Now for my Double Exposure Adventure , I hope you all enjoy reading it.
The Stars On Ice experience of 2007 was certainly different, because it  was only my mom and I on the road. I had the wildest adventure , that I
have ever had in my life! The adventure started out as planned, we had a hotel in a  city , not too far from Orlando. I had prepared a series of maps with
MapQuest, and sometimes that was no picnic.




Anyway, we left the house on that Saturday afternoon , and made it to
our hotel with out a hitch. We were happy and we gave each other a high
five. We even arrived there earlier, than the time to check in, so Mom went to the
restaurant next door, and she ate, while I played with my new toy, a
cell phone with a camera inside.




I practiced by taking a few pictures. Then we left , and we checked in
around 3:30 PM . I was relieved to see an iron, because the mini one we had was MIA, and I was determined to add the AFP's group project logo on my current
banner. I also took this time to pin my Alexei button, ice skate, and figure skater , along with the badge for AFP, that was created by  my assistant manager at the time, she did a great job on both the badges and logo.




Then Mom helped me with the logo, and that is when I had some problems  with the transfer sheet, that the logo was originally on. However, the
problems I had in the past, taught me to come prepared, or leave prepared. I packed my extra transfer sheets, and with some creative thinking, along with persistent ironing, the logo finally was on the banner.




I was in very high spirits, and I was also feeling excited, and a little nervous as well. I was working on another idea I had, to complete the
other side of my banner, to give it a balanced appearance. I tried a practice run with  the transfer letters, I had for the group project. I had some letters
that I did not need to use, so I planned on having them spell out, XOXO , but there was only one X .




The directions on the package were confusing, because the illustrations , were showing the exact opposite idea, of what the directions said to do. Mom and
I tried to work with them, by placing the letter side down, the paper side down, and neither one worked, so while my mom rested, I had to come up come with
another plan.



Luckily I also packed my glitter paint, so I drew a X and an O, then I
cut them out, they were my best attempt at block style. I cut them out,
and I took my black ink pen, then I traced the X and O, on the banner. Then I painted each X gold and each O silver. Once, I felt my banner was ready to go, I
checked the time and it was going on 5 PM .




I was given the suggestion to blow dry the paint on my banner, and I did
that. I let my mom continue to sleep, since I thought we had plenty of
time to get there, according to MapQuest we would be there in 34 minutes, because it
gave us the shortest time and distance, HA HA HA , (sarcastic laugh).
Then she woke up around 6 PM, and we were on our way.




I followed the directions , but ironically, some how, we missed the same
turn off, that we had missed on the way to the air port last summer,
during another fun road trip, NOT! Anyway our first stop after driving for a long time,
was a gas station, where I filled the tank with gas for us, then I went inside with the maps I had, to ask anyone how to get to Amelia Street.




The man told me , that we had to turn around, and we wanted to get to
I-4 East, which I thought we were on, the signs were so confusing , and
they popped up out of nowhere! The traffic was crazy, no one would give us a break on
the way there, so we kept on missing our turns, and our exits. Oh well,
we did what he said, and ended up even more confused and lost in Orlando!   Even though
we missed our exit, we missed our toll roads, and we missed our turnpike, but we made
it to Orlando somehow, and to this day, I still can't figure out how or
why.




However, we were not going to make it to the show, because we were clear
on the other side and the time was 7:10 PM. We went past Sea World,
Universal Studios , the exit to Walt Disney World, and
I made several more runs into gas stations, along with more restaurants
(and I was starving btw.) Time was not on our side, and neither was Amelia Street, .  By that point, I started to freak out , but I remained calm on the
outside. I was just scared, that we would never make it to the show, and I would miss
it all. However, we made it to Downtown Orlando , and at my last stop , I found out how
close we were. We followed the directions the other man gave me, and
only by a miracle , WE FINALLY MADE IT TO AMWAY ARENA !

 To Be Continued!

 ‍    I had to put that sentence in caps, because it was very exciting and a
huge relief! We had some help with parking our car, and we walked very, very, very, I did I mention very fast?! The kind souls at the door let us in! I heard
the music the minute I entered the building, and it was fast paced .
Then, I heard the roar and I instantly knew that Alexei had skated.  I just had this very
strong feeling, and I was pretty sure by the loud roar it was Legenda. The
kind security personnel helped us find our seats, and we were way down
on the floor, so close to the ice, it was a big dream come true for me,
thanks to my dad. We came in while the cast was performing Peace, Love , Skating, I realized we had missed, Double Exposure, our guest star, Kimmie
Meissner's first number, You're Beautiful , There You'll Be , and no I wasn't .



