May 17, 2009

Vacation Day 3 - Doheny Music Festival

We came to San Clemente to attend the Doheny Blues Festival at the Dana Point State Beach. When we decided to come to California I started looking for a music event, and, this is it!. The festival runs from 11am to 8:30pm today.

We spent the morning doing some shopping, yard sales and such and then drove over to Dana Point (about 5 miles) around noon. The parking area was full, so we had to ride a shuttle bus back and forth to high school parking. Our lineup today : Elvin Bishop, Rick Estrin, Keb' Mo' and Grace Potter. It would have been nice to stay and see Brian Setzer (always fun), but it was getting downright chilly and, even with pants, we were undressed. (Tomorrow we'll wear an extra layer or two). No pictures for the event; darn batteries died.

Pros -- Besides the Music .... The Music was Great
  • Incredible setting on the beach.
  • Green Grass
  • Music rotated being stages and you didn't have to rotate with it.
  • Good Food
  • Not too crowded, folks not packed in on top of each other
  • Plenty Port-a-lets
  • Good Sound Systems
  • Shuttle bus price very reasonable ($5./person .. in comparison to Jazz Fests $20.)

Cons
  • Cost of beverages outrageous - $7.00 for a large cup of beer; $2.00 for a cup of coke (about 1/2 a can).
  • Art/Vendors ... Pretty consistently same old stuff ... ladies tops/dresses, jewelry, purses ..
  • Vendor displays right in the middle of prime seating areas.
  • You have to set up a money account and pay with a card for food/beverage purchases.

After Beau got over the shock of beer pricing (which kept his consumption down), we had a pretty good time.

Stopped by a Stuft Pizza place for some dinner before heading back to the hotel for the night.

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