Picture this: It is June 20, 2015, and you've spent a glorious day sailing up and around the Potomac River, perhaps with family, perhaps with friends, and you decide to end the day's adventures and tie up at the docks somewhere near Washington DC, at least as close as you can get. Why? Because somewhere along the line you heard Jimmy Buffett was playing a concert in Bristow, Virginia.
Well, being the die-hard sailor that you are, you are of course also a major Jimmy Buffett fan and realize that culminating your favourite annual sailing day with a show given by your favourite sailing musician is the epitomy of Summer Sailstice celebrations, and you are determined to get on board for that.
So you check your map, and you exit your boat with fellow fans in tow. It's only an hour or so by car, and you find the nearest available taxi, or Uber and you hightail it over to the Jiffy Lube Live venue for what you expect is going to be a night of rocking good fun and typical Buffett style yarns. You arrive at the ampitheatre just in time to join thousands of fans as they chant, cheer and clap to the star-of-the-show's stage entrance.
Suddenly you are distracted by a loud, persistent buzzing. You look around but you can't find the source. No one else seems to hear it, they're all completely engrossed in the onstage action. Increasingly distressed you turn to the person nearest you and get their attention. "What's going on?" you shout at her. She looks right at you as her mouth opens to speak. She grabs you roughly by the shoulders and you think she wants to dance. Instead she shouts back at you, "Wake up! Wake up! You're already late, wake up!"
As though through a murky haze you see a vision appearing, it is your beloved partner shaking you, calling you, yelling at you. Your dream is shattered as you recognize the familiar white ceiling, the sunlight streaming through your bedroom window, and the bold red numbers on your digital clock telling you it's time for work. With a heavy heart and heavy limbs you climb out of bed and accept the fact that you didn't actually even buy tickets to Jimmy's concert, you were too late.
But then it dawns on you that it's not entirely too late. It is still four days to the concert, which means it's three days to Summer Sailstice! You could at least be in with a chance to win the Margaritaville Explorer™ Cordless Frozen Concoction Maker®. So you race over to your computer, check the map and make a rough plan which you email to all your sailing buddies. You then sign up for Summer Sailstice and sit back with a satisfied grin. You may not get to enjoy the concert, but you can certainly enjoy the day and, with a bit of luck, enjoy your prize!
Though if you do happen to go the concert, drop us a line and let us know how it was...
