There has been so much happening lately that I don't even know where to begin. I'm not even sure where the beginning is. LOL This will, in all likelihood be a novella.
Creation West was amazing, but by the time the last day came around I was rather glad it didn't go on for one more day. My body was telling me it was enough of a good thing. :)
I am not a good long distance driver. My max is generally about 5 hours. It's more than twice that to The Gorge. Somehow I made it with very little sleep. On Tuesday (the 24th) I was up about 8 a.m. to help load up all of my daughter's salon furnishings (stations, sinks, hair dryers, cabinets, etc.) into a moving truck to be placed into storage. My plan was to leave for Creation at about 3 p.m., but we didn't finish with the salon business until about 2:30 and afterwards we went to have a late lunch (or was that early dinner?) By the time I got home, showered and the car loaded for the trip, it was after 6 p.m. I pulled out of the driveway at 6:22 p.m.
I did rather well the first part of the trip, but I was very tired. I had thought about stopping and sleeping a few hours at about Ontario, OR at the Motel 6 there, but since I left so late I decided not to. Instead I slept at a rest stop for about 2 hours. I stopped one other time to sleep along the way for about an hour. The other driver's on the road were rather appreciative that I finally was off the road, I have a feeling. I wanted to make Creation by 8 a.m. when the gates opened, but I ended up arriving closer to 9:45 a.m. - which was about 1/2 hr. ahead of my time last year. The funny thing is that I ended up almost in the same spot as last year. The Honeybuckets weren't too far away - fortunately far enough away, though. LOL The showers were not exactly close, but not too far. Everything else was a pretty good hike from my campsite. Setting up the tent was easy since I have a self-erecting tent. It was so hot at the campsite I decided I might as well wait at the gate, so I took my sunscreen, my snacks, a few drinks, the items I took for RK and my blanket and headed for the gate. It was a long wait as the gate didn't open for another four hours, but I was the first person in line. LOL In the end, I'm not sure how much that accounted for. Slowly people started joining me in line. Second in line was a Hawk Nelson fan I met last year and her friend. Eventually a group of young people had joined me, and they decided to play a game called "Big Booty." It was pretty funny. They tried to get me to play, but I was a party pooper. The game did take some concentration and on 3 hours of sleep, it just wasn't going to happen for me. LOL The game went on nearly the entire 4 hours, with new people joining and leaving the whole time. I do think there were a few hardy souls who lasted the entire game. Time seemed to just crawl by. The sun beat down, but all of us stood rather firm.
At last it was time for the gates to open. Everyone started heading through security. Some of the people that came after me promised to try and keep me at the front, but it all fell through. I think they tried, though, we just were separated. In the end, I was not exactly at the front. A few tall guys locked arms in front of me and wouldn't budge. Somehow during the trip down the hill, they hit a roadblock and fell back and I ended up in front after all. So I did get my spot in front of the stage, right where Jon S. would be during Relient K's set. That is exactly where I wanted to be. I knew I would be leaving, though, so the tricky part was hanging onto the spot. I started discussing my dilemma with about 4 or 5 people around me and told them I really needed to go and meet someone and not lose my spot. I finally told them who I was meeting, so they said they'd hold it for me, and I literally ran up the hill towards the merch tents. Did I say that I was too old and out of shape for this? LOL I made it to the top and hit an area that was blocked off. I asked how to get to the tents from there and the security guy instructed me to walk all the way around. I simply said, "I can't" and he took pity on me and let me take a short cut for which I was extremely grateful. I finally arrived at the tents, and found that they weren't supposed to open for another 15 minutes. SO, I was waiting, and thinking I wasn't going to make it back in time to keep my place. Then I saw Jon and shouted out to him. He came to the gate