that would end badly, so I told him he could pick.
JP:“Beer or liquor?”
GH:“Well, I’ve got the hard liquor ticket, so I guess it’ll be liquor.”
JP:“Shot or mixed drink?”
GH:“Mixed drink for now, please.”
JP:“Sweet or not?”
GH:“Not.”
JP:“Vodka based?”
GH“Sure”
I don’t quite know what I ended up with, but it was a little painful.
I chatted with some of my fellow Nukies and saw Mick and Danny Manche do their rendition of “Hit Me Baby One More Time”, continually gave Beth a hard time about Mick being alone on the dance floor, and just generally tried to have a good time. Then Van, Jake, Ewa, and Tala took their shift on the bar. It was time to get hardcore! Ewa hit me up first (looking amazing), followed by Tala, then Van and finally Jake. After the experiment with Jon, I decided to try actually ordering a drink, so I asked Ewa to make me a vodka and cranberry juice. That one started out tough but tasted ok by the end.
For Tala, I once again went for the “What’s your specialty?” She seemed relieved to get to pick, and went with “Vodka tonic with a splash of cran.” I adore Tala…but…well…sometimes a mixed drink is high quality just because of alcohol content, less so because of taste.
Van’s specialty? Vanilla Stoli and diet coke. I’m not a huge vanilla Stoli fan…but it was mixed well. It’s funny…I’m the pickiest eater on the planet…but with alcohol, you put it in front of me, and I’ll drink it…other than Guinness. And lest you think I’m a total alcoholic…I rarely drink elsewhere, but on the rare occasions I’m out, I do tend to put quite a few back. I’m also 6’1 and over 250lbs., though…so I can handle my liquor.
Anywho, from there I got my Silbermann Special…and damn if that wasn’t the best drink of the night! I only know that it had pineapple juice in it…beyond that it was all a mystery. But it was tasty…and I don’t even particularly love pineapple juice, so Jake did a great job mixing in something else that cut away at the pineapple taste a bit.
I happened to be next to Scott and Lisa as Scott ordered shots for them, so I used the last of my drink tickets to tack on “one more of whatever they’re having!” Jake made the Lynchburg Lemonade shots that Scott had ordered, and Van happened to be right near by when Jake brought them over, which was good because Scott had ordered just for himself, Lisa, and Van and Jake. They joined us and I was very glad to have tacked myself on because I got to do a shot with Van and Jake! One of the trip highlights.
Van and Jake wrapped up their time on the bar (they had a really long shift relative to some of the other celebrities), and Vicky called us together to present Jake with his birthday/anniversary surprise. The DJ cut the music, and we all took our places. I was on banner unfurling duty. Vicky called Jake over and made her lovely speech, and the video with all the folks from the Luncheon singing happy birthday appeared on screen. The sound didn’t quite work, but Jake got the idea, and the whole bar sang to him anyway. Sherry and I unrolled the banner, and Theresa and Melissa wheeled out the amazing cake shaped like part of the New York skyline (I, of course, was most impressed with the presences of Mid-Town Comics, a designated Vanmark!), and he seemed pretty darn impressed.
The group moved over to a back room where we could cut the cake, but I got called away to help with something else. When I returned, it turns out I had missed Jake reading the letter I had written him on behalf of his fans. Luckily, Kat filmed it for me! Thanks Kat! Everyone and their cousin let Jake know that I had written the letter, and when I returned, Jake thanked me personally. Another highlight of the trip! The video is a bit grainy, but much easier to see now that Barbara's husband Craig cleaned it up for me. Thanks Barbara and Craig!
I enjoyed some of Jake’s cake, then headed back to the main floor to watch John Driscoll perform “Friends in Low Places”, which was a lot of fun. He did great! I saw Jake looking through the book to pick a song to sing, and all of a sudden his face LIT UP! He had found the song. He quickly sought out Tala, and the two of them finally took the floor a bit later and performed “Twist and Shout”.
I tried to use some of my remaining drink tickets to get a drink from John Driscoll, who had taken to the bar…but his shift ended before I could get one.
I wandered outside and called Barbara, saw Jammi, Angela, Justine Cotsonas and her boyfriend, Melissa, and Theresa hanging out. The night began to wrap up. I watched as the celebs, including Van, with Jake and Tala following shortly thereafter, got into their chauffered vans and headed to their hotel, and we loaded into assorted cars with our designated drivers and headed back to ours.
On Sunday, we got up relatively early (considering the night we’d had), and got ready to head to Marco Island for our booze cruise. I love the guys (and John), and the rest of the ATWT cast, but after the crazy Saturday night, I was just as excited to just be out on a boat enjoying the weather and scenery. We had breakfast at the hotel, I popped online and voted, and we were soon on our way.
