One otherwise ordinary day in June, I was sitting in the same room with Ryan. He was minding his own business. I was scrolling through the day's triumphs, failures and random nothings on my Facebook newsfeed, when suddenly I happened upon one of the most glorious announcements I'd ever read. Paul McCartney was set to go on tour and would be making a stop in Salt Lake!!! I took the news well. My heart started beating out of my chest at the idea of seeing him live. I couldn't believe my dream was finally in reach. I immediately checked ticket availability and prices. My heart sank a little to see how jacked the prices were for good seats. The first couple of sections on the floor had a lovely $400-$1000 damage. Not exactly in our price range. But I knew I had to go, even if it was in the "cheap" seats. One way or another, I was going to see Paul!
Previously, Ryan had not been a fan of Beatles music. He thought it was too noisy and he didn't understand the appeal of it. So with that in mind, I surmised he wouldn't really care to go to the concert, especially since the tickets were not cheap. When I wondered aloud who I should go to the concert with, he was not thrilled with the fact that I hadn't considered that he might want to go. Yes, he is my husband. That alone should make me think of him first when choosing a concert buddy, but then again, he isn't exactly a Beatlemaniac. I have to admit that, initially, the idea of him going to the Paul McCartney concert was comparable in my mind to giving the good chocolate to kids who don't appreciate the difference. I thought such an event should be reserved for dedicated, die-hard fans. I thought it would be fun to take my mom, seeing as she has loved Paul since she was a tween. I could think of other people, including my sisters and at least one friend, who would have been much more excited about going with me than I thought Ryan would be. It didn't seem fair to leave them behind. But to Ryan, it didn't seem fair of me to leave him behind! So it was settled: Ryan was taking me to the concert.
Before I heard about the concert, Ryan had been planning something different for our anniversary. To this day, he refuses to tell me what he had in the works. I guess he was afraid his idea would pale in comparison with my choice of activities. ;) So it was decided that we would head to Utah for a couple of days, just us. We thought it would be fun to also go to Lagoon while we were in the area. The last time we went anywhere out of town by ourselves, without kids, was before we even had kids! I was largely expecting Cora then. That was over 9 years ago! Wow. No overnight getaways or anything for us since then. I guess we kind of earned the right to this trip.
Late afternoon on Sunday, July 11th, we hit the road. I drove while Ryan attempted to study for his upcoming test. And of course we listened to some Paul CDs. From the time we purchased the concert tickets, Ryan had been using YouTube to familiarize himself with anything Paul McCartney. I think he is coming to realize what musical geniuses the Beatles were. :)
We got into Sandy about 10:00 and checked into our hotel, which was within a couple miles of the stadium where the concert would be. We got settled in and naturally got sucked into the abyss that is cable TV. We don't have cable. We watched bits of this and that before settling on Cupcake Wars. The next morning we made the half-hour drive to Lagoon! So exciting!
We got there right when it opened. We planned to go on as many back to back rides as we could, all day until closing time! It was quite a warm day, and it seemed like the more water I drank, the thirstier I became.
The lines for rides were nice and short for the first half of the day. By the time we were on our 10th ride, I started to feel a little ill. We had never been able to run free like that at Lagoon without big breaks between rides. I had never felt yucky after going on any one ride, aside from maybe a headache, but it turns out that if I go on 10 rides in under 2 hours, I start to feel like I might be sick. So we decided to take more breaks than I had originally anticipated needing. :)
It was fun to sit and watch all kinds of people go by. I was paying special attention to everyone's shorts. I hate all my shorts. I think they look too frumpy and stupid (Ryan agrees) , but I can't find any cute ones. I have this bad habit of trying things on and settling for them even when they don't look good. Somehow I think they will look better on me when I get them home. And maybe they do look okay for the first wearing. But then they lose their shape and I end up looking like a dummy. Not the look I am going for...
We talked about how seemingly impossible it is to keep from making hasty assessments on everyone who passes by. I found myself observing something about everyone I laid my eyes on (I always do) , thinking things like "she's so pretty", or "Oh, that outfit does not look good". Whether positive or negative, it's an automatic reflex, at least it is for us. Maybe we're just jerks. Except for the kind impressions we have of people. It would be interesting to listen in on other people's minds as they watch passersby. On that note, I wonder how many Lagoon patrons thought to themselves how stupid my capris looked.
(There's a reason I nearly named my blog "Ramblin' Shan". . .)
This was our view from the Sky Ride that takes humans across the length of the park.
An astounding aerial view of one picturesque flower bed. And to think I didn't even have to tell Ryan to take a picture of it. When I was about to take one myself, he said he already got a shot. I guess he knows by now how much I like flowers.
Still on the Sky Ride.
Since we needed a break from the rides, we actually took the time to meander through Pioneer Village. I've always enjoyed looking at old-timey cabins and collections of stuff.
We liked the train museum. I'm sure we would have been in trouble if Oliver had been along with us. I can just imagine him clawing at the glass and begging to play with the trains.
Then we stumbled into the telephone museum. It was cool. I thought of what a great gag it would be to clip one of those huge wooden phones to my belt loop like it was a cell phone.
Someone ripped the receiver off this phone. How maddening!
As 5:00 approached, we strolled over to the indoor (cement floor with metal bleachers) theater for a special limited show by Cirque Innosta, called L'ORAGE. It was awesome! They had an impressive-looking stage set, and some crazy-talented performers. It was 40 minutes of fascinating fun! And of course it was included in the admission price.
This light fixture was so pretty. There were two of them, one on each side of the stage. The next morning we figured out where they bought them -- IKEA, of all places. Just another reason to look back on the show approvingly.
I really liked these girls' costumes. Those purple wigs were far out!
Tight rope walker.
Hangin' on the hoop. I think I could do that, no problemo.
This guy should be dead the way he gambles his life with every nail-biting move he makes. He is balancing on stacked metal cylinders, with every other one turned on its side so they would carefully roll back and forth. I was sure he was going to biff it. Somehow he didn't!
Another recipe for disaster.After the show, we went on more hair-raising rides. By about 9:30 we had reached our goal of 25 total rides. I think our overall favorites were Rocket Re-Entry, Colossus, and the old stand by, Tilt-a-Whirl. It was a fun day, but we were all tuckered out.
To be continued...
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