Here, you'll find stories from The CalypsoNuts' adventures

"Christmas Past?,, Meet Christmas Present!
Dec. 13, 2009 - Jan. 3, 2010
Aboard Disney Wonder

So, what do you do over the Christmas Holidays? I think you look back at a past good Christmas and do that again. Cue Christmas Island, we're back with Disney for the holidays.

The checklists are checked, the band name has been changed to protect the innocent, the questionable material has been stowed, and we're back aboard Disney Wonder. Cool, hoist the stuff that needs to be hoisted and let's go!

Monday December 14, 2009... noon
Nassau, Bahamas

We boarded yesterday for what will be 3 weeks. The Wonder runs circles around the Bahamas with stops in Nassau and Disney's private island Castaway Cay. Three and four day cruises instead of seven like the Magic.

We've already played the first night in the Promenade Lounge and have already attended a Kloss (see the magic log for definition). The passengers are awesome. Everybody is smiling and happy and ready for a great vacation. Just one of the reasons we love it here.

Monday December 14, 2009... late night
Nassau, Bahamas

It's after midnight and the ship hasn't sailed from Nassau yet. Every now and then there's a late night in port and that's time for crew to get ashore and let their hair down for a while. All aboard is 2am, and there are some that will just make it. There's this internal clock that some of the seasoned crew have that magically get them back aboard before the ship leaves, but allows them every last minute of land time.

Tomorrow we'll dock in Castaway Cay, and passengers will hit the beach. Looks like 83 degrees, and a beach cookout. They'll wear themselves out, but tomorrow night is Pirate Night and fireworks and they'll just have to sleep when they get home.

The Wonder and the Magic crossed paths at Castaway Cay while we're were onboard last year. It doesn't happen a lot and when it does...it's a horn blast battle. The first 7 notes to "When You Wish Upon a Star" is pretty loud when it's played on Cruise Ship horns. We're hoping it happens again this year. We'll be deaf, but we'll let you know.

Quiet Cove pool for us tomorrow. Should be a lot of fun. All is well.

Wednesday December 12, 2009... mid day
Between Castaway Cay and Port Canaveral

Yesterday was like old times. We woke up docked at Castaway Cay with the ship almost deserted. Passengers love this stop. It's a little island paradise where folks completely forget that it's 34 degrees at home. The weather was perfect for us. 83 and partially overcast. Overcast means we can hide from UV rays a little easier, and the breezes seem to move more cool air around.

Things started to get going for Pirates in the Caribbean Night. The top deck between the stacks, transforms into a huge buffet, and the canons and all the pirate stuff is hauled into place for SHOWTIME! Our part is to get ready at Quiet Cove Pool at the stern. This pool area is called adults only, but you always see one or two kids coming through. It's cool, without them, there would be no need for any of this.

A little before dusk, the ship slowly pulls away from the dock and the 50' Christmas tree gets smaller and smaller and smaller until you can't see it anymore. Looks like it's time for that slow cruise back to Port Canaveral.

Magic kind of night last night. The whole are is covered with hidden speakers, so everybody hears what's happening, but nobody goes deaf. The CalypsoNuts, errr, magic, in hi def audio, cool.

Break 1 and break 2 are nice and long. It gives us time to have dinner, chill out, go to the office like one of us should have but didn't, or just stroll around and take in the stuff to take in.

The weather last night was great. The folks who didn't want to get wrapped up in the pageantry of Disney's big pirate party came back to the pool and the hot tubs, the Cove Cafe and Signals bar. That's the whole Quiet Cove thing. Good crowds all through the night and lots of folks asking about steels pans and us. Where ya from? Are ya married? What are those? The only question that doesn't come up out here is... Can I play those? Man, that's nice.

Some times we'll overhear people starting to use the word "doubledip". That's a great cruise with an "AGAIN AGAIN!" at the end. People are having such a good time aboard the Wonder that they're lining up at guest sevices to see if there's available cabins so they can stay for the next three day cruise. Cool, think we'll do that. What do you call 5 doubledips? 3 weeks, and half of our first one is almost done.

more later.......

