We had the opportunity to observe New Year's Eve (at least that portion between 9:00 and 10:00 PM) in the bar at the beautiful Holiday Inn in St. Augustine, FL. We are down here on a much-needed vacation and have had some awesome bird-watching while we were here, but we also had the unusual problem of having New Year's Eve happen while we are camping out at a Holiday Inn.We are not big New Year's Eve party people in the first place. Usually I heat up some pizza rolls and we drink a cheap bottle of champagne (well... it's Brut, actually - as we all know, it's only "Champagne" if it's really from France). However, now that we are stuck in a motel in a tourist town on New Year's Eve, we had to do something or else our only option would be watching South Park on cable.
Fortunately for us, we learned from the kid at the bar that Kenyon Dye and his On-line Piano Bar would be performing at the very Holiday Inn we are staying at!! We also learned that immediately after this event, the sad hotel bar would be gutted and the room turned into a banquet hall. The kid tending bar was philosophical about it, but you could tell he was sorry to see the place demolished. It was a poignant Last Night at the Lobster moment for all of us when we heard this.
At any rate, we stopped by after the St. Augustine New Year's Eve fireworks (shot off at 8:30 over the ocean and very nice). The scene at the Holiday Inn was straight out of Saturday Night Live - about 30 baby-boomers hanging around a piano stage, singing along and playing various percussion instruments while some guy sang "Crocodile Rock" and "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?". To add to all this, the whole thing is broadcast on the web, with an "IM" window, so people can request songs, chat with others watching the virtual concert and just generally take in the scene from wherever they happen to be.
We only lasted for one glass of wine - Molly had to beat it out of there because it was creeping her out too much. I went back to snap this photo at the top of this post so you, too, could experience a little of the ambiance at the Holiday Inn on New Year's Eve.
That's it. Glad to see 2008 go. Hopefully 2009 will be better!!!!
Surreal... and definitely a scene that would have to be approached with the right mindset, I think.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year!
They were all having a really great time. Kenyon Dye is very popular and it was clear that these were regulars and that they were looking forward to this event. I am glad they had a good time!
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