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1999 Super Soap Weekend

I went to SSW with Nancy Avis, Amy Wetherbee, and Linda Dacy. These gals are great!
We had fun!

On Friday, we went to MGM Studios to meet Susan Lucci. Susan was there on Thurs &
Fri to kind of get some of the fans who wanted to meet her ahead of time, since Susan’s
lines are the longest during SSW. Also she was there to promote her new perfume,
“Invitation” We stood in line for over an hr, and while we were waiting, Susan’s
husband, Helmut Huber came out and was spraying her perfume on all of us. At first I
didn’t like the smell of it, but after it sits on you & reacts with your body heat, it did
actually smell good.
When nearly an hr had gone by,  at that point they said we would be allowed to go up and
shake Susan Lucci’s hand, no time for pics with her or autographs. I quickly got her on
video, and then I shook her hand, and by accident, it actually videod me shaking her
hand! Then when it was time for her to leave, she did come out front, and stopped so
everyone could take pictures of her. She had on a gold sparkly dress. Then I went into the
shop to take a closer look at her perfume. And it was neat, it had two glass sections
intertwined, it was actually *2* perfumes, one for *daytime* and one for nighttime! :)

On Friday night we went to TGIFridays and had our “soap nuts” gathering... and met up
with Susan WaliMohammed & her 10 yr old daughter Alisha, who I found out were from
Illinois where I was from, and I was familiar with where they lived. We also met up with
Julie & her husband Vern--Florida natives, also soap nuts... 

We went over to a hotel where Carly Shroeder told us she was staying if we wanted to
meet her, so we went over there and sat in the lobby watching out for her. 
We get there and someone told us she had just come through the lobby about 2 minutes
before. We decided to wait around & see if she was coming back.
All the sudden, Cameron Matheson walks by. I’m like “Uh.....Ryan...there goes
uh....Cameron...”  then Stuart Damon walks by us. Then we realized, maybe ALL the
soap stars were staying there. We went outside and talked to Stuart, and snapped some
photos & video. Then we went back in the lobby, and pretty soon we see Michael
Saucedo, Walt Willey in the lobby,  
and getting in the elevators...Erin Torpey/David Fumero, Wally Kurth/Billy Warlock,
Stephen Nichols, Linda Dano/Rebecca Herbst, Nolan North/Robert S. Woods, Hilary B.
Smith, etc.... We stayed there past midnight and got to see all the stars arriving back at
the hotel after a party they had all been at. I can’t believe we found where they were at,
but we never did find Carly. Someone told us she was swimming in the pool when we
were upstairs...so we missed her twice in one night. Then Wally & Michael Saucedo
were heading back out to do soundcheck at MGM. We were getting our car from Valet,
when we saw Stephen Nichols getting into a car & leaving. I waved to him, and he waved
back and said “bye”. 

On Sat, we arrived at MGM Studios, got the official SSW schedules, and got inside. We
had to wait at the rope before they would let us in. Finally at 9, they let the rope go, and
everyone took off RUNNING. We of course, were running to get to Finola’s line, since
she was the top priority. We had to run fast to keep up with Nancy...lol...
We made it to her line, but still had to wait an hr. They handed out special Soap Opera
Digest for SSW only. And they handed out fans to everyone because it was so HOT out! 
At 10:00 Finola arrived. I was so excited, I had waited my whole life to meet her! :) She
is so beautiful, I hope I look like that when I’m 40... I was videoing it, and then I was
snapping pictures. She had black & white photos to sign. I got up to her, but everything
was so rushed and we were told to get our autograph, picture, and then go, so all I got to
say was “can you sign my GH book instead of the picture?” and she said “sure, I can sign
both.” and I got my pic taken with her and that was it. :) But it was worth it. :)
Then I walked over to where John Callahan was & snapped some pics of him, then Mark
Consuelos, Kelly Ripa, & Cameron Matheson. (Edmund, Mateo, Hayley, & Ryan,
AMC)..
Then I went to get in line for the Talk Show w/ Finola Hughes & John Callahan from
AMC, and also Hillary B. Smith, Robert S. Woods, and Linda Dano, and also Catherine
Hickland as the host. (Nora, Bo, Rae, & Lindsay, OLTL). It was great! 

Then I went over to get in line for the motorcade and Question &Answer session w/
Amber Tamblyn, Michael Saucedo, Rebecca Herbst, Lynn Herring, and Kin Shriner...

Then I went to the Talk Show w/ Jackie Zeman, Stuart Damon, Billy Warlock, Julie
Pinson, and Nolan North...

when we got out of that, it was POURING down rain, and everyone was buying Yellow
ponchos w/ Mickey Mouse on it. :) I didn’t buy one though.

