Grand Prix
It is 17:27 here in ‘murica and I am sitting on the dry grass in Texas. On the ground, right next to me is a significant ant pile several people in line pointed out before we popped a squat. Probably, we are the nasty ones disturbing their home.
It is 19oC, clear blue skies and perfect weather.
Tamara had been up with the birds while I snuggled deep into our Air B&B bed for two hours waiting for me to wake. When it was clear I was going to need some encouragement she played “Get the party started!” by P!NK. I leaped out of bed, pulled on my Canadian Sweetleg tights from Maureen and away we went. Nothing says breakfast more than In and Out Burger, animal style…. Then it was off to Starbucks for Tamara to add to her collection of coffee cups.
We parked the rental car downtown where the police park so we should be able to come back to our vehicle still in one piece. Hopping onto the shuttle that took us to the Circuit of the America’s Formula 1 Grand Prix. The bus was amazing! If Greyhound had buses like these, they likely would still be in business!
There was a young man, maybe 20?, in the seat behind us who called his girlfriend to check in on her. She had been drinking quite heavily the night before and apparently was making poor choices. It was really quite an interesting conversation to happen upon, for many reasons. The biggest one was how well this young man handled himself in his communications. He was clear, direct, polite, said exactly how he was feeling, asking for an apology, spoke with the concept of win-win in mind and at the end, reconfirmed everything was clean in his communication. It was lovely and refreshing to hear a young person so articulate in owning his feelings. In case you wondered, I did. I told him so. He was pretty down at the end of it, and he needed to know how well he handled it. So I told him.
Anyhoo, we arrived at the gates after doing the math that showed EACH coach that went to the event was raking in $1400 PER TRIP!!!
The security guard didn’t know what to do with the fact I required a pat down, not a metal detector scan. We finally got in and started to look around. There were literally hundreds of food and drink vendors, let alone the merchandise vendors. We saw a human cannon all setup, a doggie park area for those who were set up with their fifth wheels.
Soooo many expensive cars parked next to those driven by Joe Lunchbucket and Suzie Housecoat in the parking lots.
We weaved our way through all the displays and then asked directions from one of the staff to find where our bleacher seats were. She told us we were exactly opposite the side where we needed to go. Following her directions, we set off. About 39 minutes of walking later, I said jokingly how funny it would be if we had passed the gate. I thought perhaps since I had joked about it, we should probably ask. Turns out, the first woman we asked was clearly fresh off her smoke break… Marijuana smoke break likely, as were were NOWHERE NEAR WHERE WE NEEDED TO BE!
A shuttle was hopped onto and we were brought back to exactly where we started an hour earlier. Ugh.
OK. Take two. We went the other way this time, and navigated our way through the infield and over bridges and through tunnels to reach only ½ way where we needed to be.
Once we finally got to where our bleachers were, the races were over for a while. They stop and start all day. We decided it would be good to then find where we needed to go for the PINK concert at 730.
Another few HOURS of walking… No exaggeration… and we found it. Snacks were needed to fortify ourselves after all this. Texas sized corn dogs, lemonade, brisket macaroni and cheese and chicken quesadillas rounded out with a Texas sized donut to boot. We rolled our way over to watch some of the racing by the fence near turn 9. Turn 4, where our actual seats were, were never actually graced with our bums! Ever!! Lol
Given how long it took us to not only find where we needed to be, but actually get there, we decided to make our way over to where the hordes would be lining up to gain access to the infield for the concert.
At 17:27 we sat. Near the ants. And waited. For nearly two hours. Then, the race was on as the gate girls gave the signal. We ran! And ran! And ran! Luckily we were in the first 12 people on a line of hundreds…. AndAnd so we were the pace setters. If this was my training for a Spartan race, I think I could do one now.
Moments before the foot chase started, we had the forethought to link ourselves via Google maps so if we got separated we could find each other easily. It was perfect. Tamara ran to the bathroom and I ran for where the best spot to stand would be. I gotta say, we both did ourselves proud. In the end we were one row from the fence separating the unwashed masses from the $500-$2500 standing area. It was perfect!!!
In the preconcert time we listened to KidCutUp. He is a DJ who was tremendous with mixing the records to all the 80s top hits and got the crowd dancing. It was pretty powerful to watch 35,000 people come together over music.
I’ve been to a lot of concerts in my day and this by far was the best!! Second was Garth Brooks in 92 when I was second row on the floor in Calgary.
Her energy, her messages in her music, the showmanship, the Cirque du Soleil she performed herself was beyond any concert I have been to. Absolutely worth the trip. 100%
This day was brought to me though the power of living life on purpose. Making a plan, seizing the moment and not looking back. It was brought to me by a friend willing to take a chance on a spur of the moment decision and a husband tending the home fires while I satisfy my wanderlust. It was definitely also sponsored by fit bit and peppermint foot cream!!
Everytime I do an adventure like this I am reminded of the power in life and how to live it to the fullest. I encourage you to do the same. We never know what is next, even if we plan the hell out of our days. Do what matters…. What is good for your soul. The rest of life will take care of itself.