When I wrote the subject it was meant to be for the reader, but now that I think about it, that was how I felt while sitting in my car forever and ever. I am going to provide you with an array of different devices to convey how my trip was. Some you will enjoy and others that will be sure to bore you. Hopefully there will be a happy medium.
2574 miles traveled in total
4 new songs debuted at the concert
10 states traveled in (MA, NY, PA, OH, IN, IL, MO, KY, WV,CT)
20% of all states
40 hours spent in car driving
3 MLB stadiums (Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds) seen
6 gas fill ups
$1.85 lowest price paid for 89 octane gas (mid grade)
2nd tallest building in the world I visited
5 number of rows from the stage
3 times stuck in a construction traffic delay (that is a good amount)
41 number of Dave Matthews shows I have attended
1 meal at a fast food restaurant (McDonald's for breakfast today)
3 different sleeping locations in my car before I finally decided on putting the back seat down and laying half in the trunk
35 estimated dollars spent on tolls
2 crossings of the Mississippi River
5 people crammed into the Gateway Arch's tram car
131 pictures taken
6 consecutive years I have been to the first show of the tour (Tampa, FL; Columbus, OH; C'ville, VA; Washington D.C.; Columbus, OH; St. Louis, MO)
? number of years I can keep this streak alive
I left my house at 7 AM EDT and immediately got stuck in traffic on Route 128. What a great start. The pace finally picked up and I made it about 100 miles from Buffalo for my first stop. Nothing exciting to this point. The traffic was light until I made it to Cleveland, where it was near rush hour time. I eventually made it through there and finally go more gas in Ohio. It then started raining, something it always does when I am in Ohio. At 8 PM CDT, I was in South Bend. The next morning I drove to Chicago. It was a very easy drive and there wasn't much traffic, which was great. The drive along Lake Shore Drive was great, I wish I had more time to explore that road. After exploring Chicago, I drove south toward St. Louis. I had learned it was very nice to drive with the windows down and it was even better when cruising across the flat land of Illinois. Driving in St. Louis was okay. It was odd that the people parked right on the bank of the river, I was not comfortable with that and parked in a garage. The ride to the concert was next, traffic was not too bad and getting into the arena was easy. Getting out of there was a different story, it took about an hour and a half before things started moving. I had food and water so I was okay. The drive to the hotel was tough because I was so tired, but I made it without incident. The next morning I woke up and and saw a storm was on the way so I booked it out of there. The drive back was uneventful. I tried to find a hotel to stay in near Hershey, PA, but everything was booked. I kept trucking and before I was too exhausted I stopped at a rest area and slept in my car. Maybe not the safest thing to do, but safer then falling asleep behind the wheel. It took me a while to get comfortable, but I finally put down the back seat and put my legs in the trunk. I didn't sleep to well, but enough so when I woke up at 5 I could make it home. The rest of the drive was fine and I got more excited the closer I was to home. Oddly enough, when I was almost home Tripping Billies by DMB came on the radio. It was kind of appropriate to here, " So why would you care to get out of this place?" A song questioning why I would leave sung by the group that was the reason I left.
In the middle of the concert I was standing there doing my concert thing, of dancing around and enjoying the music. In the fifth row next to me on my left were three guys, one of which didn't belong there, but they weren't taking up too much space. On my right was a guy and next to him was a couple. The couple left there seats and went towards the concessions and the two seats were now open. Out of nowhere this girl comes down and stands in front of the couple's seats. She is one of those drunk, halter top, talk on the phone the entire show type of girl. Everything is fine until the couple returns. The girlfriend tells the girl she is in her seat and the girl just talks into her phone and pretends like the girlfriend is not there. The gf then goes out to the usher and tells him about the situation. He comes into the row and now we are all packed in there. He asks the girl for her ticket and once again she continues to talk on the phone. She then smiles at him and says this is my seat and goes back to the phone. He once again asks for the ticket and she starts to go through her purse looking for it. It is obvious at this point that she is stalling. She still has her phone in her hands and also a beer, while trying to get stuff out of her bag. After a couple minutes the gf tells the usher to take her out of the row. He tries, but the girl goes back on her phone. At this point I am consumed by the situation. Finally, the usher grabs her arm and starts to pull her out of the row. She refuses to leave, but after a little more arm pulling she starts to leave the seat. We are all under the impression that the situation is nearing a close and we can once again enjoy the show. When all of a sudden she stops and turns around to grab her beer cup from behind the seat. The usher is turned toward the aisle, when out of nowhere she turns to the gf and says, "Bitch!!!." Before I even know what is going on she has splashed her beer all over the gf. Beer went everywhere, thankfully a majority of it went all of the gf, but it was quite a scene. The gf made a move for the girl, but wasn't able to get near her. It definitely ranks up there on my list of DMB drama.
The show was at the UMB Pavillion and it was the worst. Okay not quite as bad as the Tweeter Center, but first of all I couldn't even find my car. I never lose my car, but in this case it took me fifteen minutes to find my precious car. The girls next to me were classic they just gave up waiting and walked back to their hotel. The funniest part was how they showed up alone and ended up with two guys in the car. What lucky guys. Here are some more photos. Parking Lot Photos
I stayed in two hotels and here is a list of things about them:
Ramada Inn, South Bend, IN
-Ghetto Hotel
-Hallway with super heating, it was more like a sauna
-Click on the link and see the sign that was next to the towels Odd Linen Sign
-The lobby had the loudest ringer of any phone I have ever heard
Days Inn, Mount Vernon, IL
-Internet computer in the lobby which I used while checking in.
-The smallest parking lot ever
-The radio in my room was on full blast when I first walked into my room
-I had a handicapped shower
-The smallest bagels ever for the continental breakfast
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