***Maria's Review***
updated 11.13.00 Part 1
Part 2

It all started back in mid-July when I was talking to my Aunt Jeanette on the phone. I was telling her how Hanson was going to be in Atlanta (where she lives) in August to do an autograph signing and a concert and how it would be really cool if my friend, Kat, and I could actually pull off the stunt of getting there...only if she'd take us, of course, but I seriously doubted that it would actually work out..mostly because Kat and I live way up in Michigan... But nevertheless, she offered for us to come stay with her and my Uncle Mark (her husband) in Atlanta "anytime you want". I was sure she wasn't serious and was just being polite, so, jokingly, I was like, "Oh, ok then - I'll start planning to come down for the Macy's thing and the concert..." And she was like, "Ok, just talk to your parents first to see if it's ok with them and then tell me when you want to come down!" I was completely blown away because I realized she wasn't kidding - my aunt Jeanette was offering me and Kat the greatest gift in the world - the chance to meet the makers of the music we adore - which would be a dream come true!!!

Of course, my first concern was the prices of the airlines... (convincing my parents would come later...)
Me: [discouraged] "But aren't plane tickets like $300 these days?"
Jeanette: "I'm online right now, looking at prices for one-way flights from Chicago to Atlanta... it looks like only $79...."
Me: "Oh, my! Well, that changes things, doesn't it?" [quite a bit more cheerfully] :o)
Jeanette: "So, all you have to do is get someone to drive you and Kat from Holland (Mi, where we live) to Chicago and I'll take it from there! You guys won't have to worry about anything once you're here: food, 'lodging', transportation, it'll be all taken care of - no worries, mon!"
Me: "Lemme talk to my parents!!!"

Much discussion ensues... but my understanding parents finally agree to let me go as long as I agree to pay for everything... Well, it would be a hefty price for a high school sophomore, but to me, it was *definitely* worth it for Hanson.

So then there was a period of 2 or 3 days of a lot of frustration and crying cuz Kat's parents were a *little* tougher to persuade, but, finally, miracle of miracles - they changed their minds and we were on our way!!! Hallelujah! :o)

[August 18]

The 3 hour car ride to Chicago was pretty uneventful, except for when we passed a semi truck with the words "Taylor Distribution" on it - Kat and I immediately were both like, "AHHHH -That's so cool! It's gotta be an omen or something! Quick, get a picture!!!" ...but, alas and alack.. our cameras were too slow and the truck went off an exit before we could get a pic. It was a bit of a bummer, but little did we know that the wondrous things that would be happening to us in the next few days would far, far, outweigh the excitement of a semi truck on the highway.... ;o)

We arrived at the airport and checked in. We boarded the plane. No celebrities. Just us crazy Hanson fans to cause a little ruckus...ha ha... well, not really - it's just that we must have been a bit too excited cuz when we were passing the cockpit on the way to our seats, we could hear the pilot and the flight attendants making fun of us!! Oh, well - we didn't care - we were on our way to see Hanson!!!

So the plane landed (it was about 10:30 pm) and we met up with my very hip aunt and uncle, Jeanette and Mark (Hi guys! If you're reading this - Thanks so much for *everything*!!!!). We got our luggage and drove straight through downtown Atlanta to their apartment. We arrived around 11:30 pm or so...

Now, I have to stop the story here to explain the plan a little.... I don't know if you all know how the Macy's thing was set up, but they made it quite difficult to get any concrete information about how and when and what we had to do to get those passes to meet Hanson. It was very stressful, because we weren't sure if we had the right info or if we even had any chance of getting the passes since so many people were supposed to be coming to this thing and we were just some freaks from Michigan... But what we knew was: that on August 19, you had to be one of the first 1500 ppl inside Macy's at store opening to get a *free* ticket to the fashion show/mini Hanson concert that was going to be happening on August 21. BUT, if you wanted to actually meet Hanson and get their autographs after the mini concert, (duh! of course - that was the whole reason we were there...) you had to be one of the first 350 ppl to buy a $50 or more purchase of a back-to-school item from Macy's at the same time on the same day (Store opening, August 19). So we definitely wanted to be, like, the FIRST people there! And we were soooo scared that we'd be the last ppl in line, cuz we figured that billions of ppl from the Atlanta area would be lining up before us.. SOOOO... Since it was the 18th of August when we arrived and we wanted to be one of the first ppl in line, we decided to camp out as soon as we got to Atlanta. Which we did!

Back to the story: After setting down the stuff we didn't need at Mark & Jeanette's apartment, Kat and Jeanette and I loaded ourselves, some food, a big hammock, our backpacks filled w/cameras and Hanson stuff, a portable mini-keyboard, and lots of good luck into the car, and headed straight for Macy's at about 11:50 pm.

I was really nervous as we pulled around to the Macy's parking lot...I was honestly expecting to be the last people there - but, as the front of the store came into view, we realized that there were only about 3 cars in the lot and absolutely *no one* seemed to be camping out!!! Yes! We were soo relieved! I felt like the luckiest person alive at that point...and it was only the beginning....

[Macy's Junior Department Parking Lot, 12:00am, August 18]

Well, to make a long story short, we camped out for 10 hours in front of the Junior Department, never sleeping a wink. (And adding to the whole day we'd spent in the car and the plane, I'm calculating that Kat and I sacrificed about 28 hours of sleep for Hanson - but believe me, like just about everything else we did in order to see them, it was well worth it. :o)

Ok, I decided not to make the camp-out part of the story that short... hehe...I think Kat explained in her story about how we got there at the perfect time cuz the mean security guards that had been kicking people out before we got there had left, and then Mr. Walker (fitting name for a Hanson occasion :o) came to save the day! Thank God for Mr. Walker... he was cool.. but anyways.

I just want to say thanks to the nice people who - even though they had been first and second in line and we were technically fourth - let us be second in line cuz we traveled the second-farthest distance to be there. The farthest ppl came from the Dominican Republic!! They were: Wilson - awesome older brother, Dana - supportive older sister, and Anelle - cool little sister who was a big Zac fan and who was the Hanson fan of the family and the reason they were all there. We made fast friends with their group and stuck together till the end. (There were lots of other nice ppl there too, it's just that we didn't have time to go around making friends with everyone. :o)

Oh, and the reason we brought the keyboard? Well, I tried to learn as many Hanson songs as I could at home during the summer on my piano. (And I'm still learning. I learn the music by ear, as I haven't been able to find any TTA sheet music yet) So far, I have learned: This Time Around (the whole thing), I Wish That I Was There (whole thing), A Song To Sing (whole thing), Bridges of Stone (most of it) and parts of each of these: Smile, You Never Know, Love Song, Never Let Go, Dying to Be Alive, and Save Me. So I played a little, just cuz I hoped ppl would enjoy it and also it's really enjoyable for me to be able to play the same thing as Hanson - especially cuz they wrote all of the songs!!