The weather was once again beautiful. A bit hot, but I was still perfectly happy with it compared to what Boston had that day. The boat was smaller than I expected, and it quickly felt sort of claustrophobic. I can only imagine how it felt for the celebs, but even for me, I was happy to get outside for a bit and feel like I wasn’t surrounded. I stayed in one place for a while, and Jake arrived on his own, dropped off by an SUV sponsored by Soapfest. It was getting closer and closer to departure time, and I was a bit nervous Van wasn’t going to make it, but he soon arrived, and from my vantage point, I could see him walk up (with John Driscoll…nice!) and got a preview of that tank top before most of the folks on board did.
I spent most of the cruise chatting with other Nukies and wandering the boat. I just had one mixed drink (a strawberry daiquiri), and some donuts and mini bagels. I got a picture of Melissa and Jon Prescott with the beautiful Florida scenery in the background. We saw some dolphins swimming near the back of the ship, which led to a series of jokes about Jake, the dolphin whisperer by various people on the boat, including his castmates. Melissa and I got pictures with Trent Dawson.
I got my picture with Jake, and told him I had a homework assignment from the boards, which was to ask about his tattoo. He said he couldn’t talk about it…but that there would be more coming. I took a few photos of the ATWT cast as they gathered on the back of the boat for a gorgeous cast photo. I got another photo with John Driscoll <sigh>, and a couple more fun group shots with random assortments of Nukies.
Theresa had earlier pointed out that the Noah and Ameera wedding picture was up for auction, and I forget who suggested it, but we finally decided we would bid on it and burn it. There was also a signed copy of the script from the day that Ameera told Casey to mind his own business. Lisa bid on a copy of the Intruder that showed Casey knocking Elwood to the ground, and on Dr. Bob’s mug.
The live auction was to start at 2, so we knew our Sunday surprises had to get underway quickly. The Nukies all gathered on the back upper deck of the boat, presumably for our congratulations toast to Van. Meanwhile, Vicky had arranged with the boat’s staff and Van and Jake to surprise Angela with a beautiful birthday cake. Van and Jake brought it out while Theresa distracted Angela, maintaining the surprise. We sang happy birthday to Angela, and then changed gears and turned to our celebration for Van.
Angela read Anthony’s sweet letter to Van. I tried to record it, but it was just too loud on the back of the boat. Once Angela had completed reading the letter, Vicky passed out champagne to everyone, and we toasted Van on his nomination. Theresa presented Van with our gift…the sponsored fundraising brick at his alma mater, which will hopefully read “Van Hansis, Emmy Winner”. He had seemed a little overwhelmed by everything, but the gift definitely caught his attention, and you could tell he was genuinely touched by it—his face totally shifted. We all put on our “Congratulations Van on your Emmy nomination!” pins, and got back to the business of relaxing. Angela’s cake didn’t even get cut, but we saved it for later.
I headed downstairs to take in the live auction. The stars joined one by one to show off a new set of paintings. Justine’s first painting wasn’t selling, so I finally bid and won it at $25. I chatted with Ewa for a little bit who was once again super sweet. She mentioned how much she liked the cruise because she really got to chat with people, as opposed to events like the luncheon where she just gets to say hi.
Sherry won Van’s painting from the cruise, and Jake didn’t have a second painting. In general, the live auction cruise items didn’t sell for as much as similar items had the night before. Theresa ended up winning the wedding photo at its original bidding price of $10. John had a signed soccer jersey that he had worn in a celebrity tournament a few weeks prior. My new found John fandom mixed with my Nuke fandom and all I could think was “Sweaty and hot in the lockerroom”. <guh> Anyway, it was signed and framed. I knew I couldn’t afford it, but I just wanted it to start cheap enough that I could actually bid. It started at $100, which was my limit…and I didn’t even get that bid in because someone else beat me to it.
I wandered back upstairs and chatted with Jenny, then she and I set off on a quest to make sure she got some more of the photos she wanted, including pics with Trent, Ewa and Tala. The cruise was finally coming to an end, so I headed up to pay for my painting.
When we docked, I waited outside for Justine…I wanted to get a photo with her and her painting, and I hadn’t had the chance to meet her yet. She was busy inside helping Meredith Hagner search for her missing purse. That finally turned up, and I got my chance to get a photo with Justine, who was very sweet. Just after that, Danny and Mick passed me, and Mick said to Danny “Shirts off and dive in the water!” and I was like “Where’s Beth!?”
I headed to the parking lot to find the rest of my crew, and got a chance to chat with Marnie for a minute. We took a quick picture, and then I headed off to catch up with Frances’ car load of people.
