Ultimate Rhoads

there was anticipation as we arrived at mountain view cemetary monday morning. we had decided to get a room in riverside sunday night in order to be closer to the memorial and to get the chance to meet up with gina beforehand. at 10:00a.m. there were already a couple hundred people gathered. the film crew was set up and the immediate area was blockaded with traffic cones.






halorising (chris, on the left) from .tk brought his marshall amp which is a painstaking re-creation of randys 1980 super lead rig, right down to the altec speakers. a true labor of love.




the polka dot vee was from the .tk site. the flower baskets (there were four in all) were from ultimate rhoads. the gladiolas in the shape of a cross were from ozzy and sharon.
the rhoads family had yet to arrive and as it was going to be a very long day, we decided to get something to eat at a restaurant close by.


below: meradith (left) and gina after breakfast.



this is hiroshi and june, who were involved in the making of the japanese tribute documentary. i first met them in december. standing with them is donnie, a moderator at .tk and a really nice guy.





around noon the rhoads family arrived in a convoy. they were greeted like royalty. the crowd reached well over 400 people and it was the largest turnout that i can remember. here is kathy escorting delores to the canopy area.








after a brief greeting, delores introduced karl sandoval who described his experience in working with randy on the creation of the polka dot vee.
crummy photo, i know, but this is as close as i could get. karl is in the center wearing sunglasses.



after karl spoke, delores introduced a.j. one of the film makers who told us that there would be several "teams" conducting interviews with fans as the day went on.

below: gina (sarab), cheri (little miss ozzy), and mike (monster mike from .tk)






jodi and meradith catching up on old times.

once i got a chance, i was able to present ians' (trigger) "baby" to delores. she was quite pleased with the portrait and told me that it would find a home at musonia.







here is the poem that simon wrote for delores, along with the "LETTERS TO THE RHOADS FAMILY" thread.
below is kathys daughter jenna, alisa and her husband and nicholas.



here's gina showing kathy the album with the letters from the board.




...and me with lori hollen. randy just loved this woman to death! she was the president of the quiet riot fan club and now she's working with the documentary team.

below is myself and gina/sarab a.k.a. "goober".




delores and meradith say goodbye for now.

and some random parting shots......

Wow Frank!
Many thanks for sharing these pics man! These pics are great!
I'm sure you all had a great day there! Very nice to see Trig's drawing showing up there!
And that white Marshall stack was a great idea too!
Thanks again to you, Sarab, MissOzzy and all the others who represented UR there!

*you were there with 400 people, but the spirits of thousands of more fans from all around the world were there too!

Awesome pictures,Frank!! I was so anxious to see them all~I was
just curious to know if anyone famous was there? Like Rudy
Sarzo for instance? I seen Little Miss Ozzy's pic of her & Kelly Garni,
who was there. Maybe it
would've been too emotional for Ozzy,Sharon, or anyone else
to attend.I was grateful to see pics of your wife,Jodi, & Kathy's
kids..her daughters sure have some of Randy's features.Anyway,
I am proud of you, Gina, & Cheri for representing all of us..what
a memorable day for you all to experience! Now go get some
rest, will ya???
Much Appreciation,
Mel

Thank you for the photos, Frank, they are wonderful. I look forward to seeing the documentary and hearing all the stories people have to tell about Randy.

Wow, awesome photos! Thanks for sharing, and I'm looking forward to hear more about the memorial, and seeing the documentary!

Amazing photo's Frank and thankyou for letting me see the handover of the portrait I did for the site. I hope they all enjoy it as much as I did creating it, U have had some lovely PM's from members about the portrait. I showed the photo's to my better half who you have complimented many times about her photography, she thought your photo's were great and really captured the spirit of the day.

Has anyone noticed that both Randy's neices were wearing black & white polka dot dresses? I can't think of a more fitting tribute by members of Randy's close family.

I think that it is lovely that after 25 long years, the family are still able to recieve and enjoy the love and respect of dedicated fans and friends of Randy.

Thankyou for these photographs Frank, I can't express how grateful I am that you have shared them with us.

Respect and regards

T

PS did you get bullied by the 2 ladies? they look like they became good friends.

Wonderful photos Frank. I feel Like I was actually there. I was wondering how long the documentary crew were filming? Can't wait to see what they put together.

Looks like Delores had a new issue of Guitar magazine with Randy on the cover. Anyone here have that issue yet?

Cheers Frank you did a good job capturing the days events.I noticed that Kathy and her girls and Gina all wore some kind of polka dots from bags to Kathy's bow tie necklace.Nice touch i thought, i noticed you had your ID label on Frank you must of been like a tour guide/rep EH! LOL!.I look forward to seeing Gina's pics she said she'd post them up onto your thread.So Gina get posting and thanks to you both for being ambassadors for Ultimate Rhoads and presenting Delores and Family with the RR portrait, floral tributes and letters.Cheers

Great photos Frank.I wish i went.

AWWW, Frank and I have almost the same pictures!
But here it goes...

The film crew.


Gardenia cross from Ozzy and Sharon.


Frank presenting Delores with Ian's portrait...



... and the letters from the forum...

...and Simon's poem.


Me showing Kathy the letters and the poem.



Frank and Hiroshi.


Kathy talking with Meradith and Jodi.


Kelly Garni talking with (I think) skyblue from rr.tk


Close up of gravesite.




The family went to look at the flowers and read the cards that came with them.



Kelle and Kathy's daughter, Alisa.


Film crew filming.



Me and Jodi. She is such a wonderful, sweet lady. I felt like I've known her and the family forever.


