SMA Awareness Day 23: Daughtry and Goo Goo Dolls at the fair

We're happy and pooped!  We all had a good time and had no medical snafus (Colin did not get bit by a pony, we didn't forget any supplies, we didn't drop any respiratory stuff on the ground, the formula ran well through the pumps and we didn't run out of battery power) and all went well.

We made to the main area so we could see the parade.  It's kind of cool.  We like seeing the draft horses, and cows, and oxen and little cars and carts wind their way down the lane.  There were two HUGE oxen being herded by a boy who couldn't have been more than 12 years old!  The draft horses took up the whole pathway and acted perfectly.

There just happened to be a Mr. Sausage booth across from us so I had a sausage with peppers and onions and Aunt Chris had a hot dog.  Gene played the martyr and didn't get anything.

Then we were off to check out the animals.  All of the tents were crowded but for some reason the bunny tent was extra busy so we skipped for the time being although the boys were mad.

 We all loved the sheep.  There was one little guy who kept bleating indignantly and it was so funny!  Colin really liked that one.  Some of them were super friendly and we got to pet them and skritch their faces.  They were just like dogs :)



We hit the expo buildings and saw the Christmas trees (Colin, Aunt Chris and I loved them and they smelled so good!), all sorts of flowers, vegetables, and other exhibits.  Wish we could have spent more time looking but the boys got restless.  We enjoyed the sand sculpture.  This year's theme was The Wizard of Oz.

We doubled back and saw the bunnies.  So many cute little bunnies, and a couple of cute huge ones.

Gene suggested we get ice-cream from the Vermont barn and Aunt Chris and I concurred.  This is another tradition we have--each year we go and get local made ice-cream at the dairy barn.  I got Maple Walnut and it was delicious.

Then it was time to head over to the grand stand to get our seats for Daughtry and the Goo Goo Dolls.  It was crowded as we headed over but got in quickly and into the handicap section.  We love where we get to sit.  It's not super close to the stage but close enough and we have no one in front of us. It's a covered boxed area and people just sit/wheel in wherever they want.  I was surprised that there were a couple of groups already in there as I hadn't expected that there would be so many handicapped people seeing either band.  I know that sounds weird, but I mean, when we saw Elton John I knew there would be tons of people (old people, ha ha) but there never are many handicapped kids that come to see the shows in our experience.   One couple that was there let us move into a better spot while they moved over.  We take up a lot of room, which I feel badly about, but we try to be as efficient as we can with our space.  Colin has to sit kind of sideways in his chair because of the way he lays down and the way his head is.  So I usually sit behind him so we don't take up as much front row space. 

It was kind of boring to wait, especially since Nurse Julie wasn't there as she and Bill were catering two weddings.

But, finally, Daughtry came on.  Yay!  He came out fast and hard with lots of energy and the crowd loved him.  Gene was surprised that he liked him as much as he did.  He doesn't know much of his music, not like Casey and I do, and he ended up enjoying him.  We all really liked him and had a good time. 

 Near the end of Daughtry, I got a call from Nurse Julie and she said they were done with their weddings and they were on their way to the fair.  Whoot!  She and her friend, Kelly, came over and hung for a bit.  Casey was kind of grumpy and restless so they all decided to walk around.  Colin and I stayed and listened to the Goo Goo Dolls.  They were good and played good songs, but we're just not as into him as we are to Daughtry.  I was trying to figure the crowd out. There were definitely people that were obsessed with both bands-- you could kind of tell by the way each group was dressed,  ha ha, but everyone had a good time, for sure.

The crew came back from their walk in high spirits.  They had left the grand stand area and went to the Halverson's tent and had a beer :)  Casey thought it was the funniest thing in the world!

We were going to buy tee shirts but they were $30 each so we declined.  I'll try to find some on Amazon or Ebay because both boys really wanted one.  Yes, even Colin who doesn't give a care about cloths wanted a Daughtry shirt.  Note to self:  don't forget to try to dig up some shirts on line.

It looked like we were going to be later than we thought so I texted Deb.  She tried to call me but I couldn't hear a thing.  I called her as we were pulling out of the fair grounds.  We left right before the last song and got out of the grounds pretty easily.  If we had waited any longer we would have been in a snarly traffic mess forever. 

We beat Deb home.  Aunt Chris left.  Gene took Jaxon out.  We put the boys into bed as quickly as we could. Deb helped finish up getting Casey ready for bed.  I was up in bed and still hearing Casey at midnight but I think they both were asleep soon afterwards.



I'm adding some short video clips of the show in case anyone is interested.