When we see all those gorgeous photos on social media it’s hard not to assume that everyone always has perfect, issue-free vacations. But that’s not real life. There are usually surprises that can impact your trip. As long as you take a beat and think through a plan, it’s easy for those little hang ups to lead to just a funny anecdote instead of a ruined trip.
The Situation
The first time I visited Colorado was a trip to Denver for my husband’s birthday. We visited the Red Rocks Amphitheatre but since it was January, there were no bands playing. We always said we’d go back so when I saw that one of our favorite bands was playing this summer, we decided to buy the tickets.
We had friends come in from Greeley to join us at the show too, so the day of the show we got dinner and then headed over. The tickets said 6:30 so using all our usual concert logic, we knew that if the tickets said 6:30 then that meant that doors open at 6:30 and the first band (the one we were excited about) would go on around 7 or 7:30. Planning to tailgate for 30 minutes before doors, we showed up at 6.
Unfortunately, we got separated from our friends when we entered the venue and ended up parking at opposite corners. Not having enough time to find each other before we wanted to head in, we decided to just go get in line. As we headed up the 400 stairs to the closest entrance, we realized we forgot our water bottle. My husband volunteered to go back down to the car to get it and while I found a plug to charge my phone a bit. I did see a 4 foot rattlesnake on my way up which was scary, but I also found an outlet so I could ensure I could take photos of the show without my battery dying. Navigating our trip means my phone dies more quickly than my travel companions’.
The Stumble
When my husband came back with the water bottle he accidentally went to a different entrance than the one we went up the first time, the one I was waiting at. I had all four tickets, the one for my husband and the two for our friends on my phone so he couldn’t just go in the entrance he was at. We tried texting and calling a few times but service is spotty in the mountains so we were having a difficult time connecting. Meanwhile the music began to play and we were missing it.
We finally got through and I told him to drop a location pin and I would just come to him. When I got to the gate, I explained the situation to the woman and she said I should enter at this gate and then go let my friends in at the gates they were near. Sounded like a predictable answer, I just wanted to double check.
I finally made my way over to the gate where my husband was waiting and the woman at this gate explained that the tickets I have are no longer valid and that everyone must enter at the same gate at the same time. She berated us, but finally gave in and let my husband in the show. Now to do this all over again when we met up with our friends. Then we got a text saying that our friend fell on her way in and was heading to first aid. Luckily the paramedics didn’t give them trouble about getting into the venue but we were stuck on the other side of the stage from first aid.
The only way to get there was to go up the left side of the entire stadium around the back and down the right side. After all the stairs we had just climbed getting in here, I was not about to do that. So I hatched a plan to ask security if there was another way over there and gave my most convincing puppy eyes. The security guard gave into my plea and personally escorted us backstage, underground, and directly beneath the band playing through to the other side, no stairs required.
When we got to our friends, and found out that they were okay, just needed cleaned up a bit, we decided to go out and watch the last 15 minutes of the show. But when I pulled up our tickets, instead of seeing the row and seat numbers that I purchased, they said general admission instead, meaning we did not have actual seats and were going to have to fend for ourselves in this stadium madhouse.
Apparently most people knew to come early because there was an email sent at 9 a.m. that morning with all the details, but it ended up in my spam folder. These folks had been here since the 9 a.m. yoga class and stayed there squatting on seats. More seats than they paid for mind you. As we surveyed our options, we could see that most people were taking up about a seat and a half of the marked bleacher seats and even then, it was jam packed. Thousands of people were already standing along the steps, the top of the stadium, and everywhere you could see. Incredibly frustrated, we decided we would just stand along the steps and enjoy the last few songs. Until the security guards came over and asked everyone to move off the stairs.
Feeling defeated, we went back to first aid to meet up with our friends. They weren’t feeling great and we were mostly there for the first band, not the second.
The Save
Instead of trying to go back into the swarm of summer concert-goers to listen to a band we weren’t that into, we strategized a new plan.
Just leave.
We found a board game bar that was open for another hour and ordered ourselves some boozy milkshakes to get the stink off. While we certainly spent 15 minutes whining about the evening’s experience, we decided to put it behind us and move on.
Every single person I have known to visit Red Rocks had an amazing time, but we did not. Instead of letting it ruin our night or even our trip, we laughed it off and tried something else instead. It can be easy to let the frustration get the better of you, but it’s important to keep your emotions in check so you can think of a new plan in the moment.
I’ll share more travel nightmares in the coming weeks, but in the meantime, what was your worst travel experience and how did you recover?