Congratulations!! You have a wonderful husband to do this for you. My dh made arrangements with motel room and vacation time to take me to the Sisters, Oregon quilt show. It was amazing and loved every minute. So happy for you and go and enjoy. I can't help you with the issue of getting tickets ahead of time but I have been to the Road to California quilt show and I would suggest that you try and reserve a motel room as soon as you can.