Alligators And Bands

Yesterday was a crazy busy day filled with firsts. I can now say that I've been kayaking and to a local music festival. In that vein, please forgive me, dear reader, for not posting a song yesterday.

Kayaking began early in the morning with my future sis-in-law and my bro. The highlight: Seeing an alligator sunbathing. I'm surprised fear didn't kick in until my wild imagination began weaving possible scenarios (i.e. he slides into the water only to surface again later down the river where I accidentally hit him with my paddle causing him to lash out, thrashing his body against the kayak and jumping up out of the water a la the shark on the Jaws ride at Universal Studios (R.I.P. dear ride)). Fortunately, none of the above occurred, and when we went back the same way we came, he was in his same spot. Whew. Major relief. Certainly you've experienced this: You're trying to kill a spider, only to miss or not kill it completely, so it runs away and you have no idea where the little bugger went. It only makes the situation worse because then they could be lurking anywhere, ready to attack your frightened self. That's how I felt about our alligator friend. Thankfully, he was of a small-ish  (emphasis on the ish) variety, so I wasn't too freaked out. Now don't get me wrong, he wasn't this small:

Nor was he as small as this guy cruising on his momma's head:

Nope, he was much bigger. In fact, here he is:

And some more pics from the day to show you how awesome this place was.

Anyway, it was all in all a good experience, and I'm glad I gave kayaking the good ol' college try. I must say, though, I don't think it's for me. It takes a lot of work to see nature in that way. I think I'd rather walk/swim/bike ride. I guess I underestimated how tough it is to paddle and steer a big, long boat of sorts. I can now better appreciate what my brother and all other kayak lovers can do. Take it from me, it's not as easy as it looks. If you don't believe me, go rent a kayak and try it out and report back to me. If you don't run into at least one tree/bush/group on lily pads with spiders then I will give you a gold star. You were made for kayaking.

Now, on to the part of the day that was my idea: The Delandapalooza Music Festival in downtown DeLand. This is an annual event that holds 150 local-ish musicians in 50 venues from 1 p.m.-1 a.m. on Saturday. We made it to DeLand around 4 p.m. and stayed until around 10 p.m. Not too shabby considered we had been kayaking earlier that day. 

The festival was a barrage of music-- my personal heaven. I wish every weekend was like this. It was incredible to find a different band at every restaurant, bar, stage, and corner of DeLand. The town was transformed into a musical mecca. Again, my personal heaven. I loved the variety of performers. I also loved the variety of people-- the attendees, if you will-- thus showcasing how music is a unifier. There were people from every generation who dressed and looked every way you could imagine. Which left me wondering: What kind of look/vibe do I give off? While I'm certainly not a goth, and I don't look like a rocker, I had to wonder if I gave off an innocent white girl vibe. No tattoos, just shorts and a tie dye tank top, and my wild, carefree curly hair (my favorite accessory). Maybe I looked like a neo-hippie and I'm cool with that.  Don't you ever wonder what vibe you give off to strangers? Sometimes I'd like to know.

Anyway, while we were there, we saw what I would describe as an oldies band, a rock band (sounded like Staind), a pop rock band (who sounded like Paramore), a rock band, an Irish rock band, an acoustic duet, etc. It was beyond cool. This is something I would like to make an annual tradition if we stay in central Florida, of course.

But, by far my favorite was a band called Alpha Bravo. Now, I can't find much of their stuff online because they aren't very well known, but I did find a recording from the actual festival itself. This was the last song they played, and a it's a cover, so I will include the original song below. The band just sounded like they had raw, real talent. They handed out free cds and I must say, I'm impressed with their original tracks as well. So, ladies and gentlemen, here is Alpha Bravo. (Sorry for the technical difficulties and the video quality. You'll have to click on the link below to hear the song. Oh, and one more thing: No, the curly haired dancing lady in the video is not yours truly. Sorry to disappoint. It was a random woman who we kept seeing at all the venues and she would dance like crazy at each one. I give her props for being so carefree and having fun.)

Click Here For The Alpha Bravo Video

And for the original version:

Biz Markie: "Just A Friend"