Thursday December 17, 2009 ...9pm
A Reelin' and A Rockin' toward Nassau.

This ship is Haulin' Booty!! We're getting it toward Nassau with brand new group of passengers who want to get as much sun and fun in as they can in a three day vacation.

Yesterday was a really slow amble all the way back to the home dock in Canaveral. The perfect at sea day is when there's more than plenty to do, but more than enough places to go to just relax with really slight seas so the rocking and rolling is non-existant. nice nice.

We played 4 sets in the lounge to great, appreciative folks, but you could tell that they had that, "I don't wanna go home in the morning" look about them. Normally we hang around for a good long time and chat with folks on the last night of their cruise, but this was the last night of our first back aboard... (ok, follow me here)
The end of your first leg, you have to present yourself to US customs at 6am sharp for legal stuff. I understand, but 6am? But, I understand. And they make it easier by coming aboard and meeting us is the theater, so we don't have to actually leave the ship.
So,,,it was sleep, wake up, wander, sit for 4 minutes, prove that you're you, wander back, and sleep again.

2 sets in the Lounge tonight so far and...so far, so good. The crowds are smiling, happy and ready and so are we. We got an added surprise in the fact that Larry Solano, his wife Debbie and some other friends and family have made it aboard for another holiday cruise. We met them last year aboard the Magic and have kept in touch since. Nice to see these folks. Now, where in the world is Bob Bedouin?

More of the same tonight and a late night bite of food before we strike the stage and move some gear to the top deck for Pirate Night tomorrow.

Now, if this ship will stop with the shakey shakey, I may be able to hold onto this fakey fakey steaky steaky. burp.

Saturday December 19, 2009...4am
Between Nassau and Castaway Cay

Well, there was no late night bite of food last night. I mean, unless you want ramen noodles or toast or cardboard mess pizza. No thanks. Lynley and I can't just finish the last set and leave people who want to chat just so we can make it to the late night snack in the mess. #1 it's rude, and #2 it's wrong. Some folks have never seen a steelpan before and some just want to chat about whatever. They're on vacation, and if chat is what they want to do, chat is what I want to do. For some people this is their first cruise and sharing the awe and wonder with them is really cool. Kids turn their heads like a Boston Terrier when you point out over the ocean and say home is over there, waaaay over there.We really enjoy talking to people about pans, and cruising, and vacations past, and ideas for vacations yet to come. Some people that we talk to have 30 plus cruises under their belts and they love to describe and compare and that stuff interests us. Who has the best food, who has the best accomodations, who has the nicest staff, etc. It makes for interesting and sometimes long conversations.

And then there's folks like Larry and Debbie and their family, that I mentioned earlier. They both work for Disney in one form or another and have become friends. Conversations are usually light and funny and we really enjoy seeing them. They've watched these ships morph into the beautiful Liners they are today, and are looking forward with Disney to new sea routes to cover with 2 new ships.

Docked in Nassau today was a virtual bank with it's vault doors wide open to the people of the Bahamas. Not 1, but 5 cruise ships were docked right next to each other. I wrote it down , but I forgot, so bear with me.

Inside, closest to the dock was Costa Altantica. Lynley and I have played aboard Costa Magica twice and her sister ship Atlantica is almost a carbon copy.Old World style works in the Caribbean somehow. While other ships are preparing Jerk Pork with customary peas and rice when they sail into Jamaica, Costa is grilling Langostines with butter over angel hair. While we're Cranking up Dollar Wine, they're doing the Tarantella . Nice ships, but brush up on a leeeeetle bit of italiano, it'll help.

Next to her was the Celebrity Mercury. The Mercury has been noted as being one of the better cruise ships without being a behemoth. She's large, yes, but they also pay attention to small details like you'd see on a high dollar cruise. Lots of happy people on her decks taking in what sun was to be had. They'll be fooled when they experience that burn from an overcast day, OUCH.

