A Swift Trip to Arizona

March 17 - Getting there

I had never been more excited for something in my life. Our first flight didn't leave until almost 6 p.m., but I spent the whole afternoon blaring Taylor Swift music, painting my nails and packing in preparation for the weekend to come. Our friend Anthony picked us up around 3:30 p.m. and dropped us off at Tri-Cities Airport.

Flying out of Tri-Cities airport was a breeze. I have never seen such a quaint airport. The process was seamless and so quick. As someone who grew up flying out of BNA, I breathed a sigh of relief as we made it through security and everything in about 10 minutes. 

We boarded the first plane, which took us from Johnson City to Dallas/Fort Worth. The only real hiccup we had was our connecting flight to Phoenix kept getting delayed. It was a little bit of a bumpy ride because of the stormy weather, but overall not bad. I've never used American Airlines either, but I was happy with our overall experience. 

We landed about an hour later than expected, around 11:30 p.m. Mrs. Mettler, my second grade teacher, picked us up from the airport. We spent the weekend with her and her husband David and it was a delightful time.

March 18 - Concert day

It was finally concert day. I was surprised to wake up around 8 a.m., but with the three hour time difference, my body felt like it was 11 a.m. in Eastern Time. Mrs. Mettler made us breakfast and we chatted for a bit. We later went on a walk around their neighborhood on the outskirts of Glendale, where we saw a neighbor riding their horse down the street and heard stories about Olympic competitors as neighbors. I was amazed looking at the different kind of cacti all over the place and just hearing their stories about what goes on around their residence. 

Our Uber was scheduled to arrive around 1 p.m., so we got ready after going on a little walk. Our Uber driver called to say he was going to be about 20 minutes late, much to my disappointment. The doors weren't set to open until 4:30 p.m., but I was excited an ready to get to Glendale to see all the sights we could.

Posing at Westgate 

He did arrive, though. Mihai was his name, and he talked to us about everything under the moon -- cryptocurrency, cars, etc. He was really nice and talkative, as well as understanding with all the wildness of driving near Glendale with all the Swifties in town. Many roads were blocked off which presented quite a challenge.

But we did make it to Glendale and started walking around checking out the Westgate District. It was like this outdoor shopping and eating experience. There were huge water fountains that danced to the music. The weather was also perfect. We were starving, so we ate at a restaurant called SALT. I had some delicious chips and queso. We were originally told the wait would be 45 mins, but after 3 parties ahead of us did not show up, we were seated in about 10 minutes.

Eating at SALT

There was no hiding the fact that Glendale had been overrun with Swift fans. Everywhere you turned, there were bedazzled outfits or recreation of music video looks. It was so surreal and amazing at the same time. Everywhere was playing some of her biggest hits, leaning in to the Swiftie population around every corner. 

We walked around looking at stores for a bit, but time quickly passed as it reached about 4 p.m., so we walked over to the stadium to try to get inside. As we got closer and closer, the crowds became thicker and it was apparent that many people had already arrived for one of the biggest concerts of the century.

There was just line after line for things -- merch, photo opportunities, floor seating, and just getting in the venue. We passed on the merch hoping for better luck inside.

We waited in line to get in at our gate with no issues at all. Once we made it in, though, concert goers were shoulder to shoulder moving at a snail's pace to get to their seats. Since we were in the upper level, we searched for signs to get upstairs, but were only mislead by confusing directions and ended up walking all the way to the other side to find an escalator, and then we had to back track as made it up to the right level. My feet were already hurting from the walking we were doing.

Line to get merch outside of the stadium.

After we made it to our seats, we had a little bit of time before the opening act GAYLE. I met up with one of my friends from Twitter, who I have known for several years online. It was cool to get to meet her in person and chat with her about the show. She went with me to get a pretzel and then I came back to my seat halfway through GAYLE's set, just in time for Paramore.