Me and Frank aka dweeb.


Frank showed me where Randy was originally buried. Second column, second one. Not the best lighting, sorry.


My mini guitar that Delores, Kathy, Kelle, Jodi, and Kelly Garni signed. Not the best lighting, either. Took it in my hotel that night.



And the best for last...



I have to say, that it was nothing that I expected. I thought the area was smaller than it was. But I was wrong. Pictures do not do it justice. If you ever have the chance to go, do it even if it isn't a birthday or anniversary of his death. It is such a beautiful, serene place.

I'd like to thank Frank and his wonderful wife, Meradith, for introducing me around, and making me feel like one of the family. It was, and still is, one of the best experiences I'll ever have. I don't think I could ever thank them enough. I am truly blessed to have such great friends as them.

that last photo was on a dare although i do have a flambouyant side.

Shaun, yes I did have a polka dot purse. Frank never noticed it until I said something to someone about it. Typical man! LOL
Ian, Kathy had a polka dot "scarf" and she also was wearing a small bowtie necklace. Yes, I'm a girl and notice these things!
There were several fans wearing Randy Rhoads tribute shirts, and other Randy related tshirts.

My travel 'diary', is really not much to tell.
I left New Orleans Saturday afternoon at 4:00 pm, and arrived in Dallas around 5:45 pm. I sat near the engine, so when we took off, I would hear the "whine" of the engine. I love to fly, but for some odd reason, this noise unsettled me.

Anyway, I had about an hour in Dallas/Ft.Worth before heading off to Ontario, CA. Nothing interesting, except an old woman knocking over a little girl rushing to the gate.
Sat next to a girl who was from the Ontario area, told me where to go, what to see. Nice girl.


Got to Ontario around 8:00 pm. Got rental car and directions to the hotel in Riverside. MY GOD! I told Frank, ya'll have WAY too many freeways!
Here, we have 1 "freeway" and we call it the interstate or I10.
We've got major streets, and the I10 exits to most of them. It was a wake-up call!
Followed directions pretty well, even though I could not understand because of his limited english.
Got to the Days Inn in Riverside. Nice. Group of kids came in by taxi, shouting and screaming and wanting to "do" each other, if you get my meaning. Good thing the place had wireless internet, or I'd go nuts!
Sunday....BORED!
Kinda was afraid to venture out too far, as I am not a fan of getting lost.
I am not like a typical woman, who will stop and ask for directions. I will try to find my way out, and if it looks completely hopeless, then I'll stop.
Found a mall. Got a couple of outfits from Build-a-Bear for the girls: lakers outfit, angels outfit, and a raiders outfit. That one is for MY build-a-bear!
Anyway, Frank and Meradith came by later that evening, and got caught up on things. He showed me the portrait, and I was in awe. Just stunning.
He also showed me the stuff that he had posted on here, but I looks neat live and in person, ya know?
Monday, we left around 9:30ish to head out to San Bernardino. Gave Frank the directions on how to get there; he had a co-pilot, as I was only one! So I followed & ran a red light in the process. Nice.
As Frank had said, we got there, and there already was a group of people there. We needed to eat, so we drove up the street and got breakfast and lots of coffee.
The family didn't arrive until noon or so, and like Frank said, it was like a royal procession.
Got to chat with Kathy for a bit, and to Jodi, and met other members of rr.tk, along with Cheri (little miss ozzy) from both sites.
Frank gave the portrait to Delores, along with the letters and poem.
It was pretty chaotic, but everything went well.
The day was kinda overcast and a little chilly, but we were thankful that it didn't rain. The sun finally came out around 4:00 or so, which made a nice ending for the day.
Frank showed me and Chris (halorising from rr.tk) where Randy was originally buried. (and trying to avoid Meradith's stalker in the process)
Took a few last photos (Frank in the boa and my hat), gave hugs and said bye.
Got back around 7:15 (after backtracking from how we got there; Frank gave easier instructions, tho), and starting to download pictures from camera to computer. Too damn tired to post anything!
Tuesday had me checking out at 10:00, and having nothing to do until my flight at 3:55, I decided to return the rental, and go check in at the airport early. Luck was on my side; there was an earlier flight leaving at 11:40 or so. Got stopped at security because my ticket had SSSS on it. I felt like I was about to go into quarentine! There could have been a cute guy to "pat me down", but noooo, it had to be grandma moses. Such is life.
Saw Brenton from rr.tk there, he was flying to Dallas then on to (somewhere else, I forgot). Kinda funny.
This time, I got to sit in the second to last row on the plane! oh, joy! At least I got next to the window.







Had about on hour wait in Dallas.
Got seated next to some guy who kept making stupid off the wall remarks. Don't remember what they were, that's how much I was paying attention to him.
Got home almost 9pm, which was a helluva lot better than getting home after midnight! Called Frank, let him know I got home ok; gave the girls their stuff and called it a night.
Sorry so long and boring, but Ian suggested that I post.
I intend on making the journey again, but this time, for a little longer, and (unfortunately) bring the family and see the sites. By the way, Frank, YOU will be the official tour guide!

Thanks Gina for the road trip i was very surprised no "Bud" was involved in your excursions...?? Don't tell me your on the wagon..LOL!.So your next trip is going to be a family affair,when will that be ? For the 30 Anniversary ??.I'd love to go but something in my mind is saying that it'll never happen..Don't know why!!

frank wrote:that last photo was on a dare although i do have a flambouyant side.

You don't need to explain frank, I can tell you picked up some moves when you took an evening job in a strip joint, You were young needed extra cash to help get you through college etc etc!

The secret is safe with me