My Point of View: 2024-03-17

Hopped off the plane at LAX July 31, 2023

Back in April, after I bought Taylor Swift Tickets for August 3rd, Matt and I decided to plan our summer vacation around it. We had enjoyed our LA vacation last year, so we were excited to go back. Matt, Graham, Callie, and I flew out of Salt Lake, while Ava planned to catch a flight from Provo after work. I suggested to Callie that she wear her bejeweled shoes for travel to see if they were comfortable enough for the concert. The reason was, that we hadn't realized that by gluing on the jewels, the shoes no longer stretched and moved as she walked. We had time to kill as we waited for Ava to land. Graham didn't have to think twice about where he wanted to go. In-N-Out by LAX is an iconic spot for watching international flights. As we ate, he'd say, "That plane is coming in from Dubai, or that one is from Tokyo."

Ava texted to say that her plane was delayed, so from there we headed to the beach.

Her fight still hadn't left Provo so from the beach we headed to the movies. Graham was more than willing to see Barbie again, even though he had already seen it twice. This meme sums up summer 2023:

From the theatre, we realized we better just drive to our hotel, which wasn't far from the airport Ava would be flying into. She said she'd just take an Uber. During the night, I thought I heard her come in. Callie also thought she could hear someone next to her sleeping. However, there was no Ava in the morning. We must have both had similar dreams because we thought Ava was there! However, Ava texted to say that her flight was CANCELED so she had gone home and was now scheduled for a morning flight.

DISNEYLAND! August 1, 2023

While she was dealing with all that, we headed to Disneyland. (Matt was able to secure freeeee tickets through his work!) We began our day at California Adventure in Cars Land.

Ava finally made it and joined up with us as we waited in line for the Monters, Inc. ride. As you can imagine she had quite the travel tales to share. Geesh.

Matt was laughing his head off watching me use my backpack to bat away this weird bug that kept flying around us. It was turquoise iridescent and nearly as big as a hummingbird. I was describing it to Ava and right on cue, it flew back to us. EEEEEEEK.

We spent the remainder of the day at Disneyland Park. It was so great to be back! Our last two Disney ventures as a family have been to Disney World in Florida. Matt and I haven't been to Disneyland since 2010.

The temperature was heating up as we entered the park so we started at Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. The AC was blasting and we all got in a little siesta.

With the concert only two days away, I was surprised at how hyper-sensitive I was about germs. I could. not. get. sick! And here I was waltzing around Disney:/ We had lunch at the Blue Bayou inside the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. We sipped on mint juleps and munched on Monte Cristo sandwiches at the water's edge.

For only one day to experience both parks, we were very efficient! We hit it hard and got in all the highlights thanks to the Genie+ pass.

We got to see Gavin's sister who works at Galactic Grill.

Matt said he loves watching the kids interact. He carried the kids' water bottles in his backpack all day. He spends his last dime on his family. It is sweet. He treated us to a great day. The park is not scarce on tasty treats. We ate pretzels outside Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Callie had some left so I finished hers. Later, she admitted that it had fallen on the ground! I asked, "Do you realize we watched them scrub vomit off the ground near there?" As if I needed one more reason to be paranoid about germs. Ha, HA.

That evening, as we waited in line for Indiana Jones, I pulled out a fruity Hi-Chew from my bag. The kids could smell it, so I divvied out my last few. Matt excitedly said, "I've got candy in my bag as well." He pulled out a jumbo bag of chewy sweet tarts. Everyone shrugged, "We're getting sick of those" (turns out I wasn't the only one stealing handfuls from time to time out of his office). These types of distractions kept us from realizing that the line hadn't moved in over 10 minutes because the ride wasn't working. The last time we were there together, Graham was too short to ride. He is Mr. Indiana! I didn't get to go on the ride with him yet again (though he did ride it when he went with the Marching Band). Later in the evening, we split off from the kids while they got crazy. We rode the train, got some soup, and watched the crowds.

BEACH DAY August 2, 2023

We knew everyone would want to take it easy the next day so we planned a beach excursion. And I mean planned. We decided on Hermosa Beach and Matt researched directions, parking, and rentals. I packed the beach bag. Then the two of us headed out to buy food for the day. We went to a couple of different stores to get everything we needed. I said, "We should head back, the kids are probably wondering where we went." However, back at the hotel, everyone was still zonked. Matt opened windows and doors, "Rise and shine!" Our rummaging and packing of the cooler got everyone up and we headed out. An hour later, as we pulled into a parking spot Ava said, "It's nice going on vacation with the parentals, they plan everything."