Another very cool person we met was the legendary Magda. [Hi "Magna"!!! hehehe j/k :o)] She is a 20-year old college student from Sweden who is spending her summer vacation travelling around the USA attending as many Hanson concerts on the tour as she can!! (Wish I could do that...) I first heard of her through Kat, who showed me her gallery on HansonHouse. http:hansonhouse.com/magda.htm She has met Hanson on several occasions, and has pics of those occasions on her page, as well as many other rare pix from around the world. Kat had been trading pix w/her before we came to Atlanta, and then they both realized that they were going to be in Atlanta for both of the Hanson events, and hoped to see each other. Well, we did see her! Kat and I found her and introduced ourselves while camping out, and we three talked for a loooong time. She is so cool, and an awesome story-teller. She told us what it's like the first time you meet Hanson, and the second, and the third....lol! I didn't expect her to speak English very well, but apparently she's quite familiar with our language, cuz I hardly noticed an accent! I was very glad to have met her cuz she's almost like a quasi-fan-celebrity on the net, plus she's very sweet and funny. Also, we met her friend Erin, who is also in her 20's (i'm not sure of her exact age). You may have heard of Erin. She is apparently also famous on the net, because she's met Hanson literally countless times!! (although I didn't know of her until meeting her in Atlanta). She was also very cool, and, contrary to popular belief, neither she nor Magda are stalkers! They are awesome, very nice people, and are respectful fans. Hanson obviously like them, as they know them by name now. So anything you hear about either Erin or Magda in a negative sense is probably not true. They are genuinely nice people and would never want to offend or disrespect Hanson in any way. Just wanted to let everybody know that. :o)

So we stayed up all night, watching more and more ppl come to camp out. Eventually we ended up on the sidewalk in front of Macy's instead of in our cars. By this time, [about 8:00 am, August 19] there were about 300+ ppl in line behind us. The whole time, Kat and Jeanette and I were second in line, and I don't think anyone tried to cut, cuz Wilson had the really smart idea to make a list so that it was written on paper where everyone's place was in line. It worked! Anytime ppl in the back began to bunch up towards the front, we broke out "The List" and everyone settle back down in their spots and everything was peachy. :o)

[9:50 am, August 19]

Kat and I had been drifting in and out of consciousness from severe lack of sleep, but when it was time to get ready to rush the store, woops! I mean, walk calmly inside and make our purchases so we could get our passes to meet Hanson, we woke right up again with adrenaline rushing through our bodies and an acute feeling of anxiousness crowding out every other emotion ...The thought of meeting Hanson will do that to you - lol...

After the instructions were explained about which line to get into for getting the M&G passes and what one for showing your receipt and which one for getting the ticket, we were all thouroghly confused and just figured we'd make a run for it! Here goes...

[10:00 am, August 19]

Doors open. Frantic Hanson fans rush through them. Chaos follows. Oh boy - I didn't care what I bought or even if it would be possible to exchange what I bought for something I'd actually want when it was all over. I just did what I had planned on doing: I ran straight for the jeans, grabbed 2 pairs whose prices added up to $58, and secured a spot in 1 of the 5 checkout lines. I was about the 7th person back, and although the line was moving fairly slowly, I panicked cuz I couldn't find Kat... I began thinking, "Oh no! What if I get a pass but she doesn't? (or the other way around...) What if we can't find each other in time?!?" I knew that if it happend, there was no way I was going without her - and she wouldn't go without me either - I planned to just give the pass to someone else.... But then, I saw her! I was so relieved! I was like, "Kat!! Get your butt over here NOW!! I don't care what sizes those jeans are! We gotta get the passes!!!" I don't even know if she heard me, (did you, Kat? :o) but she saw me and joined me in line as fast as she could. Whew! I was glad that the "one pass" situation wouldn't be happening...

We finally got to the register, paid and held onto our receipts for dear life, and then realized that to get the passes, we'd have to get in the back of another line! The line, we soon found out, stretched out the doors of Macy's and halfway into the parking lot!!! We got to the back as fast as possible. And then began the last part of the longest and most excruciating wait I've ever had to endure. We were starting to really get anxious...there seemed to be about 200 ppl in line in front of us. But ppl up there were also cutting, making the line longer and our chances of meeting Hanson smaller!! I was becoming truly hopeless. It was sheer torture to watch all these screaming, crying girls coming out of Macy's right past us, with the passes around their necks, jumping for joy - when we still didn't know for sure that we'd get the same reward - and we'd been waiting longer than 99% of the people there...so yeah, it was bad.

Well, finally the line started moving - slowly but surely - and we began to be hopeful about getting the passes. We didn't want to get our hopes up too high, tho... just in case... but it was hard to be almost extremely excited but very calm but really pessimistic about everything at the same time. If you know what I mean...

When we got within about 20 feet of the table where they were handing out passes, we finally started to breathe sighs of relief. We were going to get our passes! When we were at the point where it was one of our turns to go up to the table - even though it was obvious that both of us were definitely going to receive a pass - it was kind of symbolic of the whole waiting for 3 years thing, and I wanted Kat to go first. I honestly think she deserved meeting them more than me; she's so devoted, and I'd already seen them 3 times; her only once. But she deserved to get her pass first - she'd been waiting much longer than me (in the big picture of things). :o)

So we both finally had Hanson Meet and Greet passes hanging around our necks, and we were walking in a daze through the doors of Macy's, towards the car. I felt so relieved, like a huge weight had been taken off of my shoulders, because, obviously, we were finally guaranteed to meet Hanson, but I felt so crappy and tired that I didn't have much energy to celebrate. So Kat and I just gave a little squeal of happiness each. We were definitely on cloud nine.

The whole drive home, I thought about the significance of what we'd just done, and actually pondered for a moment if all that stress was worth it. After about .00007 seconds of indecision, I reassured myself that it most definitely had paid off. :-D My big dream was coming true - and it *was* like a dream... It was as if I was in the middle of a very vivid fantasy, but I didn't have any feeling, because it wasn't part of reality. We were going to meet Hanson! What a strange thought it was... Almost the whole time we were in Atlanta, everything felt unreal. Kat and I would look at each other, smiling in disbelief, and say, "Is this really happening?" We did that so many times I can't count them! I was sure glad the long wait for the passes was over.

[August 19, 11:30 am]

Jeanette, Kat, and I return to the apartment exhausted but happy. We collapse on the bed for a 2 hour nap! (Happy Hanson dreams..)

During the rest of the 19th and the 20th, we did some sightseeing that had nothing to do w/Hanson, so I'm not gonna write about it - I'll just skip to the night of the 20th - when the "real" Hanson mania began!

