The wait gave me enough time to wonder what my son's girlfriend would be like. He is 21 and this is his first girlfriend. They have been dating for 7 months or so and we have yet to meet her. (He goes to school several states away.) It also gave me enough time for all the 'pre-vacation' nonsense. I had time to cancel the mail, stop the newspaper, book a suite at the local doggy kennel, mapquest our route, find someone to water my flowers, someone to take care of our pet hedgehog,and book a few nights in a hotel. It gave me time to make lists about what to pack; the travel T.V., the GPS, snacks, ear plugs, the water bottle/fan thing, sunscreen, and my Mom's belated Mother's Day gift. It gave me enough time to make a list of reminders; to put trash in trash bags, instead of trash cans the week before our departure, turn out the lights, close the windows, flush toilets (you only make THAT mistake once!) and go to the bank (I needed cash for a Cracker Barrel shopping spree).
The few days before our trip, I cleaned the house, as if I was expecting company. I love coming home from a vacation to a clean house. That way, all I have to worry about upon coming home, is the mountain of laundry that somehow fit into the suitcase when it was clean, and now becomes a struggle to contain. I was ready. And also nervous. This trip prep was going smoothly. I was packed, cleaned, and otherwise prepared, at 6pm, the night before. This has never happened before. Ever. The next morning, I packed the van, with ease. It wasn't like the usual jigsaw puzzle of trying this piece and that piece. It just all fit. I can't tell if I am just getting good at this, or if it all went smoothly because I had cleaned and packed for five instead of six, or if it all was easier because I only had to pack for my youngest and I, supervise packing for two teenaged daughters and pray my husband would take enough underwear and clothing that matched to get through our trip. The ease in which the trip started gave me an eerie feeling for the first several hours of the trip. Thankfully, a nap in the car put me at ease.
I mentioned that we were driving, right? I mentioned the car ride was 18 HOURS, right? Let me clarify, 18 hours EACH WAY. To put that in perspective, that is long enough for me to read 4 books and take several naps. It is long enough for my son to have watched the entire first season of Hannah Montana (4 discs) and at least 6 other movies, plus wear out his DS (video game) battery twice, complete three sticker books and take a few naps. Let me also let you know, driving through Kansas is very dull. A word of advice if you plan on driving through Kansas; make sure you have a full tank of gas and a full tummy. Places to fuel your vehicle and body are few and far between...and never where you WANT or NEED them to be. At each stop for food, gas or bathroom breaks, we would do what we called "The Car Trip Tango". We saw several variations by other weary travelers, but most all versions included toe touches, hip rotations (think Spongebob's "Bring it around town") and arm windmills.
We arrived safely to my parents home near Nashville after the second day of driving. They live in an adult only community. After dinner that night, we went for a walk, my parents and my crew of 5. A neighborhood watch golf cart pulled up and asked my Dad if we had a permit for the parade. Funny! Except, it's kind of the story of my life...especially at the grocery store. Me and my parade of children.
Concerts ran Thursday through Sunday night. There were also daytime concerts and plenty of places to win t-shirts, can koozies, key chains and other things that you never knew you needed. We left Nashville with a duck call from Duck Dynasty, 8 pens, 4 rubber ducks, 14 keychains, 8 pairs of sunglasses, 11 koozies, 10 dog bones, 3 pairs of boxer briefs, 15 t-shirts, 2 frisbees, 17 pairs of socks and a variety of other items. We love the "swag"!
The first night of concerts, Thursday, meant we got to see Luke Bryan! My daughters were chanting "Bring out Luke! Bring out Luke!" My youngest would insert "Skywalker". We got to see Taylor Swift, my son watched her the whole time, eyes glued to the binoculars (remember...very, last, row), and she brought out Tim McGraw. We got to see Miranda Lambert, who was incredible, and The Zac Brown, who brought out Kenny Rogers and Kid Rock. It was an awesome show. We got to bed around 1:30am. I just wanted to sleep the next day, but my lovely teenage daughter reminded me that "If we were in Disneyworld, you would be up early." True enough...so we pressed on to gather more swag before Friday night's concert.
Most people in the stadium have four day passes, which mean they are there for the whole festival, sitting in the same seats. There was a group of "20 somethings" sitting in front of us. One young man thought my youngest child was awesome. He turned around frequently to 'fist bump' him and tell him how great the person on stage was. Once he said "Buddy, grow up to be better than us." My son responded "Do you mean,'Don't be drunk?'" My seven year old is brilliant.