Our meticulous planning made for what Matt called the perfect beach day. Callie got in a required run for XC, which was to run in the heat. Graham was giddy sitting in a beach chair with his feet in the sand while eating fresh sushi. The large slice of cake from Vons grocery was WOW. I'm typing to remember where to go next time. We even brought a changing tent for afterward. Ava laughed and sent a picture to Mal. We got a kick out of her text back, "Why would anyone need to change?" Good thing we can use it for other things as well. When it got windy while Graham was trying to read, he brought his beach chair into the tent. We had practiced how to take the tent up and down before our trip. It ain't easy folks!

Just like Ken in Barbie, Graham knows how to beach.

Dinner followed at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Something about the ocean makes me crave seafood. I don't know what it is;)

CONCERT DAY. When I awoke on the morning of August 3rd, I had a panicky moment. Was that a scratch in my throat? I took herbs, sipped hot tea, meditated, and did yoga in the living room (I'm a bit of a hipster doofus). On the pullout couch, Graham slept through it all. He was nursing yet another sunburn. He'd waited till he was burned to put on sunscreen. We are done with those games now I think. I was glad our plans for the day were pretty mild before we headed to the concert that night. There was a movie theater only minutes away. We are longtime fans of Disney's Haunted Mansion (except for Ava who poo-poos anything Halloween) so we were excited to see the stacked new cast take a crack at an old favorite. It was so obviously CGI that I couldn't get into it. However, a nap in the recliner was the perfect way for us all to spend the afternoon. I felt refreshed afterward, and you know what? No scratchy.

Callie re-bejeweled her shoes, and Ava helped her with friendship bracelets while they watched the "Reputation Tour" on Netflix. We were getting soooooo pumped!!!

We bejeweled our faces, our hair—so pumped.

We bid goodbye to Binnie, and then Matt drove us to SoFi Stadium. Matt and Graham were headed to the Dodgers game after they dropped Callie and me off. We were fortunate not to have to deal with parking or public transportation.

You could feel the energy rise in the city as we neared SoFi. Matt dropped us off a couple blocks before the stadium. We took it all in as we walked with fellow Swifties.

Callie wore Midnights, and I wore Red.

Let the trading begin!

I had heard of people getting scammed with their tickets, and I knew I wouldn't be at ease until my tickets were scanned. We got through just fine but realized that even though our water bottles were empty, no metal was allowed. We decided to hide our bottles in the bushes, which meant we would have to leave and re-enter. The sound system repeatedly said, "No re-entry." However, the lady taking our tickets assured us she would remember us. As we exited, I wondered, Is this how it ends? We hid our water bottles and found the lady again. Yes, she remembered us, and yes, she let us back in (and yes, we really like our water bottles).

Callie had decided ahead of time to buy merch inside the stadium. While she waited in that line, I got in the food line to buy hotdogs and, what else, water. Everyone was so nice! I chatted it up with the girls behind me and we traded bracelets. The feeling of excitement and joy was palpable.

We could hear Gracie Abrams playing—she sounded great. By the time we made it to our seats, she was done and it was the HAIM Sisters. The view from MegaSeats was pretty accurate. We were UP there, but we weren't behind the stage. No complaints! We put on our concert wristbands. Next to me were a couple of moms and daughters who didn't have any bracelets. I gave them each one and they acted like they won the lottery. It was very sweet.

We were up high enough that we could see the beautiful view outside the stadium. There isn't AC but the way it is designed creates a constant flow of ocean air.

I had watched show snippets all summer so I knew about the countdown clock and that the cleaning cart is really Taylor arriving backstage. We were on the perfect side to see it all. The cheers as the show started and Taylor came on stage were deafening and perfect.

The mammoth screens helped a lot. Like, a lot a lot.

My favorite, "Long Live."

I said remember this momentIn the back of my mindThe time we stood with our shaking handsThe crowds in stands went wild

Taylor performed songs from each of her ten albums for over three hours.

WHAT A SHOW!!!!

At the time, we didn't know why our show was being filmed, but it was later used for the Era's Tour movie! We had a long walk afterward to where Matt had parked to pick us up. I was glad I opted to wear sneakers. Callie bought another hot dog from a vendor for the journey.

Dodgers Game

Check out all those cars!!!

Callie was truly living her best life. The next morning, she breakfasted in her concert tee.

The boys had enjoyed the Dodgers game the night before so much that they asked if we wanted to go to the Angels game that night. Sure! After a day of shopping, Callie and I joined the boys at Angel Stadium, within walking distance of our hotel. Callie broke in her new Converse high-tops. Graham had spent a blissful day back at the flight simulator. A real repeat of last summer!

This was my second MLB game of the summer, one at the beginning and one at the end, not bad. Both times, the home team was playing the Seattle Mariners. I think I am more of a fan of theirs now since they won both nights.

Truth is, neither C nor I are much into baseball. Besides, we could not stop going on about the concert from the night before. I pulled up the playlist and we talked about what we remembered about each song—heads together, we were in our own world over shared nachos. On the walk back, Graham said to Matt, they are still talking about that concert. Couldn't stop. Wouldn't stop.