Paramore played some of my favorites like "The Only Exception" and "Still Into You". Paramore defined so much of my middle and high school years with their music. They brought so much energy and I loved having them as a part of the Eras Tour.

I was super impressed with the quick transitions between opening acts and then to Taylor. A clock appeared on the screen, counting down the time to Taylor taking the stage. The building was erupting with excitement, and so was I.

The show kicked off with "Miss Americana" and the stunning visual of Taylor emerging from the middle of these flowy, pink fabric fans that were carried out by her dancers. 

She honed in on the house metaphor from the "Lover" music video, where each room represented a different era. The screen on stage guided you through each room of the house as she performed each era's set. 

It was an interesting choice for her to group each album's songs together like that, but I think visually it made a lot of sense. It was like she was taking us on a journey through the eras one album at a time. A lot of the outfits were callbacks to previous tours, which was very nostalgic.

My favorite of the songs she played were "Fearless" and "Enchanted". Whenever she transitioned from the "Lover" era setlist to the "Fearless" setlist and did a hand heart, I was instantly transported back to my elementary and middle school days listening to "You Belong With Me" and "Love Story". Fearless was one of the only tours I never got to see live, so it was amazing to get a glimpse of that that felt like -- but in the year 2023.

I think for a lot of people that's why this tour is such a huge success. It's something for everyone. The music of Taylor Swift inescapable, and she's someone whose music we've grown up with,

Her set was three hours long -- performing something from every era except her first album. It is interesting, considering she has not re-released some of her older albums as of yet and how that factored into setlist choices,

It was so cool to see the light up bracelets in use again and how they synchronized with the audience. They always add such an amazing effect, especially for those in the upper levels. Another thing that impressed me was the stage: it would create steps, platforms, etc. while also displaying amazing interactive visuals for the songs. My favorite part was when the stage opened up and Taylor swan-dived into the opening in the stage, but visually the stage made it look like she swimming to the other part of the stage underneath it. You just don't see that anywhere else.

She concluded the concert with her "Midnights" eras setlist, with "Karma" as the last song, I will say, some of her song choices surprised me, but overall I think it represented the setlist she wanted to do her fans, and I was more than thrilled by all the choices she made.

Picture of "Karma" as the closing song

We left the concert fulfilled, but also extremely tired from all the dancing and singing. It was about 11:30 p.m. by the time we left the stadium. We spent about two hours trying to confirm and Uber to pick us up, while everyone in town was trying to do the same. The traffic was awful, but eventually we did get a ride back and slept as much as we could before our last day in Arizona.

Matt and I pose together at the end of the concert.

March 18 - Post-concert

The next day, we woke up fairly early again to go do some sight-seeing. Still sore and tired from our long night before, but it was well worth it.

Mrs. Mettler and her husband took us to Sedona to see Red Rock State Park. We checked out the views of Sedona from the Chapel of the Holy Cross -- which you can see in these pictures:

Sedona views

We checked out some local shopping spots, Matt bought a candle. Then we ate at a lovely restaurant called Mariposa. It had floor to ceiling windows looking out at the views, and we were seated right by the window. I had Yuca fries and three cheese mac and cheese (with truffle and poblano). The taste was so special and some of the best food I've ever had.

We went back home, rested up, and packed out bags to get ready for our departing flight. Mrs. Mettler and David made us a home-cooked dinner with salmon, veggies and baked potatoes. We said our goodbyes and they dropped us off at the Phoenix airport.

It was a wonderful weekend well-spent with some amazing friends and mentors. I am very thankful to have stayed connected to Mrs. Mettler for so long after having her in elementary school. She was a great host and I was so excited to introduce her to Matt. :)

Our flights back were incredibly long. We went from Phoenix, to Los Angeles (LAX), to Charlotte, and then to Johnson City. The jet lag going back to Eastern Time has been awful. But nonetheless, we made it.

I am so thankful I got the chance to experience this trip and I can't wait to see Mrs. Swift again in May, on the same day I receive my master's degree!

Long live all the magic we made. 💕