I met up with Susan & Alisha, and we went by David Fumero & Erin Torpey, and James
& Kassie DePaiva’s lines to take pics & videos...

Then we got in Julie Pinson’s line and it was sprinkling a little. I told Julie how Eve just
loved to ruin weddings, and how sorry I was for Julie (Devlin) & Chris (Ramsey). and we
were joking around about that. I got my autograph from her & my pic taken with her.
Someone noticed Julie had a tattoo, and then they asked a dumb question, “Does Billy
know you have a tattoo”. She just kinda looked at them like, “uh, yeah, Billy knows
everything about me...”

Then we went & got in Lynn Herring’s line. We had to wait nearly 2 hrs in line for her,
because it filled up pretty fast, and Lynn talks to people, so it takes awhile. I got up to
Lynn, and I told her I was glad to finally get to meet her. I told her I have been going out
to CA for the GH & PC Luncheons, and always seem to miss her... and I told her I went
to the GH & PC sets, and she was there and I didn’t get to meet her. And she said “oh,
you didn’t get to meet me? I’m sorry.” I just told her that was ok, that I knew she was
taping scenes, and that my friend who went with me got to meet her, and that I had to
leave early. I told her I had to go to NBC studios, and Lynn asked what show I had gone
to see, and I told her Leno. And then we started talking about the Lucy/Scott/Kev
triangle, and I told her I loved Kev/Lucy, but Lynn seemed to like the chemistry & the
“fun” relationship that Scott/Lucy have together. She did say that Lucy & Kev will be
getting back together, and Eve/Scott, but only to fool DV somehow. She also said her
kids were around the park riding the rides. :)
I can’t believe how long she talked to me, and she also personalized my photo, and
signed my GH Scrapbook! I was so happy to finally have hers & Finola’s autographs in
my scrapbook. 
Then we went by Kin Shriner’s to take pics & video, since we couldn’t stand in his
line...no sign of Carly Schroeder, though, I figured she might not be signing because of
the rain. But at least all the actors were under umbrellas. :)

Then it was time to go get a spot for the night motorcade with all the stars...
All the stars came by in convertibles, and then they all got up on stage, and they started
playing “Maria” by Ricky Martin, and they were all dancing...
When the actors were on stage dancing, Nancy Lee Grahn' little 2 year old was up there just dancing away! Then Mickey, Minnie,
etc. surrounded her & were dancing with her. It was ADORABLE! I 
got a pic of it, too. :) 

Then Kurth & Taylor performed, and Wally was wearing LEATHER pants. They were
great, and then they took a break.
Then Catherine Hickland sang a couple songs.
Then Vincent Irizarry (David Hayward) sang a couple songs. I had no idea he could sing!
But he was good!
Then Mark Consuelos came out & announced the group C-Note!!! They sang about 5
songs! They were great!
Then last, but not least, Michael Saucedo, (Juan< GH) sang his heart out! He was so
great! And while he was singing, Amber Tamblyn ran out on the front of the stage, and
pretended to be a crazed fan taking pictures of him. We were all laughing so hard! Then
Michael started singing his song to Amber, as if it were Juan singing to Emily. :)
Then Kurth & Taylor came out for the second set, and they were again, GREAT!!!
It was a really great concert, definetly the BEST SSW concert they’ve had yet!

On Sunday we got there and it was raining already. Linda, Amy & I went to Walt
Willey’s line, and Nancy went to get in line for the motorcade/Q&A w/ Michael, Amber,
Rebecca, Kin & Lynn...
Then Walt Willey arrived and the first thing he did was shake off his big umbrella he was
sitting under so it wouldn’t drip on people’s heads. I stayed in his line long enough to get
him on video & get some close up pics, and then I decided not to wait in his line, because
I wanted to go get pics of the GH actors who would be arriving at their autograph lines at
10. 
But first I went into Soap Opera Central, where they had some props & wardrobes
from some of the shows. They had that famous ABC posters for Sonny & Hannah, and then
one of Kevin & Eve for PC. I would’ve bought one, but neither of the couples appeal to
me... they had some newspapers with fake articles like “Alexis Davis defends mob
boss...” etc, but they wanted $35 for just that fake article! A dress worn by Laura, etc..
So I made my way over to the soap central computers, where you could email your
favorite actor from the shows. I emailed Tava Smiley & Nancy Lee Grahn to tell them it
was a pleasure to meet them both, and have lunch with them in July, and how I liked the Chloe/Jax/Ned/Alexis scenes. I
also told Nancy Lee I was at SSW, and hoped to make it to her
line.

