The Bachelorette Season 9 - Desiree Hartsock



THE BACHELORETTE SEASON 9:
  





The Bachelorette Season 9 Finale

WOW, where to start this one off.  I am just going to say, a HUGE thumbs up to Mr. Fleiss and gang for pulling off another wonderful season.   Another big feather in his cap – he was finally able to stifle the spoiler king (reality Steve) with a huge upset. 
Next, I want to congratulate Desiree and Chris.  As a follower of theirs for the season, I am so glad that she finally found her prince charming in that of Chris Siegfried and we at the Rose hope for nothing but the very best for both of them.



But before Des and Chris go to the remainder of their story, Des had some hard news to hand out to Drew.  She waited for Drew at the top of the hill and the two of them rode their horses down to the beach below.  Sitting down on the sand, you can see Des’s heart was heavy as she knew that she was going to break up with Drew today.  After their emotional talk on the beach, Drew leaves the show.



The next day, Des gets ready for her last date with Chris.  They meet up and board a catamaran for their final date in the sun.  Sailing on the boat, you can see the bantering that they do back and forth and IMO, you can literally “feel” the love that they share.  As Des stated in an ITM, it took Brooks leaving for her to finally realize what she had all along right in front of her.  They were able to swim in the water with stingrays, frolick in the water, and enjoy their time together.



That evening, they get together once more and have time on their evening together.  This is where quite honestly, we get to see the real, raw emotion that the two share.  They start out on the couch where Chris makes a sentimental if not funny toast, to the bed where he pulls out a journal where he wrote all of his poems in.  Again, the real emotion that these two share speaks volumes and you can literally feel it.  When we leave them that night, they are laying on the bed, kissing and just enjoying the moment.



The next day, Chris gets a chance to meet Des’s family including her brother; Nate.  They all sit down and this is where the serious questions begin.  I got to give the guy props; he answered each question in turn and it seemed to impress her family.  Eventually it was time for Des’s dad and Chris to have an alone chat.  During their chat, I think that it was obvious to her dad that Chris was being serious in this process and really wanted to be with her for the long haul as he asked her dad for Des’s hand in marriage(so to speak).  Des eventually sits down with her brother Nate who, after asking Des some key questions, gives his approval of Chris and thinks he’s there for the right reasons and will treat her well.



FRC:

The next day finds Des and Chris nervous as they both go through the ritual of getting ready for the ceremony.  Chris first meets up with Neil Lane to choose the ring that he wants to give to Des; she in turn is also getting her hair done, and getting dressed and ready for the day that will change her life.  Eventually Des pulls up in her limo and meets up with Chris Harrison who escorts her to the FRC location overlooking the ocean at Antigua.  Chris is the next one to show up.  He does look very handsome in his suit and as he comes around the corner where Des could see him, a huge smile crosses her lips as she waits for him to get to her.  Standing in front of her, Chris tells her how he feels, but before he gets down on a knee, she stops him.  It is her turn to tell him something.  This is where she tells him about Brooks, her feelings right now, the fact that he’s the only one there and that she is in love with him.  Without hesitation, Chris dove into the chance to propose in a way that I can honestly say was super romantic.



I don’t know what more to say, other than us at the Rose is really happy for Chris and Des and wish them both nothing but the very best for their future!





Episode 10: Fantasy Dates in Antigua End in Heartbreak


All I got to say about tonight’s show is WOW.  WOW, about the scenery, WOW about the romance and WOW about the drama.



Drew is the first one to get a date tonight.  They first meet up in Betty’s Hope where they share some kisses and a hug before hopping into their jeep for a tour around the island.  After stopping several times for a kiss and a few pictures along the way, they find themselves at Shirley Heights where they join in on the local’s festivities.  They make some purchases, join in on the limbo party and have a great time with the locals.  After they finished with the fun, they went for a picnic on the bluff overlooking the bay and fishing docks below.  They have a chance to talk more about where they are in their relationship and his hometown date.  They had a planned dinner on the beach by the bonfire, but it was rained out so they went back to the fantasy suite early.  Even though they were in the suite, Des still gave him the card and of course Drew went for it.  They got into a serious conversation about communication and how she is happy he is really good at doing it.  In the past, she had a boyfriend that couldn’t communicate things.  Des shows Drew around the suite and they end up in the bedroom where there is champagne, rose petals on the bed and a dessert waiting for them.  After sharing several kisses, he tells the crew that they need to leave.  LOL.



Brooks is meeting his mom and sister in Boise, Idaho.  He has doubts about carrying on the journey with Des as he is really having a hard time trying to decide if he’s in love and if not, why isn’t he there yet.  As he is telling his mom and sister, he really doesn’t feel strong enough for Des to tell her that he loves her, to which his sister said that he should KNOW by now that he either loves her or not.



Back in Antigua, Des is gearing up to meet Chris for their date together.  After meeting up, sharing a hug and some kisses, a heli lands nearby and the two of them board it for a trip around the island.  They land on the island of Barbuda where they “cop a squat”(yes, different movie, but same concept..LOL) and share a picnic.  After frolicking on the beach and swimming in the ocean, interrupted by several kisses and close contact, they head back to Antigua where they share a romantic dinner together at Galley Bay.  At dinner, they begin to talk of their future plans, and to be honest, Chris looked really nervous as he wanted to ask her if she’d re-locate to Seattle if they were together as that is where his business is taking off and there are more opportunities there for him.  Of course, she’s the one that would be willing to move if they were meant to be together.  During one of their chats, she tells him that she noticed how he was wanting to be beside her all the time, taught her how to play dodgeball, the looks between them when they are doing things.  When they had finished their dinner, Des gave him the fantasy suite card and he readily agreed.  When they got to the “suite” they realized that it was a private cabana with a pool.  Chris brings out his poem book and shares another poem with Des which touches on where he is now in his feelings and how he wants this to be a forever between them.  They get changed and hop into the pool that is decorated with rose petals and candles all around it. During their time together you can hear Matt White’s Love and Affection song in the background.



Now for the drama of the night....Brooks arrives in Antigua and Chris Harrison greets him at the door for a chat.  In an ITM, Brooks admits that he likes things about Des, but he is NOT in LOVE with Des.  During their chat, Harrison tries to talk Brooks into spending the day with Des to find out if there is more there between them.  Brooks declines as Chris still tries to get him to tell what love actually means to Brooks.  It was obviously through their conversation, that Brooks isn’t in love with Des and can’t see himself falling for her at all.  He likes things about her but he’s not IN love with her.



