Celebrate Good Times!

This past week at Epcot’s Eat to the Beat concert series we enjoyed the funky, energetic disco sounds of Kool & the Gang and the laid back, mellow sounds of Spyro Gyra…quite a contrast.

Tues. we arrived for the 6:30 performance of Kool & the Gang, and what a show it was! They started the set with 3 songs in a row with no break and had nearly everyone dancing in their seats. Being a self-proclaimed former disco queen, I was in heaven! After they slowed the tempo a bit, they launched into Ladies Night and invited all the ladies to stand up and dance. Oh, you don’t have to ask me twice! Shawn came down and even danced with one of the ladies while singing! The last song was Celebration!, and though it was hot and humid, nearly the entire audience was on their feet clapping, singing, and dancing! We’ve seen several great acts over the last few years at Epcot, but we both agreed this was the first group we’d seen that had the entire audience so involved. Of course, we stayed for the 7:45 show and were able to get seats in the 4th row. Almost from the moment they stepped onstage this time, they invited everyone to stand up and dance…oh, yeah, I was up immediately. This time when they started Ladies Night all the ladies were invited to come down to the stage. A lady seated in a wheelchair was at the end of our row, which was right at the end of the stage’s catwalk, so none of us were able to get through, but we were close enough to boogie anyway. The party continued on during Too Hot, Get Down On It, Jungle Boogie, and of course, Celebration! At one point several of the members came down the catwalk to jam with sax player, Dennis Thomas, amidst the partying crowd. They crammed a lot of songs into their half hour, and what a blast!












Now contrast this with Fri. night when we attended the 5:15 performance of Spyro Gyra, a jazz fusion band with such hits as Morning Dance and Shaker Song. There was no singing or dancing, and they only played 3 songs but each one lasted about 10 min. It was all just mellow and laid back on a day that wasn’t quite as hot and humid. Though I thoroughly enjoy their music, and we can now say that we've seen them in person, we could have just as easily popped in a CD at home and enjoyed them just as much.

There was a little excitement at the campground last weekend when a hot air balloon full of tourists landed right here at Lake Magic RV Resort only a few hundred feet from where we’re parked. Several companies offer balloon rides in the area so we regularly see them especially on Sun. mornings, sometimes seeing as many as 10 in the sky at a time. We don’t know exactly what happened to cause its descent, but it brought several folks out of their rigs, most with cameras in hand. The chase car showed up a few minutes later, maneuvering their way through the park to get to where the balloon had landed. All the passengers were told to stay in the basket until they could secure, anchor, and deflate the balloon, and help them out. Now there’s an unexpected twist to your ride!

Other than that it was doctor appointments and pretty much hangin’ out in the coach. Due to a follow-up appointment, the trip to the Everglades has been scratched but still plan to head to the Keys the following week.