This past Christmas, we got Kate tickets to see One Direction in Tinley Park, IL. We could NOT have picked a more perfect gift! She was beyond excited! If you've ever tried to buy 1D tickets, you know how hard it is- they sell out entire arenas in minutes. I tried to get tickets to their Louisville, KY show last mo, but nothing was available, so when I saw they would be in Chicago and that they had available seats (only in the lawn at that point), I didn't hesitate. In fact, I was absolutely giddy as I ordered them, and it took all I had to keep it a secret until Christmas morning! We had to wait almost 7 months until the concert, but I think that only built her excitement!
Yesterday morning, we packed up and took off for Chicago. Please note that I had never driven that far by myself and I am NOT a city driver, so I was a little nervous. We set off after an early (10:30) lunch and made the trip in exactly 3.5 hours. We would've made it sooner had we not had to stop once to verify Christopher had in fact packed the suitcase, again to verify that I had packed the tickets in said suitcase, and again at some seedy gas station outside of Champaign to stretch our legs halfway through the trip and to teach Kate how to read the MapQuest directions before we reached the city. Kate did great as navigator and we didn't get lost!
As soon as we reached the hotel, we checked in, took our bags up, left to eat a quick dinner, and were back at the hotel to get our stuff for the show and meet the shuttle by 4:30. We didn't waste a single second! We made it to the venue by 5:00 to wait for the gates to open. There were already 3 long lines at our gate and it was HOT! Thankfully it wasn't humid, so it made the wait much easier. While we were waiting, they came out and did their sound check, so we had some entertainment while we stood in line. Some of the girls started running to the fence to see inside and I told Kate to go along since you could tell she couldn't hold back. Right after she got to the top of the hill, security came up shooing the girls back down! We got in at 6:00 after having my pretzel bites being confiscated by the security (but they didn't take the candy???) and got our seats on the lawn. We actually had great "seats" and had a clear view of the stage the entire time and were able to see very well. Had we waited any longer, it would've been very different. This was the lawn by the time she concert started.
Once they came on, chaos ensued as thousands of girls screamed their heads off for almost 2 hours. It was crazy! I will admit that it was a pretty awesome show! We both had an amazing night and a lot of fun. Kate told me over and over that it was the best day of her life! Now that makes a mom's day! And I think you can tell by the look on her face, that she meant it!
We came home with lots of pictures and enough videos between the camera and ipod to make a small concert. I wish they had allowed dslr cameras into the venue as the pictures would've been a LOT better, but we did get some pretty good ones- they really don't do it justice- the view from our seats was amazing!
When I booked the hotel, I was excited that it offered free shuttle service to the venue. I wouldn't need to pay to park and wouldn't have to mess with traffic. Awesome! Well, the concert ended at 10:45 and we went out to catch the shuttle back and it had already left. The city had shut the streets down to allow the band to escape town without traffic, which delayed people leaving the venue, so the shuttles weren't able to make it back in before they stopped running at midnight. So we were stuck along with many other people from our hotel. We waited for nearly 2 hours under a blanket because it was so cold before someone called the hotel and complained that we were all stranded and they sent a shuttle to pick us up. We made it back to the hotel around 1:00 this morning. YAWN! I thought I'd sleep well, but laid in bed with "Teenage Dirtbag" running through my head until 3:30! I called sleep a bust at 6:10 and got ready before getting Kate up to leave.
We took the long route home so we could stop in Bloomington to show her where she was born and her first home. She wasn't terribly impressed- it didn't exactly compare to the night before! But it was neat to see around since the last time we were there was 10 years ago!
I'm so glad we had to opportunity to go see One Direction. We had a great time just the two of us and got to do something she had only dreamed of! Now she's asked me countless times today when we can see them again- only this time she wants premium seats and meet and greet passes! I told her to start saving her money! I hope we can go back next time, only I hope they come to St. Louis instead!