Friday night brought Kip Moore and Hunter Hayes to the stage. My son kept referring to Hunter Hayes as "The one that looks like Anakin." (We have a slight Star Wars obsession on our hands...). We also saw Lady Antebellum. They put on a great show. Little Big Town brought out Sheryl Crow. The last act that night was Blake Shelton. Amazing! Before Blake could take the stage, my youngest had a meltdown. I can't really blame him, it was 11:30 at night, he was sleep deprived, we had walked around all day, and concerts aren't really the top thing to do when you are seven. It was interesting though that the tantrum was prompted because I had switched seats with my youngest, which meant I was sitting next to my oldest's girlfriend now, not my little guy. He just wanted to be next to the girlfriend. She was a very good sport about my little guy's interest in her. After the tantrum, and before Blake took the stage, my little guy learned to do "the wave" in the stadium and asked many, many, many, MANY times over the next two nights if we could do it again.
Saturday in town, we spotted the family from the T.V. show Duck Dynasty. We were even fortunate enough (?) to collect a T-shirt,a duck call and four rubber ducks from them! They were promoting their Christmas album, out in October. They have good agents.
Someone who probably fired their agent was Lenny Kravitz. He was the surprise guest at Saturday's concert. He is a great musician, and performer... if he has the right audience. For the record, the CMA crowd is NOT the right audience. He did a 30 minute set. Half of that was on one song, with Lenny in the crowd trying to get us to sing along..only we didn't know the words. He left the stage flipping us all off...with both hands. I'm sure he had words for his agent. I imagine they weren't kind.
I am wondering what people did at concerts before iphones. I am wondering how we all survived concerts without getting our "tweets" on the jumbotron. The world is nutty...
Along with Lenny on Saturday, we heard Florida Georgia Line, Dierks Bentley, and Kelly Clarkson (who brought out Jason Aldean and Trisha Yearwood. I was holding my breath that maybe Garth Brooks would come out, but nobody paid attention to me, in the VERY LAST ROW and there was no Garth.)The night ended with Keith Urban and fireworks. My youngest slept through all that.
Sunday night we saw Gary Allan, then an announcement was made regarding the incoming bad weather. All other performers had to cut their 30 minute sets to two songs. WHAT??? I was glad our safety was being considered...but WHAT??? So, Brad Paisley sang two songs, one with Charlie Daniels. The Band Perry sang two songs. (They were SO good. I want to go see them again.) Jake Owen sang one song, then threw his guitar on the stage and walked off before he could soak in the applause. I think he was pretty irritated. The night closed with Carrie Underwood. She sang four songs in what appeared to be her 'last day of vacation' clothes (all the things left in your suitcase that haven't been worn yet.) It's unclear if she sang four songs to defy the rules of cutting your set to two songs, or if she 'stole' one song from Jake Owens time, or what...but, even four songs wasn't her full set. At least she sang "Before He Cheats."
Aside from all my kids being together, at my parents house, and meeting my son's girlfriend, the highlight of the trip was my youngest daughter winning better tickets for Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights concerts. We happened to be in the right place at the right time, and were approached by the right people. They asked if we were interested in "Maybe meeting someone" as they filmed a commercial. We had to sign press releases. We were at the Pepsi booth (I am SO sorry Diet Coke...) and a game was being played. We were just watching the game, about 10 feet from the stage. At one point, the people in charge, paired up the audience (us) with the people playing the game. If your 'person' won, you would also win. The prize was two tickets...22 rows off the stage. (In other words...MUCH better than the VERY LAST ROW). To make this long story a smidge shorter, my daughter's person won, and Blake Shelton himself presented the tickets. We did not get a photo opp. with him, but we stood very close to him. Mr. Shelton posted a video on youtube from the event...we are in it! We are hoping it will air on T.V. the night the CMA fest is televised...August 12th. My daughter went on to also win a "Photo Fast Pass" that allowed her to bypass the LONG line of people walking the front of the stage to get pictures. We wanted her to buy us a Powerball ticket with all that luck...but she is only 16.
We have been home for a week. The dog has regained the weight he lost at the spa, the mail has been opened, the laundry has been done. The suitcases are unpacked, but piles of things to be put away are plentiful. Vacation hangovers are tough to shake.
Love it Molly! very entertaining...
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