We headed back to the hotel, and had to start saying some of our goodbyes. Sherry, Karen and Angie were headed out, as were Frances and Beth. Those of us still hanging out headed into Naples to check out the beach and the pier. I got some video of dolphins breaching, and we all just took in the great scenery and amazing weather. We took a group photo. Roger, Angela’s sweetheart of a husband, took the group photos with about 8 cameras for us. I had accidentally left my camera on video mode. Roger took the photo, which really just started recording…and put the camera down on the pier. So I have about a minute and a half of feet walking by…then he accidentally picked up my camera and took another picture…stopping the video with the exact same image it started with…the group shot. For some reason, this cracked me up to NO end when I watched it later.
We wandered down to the sand, and Lisa started to spell out Luke and Noah in the sand. Jammi and I helped, but it was hard to see in the dry sand. I think it was Vicky who suggested that we do it in the wet sand instead. I took a moment to walk into the amazingly warm water, and then helped with the spelling again. Once it was spelled out, Lisa and I jogged up to the pier and took the group photo with Luke and Noah written in the sand, and also posed for our “honeymoon photo” that the group took from below.
We headed to dinner, and checked out a couple of restaurants before settling on a pizza place. We were all distracted by looking through the pictures on our cameras…I finally took charge and got the pizzas ordered. We ordered two cheese, a Hawaiian, and a meat lovers…because the menu informed us it had four different kinds of meat!
We kept sharing pictures with one another, and of course did some requisite Nuke chatting. We finished eating, and it was about 7:30. Sunset was at 8:08, so, given that most of us were East Coasters, not used to having sunset on the beach, we headed back to take in sunset. It was absolutely gorgeous on the beach. Sunset, a full moon, and an amazing breeze! <sigh> We took a ton of pictures in just about every combination of people.
We finally got back on the road to head back to the hotel. We had Angela’s cake still to eat, after all! I was riding with Michon, Shirphie, Lisa, and Lyddie, and we stopped at Wal-Mart to get some ice cream, then everyone who was still around (which also included Daniel, Jammi, Eileen, Vicky, Theresa, Melissa, Lee, and David…sorry if I’m forgetting anyone) gathered in the breakfast room at the hotel and enjoyed the cake. We were in a bit of a melancholy mood with the weekend coming to an end, and chatted about some of the more touching stories to come out of Nuke Nation. When we were done with dessert, we cleaned up, and it was time for the ritual burning!
We took the wedding photo out of its frame, finding old photos of Lily and Lily’s kids (including a very young Luke) hidden behind the wedding photo. We wandered out to a large paved area behind the hotel, and began our efforts to burn the photo, which just would not light. It was hysterical…but I really was getting worried that we would run out of matches before the damn thing lit! Finally Theresa got it to light, and we watched it burn. When it was finally totally consumed, Lisa pointed out that it looked like a giant turd. We got video and photos, and then I stomped on the ashes. It definitely felt cleansing.
We headed back to the hotel, and went back to our rooms. Theresa, Melissa and I chatted for a while, packed up, and finally headed to bed. We got up before 4, as many of us had really early flights. Shirphie, Lisa, Lyddie, and Jammi were headed to the aiport with Lee, while Vicky graciously got up to drive Melissa, Theresa and I to the airport. Theresa’s flight was first, so she went in ahead of us. We said goodbye to Vicky, who also was nice enough to agree to mail Justine’s painting to me.
Melissa couldn’t check in because the USAirways desk wasn’t open yet, and my flight was later than I had thought, so we wandered the airport a bit. We ran into Champayne and Daniel and chatted with them a bit. We went back to the USAirways desk, and while Melissa checked in, I saw Trent Dawson, but didn’t say anything…I didn’t want to bother him in the airport. Melissa and I saw him again while we were in line for Dunkin Donuts. Once we were at our gate, Melissa went to the store and accidentally ran into Tala, Justine, Marnie, and Jon, whom I saw a minute later when they wandered by on their way to their gate.
Melissa and I chatted for a bit longer until my flight was ready to board. I was flying out at 7:45am…and we said goodbye…knowing that I’d pick her up at Logan Airport in Boston 13 hours later!
My trip home went smoothly. I had a layover in Philly around the same time that Jammi, Lyddie, Shirphie and Lisa were scheduled to arrive, but didn’t get to see them again. I did get to have the first batch of waffle fries that were ready at Chic-fil-a. God I love those damn waffle fries. I boarded my flight to Boston, and, after taking public transit back to my place, arrived just in time to join the show and PBP at 1:58.
I had a lot of fun on the whirlwind trip, and once again thank Vicky, Angela, Lee, Theresa, Sherry, Melissa, and all the other Nukies present for all their efforts at making it a great trip.