When Des greets him for their date, it is obviously how much she’s looking forward to it, but shortly after they greet, she knows something’s wrong and her mood immediately takes a nosedive.  They head out onto the pier where they have a seat on the bench and talk.  It is really obvious how heartbroken Des was over loosing Brooks before she was ready to.  When all was said and done, their talk lasted a whole 20 min on a breakup that obviously affected them both.  I want to give to Brooks a thumbs up for not letting this go farther, but on the other hand, a thumbs down for leaving it this long when as he put it to his family, he was obviously having doubts BEFORE the HTD whether he was falling for her or could see himself in love with her.  Walking Brooks out, he had his hand around her shoulders, but she refused to put her arm around him.  Obviously, she is checking out.  One thing that Brooks did tell her as they were walking out is that he hoped she was open to find love with one of the other guys, which of course got her even more upset as she told him that when she was going on dates with the other guys, she wanted to go on them with him; she wanted to give her heart to him and that is why she closed it off to the other guys.  At the end of tonight’s part one, we see Des sitting on the end of a pier, crying.  We also get ITM’s from Des as she’s in such a turmoil as to whether she will go on......





The Bachelorette Season Nine:  Home Sweet Home



First off, I want to apologize for the tardiness of this blog. 

Tonight’s episode was all about the hometown dates and family love.  In each of the family’s homes, Des had to decide if this is the one that she naturally fit into or was there something that just didn’t match up?

First up was Zack in Dallas, Texas.  The fun-loving side of their relationship shined once again as he introduced her to his families business....Snowcones.  They met up in a local park, and right away, they started off with the jokes and laughs.  As they sit there on the park bench, he begins to tell her about a dream that he had(I am NOT going to attempt to recite it...LOL) and at the end, he left her for a few minutes, but when he came back, he drove a snowcone van back to her.  They got inside and he taught her the fine mechanics of making a snowcone.  They then drove the bus to a local school where he surprised her once again as a streetload of kids came running up to grab their own cone.  Bottom line, they had a lot of fun joking around, etc before heading over to the family home.  Once there, the fun didn’t stop as all the family seem to be like Zack; full of energy and fun.  The whole family was having fun joking around; especially his mom when she asked what are those red things on the table(which of course were roses) and when Des answered roses, then Zack’s mom said that she thought that Des could just give him one now.  I’d say that was a resounding vote of confidence with having Des join the family!  Once they finished eating, the family sang the song to Des that Zack wrote for her.  It really seemed to touch her and after that, the two of them had a few private moments outside where Zack presented to Des the ring that he bought for her in Atlantic City.  At the end, they shared some sweet kisses.

Next up was Drew in Scottsdale, Arizona.  They met up on the streets of Scottsdale where they were able to share some kisses and have a chance to re-connect.  They then walked to a little park nearby where they sat down with their arms, hands, and legs intertwined as Drew tells Des who she will be meeting today.  At the end of their talk, Drew asks Des if she’d go with him to pick up his sister to which Des happily agreed.  His sister, Melissa, was extremely happy to see Drew and Des took it all in.  When they arrived at the family home, Des was greeted warmly.  The family went outside for a meal and some chat time.  One of the things that stood out to me is when Des and Drew’s dad, Mal, were talking, he asked her if she had ever met an angel and when she said she hadn’t, he told her that she now has in Melissa.  Both of Drew’s parents gave a resounding blessing to Drew to get engaged to Des.  In an ITM, Des said that Drew’s family was phenomenal, full of love, full of life, warm and receptive.  She also stated that she didn’t want to go as she wanted to join Drew’s family and she wanted to stay.  It was already night time when they went outside for their goodbyes, they gave a long hug and some sweet kisses.  Drew took this time to tell Des that he loves her and wants her to be a part of his life to which Des pulled him towards her for some sweet kisses before parting.

Next up is Chris’s HTD in McMinnville Oregon.  When Des arrives, they meet up in a neighborhood park where he has picked a few flowers for her.  They walk through the park till they come out through the trees and find the ball park in front of them.  Des finds out that they are going to play some baseball which is one of Chris’s first loves.  As they play, they are having fun, joking around and making light of their time together.  Once they finished playing, Des shows him the sketches that she made of their journey so far.  When they were done, they headed over to his parents place and were greeted warmly by the whole family.  There even was a session where Des got to know Chris’s dad in a lot “closer” situation, when he took her downstairs and since he is a chiropractor, he gave her a back adjustment as they talked about Chris.  Both Chris’s parents have given Des a go as far as him getting engaged at the end of this process.  At the end of the day, they share some sweet kisses as Chris then watches Des drive off.

Up next is Brooks HTD in Salt Lake City, Utah.  They met up in Liberty park where they enjoyed a picnic before getting into a canoe to paddle around the pond there.  During their time at the park, they were able to share a bit of their feelings but Brooks is really having doubts about where this will all end up.  Des also shared a list of her “moments” with Brooks.  Going to the family, there were a lot of them there and conveniently they used nametags to identify them all.  A smart thing to do when you are put into that much of a group as it can be intimidating…just ask me as we do that for our family reunions when there is a hundred or more around.  They sat around and had a meal before Des had a chance to sit down with the family members to get a perspective on Brooks.  Des first sat down with Brooks’s mom followed by some of the rest of the family.  When their evening was over, they shared some kisses before their goodbyes.

Next up was Des back in LA and she knows she has to have one more meeting with her brother.  She wants to sort thing out with him and make sure he knows that she doesn’t know for sure if he will be able to meet up with any of the guys.  I got to say, this meeting was absolutely PAINFUL.  The stress and distance that was between them was unreal.  Des tells her brother what she feels about each of the guys; Zack:  So adventurous and positive outlook on life;  Drew: The sweetest person you’d ever meet, smiles and lights up the room; Chris: Athletic, active, so good at everything, so humble, would make a good father and husband; Brooks: funny, quirky and they just get each other.  You can tell their time together was strained.

Next up, Chris Harrison sits down with Des to find out how she felt the hometown dates went.  She states again that she loves Brooks, but let’s face it, in all the past seasons, never has the lead actually said that she loves one of the guys this early on in the process and it really makes me wonder what’s up and what’s going to happen.  Somehow I think that there are some more curve balls coming down the pipe.  I just hope that Des can weather them and find the right one for her, whether that is Brooks, Chris, Drew or anyone else.