and the security guard said I couldn't go in, so Jon flashed his badge and said he was with the band and that worked. We had a nice visit, and I took pics. I tried to video for Brittany, but I couldn't remember how to work the recorder on my camera, so Jon wrote a note for her and I took a pic of him to go with it. He's cool that way. :) I was such a ditz the entire time. I mean, I'm a ditz anyway, but on such little sleep and all the oxygen deprivation from running up the hill, I was extra loopy. (Thanks Jon for being so patient.) Anyway, I finally said my good-byes, and headed back for the stage. When I got back I needed something to drink badly, so I stopped by the medical table, and tried to get something, but the guy said, "just a minute" and pretty much ignored me. There was one gal there with a couple of skinned knees and a few others sitting. It was so hot standing there that I just went back to my spot by the stage, which I was very grateful to still have. At one point I asked security if it was possible to get a little bit of water and he said I'd have to go to the medical table. (Been there, done that, didn't work.) So, I decided to take a chance and tough it out. I'm stubborn that way. He said if I had to be hauled out, I wouldn't like it. A few times I almost thought I'd have to be. But, I survived. Hawk Nelson put on an awesome show as they did last year. I think I had to sit down during part of their set because I was nauseous, though. Superchick was amazing and very energetic. I was especially looking forward to seeing Jars of Clay and Relient K, and I wasn't disappointed in either. Jars of Clay was fun, and I still get a kick out of their shorts and crew socks. I wasn't surprised, though since I'd seen pics from other festivals this summer. I did hear quite a few comments, though. I think others got a kick out of their attire as well. I think CW was Relient K's best show that I've seen to date. Matty was really animated on stage and really seemed to be having fun. I tried, in vain, to get some decent photos. Matty gave me a shout out (kind of a quiet shout out), but it sounded like he said, "Mellie" so I wasn't sure if he was talking about me or not. LOL I was just pretty excited that they were doing Sloop John B, because I love their rendition. Jon was fun to watch on stage, as always. And, as always, the set just seemed to go by too quickly.
I stayed after and picked up trash, as I usually do. I am just amazed that people leave so much garbage behind! If everyone decided to take two items more than they left behind and tossed them, I don't think there'd be anything for the clean-up crew to do, and I think they'd be o.k. with that, actually. I had kinda hoped to see Jon again, but never did catch up with him afterwards. I'm sure he had a long day as well. On the way back to the campsite I stopped at the tent for the "midnight" show and stayed for the remainder of Nazareth's show. He was pretty funny, and I really enjoyed it. Then I headed back to my campsite, ate some tuna salad with crackers, had some very vanilla soy milk and turned in for some much needed sleep. Day 1 was long and hot, but good.
Stay tuned for more... But first, I'd better actually get something accomplished today. LOL
Peace out,
Melanie
P.S. still to come... Days 2-4 and the trip home, closing the chapter on my daughter's salon, and 2 nights of David Meece. Oh, and pics. :)
P.S.S. If you check out Wednesday's Creation West 2007 podcast at http://www.monsterpod.com/ I can be seen going through the gate. Thanks to Socks for letting me know. Kinda scray, huh?
Creation West was amazing, but by the time the last day came around I was rather glad it didn't go on for one more day. My body was telling me it was enough of a good thing. :)
I am not a good long distance driver. My max is generally about 5 hours. It's more than twice that to The Gorge. Somehow I made it with very little sleep. On Tuesday (the 24th) I was up about 8 a.m. to help load up all of my daughter's salon furnishings (stations, sinks, hair dryers, cabinets, etc.) into a moving truck to be placed into storage. My plan was to leave for Creation at about 3 p.m., but we didn't finish with the salon business until about 2:30 and afterwards we went to have a late lunch (or was that early dinner?) By the time I got home, showered and the car loaded for the trip, it was after 6 p.m. I pulled out of the driveway at 6:22 p.m.