Are You Gonna Be My Girl, luckily I think I saw him skate to that on my television special . At Last, at one point I thought , Yes, at
last I was going to be there!   I'm Already There, again I am very sorry to say I wasn't. Ladies In Lavender, I saw that number on the
television special as well, and I thought it was lovely. I was sad, I missed Super Freak, and Thank You, Stars, and especially
Legenda! Alexei must have rocked the house, because judging from what I heard, outside in the concourse, he was pure fire on ice.


I was happy to see the cast , and that I was finally there.I enjoyed Peace , Love , Skating , I laughed , I really loved Alexei's hair , oh my and
my mom made me laugh even harder, when she told me Alexei would not make a very good girl. I said, "Yeah, that is because he is a guy ." Todd
Eldredge lost his wig, that was pretty funny. When the music changed to Let The Sunshine In, it reminded me of when my mixed high school choir ( had
boys and girls) competed using that song, and it was a cool memory for
me. Mom and I both loved it when the cast laid down on the ice, and had  lights , like candles , that was very cool.


After that was over, it was time for the intermission, and I wasted no
time, I wanted food, a program, and my autographed picture of Alexei.
Mom ordered us some sandwiches from SubWay along with drinks. I bought my program, and when I saw the autographed pictures, I did not see Alexei's , but then
when some one moved, I saw it.  Then I wanted it, I had to have it, because I had missed Legenda , so at least I could have a picture of him from
that number, and I loved his hair it was light brown ! I love his natural hair color! The man was very kind, when he went and looked at
the other side for me, after he did not find any on my side. He came back with it, and I was
thrilled!


I thanked him, and the lady beside me made a comment that Alexei and
Plushenko had the same coach. I was just happy, and I really did not say
much maybe, "Yeah."  . Mom and I found each other, and the minute I sat down, I
began eating , and my friend, Lina would have been so proud of me.


After she witnessed, me eating nachos in 2004 , and she wondered if I would have finished them on T.I.M.E . She would have been impressed, with how
quickly I ate my sandwich , and I think I had it finished in 10 or 15 minutes tops, and my drink was gone as well.

To Be Continued!

 ‍  I did have some very exciting moments, one of them was when I found a
folded order form for next year! I had looked for one earlier, as I  walked up the steps,
but my search came up empty, because I only found , or noticed the coupons . Then I came back, and I bent down , and there I saw one at my
feet! I was so excited, and I told my mom , while I was jumping up and down in my seat .




Well, Okay I may not have jumped up and down in my seat, but I certainly
was doing that on the inside! I also watched the screens, and I enjoyed
hearing facts about the cast, everything they did to support the Boys and Girls Club Of America , and just knowing that we all contributed , by buying our tickets
and SOI merchandise, sharing those moments with them made it seem more intimate.




Well, David Pelletier was not the only one that has never watched 24 . However, I loved to watched The OC , until, they  had their series
finale , later on that same week. I have been a faithful fan and viewer of that show since 2003. I also can't miss Monk, and Pysch on
Friday nights. I watched LOST, and I got LOST .




Okay, moving on now , a crew member pushed out a prop, and we all
cheered for him . He loved it, and I heard a man yell from another
section, "Move it to the left!" The crew guy did, I had a great view , and all I knew
about this number was it was titled , The Heist . I thought that it was very
clever and Alexei was very handsome and charming, he really reminded me of a prince.


   
David Pelletier was really funny, the whole cast had a lot of fun, and
I enjoyed every minute, that is all I am going to say.  Michael Weiss skated to Home, it was a sad one for my mom, she thought of my dad. However, she really enjoyed Jennifer Robinson's Show Off, I did too, it was a fun and cute number.
 

 

 Yuka Sato and Jason Dungjen , did an awesome job in it Takes Two To Tango. Kimmie Meissner had a great time and skated well to UnWritten
, I loved that song! I tried to take some pictures with my cell phone ,
but the lights just made everything look like a big white blur.
  

