Monday morning Scott called a florist near Wolf Trap and ordered a lovely bouquet of flowers to be delivered to Máiréad at the venue well in advance of show time.  After checking the forum we head out a little earlier than Sunday.  The plan is to meet Jim and Don at their hotel for lunch and then head over to the venue.  Again, the “autopilot” gets us out of town and headed towards Washington.  On the way Scott pulls out CDs with some unreleased material from Olivia (“Olivia Unplugged”) and we listen to that as we head up I-95.  Butterfly Kisses is amazing.  It's all about Máiréad and the lyrics are perfect.  You can watch Western Rose's video which is set to Butterfly Kisses here.

There's noticeably more traffic since it's a work day but we make good time until we hit the Capital Beltway.  At that point things come almost to a halt but we still make the hotel by 12:30.  Unfortunately, Jim and Don have already left so Scott and I head to Amphora's, a restaurant recommended by the other Scott.  He joins us later and gives us the shortcut to get to the venue from the restaurant.

We arrive at the venue early, a little after 3:00, and I grab a parking spot which should give me a relatively expeditious exit; I have an almost 2 hour drive home and I have to be at work Tuesday morning.  We walk up the hill to the theater and wait for the others that are coming.  We hear a bit of music from the sound system and think we may get a second sound check, but it's a false alarm.  Scott wants to confirm that the flowers arrived so we walk down to the stage entrance.  We are greeted by a venue person who assures us that the production manager did indeed receive them and then politely shoos us away.

The weather is hot and sticky, a typical mid-Atlantic summer day, and everyone is getting a little thirsty.  I still have some beverages in my cooler so we walk back down the hill for a refreshment break.  I needed to get my ticket and sign for the show anyway.  This time we hitch a ride on one of the venue's little golf carts back up the hill and find a spot in the shade.  I think the driver was related to Mario Andretti, though, as we hung on for dear life on the turns!  I keep mentioning “the hill” because it is quite a hill and a memorable part of the experience.

Eventually Jim and Don find us and we all get reacquainted; I haven't seen them since Wilkes-Barre.  They have a get well card for Máiréad and a birthday card for Chloë for everyone to sign.  Then we start to hear music again and guess what?  We didn't miss the sound check after all and we get another concert preview.  This time we can get a glimpse of the stage and see people, although they are difficult to identify in their street clothes.  Máiréad is easy to spot, though, because we can see her fiddling.  Once the gates open and the mad rush for the lawn seats is over we head inside and meet up with the rest of our group.  Scott, Dave, Walter, and Bobby have four seats together and Scott, Jim, Don, and myself have four seats together.  Theirs are third row pit left of center and ours are third row pit dead center.

There are some things which make Wolf Trap special.  One is certainly the architecture and another is the setting.  It is a wooden pavilion nestled is a wooded park and is very beautiful.  It also has excellent acoustics.  At this show, CW doesn't use their small speakers that they normally line up across the stage, just the big ones that hang above the audience.  As a result, if you're close enough to the stage you are actually behind the speakers and can hear the girls' voices live rather than through the sound system.  It is amazing and adds an extra dimension to an already great show.  In addition, the stage is lower than most venues so when seated your eyes are actually about level with the stage.

My second CW show ever was at Wolf Trap almost exactly 2 years ago and I had managed to get a front row center seat on Ticketmaster just three days before the show.  I still vividly remember them standing literally 3 feet in front of me singing Over the Rainbow.  It ranks as one of the best performances, bar none, that I've ever heard.

The covered seating area does not open until ½ hour before show time, so we hung around in the shade.  After everyone had signed the two cards, Jim got them safely delivered to CW.  We met Kimberly and her parents while we were waiting and she was just as excited as she was in Wilkes-Barre.  We finally got to our seats and they were awesome; a little cramped, but awesome.  We met two CW forum members and Scott gave them Fiddler Crossing signs.  Several people wrote “Happy Birthday Chloë” on the back of their signs, too.  Our plans were to show our support for Máiréad by giving her a standing ovation for every solo and standing for the entire last part of You Raise Me Up, after Lisa thanks the audience, with our Fiddler Crossing signs proudly displayed.

Finally, it's show time!  Even though I've seen the show many times, I still get a little chill when the fog starts and Máiréad comes walking out.  She still had braces on both knees but was noticeably feeling better.  With Fiddler Crossing signs in abundance, she found us quickly and mouthed a “Thank you” in Scott's direction.  She was on fire and tied her 10 spin record.  In case you haven't noticed, I've made it my job to count since she told me that she doesn't.  Still no leaping, but that's OK with me; there will be time for that when she's healed.  She flashed that amazing smile our way over and over and said “Thank you” several more times before the night was over.  I was on a Máiréad high!

As I said in my teaser, this was the best and most amazing show I've ever been to.  Being surrounded by fellow forum members, sitting in an awesome seat in an awesome venue, listening to a nearly acoustic performance at times, and especially seeing Máiréad back to her usual happy self made it a night I will remember for a very long time.

After the show we walked back down the hill, Scott transferred his luggage to Dave's car, and I headed home in a bit of a daze.  It had been a whirlwind week, 7 shows in 7 days, but an amazing week as well: meeting Chloë twice and Lisa and Lynn, meeting many wonderful forum members who share the same love for this wonderful group, seeing this amazing show at 5 lovely venues, and watching Máiréad bounce back from another injury.

Thank you Celtic Woman for everything that you do.  I know that you know the effect your music has on many people and I am one of them.  Thank you Alex, Chloë, Lisa, Lynn and Máiréad for being who you are and sharing your amazing talents with the rest of us.  Also thank you for your graciousness and genuineness at the many Meet & Greets that you do.  We, as fans, really appreciate the opportunity to express our love for you and your music.  An extra special thank you to Máiréad.  It was you that I first saw on television that fateful day.  You stopped me in my tracks and I haven't been the same since.  I never tire of watching your boundless energy and your obvious joy in what you do.  Your heartfelt speech in Wilkes-Barre demonstrated just how much you care about your fans and we return that love 10 times over.

Thank you, Scott, for being a great traveling companion the last 3 days (when you weren't on the phone) and for Olivia's music.  Two more shows in Philadelphia, with one more chance to meet Máiréad again, and then the event of the year at Red Rocks.  I am so looking forward to those shows, to meeting many of you again, and to meeting many others that I haven't met yet.

The original review is here.