I did rather well the first part of the trip, but I was very tired. I had thought about stopping and sleeping a few hours at about Ontario, OR at the Motel 6 there, but since I left so late I decided not to. Instead I slept at a rest stop for about 2 hours. I stopped one other time to sleep along the way for about an hour. The other driver's on the road were rather appreciative that I finally was off the road, I have a feeling. I wanted to make Creation by 8 a.m. when the gates opened, but I ended up arriving closer to 9:45 a.m. - which was about 1/2 hr. ahead of my time last year. The funny thing is that I ended up almost in the same spot as last year. The Honeybuckets weren't too far away - fortunately far enough away, though. LOL The showers were not exactly close, but not too far. Everything else was a pretty good hike from my campsite. Setting up the tent was easy since I have a self-erecting tent. It was so hot at the campsite I decided I might as well wait at the gate, so I took my sunscreen, my snacks, a few drinks, the items I took for RK and my blanket and headed for the gate. It was a long wait as the gate didn't open for another four hours, but I was the first person in line. LOL In the end, I'm not sure how much that accounted for. Slowly people started joining me in line. Second in line was a Hawk Nelson fan I met last year and her friend. Eventually a group of young people had joined me, and they decided to play a game called "Big Booty." It was pretty funny. They tried to get me to play, but I was a party pooper. The game did take some concentration and on 3 hours of sleep, it just wasn't going to happen for me. LOL The game went on nearly the entire 4 hours, with new people joining and leaving the whole time. I do think there were a few hardy souls who lasted the entire game. Time seemed to just crawl by. The sun beat down, but all of us stood rather firm.
At last it was time for the gates to open. Everyone started heading through security. Some of the people that came after me promised to try and keep me at the front, but it all fell through. I think they tried, though, we just were separated. In the end, I was not exactly at the front. A few tall guys locked arms in front of me and wouldn't budge. Somehow during the trip down the hill, they hit a roadblock and fell back and I ended up in front after all. So I did get my spot in front of the stage, right where Jon S. would be during Relient K's set. That is exactly where I wanted to be. I knew I would be leaving, though, so the tricky part was hanging onto the spot. I started discussing my dilemma with about 4 or 5 people around me and told them I really needed to go and meet someone and not lose my spot. I finally told them who I was meeting, so they said they'd hold it for me, and I literally ran up the hill towards the merch tents. Did I say that I was too old and out of shape for this? LOL I made it to the top and hit an area that was blocked off. I asked how to get to the tents from there and the security guy instructed me to walk all the way around. I simply said, "I can't" and he took pity on me and let me take a short cut for which I was extremely grateful. I finally arrived at the tents, and found that they weren't supposed to open for another 15 minutes. SO, I was waiting, and thinking I wasn't going to make it back in time to keep my place. Then I saw Jon and shouted out to him. He came to the gate and the security guard said I couldn't go in, so Jon flashed his badge and said he was with the band and that worked. We had a nice visit, and I took pics. I tried to video for Brittany, but I couldn't remember how to work the recorder on my camera, so Jon wrote a note for her and I took a pic of him to go with it. He's cool that way. :) I was such a ditz the entire time. I mean, I'm a ditz anyway, but on such little sleep and all the oxygen deprivation from running up the hill, I was extra loopy. (Thanks Jon for being so patient.) Anyway, I finally said my good-byes, and headed back for the stage. When I got back I needed something to drink badly, so I stopped by the medical table, and tried to get something, but the guy said, "just a minute" and pretty much ignored me. There was one gal there with a couple of skinned knees and a few others sitting. It was so hot standing there that I just went back to my spot by the stage, which I was very grateful to still have. At one point I asked security if it was possible to get a little bit of water and he said I'd have to go to the medical table. (Been there, done that, didn't work.) So, I decided to take a chance and tough it out. I'm stubborn that way. He said if I had to be hauled out, I wouldn't like it. A few times I almost thought I'd have to be. But, I survived. Hawk Nelson put on an awesome show as they did last year. I think I had to sit down during part of their set because I was nauseous, though. Superchick was amazing and very energetic. I was especially looking forward to seeing Jars of Clay and Relient K, and I wasn't disappointed in either. Jars of Clay was fun, and I still get a kick out of their shorts and crew socks. I wasn't surprised, though since I'd seen pics from other festivals this summer. I did hear quite a few comments, though. I think others got a kick out of their attire as well. I think CW was Relient K's best show that I've seen to date. Matty was really animated on stage and really seemed to be having fun. I tried, in vain, to get some decent photos. Matty gave me a shout out (kind of a quiet shout out), but it sounded like he said, "Mellie" so I wasn't sure if he was talking about me or not. LOL I was just pretty excited that they were doing Sloop John B, because I love their rendition. Jon was fun to watch on stage, as always. And, as always, the set just seemed to go by too quickly.