Disney Wonder was in the middle and looking fine. The Black Hull with red, white and yellow appointments scream Mickey Mouse. The company had to go to the maritime assoc. to get the ok to use yellow instead of orange for their lifeboats. It's never happened before folks. The Disney ships, when compared against some others makes you think of falling back into the time of luxury liners, not mega behemoths. Nothing wrong with huge ships, we love them, it's just that these old world lines and new world technology are what I like in a liner.

Directly on our starboard was docked the Carnival Sensation. There's a reason they call these the fun ships. People from absolutely all walks of life and from all over the globe, flock to cruise a funship. They're noted for their constant GO GO GO atmosphere and their PARTY PARTY PARTY. We've noticed that the overall noise of the ships is higher because of the constant party. They have a zillion ships and they go everywhere and they always run sales. INTERNET IS YOUR FRIEND YOU GUYS. OR Call Lynley and she'll help you along. Just buy her somethin pretty.

Behind her was Royal Caribbean's Oasis of The Seas. Folks, this ship is huge. And,,, it seems to be all balcony rooms. Lynley and I have sailed the Majesty of the Seas and have had the honor to sail aboard Explorer of the Seas with her inside staterooms that have balconies overlooking mainstreet. Amazing class of ship and the food is always top notch and room service is 7 minutes from your door 24/7.

Because one or both of us have sailed these ships or their sisters, we figure a little comparison might be neat.

They are many other lines. Some are owned by larger Companies like Carnival and some that run on their own. A night of internet research will help you get a feel for what fits your itinerary wants and mostly, what fits in your budget. You tube is a huge help as far as the lay of the land and the type people who generally cruise the line. A 3 day can set you back as little as $179 plus alcohol taxes and tipping, or you can spend thousands and some more thousands on a crystal type cruise to european and mediterranian ports.

Ok, enough, back to us and today. There's a tech down or something, so lynley and I moved our gear last night to Quiet Cove pool for today. God, if they'd only let us bring our L.E.D.s We got it up there from the lounge got it stowed and then went for some dinner.. Not! Denied. Chips and chocolate covered peanut had to work. Oh, and a Guiness.

Crashed---Woke--- no real timeline due to no sleep, Thanks mother nature

Up and at it early after a night of rough seas, and small beds. We actually have a 3 bedroom cabin. Bedroom 1 is the single bed, bedroom 2 is the 3 foot long love seat, and bedroom 3 is the floor.
Needless to say, we got what sleep we could, where we could, and dashed to Quiet Cove Pool for Pirate Night. One of our favorite places to play. Quiet Cove is adults only and it's pretty well watched. Kids in the lounge? LOVE 'EM! Kids at Quiet Cove pool? We don't mind them but the adults having adult conversation and cocktails sometimes do.

Played 2 early sets, 3-3:45 and 4-4:45 and then not again until 9:45 and we played straight through with just a little break for fireworks. It was after the main fireworks show that the weather picked up and went crazy for a while. We didn't mind, we just stood on the pan stands, played out the night and then went over to talk with friends.

The second of 6 cruises is almost over and the stories are already filling hard drives in our heads. It's a wonderful experience to play aboard any of these ships. They're all the same, but they're all very different.

Hoping this beautiful relationship between CalypsoNuts and Disney continues

For now.. the newest CD is available through www.cdbaby.com and digitally through www.iTunes.com just search Calypsonuts...and please please sign our guestbook

Saturday December 19, 2009...9pm
..And for our next trick!

Wow, today has pretty much been an adventure so far. After numerous attempts to dock at Castaway Cay, the Captain announced that the seas were too rough and that mother nature was forcing a sea day. We aren't really being tossed, but it's far from smooth as glass. Lynley and I just sit here and watch our port hole. It's like a Maytag frontloader. One second we're looking at sun and the next we're looking at the undersea world. It's pretty cool.

