As most of you know, my dear friend Jamie and I were pleased to have tickets to see U2 in concert in Scott Stadium at University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia. This is our "travel journal". Please enjoy our comedy of errors, and so much more...
I, in my true overly orderly nature, spent time preparing a folder with many important items. All of the mapquest directions we needed to get from each place to the next. The treasured (and expensive) concert tickets to see U2 and the costly parking pass. Copies of reservation information on the car rental and the hotel. Directions and info on visiting Thomas Jefferson's home, Monticello, as we planned to visit there the day following the concert. I planned and planned and planned. I forgot the reminder that nothing goes exactly as we plan.
Jamie and I arrived at the car rental place at precisely the correct time. While there we were experiencing a "Seinfeld" like experience of obtaining a car. After extra time spent securing a car, we wiped our brows in relief and went on the road in our macaroni and cheese yellow Chevy Aveo.
All was working well, with the exception of a few "traffic moments", as this is Maryland and traffic surrounding Baltimore and Washington D.C. can leave a person astonished, even after a lifetime of exposure.
Then we came upon the magical city of Leesburg. We traveled problem free. We followed the directions given by mapquest exactly. As we thought that we were pulling away from Leesburg into a more rural area, imagine my surprise when it looked like we were arriving BACK in Leesburg precisely the way we arrived 20 minutes before! I was confused and asked Jamie to counsel me on the EXACT directions for leaving Leesburg. We soon found ourselves driving past rural sights we had encountered on our first time around. Specifically, one could hardly believe that there are TWO tall grain silos painted pink with black polka dots. As we pulled into Leesburg AGAIN, we deducted that the mapquest directions were taking us in a circle. The thought did cross our minds that Leesburg had a magical quality that once one has entered the only option was to stay, build a house, and make a new life there. We made jokes about our future generations who would pass down the story of how we arrived in Leesburg and could never leave.
We stopped at a gas station and were given directions to get out of Leesburg and further on our way to Charlottesville. There was significant traffic and construction. It seems that most cities and roads were constructing "traffic circles" which are meant to be a distraction and possible road block to the quick and efficient movement of vehicles from place to place. At this point we were at least 1.5 hours behind my intended schedule, thus causing me frustration. Jamie helped me keep the frustration down by revealing the humor behind our comedy of errors.
When we were approaching Charlottesville, the "directions" again failed us. One road turned into another without any communication. W Market Street turned into E Market Street even though we were actually heading West! The "maps" provided by mapquest included much, but not enough. We always seemed to be just out of range of where the map started. We were driving without planned decisions and making poor choices. Had we stayed on one of the various roads we turned off of in a panic we might have gotten to our hotel 45 minutes earlier. Again, we had fallen behind schedule even more. When we pulled into our hotel we were almost 2.5 hours behind the plan. We began getting ready for the concert at 6 PM. We had no dinner as we were concerned about getting to the concert on time.
We got ready in record breaking time and hit the road. We were pleased to note that the exit for the stadium was only one exit down from our hotel, but...over 50,000 people were all trying to take the same exit. It was causing considerable traffic. Our excitement and impatience were combining. Eventually we found our parking lot and began the trek to the stadium. We began to hear the music of the band Muse who were the opening act. Jamie and I decided to purchase our concert t-shirts early on. Then we purchased food and drink to make up for our dinner. With soda, pizza, and t-shirt in hand we approached the seating area. I was suddenly astounded!!!!!!!!
I want you all to know that the sounds and sights were FANTASTIC!! I was so excited, I was trembling and could barely walk down the stairs towards our seats. You can feel the music! Muse was performing when we sat down. They did a great pre-show. I am going to go on iTunes and purchase a few of them that I liked. Then the lights came up and many of the 399 U2 stage crew started getting the set ready for them.
The show started with a song from No Line on the Horizon - Breathe. No pun intended, but I was breathless!! I screamed, I clapped, I sang along, I danced my booty off! New songs, old ones, even sacred songs like Sunday Bloody Sunday. I started crying when the opening notes began to play. The remix of I'll Go Crazy was AWESOME and I HAVE to find it.
Here is the blow your mind playlist:
- Breathe
- Magnificent
- Get on Your Boots
- Mysterious Ways
- I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
- She's The One/Desire
- Elevation
- Your Blue Room
- Beautiful Day
- No Line on the Horizon
- New Year's Day
- Stuck in a Moment
- Unforgettable Fire
- City of Blinding Lights
- Vertigo
- I'll Go Crazy - Remix
- Sunday Bloody Sunday
- MLK
- Walk On
- One
- Where The Streets Have No Name
- Ultraviolet
- With or Without You
- Moment of Surrender
At the end I was deaf and mute. I couldn't hear anything and I was so hoarse from singing and yelling I didn't want to speak, but there was so much joy and adrenaline, I was walking at least 2 feet above the ground. I want to go again, but next year's shows are in Europe, the closest of which is Portugal. I'm tempted, believe me.
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