Then I went back to New York St. to get pics & video of Stuart Damon, Jackie Zeman,
and Billy Warlock at their 10 o’clock autograph sessions.
Then at 11, Michael Saucedo, Wally Kurth, Rebecca Herbst, Amber Tamblyn, Nancy Lee
Grahn, and Stephen Nichols sessions all started... I got some good pics of all of them, 
and at Michael Saucedo’s line, I saw my roommate Carrie from CA! :) Michael Saucedo
also sang something to one of the girls that asked him to. Michael was very nice & first
of all thanked all the fans for watching & writing him fan mail. Becky looked beautiful,
and someone jokingly asked her if she made her dress, and she smiled and said “no, not
this one...” Amber was very nice, and there appeared to be no cell phone on...lol...
Stephen Nichols was funny as usual. Wally was great. :)
and then I waited at Nancy Lee’s because it was about time for Finola’s autograph
session at 12. Then luckily, instead of leaving, Nancy Lee came over to the fans on the
side who didn’t make it in her line, and started signing pics for those people. Luckily I
flagged her down, and she started to sign my picture "To:Danielle, and I told her who I was, and she
remembered me from having lunch with me at the GH studio! (Yeah!) It’s always so nice
when someone remembers you. :) She talked to me for a little bit, while everyone else
was yelling, “Nancy, over here!”, and then she told me it was nice to meet me again, and
maybe sometime we’ll have lunch again in LA. I was like, “yeah, right, if I can come up with $600 to do that again!”...
Then Finola came out & she hugged Nancy Lee, and then Nancy left. Finola was
beautiful just like the day before. I got tons of great pics of Finola! :) I don’t think it’s
possible for her to look bad in any of them.

Then I went over to Cameron Mathison’s line, where Linda was waiting. Cameron’s line
was so long, but luckily Cameron signs an average of 225 people in an hr...lol... I went up
& was taking pics & video of Cameron and then I went back to Linda to tell her I was
going to go find the OLTL people signing, and then when I go back up by Cameron, there
he is taking his shirt off by request!!! LOL! I tried to get my camera back out in time, but
he put his shirt back on by the time I got the camera ready! AH! So I go back & tell Linda
& everyone in line what they missed...
Then I went over to Robert S. Woods autograph session. I took one pic of him, then I
went to take another, and BOOM right out of the sky, it just POURS!!! No sprinkles, or
anything to forewarn this, just POURED!!! I ran to the nearest umbrella by this gate
where you wait to get into the Indiana Jones show, the guy let us in there because it’s
under shelter...
Luckily the rain let up, and I went back out...
I went over to where James & Kassie DePaiva were to take pics. Kassie looked very
pretty.
Then I went and found Mark Consuelos & Vincent Irizarry’s lines, got some pics, then
found Michael E. Knight & Marcy Walker. Michael was nice & very funny. :)
Then again, when I was taking pics of Marcy, it started pouring again, and I had to
QUICKLY put the camera & camcorder in my bag...
then I waited for Kelly Ripa to come, before heading over to get in line for the next talk
show.
The next talk show was John Callahan, Finola Hughes (Yes, I know, I saw them 2 days in a row,
because I figured they’d be different, which they were, :)  ) and my main point of going
there was to see as much of FINOLA as possible. :) And Hillary B Smith, Robert S. Woods,
Linda Dano, and host Catherine Hickland... this time they did a Q&A, and Finola was
asked who was a better kisser Dimitri or Scorpio??? And she said “Oh, well, Michael
Nader packs some pretty mean kisses... oh ,I don’t know...” So she really didn’t say, but
we were all hoping she’d say SCORPIO!!!
John Callahn did a skit with a fan, and he was very funny at it! And the fan said “I love
Dimitri, er, I mean Edmund...” and then John gets out some money and starts paying her
and says “It’s E...D...M...U...N...D”... LOL!
Then I went to get in line for the final motorcade with the stars, and then I meet Nancy,
Amy, and then Linda comes, and we all happened to meet in the same spot...lol...
I think about 12 soap stars stayed for that, and the remaining must’ve left.. (out of 30
stars) Of course it was raining just minutes before the final motorcade, so they didn't quite yet know if they were going
to have the stars come put in the convertibles, or with the tops up on them due to the rain. Luckily it quit raining...
Wow, it was such a fun weekend, I would love to do it again! And I hope Finola goes
next year!!! 
The end,
Danielle