During the rose ceremony, both Chris and Des made their traditional speeches before Des hands out the roses to Brooks, Chris and Drew, which leaves Zack on the outs.  I felt so bad for him but will give props to Des as she gave his ring back to him before he left.

Next week is the Men Tell All, and the following week will be the Fantasy Dates.  Again, I apologize for the blog being late this week and will be back next week for a brief Men Tell All roundup with hopefully more previews for the Fantasy Dates and Last Chance Dates. 






Episode Seven:  Desiree Makes her Final Four Decision in Madeira



Tonight Des and the “boys” hit the island of Madeira running as they all went on dates.  There were three individual dates and one two on one.  Des and the guys arrived on a sailboat and cruised into harbor where they found their hotel waiting for them up on the hillside above.

After leaving the guys, Des heads up to the balcony area to meet up with some of her friends; Catherine, Lesley and Jackie from Sean’s season.  Of course they had to get in some “girl-talk” time as they all critiqued the guys that arrived on the pool deck far below.  Des was the first one to offer up her description of the five remaining guys; Chris is so supportive, Brooks is positive-adventurous-fun, Michael is genuine, Zack is adventurous and reflective, Drew is the sweetest one.  Then the girls got down to the nitty and gritty by asking some questions like who’s the best kisser; Drew, most successful; Michael, most athletic; Chris, best body; Drew, best eyes; Brooks, most adventurous; Zack.

 The first one to get a date this week is Brooks.  Des picked him up at the hotel and the two of them drove off in a tiny car hardly built for the two of them...LOL.  Des and Brooks continue their drive, stopping along the way to check out the view from different viewpoints.  Driving along the seashore, they begin to drive up the mountain till they are above the clouds.  They finally get to a viewpoint where they walk along a pathway till they reach an area overlooking a cliff and they can see the clouds moving in and around below them.  As they sit there and talk, the clouds begin to move in and around them.  While there, they were able to share some nice kisses as the clouds continue to move in and around them.  On a side note, here is another place to add to my bucket list for sure!!

 Back at the hotel, the next date card arrived and it was for Chris...Let’s sea if we can find love here...Desiree.  This of course thrills him to no end as it had been a while since he had his last date.

 Back with Brooks and Des, she admits in an ITM that she’s falling in love with Brooks.  They are having dinner and talking about meeting his family.  But the real ?? factor of the dinner for me came when they made adjectives about their love.....walking, skipping, jogging, running, then the finish line.  Brooks asked Des where she was on that and she thought it was in the running stage....in an ITM right after that, he said that they weren’t on the same page as he’s definitely not at that point at all as he is a little bit behind in his emotional process.  Instantly his mood changed and he looked like he had a “heavy heart” a bit.

 Next up is Chris

Des arrives to pick up Chris and the two of them walk down to the pier where they board a yacht and head out onto the open ocean.  Getting changed into their swimsuits, they get comfortable on the deck, putting sunscreen on each other as they lay on the boat deck as they smooch and enjoy each other’s company.

 Back at the hotel, the next date card arrives and it is for Michael.....Let’s have fun at Funtral...Desiree.  Drew is a bit heartbroken that he doesn’t have the last two on one, but he knows he needs to make a point of enjoying their time together.

 Back with Chris and Des, they arrive on one of the little islands off of Madeira and walk along a path till they find a nice meadow area with wildflowers.  As they sit there having a picnic, she notices the empty bottle that Chris brought as he says that they should write a poem together and do a message in a bottle together which they can toss out there and see what happens.  As they make their way to the ocean, they climb out onto a large rock prepared to toss the bottle and share a few more kisses.

 For the night portion of their date, they have their dinner at a local winery.  They begin talking about what they want in the future, how many kids, etc.  They also have a chance to talk about the hometown dates coming up and how Chris wants her to go to his hometown to introduce her to his family.  Here, Chris gets up the courage to say another poem to Des which ends with him telling her that he loves her.  The poem and words of I Love You obviously touched her as the emotion was seen in her eyes.  Before parting for the night, they took a walk through one of the local parks as we get a song sung to us in the background.

 Next up is Michael’s date....after Des picking him up, they begin walking through the streets and finding different markets and stores.  In one of the markets, Michael picks up a piece of fruit and bites into something that was completely unexpected as the look on his face shows.  A fun part of their date happened when they boarded a “street-tobbagan” and sled back down the streets of Fuldarna.

The night portion of their date was spent at dinner as he talked about his family life and the possibility of her coming home to meet his family.  He had a chance to talk about his parents and especially how he felt wronged by his dad.

 Back at the hotel, the next date card arrives and of course it is for Drew and Zack....I am looking for a man that can make my heart race...Desiree.

 Back with Des and Michael, he had a chance to talk about his other long term relationship that he had and how his girlfriend cheated on him.  After dinner, they continued to walk through the streets till they came along a local singer who serenaded them on the streets of Madeira.

 Next up is Drew and Zack’s date with Des.  The two guys arrive at their date location and find Des riding around the go-kart track.  Pulling up to the guys, she tells them that they will be racing around the track.  After tearing around the track for a while, Des pulls up and lets the “boys” have a race and the winner will get a little something special with her.  Once they finished with their race, they walked towards a picnic that was set up for the three of them.  Since Zack won the race, the two of them headed off for some private time first.  During their time, Zack showed her his “sketch pad” of their journey together...the things that he drew of their time that they spent together.  They have a chance to share some kisses before heading back to join Drew.

Drew finally gets his chance to talk to Des alone and he took advantage of the situation to talk more about his family, where he’s at at this point and what he wants.  I got to say, I loved their body language together...Des always leaning in closer to him and holding his hands all the time....When talking about his family, he once again expressed how his sister is mentally challenged and he’d love it if Des would come with him when he went to get his sister to which she said that she would be honoured.  At the end of their time together, they shared some kisses before walking back to Zack.  When they got back, Des hands out the date rose to Drew.

