American Idol Auditions in Omaha

With a week-long break between the end of Summer on Stage and Kaity's senior year, we hopped on a plane last Tuesday to go to the American Idol Season 7 auditions in Omaha, Nebraska. Sure, it's a long shot, but we decided the experience of being behind the scenes of a major reality TV/talent show would be a unique way to end the summer.

Registration was pretty fast. We stood in line only a couple of hours (on Wednesday) to get our wrist bands and tickets. The audition/cattle call was two days away (on Friday), which means we had plenty of time to go sightseeing and/or catch up on our sleep after getting up at o-dark-thirty.

One interesting perk -- we got to see first-hand just how far people will go to get a shot at fame. Such desperate individuals included a guy dressed in a bathrobe and shower cap and another guy dressed as Cupid, complete with homemade wings. Predictably, they each advanced to the next round, which means they've cemented their places (and reputations) in pop culture history.