Hang On Sloopy

Life has been a whole lot of busy, which means I'm a whole lot of tired today, but that doesn't give me a day off since I'm hangin' with the grandkid today since his Mommy is on a mini trip out of town.

Friday the hubs and I traveled a whole 6 miles or so to Humphrey's by the Bay for a concert evening with Ringo Starr and his all star band.  When I booked this concert  back in April I did not realize Ringo was playing with an "all star" band.  I mean,  "all star" can be just about anything.  I didn't do any research prior to the show to see who was "all star."   It turns out that "all star" was really impressive:

Edgar Winter, Wally Palmer (The Romantics), Ringo Starr, Gregg Bissonette, Rick Derringer, Richard Page (Mr. Mister), and Gary Wright.

First things first, though.  When we checked in, the front desk person upgraded us to a mini suite.  It turns out that the mini suite faced the concert venue and stage.

Hubs and I on the balcony area of our room.

The venue view from our room.

We've been to quite a few concerts at Humphrey's, but we've never had a room this close to the venue, so we began calling friends to see if they wanted to hang out in our room during the concert, and (basically) see the show for free.  During dinner at Humphrey's restaurant*, we were calling friends just to see who could join us. It was such short notice, but two couples said they were on their way!

The view from the balcony... Seriously!

One of the couples we invited, Bruce and Liz, are HUGE Beatles fans.  HUGE.  Hubs decided that he actually liked sitting on the balcony to watch the concert, so he gave up his 4th row center seat to Liz.  She couldn't believe it.  She kept asking if Hubs was OK with it, and " are you sure?"  Hubs was happy to hang out with the guys and enjoy the drinks he brought instead of paying $6 to $10 for drinks on the floor.  The guys decided it was OK for the ladies to have the floor.  Liz and I found our 4th row center seats and danced and sang pretty much the whole time. Liz was in constant awe.  Even more awe-some was that this was a concert where we actually knew 99% of the songs.  I couldn't get over that Edgar Winter was singing and playing the Wally Palmer - Romantics hit "What I Like About You."  Edgar Winter, of course, played "Frankenstein."  Richard Page from Mr. Mister sang his hits "Kyrie" and "Broken Wings." Rick Derringer did his "Rock and Roll Hootchie Koo."  Gary Wright  headed up "Dreamweaver."  Remember those songs?  Of course, Ringo did his hits "It Don't Come Easy", "Photograph," "Yellow Submarine," amongst other well known hits.  It was fun sharing this particular concert experience with Liz just because she was so very much into it and constantly saying  "I can't believe this!"  The other couple who joined us brought their three year old daughter since a babysitter wasn't available, but they were able to hang out in our room and balcony area, were able to order room service,  and still enjoy the concert.

 Cell phone pic - 4th row center.  That's Ringo, center stage!

 Edgar Winter playing the sax  - "Frankenstein"

After the concert, local band Rockola** was playing in Humphrey's lounge, and admission was free if you showed your room card. Bruce and Liz are followers of Rockola and even had a fundraiser at their home with Rockola donating their musical talents for the fundraiser. Of course, we went to the lounge to dance and listen to a few sets!

Liz and Bruce still dancing!

At the end of the evening, Hubs and I were pretty wiped out and crashed. The next morning were were, uh, slightly hung over. We managed to get ourselves together enough to walk a few blocks to The Red Sails Inn for breakfast. Upon sitting down, Hubs decided to take his wallet and cell phone out of his pockets.

Cell phone and wallet... What's that third thing?

Yep.  Slightly hung over.  The hotel remote control made it into his pocket!  The people at the table next to us were just busting up over this! Of course, this warranted a blog- worthy picture, and a mention on Faceboook.

We had a stick-to-your-ribs breakfast and plenty of coffee, then we were back in business.  One thing about eating on the outdoor patio at The Red Sails Inn, is that of the seagulls was rather brazen.  While we were dining one seagull swooped down and stole bacon or sausage right off of people's breakfast plates.  That seagull stalked a particular plate and would just suddenly swoop down and grab exactly what it wanted in the blink of an eye.  This occurred about  five times while we were there, and Hubs was even a victim.  My plate wasn't interesting to the seagull since I had huevos rancheros -- no breakfast meats! 

Because we slept in we didn't run, even though we brought our running clothes and shoes.  Who were we kidding? We did swim a few laps in the pool before checking out, which made our little respite seem more vacation-like.  We needed a few more days, but we'll take whatever time off we had.  It was great.

Now it's back to reality, sidewalk chalk, marbles, Legos, baking cookies and paddle ball with the kid. Running?  Maybe later this week.

Friday's Song:
Missed Opportunity - Daryl Hall & John Oates

PEACE

*Dinner at Humphrey's is fabulous, by the way.
**Known for paying homage to The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, The Doors, and other 60s/70s bands.