 The guys are seen at their room packing up their stuff and getting ready for the rose ceremony as we are also shown Des meeting up with Chris Harrison for a chat before the rose ceremony.  One thing in her chat with Harrison tonight, she admitted that she thinks she’s hit the “finish line” with Brooks and is in love with Brooks.  Now this is really weird editing........why the heck is this being left in when it’s never been done before?  For some reason, I got the feeling that a bomb is going to go off at some point as never before has a lead ever told Harrison at this point that they are “in love” with one of the contestants.  Not only that, but she also admits to Chris H that she’s falling in love with her guy Chris.  When asked about Drew, she says that he is the best looking guy and loves kissing him.  Talk about being open here...LOL.

 As Des arrives in front of the guys ready to hand out the remaining roses, she makes her traditional speech before handing out the three remaining roses to Brooks, Chris and Zack, along with Drew, they will be the ones to take her to their hometown dates.  After Michael has a chance to say goodbye to the guys, she walks him out and has a chance to say goodbye to him herself.  When all is said and done, she admits to him that their relationship isn’t as far along as the others and that is the reason why he’s got to go.

 Well, that’s another week in the books.  Hope you enjoyed my blog and check out the editing notes and links to the charts below.  Hope you all have a great week and I will be back next week to sound off once more.  Have a great week everyone!!

 The guys that Des says could be her husband

Husband meter:
Brooks
Zack
Michael


Other notes:

Never before has the lead talked to one of the contestants as forthright as Des with Brooks and Chris Harrison tonight.  Kind of makes you wonder what else is coming down the track....











Episode Six:  Drama, Drama, and More Drama


I don’t even know where to start this blog tonight.  As far as I can tell, there were only really two dates this week that counted as proper dates.  The group date was just full of whiners and complainers that are there for drama only which of course revolved around James. 

I am going to do the blog a little different tonight....I am going to cover the two great dates, then will cover the group date/drama fest later.



First up, Drew

He and Des had their date as they toured around Barcelona.  They shared plenty of kisses as the day went along but the great part of the day is that Drew finally opened up  to Des and she was able to see the more passionate side of him when it comes to his family.  By the end of the night, they were sharing some pretty hot and heavy kisses in the streets of Barcelona....right up until he spilled the “beans” with regards to James.



Next date worthy of mention; Zack

The other date of the week that I thought was great, if for nothing more than just entertainment value and no drama was Des and Zack.  They seemed to have a great day sketching the dressed model, then each other.  But the best comic relief part of the date, hands down was when they had to sketch the nude model that came in.  Poor Zack was sitting behind his sketch pad not really knowing what to make of it all.  The looks that he gave were priceless.   When Des and Zack went out to dinner, they had great conversation, not to mention some hot kisses.  But I’d say the best thing that came out of that date; Zack didn’t throw anyone under the bus.



Now....for the drama fest that was say the meat of the sandwich....

This part of the show tonight was actually quite ridiculous.  In the beginning, I was feeling kind of sorry for poor James.  Being ganged up on and all, but that soon faded when it became obvious that this guy just didn’t get the picture and kept going back for more.  What was really sad is that the poor guy just didn’t get it.  HE is the one that brought the majority if not all the treatment he got onto himself by going back over and over again for another helping by bringing in one guy after another into the fray.  I will say though, there is such a thing as too much drama for the sake of the show and if looking at twitter tonight was any example....I am not the only one with that thought in mind.



Since there was no cocktail party tonight and Zack and Drew both had roses, only three more were handed out at the rose ceremony to Chris, Brooks and Michael.  This meant that Kasey, Juan Pa and James were sent packing tonight but not before James got some more whining in as he was whisked away in the mini-van.



Well, that’s it for this week.....I know the blog is short and sweet tonight, but really not much happened but all the drama involving the guys and James, and I am definitely not going to expand on that anymore than needed.

Hope you all enjoyed the abbreviated blog this week. 









Episode Five:  Munich Tours, Snowball Fights, and HotTugs...Seriously?




Tonight’s episode is one for the drama books for sure.  Between Bryden showing up to tell Des that he’s leaving while she’s on a date with another guy to the hot tug two on one 
drama fest.  Let’s get to it!!


The guys arrived in Munich tonight, ready for their week to begin.  Chris meets up with the guys and tells them what to expect this week; a one on one, a group date and the dreaded two on one.  The guys then head off to check out their suite at the Vier Jahreszeiten Kempinski Hotel.  Chris is the one to get the individual date; Chris, in Munich we can fall in love with each other…..Desiree. 

The next we see of them, they are touring around the streets of Munich and acting like tourists as they check things out.
Meanwhile, back at the hotel, Bryden is questioning himself and why he is there.  He talks to James about it and has decided that he is going to find her on the date and tell her that he’s leaving.
Back with Des and Chris, they are making shopping stops along their way.  First they stop at the market and try different foods, then to a clothing place where they try on different outfits.  The whole time this is happening, we are getting glimpses of Bryden walking through the streets trying to find them.  Bryden catches up to them as they are dancing in the square and interrupts their date to talk to Des.  Bryden and Des take some time out and he tells her that because he isn’t progressing in this and he thinks it is best to bow out now.  The only comment I will make and think Des made it too…why did he feel the need to go and find her when she was on a date with Chris?  Anyhow….after Bryden left, Des went back to find Chris and tell him what that was all about.  The two of them carried on their date together, first stopping for a mug of beer.  Did I just say a mug…I meant a gallon, holy crap batman, big mug or what….

At the hotel, the group date card arrives; Juan Pablo, James, Kasey, Zack, Brooks, Drew and Mikey.  Ben and Michael realize that they are going on the two on one date.  Neither of them are happy about it and are doing ITM’s about it.

Back with Des and Chris, the two of them are meeting up for the dinner portion of their date.  They arrive at this palace and sit down to dinner.  The two of them talk about what they want out of this, Chris talks about how he is the relationship kind of guy, then tells Des that he has something for her…a poem that he wrote.  The poem really seems to of touched Des as she almost looks close to tears a few times.  After the poem, Des presents Chris with the rose to which he happily accepts.  The two of them are then serenaded by Matt White as they dance and kiss away the song.

The next day, Des and the guys head to the slopes via the tram to the top of the alps where they get yodeling lessons and take to the snow for some fun.  As they are heading to the top, I had to laugh when Drew said something about Des never seeing anything like this before.  I am a proud Canadian and Rocky Mountains girl so will state that Des was in Banff and the Rockies and they are some beautiful mountains as well.  Maybe Drew forgot about that…(ok, back to the show…LOL).  Once they finished their yodeling lessons, they went around the other side and found toboggans waiting for them.  Loved Kasey’s description….a black diamond ski slope…..got to say, I really wonder if he’s been on one before.  Anyhow, off they go, sledding down the mountain, crashing into one another till they get to the end of their slide where they promptly begin a snowball fight.

