First Anniversary Getaway: Circle of Lights

Ohhhhhh how we wished we could have gone back to Florida to celebrate our first anniversary! Alas, we didn't have enough time off work or the desire to buy plane tickets, so we decided to celebrate a bit closer to home.

We decided to go to Indianapolis for our first anniversary because it's where we went on our first date...and we thought it would be fun! As time went by, more and more fun things "just happened" to be taking place that weekend, so we were glad we'd picked it. Thought I'd start with our "big events" and then tell you random other tales later.

Because of how the calendar falls...last year Thanksgiving was a whole week before our wedding. This year, Thanksgiving and our anniversary were the same weekend. And so...that meant the lighting of the giant Christmas tree on Monument Circle in Indianapolis fell on the same day as our arrival. And since we just happened to be staying in a hotel on the circle, it seemed only logical to attend!!

We found a hotel right there on the Circle and checked in about 4 p.m. Right around five, we headed out to the middle of the action. The Monument was all ready to go...

 So we made our way around the circle to the stage area and staked our ground!

We were right by the stage, right there in the front - with the perfect shot of the ginormous light switch they flip to light the tree!

The news chopper circled overhead....

And the crowd...well...it got pretty big.

It began to get dark, and I started getting COLD. Ryan was a sweetheart and went to get us both some coffee from the lobby of our hotel {as the line for Starbucks was into the middle of the street...}

Like the girl photo bombing us back there? She was much nicer in real life than she looks in this photo! LOL!!

They started the show at 6:00 - so we'd already been standing outside for an hour at that point. Lots of singing and dancing by different performers, and then at 7:00, they began the "real" show - the one for TV. Here's a sampling of the shows:

The house band was from a church, and the lovely lady in red is Kim Tabor, who has been a guest on Mid-Morning before. {That's her husband, Brian, playing the keyboard.} She did a SPECTACULAR job.  The band did several songs - including every TV commercial break once the live show started.

I confess I do not remember these people's names, but they were really good singers!

And then there were the Von Trapps. The rigging pole got in the way for my picture - but nothing got in the way of their sound. Amazing family harmony.

And then...Sandi Patty took the stage. Please take note...this is what we like to call Sandi Patty, Take One. Just wait.

Then some dancers who HAD to be freezing...

Finally, after almost 3 hours outside, Santa arrived via the US Mail...

One of the buildings on the Circle had a lighted countdown in its windows:

And then they flipped the switch to light the tree!

Lights AND fireworks!!

By this time, we had been outside for THREE HOURS and I could not feel my feet. At all. No exaggeration. SO I clung to Ryan's hand and stomped my way back to the hotel, hoping I wouldn't fall down!!

Check out the crowds leaving the circle, as seen from our hotel window:

Not gonna lie: we were pretty grateful to already be back in our room, not fighting traffic in parking garages and on one-way streets!

It took us a while to warm up, but we finally regained feeling in our fingers and toes!

And that was the first night of our weekend away! So much fun. I hadn't been to a lighting of the tree since about the third grade - and Ryan had never been, so it was a great memory to make together!

And if you'd like to enjoy a few minutes of our evening...we made a little video for you!