I'm pretty sure I will never be able to go back and capture all of the "fun" that I've been too busy to post but I'll eventually get to some of it! Time has all run together for me so I can't even put things in order any more but sometime, not too long ago, we went to Salt Lake to set up a stage and canopy for a BBQ event. But first, we set up a stage in Boise for the annual Beerfest:
We left town on a Thursday. AFTER the Beerfest stage was set up and AFTER we loaded the truck and AFTER we did fifty million other things. It was close to 8:00 pm by the time we left town. (Kurt took care of Nampa Nights so we could leave early [the goal was to leave in the early afternoon!] and he also had a busy weekend at the Civic Center. So, between the three of us, we had 4 events in 4 days that included 2 stage and canopy set ups.) Anyway, when we drive the Uhaul and pull a stage down to Salt Lake, it takes a good (or a really BAD) 9 hours. Obviously, we left too late to make it all the way in one day so we (barely) made it to Burley where we caught a few hours of sleep at a comfortable hotel.
The event that needed the stage and canopy didn't start until Saturday so our plan was to spend a day at Lagoon with the kids on Friday. We wanted to be there right when it opened at 11:00 a.m. I think we left Burley at 9:00. . .
Did I mention it feels like it takes FOREVER to get to Salt Lake in the Uhaul, pulling the stage????
There had been a LOT of wind and lightning on our way to Burley so we witnessed the remnants of many fires on the trip. . .
We finally pulled into Lagoon around 1:00 p.m. and I began to relax a little. I have to say, it's pretty funny seeing the looks on people's faces when you pull into a theme park parking lot in a Uhaul pulling a stage. We were about 50 feet long! They actually personally escorted us to the oversize lot clear in the back!!
Usually when we go to theme parks, we find ourselves running from ride to ride and exhibit to exhibit just so we can see everything and get our money's worth. It could be that we were just too tired to race around but I really enjoyed the relaxed pace we settled into as we wandered around the park. We went on most of the rides one time, spent a couple of hours at the water park, ate some REALLY yummy pulled pork and corn on the cob and just hung out together. . .
Rob and Gloria were brave enough (or stupid enough) to ride The Samurai:
We even made the time to take in a show at the end of the day. . .
The show was titled, "Juke Box" and included a medley of well known songs. The impersonators were really good:
Rob actually enjoyed the show instead of picking apart the technical aspects!! The lighting was really good!
It was a good thing we had such a good time on Friday because things quickly went from good to bad to worse before getting better again.
We left Lagoon around 11 p.m. and drove another 45 minutes into Salt Lake to find a hotel room. I didn't make reservations ahead of time because I wasn't exactly sure where the event site was but I figured there would be plenty of hotels nearby that the kids and I could walk to once everything was set up on Saturday. It's hard to describe how it felt to be driving around downtown Salt Lake between midnight and 1 a.m. in a Uhaul pulling a trailer looking for a hotel but it was not good. We found the event site on a dead end street in a not-so-good part of town. Sure, there were a few "motels" nearby with their flashing neon signs but none of them that I would care to stay in. Even if they looked decent, which they didn't, none of them had a parking lot that we could pull the truck and trailer into.
Out of desperation, we finally pulled into The Red Lion downtown, several miles away from the event site, knowing that it was probably way out of our price range. At that point, I was willing to shell out whatever it took just to get off the streets! We must have looked quite pathetic because they gave us a great deal and only charged $109/night. We booked it for two nights and fell exhausted into bed around 2 am.
Up again at 7:30 a.m. so we could be at the event site at 9. Looking at the next picture, you might be tempted to call CPS but, keep in mind, I did manage to feed them. Even if it was McDonalds and they ate it while sitting in a trailer:
This is one of the first things that caught my eye at the event site and I decided I'd like to carry it around with me to every event site. . .
To say the least, it was a difficult set up. We were setting up in the middle of a street where there was a steep curve in the road. The lift stands barely fit in the gutters to the side and everything had a lean to it. It felt like we were setting up in quick sand and the fact that we were tired before we began didn't help anything. Rob was a little concerned about the "new" stage because this was the first time we would be using it by itself. He believed it would be good and stable but wasn't entirely convinced. We soon found out that it was VERY stable when the grand piano truck pulled up and unloaded onto the stage!!
The weather was windy and nasty all day so we could barely crank up the canopy enough to allow for people and instruments to be loaded on. . .
The bands began showing up before we even had a chance to set up the lighting. We made several trips to the nearby Home Depot so that we had supplies to fulfill unexpected expectations, walking, of course, because it was too difficult to take the Uhaul. . .
As the bands were setting up, they kept whacking their heads on the center truss piece due to the fact that the wind kept us from cranking up which I found a little sick humor in but Rob eventually made the call to raise it just above their heads.
The wind really added to the misery of the day. . .
We finally finished with our part of the set up just as the bands began the sound check. Thankfully we weren't in charge of audio so we had a chance to sit back and get something to eat. . . In the rain.
About 20 minutes before the 6:00 p.m. start time, the wind died down completely and the sun came out. We were finally able to bring the canopy to it's full height. . .
Shortly after that my day got much, much better. Rob suggested that the kids and I go back to the hotel while he ran lights at the event. It was wonderful! He dropped us off and Gloria and I spent a couple of hours by the pool. . .
This is the view of our room from the pool. We were on the 8th floor. . .
I had a chaise lounge, free wi-fi and my lap top!!
Gloria had the pool and Zach had cable tv back in the hotel room. It was (very) momentary bliss. . . Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end and Rob picked me about at 11:30 pm so we could take it all down.
There are no pictures of the tear down with good reason. We finished it up and made it back to the hotel around 4 a.m. We slept in a bit on Sunday and then checked out of our lovely hotel and went back to the event site to pick up the stakes that we had left the night before.
I just couldn't resist one last picture. . .
The trip home was just one more adventure on this never-ending trip. We kept having to pull over so Rob could wake up. We couldn't find a good place for him to take a nap and we had to get back to Boise to take down the Beerfest stage so I finally ended up driving the Uhaul myself. It actually wasn't too bad! I tackled hills and bad weather for about 3 hours and we all survived it!!
By the time we made it back to Boise and unloaded the truck, it was dark and stormy. Kurt had already lowered and secured the Beerfest stage so we all made the call to take it down on Monday. . .
This post is pretty representative of many of our events this summer. We build, we load, we pack, we travel, we work, we load, we unload, we clean and then we do it all over again. I know I said I wouldn't complain but, if you've made it this far through this long and difficult post, then you are a true friend and maybe you'll understand! This has been our busiest summer ever and I'm trying to be a mom and run a household and a business and send my daughter to school for the first time and keep my head above water while I'm doing it. I don't know that I'm doing any of it well. I try to hold onto the good things because they are definitely there- I have a new baby nephew, my kids are happy and well adjusted, I have a little money in the bank and food on the table, my health is good and I have friends and family who love me. I know that there is a light at the end of this tunnel. I just hope it isn't a train. . .
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