It was bizarre seeing another Nukie off on a Nuke related trip and not going with them after doing most of my Nuke related traveling with Team Nuke New England. I wish I could’ve left on Friday, but it was literally my busiest day of the year at work, so I had to wait for a Saturday flight.
Saturday morning, my sister gave me a ride to the airport at 5:30am. I flew through DC and on to Ft. Myers, and arrived around 1pm. I had planned to rent a car, but Melissa asked around for me, and Sherry graciously volunteered to pick me up at the airport. Melissa came in and found me, and I headed out into the gorgeously warm Florida air. It was about 85 and sunny…a far cry from the 50 and rainy I’d left behind in Boston.
We hopped in Sherry’s van, and I met Sherry’s friend Karen. I got to take a look at the AMAZING photo books that Sherry had made for the boys as we headed to meet the rest of the crew, who were eating lunch. By the time we joined them, lunch was over…which was fine, since there was no room for us anyway. Still, I got to meet Vicky, Frances, Beth, Michon, and Angela for the first time, didn’t get to meet David yet, but saw him, and got to see Shirphie, Lisa, Lyddie, Theresa and Jammi in their spring/summer clothes. Nukies in bright colors FTW!
We headed back to the hotel, and mass-signings began…cards for Vicky, Angela, Jake, Van, the books for Van and Jake, Jake’s banner. I had to think of so many sweet things to say in such a short period of time. Yeesh. Kendra, Anthony, Rachel, Champayne, Angie, Cathy…plenty more faces in and out of the room. I was definitely back at a Nuke event!
Things finally quieted down. I ironed my shirt for the dinner, and Melissa and I went out to grab some lunch at McDonald’s. We also stopped at the gas station to buy beer to pre-party a bit. You can’t buy beer at most convenience stores in MA…so it was nice to have easy access. We headed back to the hotel, got changed, and drank a bit before gathering in the lobby. We headed off to Marco Island to the church hall (um…WAY nicer than my church hall) where the VIP dinner was being held. We were among the first to arrive and waited outside while Vicky checked us all in to save time. I felt a bit weird coming to a church hall to ogle soap stars and support the gay couple (even if they’re fictional), but whatever…just one more surreal thing to add to my Nuke experiences. I got to meet David, and Charlie, among other Nukies.
We headed in, bought Soapfest T-Shirts, and found our table. I hadn’t spent the extra money for the VIP upgrade, so I was seated with the “I figure I’ll see Van and Jake later and save more money for liquor” Nukies at the table reserved for Vicky. We quickly decided we had the true VIP table. We chatted, ate some bread, watched photos from previous years up on the screen behind the stage and screamed whenever Van was shown. Melissa had committed to making sure I stepped up my Nuke event game a bit, and she tried her hardest. When I pointed out the hot photographer, she started chatting him up, and then asked him for a photo with the two of us. This led one of the other photographers to come over to us and say “Ooh! Lemme get this shot…are you famous?” She was disappointed that we weren’t…just as much as Aaron (that was his name) was confused as to why we wanted his picture. It was highly amusing.
Eventually I went to the men’s room, and realized I was next to Mick Hazen. I chose not to strike up a conversation. Which, just so you know, is no different than any other time I’m at a urinal.
I was still in the bathroom when I heard people from our crew scream. I figured the boys must’ve arrived. When I headed back inside, there was no sign of them, and something distracted me so I forgot to find out why there had been screaming. Shortly thereafter I wandered over to the silent auction table and discovered the reason—THE shirt and tie were up for auction! It was so cool to see them in person. I chatted with Eileen and Melissa about them. Eventually Melissa convinced me to get my picture taken with them…which was a bit embarrassing, but I’m glad she talked me into it. Other auction items included Luke’s sweater from the “moving in” episode, the Luke and Noah dolls from the Victorian Christmas episode, and Luke’s Navy t-shirt. Scott wandered in around this time, and we got to say hi to him.
Back at the table, I saw the boys arrive, and it took a bit before anyone else noticed they were walking in. They were pretty quickly besieged by folks wanting photos and autographs. Melissa stopped Jake for a quick pic with me on his way to the bar. Jon Prescott stopped by our table and we got a group shot with him and he kept accidentally backing his butt into my hand. Seriously.
Sometime soon after that, Scott stopped by with pepparkakor (I’m just now frightened to discover that I know how to spell that correctly). Van stopped by our table and chatted with Lisa and Shirphie for a little bit.
Dinner was served and we headed up to grab something to eat. We spotted a super hot waiter, and Melissa tried to catch his photo on my camera…but mostly just got the bottom of a serving tray. Dinner was…well, I’m picky. But no one else liked it either. I ate a bunch of rolls to help off-set my beers. Mmm….carbs. Oh, y’know who actually did seem to like it? Jake. Not to bring up a touchy subject, but if anyone thinks he doesn’t eat enough…lemme tell you he can pack it away. I saw evidence of this at dinner Saturday, and on the cruise Sunday.
