Ernie and I got to spend a whole week in Florida, so this concert was the highlight of the whole trip.... and we were ready for it! We had our blender and our mixed drinks. We had our flip-flops and bottle tops. We had our coconut bra! Specially handmade by the great Billy Peoples , tested for durability by Capt Ernie , and modeled by yours truly.
Kind of makes you wish you had been there, right?
About 3:00 pm Friday afternoon, we finally got checked into our hotel rooms in West Palm Beach and proceeded to plan the evening. The first thing we had to do after we gathered up the Snowden clan, was to start searching for Megan Patrick , an angel for several Parrotheads that weekend! Megan came across with several extra tickets for some very lucky people. Danny and Kristy Snowden were two of those lucky recipients, so we wanted to go find Meg to give her a BIG Buffett squeeze to thank her for being the extra special person she is!
Guess where we found Meg? At a Parrot Head party! Do tell!! Yes ladies and gentlemen, there she was with the Palm Beach and the Treasure Coast Parrot Heads partying along with the best of them. It was the first night of the "I gotta go where it's warm" party and what a great gathering of my kind of people!
Soon it was time to depart for the concert! OH BOY!! By the time we left, it was too late to have our planned tailgate party, but we did get to mingle in the crowds a bit. Herbie was there.... you all remember Herbie from Margaraleighville around Christmas. He insisted on coming this time too. So as he sat up on the top of the van gazing at the 20,000 people in the parking lot, everyone else pretty much wandered around and introduced themselves to the masses. After a bit of that, and taking various crazy pictures, we realized we'd better head on in to the ampitheatre so we could get out seats on the lawn. The skies were still clear but there was enough of a chill in the air to require some warm clothes and ponchos since the weather reports had called for rain. We had also brought along some rolls of plastic just in case. (smart move, Billy and Ernie!)
To make the 5 mile trek into the concert hall area shorter, I won't even mention it.
After being frisked (my favorite part), we went in as a group and started hitting the official t-shirt booths. Look, I promised to bring some t-shirts home to send to my sister and her husband! After all, they ARE the reason Ernie and I even know about Jimmy. Well, we got our shirts, Danny and Kristy got their lawn chairs and "refreshments" and we headed to the hill. Great seats directly in front of one of the large video screens. Pretty soon everyone was commenting on how beautiful the weather was (wish you were here...) and how fortunate we were to have nice weather despite the weather reports right up to the last minute saying otherwise. Just you wait till you read the "rest of the story"!