We played one set at the pool today and that was different. No rain, sunny skies, perfect, except for wind and waves. Nobody seemed to mind though. The wind made it cool, but people hit the hot tubs for that one set. Our sets are themed out here and today at the pool was "A Taste of Margaritaville". It was Buffett and Chesney and that kind of stuff for an hour. Cool. Lots of fun.

The tech staff showed up afterward and helped pack it all down to the lounge. We don't mind moving if we have help. So, down from deck 9 to deck 3 and all the way across the ship. With the tear down? 10 minutes. Awesome.

Lots of people in the lounge tonight. I guess they have a lot of extra energy because there wasn't a Castaway Cay stop. And,,, once again we proved that if you get one kid to dance, everybody else will join in.

Sunday December 20, 2009...1am
What's that sputtering sound a car makes when it's out of gas?

1am, and we're toast. We busted our butts today and tonight. The lounge was really full all night, so it was GO GO GO. We had a great time, but we're cooked. I sound like Froggy from "our gang" and Lynley will be close behind if she has to keep covering me.

A usual stop for us after our last set is up to deck 9 for a soda or a glass of milk and a piece of pizza. Tonight we felt a bit of that colder weather that folks are saying is reaching way down into Florida. Add a moderate head wind to a ship that's already traveling 18 knots and this totals cold. Not cold, like 30 inches of snow near DC cold (sorry heather), but still cold.

Seas are rough, but hopefully it'll rock us to sleep and not out of the bed.

1 week down already. Hard to believe.

Monday December 21, 2009... 9pm
Nassau, Bahamas

This cruise is a bit backwards. Pirate Night is tonight and it's Nassau instead of Castaway Cay and we have the night off. Strained the voice pretty bad and coughing hasn't helped matters, so a night off is beautiful. Lynley doesn't have to cover my slack butt either. I sang like 6 songs total last night and she carried the rest. GO GO GO, she's the army ant of singers! So a self imposed "sick day" is just what Dr. Robbie has ordered. Bed rest, fluids, quiet. Awesome! I mean except for the emergency drill this morning and the cabin inspection tomorrow morning. As they say on the mean streets..."What up yo?"

No CD sales on the ship yet, but we're only halfway through our contract, so we're good. CDbaby.com is once again sold out and on temporary backorder though, so we really are good I guess. Another shipment is already on the way to them. Thanks everybody.

As of yesterday, we have a new group of passengers aboard and it looks like these are the dancing type. Lots of happy faces and smiles in the lounge, dancin and singin and movin to the groovin'......People are ready! I mean, how cool is a mom or dad, when they say, "We're going on a cruise during the holidays"? .....and it's not just kids, adults too. This rocks.

Which brings me to the question that hits me everyday in the email box. Disney Cruise? Disney+Cruise? Really? I wouldn't like that. I need a casino. That's not a real cruise.

Wait, wait, wait. There are a few differences between a Disney cruise and a NCL cruise, but there are differences between a HAL cruise and a RCCL cruise too. Here's the difference as far as I see it. Disney has no casino. Ok. Disney is way kid friendly. Ok. That's about it. Disney has mad skills when it comes to child mangement that no other line can compete with, but it's not about that. It's about the stuff that american kids and kids from all over the world grew up with. I grew up with Mickey and Minnie and Goofy and they're here. Young kids grew up with characters that haven't been around so long, but it's the same thing. It's the magic people feel, when they're around it. I mean, folks will go to Disney World 5 times a year, but they have to have RCCL or HAL? Nonsense. You NEED a casino? really? Ok, cool, that's cool, really. I know people who have been on 5 cruises, all on the Wonder. I also know people who have been on the same RCCL ship over and over because they love it. I also know people who have been on multiple cruises on multiple lines on multiple itineraries. Those are the folks who are true cruisers. People who hang with one line are fans of that line or vibe and that's fine, but quit the hatin' and have a little fun. Life's short and you'll miss it if you're not careful.

Ok, nuff!! Love ya, mean it,, really do..

