Running Margaritaville & NRDD (National Running Day, Duh)

I’ve been absent from these blog parts, but not by choice. As I often do, I wrote some posts & saved the drafts for future publishing. But when I logged in next, they were GONE! All that genius, lost forever. Sorry, world.

So lemme ketcheweup…Buffett Day was a wild success, like always.

Some of the SFW highlights.

This is my abfab fave day of the entire year. I try to explain it to people who’ve never been, but I’m learning that it’s indescribable. No matter how much I sell it, people who reluctantly finally show up to a tailgate always look around wide-eyed and say, “I had no idea it was like this! I wish I knew! This is awesome!!!”

We see Capn’ Jack Sparrow every single year.

Everyone seems to assume it’s a bunch of geriatrics sitting in lawn chairs drinking green tequila drinks. Everyone shouldn’t assume so much.

I almost wore this same thing.

Every year it’s like a competition to out-do everyone else creatively-tropically.

Mermaids get thirsty too.

And everybody is so chill – no politics, no drama, no greed…everyone shares everything (especially bevvies).

Shotski!

Making friends around a neon octopus.

This year got a bit cray cray. They stopped enforcing the strict parking rules – so anyone and everyone was setting up canopies, boats, etc. wherever they darn well pleased.This really condensed the space and it felt like one big back yard. Love it!

Caught taking a pirate lady selfie. I need that leg chalice.

Another thing that’s changed over the years is my Buffett crew. We had a huge regular group (not talking bathroom habits). But over the years most of them have faded away. Kind of sad, but c’est la vie dansante.

Buffett4Life friends and a svelte merman.

But like in regular life, most of these people have been replaced with runner friends. I still miss my old crew, but not much I can do if they don’t even respond to invites. It’s all good, runners be crazy, yo!

Runner friend unicorn and a zebra lady.

Someone let us drive their land boat.

Free lap dances from “pretty mike”.

I welcomed several runner friends to the Parrothead phlock.

And for those of you paying attention, why yes, that is my Key West Half Marathon race tech tee under my ultimate party Hawaiian shirt.

Perfect shirt for a perfect day.

And here’s a pro tip: Many people just come for the party, but for those of us who like his music and enjoy the concerts, don’t buy tickets in advance. You can always get some for free/cheap at the tailgate from other parrotheads. My dad and I got tickets for $10.

Boom-shaka-laka.

And I’ll leave it at this – one of the newbies who showed up posted this on her facebook page:

“Soooo…yesterday was my first time at a Jimmy Buffett tailgate party, and it’s taken a good 24 hours for me to mentally recover from what I witnessed there. There were things I simply cannot unsee. And I can’t wait until next year to do it all over again!”

OK, back to running. I’m sure everyone did something for National Running Day. Me was no different. I met up for a local running store’s social run followed by free breakfast tacos!!!

Miles and Smiles!

I got to see a lot of old running friends. It was great! And I’ve got some more good running news, but you’ll have to wait for tomorrow for that…I try to keep these posts more visual than wordy, and I see my word count is growing. Till next time!

How bout you? Anything special for NRD? Can you tell we had fun this week? Are you intrigued or frightened of Buffett tailgates based on my pics?

-Scott

Toddler Time, Forced Yoga, & USA World Cup

(subtitle: Part III of why I’ve been MIA)

After another week of running, lifting, yoga-ing…plus an added 2.5 Jimmy Buffett concerts, I was spent.  Exhausted.  And when I awoke – I heard rain.  Hard rain.  It would’ve been perfect to stay in bed or on the couch all day, but that’s something that just doesn’t happen to people with toddlers…Or to folks who must exercise.

The lil monsters in a rare calm mood.

I woke up later than normal (thank you, kids for sleeping in).  I looked at the clock and realized yoga practice was less than an hour away.  I had a decision to make.  On one side there was the tiredness and rain, on the other side…this – I took a step and felt the slightest twinge in the outside of my left knee.  It reminded me of the years long struggles I had against IT Band Syndrome.  I knew I never want to go through that again, and I know yoga is one reason I was able to fight it off.              I went to practice.