Back at the hotel, the next date card arrives….Michael and Ben, let’s heat things up!...........two guys, one rose, one stays, one goes.

Now Des and the guys come down and find doors; when opened, they find an ice castle/igloo waiting for them to explore.  In one area, they find a couch and table where they all sit down and toast the day.  Brooks is the first one to get some alone time with Des, followed by Mikey(they make mini snowmen outside), Zack(who pretends to yodel to Des), and James(Brooks was spying on them).  When she finished talking to the guys, she handed out the rose to Brooks.

When Ben and Michael left the guys, their limo ride to meet up with Des was a really painful trip…silence and looks of death were exchanged between them…LOL.  When they get there and meet up with Des, they sit on a bench and have a thermos of coffee.  When done, Des tells them that since she didn’t get to do the polar bear dip in Lake Louise when she was there, that is what they should do today.  They head in to get changed and when they come out, Des fakes them out and they end up climbing into a hot tug(a hot tub that moves along the surface of the lake propelled by wood).  When they get in, Des moves them out into the lake, then asks each guy what they like in a relationship.  Fight number one, coming right up when Des finds herself in the middle of the two guys and their overblown testosterone levels as they try to outwit one another.  Des keeps looking out at the lake….I bet she is trying to figure out if a polar bear plunge might be good in order to escape this testosterone battle.

Back at the hotel, Kasey and Drew are talking to the rest of the guys saying how James isn’t there for the right reasons.  Meaning how James knows if he places in the top four, he could be the next bachelor.  Also another thing that was mentioned, how James and Mikey are going to be popular after this and how they could get anyone they want.

Battle number two coming up as Des and the guys head out for their dinner.  Michael starts in on Ben one more time and luckily this time, Des doesn’t have to take a cold swim to avoid this battle.  Ben takes a leave from the situation.  I can’t blame him for stepping out versus retaliating, but seriously, enough is enough.  Des takes Ben aside for some time alone first, in which he goes on again about his son.  With her time with Michael, he does apologize to her about how he went about things but wants her to see that Ben’s just not the right one for her.  In the end, Des gave the rose to Michael.  Got to give it to Ben, he had one heck of a limo exit….maybe that is the true Ben and we all finally saw it.

Des arrives at the castle for the cocktail party and rose ceremony.  Awaiting her arrival is Chris Harrison.  The two of them head inside to have a chat before the party in which Des has a chance to tell him that she doesn’t need a cocktail party tonight as she knows exactly what she’s going to do.  Des and Harrison head into the room where the guys are all waiting for the party to begin, but when Des tells them that there won’t be a party as she know what she wants, it leaves the guys stunned.
As the guys are lined up for the rose ceremony, Des makes her traditional speech before handing out the remaining roses.  Besides Chris, Brooks and Michael whom all got roses on their dates, Zack, Kasey, Juan Pablo, Drew and James are the other guys to get roses.  This leaves Mikey to make his departure and joins Bryden and Ben on the next flight home…yada, yada, yada.  Think you all get the picture.

Well, that’s about it for this week.  Next week they are going to Barcelona and onward from there.  Hope you all enjoyed the blog this time and will be back next week for another installment!


 I will be back next week to try to make sense of the newest preview as it seems like Des isn’t finished with the drama for this season.

 


Episode 4 Atlantic City: A Flying Bachelorette, Mr. America Comedy...or Pageant and Sandy Leaves Her Mark

First off tonight, things are changing as the guys are leaving the mansion and begin their globetrotting to find love with Des.

Harrison arrives at the mansion to tell them that they will be leaving the mansion for good.  After the guys are packed, they board their flight to join Desiree in Atlantic City where she is already walking around getting a feel for the area.  When the guys arrive at their hotel Revel, they find the first date card waiting for them.  Kasey reads it out; Brad, Let our love shine through...Desiree.  This of course makes him tremendously happy as he gets ready for their date.

After Des arrives to pick up Brad, the two of them head down to the boardwalk where they enjoy some of the rides including the slingshot, mini rollercoaster and other fun.  Walking along the boardwalk, they find a saltwater taffy store and after entering and trying the taffy, they also “sniff” out a chocolate area within the factory that they are in.  They take the liberty to try out the chocolate, before leaving the factory and walking along the shore to find a sandcastle made just for them.  After sitting there by the fire and chatting, they head off to get ready for their dinner.

Back at the hotel, the next date card arrives and it is a group date: I am looking for my Mr. Right...Desiree.  Brooks, Bryden, Zack K, Kasey, Drew, Juan Pablo, Zack W, Ben, Mikey, Michael, Chris; which leaves James for the last individual date.
Back with Des and Brad, it is obvious that the dinner conversation is really lacking.  Des says to Brad that they should go to the top of the lighthouse since it is such a historic area.  Sheesh, all those stairs that they climbed, Des is still trying to catch her breath when she states to Brad that she can’t give the rose to him and ends the date.  Couldn’t there be a better way of doing that....make the poor guy climb all those stairs just to kick him to the curb and send him back down.

The next day, the guys join Des at Boardwalk Hall and she tells the guys a little bit about the hall as well as what they will be doing this date....just in time to see Harrison walk in and all of a sudden, the looks on their faces show it all as they look less than thrilled to see Chris standing before them.  After Harrison introduces Miss America, Mallory Hagen, he then tells the guys that they will be doing their own Mr. America competition today.  This is gonna be really good as we watch the guys try to figure out what the talent part of the competition they will be doing.  One of the better oneliners of the night came from Michael.... “Looking all around you is like seeing a train wreck at every station”  Yep, that kind of summed it up for sure as all the guys grab their “talent” article and try to rehearse with them all.  Got to say Drew also had a great one.... “It’s like a hodgepodge of tom foolery”.  Then Mallory Hagen took each of the guys aside to ask them some quickfire questions to prep them for the competition as well.  Then.....they are told about the last part of the pageant....the bathing suit part.  As the racks are wheeled in with the suits on them, the looks on the guys’s faces were priceless.   When the guys came out on stage and did their acts, it was obvious some were a lot more “successful” than others.  In true Chris Harrison fashion, the dramatics went into announcing the order of finalists with the 2nd runner up going to Brooks, 1st runner up going to Zack W and the winner was Kasey.  When the competition was over, the guys and Des went to the Bask Exhale Mind Body Spa for the “after party”.  While there, Des took some guys aside to get to know them more beginning with Chris who read a poem to her that he wrote.  They finished their private time with a kiss.  Next up was Ben.  Of course, he had to do it in front of everyone else.  Seriously, my thoughts of Ben on night one were great....now, not so much! 
Back at the hotel, James is upstairs having a bubblebath, chocolate coated strawberries and some lounge time as he gets ready for his date.  The date card arrives and it says:  James....Can our love weather the storm?
Zack W is the next one to have some alone time with Des.  Since he only was able to play half the song at the competition, he wanted to play the rest of the song for Des.  When he was done, they went out to join the group and Des handed out the rose to Zack W.  The date ended with all of them jumping into the pool together.

