U2 in Denver

After graduation Friday night, I packed up my car and left at the crack of dawn on Saturday for the drive to Denver to see U2's Innocence and Experience Tour.  I have driven to Denver with my friend Tony and with my Dad countless times but this was the first time going solo.  Several years ago when Tony and I were driving to a Broncos game, I missed the junction to I-25 and we were in Pine Bluffs, Nebraska before Tony realized what I had done!  He was so mad at me because it was over an hour out of our way but I maintain that it was really his fault because he was the navigator!  Now everybody teases me about it whenever I go to Denver.  Happily, I did not miss it this time (it is really well marked!) and I even got to my hotel in Denver with enough time to take a nap before the concert!  It was an amazing show, one that I will never forget!  I love U2.  I have been a huge fan since the album War came out when I was in eighth grade.  I suppose that the Beatles will always be my sentimental favorite but they broke up before I was born and I never got a chance to see them live.  U2 is a contemporary band with a lead singer who sings about peace and social justice and they definitely fueled both my earnestness and my idealism when I was young.  I practically worshiped Bono when I was in high school and college and, apparently, not much has changed since then because I was incredibly close to him for much of the concert (he even made eye contact with me several times) and I was beside myself, almost like a thirteen year old girl!  The stage was configured with a rectangle at one end of the Pepsi Center and a circle at the other end with a long runway connecting them.  Above the runway were huge screens with a catwalk between them.  My seat was on the second row near the circular stage and I would say that Bono (and occasionally the whole band) spent about half of the concert there.  During the first half, the majority of the songs came from their latest album, Songs of Innocence, which I absolutely love, interspersed with really early songs, such as "The Electric Co." and "I Will Follow," and "Sunday Bloody Sunday."  The concert began with "The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone)" which is about when Bono first realized that he wanted to be in a rock and roll band.  During "Iris," a beautiful song about Bono's mother, his old home videos were shown on the giant screens.  During "Cedarwood Road," an image of the actual street was projected on the screens while Bono walked across the catwalk in between them.  It looked like he was walking up and down the street where he grew up and it was so cool.  I especially loved the effect of the blowing cherry blossoms.  During "Song for Someone," my favorite song from the album, Bono stood on the circular stage with a single spotlight.  He gave an incredibly passionate performance and it was one of my favorite moments of the concert.  The whole band performed "Raised by Wolves" suspended on the catwalk and then Bono sang "Every Breaking Wave" on the circular stage with just the Edge accompanying him on a piano that came up from the floor.  Bono can still belt out those high notes and it was another favorite moment for me.  After the intermission, they played the old favorites (Songs of Experience?) including "Until the End of the World," "Invisible," "Even Better than the Real Thing," "Mysterious Ways," "Desire," "Angel of Harlem," a powerful version of "Bullet the Blue Sky," "Pride (In the Name of Love)," and "Beautiful Day."  They finished the set with Bono singing "With or Without You" on the circular stage with a spotlight.  Sigh!  For the encore, they sang "City of Blinding Lights," "Where the Streets Have No Name," and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For."  I have now seen U2 perform five times (I'm hoping that the tour eventually makes it to SLC so I can see them again) and every show has been an unbelievable experience!  This concert was definitely worth the eight hour drive!

Note:  This is not the first time I've gone to Denver just to see a concert.  I flew there to see Bruce Springsteen at the Pepsi Center and Tony and I drove to Red Rocks Amphitheatre twice to see Journey and Sting!

Changing of the Guard

Yesterday was the Farewell Assembly at Hunter High School.  I can't believe that another year has come and gone!  In addition to some final performances, presentations, and the annual slide show, the current SBOs always administer the oath of office to the new officers.  This time of year is so bittersweet for me.  I have had such a great year with the 2014-2015 officers (Go here, here, and here for some of their adventures) and I am going to miss them!

However, I am also really looking forward to working with the new 2015-2016 officers.  They seem like such a fun group and we are already starting to plan for leadership camp!