Please instructor, can we do child’s pose the entire time.

The class was tough – not what I was hoping for the day after a Buffett concert.  But looking back, I’m glad it was.  That’s why we go – to challenge ourselves.

Afterwards it was a mad dash to get a bunch of errands and chores done before the USA vs POR World Cup Match.  I met a bunch of (mostly running) friends at a local pub.

A part of our World Cup viewing group. The infamous Pepsi even made an appearance (yes, that’s her real name).

If you watched the match, you know what an emotional roller coaster it was.  Disbelief, tears of joy, then gasps of disbelief.  That said, it was fun.  That’s why we watch sports.  And in the end, the good ole’ US of A is in a great spot to advance to the next round.  But it is sports, so we have to wait until their match against Germany!  #Ibelievethatwewillwin

So there’s that.  Plus the previous days of epic craziness (If you missed them, you can read Part I HERE, and Part II HERE), plus life, plus work, plus everything = Scott’s been out of pocket.

Anyways, hoping to get back in a routine and catch up with everything, but we’ll see what life brings!

How bout you?  Ever go to yoga (or any workout) when you (and the universe) said not to?  Where and with whom did you watch the US/Por match?  Do you believe?

-Scott

Run Thru a Party & Parrothead Craziness

(subtitle: Part 2 of why I’ve been MIA)

First off kids, let me say that I’ve had some kind of illness for over a week. I’ve been sexily coughing up mucous, and have general tiredness (do not salute General Tiredness). But I’ve been pushing through. I had to…

Saturday was a big day. It was Happy Jimmy Buffett Day! If you’ve never been to a Buffett experience, you don’t know what you’re missing.

Happy Jimmy Buffett Day!

To start the day, a group of friends actually meet each year to run around the tailgating grounds. I did the same thing. I got 5 miles in while I scouted out the best party set-ups. And yes, even at 7am they Parrotheads are at it. Grilling and drinking. And yes, they invite you to join them.

After my run, I showered and breakfasted and and collected my supplies and got dropped off at the tailgate. I met up with some friends and the day of adventure was on!

Some of my running friends!

We wandered all day long around the ‘sharking lot’ (sharking as in shark + parking, NOT the sharking they do in Japan)… The creativity that people have there is amazing!

Pirate ship in the parking lot? Yes, I will captain it.

Of course, people make some ‘creative’ outfit choices as well. But hey, we’re at ‘the beach’ right?!?

He wanted to get rid of his tan lines.

I almost wore the exact same thing. That would’ve been embarrassing for her.

I’m pretty sure Uncle is off his meds again.

The reason why I love this so much is it’s like you get a tropical vacation at home. Everyone is so chill and they give you free food and drinks everywhere! You could eat an entire meal of crawfish or BBQ, and some desert jell-o shots! Then have a dignified after dinner drink.

These drinks were ice cold!

Or if you like, you can relax in a lawn chair or pull up a hammock.

She looks relaxed.

In the end, I probably walked another 5 miles all over the tailgate, with the occasional dance break mixed in.  I was also happy that I got to spend another year with my favorite parrot drinking vessel.  My grandma gave it to me like 15 years ago and it hasn’t missed a Buffet since.  I’ve lost coolers, chairs, hats, etc. But this guy has stuck with me!

The backstage pass he’s holding didn’t work.

I stopped buying tickets a while back because you can usually find people stuck with extras at the show who will give them to you for free.  That happened again here too, but like I said, I was a bit ill, tired, and sore from running.  Plus I got to see Buffett play two days before, so I was good.  Also, things started to get out of control…

Busted at Buffett. (Fake btw)

I called the wife to pick me up.  And at home the boy and I watched the concert on-line and danced in our living room!  So it was another successful Buffett experience!!!

How bout you?  Ever have a run around a tailgate party?  Ever been to a Buffett tailgate or concert?  Should I have worn those green bottoms?

PS – This is part 2/3 of why I’ve been MIA.  If you missed part one, you can read it HERE.  Part I was pretty epic for me.  Part III is on the way!

