Yup! It has come! The last day of our 2015 family road trip! We drove mainly just east which makes our map (and the font) look really tiny! But… We saved the BEST for last!
Let me start off by saying that I have fond memories of piling into my school auditorium to watch a fellow student perform magic. Then one day in Vags hubby pointed out some goofy name, “Darren Romeo in a magic act! hahaha” As I quickly, went “huh? I know him!” That was our last night in Vegas and his show was dark that day and by the end of the month he was done at the Flamingo! By the time we returned the next year, he was training for his newest show to open at the Mirage the following year. We seemed to miss him wherever we went. He now his own show in Pigeon Forge, TN at the Smoky Mountain Opry called ‘Magic Beyond Belief.‘. I reached out to him telling him we were coming through and he was amazing and excited to see us (I kept in contact with him over the years but he is a super busy guy). For 15 years my hubby has been waiting to see this Darren guy I spoke so highly of and on Day 12 of our trip, he was going to experience the passion this guys has!
The show time was 3:00 so we took our time getting there – had Krystal’s for lunch and sorry, White Castle is better (their buns are better, onions are better.. close but White Castle wins). We got our tickets and headed in super anxiously. My kids were over the moon excited! I don’t want to spoil anything about his show but…
He is amazing! He is not only a flawless magician, his voice and theatricality are simply amazing! There is no other show like Darren’s. He even is the only one to be able to perform Blackstone’s light bulb trick. This guy is the real deal! We caught him at the end of his performing week and he needed a rest but he still banged out a 100% performance with great humor to boot! Tom got a kick of him name dropping me during the performance. When he asked if there were any NYers in the crowd a few people responded ‘yes’ and when he asked us to shout out where from, I said “East Meadow.” “Ahh…. that must be Tara,” was his response. Tom lit up. He thought that was awesome.
Afterward, he actually hangs out up front so you can meet him and get a picture and signature! What star does that? This guy! Well, we stood on line (got there quick so mot much wait) excited. His production manager, Matt, was at the head of the line talking to people. He asked me something I can’t recall now but I mentioned something about our road trip I think as he said, “Wait! Are you Tara?” Obviously, I am. He was so excited to meet me as I corresponded with him as well prior to this trip. He made sure Darren realized who we were since its’ easy to get frazzled with all those people and since he never met my family. Darren was so great! He took as much time as he could and he apologized for not being able ot spend time with us afterward (he needed rest and I understood). Matt took a picture with our camera and Darren got us free professional pictures with him and we got lots of signatures that my whole family treasures!
It was the most magical way to end our trip and we want to go back and see his show again.. and bring other people so they can experience it.. and maybe then we can hang out. My kids are now practicing magic nad begging for magic tricks – watch Darren, my kids are coming for you! 🙂
After the show, we packed into the car for our long drive HOME!!!
Thanks for dealing with all these posts and I hope you enjoyed our trip. Hopefully, there are some tips and ideas y’all can use! I can hardly wait for our next trip!
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