[August 20, 11:00 pm]

Mark and Jeanette took Kat and I to a small local Atlanta night club called the Red Light Cafe. Mark's friend and co-worker, Ira, had told him that a band whose members he knew would be playing there; and that's who we went to see. Their name was the Blueground Undergrass (get it? ;o) They played some country and bluegrass, as you can tell from the name. They were really good! After the small show was over, we talked with them - mostly about Hanson, trying to figure out if they might know someone who knows Hanson or something, but they didn't. Although they did seem to be amused by our story: that we'd spent our college money to fly down from Michigan just to meet Hanson! But hey - they seemed to respect Hanson and their music, and they wished us luck with meeting them, so it was all good.

When it was time to leave, it was about 11:45, pitch black, and pouring rain. But the city was lit up and we were going to drive downtown to pass by the Tabernacle: the venue where Hanson's Aug. 22 concert would be performed. We wanted to see what it looked like before we went to the concert. Right before we left, we took a few pix of the Blueground Undergrass' tour bus .. just cuz it looked cool! he he.. so don't get it confused with Hanson's in our picture pages! :o)

We all got in the car, Mark driving, Jeanette riding shotgun, and Kat and I in the backseat. As we headed through downtown Atlanta towards the venue, we started thinking about when Hanson would be arriving in town. We knew for a fact that the last concert was in Arlington on the 19th... and we knew they had to be in Atlanta at least on the morning of the 21st for the Macy's soundcheck... Then we estimated that it would take prolly 12 hours from Arlington to Atlanta. Hmmm...we thought. So that means; if they left Arlington... let's say, this morning, then they'd be arriving in Atlanta... right about....NOW!!!!! OMG!! This is when Kat and I began to really freak out..

Cuz now, there was a definite possibility of Hanson being in the same city as us!! We started scoping for tour busses right then. It was so funny cuz I swear I kept imagining I was seeing them all over the place! It was like:
Maria: "Omigod! Is that a tour bus?!?!" (pointing wildly)
Kat: "Where?!? Oh, wait, no...it's not...Keep looking!!"

Then Kat would spot a "bus", too, and we'd all freak out again until we figured out that it was a false alarm. Our nerves were definitely running high that night! We also figured, gosh, if they are here now, and we see the tour busses, we'll probably find their hotel, too, and that would be just the coolest! Im thinking, 'Cuz then, we'll be able to catch them coming out on the way to the Macy's thing and maybe back from it and maybe to the concert! That'd be so cool if we got to meet them at their hotel, cuz usually not too many fans get to do that..'

But of course, the last thing I'd want to do is bother them with autographs or something. They have fans running up to them all the time, asking for autographs or pictures, when most of the time, all they want is just to be left alone. So I figured, if there was a chance in Heaven that we'd somehow find their hotel, I'd want to try to at least watch them from a distance or something, so as not to bother them. My plan was: only talk to them if they talk to you first; cuz I wanted to give them the respect and privacy they deserve.

[August 20, 11:53 pm]

So anyways, we finally drive past the Tabernacle. It's cool, it's small, it's perfect for an intimate Hanson concert. Just what we expected, actually. We keep driving. Mark drives us past the CNN building, where he works as a video editor. I'm thinking, Wow. Cool! My uncle works there...! So we're a few blocks from the CNN building, just driving along, when suddenly, all at the same time, we spot them. Hanson's tour busses.
Mark: "Hey, aren't those some tour busses...?"
Kat: "OMG! They're right there!!!"
Me: "Holy s***, that's them!!!"

Mark turns right around and we pull into the parking lot next to them. They were in this little parking lot right next to a hotel, and we didn't see any security guards or any fans or anything! Just the busses, right there. And us. Ha! It was crazy to think that we had probably *just* missed Hanson arriving. And that we had found their busses, totally by mistake!! Who'd have thought?

So anyways, Mark parked the car and I got right out in the pouring rain, snapping away, taking pix of the busses. I hardly noticed the rain, I was so excited! As I was taking the pix, I noticed that it was really hard to get a whole bus in one picture, cuz in real life, they're so Big! Plus, I didn't have a whole lot of room or time to back up... But then, I noticed that the engine of the maroon bus (Hanson's bus) was running... I was wondering what the heck that was supposed to mean - like, was Hanson in it right now, seeing me taking pix? I had no clue what that was about.. So I got back in the car, and told Kat (who had been in the car fiddling w/her camera while I was taking pix) and Mark and Jeanette about the engine running, but Mark said that it's common for tour busses' engines to be left running overnight for some odd reason. Anyways, then Kat told me about the person she saw in one of the hotel windows, but later on we figured out that it wasn't Hanson's room...But then she got out and took pix and got back in - and we had to leave before someone found us and we got in trouble or something. (BTW, let me just say, I was very glad that I had seen pix of the busses on the net before coming to Atlanta, cuz it's really awesome to be able to spot them and know that they *are*, without a doubt, Hanson's tour busses.)

So the whole way home, Kat and I were freaking out and talking about a million miles a minute about what had just happened. I, for one, was having the most awesome adrenaline rush of my life! I mean, we had just found Hanson's tour busses in the middle of a huge city with about 60 hotels they could possibly be staying at - how was it possible that we found them? To me, it was a miracle. I believe it was fate. :o) Anyways, the whole time we were having this big tennybopper spaz on the way home, Mark and Jeanette were in the front seats, and they seemed to me to be acting very peculiar... they were unusally quiet. And instead of teasing us about being obsessive whenever we freaked out, they were just looking at each other and like, communicating or something with these secret smiles... I was wondering what was up with them, but at the same time, I was so elated from our tour bus encounter that all I could concentrate on was Hanson Hanson Hanson! :-D

When we got home, Kat and I asked Jeanette if we could stop by the hotel the next morning before heading to Macy's for the soundcheck, so that we might be able to meet Hanson there when no one else was around. We felt we were probably pushing our luck, since she had been so generous already, camping out with us, taking us out to eat and to the club, and driving us past the Tabernacle and hotel; basically catering to our every Hanson wish... But we figured it couldn't hurt to ask. She seemed kinda tired (couldn't blame her!) and there was a lot of stuff she had to do the next morning before even leaving for the soundcheck, so things sounded a little doubtful. But hey, at least we tried. And we *knew* where their hotel was, so that was a start for later occurences.

BTW, I have to say - to our credit - Kat and I are pretty intelligent people in general, and we're also very smart Hanson fans. Because, you see, up to this point I have been saying "we found their hotel", when what I really meant was, "we were pretty sure that we had found the hotel they were staying at, but we couldn't be absolutely positive until we actually saw Hanson *in* it." So I wanted to point out that; although we found their tour busses parked outside a hotel, we knew that there was definitely a possibility that they weren't really staying there, that maybe the busses were only outside the hotel to fool the fans. Cuz we've heard of many instances where celebrities stop the tour busses outside a really fancy hotel, and then take a decoy vehicle to an average hotel across town where no one would ever expect them to stay. In this way, they are pretty much cleared of "fan mobbage". Kat and I weren't sure of Hanson's hotel tactics; we hadn't ever heard of them using decoy cars to go to another hotel, but that didn't mean they wouldn't be doing it. So we didn't get our hopes up too high...

