Our first stop in Fort Worth was at Cattleman's for dinner. I believe that Sherilyn and I both had the "Rose O' Texas" Tenderloin Steak with salad and a baked potato. No matter what cut of beef it was, it was delicious. Corey picked a wonderful red wine to go with it too.
From there we headed straight over to Billy Bob's. Brilliant me left my wallet in my rental car in Dallas. The scary bouncer dude didn't want to let me in but because I didn't hesitate when he asked my age and because Sherilyn and Corey are both "legal" ;) he just gave me a strong warning "If I catch you drinking I'll throw your @$$ in jail" "Yes Sir!" (Of course I realized a few days later that I did have my passport with me but I don't normally carry it with me so I didn't think about it).
Once we got inside, we located Marty (at the bar, of course) and after he loaded us up with beers (I took one just to spite the bouncer LOL) he gave us the official tour. Now, you may remember that getting a tour of Billy Bob's was one of the reasons I took my whole Texas Road Trip. Sherilyn and Corey had taken the tour in November when they were at Billy Bob's with Corey's sister. The had been there for awhile before Sherilyn remembered hearing that a guy she had gone to school with was working there. They enquired after him and found out that he is the General Manager. She blogged about the whole thing afterwards and I was probably more excited then she had been LOL When I decided that Texas was definitely in the cards, one of the first things I did was confirm that she'd take me to Billy Bob's to meet Marty and she didn't disappoint.
Walking around Billy Bob's with Marty was a.m.a.z.i.n.g. Sherilyn and Corey aren't "current country music fans" (her words) but I am. Marty sort of took me under his wing and we bonded over our opinions of artists, their music and their live shows. Sherilyn and Corey tagged along and Sherilyn was my official photographer for the night. It was really a mecca for me. Finally someone who knows and loves country music as much as I do :D Marty took us back stage and I was just in awe. Billy Bob's has a staff person who draws the logo of each artist that performs on the wall and then the band signs the wall. It was so incredibly cool. In the picture Marty is pointing at a cut out of Garth Brooks from when he first started his career.
Craig Morgan was on stage by the time we got there. I never got really close and the only picture we have is of the screen but I can at least technically say that I've seen him in concert. He put on a good show from what I got to see. We could have stopped and watched the show and looking back I wish we had but I was having too much fun with Marty!
The handprint wall at Billy Bob's is quite extensive. Marty gave us the inside scoop on a bunch of the prints. Like where the golf ball used to be in Vince Gill's square, that Deana Carter did bare feet prints because she preforms without shoes and that Trace Adkins lost the pinky finger on his left hand in an accident, and asked doctors to re-attach the finger at an angle so that he could continue to play guitar which is why it looks like he only has a half a finger in his handprint.
I love this picture of me. Marty dropped his hat on my head and Sherilyn snapped the picture. He took it back right away saying "I can't leave it there too long or I'll have to take her home with me" LOL
Billy Bob's is huge. Marty showed us most of it but when I went back the next day I realized there were parts we missed. Marty showed us the trophy case of the times that the club has won Club of the Year from the Acadamy of Country Music after I asked about it. He also showed us (in no particular order) the bull riding ring, the Texas Club Room (private meeting space), the liquor lockers (where he threw out mind boggling stats about the amount of alcohol served during certain events), the guitar bar and more.
We finished the evening in his office listening to music, looking at pictures and sharing stories of travelling, different events and what's been going on in his life since he and Sherilyn last saw each other. We also watched a couple of girls get busted by the authorities for under age drinking. Very entertaining and better then reality tv any day ;)It was a late night after a *very* long day but I wouldn't have traded it for the world. And yes, that is a condom in my hand. Don't ask. I'm sharing this picture simply to show that I still looked pretty good at 1:30 in the morning.
~Heidi
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