Recap 2011- Day 2

I woke up that morning in the happiest place in the world- on a cruise ship with the Backstreet Boys sleeping just right above me. I can't describe that kind of happiness in words. Here I am in the middle of the Caribbean with my favorite gals and the Backstreet Boys. There is only one thing that could make it better- Kevin Richardson. And it just so happened we were only hours away from seeing him.

Beach Party

We took our time to get some breakfast and get our things together before heading off to the beach party. Once we got there, there were already 10 rows of fans waiting in front of the stage so we decided to hang back and relax a bit before the boys got there. And boy I'm glad we did. They showed up probably 3 hours later so in the interim we relaxed, took some pictures and grabbed some lunch. I also kept freaking out because I saw 5 microphone stands on stage. I was so excited for Kevin to come out! I also thought the beach was very well set up for this event, even in the back I had a great view and I could still lay out and get some sun.

However as soon as the boys got there, that plan went out the window and I wanted to get a bit closer. They started throwing some beads into the audience and everyone was clamoring for them as if their life depended on it. If you stop to think about it, its kind of sad to see grown women fighting over these cheap necklaces. But I was right there with the rest of them trying to grab one for myself. Fortunately my friend Anne Marie caught an extra necklace from AJ and gave it to me. I was so giddy!

On a scale of 1-10, I was already around a 12 after getting a necklace from AJ. That happiness shot up to around a 15 when Kevin finally came out, and about a 20 when they started singing together.

All 5 Backstreet Boys singing Safest Place to Hide

I definitely got goosebumps seeing Kevin, and when Kevin started singing my goosebumps had their own goosebumps. At this moment I realized just how fortunate I was to be on this cruise and have the opportunity to experience this firsthand.  Ok I'm done being sentimental (for now, there will more than likely be more sappiness later)

Cousins reunited

I thought the beach party was just amazing! One of my favorite parts was when they played musical chairs and AJ didn't know how to play because of his "deprived childhood". Seriously, who doesn't know how to play musical chairs? The boys battled it out to the end Kevin ended up winning, which I thought was very cool. They also played twister and limbo.

As the afternoon progressed, the boys got their hands on some water guns and started spraying us, and more importantly each other. Normally it wouldn't have been a big deal but the water guns were full of salty ocean water. Yuck!

This pic of Nick makes me :)

Water guns of course lead to a wet T-shirt contest and only one Backstreet Boys decided to participate in that contest. I'll give you one guess as to which Backstreet Boy it was.

I never noticed AJs tattoo of a topless, large breasted woman on his bicep before. Only AJ.

Yes, it was AJ who participated. Brian seemed to have a lot of fun soaking him. This is where the real fun started to happen. You'll realize the next portion of my review is mostly pictures and not so much words. I was pretty speechless and I think the pictures can speak for themselves as to what I was feeling at the time.

Amid all the happiness, I did have one low moment at the beach party. And that was when they announced that the prom queens had already been decided. The logical part of me knew that I wasn't going to get picked anyway, but that hopeful girl inside of me still held onto that small sliver of hope that it could be me. Luckily the boys kept me well distracted though. I think it was about this point that they announced the 3-legged race so the massive crowd in front of the stage disappeared allowing a spot right up front to watch.

Nick randomly throwing french fries to us?? Made me feel a bit like a bird.

I was soooo close to getting a picture with Howie. But I was lucky enough to get a picture with Brian. 

Love those bright blue eyes of his!

I'm getting happier and happier by the moment. Eventually the boys went off to do the 3-legged race but Brian and Howie returned back to the stage to play some volleyball with the fans. Nick and AJ simultaneously ran off into the ocean to go jet skiing. I was so conflicted where to go, but ended up staying put with Brian and Howie because I had a decent spot and they were actually interacting with us. I wasn't sure how much luck I'd have chasing Nick and AJ with 90% of everyone else on the beach.

At one point Brian decided to bring the game to the actual volleyball court so I went over to get a good spot, and maybe get lucky enough to get picked to play with him (even though I can't play volleyball to save my life) No luck with that, but I did inadvertently have a great spot right where they served the ball. Howie and Kevin eventually joined in the festivities so I just enjoyed watching them play. Funny story with Kevin. There was a girl near me who was talking about Kevin's underwear situation, or lack thereof (see video below). If you notice at the end of the video, I'm pretty sure he heard them talking about him "free-balling." I was half mortified that he thought I may have said it, and half laughing at the oddity of the situation.

Kevin playing Volleyball

After the beach party, it was a mad scramble to get back to the ship and get ready for the dinner/concert/prom night. I was so happy have my voice back for this night so I could actually talk during dinner and be able to sing at the concert.

Concert (Group B)
All I can say it wow! I was totally not expecting what they did for this concert and it ranks up there among my favorite Backstreet concerts of all time. Also one of the best parts of the cruise for me. I'd start going through my favorite parts of the concert, but they were all highlights. So my extra favorite parts include AJ singing London (of course) and then the boys talking about how much they wanted to steal that song from him. See, its not just me who loves that song!

Nick proving they do in fact have a set list.

I enjoyed all of their interaction with the fans, even making their way up to the top section. At several points Nick came to my row and I was close enough to touch him. Brian also made his way down our row too. Some of my other favorites included Don't Want You Back, Drowning with Kevin, Lie to Me, Burning Up, okay basically the whole darn set list. One that stood above the rest was Brian singing Mary Did You Know. This was so unexpected, and it was so quiet in that room that you could hear a pin drop. Very rare at a Backstreet concert but it was just an amazing moment.

Mary Did You Know- This song took my breath away. 

These boys can bring tears to my eyes one minute and have me cracking up or dancing my butt off the next. For example Nick leaving the tag on his coat had me laughing so hard. Another fan favorite across the board was If You Want it to be Good Girl/Get Down medley.

If You Want it to be Good Girl/Get Down. At 2.29 Nick's gyrating right in front of me!

I could stay here and post every video from this concert because the whole thing was incredible, but that shall have to suffice for now. More later. I promise.

Prom Night

I was still on a high from the concert, which made prom night that much more enjoyable from me. I was dancing around having a great time with my friends, and almost forgot that the Backstreet Boys were coming back out to party with us. In fact we were dancing so much that even my flip flops had to come off.

We weren't even wearing heels and our feet were killing us

I'd say the highlight of this event was Kevin being a part of it. All five Backstreet Boys came out to sing 'I Still' which was really special

Kevin at prom night singing I Still

I think I had more fun at Prom Night than 80s night, but only due to my own efforts. In my opinion the deck party itself was geared towards those 5 prom queens and not so much the rest of the crowd. They really didn't have too much going on aside from their activities with the prom queens. However before the night ended, I was able to get a picture with my unofficial prom king, Kevin. 

Me and Kev

Meeting Kevin was indescribable. After we took the picture he looked me directly in my eye, shook my hand and said "thank you." I was so taken aback by his actions that my poor brain just couldn't process what was happening fast enough. Never before have any of the Backstreet Boys actually initiated a conversation with me. Albeit an incredibly short conversation, but it still counts. He really made me feel so special and I'll never for that moment.

After Kevin left, Howie was once again the only Backstreet Boy up partying until the wee hours of the morning. I was right there with him having a good time. I only went to bed once I saw his security guard return without him, figuring it was then safe to go to bed. If I recall correctly, that was around 5am. Sadly though I still didn't get to bed until 6 because I was up chatting with my roommate. Felt like an old fashioned Backstreet sleepover. I'm sure we would've stayed up longer, but we still had one more day of excitement ahead and needed to get some rest.