Coldplay at the Gorge

Two weekends ago we went camping with some of our Portland friends (Nelsons and Burrells) in the Columbia River Gorge.   We were going out there for the Coldplay concert, and there was a lot of discussion ahead of time about whether to camp at the concert site, which I'd heard resembles this:

And this:

Since we were camping with the kiddos, that didn't seem like the best plan.  The other option I'd read about, but couldn't find much information on because I guess they don't have the World Wide Internets out there in rural Washington, is a camping place called Vantage.  What I did hear was that it was beautiful and a better place to camp if you are taking kids.  So we booked there. The Nelsons arrived first, and when I texted Kristin about how beautiful the campsite was, I believe her text said "A really beautiful view.  Of the Texaco."  She was right, except for the beautiful part.  It wasn't.  But if we crossed the street, we found the beautiful.

We spent the entire day on Saturday beside the river, and it was LOVELY.  What I did not realize is that Western Washington is as hot and dry as Utah.  And as we all know, dry heat is a fantastic thing when you have a river or lake nearby.  

Late afternoon we packed up and headed for the concert.  Dry heat is not so great without the river.  We got into the concert venue around 5:00, but the concert didn't start until 9:00, and it was 90 something degrees with no shade.  My face melted off.  I promise, it did.

But the Nelsons came prepared.  They brought several waterbottles, and the kids became our personal air conditioners.  We'd wave them over, and two or three kids would spray us in the face, which felt great for us, and fantastic for them.  How often are you allowed to spray your parents in the face with water?  

After a while, one of the people sitting next to us asked them to spray him.  And then someone else did.  And then someone waived a dollar in the air to coax them over.  And then the kids started working the crowd. $45 later, they returned and asked Nellie to divide up the earnings.  Aren't concerts great?  If we'd sent the kids out earlier they probably could have paid for their tickets.  Next time we'll think ahead.

The Coldplay concert was fantastic.  The Gorge is a gorgeous venue, and even though we were far from the stage, it was still a fantastic show.  One of my favorite bands, and some of my favorite friends in what has to be the most beautiful amphitheater I've ever been to.  Overall, a fantastic weekend.

The best part of the weekend by far was the friends.  How I miss these people!