My day started early...I met my cousin Denise in Sayreville, NJ where she lives to drive to Great Adventure to the concert...about an hour away...it took us three hours to get there because we went east instead of west, or north instead of south...I'm am not really sure as I had left my compass in my other pants...and as Miss Teen South Carolina pointed out... us US Americans..such as...don't have maps.

We finally got to Great Adventure around 4:30...I wanted to find out where the Northern Star Arena was first so we would know where we needed to be in case we got lost...again...

around 5:00 my phone rang (Moody's Mood For Love ringtone...natch) and it was CrissyisCrazy4E...who is outside the arena. After a few more minutes...we found the arena and met Crissy and her husband. Then someone puts her arm around me and says "I had to meet you"...it was onlyforelliott...wearing the hat that I said she could wear so long as she didn't wear it standing next to me...well upon seeing it in person all my reservations faded away and it was an honor to be photographed with her proudly wearing it!!
I met her friend John who was very nice and apparently a closet Elliott fan. After watching him groove to the music during the show...I have a feeling we might have a new RABID fan on our hands!!

I also got to meet Cfans and itslate...both Carols, both sweet as could be. We all talked a bit. I took a picture of the marquee with Elliott's name on it and was happy that they had spelled his name correctly...unfortunately, some woman's name was above Elliott's for some strange reason....I thought that maybe she was lost and it was an amber alert kind of a thing...anyway

I did find out that his name had been spelled incorrectly but cfans complained and they fixed it...nothing more exciting than a forceful and determined woman!! GO CFANS!!! You made us proud!!

My cousin and I decided to try and see some of the park before the doors opened. We wandered around a bit and bought the saltiest popcorn I have ever had in my life. We played some of the carnival type games and I won a stuffed animal which I gave to a little girl who had played and was sad that she lost...but before you go... :awe: I only gave it to her so I wouldn't be weighed down with anything in case I had to make a mad dash at anytime to see Elliott!!

Crissy called me again to tell me that the line was getting long and they would be opening the doors soon and that we better get over there...so we high tailed it over to the arena. Now the line was starting to stretch pretty far and we were pretty far back from the front. My cousin went to see if she could find the Etrainers and sure enough they had held a spot for us...Go Etrainers!! :rocker:
So we hung out and talked waiting for the doors to open. We met another etrainer robyns who came by and said hello...we told her to get in line but she was with friends further back in line and would try and see us inside. From inside we could hear Elliott rehearsing...sounding as good as ever. The excitement was starting to build...the crowd was pretty big...it seemed most people were there for Kelly Whositswhatsis...but the Etrain was right up front and there definitely pockets of Efans sprinkled throught the crowd. At around 6:00 they opened the gates and everyone started to push and shove each other to get up the stairs to go into the arena...I hope I didn't hurt anyone!!

We got to the front of the stage and there was a really high wall and a big gap between the wall and the stage. But as you can tell from the pictures the view was great. Chloewannabe showed up and had name tags for everyone and had all these awesome buttons...she even had one for me...of the picture of me and Elliott taken in Sayreville. THANK YOU SO MUCH Chloe!! :rocker: She and I talked a bit about how much Elliott meant to us and how other people didn't get it. To be honest I didn't know what to expect from finally meeting Etrainers face to face...it is one thing to meet people on line...a whole other to meet them in person...EVERYONE I met was as nice and sweet and as kind as I imagined they would be... :grouphug: Thanks for making tonight so special...almost forgot we met Angel and her husband Berniefan...who was about 7 feet tall and when he came over to say hello you should have seen the looks on the faces of these two short girls who were now behind him...he quickly said hello and moved further back much to the relief of the two teen girls...who so desperately wanted to be able to see Elliott...as did the rest of us.