[August 20, Midnight]

I just have to say, although it doesn't really have much to do with the story, that Isaac Hanson makes the most hilarious faces....oh my god... Kat and I stayed up till about 2 or 3 am the same night we'd found the busses - on the internet. We were looking at recent concert pix... and i swear, every single one of Isaac we found was funnier than the last!!! He was making the weirdest expressions that were so damn funny that they made us laugh so hard we were crying! And the best part is, he wasn't even trying to make them! It was like, he was just being normal, and I guess just concentrating really hard on playing his guitar, but he looked like such a retard!! (no offense, Ike, if you're reading this - I love you to pieces, but you make the greatest accidental funny faces ever!) And you know, we all get a little bit retarded looking sometimes, right? lol ..u had to be there... oh well.

[August 21, 12:15 pm]

We woke up around 10, and I was really hoping that my first thought of the day would be: 'Today is the day I meet HANSON!!!! YEAH!!!'...but it wasn't. Oops. I forgot. Guess it was still unreal for me. I think I woke up thinking, 'God do I feel tired. It's too early for this....' hehe :oP

We wanted to go to the soundcheck, which was at 12:30, and I, personally, wanted to get there as early as possible, so we could maybe be the only ones there or something, but Jeanette and Kat thought that Hanson prolly wouldn't even be there for the soundcheck - just the roadies. Anyways, I still wanted to get there early! But we ended up getting there about 12:29. Yeah. Real early.. *sarcasm* :o) But it ended up not even mattering, cuz Kat and J were right. No Hanson, only the crew.

[August 21, 12:30 pm]

So we pull back into the same Macy's parking lot we had just camped out in a few days earlier. We see that the 2 blue tour busses are there, but not the maroon one. We see a group of about 15 fans who are planning on waiting all day, until 6:30, when the mini-concert is, so they can be the first in line and therefore, the closest to the stage. Kat, J and I didn't want to wait that long, as we could see the stage and it was obvious that wherever you'd stand you'd have a good view. So first we went over to the group of waiting fans to see if we recognized anyone, and we found Magda and Erin! It was nice to see them again - I didn't expect it. We chatted for a bit and asked if Hanson had been by yet, which, of course, they hadn't. And Magda predicted that they would probably not come out until the concert. Then she had to go somewhere, so we promised to take a picture of us all together later (which we did, right outside the Tabernacle).

Then Kat and J and I walked over to the opening to the small parking lot where the crew was setting up the stage. We talked with the lady who was going to be in charge of all the Hanson/Seventeen/Macy's things during the tour. She said we could take a pic of the stage after they'd set up the banner that said "Hanson"on it. While waiting for them to set it up, Peter Burke (Hanson's tour coordinator) walked by w/a Hanson hat on and talked with us and the manager lady for a while. I asked him if Hanson had been upset about the girl in San Francisco who jumped on Taylor. He kinda chuckled a little, as if trying to suppress a louder laugh, and said something like, "Yeah, I don't know... it was a little weird.." I wondered what that was supposed to mean and why he was laughing about it…. If I was Hanson I'd be upset about it, but maybe they actually thought it was funny, or maybe that was just Peter's take on it. I don't know. It was just strange.

Then Peter walked away, and they almost had the banner set up, so we were still waiting by the entrance to the parking lot, which was kinda far away from where the group of fans was waiting. I think they had been told to wait over there so they wouldn't crowd the place. So, suddenly, some of the fans we didn't know called over to us, "Hey guys, the line starts over *here*!!!" I guess they thought we were trying to cheat or something just because we were standing by the entrance for a minute. It was pretty funny. We were like, "Um, hello? We're not waiting in line..." So we took our pix of the stage, and walked back to our car to get our clothes that we were exchanging for stuff we actually wanted. (yes, it turned out that exchanges were possible!! whoohoooo!) This is when Jeanette surprised us with the best news we could possibly have imagined...

When we arrived at the car, she turned to Kat and I. She said, "I have something to tell you guys. I wanted to wait until after we exchanged your clothes, but after those girls yelled at you guys, I thought you deserved to hear it now." As I'm hearing this, I'm thinking, 'Oh boy, this sounds like it has something to do with Hanson... what in the world is she up to?' Jeanette continued with a straight face, "After last night, when Mark and I saw you guys freaking out about just seeing Hanson's tour busses, and getting out in the pouring rain just to take pictures of them, we knew you were pretty darn dedicated." As she said that, I was thinking, 'She has no idea....' lol.. "So when we got home, we had a little talk, and we decided to book a room for two nights at their hotel." Both Kat and my immediate reactions were: "WHAT?!?!!? Are you serious?!?" She was like, "Yes I'm serious!" We were like, "OMG! OMG! OMG!" Jeanette was laughing so hard at us freaking out and we were jumping up and down with joy, hugging each other and Jeanette. It was so crazy! We were like, "You are SO awesome! Thank you soooo much!!!!" Neither of us had expected it at all. Of course, the room was not cheap, but she didn't let us pay for it. She said, "It's our treat. Make sure you tell your parents it was our idea; I don't want you to get in trouble for them thinking you talked us into it!" lol. She was definitely too nice to us. But there were some rules she made us promise to follow: No stalking Hanson or following them around, no sitting outside their rooms, and don't tell anyone else about it, under any circumstances. Of course, we agreed, cuz we didn't want to do any of that stuff anyways! We really wanted to go tell Magda, cuz she would have been cool about it, but later she figured out the hotel's whereabouts anyways, and had a little encounter of her own.

As we walked towards Macy's with our clothes, we were all smiles and it was really hard to hold it in as we passed the group of fans...Jeanette reminded us that we still didn't know for sure if Hanson was really staying there, so not to get our hopes up too high.

We exchanged our clothes in Macy's, and as we were leaving, noticed how people were setting up the autograph signing area for later that night, when Hanson would be there. It was in the luggage section on the first floor, and there was a line-separator thingy set up down the hall towards it, so we could see where we'd be waiting in line and where Hanson would be. There was a folding-table with 3 chairs set up on a 1-foot high platform, behind which hung a black curtain with a Hanson/Seventeen/Macy's logo thing on it. On either side of the table, there were some speakers, so I figured they'd be playing music during the signing. I thought that'd be kinda weird.. like what if it was too loud, and you were like, "Hi, Taylor, nice to meet you..." and he was like, "What?" I guess that would be silly, tho. They wouldn't put the music on too loud. But it still seemed like a weird idea to have music playing while you're trying to talk to Hanson. Anyways...

We left Macy's with our new clothes and went back to the car. Now we were headed to the hotel to check in and see what the room was like.

[August 21, about 3:00 pm]

We were very excited, because, since the blue busses were at Macy's, and although we didn't know for certain where the maroon bus was, we figured, if - in fact - this was Hanson's hotel, the maroon bus was probably there, and that would mean that Hanson was probably inside. It was exciting enough knowing we were in the same city as Hanson - now just think how excited we were heading right for the same hotel they were probably staying in!!!