Walt Willey had been intermittently m.c.ing, and had dubbed us the crack table, on account of our wild and crazy side that pretty much no one else seemed to have (or necessarily appreciate…whatever…I’ll never understand the people who spend hundreds of bucks to go to these things and be sedate). We checked out the celebrity paintings. Everyone in our crew flipped out when they saw that Jake had painted dolphins. It was just too perfect. I bid on Van’s on behalf of Tom…but that didn’t end up working out, since Frances spent way more on it. I outbid Eileen on Luke’s Navy t-shirt…only to be beaten at the last minute by someone named Stephanie, whom Lisa had successfully frightened away from the Casey items. Hssssss.
The following paragraph dedicated to Lyddie: I had mentioned that, for no apparent reason, I wanted to meet John Driscoll. I’ve never watched Guiding Light, haven’t seen him in anything else, but somehow discovered him a couple of months back and just thought he was cute and wanted to meet him at Soapfest. Once he walked in, I had a hard time taking my eyes off him. He’s better looking in person than he is in my pics with him (and he looks pretty okay in my pics!). Anyway, Melissa once again worked her mojo and stopped him to get a picture with me. She said something along the lines of “My friend George wanted to get a picture with you. And I think you’re cute, too.” Which sort of mortified me…and yet was really funny. John put his arm around me…he’s got quite a grip when he puts his hand on your shoulder, let me tell you. <swoon> From that point on, Van and Jake were part of a triumvirate of celeb hotness for the weekend…not just the duo we’re all used to them being. I definitely paid just as much attention to John as I did to either of them from then on.
Tala was the first of the celebs who seemed to genuinely recognize me from our previous meeting at GLAAD, the luncheon and Nuke-a-palooza. As she was walking by our table she said hello, and stopped for a couple of seconds. I got a quick pic with her. From there, Melissa called me over and I got a pic with Van.
The cast Q&As got started, and it was kind of incredible to see how few folks were there from the other shows. ATWT had definitely taken over the place. When the ATWT cast finally got on stage…there sure were a lot of them. I filmed the ATWT Q&A, but others already posted, so I don’t think I have anything they don’t, other than a microphone closer to my high-pitched laugh.
We supported Frances, Kat, David, and all the tour-winning Nukies through their live-auction wins. We also contemplated spending more money than we had…but luckily for our wallets, the stakes just got too high even for our pie-in-the-sky expenditure dreams. I did find it amusing when Lisa dropped out of the race for the studio tour when it hit $500, but was wondering if we should go for it again at $700. Too funny!
When all was said and done with the auctions, it was time to head to Vandy’s for the celebrity bartending bash and karaoke. I checked in with Tom and Barbara via phone, and then hopped in Frances’ car to head over.
Once at Vandy’s, I remembered that I needed cash, and asked the girls at the front door where there was an ATM. They sent me to a neighboring restaurant. The restaurant sent me to a bank behind the restaurant. Which didn’t have an ATM. What kind of bank branch doesn’t have an ATM?! I finally trudged through ankle deep wet grass in my flip flops across a four lane road to a 7-Eleven. Yeesh. Thank God I needed the money for liqu---I mean charity. Or I’d have been heated.
I headed back inside and bought some drink tickets, and pretty much immediately headed to the bar. Jon Prescott was on the bar at that point. I quickly realized something about celebrity bartenders…they’re celebrities. Not bartenders. Jon asked what I wanted, and while I really wanted a Long Island, I knew that would end badly, so I told him he could pick.
JP:“Beer or liquor?”
GH:“Well, I’ve got the hard liquor ticket, so I guess it’ll be liquor.”
JP:“Shot or mixed drink?”
GH:“Mixed drink for now, please.”
JP:“Sweet or not?”
GH:“Not.”
JP:“Vodka based?”
GH“Sure”
I don’t quite know what I ended up with, but it was a little painful.
I chatted with some of my fellow Nukies and saw Mick and Danny Manche do their rendition of “Hit Me Baby One More Time”, continually gave Beth a hard time about Mick being alone on the dance floor, and just generally tried to have a good time. Then Van, Jake, Ewa, and Tala took their shift on the bar. It was time to get hardcore! Ewa hit me up first (looking amazing), followed by Tala, then Van and finally Jake. After the experiment with Jon, I decided to try actually ordering a drink, so I asked Ewa to make me a vodka and cranberry juice. That one started out tough but tasted ok by the end.
