Leave Your Mark

I don’t even know if I can begin to recap how rad today was. There are too many stories to choose from, so instead I will give you a buffet of today’s highlights.

First off, Warped Tour founder (a.k.a legend) Kevin Lineman stopped to pose for the Polaroid PoGo printer. I gracefully fumbled over my words as I couldn’t believe I was face to face with someone I thought only existed in magazines and behind the closed doors of his tour bus.

The Slip ‘N Slide was the hot spot of the day (as Tinley park had invited the sun as a VIP guest) so we decided to check it out with the printer. Prints were stuck to foreheads and guitar picks were taken for a ride on the wet, larger-than-life toy. They weren’t the only ones having fun. I walked past a group of kids sitting on the steps in the ampitheatre who resembled the cast from “The Breakfast Club”. I tend to say what I’m thinking the majority of the time, so I walked over and asked if they had ever heard of the Breakfast Club. They all nodded in unison, all the while not cracking a smile. I continued on by taking their picture and demonstrating the printer. By the end of the demo, they were all grinning from ear to ear.

As I’ve mentioned before, our time at Warped Tour has given way to new names for me and Mike. Instead of Megan and Mike, we are “Hey Polaroid!” That’s cool. I was contemplating a name change anyway. So, while walking back to the tent, a guy from the non-profit vendor tent, “To Write Love on Her Arms” called out my “name” and requested his photo-op. He wanted not one, two, three, but FOUR prints. One for his wallet, one for his dashboard, one for his wall, and one for his skateboard. I think it is safe to say he digs Polaroid’s latest invention.

I have not had a “speedo” sighting since Texas but did come close today with boys in short shorts. I didn’t ask. But I did take a picture. Mike and I had a lot of fun tonight looking over all the photos from the day. From boys in short shorts, to body tracings, to wild costumes (like banana peels, GENIUS!), the Warped Tour provides plenty of opportunities for self expression. And what better way to catch it than with a mobile printer?

Everyone continues to be curious about the product and driving a car that has pictures of the printer on it, leaves plenty of room for explanation. In fact, tonight on our way back to Minneapolis, Mike and I stopped at our 300^th Subway for dinner. I was in the car waiting for Mike when an elderly gentleman knocked on my window and near gave me a panic attack. Thankfully, I remembered the whole breathing thing. He asked what a mobile printer was. I gave him a demonstration on my cell phone and he gave me a look that said, “This is a lot of information to absorb in 5 minutes and are you going to eat your salad because I’m hungry.” No seriously. He said he was impressed with Polaroid. So am I.

Mike and I took the opportunity today to visit Sears Tower in downtown Chicago. As we were walking in, we saw a family taking their photo in front of the Sears Tower sign and offered to take it for them and give them instant results with the Polaroid PoGo printer. They were really intrigued, but not as much as I was by the knowledge the teenage son had of the Zink Imaging technology. Before I could even finish my sentence about Zero Ink, he had surpassed me with big words and detailed explanations on printing without Ink.

After a week of relaxation and way too much self pampering, Mike and I climbed back in the car to start the second half of “Polaroid PoGo Road Tour”. First stop? Chi-town. If I’m not mistaken, Chicago is a city, but we’ll go with Chi-TOWN if that’s how they roll. We left Minneapolis in the afternoon to avoid rush hour and because we secretly both love night-driving. At one of our gas stops in Black River Falls, we showed a young couple the printer. Apparently, they were on their way to Chicago as well, but not for Warped Tour, for Lollapalooza. I tried my best to convince them they wanted to come to the Warped Tour and spend all day on the slip and slide, skate ramp, and obviously with us…but they were super stoked to see Radiohead play, so I relented.

I have a confession. Its my birthday. AND I’m thinking of making my own tiara with the Polaroid PoGo prints on it to wear tomorrow. Yes or No? Yes. Obviously. Today Mike and I are going to head into downtown Chicago via that little thing on train tracks that goes really fast. We are really excited about hooking back up with the Warped Tour and even more enthused about heading out to the West Coast. I have a sneaking suspicion I might have to bribe Mike to get him to head back to the Midwest, but we’ll see.

After our little break in the Twin Cities I was more than excited to head out to our next Warped Tour stop in Chicago. We left mid-afternoon with hopes of avoiding traffic, but as we all know construction season still lingers. The drive over was a pretty straight shot, but we still attracted some major attention at our only stop for gas at a Wisconsin Holiday station. A younger couple were also on their way to Chicago for Lollapalooza, another concert going on this weekend. Since they were going to miss out on the cooler venue, we gave them what they would be missing if they were to come to Warped Tour; an awesome live demo with the coolest pocket printer you’ll ever see. Polaroid PoGo rocks!