Oh yeah and then Elliott came out and sang...and you know how that goes!!
He sounded great and looked great...he had a vest and a hat on and he was sweating by the time he hit the mic!! He started with Alright...I don't remember the order of the songs, but he did One Word, Find A Way,(which he dedicated to the troops) Little Ghetto Boy, Trainwreck, I'll Be Loving You Forever...( and then I saw you that rainy night in JERSEY!!) Movin On...and closed with Wait For You...(He thanked everyone for calling in and requesting and for voting on VH1 and for helping give him his first hit...he didn't mention us by name but I know he meant US!!!)I think that was it...at some point he took off the vest and the hat...he had on a Yo MTV RAPS!! T-shirt...We all left after Elliott's set and waited around the back to see if he would come out...but the guard told us that he wouldn't be coming out...another guard came out with two backstage passes and gave one to cfans and she gave the other to onlyforelliott...as she had never met him before...for a second I thought to arm wrestle her for it but since she looked like she could beat me anyway and her hat was REALLY cool...I figured what the heck!! They came back out and she has the coolest picture of Elliott wearing the hat which I am sure she will post later.

My cousin and I said our goodbyes and headed back towards the park and to try and find some funnel cake. I had the best time and it was SO awesome to meet everyone...Can't wait to do it again!!

IT'S 4:00 AM and I am exhausted...I have to go and get some sleep....don't expect to see me back here until at least 8:00AM!!

Great recap Rick!! If you don't write for a living you should! You are a great story teller!!!!! Thanks for sharing.........did you ever figure out who Kelly Rowland is? Was she an amber alert person?? LOL

Rick, So happy you had a good experience! Wish I could have been there!

really great recap Rick!!!

Great recap, Rick! :elliottcap:
Makes us feel we were there with you!

Great recap Rick. Man I wish I had blown off my Harley buddies, but you know how it goes.

Excellent job Rick..that's so great you were all able to connect like that. Thankyou for staying up so late just to do the re-cap.. :worship:
Sounds like Elliott was in fine voice...as usual. I love 'I'm in love with you forever'...can't wait to hear him sing that live.
Question: How did the crowd respond to him ( you know..the no so Rabid fans..lol) & how big was the crowd?
Did you stay for Kelly whatserface??

Loved the recap and the pictures. Thanks, Rick.

Rick, thank you so much for the great re cap.

Thanks for the wonderfully entertaining recap, Rick. I almost feel like I was there. I'm thrilled for every single one of you who were able to hear Elliott and meet each other. Etrainers are the best :grouphug:

Great, funny as usual, recap Rick. It was great meeting you in person! I'll sooner or later write one too, after all the E excitement settles down and my brains start functioning after being banged around on those roller coaster rides. :)

heehee

Loved your recap Rick! You always make me smile...& usually laugh out loud too! :wub:

I loved your recap Rick! I felt like I was there. well almost!

I have no idea who Kelly Rowlands is either- and don't care!! I am all Elliott all the the time!

A woman after my own heart!!!

And you were there...where one or more Etrainers are gathered in E's name...we are all there!!

:awe:

The crowd was great...I am really bad with sizing up a crowd but I would say about 500-600 people. There was a sign that said the arena held 10,000...which I find hard to believe...but it was a nice size crowd and there seemed to be alot of E-Love flowing...people were applauding and moving to the music...You didn't get the feeling that people were hoping he would be done soon so they could see Kelly Clarkson. I am sure he won over some new fans last night. We left right after Elliott's set...because...what would have been the point?

You guys are so cute - but really Kelly Rowland is pretty talented - I would enjoy hearing her. IMO she was the more talented member of Destiny's Child - LOL.

PS Rick - I think you ought to take that ultra sexy pic of Elliott that you took with you to the Highline Ballroom concert and get him to autograph it - "To Rick, Luv, Elliott" LOL

There are a lot of Kellys around - I get them all mixed up. Thanks for the great recap, Rick.

Fantastic recap, Rick, but I knew it would be!

Great Recap Rick!

Etrainers ARE the best! :D

Thank you for the recap...love reading all the details!!

Rick, you're da man! Enjoyed the recap!

Great recap Rick. Thanks for sharing your E-venture.

Thanks for the recap, and for the pic!!! :)