Gator by the Bay

I went to San Diego's version of Jazz Fest last weekend with Tim and Penni. Gator by the Bay happens this time each year in a waterfront downtown park. The two-day event features several SoCal zydeco and Cajun bands, Louisiana food, plenty of beer and over-priced Mardi Gras beads.
This was my first time at the festival, and the crowd was much larger than I had anticipated - maybe as many as 5,000 people on Saturday.

Unfortunately, the food wasn't that great. The best dishes were fried alligator on a stick and fried seafood poboys that we bought from a booth run by a woman who grew up in Vacherie
, La. - home to Oak Alley Plantation.
The main music tent.

As we passed one of the smaller stages, we heard a local Cajun band being introduced, and one of the members - the triangle player - was a native of my home town in Southwest Louisiana. I even recognized his last name (Raspberry), but when I talked to him I found out that he had moved with his family to San Diego when he was about three-years-old.
Later, we headed to the top of a high-rise hotel to watch some of the Red Bull world championship air race happening over the bay.
We couldn't see much of the competition, but we had a great view of the Padres' stadium and the bridge to Coronado.