So as we drive up the street towards the hotel and the parking lot comes into view, we see the bus. The maroon tour bus is at the hotel. Now I'm so nervous I'm about to jump outta my seat...

We get outta the car and walk into the hotel. It's really cool on the inside - It is 8 floors high, and as you can see in the picture, if you're standing on the bottom floor, which is the lobby, it is all open up to the ceiling of the 8th floor, and you can see a balcony on each floor. The balconies go all the way around each floor, and you can stand near the balcony and look down on the lobby from wherever you are on any floor. There are also 3 glass elevators right by the front desk, so you can see whoever is in the elevators, which, we thought, would be a very good thing if this was actually Hanson's hotel. :o)

Jeanette goes to check in as Kat and I walk around the lobby, checking out the main floor. We both start to notice all the people walking around dressed in business clothes, like any of them could be with Hanson...it makes me more anxious. Kat and I walk past this small TV studio that's right in the lobby. It's surrounded by big glass windows and doors, so you can see right in. It's called Peachtree Morning, and we figure it must be a local morning show type thing. I think it's funny that they broadcast it from a hotel, but whatever. I also think to myself, 'Wouldn't it be cool if Hanson appeared on the show when we're here?' But then I thought they probably wouldn't, as it would most likely draw too much attention... (of course, I'm wrong about that, as you'll soon read!)

So then Jeanette comes over and she's like, "Wanna check out the room?" We're like, "Sure!" So we get in the elevators. We go up to the 6th floor and go to our room. It's nice inside, with a bedroom and living room and bathroom, and the view from the bedroom is so cool, cuz it looks out across Centennial Park, and right beyond that is the Tabernacle! So we could see the venue right from our room. It was awesome. It was about 3:15 and Jeanette said we had to go walk to the CNN building to have lunch with Mark at 3:30, so we had to leave then. The plan was: We'd go have lunch, come back to the hotel, get the car and drive back to the apartment, get ready for the concert, go to Macy's for the concert and the signing, go back to the apartment to get our luggage, and drive back to the hotel to settle in for the next 2 days.

[August 21, about 3:15 pm]

- this is where everything gets about a million times more exciting] So Kat, J and I leave the room, making sure we have the room keys, and walk the "long way" to the elevators. As we're walking, I'm looking out over the balcony down at the lobby, and across the way to the other side of the hotel where you can see people leaning on the balconies. We're getting closer to the elevators, and we see this man in a light blue shirt, talking on a cell phone and leaning on the balcony across the hotel from us, on the other side of the elevators, on our floor. We're like, "Hey, that kinda sorta looks like Mr. Hanson, doesn't it?" But as we get a little closer, we're like, "No, he's too young. It couldn't be him." So we keep walking. And so I'm just casually looking across to the opposite side of our floor, and suddenly I notice this guy walk towards the balcony and lean on it, looking down at the lobby. He's wearing a red t-shirt, and he's got long, blond hair in a ponytail....my heart stops in my chest.

It's Zac Hanson. Unmistakably. It's him.The second I realize this, I start freaking out on the inside, and on the outside, I'm going, "Kat, ohmygod, that is Zac freaking Hanson right there, right there!! " in a very excited whisper. Kat noticed Zac at the same time as I did, and we stopped walking to look at him and we made sure Jeanette saw him and that she knew what was going on. It was so cool, cuz Zac was just standing there, normal as day, and when he stepped into the sunlight to lean on the balcony, I could see all of these frizzies in his hair sticking out and I was like, "Oh, that's so cool! He's got frizzies! That's so normal!" Of course, as soon as we saw Zac, we realized that the man we saw earlier was Mr. Hanson! So we were in a situation where Zac Hanson and his dad were just around the corner from us, and no one else was around. I was so psyched - at that moment, I was totally prepared to go right up to Zac and say hi like a normal person…

It was cool because neither of us were freaking out or anything. (at least on the outside :o) We were just kind of whispering, "ohmygod, ohmygod, ok, stay calm..." to each other. Jeanette was like, "Ok, we're gonna be late, we gotta keep walking. Don't freak out, guys." Of course, we weren't, because we wanted Zac to see us as normal people, not crazy fans.

So as we walked, a little more quickly, to the elevators, we tried to keep Zac in sight, but we had to keep passing these big pillars every few feet. Right before we passed one, we saw Zac stand up straight and turn back to go where he had come from before, and then our sight was blocked for a sec, and when we could see again, he was gone. We figured he went into a room, because there was no where else to go. When we turned the corner to the elevators, we knew we were right. He had to be in one of 2 rooms. So now, not only were we staying on the same floor as Hanson, we knew where their rooms were! We were feeling pretty gosh darn lucky right then!

But we noticed that Mr. Hanson was still standing where we had seen him before - right next to the elevators, talking to a lady with short light brown/dark blond curly hair, who we later learned was Patricia, Hanson's tour manager. They were standing less than 15 feet from us as we waited for an elevator. Of course, our #1 policy was not to bother Hanson or any members of their family unnecessarily, so we didn't say anything to them, and I tried not to stare at them, so they wouldn't think we were freaky fans who were trying to stalk them or something. I don't remember what they were saying, but I don't think they noticed us. And I don't think Zac saw us, either. But that doesn't mean that he didn't see us earlier when we were down in the lobby. To this day, I am not sure if he saw us in the hotel or not, cuz he seemed to recognize Kat later...

So anyways, the elevator arrived, and although we wanted to stay in case Zac or one of his brothers came out again, we had to meet Mark for lunch.

We took the elevator down and walked to CNN. When we saw Mark, we ran up to him thanking him so much and telling him all about seeing Zac and Mr. Hanson. He was happy for us. I asked Mark and Jeanette how on earth they had gotten a room on Hanson's floor, and Jeanette said it was totally random! I didn't believe her - I was like, "Do you know something we don't? How did you know they were on the 6th floor?" (Because I have heard that when Hanson stays in hotels, they rent out the whole top floor, and you can't even get up there without a special key. So I was totally shocked to learn that they were on the 6th floor, and that it was even possible to get a room on the same floor as them.) She assured me that it was pure chance. She said when she was booking a room the night before that she'd just "had a feeling" about it, and she knew it was meant to be. What amazing luck we were having!!

[August 21, 4:30 pm]

We left CNN to make the short walk back to the hotel. When we got there, we really wanted to go back inside to see if we could spot Zac or perhaps another member of the Hanson family again. I wanted to just talk to him/them as a normal human being, not a psycho fan, so that maybe we could explain why we were going to be staying in their hotel, and tell them that we didn't want to stalk them; only treat them with respect. But of course, we had like *no* time, so all we could do was stand outside the front of the hotel, waiting for the valet guy to bring the car around. Since we wanted to get to Macy's to get in line for the mini-concert at about 5:30, we had to leave then.