Next day, James and Des had their date.  This date was really special and hit a few cords with me and others considering the date revolved mostly around the damage that Hurricane Sandy did to the Jersey Shore.  The devastation that remains is absolutely mind boggling.  It is amazing what mother nature can do buildings, seashores and lives is frightening.  For this reason, watching this date and the awareness that is coming out of it is awe inspiring.  I hope that “bachelor nation” will continue to do dates like this.  After the heli tour of the area, Des and James were introduced to a couple that had gone through the storm in their home.  The love, life, and experience that Manny and Jan shared with all of us tonight was inspiring.  It was also wonderful that since they spent their anniversary in a shelter, Des, James and the Bachelorette gave the remainder of their date to Manny and Jan.  It was obvious that it meant a lot to the two of them that they were given their “missed” anniversary dinner tonight.  Meanwhile, Des and James went and found a pizza joint where they were able to share some pizza and beers while they continued with their date.
While Manny and Jan were on their date, they were handed a replica of their wedding album that were soaked and trashed during the hurricane.  It is another touch that totally meant the world to them so I am once again glad that happened.  Afterwards, Des and James joined them at the House of Blues to tell them that their date is continuing.  They walked into the Music Hall and find Darius Rucker there singing for them.  Des handed the rose to James and the two of them were able to join Manny and Jan for a dance together before the couple left for the night and Des/James were able to enjoy one last dance together to end the evening.

The next night, Des came by to join the guys for the cocktail party before the rose ceremony and were able to take some of the guys aside for some private time.  First off was Michael who brought up a few reasons for the two of them to hang out before sharing a kiss before the end of their time.  This was followed by Chris who was worried that they were in the friends zone at which time Des put those thoughts to rest as they were able to share some kisses before Des left to take Bryden aside for some time. Bryden was concerned that he is falling by the wayside in the process as he is seeing the other guys connections with Des forming.

Along with Zack W and James, roses were also handed out to Chris, Brooks, Juan Pablo, Drew, Michael, Ben, Kasey, Bryden and Mikey which leaves Zack K leaving tonight.

Well, that’s all for tonight.  To be honest with you, this is one of the better Bach or Ette shows that I had seen in a while which was mostly due to introducing the “reality factor” by means of taking on a real life situation in the name of Hurricane Sandy.  Next week Des and the boys are headed to Munich, Germany and I will be back once again to fill you all in.







Episode Three: More group, individual dates, and oh yea......a girlfriend returns!



Tonight’s epi begins with Chris Harrison dropping by the bach pad to give his usual weekly rundown of what to expect on all the dates and before leaving drops the first date card off on the table.

Mikey is the first one to grab it and read it out.  Ben, Brad, Brandon, Brian, Brooks, Chris, Drew, Michael, Mikey and Zack K; Love is a battlefield.

All the guys pile into the stretch and head over to where Desiree is waiting for them.  They are introduced to professional dodgeball players who then teach the guys a bit about dodgeball.  It is swiftly kicked into gear when Brooks and the other guys find themselves being pummelled by balls.  Before long, Harrison shows up and informs the guys that now they will be split into teams and will play one another with the winner taking all.  The teams are: BT or blue team are; Ben, Brad, Brian, Drew and Zack where as the RT or red team are: Brandon, Brooks, Chris, Michael and Mikey.  Once all the guys are changed into their uniforms, they are taken to the square and field for a very public game.  I must say, the guys look pretty dang good in their tight uni’s.  LOL.  The games were tied at one a piece.  Let’s say, it didn’t take long before the brutality of the game came to the forefront as Brooks became the first casualty.  His finger was pretty badly broke and because the teams were still even, a guy from the blue side was taken out and unfortunately, Brooks was sent to the hospital to get his finger re-set.  It came down to Zack for the blue and Chris for the red team as the final two still playing in the third match.  Finally Zack just got the better of Chris and won the dodgeball game for the blue team.  Des surprised both teams by announcing that they all will be going for the night time portion of the date.

Des and the guys show up at the Inter-Continental to begin the night portion of their date and after making the customary speech, she takes Brad aside for some alone time.  Brad then has a chance to tell her about his son, Maddox.

Back at the mansion, the next date card arrives and Bryden reads it out:  Kasey, love defies gravity...Des.  Kasey is obviously pumped at getting the next individual date.

Chris is the next guy to get a chance to see Des on his own and managed to get Des outside on a private area where they can talk alone.  They seemed to have a great connection and when they were back with the group, Brooks showed up straight from the hospital.  They immediately went off for some private time together and it took very little time before getting to the kissing.  When they got back to the group, Des handed out the date rose to Chris.  They were able to head down for a private concert for the two of them by Kate Earl.

AND.....here comes the drama that I was talking about....
Chris Harrison phones Des the next day and tells her that one of the guys has a girlfriend back home that the show has found out.  So, naturally, Des wants to go to the house to confront the guy and Chris brings his girlfriend in tow....oh good gawd, talk about a major blowout.  Stephanie wasn’t holding anything back when it came to confronting Brian.  Poor Des and Chris are kinda observers at this point as Stephanie really isn’t holding anything back...All I got to say is “you go girl!!”  When all was said and done and Brian’s butt was kicked to the curb, Des went back inside to ask the other guys if they are hiding anything from her.  When no one stepped forward, Des and Kasey left the house to start their date.

