Last Friday I took off from work early and headed to Lancaster, PA, to visit my favorite cousin for a few days. We watched lots of movies, had a "jammie day" (spent all day in our pajamas and watched movies), and went to a few used book stores--I'm always on the lookout for cookbooks. We also visited the big candy store so I could get the cocoa powder I like, along with some sugar-free candy and some treats for my team members at work. I had a great time as usual and was sad to see it come to an end.
Here are my new used cookbooks. German Cooking, because Bob and I are both part German. The New Best Recipe, because it's put out by Cooks Illustrated, my most favorite cooking magazine. Gastronomique, because I thought I was buying the other book called Gastronomique. And The Cheese Bible, because...well...cheese.
But the trip wasn't over yet...
On Tuesday I headed out to Allentown, PA, to meet my sister for the Def Leppard concert. I stopped at Wegman's, a regional grocery store. I'd heard a lot about it. Everyone told me that it's like Whole Foods, but huge and not quite as expensive. They were right. The bakery section was huge, as was the meat department. I bought a few bakery items, a couple prepared dinners, some tea, and a few protein bars. I then promptly left before I could pack any more items into my basket.
We got to the show late due to traffic around the fairgrounds; I have to say I was a little surprised that the fairgrounds were in the middle of the city. We got there halfway through Tesla's set, which is fine since I'm not big on Tesla; I like them live, but I don't usually listen to them in general. They were good and played songs I recognized, such as Signs and Love Song.
Next up was Styx. I had heard some of Styx's songs, but was never a fan...until I saw them with Def Leppard in 2006. They are fantastic in concert! So much energy and they all seem happy to be on stage. Entertaining, too. Tommy Shaw sang most of the songs, but Lawrence Gowan sang a few, too. Most notably Come Sail Away, which always blows the roof off the place. The crowd goes nuts and it's a giant sing-along. He has a great voice.
Finally, it was time for my favorite band: Def Leppard. They put up a big curtain in front of the stage and then it was pulled down when they came on; they kept that from the Viva! Hysteria residency a couple years ago. They started the show off with Rock! Rock!, which was a refreshing change. They played Let it Go, much to my enjoyment; I love hearing the older stuff. Surprisingly, they played Paper Sun. They put on a great show. They didn't seem quite as lively as usual--they're usually running around the stage a lot--but maybe that's because of Viv's cancer treatments or something else.
Our seats were great: middle section on the floor, 19 rows back, dead center. It wasn't front row (it's so hard to go back once you've been front row!!), but I really liked the perspective of seeing the whole stage dead-on. Of course, I missed seeing the guys up close, and being able to see the sweat on their faces and the stitches in their clothing, but the seats really were great. Inevitably I got stuck behind a tall guy so had to bob and weave a little. But then I looked behind me and saw a really short guy doing the same thing. I always feel bad when there's a short person behind me--I'm almost six feet tall.
As usual, the show--and the whole trip--seemed way too short and was over way too soon. But as Joe always says, "There will be a next time!"
No comments:
Post a Comment