For Tala, I once again went for the “What’s your specialty?” She seemed relieved to get to pick, and went with “Vodka tonic with a splash of cran.” I adore Tala…but…well…sometimes a mixed drink is high quality just because of alcohol content, less so because of taste.
Van’s specialty? Vanilla Stoli and diet coke. I’m not a huge vanilla Stoli fan…but it was mixed well. It’s funny…I’m the pickiest eater on the planet…but with alcohol, you put it in front of me, and I’ll drink it…other than Guinness. And lest you think I’m a total alcoholic…I rarely drink elsewhere, but on the rare occasions I’m out, I do tend to put quite a few back. I’m also 6’1 and over 250lbs., though…so I can handle my liquor.
Anywho, from there I got my Silbermann Special…and damn if that wasn’t the best drink of the night! I only know that it had pineapple juice in it…beyond that it was all a mystery. But it was tasty…and I don’t even particularly love pineapple juice, so Jake did a great job mixing in something else that cut away at the pineapple taste a bit.
I happened to be next to Scott and Lisa as Scott ordered shots for them, so I used the last of my drink tickets to tack on “one more of whatever they’re having!” Jake made the Lynchburg Lemonade shots that Scott had ordered, and Van happened to be right near by when Jake brought them over, which was good because Scott had ordered just for himself, Lisa, and Van and Jake. They joined us and I was very glad to have tacked myself on because I got to do a shot with Van and Jake! One of the trip highlights.
Van and Jake wrapped up their time on the bar (they had a really long shift relative to some of the other celebrities), and Vicky called us together to present Jake with his birthday/anniversary surprise. The DJ cut the music, and we all took our places. I was on banner unfurling duty. Vicky called Jake over and made her lovely speech, and the video with all the folks from the Luncheon singing happy birthday appeared on screen. The sound didn’t quite work, but Jake got the idea, and the whole bar sang to him anyway. Sherry and I unrolled the banner, and Theresa and Melissa wheeled out the amazing cake shaped like part of the New York skyline (I, of course, was most impressed with the presences of Mid-Town Comics, a designated Vanmark!), and he seemed pretty darn impressed.
The group moved over to a back room where we could cut the cake, but I got called away to help with something else. When I returned, it turns out I had missed Jake reading the letter I had written him on behalf of his fans. Luckily, Kat filmed it for me! Thanks Kat! Everyone and their cousin let Jake know that I had written the letter, and when I returned, Jake thanked me personally. Another highlight of the trip! The video is a bit grainy, but much easier to see now that Barbara's husband Craig cleaned it up for me. Thanks Barbara and Craig!
Please do not repost any of my videos elsewhere, but feel free to direct people here. Thanks! :)
My letter to Jake from "the Fans"
My letter to Jake from "the Fans"
Jake, Some years feel long, others seem to fly by without a chance to appreciate them. Still, there is no doubt what can be accomplished in a year, and you should be proud of your accomplishments this past year! You have brought life to a character, which, by his very existence, had inherent risk. You have matured as an actor, quickly displaying talent and skill beyond your age and experience. You have represented yourself with dignity and poise through a whirlwind of attention. Somehow, with all else that has gone on this past year, you have also been gracious and giving to the fans who have come to appreciate and embrace your work, and for that you have our gratitude and respect. Please accept our deep congratulations as you celebrate the anniversary of your debut on “As the World Turns”, and our sincere hopes that you have a spectacular twenty-fifth birthday! With best wishes for your continued success, and warmest regards, Your Fans
I enjoyed some of Jake’s cake, then headed back to the main floor to watch John Driscoll perform “Friends in Low Places”, which was a lot of fun. He did great! I saw Jake looking through the book to pick a song to sing, and all of a sudden his face LIT UP! He had found the song. He quickly sought out Tala, and the two of them finally took the floor a bit later and performed “Twist and Shout”.
Please do not repost any of my videos elsewhere, but feel free to direct people here. Thanks! :)
I tried to use some of my remaining drink tickets to get a drink from John Driscoll, who had taken to the bar…but his shift ended before I could get one.
I wandered outside and called Barbara, saw Jammi, Angela, Justine Cotsonas and her boyfriend, Melissa, and Theresa hanging out. The night began to wrap up. I watched as the celebs, including Van, with Jake and Tala following shortly thereafter, got into their chauffered vans and headed to their hotel, and we loaded into assorted cars with our designated drivers and headed back to ours.
On Sunday, we got up relatively early (considering the night we’d had), and got ready to head to Marco Island for our booze cruise. I love the guys (and John), and the rest of the ATWT cast, but after the crazy Saturday night, I was just as excited to just be out on a boat enjoying the weather and scenery. We had breakfast at the hotel, I popped online and voted, and we were soon on our way.
