When you are in Albert Lea you definitely have to go to The Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa. Here at this venue Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper played their last gig on 2 February 1959.The Surf is about an hour drive from Albert Lea. This picture was taken in front of the Surf Ballroom. From left to right: Antoon, Tony Barrett and David Jo (Eddie's Song).

The Surf Ballroom is full of memorabilia ...

The stage of the Surf Ballroom. Because of preparations for a Beatles tribute (!) the stage lights are lit ...

Antoon, Tony and Terry Cole (who knew Eddie as a kid and was very kind to show us around Albert Lea) with the memorial statue in front of the Surf Ballroom ...

This is the field where the red Beechcraft Bonanza four-seater carrying Buddy, Ritchie, Big Bopper and pilot Peterson crashed. The memorial is on the right. Nothing is changed in the landscape since that fateful day in February 1959 ...

Close-up of the memorial. You can see that a lot of fans visit the site ...

Tony and Antoon at the memorial ...

The Beechcraft Bonanza came from this direction ... 

... and was supposed to fly on in this direction ...

This map will get you from the Surf Ballroom to the crash site ...

Cruise Line Up and Social at Freeborn Co. Fairgrounds

Saturday 12 June 2004

The weather was beautiful when all the cars gathered for the line-up on the fairgrounds ...

The Cochran family were seated in the first cars ...

It started to rain at four o clock and within minutes all hell broke lose!

The cruise was cancelled by the sheriff - thunderstorm warning - just our luck ...

The pictures of the cruise line up are kindly provided by the Albert Lea Tribune ...