Tuesday December 22, 2009... late night.
Between Castaway Cay and Port Canaveral

We just finished the night and for us, the cruise. Folks will relax and party and stroll the decks all the way back to the docks, but L and I have retired to the cabin to get away from it all for the night.

This 3 day cruise has flown by. It seems like this group just got on this morning and they're already getting off to go home tomorrow. The smiles were wide and the faces were bright and cheery and we feel like we took care of them very well. lots of folks were in the lounge again tonight. Some were dancing and some were just taking it all in. The vibe is great in the Promenade Lounge and we're happy to be a part of it.

With the weather back home the way it is, I hate to report on the weather out here because I don't want to come off cocky, but, the weather is cold right now. No, it's not 15 and crappy, it's just cool and overcast with that constant shipmade breeze of 18.5 knots. Great for me, but some of the folks who work on the ship who are from much more southern climates are freezing.

We did a swing shift of sorts today. We played one set at the pool and then 3 in the lounge. Totally different atmospheres make for totally different sets and that's cool.
Somebody asked us today if we liked the pool or the lounge better and we had to think about it. We love the pool for all the reasons it's the pool. It's an adult only place, so it's a bit more relaxed (if that's a good word for it) and it's a bit more of a tropical theme to our sets, but the lounge kicks. We're less tropical and more showbandy in the lounge. The lounge is "My Girl" and the pool is "Margaritaville". That's the best way to describe it, so we like them both for different reasons.

More tomorrow and Lynley promises another report from the bridge.

December 25, 2009...1am
Merry Christmas

It seems kind of unreal to be celebrating Christmas again on a cruise ship. Last year we were on the Disney Magic in the Caribbean and this year its the Wonder in the Bahamas. The weather is anything but frightful, and fires are a ship's worst enemy, so there'll be no chestnut roasting. Not that I like roasted chestnuts, but there's something to say for the availabilty and possibility of things that are stereotypically Christmas.

There are not only a zillion different nationalities represented on this ship by the crew, there are also almost as many represented by the passengers. It seems that the majority of people celebrate Christmas, but there are a lot who celebrate either Kwanza or Hannuka or other things I've never heard of. The roots of the celebrations may be different, but the sentiment is the same at heart, and somewhere in there, "Peace on Earth" is at least implied.

So, while Lynley and I celebrate and wish you a Merry Christmas, we also wish you Happy Holidays and hope for Peace on Earth.

December 25, 2009... late night
...and the verdict is....KLOSS!

See you local neighborhood CalypsoNut for a private screening of this post.

Saturday, December 26, 2009... 7pm
Kloss and Grub

Ok, we found out today why Klosses (classes) are as important as we're told they are, and why refreshers are mandatory. It's not because of the people like us, who listen, pay attention and learn. It's because of the people who joke around, kick each other's chairs and could care less. It's these people who might know all the answers to all the printed questions, but it's also these folks who might just get you killed in the event of an emergency at sea. Our instructor "Valeri", not only had the information available, but he also took the time to put it all into practical terms. He explained that emergencies look a lot different in real life than they do in the classroom and to not expect things to go exactly as planned. In other words, if the ship is listing real hard to the port, you can't use the starboard rafts and boats. It's that kind of stuff that you need to have taught to you and that comes to light in a classroom of adults who are interested and engaged. Valeri did a great job at engaging us and welcomed us all into the learning process, it's just that some people are only concerned with cutting up and getting off work. While I hope we're never involved in an incident at sea, I know that Lynley and I will have the training necessary to help us make the right decisions not only for our safety, but also for the safety of other crew and passengers.

Now, with that said...Why is there four kinds of rice in the crew mess? White rice, yellow rice, Indian dishes consiting mostly of rice, etc. There was a beautiful dessert table on Christmas Eve that caught my eye. "I'm gonna go there! It's time to get my dessert on!" The closer I got, the sharper things came into focus. Could it be? Could it be? RICE PUDDING!

