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May 9th, 2003 Thanks to Des for this submission: I have been a huge Katie Holmes fan for a number of years and I am also a huge DC fan. Therefore when I heard the show was ending I knew I had to go back to Wilmington and try and meet her. I had gone once before in 2000 and though I had seen her and Josh filming some scenes I had not been able to get to talk to her. This was pretty disappointing as I had come almost 4,000 miles from Ireland. This time going back I knew I wanted to be there for the end. Joe had mentioned on the official site that the last day of shooting was going to be April 25th so I wanted to be there a few days before that . I left Dublin on the 22nd and arrived in New York 8 hours later. Just 3 hours later I was on a Greyhound bus to Wilmington, a 14 hour journey. I arrived in Wilmy at 10 am exhausted but it was a beautiful Capeside day and I wanted to get out and explore. By sheer luck I was walking down Front Street when all these trucks started to pull up. I saw some of the AD's with DC shirts on and took up a vantage point to get some snaps. The scene they were shooting was with Kerr and Michelle and one of the make-up girls told me that it was a pick-up scene from #622 and not a scene from the finale. It was funny to see both Kerr and Michelle smoking between takes and Michelle double checking her makeup before the shot.
They really are just ordinary folk. When I asked if Katie would be joining the crew later they told me that there was another unit filming on the soundstages and that Katie would be there all day. Disappointment Number 1. That evening myself and a friend of mine were taking a taxi out to Banks Channel to eat at the Bluewater restaurant. We stopped at some traffic lights and to my utter amazement a car pulled up beside us and Katie was in it-talking on a cell phone. Unfortunately I couldn't get my camera out in time but we did see that she went to the Boca Bay restaurant(April 23rd). I didn't want to follow her in as that stuff always feels like a real invasion of privacy but I was sincerely hoping that wasn't the only time I would get to see her. On the Thursday I travelled around a lot of the locations used and this time managed to find both the Potter B&B and the Leery house and Grams house. These places are so beautiful-it would be incredible to live there. That night we were eating in an Italian bistro and got talking to a very friendly waitress. She told us that the Dawsons Creek office had just phoned in a huge pizza order as they were filming a nightshoot in the downtown area. She didn't know where-but we waited for the guy to come and pick the stuff up and followed him. Unfortunately they were shooting inside a building and although we waited for a number of hours we didn't get to see anybody. Disappointment number 2. The Friday was the last day of filming and it was a horrible day in Wilmy-pouring rain(it reminded me of Ireland actually). I had heard they were filming at the Potter B&B location on Pine Grove Road but I missed them. I couldn't believe it. What was worse was that I asked one of the crew had Katie been there and she said yes she had and that the rest of the days filming was all at Screen Gems. I was crushed-I had come all this way to meet Katie and now I felt like I never would. By pure chance later that day I visited the Wilmy tourist info office and they told me about the Tribute that was being arranged for the Cast and Crew on Saturday morning and that it would be open to the public as long as the weather was good. This was the best news I had gotten since I arrived. So Saturday morning bright and early I was waiting down by the riverfront as they were setting up for the event. One of the organisers told me that one of the cast would not be able to make it-I was certain that with my luck it would be Katie. As it turned out I was wrong-James was unable to attend due to filming commitments in NY. So I and hundreds of other fans gathered to cheer our heroes and to celebrate what has been a remarakable show. It was so strange to see everybody up there-in the one place at the one time. A lot of the speeches were very moving too-especially Kevin Williamsons and Joshs as he thanked the crew people who had watched him grow up and then they unveiled the plaques revealing the newly named Dawson's Creek way and the proud boast of "Entering Capeside". Then all of the cast rose and applauded the fans and the fans applauded them. It was quite a moment.
As the cast made their way back to the trolley to leave they were inundated with fans asking for autographs and pictures.
I knew this was my moment -third time's a charm. Katie was surrounded by fans and looking a little nervous but I told her that I had travelled 4,000 miles to be there and could I possibly get a picture with her. She said sure and we got the picture taken.
I shook her hand and told her how much she meant to me and all the enjoyment she had provided as Joey Potter down the years and wished her luck with all her future projects. She said thank you and smiled at me-THAT SMILE-the heartmelter and that alone made the whole journey worthwhile. That day I also met a fan from Australia named Vicki and we went out that afternoon to do the studio tour. The sets for the show were being torn down on Monday so we would be some of the last people to see them. That night as we dined at the Water Street restaurant(Leerys Fresh Fish) the DC wrap party was happening just a little further down the riverfront at Elijahs and the Pilot House. To the strains of "I Don't Wanna Wait" there was a massive fireworks display over the Cape Fear river. It was quite a sight and sent a chill up my spine. A few hours later I was on a 16 hour bus journey back to New York but this time it was mission accomplished.
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