Pinball Wizard of a Weekend

Mom and I were scheduled to head up north to Dekalb, IL last Saturday for a Sheryl Crow / Gary Allan concert. I was pretty stoked because it's been a few years since I've seen Sheryl and their venue would be smaller than those in the Peoria area.

As usual, anything beyond the concert would be icing on the cake. We headed to Dekalb mid-morning and arrived at our hotel in Rochelle early afternoon. I saw a coupon for a $4.99 haircut and jokingly asked Mom if she wanted it. 10 minutes later, I'm sitting at Great Clips watching Mom get her hair did. This still makes me smile.

Next stop was The Historic Downtown of Sycamore where we happened to crash their Fall Festival. Six popcorn balls later and we were on our way to Star Worlds Arcade in DeKalb to play some old school video games. BurgerTime, Galaga, SuperMarioBros, Teenage Muntant Ninja Turtles, PacMan, Ms PacMan, and Tetris... heck yeah we played em all! (And those were just the games we were familiar with.)

I knew Mom enjoyed pinball, but I had no idea she could bring it like a Pinball Wizard!


Myself? Well, I still prefer my racing games and absolutely lost it cackling when my 18-wheeler went careening down the highway!


After a a little Pad Thai at the hoppin' Thai restaurant in the Historic Downtown of DeKalb, Mom and I made our way to The Convocation Center and NIU. There were signs posted all over and it was even noted on our tickets that no cameras were allowed. HA! So below is a photo of our original seats. I say original because after we met the boot stompin', loud mouthed Melissa, we opted to move to higher grounds at the back of the arena.


I managed to get a few shots of Sheryl performing before I was kindly informed about the no photo policy and how my camera would be confiscated if seen again.

This is my favorite of the bunch before I retired my camera for the evening. Sheryl gives Jennifer Nettles a run for her money when it comes to smiliest singing. Love it!!!

Maggie Rose opened the night and then Gary Allan took the stage after Sheryl. I have an extremely glowy photo I could post of his performance from my cell phone, but it's totally not worth it. Nor was Gary Allan's set. Between the lights that kept blinding us, the bass thumping your chest, and the inability to hear his voice, there was a constant trickle of people exiting the venue. Mom and I confirmed they were heading for the doors like we did after about the 4th song.

Don't worry, we totally go our money's worth with Miss Sheryl Crow's performance. Only thing I missed was an encore. :)
Definitely a fun weekend with Mom!