-Scott

 

Big Secret Revealed, Quick Run, & Surprising Health Nuts

(subtitle – Part 1 of why I’ve been MIA recently)

Hello All! Apologies for being gone the past few days, but it’s been wacko around these parts! Lemme splain.

First off, I had a pretty cool opportunity the other day. I know I hinted at it on my post last week about having a big secret thing going down that I didn’t want to jinx. Well it did go down…kind of.

Here’s the dillyo: I’m a huge Jimmy Buffet fan. I’ve been going to his concerts for 20 years. I’ve probably seen him live over 25 times – everywhere from Ohio to Vegas to Dallas to Charlotte. I listen to his music, read his books, eat at his restaurants…the whole nine yards.

At one of my first Buffett shows back in the day.

So when a fellow TV producer friend called me and asked if I wanted to work behind the scenes on a broadcast of a history-making concert of his, I was like, fo shizzle.

Just a couple of melon heads at a Buffett show a couple years ago.

But runners – don’t worry, I still got in four sweaty quick miles before heading to the show.

Anyway, he was playing a groundbreaking concert at a local drive-in movie theater that was simulcast at other drive-ins around the country. My job was to help shoot and edit a pre-show video for the broadcast. To do this, I needed pretty much an all-access pass. Security was no joke, and so I had to wear credentials out the wazoo.

Credentials part 1.

Credentials part 2 (believe it or not, I had on more that I didn’t take photos of)

Now if you don’t know about Buffett concerts, here’s the thing – a big part of the experience is the pre-show tailgate party. These people go all out – you have no idea! The pre-show fest can last up to three days!!! In fact, many people just go to the party and don’t even make it in to the concert.

Some of the tailgaters – the fins light up at night.

I was going around getting footage of the tailgaters and met some cool peeps.  Not only the partiers, but I ran into a few other friends who were also working the concert – including model, actress, singer, and buddy of mine – Brooke Becker.

It had been a couple years since we last worked together.

One cool thing was that when Jimmy and the Coral Reefers came out to play their sound-check, they decided to play a mini-concert for the tailgaters there. That was cool of them, and I enjoyed it too!

Sound check 1-2 1-2

My big secret hope was that I would get to meet Jimmy. And I came so close. I was within about 10 feet of him, but his security was no joke (like I said). They weren’t having it.

I came close a 2^nd time when a person from Buffett’s inner circle said he’d take me to meet him, but again, security denied us. I understand they were just doing their job – in fact I chatted with his security later and they said they’d been working with him for 27 years. They have their system down!

This is NOT an uncommon sight at a JB concert.

However, during dinner I did get to eat with the Coral Reefers!!!! So cool! I spoke with a few of them and they were very cool. I thought it was bad form to ask for a picture, but I did sneak a pic of the food they had catered. It.was.so.amazing.

So so so so good!

Jimmy and the band are pretty healthy, if you can believe it. Steamed veggies, polenta lasagna, baked grouper, etc. So so good.   I also read that JB can be found doing yoga before his concerts in his dressing room…Probably why he is still able to play concerts all year long at his age.

VIP woot woot!

Anykitandkaboodle, we got the video done with minutes to spare (whew). And security allowed me to watch the first few songs with them up against the stage!

In front of front row baby!

After that I was done working and was able to relax and enjoy the show from the VIP section right in front of the stage. Dancing with strangers and loving life.

So that is Part 1 of why I’ve been MIA from here the last few days. Coming up tomorrow – Part 2 of where I’ve been.

SO, what have I missed? What’s everyone up to? Are you a huuuuge fan of anything – band, celeb, author, TV show, etc and how close have you come to meeting them?

-Scott

Post Dopey Challenge Festivities

If you missed any of my recaps of the Dopey Challenge, you can see them here:  5k, 10k, 13.1, 26.2.

After we finished the Dopey Challenge, it was time to celebrate.  I learned a few years back to book a few days AFTER a destination race to do the sightseeing (not before!).

It’s official – I’m Dopey and Goofy.

And props to the boy for putting up with being in Orland for 4 days without visiting a theme park!  Now he was to get his long awaited reward!