The weather was once again beautiful. A bit hot, but I was still perfectly happy with it compared to what Boston had that day. The boat was smaller than I expected, and it quickly felt sort of claustrophobic. I can only imagine how it felt for the celebs, but even for me, I was happy to get outside for a bit and feel like I wasn’t surrounded. I stayed in one place for a while, and Jake arrived on his own, dropped off by an SUV sponsored by Soapfest. It was getting closer and closer to departure time, and I was a bit nervous Van wasn’t going to make it, but he soon arrived, and from my vantage point, I could see him walk up (with John Driscoll…nice!) and got a preview of that tank top before most of the folks on board did.
I spent most of the cruise chatting with other Nukies and wandering the boat. I just had one mixed drink (a strawberry daiquiri), and some donuts and mini bagels. I got a picture of Melissa and Jon Prescott with the beautiful Florida scenery in the background. We saw some dolphins swimming near the back of the ship, which led to a series of jokes about Jake, the dolphin whisperer by various people on the boat, including his castmates. Melissa and I got pictures with Trent Dawson.
I got my picture with Jake, and told him I had a homework assignment from the boards, which was to ask about his tattoo. He said he couldn’t talk about it…but that there would be more coming. I took a few photos of the ATWT cast as they gathered on the back of the boat for a gorgeous cast photo. I got another photo with John Driscoll <sigh>, and a couple more fun group shots with random assortments of Nukies.
Theresa had earlier pointed out that the Noah and Ameera wedding picture was up for auction, and I forget who suggested it, but we finally decided we would bid on it and burn it. There was also a signed copy of the script from the day that Ameera told Casey to mind his own business. Lisa bid on a copy of the Intruder that showed Casey knocking Elwood to the ground, and on Dr. Bob’s mug.
The live auction was to start at 2, so we knew our Sunday surprises had to get underway quickly. The Nukies all gathered on the back upper deck of the boat, presumably for our congratulations toast to Van. Meanwhile, Vicky had arranged with the boat’s staff and Van and Jake to surprise Angela with a beautiful birthday cake. Van and Jake brought it out while Theresa distracted Angela, maintaining the surprise. We sang happy birthday to Angela, and then changed gears and turned to our celebration for Van.
Angela read Anthony’s sweet letter to Van. I tried to record it, but it was just too loud on the back of the boat. Once Angela had completed reading the letter, Vicky passed out champagne to everyone, and we toasted Van on his nomination. Theresa presented Van with our gift…the sponsored fundraising brick at his alma mater, which will hopefully read “Van Hansis, Emmy Winner”. He had seemed a little overwhelmed by everything, but the gift definitely caught his attention, and you could tell he was genuinely touched by it—his face totally shifted. We all put on our “Congratulations Van on your Emmy nomination!” pins, and got back to the business of relaxing. Angela’s cake didn’t even get cut, but we saved it for later.
I headed downstairs to take in the live auction. The stars joined one by one to show off a new set of paintings. Justine’s first painting wasn’t selling, so I finally bid and won it at $25. I chatted with Ewa for a little bit who was once again super sweet. She mentioned how much she liked the cruise because she really got to chat with people, as opposed to events like the luncheon where she just gets to say hi.
Sherry won Van’s painting from the cruise, and Jake didn’t have a second painting. In general, the live auction cruise items didn’t sell for as much as similar items had the night before. Theresa ended up winning the wedding photo at its original bidding price of $10. John had a signed soccer jersey that he had worn in a celebrity tournament a few weeks prior. My new found John fandom mixed with my Nuke fandom and all I could think was “Sweaty and hot in the lockerroom”. <guh> Anyway, it was signed and framed. I knew I couldn’t afford it, but I just wanted it to start cheap enough that I could actually bid. It started at $100, which was my limit…and I didn’t even get that bid in because someone else beat me to it.
I wandered back upstairs and chatted with Jenny, then she and I set off on a quest to make sure she got some more of the photos she wanted, including pics with Trent, Ewa and Tala. The cruise was finally coming to an end, so I headed up to pay for my painting.
When we docked, I waited outside for Justine…I wanted to get a photo with her and her painting, and I hadn’t had the chance to meet her yet. She was busy inside helping Meredith Hagner search for her missing purse. That finally turned up, and I got my chance to get a photo with Justine, who was very sweet. Just after that, Danny and Mick passed me, and Mick said to Danny “Shirts off and dive in the water!” and I was like “Where’s Beth!?”
I headed to the parking lot to find the rest of my crew, and got a chance to chat with Marnie for a minute. We took a quick picture, and then I headed off to catch up with Frances’ car load of people.
