Mark Lowry's Senior Trip Asheville - Day 2

Today we got a good look at the grounds of the Grove Park Inn. You can't beat the beautiful mountain setting while eating breakfast or just walking along the inside of the building and gazing out its many viewpoints. Most of us also spent time at the Biltmore Estate. The tour was very extensive. Some of the artistic detail you find in these rooms and the sense of history was just amazing.

Of the "God Is Crazy About You" shows that I've seen, tonight's show has to be in my top 5. Mark was just on it...starting from his accident, going down some rabbit trails that were hilarious (why women have babies so much for example --if he had morphine drip in the process, he'd "birth a nation") but also profound when he talked about trying to understand the accident he had at 19 where he broke 11 bones or sharing how he was led into music ministry (thank you, God!).

Personally, it was sort of my night musically. Mark gave me my Christmas wish and sang "The Christmas Song" and in between working in a story about not believing in Santa Claus ("that's when the presents dried up"). And, like I did last trip, I got to "dance" with Mark once again, this time during "Jingle Bell Rock". But there is a curse on me somewhere. Last time, no one was able to get a picture with me dancing with Mark, and this time it didn't work, either. Well, you'll have to take my word and the crowd's for it. (But if you took one and you have it, please send it to me!)

Other musical humorous highlights: Barbara Fairchild, the "Sr. Trip mascot" was back with us again, celebrating her wedding anniversary with a duet with her husband Roy. She also did her 70s hit "Teddy Bear" after sharing an hilarious story about once donning a reindeer costume to sing the song (since it's about wanting to be a teddy bear, getting a teddy bear costume and singing it wouldn't quite work). Woody Wright shared the story of how he and Mark wrote the song "What Were You Thinking?" which Mark sang on the Gaither Australian Homecoming video. The inspiration: a case of chiggers Woody and his dog dealt with!

Austin's Bridge came back to do a great acapella number. LordSong and Stan Whitmire, well, they always do what they do so well. They are a beloved part of the "ReMarkable family". But this particular night it was lots of Mark and lots of singing, including one of my favorites I haven't heard live, "I Don't Belong" -that was a great treat.

The "Geri-oke" at the end was really more of a "ReMarkable Idol". We heard from a great variety of talented singers and players among the audience.But I'm going to give a special shout-out to my friend Roxie Adrian who wowed the crowd with her piano rendition of "Jesus Is the Sweetest Name I Know." You know, there's nothing cooler than to be able to witness those kind of moments.

Though I am not a big fan of general admission events and it can be a little inconvenient to line up at the door hours ahead of time for the best seats, this is where a lot of the fellowship happens here and you meet a lot of great people. I found that it helps to wear a red hat, or have some sort of recognizable picture out there. :) In fact, someone borrowed my hat for this picture.

Stay tuned for day 3.