Kasey and Des arrive at the Andez in West Hollywood and find two people dancing on the side of a building.  When Kasey is informed that they will be doing it, he seemed pretty good with it, that is until they started doing it.  They actually got into it for a while, but since you are using so many muscles to get yourself in the position you want to be, they got tired really quickly.  After they got changed, they went to the roof to have the night portion of their date.  No sooner had they gotten up there that the wind began to blow.  By now, they were really cold so they thought that jumping into the pool, they might warm up....no such luck.  They found out the pool itself was freezing cold.  They tried to cuddle in the pool and share a kiss, but needless to say, they were absolutely freezing and decided to end up, where else but the stairwell and out of the wind.  As Des stated in an ITM, she feels that there is so much potential with Kasey for him to be a great husband and considering that nothing today was actually his fault, she gave him the rose.

The next day, the guys were getting ready for their date and went outside to find a stagecoach waiting for them.  Pulling up in this field, they see Des waiting for them on the balcony of this building.  Just as they were saying hi to her, out comes this guy and Des wrestles him over the balcony....Yep, they are doing stunt work.  LOL.  The guys learn that they will be learning stunt work for an old western, just like what was recently shot for the movie Lone Ranger.  After practicing drawing pistols, fighting, lassoing, their skills are put to work in one final challenge where the best “stunt” guy gets some quality time with Des.  Des chose Juan Pablo and they went inside for a private viewing of Lone Ranger.  When the screening was over, they shared a kiss.

For the night portion of the date, they all joined up around the campfire, and after making the traditional speech, Des took Bryden aside for some private time.  Zack is the next one to get some alone time.  James is the next one to get some alone time and they talk about how hard the process is for him considering he is away from his dad and also knowing his father has a cancer spot on his pancreas, he just wants to make sure that Des is feeling the same for him.  She gets up and retrieves the rose and comes back to give the rose to James, after which they share a few kisses.

The next day, Harrison shows up at the mansion and informs the guys that there won’t be a cocktail party before the rose ceremony, but there will be a pool party instead.  As the guys are waiting for Des to arrive, Ben escapes the house and meets up with Des in the driveway when he asks her for a private 15 min drive with just the two of them.  When they return, they are sharing a kiss and little do they know but Mikey and Michael are watching them from the gate.  Des is able to take some of the guys aside to get to know them a little better and while she is occupied, Mikey and Michael take that opportunity to take Ben aside and confront him about his time with Des.  It boils down to the fact that Ben lied when he said that he hasn’t spent time with Des yet.  This of course goes nowhere except to create more bad blood between the guys.  When Harrison finally does come back, he reminds everyone that there won’t be a cocktail party as they are all just getting straight to the rose ceremony later.

After the guys are all lined up, Des makes her traditional speech and hands out the roses.  Besides Chris, Kasey and James who all received roses on their dates, Bryden, Juan Pablo, Zack W, Brooks, Drew, Zack K, Brad, Michael, Mikey and Ben all get roses as well.  This leaves Brandon and Dan joining Brian as the ones going home this week.

Next week they will be going to Atlantic City and once again, I will be back with another blog installment. 






Episode 2:  Marriage Material, Rapin out and A Road Trip


Tonight’s episode had a whole mixture of things from checking out who may have marriage material, to rappin out the last 16 seasons to even experiencing things on the road.
After the guys had a chance to check out their new digs, Chris Harrison brings them all into the living room, tells them what they will be doing this week, and before leaving, plunks the usual date card on the table.  When Harrison leaves, Nick M gets up to read the card.  Brooks....I’m waiting for a sign.  Desiree.  This of course gets him really excited as he gets some handshakes and high fives from the rest of the guys.

At Des’s place, we see her sketching/designing a dress as she’s getting up and ready for her first date of the season.  Arriving at the guy’s place, she greets them all before taking off with Brooks in her baby blue Bently.  As she drives down the road, she tells Brooks that she’s going to take him somewhere that will show him a little about what she loves to do.  They pull up in front of a wedding boutique called Winnie Couture and head inside where Des tells Brooks that they will be trying on wedding attire.  The first tux is green and when Brooks comes out, Des laughs immediately calling him a leprechaun.  Mind you, she’s in a puffy dress, so guess you might say, they are both dressed a little over the top.  Next up is a really casual style for both of them....not quite right yet.  Third one is the charm as Brooks comes out in a proper tux and she in a nice classy dress.  Leaving the boutique, they drive down the road to a mobile cupcake van where they order a “wedding cupcake” which of course attracts so many bystanders to view the chaos.  Next they drive up a winding road that leads to the Hollywood sign.  Getting out, they walk up to the sign where they find pillows waiting for them on a “deck” of sorts where they can see out over the whole valley.  They begin talking, mostly about past relationships, etc when the sun is setting in the background, they share their first kiss.  For the night portion of their date, they are driving through a shady area of town till they hit a road closed sign.  Well of course Brooks has no idea what’s happening, but Des is determined to move the sign and drive down the road....till they come to a bridge and a table/chandelier set up and Brooks finally realizes that they were supposed to be there.  LOL.  Sitting down to dinner, they began talking again.  First was Des as she was telling Brooks about her life growing up, but when the table was turned so to speak, Brooks had a lot different view of his parents.  He comes from a divorced parents home and how his father left them at a young age, but when he came back later, Brooks didn’t even recognise him.  Needless to say, there was a lot of issues to sort out.

Back at the mansion, the next date card arrives and Kasey is the one to read it out....Who’s here for the right reasons?  Ben, Brandon, Brian, Dan, Drew, James, Juan Pablo, Kasey, Michael G, Mikey T, Nick, Will, Zack K and Zack M all get the group date card.

Meanwhile, on the bridge, Des hands out the rose to Brooks who gladly accepts.  They are sitting there talking when they hear some music in the background and head over to check it out.  They find Andy Grammer there to play a private concert for just the two of them.



Des is waiting for the guys to arrive and she tells us that they will be doing their own rap video and Soulja Boy will be there to give them some direction.  Yea, this is going to be really weird...........or bad, not sure which right now.  LOL.  Once the guys get dressed up(or lack there of), they are handed cards with their rap lyrics on them.  It seems that Brandon gets the guard and protect the heart(Kasey Kahl),  Michael G gets the Mesnick card, James gets Justin Reggo, AKA The Wrestler, and Ben gets Wes; AKA there to promote music career.  First up is Ben and Des dressed up like Jillian, followed by James, then Michael G, finally there is Brandon in his protecting the heart line.  Oh gawd, goody this is almost over because YES it was funny....GOOD, it was NOT.  LOL.

