It's the ropes and the reins, And the joy and the pain*

If you live in South Jersey..

Nevermind that, if you are alive you must add our family's latest experience to your respective Bucket List:

Cowtown Cowboy Rodeo

As many of you know, New Jersey is the most densely populated state in the country and so the idea of wide open, rural living seems like a sight for travels westward. However, take the Turnpike to Exit 2 and explore what remains of the Garden State.

Every Tuesday and Saturday night from May to September, Cowtown Rodeo puts on one heck of a show for a packed arena of devoted rodeo fans and rookies alike. I had never been and I have to admit, I was just as shocked by the enormous turnout as I was by the great show put on for us. My daughter was already having a fantastic weekend spending time with her visiting cousins (shout out to the Florida 3), and this just made the time that much more memorable.

The highlights:

1) The first event is bull riding and though there was no appearance of a mechanical bull or John Travolta, the cowboys were unbelievable. Much like my parade experince on the 4th of July, I again felt like I was a part of some postcard.

2) I can actually wear a cute cowgirl hat and fit in just fine.

3) The entire production lasts about 2 hours and my daughter never took her eyes off the show....the events kept coming and she was never not interested or excited.

4) You cannot help but recognize the beauty in a different lifestyle, devoid of materialism and the whole rat race of life. In truth, these guys may get pretty banged up....but it's never their forehead on a steering wheel while stuck in bumper to bumper work traffic.

5) "Rodeo clown" is an actual occupation.

6) My daughter got to see real cowgirls race their horses with no regard to the mud they were slinging or the sweat they were dripping... a far cry from Cinderella.

And as for the "Picture of the Day", it was completely staged for the caption in my mind. My cowgirl never stopped smiling, except for one instance when, while watching the steer roping, she proclaimed to the wrangler, "Hey, that's not nice".

She cheered for the ones that got away....and so did I.

*****Name that song.