This has been a very busy weekend! Yesterday I hosted a luxurious dinner party for Project Food Blog Challenge 3. You can read about that here. But on Friday I saw Tom Petty for free at the Hollywood Bowl. But its not really what you think…

My friend Leanna is a sound monitor at the Hollywood Bowl. For those that are unfamiliar with the Bowl, it is an outdoor concert facility in Los Angeles. It is in Loz Feliz and nestled in the same hills that house the Hollywood Sign. I love Tom Petty so of course I said yes when Leanna asked if I wanted to see him for free. I wasn’t totally sure what to expect about where we would be sitting.

When we arrived at the Bowl we drove up, up, up into the residential neighborhood surrounding the Bowl all the way to the back entrance which is way up on the hill. We entered through a nondescript gate and hiked up a trail. At one point I turned around and saw this:

If that tree wasn’t partially blocking the shot you would be able to see a view of Los Angeles from downtown to century city. It was a very clear night and you could see everything!

We hiked down the trail a little further until we have a great view of the stage. Of course we weren’t close but we could see the entire audience and the stage.

That blue thing is the stage. What can I say? The song had just ended. Not the greatest timing.

And don’t worry, just because we didn’t have ticketed seats, that doesn’t mean we didn’t eat and drink like we did!

I picked up Clementine on the way to the Bowl.

I also came prepared with some adult beverages…

Is this not the cutest beer cooler ever?

Petty played all the songs I wanted to hear while I ate my BLT and he was so great. When he played “Free Falling” we could see and hear the crowd singing and swaying along. He also played other favorites including “American Girl”, “You Don’t Know How it Feels”, “I Won’t Back Down”, “Mary Jane’s Last Dance”, “Refugee”, and “Runnen’ Down a Dream”.

Representing Simmons at all times!

I will say, the only down side of watching Tom Petty from a hiking trail is that when nature calls there is no bathroom…

What can I say? I’m the daughter and sister of Eagle Scouts. I know how to rough it and this bathroom had hey, a killer view of the city. How often do you get to enjoy that?

Overall, it was a once in a lifetime LA experience. It was a special night and a great way to kick off the weekend! Major thanks to Leanna for inviting us!