As we were standing there, Kat and I kept glancing back over our shoulders to look at the glass windows in front of the hotel, hoping we'd see a Hanson or two walking around inside. But, that didn't happen.

But, as we were standing there, we were talking about just seeing Zac and Mr. Hanson and Patricia, and I realized that I hadn't been paying any attention to what they were talking about. (If I hadn't been so shocked at seeing them, i would have tried to remember what they had been saying. It wasn't like eavesdropping, cuz they were standing 15 feet away from us, and they didn't try to be quiet, so it's not like we could have helped hearing them... but of course I totally blanked out on that part- lol!) So I was like, "Did you guys hear what Mr. Hanson and that lady (we didn't figure out who she was until later) were talking about?" Kat was like, "I don't know..." But Jeanette had been listening to them! She said, "Yep, Mr. Hanson said they were leaving to go to the concert at 4:45." We were like "UGH! This sucks!" because it was 4:30, and our car would be ready in 1 minute, and we had no choice but to leave. If we didn't have to leave, we *knew* we'd meet them when no one else was around. Yet another chance meeting blown cuz of our bad timing. Figures. We get a room on their floor but we can't even meet them at the same hotel! (well, maybe that's a bit of an understatement... :o)

So as we realize the situation we're in once again, and that we're going to have to leave in a few minutes, we're getting kinda depressed. But suddenly, out of the glass doors walks Patricia. She walked over to the side of the brick building, leaning on it with her arms crossed, as if waiting for someone or something. We looked at each other like, "What is she doing out here now? It's not 4:45 yet!!" So then I get all tensed up because maybe this means they decided to leave early and; any minute, Hanson could come walking out that door, 10 feet from us!!

So then, we hear a low rumbling, and the maroon tour bus pulls up. Right in front of Patricia. She gets on the bus. Ohmigod. We're thinking, 'What if Hanson's already in there, and they can see us right now??' But we figured that the bus was waiting for them to get on, and so since it was now 4:35, we were pretty sure they were going to be getting on the bus reeeeeeally soon. But then, of course, our car pulls up. Perfect. We had to get in and drive off. The whole time, we watched the front doors of the hotel to make sure, but we never saw them. We knew we *just* missed them...

[August 21, 4:45 pm]

We arrive back at the apartment and get ready to meet Hanson! We were rushing around making sure everything was right: hair, makeup, breath (haha, we made sure to have minty gum), clothes... And we made sure we had our passes and bracelets/tickets. All set - we got back in the car to drive to Macy's...

[August 21, about 5:05 pm]

We pull into Macy's parking lot. Now, the small group of about 20-25 fans of earlier had grown to this huuuuuge mass of people in glitter and leather, and the most uncomfortable-looking clothes I have ever seen to go to an outdoor concert in. But, hey - what can I say? It's for Hanson... I, personally, went with comfort over fashion... no leather pants for me! Anyway, I'd say there were about 700+ people in line, and actually, the line was so long that they split it into 2 parallel lines. So we had to get in back of the second one, which was *really* far back.. Then we started to get kind of anxious cuz we were starting to wonder if we'd be able to see! But then, to our surprise, we spotted Anelle and Dana in the middle of the first line, and they motioned us over and let us cut! Woohoo! We were now much better situated than before. (Sorry to all the people we cut in front of! But it's not like it made that much difference after all, cuz everyone ended up being pretty much able to see anyways. :o)

At about 5:30 they started letting people into the "concert area" about 20 ppl at a time. We walked quickly in when it was our turn and ended up with what would be about 10th row, if there had been rows. It wasn't too bad, but I thought the stage setup was kind of stupid, cuz the stage was higher than the back row... You know, it's supposed to slope downwards to the stage, not upwards, right? Well, however it usually is, it was backwards. It kinda sucked to be short, like me...but I managed. ;o)

So until the fashion show, which started in an hour, at 6:30, we had nothing to do but wait. So we amused ourselves with getting pics of the stage and crowd and the roadies.

At this point, Hanson still hadn't arrived, so I guess they took their sweet time getting there. However, when they did arrive, it was really strange because no one seemed to have noticed it except Kat and I. It was like, "There's the maroon bus..." and it drove by the fenced-in concert area full of us fans, around to another part of the parking lot. So we only saw it for like 3 seconds, but you'd think people would be more responsive. I swear, I didn't hear one scream or see one head turn... very unusual for a Hanson arrival. Oh well; I was grateful not to be deafened by screaming. :o)

[August 21, 6:30 pm]

Out walk two women onto the stage, each holding a microphone, and neither of whom I recognize. They started talking about Macy's and Seventeen magazine being awesome sponsors and blah blah blah and no one cared about the fashion show. But then they were like, "Please give a big round of applause for each and every model - they're very nervous." I was thinking, 'Those models are the very people that we're all jealous of right now, cuz for the past hour, they've been looking all pretty and hanging out with Hanson, and we've had to stand here. Humph... I'm not cheering for them!' But it turned out to be kind of funny, so I clapped and laughed a little with everyone else.

These models came out in groups of 2 or 3 (there were 40 in all) wearing these Macy's clothes and they all did a little disco dance thingy when they walked out on the part of the stage that jutted into the crowd. Kat and I thought it would be pretty funny if Hanson came out and did some disco moves before playing their instruments... hehe.. but no. :o( Too bad!

[August 21, 7 pm]

The models left the stage, and everyone started getting louder and antsy cuz we all knew what was next: Hanson. And then, there they were! They ran out onto stage, as expected, and said hello and started playing You Never Know.

Wow. Taylor looked *good*. He was wearing the cool shirt he wore on Jay Leno! Kat and I saw it and we were like, "The Leno shirt!! He's wearing the Leno shirt!! Yes!" You could still see a bit of his haircut, but I thought it looked like it had grown out again pretty fast. He seemed energized and happy, except his voice sounded a bit hoarse. But that's to be expected, cuz he'd been doing a show every other day for a month! Poor guy. ;o) Zac was wearing the red "Colorado" shirt we had just seen him in at the hotel, and he had also kept his hair in a ponytail. That was cool - we were like, "We *just* saw him!! That's so cool!" He looked all smiley, and that eased my heart, because he looked so somber at the Fillmore performance. (from DirecTV) He looked really depressed in that show, and not at all enthusiastic about the music. But in Atlanta, at both shows, he seemed quite happy. Isaac, however, seemed the only one of the three who looked like he really didn't want to be there. He seemed reeeeeally tired, and you can see that in the pictures. Must have stayed up too late the night before!

