Elton John in GR

I have to start this travel log with an earlier event with some relevance because it involves the weather.  When I first moved to Michigan, I thought that I would have to get a new car with 4 wheel

drive, that I had to buy milk and bread during a snow storm and that my work might be closed when there was bad weather.  After 10 years here, I now ignore all weather related warnings, forecasts, etc because they’re most likely not true, going to change before it gets here, or not going to impact the   fact that I will still have to go to work.  So, when a new winter weather advisory came out, I wasn’t about to let it 

impact me getting to Grand Rapids to see Elton John in concert.  The snow started before I left work which I was able to do early because my clients cancelled due to the weather.  Getting home was not bad, but the s now really started to fall while I was there, to the point that the babysitter that was watching Oscar that night asked if we were still going and was going to come early to avoid the worst of it.  And while the roads were mushy on the way out to meet Steph, Mark and John to drive down, I wasn’t 

 overly concerned because the snow wouldn’t keep coming down or they would bring out the plows.  Plus, we were supposed to hit rain on the way down because it was warmer south of home.  Well, we didn’t hit rain until almost GR and saw many people already off the road and in the ditches.  We  made it to GR and totally forgot the weather as we had a great dinner and great beer at Brewery Vivant downtown.  We got a bit laissez-faire about the whole parking situation for a major concert and were shocked to have to park all the way down in a garage off Ionia and Pearl and hoofed it to stand 

in line to wait to get inside Van Andel because they had set up metal detectors.  Once inside, we had just enough time to stand in line to go to the bathroom, find our seat and take a picture before the concert started promptly at 8pm with no opening act.  I have found in my new ability to afford to go see aging stars from my youth that they want to get to bed as badly as I do and remember, Elton, is old and has two young kids which I believe doubles your desire to get to bed at a decent hour.  So, for two hours we watch this shuffling man that doesn’t walk across the stage much, play piano like a man of 20 and play all the songs that you would want to 

hear….except Daniel.  How does he get away without playing Daniel?  But I digress, I had forgotten that he hadn’t played that song until John said it and thought that the concert was wonderful because he was hitting things that I didn’t think he would get to like the Bitch is Back and I’m Still Standing, which was ironic because he sat through the whole concert and standing looked painful for him.  After getting to see a legend in person, and most likely the only knight that we’ll get to see perform, we meet up to trudge through the rain to the car and are joking about how BR has already texted Mark and Stephanie that school is closed tomorrow.  We’re walking through the rain in GR, knowing what we left in BR 

and still we can’t wrap our head around what might have happened up in Mecosta county to cancel school at 9pm the night before.  But then we hit that line of demarcation and it was slow going through the snow and ice on the road to get to the drop off point.  I almost text the babysitter that we’re almost home at this point, but it’s a good thing I don’t because while we are only 10 minutes from home, I have only been on the highway so far and it took 45 minutes to get home to Canadian Lakes from 131 because of the slushy snow that had been iced over and was now bumpy, frozen and would pull your car in ruts and off the road.  I had to go 20mph and even then was glad that John was behind me in his car because we would have two chances to make it home that way.  It was the worst driving ever in Michigan, but still worth it to see Sir Elton John.