Finally the guys head in for their wrap party and Des has a chance to sit down with some of the guys to get some answers.  Zack W was the first one to get some alone time with Des.  After sitting down, he presented her with a gift; an antique diary that hasn’t been written in before save one note from a father to his daughter.  This of course touched Des and they were able to share a few minutes alone.  Mikey was next followed by Ben.  Des brings up Ben’s son Brody and they talked about him for a bit.  Close to the end of their time alone, they shared a kiss.  Next was Michael G with Des, but meanwhile, Mikey T takes Ben aside to tell him that he isn’t impressed that Ben took Des away from Mikey while they were having some private time not to mention how some guys in the house feel that Ben may not be there for the right reasons.

Back at the mansion, the next date card arrives and it is for Bryden...Road Trip, Desiree.

At the wrap party, Brandon is the next one to get some alone time with Desiree.  His time with her seemed really tense to me, but I guess that is what happens when you try to cram as much into such a short period of time that they had.  When the night was almost over, Des hands out the rose to Ben.



Desiree arrives at the mansion to pick up Bryden.  Before they get too far, they pick up some snacks and begin driving.  Stop one is at the El Matador Beach where they fly a kite, then have lunch at Neptunes Net, then carry north to stop at an orange grove to pick oranges and have a snack, then onward to Ojai where they have dinner.  While eating, Bryden tells Des of an accident that he had when he was younger before he went into the military.  When they finished dinner, Des presented the rose which he gladly accepted.  Then they got changed and went to the hottub.  Sitting in the tub, you could tell there was chemistry between them and finally Des had to say “just kiss me already” which of course quickly obliged.



When Des arrives for the cocktail party, she made the typical speech.  Michael G was the first one to have a chance for some alone time.  He used this opportunity to tell her that he is a diabetic.  Of course the one guy that shows up and interrupts their time is Ben, which needless to say doesn’t impress the other guys when Michael heads back to the group to tell them.  So Ben has another chance to talk to Des for a while and another kiss.  When Ben gets back from his time with Des, the drama set in.  Testosterone was really flowing tonight at the cocktail party to say the least.  Chris Harrison eventually comes in and whisks Des away to her deliberation room as the guys get lined up for the rose ceremony.

When Des comes back, she makes the usual speech.  In addition to Brooks, Ben, Bryden, she hands out her remaining roses to: James, Kasey, Dan, Juan Pablo, Chris, Brian, Zack W, Drew, Mikey, Zack K, Michael, and Brandon.  This leaves Brad, Nick, Robert and Will heading home.



Well, that about does it for another week.  Until next week, hope you all have a great one!!







The Bachelorette: Desiree Hartsock


Well, it is that time again....tonight marked the beginning of the latest season of The Bachelorette and it is finally Desiree’s time to find love......but will she?  That again is the burning question of the day...just exchange the names for each season and you have the question that is broached at the beginning of each and every season.  Question is, will this one be any different?  Will this be the Ashley and JP, or the Jason and Molly or the Trista and Ryan season’s or will it end up like the countless other seasons that have come and gone without a long lasting love/relationship out of it.  Time will be the only answer as we now get set to begin anew....



Des arrives in LA, ready to meet her men, but first she has to meet up with Chris Harrison as it seems this season, a new bachelorette mansion will be used than in the seasons before.  It is one that is overlooking the ocean and still in Malibu.  As Chris shows her around, you can see that Des is excited yet apprehensive.  As we get the preview package of Des and her powder blue car to use, time at the pier, and finally her conversation with Chris the day of the first epi, we finally get to see some of the guys vying for Des; some of which include Bryden, from Montana, the magician Nick R, Robert the sign turner, and of course crazy ole Zak W whom is an oil rig worker and needless to say, on his private property dresses(or not) about any which way he wants.



Well, let’s let the craziness begin as we find Des waiting in the driveway for her first limo to show up. If you all thought the introductory vids by the guys seemed a little out there, well, you ain’t seen nothing yet.  We have the 50 shades/fantasy suite guy, crazy Zak W or “Mr. Abs” to the rest of us, we also have a knight in shining armour(although, I don’t know if that is Des’s), the “designing guy” complete with his own designed suit, and Mr. magic man is back for another engaging appearance.  Oh well, enough of my crazy humour for now, on with the show.

Before going inside, Harrison tells Des that all 19 of her roses will be waiting for her on a dish inside the house and she can give out as many before the rose ceremony that she wants.

After entering, making her toast for the evening, the first one to “magically” whisk her away is Nick R.  But wouldn’t you know…he’s not talking to her for long when her “calvary” shows up in the form of Brandon.  Those two begin the whole shenanigans of night one in which many guys try to get a few minutes with her alone.  When Ben sits down to talk with her, it is obvious that they got off to a great start and a connection is formed as he is the one to get her first rose of the night.  This of course sets off the rest of the guys as they try different angles in getting Des’s attention….including jumping in the pool.  I swear…there has to be at least one in the bunch most seasons to end up in the pool on the first night.  Good ole alcohol’s got to help in that department.

Juan Pablo takes her outside for some private time playing soccer.  But not so fast, before long, all the rest of the guys have found them and join in an impromptu soccer kick ball.  Another one of the not so highlights of the night includes 50 shades/fantasy suite guy coming back for not one more try but a total of three more times before Des finally kicked him to the curb before the rose ceremony even started.  As she stated; “I’m not that kind of girl.” 

All in total, Des gave out six roses before the rose ceremony even began and when Harrison came to get her, I kinda think she looked a little bit relieved to finally have a chance to put things into perspective.

In addition to the six guys she gave roses to pre-rose ceremony:  Ben, Zack W, Bryden, Drew, Nick M and Michael G; Desiree also gave roses to Brandon, Zack K, Will, Brooks, Juan Pablo, Brad, Kasey, James, Robert, Brian, Dan, Chris, and Mikey T.  This leaves Diogo, Larry, Micah, Mike R, and Nick R all joining Jonathon who was given the boot earlier in the night.



Well, hope you all enjoyed the first installment of Coastal’s Blogs.  I will be back again next week to try to fill you all in on the comings and goings of Des’s men.  In the meantime, check out the links below for the charts, videos and something new that will be coming soon….but that will all be announced later so stay tuned to our twitter and here at the site as we will be announcing the details when they come available.  Until next week, have a great one!!

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