The songs they played, were: You Never Know, Runaway Run, If Only, This Time Around, and Thinking of You. I thoroughly enjoyed the performance. Nothing too out-of-the-ordinary happened. Throughout the show, Taylor inserted the usual amount of "Come on!"s and "Whoaa's". He also encouraged us all to clap along from time to time. Isaac walked out to the runway part of the stage for his solos, and we got some pretty good pix of that. But when Taylor walked out and the end to shake hands with people in the front few "rows", there were so many hands in the air that we couldn't really get any good pictures. Oh well! It was great musicianship, even if it was only a half-hour long. Hanson never fails to deliver! :o)

When it was all over, they waved and Taylor said, "See you guys later!" and they all ran off stage. The whole crowd immediately ran to get in line for the autograph signing. We knew that we were guaranteed to get in, so we didn't feel the need to run. But on the way to the line, there was a lady handing out free TTA singles and Kat and I got the last 2! It seemed like they had an unlimited supply of TTA singles sometimes. (When we returned to Michigan, I counted all of the ones I had accumulated from being in Atlanta. The total number of TTA singles that I now own is 5! Whew!)

We got in the back of the line. It began inside Macy's in the luggage department where the signing was, so the back was wayyy outside in the parking lot. Just to give you an idea of how long the line was. We ended up being about #s 380-381 or so. (Originally, they were only supposed to let in people with passes - which would be 350 ppl...but they ended up stretching it out to 430... grrr... that meant we basically camped out for nothing! Well, maybe not *nothing*, but it made me mad to hear that they were giving in to those fans who had come too late after all we'd done to secure our spot in that line. Live and learn.) While waiting, we talked to a nice girl and her mom from Tennessee. They had been the 4th ppl in line at the Macy's campout. That helped to pass the time. Also, while we were in line, it was kinda hot out. So, even tho we were in the shade, these nice ppl from Macy's walked around handing out bottled water to everyone. I thought that was really cool of them.

We noticed that the line was moving pretty fast for a Meet and Greet line, but we kind of expected it. We knew we would only have time to say hi and get an autograph with each of them. We had been told there would be no time for a picture with each fan, but we were allowed to bring cameras in to take pix from a distance. The funny thing was, although we were minutes away from meeting Hanson, I wasn't nervous at all...I felt completely calm and under control. I didn't expect to act that way! I thought I'd be peeing my pants! I was really proud of myself for acting (relatively - LOL) cool in front of Hanson.... but I shouldn't get ahead of myself - I'm not quite to that part yet... :o)

[August 21, about 7:50 pm]

The line had finally moved up enough so that we were inside Macy's. The actual table where the guys were sitting was a ways down the hall, so we couldn't see them yet. But we *could* hear the music that was playing from the speakers next to the table! I don't know why I remember this, but "If Only" was playing while we were waiting in line inside the store, and "This Time Around" was playing while we were meeting them; which, coincidentally, is my fave song on the album. (Well, one of the best, in my opinion. I really can't pick a favorite, but if I had to choose which song to meet Hanson to, I would have picked TTA. I was happy. :o)

Oh, and one kind of funny thing, was that there were these TV monitors hanging all over the ceiling, and they had this Whitney Houston special playing on them. There was no sound coming out of the TVs, tho, just the picture. Well, the first time I glanced at one of the screens, it was showing Whitney at a press conference, and I swear to God I thought it was Isaac Hanson! I pointed at the screen and I'm like, "Omigod - you guys - I think that's Isaac on the screen, and I think they're filming the signing live and it's on TV!!!" But then, before I made a further fool of myself, I figured it out. I was like, "Oh, wait - no. That's, uh, Whitney Houston..." :o) oops. But we all laughed and it was just funny.

[August 21, about 8 pm]

We were getting very close to the table now. We were about 20 feet away. At this point, a lady was handing out pictures to all the fans for Hanson to sign. Everyone got the same black and white promo pic. (We had wanted to bring our own things for them to sign, but the rules said that you couldn't...) There were perhaps 18 ppl in line in front of us... It was time to meet Hanson. And we could see them. If I jumped up and down, I could see Tay's highlights and Zac's long blondness and Ike's curlycues. But that's about as much as I saw from that distance w/all the fans in front of us.

As we walked closer and closer, I could have been freaking out, thinking, 'Wow - the event that I've been waiting more than 3 years for is finally happening - I'm going to meet Hanson!!! Omigod! This is unbelievable!' But I didn't think that, and I didn't freak out. Know why? Because they had become *real* to me. And I didn't want to freak out. I wanted to approach them as a normal human being who also loves their *music*. Which is what I am. :o)

I have nothing against the fans who cry and freak out - I understand that it's completely normal. It's just that those fans haven't seen Hanson as *normal* people yet. They still see them as idols. But once you have had the opportunity to see them as "normal", it hits you and sticks with you forever, and nothing is the same. (In a good way!)

I had that experience, luckily, the first time I saw Hanson, back in November 1997, coming out of a radio station. I was less than 6 feet from all of them, and I was part of a large crowd of girls who had gathered to get a glimpse of them. Except, I was the only one who was not freaking out. I guess I just saw Hanson's humanness. I looked at Isaac, right in front of me, with these big bags under his eyes, putting his forefinger to his lips, trying to quiet the screaming girls at 7 in the morning. I saw Taylor, saying, "Hey guys, shhh! Quiet down, please don't scream..." and his bodyguard trying to keep the girls off of Tay. I saw little Zac, hiding behind his big bros and a pair of sunglasses, looking frightened out of his mind. I saw them as people who get tired and annoyed and scared, just like you and me. I didn't talk to them or touch them. I watched them. They pushed from the radio station through the throng of frantic fans to their waiting van. They left. But I was happy because I saw them for the first time, and it was so real. So close. I understood that they were human, but they didn't lose any specialness for me. I became an even bigger fan because of the way I saw them acting in the face of discomfort and lack of sleep and screaming teenies: they were polite and kind and just so extraordinarily wonderful! And they always have been and, I hope, always will be. And each time I've seen them since then, they've become even more real, and it just keeps getting better!

So that's why I think I wasn't freaking out. It's easy to get in that mindset with all the other fans full of nervous energy around you, and to start to cry or freak out, but I just didn't want to, so - I didn't. :o)

When there were only about 3 ppl in front of us in line and we could clearly see Tay, Zac, and Ike (in that order) smiling and signing, we started to discuss the order we'd meet them in. It occured to me that one of us was going to have to go first, and I figured we'd better decide so no one got mad or something. But it turned out that neither of us really cared who went first, so Kat said, "You can go first!" And I was like, "Ok! Cool, here I go..."