I stayed after and picked up trash, as I usually do. I am just amazed that people leave so much garbage behind! If everyone decided to take two items more than they left behind and tossed them, I don't think there'd be anything for the clean-up crew to do, and I think they'd be o.k. with that, actually. I had kinda hoped to see Jon again, but never did catch up with him afterwards. I'm sure he had a long day as well. On the way back to the campsite I stopped at the tent for the "midnight" show and stayed for the remainder of Nazareth's show. He was pretty funny, and I really enjoyed it. Then I headed back to my campsite, ate some tuna salad with crackers, had some very vanilla soy milk and turned in for some much needed sleep. Day 1 was long and hot, but good.
Stay tuned for more... But first, I'd better actually get something accomplished today. LOL
Peace out,
Melanie
P.S. still to come... Days 2-4 and the trip home, closing the chapter on my daughter's salon, and 2 nights of David Meece. Oh, and pics. :)
P.S.S. If you check out Wednesday's Creation West 2007 podcast at http://www.monsterpod.com/ I can be seen going through the gate. Thanks to Socks for letting me know. Kinda scray, huh?
1 comment:
That sounds like a more interesting day for you than me. My first day was very long. I was awake for practically the whole thing. At around 1:00 in the morning my brother, my mom and I drowsily made our way over to our church where a good chunk of the youth group and parents waited and eventually after everyone had shown up, packed the last of their bags and clambered into their cars we left. I was awake for most of the drive through Southern BC (I live about 4 hours from the border in Osoyoos.) but I think I fell asleep for twenty minutes or so before waking up to a beautiful sunrise. Then a lost stop at God's gift to the tastebuds, Tim Horton's before crossing the border and heading into the hot and flat U.S of A, loaded up with money that all looks the same. (And one dollar bills! *gasp*) Somehow we all managed to end up at the Gorge at about the same time (11:00 I think.) and we blearily stumbled about setting up tents and trailers. I kept glancing at my watch, waiting for 4:00 PM. "Mom I gotta go meet Jon Schneck now!" I was giddy with excitement at being able to meet him so I grabbed my friend Rebecca and we went over to the big crowd near the gates. We slowly wedged ourselves next to a group of rowdy teenagers pretending to be ninjas and an old couple loaded with backpacks and picnic blankets. Unfortunately we had to leave though, because Rebecca gets sick in the sun and she had to go back to camp and sit in the shade and I had to go too because since there were so many of us youth groupers we couldn't go somewhere alone. (But I managed to convince my mom to let me go see RK alone. Yes!) Anyways, at about 4:30 or something I grabbed my other friend Vanessa to come with me to the tent and so with birthday cards, poster and pen in hand I marched over to the tents, peering inside (Which was kind of hard because they weren't open yet.) before finally catching a glimpse of, could it be? Jon Schneck! And who's that with him? It looks kind of like that Melanie person from his blog...So I nervously waited at the entrance to the tenty place before they let people in (Which only took about 30 seconds. :P) and then you were there though so you remember. Then I left because Vanessa was getting bored and so I proudly showed everyone within reach back at camp my newly signed poster. (None of them are really fans though so somehow they failed to catch on to my excitement. :P) then when Justin Lookadoo was supposed to speak I figured I'd go over to the stage (In my new RK shirt. :D) becuase during sermons the mosh pit tends to clear out. So then I waited patiently through Justin Lookadoo's sermon and soon the stage area began to fill up and people left, people came and by the time Jars of Clay came on I found myself in about the second row and I was able to catch a glimpse of Matt Thiessen and Jon Schneck backstage. Kind of cool. Then FINALLY Relient K came on and again, you were there so I don't think I need to recount the tale. Anyways, it was a way better show than last year. :D Then deliriously I managed to make my way back to camp where I couldn't stop smiling. My day was complete. ^_^ I hope I can meet Schneck (Maybe you too. :P) next year again. So there you have it. My Creation Fest day 1 story. =DDD
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