Dead Wake

Several years ago, my good friend Jim recommended the book The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. I'm not a big fan of nonfiction so I put it aside, eventually picking it up when I had nothing else to read. I should have known better because Jim has never yet disappointed me! I loved the story about the search for a mass murderer during the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago and I loved how Larson was able to bring these historical characters to life so vividly, almost like a fictional narrative. I immediately read In the Garden of Beasts, Larson's account of U.S. Ambassador William Dodd and his daughter Martha in Berlin during Hitler's rise to power, next and it was so riveting I couldn't put it down. (I just learned that a film adaptation is in the works starring Tom Hanks and Natalie Portman!) Larson is a brilliant storyteller so when my book club chose Dead Wake for its May selection I was thrilled (I had already pre-ordered it from Amazon)! Larson's latest offering is an enthralling account of the sinking of the Lusitania which precipitated the U.S. entry into World War I. After conducting an almost staggering amount of research, Larson uses numerous primary sources to present the perspectives of Captain William Thomas Turner (of the Lusitania), Kapitanleutnant Walther Schweiger (of the German U-boat, U-20, which sank the Lusitania), executives from the Cunard Line, President Woodrow Wilson, Winston Churchill (First Lord of the Admiralty), secret intelligence operatives in Britain's Room 40, as well as passengers aboard the ship (both famous and lesser-known).  He gives a thorough day-to-day account, from the preparations for the voyage to the aftermath of the sinking, and I was particularly struck by the descriptions of life on board a German U-boat. Much has been written about the purported conspiracy that the British failed to protect the Lusitania to hasten America's entry into the war and, while Larson alludes to that, I appreciated the fact that he presents certain facts and then lets readers come to their own conclusions.  Absolutely fascinating!  Dead Wake is definitely not some dusty scholarly tome but a suspenseful thriller that, despite knowing the outcome, had me on the edge of my seat.  I highly recommend it!

Note:  I highly recommend The Devil and the White City and In the Garden of Beasts as well.

I Heart Road Trips

Recently, I took my car to the dealership for some routine maintenance and the technician recommended that I replace all four of the tires.  Since I replaced all four tires less than two years ago, he thought that they would certainly be under warranty...until he looked at my mileage!  The poor man was incredulous that one person could put so many miles on a private vehicle!  I wasn't surprised in the least.  I absolutely love going on road trips.  There is something so invigorating about taking to the open road for an adventure.

In the span of one year, I've driven to southern Utah three times (for a spring break trip to the national parks, for a leadership conference at Dixie State University, and for my annual trip to the Utah Shakespeare Festival), to Denver twice to see the Colorado Avalanche play the Boston Bruins and the Calgary Flames, to Las Vegas to see the Cirque de Soleil show Love, to Montana for an incredible week at Yellowstone National Park, and to South Dakota to satisfy a whim to see Mount Rushmore, not to mention all of the weekend trips here and there.

I suppose my love of road trips stems from my childhood.  My Dad thought nothing of making a few sandwiches, playing the Beatles as loud as he could, and strapping us in for extended adventures.  Just about every summer we would drive to Canada (it takes three days there and three days back) to visit my Dad's family and we would always stop anywhere my Dad thought noteworthy (Devil's Tower in Wyoming, Wall Drug in South Dakota, the Corn Palace in Nebraska, just to name a few).  Oh, the memories and the stories I could tell (ask me about the Canadiana Motel).  I guess my thirst for adventure was inherited!

The school year is almost over (seven days, but who's counting?) and my car will soon have four brand new tires so I am itching to get out on the road.  I have a trip to Denver planned (to see a U2 concert and the Colorado Rockies), I've registered my new SBOs for the leadership conference at DSU, and I just bought tickets for the Utah Shakespeare Festival.  I may have a few more trips in the works and I couldn't be more excited!  Now, can anyone give me a good deal on tires?

Memorial Day Weekend 2015

Over Memorial Day Weekend, my family went camping at Jordanelle State Park, which is one of our very favorite camping spots (see other camping trips here, here, and here).

Marilyn and I stayed at one campsite in her cute little trailer.

My parents were at another nearby campsite in the motor home.

Some views of the reservoir from our campsite.  There weren't many boats on the water this weekend.

I think the reservoir looked incredible after a rainy night. (I loved listening to the rain on the roof of the trailer while we watched movies and ate microwave popcorn).

Even though it rained a few times, we were able to have a fire every night.  I think sitting around a campfire is my favorite part of camping!

This is how we spent a lot of our time:  sitting around the campsite reading and relaxing.

Packing up!  Marilyn's trailer is seriously cool.  It took her about a minute to take it down and then the two of us were able to hitch it to the Jeep by ourselves (if you knew the backstory on this you would be amazed).   It was such a wonderful trip!  Where are we going next?