We took a small boat out for a 20-minute ride on the choppy water to the point where you rendezvous with the submarine. We sat there for a while out on the front of the boat and a light blue area of the water formed and a submarine popped up out of the water. The people got out and we got on, The sub held 30 and we were 14, so there was plenty of room. They told us we could move from side to side, but not front to rear, so that we didn’t upset the sub’s balance and buoyancy mechanisms.We saw tons of snapper fish, a 6' reef shark, a stingray, a blowfish, lots of coral and the part sof a ship that sank out there ten years earlier. Pretty cool. The tour guide described why everything looked a little washed out. He told us that because saltwater is denser than air, it filters out different colors as you go deeper, eventually filtering out all color where the water is dark. We went just under 80 feet deep on this excursion and the water had filtered out the red color of my KC Chiefs hat. Yes, I wore a Chiefs hat. I was worried I would blend in with the locals and people would not recognize me as a tourist, so I dressed the part. So they turned on the inside lights of the sub and my hat went from purple to red. Kind of a cool trick. Try it the next time you're hosting a party in a tourist submarine.
The excursion was unlike anything I have ever done before.
We rushed back to the boat for a bite before the John Hiatt show. John had a four-piece band, the Ageless Beauties, a funny name because all three of the other members were 20-years John’s junior. We learned later that John had a little flu and that explained why his show was a tad lackluster. He forgot a few words and missed a cue or two. He was still outstanding, though, the highlights being Feels Like Rain, Memphis in the Meantime, and a keyboard-free Have a Little Faith in Me. After dinner we rushed to catch the last half of Joe Ely’s set that he played with Joel Guzman on accordion. He played El Gallo del Cielo, a terribly sad song that makes you care about cockfighting. We headed to the atrium to see Katie Herzig, whose music was a little different from the rest of the artists, but fit in wonderfully. Her songs gave me goose bumps. At some point we also saw Aslyn, who played some great music. After hearing her sing and play piano, I thought she must like Ben Folds because some of her songs had his percussive piano and turns of rhythmic phrases. She played a great song called Wally. I really wished I could have seen more of her set.
I decided to check out Mindy Smith again, even though her previous performance had some cringe-inducing moments. I’m glad I did. She was fantastic. Highlights here were Come to Jesus, One Moment More, and Raggedy Ann. I got to meet her and get a snapshot.By 12:30 I was wiped, but I had to go see Glenn Phillips, the former lead singer for Toad the Wet Sprocket. As I walked up the stairs to the Spinnaker Lounge, I saw another couple just barely able to make the trek. I told them, “You have to do it. This is why we’re here. Come on, we can do this.” They laughed. I lasted for an hour or so of Glenn’s great set with his violin player. Glenn is an old pro at the interstitial banter. He revealed that he had never been on vacation with his wife and not the kids in 13 years. He said being on stage was not for our benefit. Actually, he was trying to get laid. He said his performance was not for all of us, but for one of us. Quite funny. i saw him the next day with his wife, but did not have the guts to ask them if his plan worked.
Asleep by 1:45 AM.
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