 
I really wanted to see "Swing " I had been kind of nervous
about being so close to the ice, I mean a few weeks, maybe even months
before the show, I wondered about how loud I should yell , or what I should
yell, and if I would continue to be bold like I had been in seats higher
up, or if I would be a little timid.   Well these past fears and questions were
put to rest, because I just did what I always did, I yelled loudly and
proudly. During this number, I yelled, "Play ball!" Then when Alexei was doing some
flips while hanging on the bats, I yelled, "YEAH, GO ALEXEI !" Then at one point , he was hanging upside down! That was a little scary,  but I knew he had things under control.

 I loved the music , their special little shakes, and I had a rear view . They were all playing around and goofing off, then showing off at
times , and being fun loving guys. I stood up for them, and I stood up for all of  the skaters. Angela Nikodinov had some mistakes, in her number, La Isla Bonita , but that was okay, because no one is perfect, I stood up for her as well.

To Be Continued!

 ‍   My section did very well, in the yelling contest, Orlando knew how to yell. Steven Cousins number Remember was touching and a little sad, at least
 for my mom and I . Kyoko Ina and John Zimmerman's Piece of My Heart was thrilling and very daring at the same time, I stood up for them ,
 because they did an amazing job.
  

While Jamie was talking about being a part of the tour, I could not
help but notice the figure skating quietly out in the dark. I whispered
to my mom, "It's Alexei." Then, I went back to paying attention to Jamie Sale . She was like the Energizer bunny, she kept going, and going,
 and going , but I really liked everything she said.
  

  
Then Alexei really put a smile on my face, and gave me non stop laughter, while he skated to Blues for Klook.
I tried to get a picture, and the people behind me were impressed with the camera , but it still did not
work out too well. Alexei was too fast, and if there were moments to snap a picture, I
 saw him upside down LOL, but his foot work still took my breath away.
  

I always loved to see his feet in action ! His hand slightly touched
the ice, when he landed one of his jumps, but we all still loved him,
and of course I stood up ! I also tried to hold up my banner, while I shouted, I LOVE
YOU, ALEXEI !" My mom told me that I seemed to be the only one shouting
for him, and using actual words, and not just "WOOOOOOOOOO!"
  

   I liked to mix it up, and add phrases to my "WOOOOOOO!" I really
enjoyed that number , and Alexei seemed very happy, as always it was
great to see him smile.  Then, Jamie Sale and David Pelletier skated to One, and they were a lovely and exciting couple to watch. I got out of my seat for them
 too, they were beautiful. Todd Eldredge skated extremely well, and I certainly hoped for, Better Days.
  

I Believe I Can Fly , was wonderful, beautiful, and powerful,
and  it was the end of the show, I was sad, a little sad. Alexei nailed
all of his jumps, the song brought back a memory for me of the time , when my
girl's show choir, sang that very same song, it was awesome to have
something in common with the cast.  I stood up again with my banner, and I was
happy to see that Alexei seemed happy. He was smiling , laughing, and he
goofed off with David Pelletier , they moved over to the side and made some kind of motion with their skates.
  

 
Then Kimmie Meissner came skating out, and the cast were dancing ,
they were having so much fun, and I was very happy for them. Jennifer
Robinson came to my section , and I extended my hand out , but nothing happened, it's okay,
because I heard her tell some one , "Thank you for coming."
 

 
I thought that was cool enough. We all waved back to the cast, and I
yelled, "BYE ALEXEI !" Then mom and I went and found our car, got on
West 4, and then she wanted to stop for ice cream at Mc. Donalds, and I asked
for more directions, and continued to do so , every time we stopped
through out the whole night.
 

 

 Then we finally stopped at this gas station, and a young man was
working there , he could have passed for Alexei's brother, he not only
told me where to go, but he showed me the road , and everything we had to do. He was so
sweet, and he was our knight in shining armor, because we finally made
it back to our hotel, at 4:35 the following morning, and we slept for awhile, then we headed for home.
 

 

 We made it home safe and sound. I had a quick nap, before I started to
work on this review. I was really sorry that I missed most of the first
half, but I thought that Orlando showed the cast their love and support, so what I
did get to see , I felt it was well worth the adventure I had.
  

  
 I still loved the show, Double Exposure , and the souvenir programs were gorgeous , and certainly worth the money! I still had a blast, because I
 came to the show for Alexei and the cast, and that is all that mattered to me.
 
Stay tuned for my 2008 experience !