Once again, for those who want to skip my normal long-winded travelogue, here's the Cliff Notes version.  The show was excellent, although it couldn't top Buffalo.  Tonight was the first Meet & Greet since Rochester.  Máiréad was back to ten spins during Coast of Galicia.  The M&G was with Alex and Máiréad.

OK, here's the long version.  Saturday night after the Buffalo show, I went to bed on a serious CW high, one of many times over the last week.  This night in particular, though, sleep was next to impossible as I kept replaying the concert in my head.  Fortunately, this was the day to set the clocks back so I got an extra hour of sleeplessness.

We left relatively early for the drive to our final stop in Columbus. Ohio.  There we would be meeting Rick who had purchased my second M&G ticket.  On the way we had a very nice conversation on the phone with Ralph about the previous night.  He had to leave right after the show to take his sister home so we didn't have time to talk then.  We all relived the show once again and convinced ourselves that it wasn't a dream and had really happened.

We stopped for lunch at a Steak 'n Shake outside Cleveland.  If you're in the mid-west and have a hankering for a great milkshake this is the place to go.  Not only do they have great burgers (made from ground sirloin, not ground beef) but they have fabulous shakes.  That's my small commercial plug.

After checking into our hotel and changing for the show, we went to pick up Rick and head downtown.  The plan was to find a place to eat within walking distance of the theater, but Columbus had other ideas.  After strolling around for quite a while and finding nothing open we decided to eat after the show.  So we just waited in the lobby out of the cold for the doors to open.

The common thread to all of these shows (except one) is that they are in old downtown theaters that have been lovingly restored.  The Palace Theater in Columbus is no exception.  Resplendent in white, the entrance from the lobby leads directly to a grand staircase.  To the right is the entrance to the floor seats while the stairs lead to the balcony.  Rick and I had second row pit seats while Scott was in third row orchestra.  This was the first show on the Roadtrip where we weren't together.  The pit was full of other forum members, as well.  New member Barb sat next to Rick and me.  Unfortunately, there was no chance of an ISU for Scott.

Since we weren't the only familiar faces in the audience tonight, we didn't get the dedicated attention that we had in Buffalo.  Nevertheless, we got plenty of interaction.  Refreshed by the short commute from Buffalo, Máiréad was back to doing her full 10 spins during Coast of Galicia.  She was really cranked up and did several leaps directly at the audience.  Ashley was the lucky person who had the front row center seat and jumped almost as high as Máiréad the first time!  During At the Ceili, Alex and Lisa both sat on the risers this time instead of standing during Lynn's part, yet another variation on a seemingly ever changing theme.

After the show, they rounded us up for the Meet & Greet.  It seemed funny not to have Scott with me but this was Rick's first time so that made it a little easier.  This was the smallest M&G I'd ever been to, only 10 people!  I expected that we would have plenty of time to chat but they were actually hustling us through rather quickly, a little too quickly for my taste.  Our guests were Alex and Máiréad and I had a lot I wanted to say.  After a short conversation with Alex and her signing a program and a picture, I moved over to Máiréad.  Even though I had several items for her to sign, I only had her sign one thing because I didn't want to waste time with that and I was sure I'd see her again in the southwest in a couple of weeks.  The first thing I did was to apologize for the Mohegan Sun show.  I told her that I had tried in vain to get good seats and was sorry that we weren't up front where we should be to show our support.  I asked her if they saw us up in the bleachers and she said they did.  I thanked her profusely for the Buffalo show and she thanked me for being there.  (Can you believe that I am actually remembering this?)  Before I could say much else they gently moved me along and it was over.  The four people in front of me had gone through the line even quicker so I guess I should be grateful.  There will be more chances soon.

I waited and watched Rick as he had his first M&G opportunity.  He reminded me of myself in Wilkes-Barre with a ton of stuff to be signed.  He did good, though, far better than me my first time, and was able to have a semi-coherent conversation.  It has taken me much longer to be that confident and even longer to be able to remember what I said.

After the M&G, we all headed out on a scavenger hunt for a 24 hour restaurant to have a late dinner.  Columbus really rolls up the sidewalks on Sunday night, not just downtown but everywhere.  It took almost 30 minutes before found a Waffle House that was open.  Once again it was my GPS to the rescue.

After dinner, we took Rick home and Scott and I headed back to the hotel.  Since we wouldn't see each other the next morning we said our goodbyes, although we'll meet up again in El Paso in less than two weeks.  The Roadtrip was over.

The original review is here.