Henceforth, anyone bringing rice into my house will be immediately flogged, ridiculed, stripped of anything warm and thrown physically into the cold. If it's not cold, they will be flogged, ridiculed, stripped of anything warm and thrown into the cold anyway.

People are wandering tonight. Some are dancing and some are just wandering. Tomorrow is disembark day and nobody wants to go home. We'd "Party them back to the dock", but this is a Disney ship. With so many families onboard, it's a wonder any of them make it to midnight. As long as they're happy, we're happy. Cue Brahms' Lullaby.

Sunday December 27, 2009... late night
Why Cruise?

Another new group of guests boarded today. Everybodys happy and ready to go. They're ready for Nassau, they're ready for a sun filled day at Castaway Cay and they're ready to get away from the cold back home. If home is anywhere north of central Florida, they're going to be warmer in a few hours. The ship will wake up tomorrow in Nassau and it'll probably be 80 by noon or so. Some folks will venture ashore and spend the day doing touristy things and come back with straw hats or t shirts or jewelry. Others will stay aboard the ship and take in the sun by the pool and relax the whole day away. The options are more than you might think aboard a cruise ship. Some costs a little extra scratch, but some is free for the taking. The sun is high in the sky, the breeze is nice, the band is playing, and there's always a waiter or waitress with a tray ready to bring you anything you want from the bar.

Working on a cruise ship like the Wonder, reminds us why we love cruising. Don't get me wrong, it's great working out here, it's just that it's even better when you're a passenger just lazing the day away or catching local sites. Maybe we'll cruise again as guests sometime in the coming year.

Half of the excitement is the planning. You look at itineraries and ships and lines and costs and specials and dates. You literally go shopping for what's going to be the best bang for your vacation buck. I don't mean, you go looking for the cheapest cruise out there. You can, and that's fine, but it's balancing expense vs the available cruises and stops that makes it fun.

Mr. Johnny BigBucks may just plunk down a huge wad of disposable cash on the most expensive cruise he can find and expect to have the biggest time only to come up way short in the fun or memories department. Mr. Johnny Tightwad may do the exact opposite thing and end up with the same results. Mr Johnny Info, is going to do some research and find what's going to be his vacation of a lifetime and save a few bucks in the process maybe. But, his involvement in the vacation planning will pay off in the long run. He'll know what to expect, what not to expect and he'll have some knowledge about the art of cruising.

These folks are aboard the Disney Wonder because they chose to be. Some are Vacation Club members and some aren't. Some have been going to Disney World for years and some like me, never had the opportunity to go until I was 38! But you can lay a safe bet that everybody out here knows about Walt's mouse. That's the common bond out here. It's not a theme park ride, it's a bona fide cruise on a luxurious ship and a world where the Captain is the Captain, but Mickey is the King!

It's a big giant world, filled with awesome things to see and do.
That's why we cruise.

plus...I didn't even mention cruise ship food. I'll leave that for another time.

Tuesday December 29, 2009... 10am
Kids and Guitars

This happens every cruise. The lounge is situated where we see every face on the ship. Some once or twice and some all cruise long. It just depends if they're coming in or passing through. So, every budding guitarist gets a chance to take a first impression. You can tell who they are from a mile away. They look at you and then they look at the guitar and then you can see them calculating the "is he cool?" factor. I'm just a guitar guy who plays for a living, so I go right on along doing my gig and having a blast.

At some time during the cruise, these kids will walk up to me on a break or before a show and we'll start to chat.

