A Saturday night at a Jimmy Buffett event – worked for me!  I must call it an event because that is what this was.  My friend Barb and I now know that an evening with Jimmy Buffett starts mid-day.  Since this was a first for both of us we didn’t realize so we didn’t arrive until about 6:00.  As we were driving along CR-D toward Alpine Valley we noticed people sitting at the ends of their driveways with orange cones blocking them.  That was an interesting start but our real introduction was the man and woman walking down the road in tropical attire from head to toe…and the man was the one wearing the grass skirt! We looked and each other laughed and agreed this was going to be a very fun night.  As we pulled into Alpine Valley toward our directed parking spot we saw cars, limousines, busses, and motor homes – and these are vehicles for the fans, not the band.  We parked and just sat for a little while and absorbed what was going on around us before we started walking toward what I like to call The Hill That Kills. (More about that later)  Lawn chairs, grills, canopies, and tents occupied by smiling people who are all dressed for a luau. Grass skirts, coconut bras, shell bras, Hawaiian shirts, straw hats, flower leis, sandals and flip-flops.  Again both men and women wore all items mentioned – it was all about fun.  Not only the people were dressed up but the vehicles were too!  Everything and anything Jimmy Buffet tropical you could think of was present on those grounds.  Palm trees, hammocks, swimming pools, beach balls, fins, hamburgers, parrots, etc.  One black truck had an entire beach set up next to it. Sand covered the ground and on it a swimming pool, beach balls, tropical signs, palm trees, and beach chairs. It was amazing, and yes of course I got a picture of that!

The feeling received from the vibe of the atmosphere was so relaxed.  Tons of people all gathered together to hang out in a field for the day.  It was pretty obvious that every single person was having an amazing time. Regardless of where you looked you found smiles and laughter, and it’s like everyone got along with everyone.  So many different people from different walks of life come together in community as if they’ve known each other their entire lives.  I admire the true devotion and dedication that hard core Jimmy Buffett fans have.  I can see how that could happen since a Jimmy Buffett concert is really an all-day event of having nothing but fun.  Who wouldn’t want to do that repeatedly! 

We finally arrive to the gate to get in and head right for the bathroom, where we spent about 15 minutes in line.  Next we go for our very expensive beer that we waited in line to get and then proceed down The Hill That Kills to our seats.  Yes – if you haven’t been to Alpine Valley let me tell you, that is one crazy steep hill.  Even going down it is quite a task and it seems to take forever.  The concert began as we were walking down the hill and the energy of the crowd around us was amazing.  Once to our seats it was party time.  Everybody was up on their feet clapping and singing and feeling “Hot Hot Hot”.  Jimmy Buffet is so casual and interactive with the crowd it’s awesome.  Well, what’s more casual than a pair of shorts, yellow shirt and bare feet.  I think the bare feet are so cool. Being there really puts you in a moment of actually feeling like “It’s 5:00 Somewhere” on a beach “Living My Life Like A Song”.   Now I’ve seen beach balls at concerts before, but this was beyond anything I’ve experienced – they were everywhere!  And they went strong through the audience for quite a while, but the “Brown Eyed Girl” started taking them away and they popped them and got tossed into a pile. That was sad – I took a picture of the pile. But even after all the beach balls were gone it did not ruin our “Black Top Day” as we were “Off To See The Lizard”.  So about this time we are “Going Insane” and ready to make our way up The Hill That Kills to use the bathroom and refresh our beverage – our beerJ  We made our way to the top and spent some time on our mission, but did accomplish it.  As we worked our way down The Hill That Kills we decided it was about to “Use Me Up”.  Let me inform you…there is beer at the bottom, but not a bathroom!  So, we ended up hanging out with Trevor on the grass.  Again everyone was so friendly they just welcomed us in to hang with them, so we did.  We enjoyed an “Eruption” in “Paradise” while I’m sure that a lot of people did “Get Drunk And Screw”.  I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed my experience in “Margarittaville”.  I think I will go again for some more cheeseburgers and a full day of “Fins”.  I plan to buy a new coconut bra to replace the one I wore but broke shortly after we arrived, I certainly don’t want to feel out of place.