Jimmy Buffett Concert Tailgate = Tropical Christmas in May.

Most runners I know do their long runs on Saturdays.  Why not?  You’re usually not at work and other people are doing it too.  I usually do too.  But not this Saturday.  No way.  No way whatsoever.  Why not?  This Saturday is the best day of the whole year….it’s the day of the Jimmy Buffett Tailgate Party!

My ever present Jolly Roger at last year’s show. We fly it upsidedown – no prisoners!

If you’ve never been to a Buffett concert, you don’t know what you’re missing.  It’s not about the show itself – most people at the party don’t even have tickets.  It’s about the day-long (or several day-long) tailgate party.  Yes it is.  It’s the one day of the year when a tropical vacation comes to you.  It’s the one day of the year when nobody gives a flying crap.  There’s no drama allowed.  There’s no politicks.  There’s no jealousy.  There’s no possessions.  There’s no negativity.  And when you remove all of that stuff, all that’s left is positivity and laid backness.

People at a Buffett tailgate are just happy.  It’s almost like a big tropical hippie commune landlocked in a North Texas parking lot.  “Hey stranger, have a drink.”  “Thanks, you want some of our crawfish boil?”  “Why yes, yes I do…Hey, that guy has an ice sculpture shot dispenser, let’s go meet them.”  “Excuse me, ma’am.  Can I borrow your bike – rickshaw for a while?”  “Sure, when you bring it back – I’ll probably be over at that pirate ship.”

It goes on and on all day.  RV’s as far as you can see.  Boats.  Makeshift beaches – sand dumped in parking spaces.  Hawaiian shirts.  Bikinis (or less).  Cannons shooting out Jello shots.  Motorized coolers.  Kids.  Elderly.  It’s beautiful.

This is NOT an uncommon sight at a JB concert.

The vibe is so great.  It’s like all you have to do that day is smile.

To be honest, I am a fan of JB’s music.  Always have been.  I  know not everyone gets it.  But I find most of them only know his big songs like “Margaritaville” or “Volcano”.  They’ve never chilled out to “Tin Cup Chalice”  “Coastal Carolina”  “Pacing the Cage”  or the like.  But it doesn’t matter this day if you’re a fan or not.  We’re just here for fun.  But if you are a fan like me, then hey, bonus!

Like I said, most people there don’t have tickets.  They’re just their to grill out, hang out, make out, drink out, whatever out.  I stopped buying tickets years ago, but I still get in to the show every year.  I get free tickets somehow.  Either someone is too drunk to go in.  Someone has extra tickets they got stuck with.  A stranger just gives them to me.  Worse comes to worse, I’ll buy one CHEAP from a scalper.  And I don’t mean a typical scalper…I mean the guy who looks like a parrot threw up on him that is standing by the entrance with a ticket he got stuck with.  You can usually get a good deal from those guys.

Just a couple of melon heads.

Anyways, I’ve been going to these shows annually – sometimes multi annually for the past 20 years.  I can’t even count how many shows I’ve been to.  I’ve seen him every where from Vegas to Dallas to Charlotte to Ohio.  Each time awesome.  And over the years we’ve got the system pretty well down.  We know how to maximize our set up to ensure the most time is allowed to get our party on.  I made the mistake this week of listening to Radio Margaritaville and they played an interview with Jimmy where he talked about all the crazy stuff he sees at his concerts.  The crazy stuff he sees in the parking lots.  It got me too pumped up.  I have been literally shaking with anticipation.  I cannot wait until we get there!!!

I hope if you’re around that you join us.  Just experience it and it will blow your mind and you’ll want to come back.  Who couldn’t use a tropical vacation right about now?  Who couldn’t use an escape from life for a day?  Come on out!

Fins up!

Running with Celebs

So I’m still working on organizing all my pics and vids from the Disney Marathon, so I haven’t blogged about it yet.  But looking at some other reviews of the race made me realize that we were in the presence of some celebs.  I’m not talking running celebs and elites, cause I’ve run races with plenty of them (Frank Shorter, Jeff Galloway, Bart Yasso, etc), but actual Hollywood types.  I live in the Dallas area, and don’t get to run with as many as if I lived in NYC or LALA Land, but I’ve raced with a few….and have beat them all!!!  Haha.

First was the Rock n Roll Dallas Half Marathon a few years ago.  Troy Aikman was also in it.  My sis and I beat him by 15 seconds or so.  Yup, we’re faster than a world class athlete, lol.  Then my sister followed that race up by beating him again by a few seconds a few weeks later in another half at Cowboys Stadium.  Here’s a photo of them next to each other after finishing:

Based on running times alone, I’m athletic enough to quarterback the Cowboys.

But Disney had pulled out all the stops and starts for the 20th anniversary of their marathon, and some running celebs wanted to be part of it.  A bunch were running the half, but Sean Astin and Drew Carey were signed up for the Goofy Challenge (Half on Saturday, Full on Sunday).  Unfortunately Sean had to pull out due to a gig.  And Drew had to pull out due to an injury.  Though being the cool guy he is, he still showed up to cheer on the runners and party with them afterwards.  Here’s a pic from when I met him a few years ago (before losing weight and taking up running).

No, my plastic novelty glasses aren’t prescription.

As for Sean, he showed his support through twitter.  He even responded to one of my tweets when I told him the hot conditions wreaked havoc with my per mile pace.  He helped put it back into perspective:

Getting Twitter celeb support, I’m officially a twit.

It’s a shame he wasn’t able to run, but we runners appreciate his support.  I was a little bummed because I have met the real Rudy and was hoping to get a pic with the fake Rudy.

He really was five foot nuthin, and a hundred and nuthin.

Also of note, Joey Fatone ran the Goofy Challenge.  Now he’s not a runner – this was his first half and full, but he did it!  He ran in place of his injured wife and followed the Jeff Galloway walk/run method.  So needless to say, we beat him in the full – another feather in our caps…haha!  (Now if only I had use for these feathers)

It’s the guy from that boy band – I think it’s named – My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

Anywaddle, I’m always glad to see celebs out there promoting running and being healthy.  I really appreciate their support of the sport, and it’s great to see how they like to run just as much as some of us!

That’s all for now because I have to go and pick up all those names I just dropped.

Peace!