There Are No Words for Magic

As the only daughter of a music-crazed father who raised me with a fierce appreciation for Oldies, some of my earliest and most cherished memories involve my family and I singing along to the radio in the car or listening to albums in our living room. Music was an integral aspect of my daily life growing up, and I knew all the words to every song on Oldies radio. The Beach Boys, The Beatles, The Zombies, The Monkees, America, Simon & Garfunkel — they sang the tunes that serve as the soundtrack to my childhood, and I’m so thankful that my parents instilled such a passionate love of music in my brother and me, as it’s played such a large role in our identities.

But there’s always been one singer/song writer who has stood out for me above the rest, more and more so as I’ve matured, and who has become a “bucket list” item for me… and on Saturday night, at the Mohegan Sun Arena nestled into the heart of the Poconos Mountains in Wilkes Barre, PA, this life dream of mine came true as I saw him in concert:

Sir Elton John, you are everything music should ever aspire to be. Epic, iconic, legendary, incredible, beyond comprehension and words. It was literally a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I’m so sosososo thankful my wonderful boyfriend surprised me with. That photo is from my seat, which was so close to him! He put on the absolutely most incredible show and sounded fantastic and was so charming and entertaining and and and I can’t say enough. And he played all his hits: Rocket Man, Tiny Dancer, Your Song, Daniel, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Levon, Candle in the Wind, and closed the night with a crowd-participatory version of Crocodile Rock that had everyone dancing on their feet and grinning ear-to-ear. It was pure magic, through and through. 

Moments before Sir Elton took the stage…and the face I wore all night.

Aside from the wonderful show, the rest of the weekend was fantastic as well. It was book-ended by two 7 mile runs: one early on Saturday morning before we set off for the Poconos, and the other late last night as the sun set on Sunday. It’s not often I run at night, but I loved everything about last night’s run and felt so thankful to end my weekend like that.

On the way to the Poconos on Saturday, we stopped at Sorrenti’s Cherry Valley Vineyards to see what Pennsylvania wine was all about (and mainly because I love anything and everything associated with the word “vineyard”). It was an absolutely gorgeous day — have I mentioned that I’m obsessed with September? — and Tyler’s first time ever at a vineyard/winery, so we were in love with our lives on this glorious day.

We sampled some of their wines in the rustic tasting room, where for $4 you get to taste your choice of any six, and keep your glass to boot. Sold.

They also have an Italian restaurant boasting brick oven pizza on the property, so we happily lounged outdoors on the spacious patio for a bit and each sipped a glass of red, and I think I succeeded in convincing him that we should go to Napa & Sonoma in the near future to expand his winery experiences. I mean, I’m only thinking of him here.

On Sunday, after the best concert ever happened the previous night, we woke up and drove into town and lucked into finding a gem of a French brunch place in Wilkes Barre called Le Manhattan Bistro.

Located in an old bank building, it was a spacious, inviting restaurant with amazing vaulted ceilings and an impressive menu (and as usual, I forget to take food pics…whoops!). Such a fun find, and a delicious way to end our Poconos stay.

I’m still reeling from how fantastic of a weekend this was, and so ready to go on all the road trips I can possibly take this fall! Thank you, boyfriend, for making this such an epic, memorable weekend of which I loved every single moment. ❤

What experiences are on your bucket list?
Been to any cute little towns lately?
Favorite Elton John song?? 🙂

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