He was all smiles by now (and stole my sister’s hat).

Immediately after the final race (26.2), which ended at Epcot, we went ahead into the park.  They have a few fun rides there, though most of em aren’t all that exciting (the boy likes them though).  A lot of people visit for the different countries (some like to drink around the world).  There’s a pub there where we had a celebratory Guinness or two.  Then we ate some tacos in Mexico.  To be honest, after running four races through Epcot, I was ready for a change of scenery.

After four days of running through Epcot, it was time to wave goodbye.

The next day my mom, sis, the boy and I hit up the Magic Kingdom.  It was fun to be there without having to run through it like we had in the previous days!

We chose an unique location for a photo. OK, everyone who visits takes the same snapshot.

Yes, we wore our Dopey medals – When else would we get a chance?  It’s also a great conversation starter with other runners, and non runners alike.  The amount of “Congrats!” we got was unbelievable…especially from the “cast members” (Disney employees).

On the Buzz Lightyear ride with the boy. It was very exciting (it’s always good to know where the cameras are).

I’ve always loved the Magic Kingdom.  I’m constantly amazed by their attention to detail and cleanliness.  And this visit, we got a rare treat.  They are redesigning Fantasyland and as part of that the Beauty and the Beast portion has a new castle restaurant.  It’s a 6 month wait for reservations, but we were able to snag one that day!  LUCKY!

Just a couple o’ sad gargoyles outside the castle entrance.

And while you can have an adult bevie at other Disney parks, never ever could you at Magic Kingdom (unless you sneak it in, I suppose, like a teenager injecting vodka into oranges, and then eating the oranges in the park).  But now at dinner service only, you can order a drinky poo.  My sis and I had some wine.

We so fancy.

And remember the attention to detail I mentioned…even the napkins were folded like the Beast’s enchanted rose.

We had until the last petal fell off to find true love. Or until we finished eating at least.

The “real” rose.

We went ahead and made this our celebratory meal.  Though I didn’t pig out on fatty food like we’re supposed to post big races.  They had some wild Scottish salmon that I had to get.

I know I kind of ruined the presentation when I added the broccoli (that the boy didn’t want to eat).

I also actually had a desert.  I never have dessert.  No real sweet tooth in my mouth.

We like to hug before dessert.

After we ate, we had an audience with the host of our meal.

He was very gracious and has the most stunning blue eyes.

We spent the rest of the day riding rides (of course I had to go on Pirates of the Caribbean)!

Capt. Grif didn’t like the flash on my phone.

It was another great visit to Magic Kingdom!

The same castle as earlier, but at night.

The next day we hit up Universal Studios.  I love their theme parks!!!  No, they aren’t as clean, classy, and family oriented as Disney, but they have some really extreme and fun rides!  This time around we hit up the new Simpsons Springfield.

We got a Duff beer at Moe’s Tavern!

But then I had a misunderstanding with the chief.

One of the coolest new rides was the Transformers one.  And outside they had Bumblebee.  This was an actual moving character, not a statue….

I guess that’s my “Transformers” pose.

And of course we had to stop by Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville.  I am a huuuge Parrothead, so this is always a must!

Booze in the blender…

The next day, we hit up one more park – Disney’s Hollywood Studios (formerly MGM).  Again, it was fun to be there leisurely and not all sweaty like when we ran though it for the marathon.

Big wizard hat.

The highlight here was for the boy.  He had been waiting a year to be chosen to fight Darth Vader at the Star Wars part of the park.  This year he made it in got some light saber training from his Jedi master.

Like a choreographed dance they were.

Then he got to fight the dark lord himself!

Attack the dark side!

Then we took a ride on one of those things they rode in one of those movies.

Look out for that tree!

And we were able to meet up with the man mouse himself, Mickey!

He hadn’t had time to change out of his robe yet.

And thus concluded our Disney adventure.  I must say we had a lot of fun and I tip my hat to them!

See what I did there?

So there it is!

How bout you?  Do you plan vacations around races?  Do you sight see before or after?  What’s your fave Orlando attraction?