We headed back to the hotel, and had to start saying some of our goodbyes. Sherry, Karen and Angie were headed out, as were Frances and Beth. Those of us still hanging out headed into Naples to check out the beach and the pier. I got some video of dolphins breaching, and we all just took in the great scenery and amazing weather. We took a group photo. Roger, Angela’s sweetheart of a husband, took the group photos with about 8 cameras for us. I had accidentally left my camera on video mode. Roger took the photo, which really just started recording…and put the camera down on the pier. So I have about a minute and a half of feet walking by…then he accidentally picked up my camera and took another picture…stopping the video with the exact same image it started with…the group shot. For some reason, this cracked me up to NO end when I watched it later.
Please do not repost any of my videos elsewhere, but feel free to direct people here. Thanks! :)
We wandered down to the sand, and Lisa started to spell out Luke and Noah in the sand. Jammi and I helped, but it was hard to see in the dry sand. I think it was Vicky who suggested that we do it in the wet sand instead. I took a moment to walk into the amazingly warm water, and then helped with the spelling again. Once it was spelled out, Lisa and I jogged up to the pier and took the group photo with Luke and Noah written in the sand, and also posed for our “honeymoon photo” that the group took from below.
We headed to dinner, and checked out a couple of restaurants before settling on a pizza place. We were all distracted by looking through the pictures on our cameras…I finally took charge and got the pizzas ordered. We ordered two cheese, a Hawaiian, and a meat lovers…because the menu informed us it had four different kinds of meat!
We kept sharing pictures with one another, and of course did some requisite Nuke chatting. We finished eating, and it was about 7:30. Sunset was at 8:08, so, given that most of us were East Coasters, not used to having sunset on the beach, we headed back to take in sunset. It was absolutely gorgeous on the beach. Sunset, a full moon, and an amazing breeze! <sigh> We took a ton of pictures in just about every combination of people.
We finally got back on the road to head back to the hotel. We had Angela’s cake still to eat, after all! I was riding with Michon, Shirphie, Lisa, and Lyddie, and we stopped at Wal-Mart to get some ice cream, then everyone who was still around (which also included Daniel, Jammi, Eileen, Vicky, Theresa, Melissa, Lee, and David…sorry if I’m forgetting anyone) gathered in the breakfast room at the hotel and enjoyed the cake. We were in a bit of a melancholy mood with the weekend coming to an end, and chatted about some of the more touching stories to come out of Nuke Nation. When we were done with dessert, we cleaned up, and it was time for the ritual burning!
We took the wedding photo out of its frame, finding old photos of Lily and Lily’s kids (including a very young Luke) hidden behind the wedding photo. We wandered out to a large paved area behind the hotel, and began our efforts to burn the photo, which just would not light. It was hysterical…but I really was getting worried that we would run out of matches before the damn thing lit! Finally Theresa got it to light, and we watched it burn. When it was finally totally consumed, Lisa pointed out that it looked like a giant turd. We got video and photos, and then I stomped on the ashes. It definitely felt cleansing.
We headed back to the hotel, and went back to our rooms. Theresa, Melissa and I chatted for a while, packed up, and finally headed to bed. We got up before 4, as many of us had really early flights. Shirphie, Lisa, Lyddie, and Jammi were headed to the aiport with Lee, while Vicky graciously got up to drive Melissa, Theresa and I to the airport. Theresa’s flight was first, so she went in ahead of us. We said goodbye to Vicky, who also was nice enough to agree to mail Justine’s painting to me.
Melissa couldn’t check in because the USAirways desk wasn’t open yet, and my flight was later than I had thought, so we wandered the airport a bit. We ran into Champayne and Daniel and chatted with them a bit. We went back to the USAirways desk, and while Melissa checked in, I saw Trent Dawson, but didn’t say anything…I didn’t want to bother him in the airport. Melissa and I saw him again while we were in line for Dunkin Donuts. Once we were at our gate, Melissa went to the store and accidentally ran into Tala, Justine, Marnie, and Jon, whom I saw a minute later when they wandered by on their way to their gate.
Melissa and I chatted for a bit longer until my flight was ready to board. I was flying out at 7:45am…and we said goodbye…knowing that I’d pick her up at Logan Airport in Boston 13 hours later!
My trip home went smoothly. I had a layover in Philly around the same time that Jammi, Lyddie, Shirphie and Lisa were scheduled to arrive, but didn’t get to see them again. I did get to have the first batch of waffle fries that were ready at Chic-fil-a. God I love those damn waffle fries. I boarded my flight to Boston, and, after taking public transit back to my place, arrived just in time to join the show and PBP at 1:58.
I had a lot of fun on the whirlwind trip, and once again thank Vicky, Angela, Lee, Theresa, Sherry, Melissa, and all the other Nukies present for all their efforts at making it a great trip.
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, Jun 3 2008, 9:34 PM EDT
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