I walked up to Taylor and put my picture on the table in front of him. First, I quickly observed that he had changed clothes from the concert. He had put on this black priestly-looking jacket over a black wifebeater, and he was wearing sandals! (Kat - I saw Taylor's toes! hehe!) He was sitting on the very edge of his seat, and had his hands on the table, palms down, and I noticed that he has very big hands and fingers. (I like Taylor's hands :o)

While we had been waiting in line, I was thinking of what to say to them, and I decided that I would say each of their names when I greeted them, because I always hear in reviews that people just say, "Hi" and I wanted to make sure they knew that I at least knew their names. :o) So after I put my pic down on the table, I said, "Hey Taylor..." and slid the pic towards him. He started to sign it while talking to me. He said, "Hey, how are you?" I think I replied, "I'm pretty good. Um, this is for you guys." (the line was moving fast and I didn't want to waste time, so I gave him my "present" as soon as I saw the opportunity. It was just a letter I had written them talking about how I love the music and I'll always support them, blah blah. Your general "thanks for being my inspiration" fan letter. I just wanted to give them something, after all they'd given me. (Kat gave them this really cool J5 cd thingy, plus a Mindi cd, and that was especially cool - Taylor thanked Kat twice!!) So when I slid the simple white envelope towards him, he picked it up and looked at it while saying "Oh, thanks." He stopped to read what I had written on the outside of the envelope. It said simply, "For Isaac, Taylor, and Zac". I thought it was nice that he at least took the time to read it. He bent down to put it in a big Macy's bag that he was putting all the fan gifts in. He looked up at me and smiled and then turned to Kat.

Before I go on to Zac, I just want to say, that in person, Taylor Hanson is so much different than in pictures.. It's hard to describe, but you know how they say he has a really big head in real life? Well, it's true! I thought his face seemed exceptionally wide (just like his dad's!) and kinda big. But still *very* good looking - this IS Taylor Hanson we're talking about here! LOL The interesting thing I noticed was that he had a lot more zits than I expected... He had a couple around his nose, and on his upper lip, and chin. Some of the red blemishes I saw might have been shaving rash, but I'm not sure. I just felt so much better to see that Taylor had a couple zits too, just like me. hehehe. Also, I could tell that poor Taylor was really wiped out. He seemed pretty tired. Once again, I don't blame him. Probably signing 370 something autographs before ours didn't help make him any peppier. But then, it's just another example of Hanson's humanness, which I appreciate seeing.

I moved on to Zac. I turned to move towards him, but the girl in front of me was still with him, so I had to wait a sec. I watched her talking and smiling with him, and then she stuck her hand out for him to shake, and he took it and gave it a shake. (This is when I realized that I hadn't shook Taylor's hand! I was like, wait - aren't they supposed to stick their hands out? I guess they only shake hands when they're not as busy or when you offer your hand first. So, I resolved to at *least* get Zac's and Ike's handshakes.) I watched Zac and the girl in front of me let go of hands, and then, all of a sudden, she whipped her camera out and flashed a picture right in Zac's face! I was sickened. I could never treat them like that; like they're animals or something... it's just so rude! And i could tell that Zac wasn't too pleased, either. He kind of gave her a look like, "Ok, you're a freak..." and he seemed a little miffed. I don't blame him - I would have been too! (I just want to point out that, the whole time we were meeting Hanson, Kat and I didn't take pics of them in their faces. We just don't do that sort of thing. Sure it might be exciting when that picture turns out, but just realize that you probably pissed off a Hanson by taking it!) Jeanette was standing in the background, taking pics from a distance of us meeting them - that's where those pics came from. And no, she didn't piss off any Hansons when she took them! :o)

Finally, that girl had moved on to Isaac, and I turned to Zac. He looked first at the picture and signed it (yes, left-handed :o). Then he looked up at me, and he looked *so* relieved to see that I wasn't going to blind him with a camera. I said something stupid like, "Hey Zac, what's up?" (Now, why would you say "what's up" to someone you've never met? God, I felt stupid... :o) Anyways, then I stuck my hand out for a handshake, and he got this freaking HUGE grin on his face; his eyes bright golden brown and sparkling, his smile sooooo sly and mischievous - he just had the most gorgeous over-all Mr. Charming look, and I melted right into the floor. Oh...My...Lord.

Let me stop and say something here: Taylor Hanson has always, and will always, be gorgeous and fine and all that, but man, once you've seen his bro Zac, (I'm tempted to say, "you'll never go back!" - but that would be so cheesy LOL) you gotta realize how hot this kid is in person. That smile he gave me, I swear I've never seen before, and it'd be fun and exciting to go into teenie-mode and say it was meant only for me and that Zac Hanson and I had a moment - but that might be taking it a liiiittle too far... although I definitely do think he genuinely appreciated me acting "normal". And I sure appreciated his smile!! Woohoo!

So, while giving me that great smile, he leaned forward and reached out for my hand. We shook hands, showing each other genuine smiles of mutual appreciation. That was cooler than heck. I just want to describe that handshake tho... Before coming to Atlanta, I had read numerous "backstage"/M&G encounters. Almost everyone's description of Zac's handshake was the same: it is *very* firm! If you've heard this, let me tell you, it's true! He grasped my hand in his big, warm, padded (not soft, but padded) hand and held it quite tightly! Not tighly enough to hurt, of course, but definitely enough to make you take notice that Zac means business. :o)

While shaking my hand, he replied to my clever question of "what's up?". He said, looking right at me and still smiling, "Hey, how's it goin'?" Except, he kinda drew out the "hey" and the "o" in "goin'" so it was like, "Heyyy, how's it gohin'?" And he said it in this really sexy deep voice, all the while making it lower, especially on "goin'". I smiled big. Zac let go of my hand and leaned back in his seat, *still* grinning that grin... Wow. I definitely have a new perspective on Zac. He's Hot!!! He is no little kid anymore... no sir!

Next was Isaac. I slid the picture down to him and he signed it, then looked up at me. While he was signing it, I had been watching him, and I noticed how his hair curlies bounce all over the place with every little bob of his head! Ever notice that? It's really cute. I also noticed how nice his skin looked in comparison to Taylor's. Usually it was the other way around - where Tay had the nice skin and Ike was broken out, but I guess today was Ike's lucky day! :o) He was quite tan and was looking much better than I expected him to look in person, which was a delightful fact to discover. Anyways, back to reality - I smiled and said, "Hi, Isaac." And I stuck my hand out for a handshake. He said something back - I'm not sure what - it was like, "Hi, how are you?" or something. And we shook hands. His wasn't as powerful as Zac's; but maybe that's because he still had the pen in his hand! It was kinda funny, cuz we tried to fit our hands together with a pen in the middle, and it was awkward and funny and it just made me smile more. I guess Ike had been doing it the whole time with all the other fans, cuz he didn't even seem to notice. Then, I remembered that I had wanted to start up at least more of a conversation with them than, "Hi, how are you?" So I complimented Isaac on the mini-concert - But it ended up coming out really funny.. I guess I didn't think long enough before speaking. I said either, "Good job at the performance!" or "Good performance at the concert!" and both of those just sound so brainless. LOL I don't think he noticed, tho, cuz he just smiled this really big, funny, exaggerated smile and nodded his head vigorously while saying, "Thank you! Thanks for coming!" and all of his curls shook when he did this. How cute. I was like, "Yep." :o) and then I walked off to the side to wait for Kat.

>>Part 2<<