Kid: Nice strat man
R: Thanks buddy, do you play?
Kid: Yea
R: Cool, what kind of stuff?
Kid: Mostly rock and really heavy stuff, but I like Zeppelin and the Beatles too.
R: Great, you play a strat too?
Kid: No, I play an '09 Gibson Les Paul blueburst with this in the bridge and that in the neck and....
(It's cool, but you can tell that it's what he's memorized from the ad in the Guitar Center magazine before mom and dad got it for him.)
R: Wow, that sounds like a great sounding axe (they love to hear axe)
Kid: Yea, what's that? Mexican or American?
R: It's a '95 Roland Ready American standard with a fishman powerbridge and chip. And a Bloodwood Warmoth standard C neck with Stainless wire just about .003" smaller than jazz bass frets and a real thick ebony fretboard. So, American.
Kid: Cool, I was thinking about getting a strat too.
R: So Zeppelin, yea? Nice.
(at this point, I've gone from old guy with a guitar, to cool old guy with a guitar)
R: Alright, nice talking with you. See you around the ship.
Kid: Ok, see ya....Hey are those sperzels?
R: Uh huh, good eye. later.
Kid: Have a good gig. (they love sayin' gig)

And with that, they're gone. Off to do whatever teens or tweens do on a cruise ship. I know however, that if we see them again, they'll smile and wave. Yea, ding ding ding, score one for the home team!

So, kids are cool. A lot either don't know it or are too shy to relax and just have fun.

Yes, I do. Mine was a red Kay SG copy. It was a hardtail with one pickup and black tophat knobs and a string retainer bar just past the nut. And, it came from Ramsey Music on West street in Annapolis, MD.

January 1, 2009 2010...2:30am
Under a Full Blue Moon

A long time ago, Warren Seaburg tried to explain to me how black it is when you look out over a moonless ocean when you're at sea. I heard the story, but I never really understood until I experienced it for myself. Pitch black is as black as it gets. The sky looks like ink and ten feet may as well be ten miles. It's absolutely endless and it starts at the end of your arm.

Tonight was not that night.

We knew about the full blue moon and expected it, but once again, I guess I just had to be there. Unlike nights where the moon is low on the horizon and shines a whitish streak across the ocean, tonight it was straight up and lit up the whole world. You could've turned off every light on the top deck tonight and there would have been enough light to keep on truckin. Very cool.

Ok, it's no big secret that Disney is the only cruise line licensed to shoot fireworks from the deck while at sea. So is it coincidence that on fireworks night you can sea Carnival ships tracking along with us? Tonight's fireworks at midnight were great and everybody aboard the Wonder and the Carnival Something enjoyed them. We were also graced by a helicopter fly-by around 11pm. It came screaming out of nowhere and was just as quickly GONE! It's a big ocean everybody, move over.

All the entertainment was working tonight. Nobody had the night off. It was all musical hands on deck! We all had good crowds and great times, but the BIG party was between the stacks on deck 9. DJ Frankie had the top deck rockin. His energy blows me away. He goes and goes and goes and the crowd goes and goes and goes right along with him. With him and the cruise staff AND disney character appearances, it's no wonder standing room was measured in square inches instead of square feet.

Music and lights and video are everywhere and somebody has to know how it all works. Cue, Justin and Franklin and Alistair and Al and Embong and Ahmet and the others from technical. Without these folks, nothing happens and they're our unsung heroes. It's not a box mixer and a couple speakers out here, it's all integrated audio/video and it's everwhere. They keep the hot, hot, and the cold, cold, and they keep everything looking and sounding good.

We're off tomorrow and then just one more night in the Promenade Lounge before we head for home on Sunday.

Happy New Year!

Sunday January 3, 2010...5am
Rockin' and Rockin'...weeee.

I guess you take smooth for granted out here, huh?

After a cold and windy day at Castaway Cay (yes, cold, 68°, waaaa), we just tromped through 15 foot seas on the last official leg of this journey. We're still a few miles off Port Canaveral, but the sea is finally calm and we're almost home. We'll still have to deal with immigration at 6am and customs at 7:45 and then there's the 10 hour drive, but performance-wise we're done.

The Captain made a shipwide announcement last night saying that we should expect it to be a rough ride after 10pm. He was right. Lynley has experienced 20 footers onboard a ship half this size, but this is the highest for me so far, and it's plenty. I'm guessing that there are more than a few people feeling a little ill right about now. The crew all sways at the same time and never misses a beat, but some guests who have never cruised before may have had a bit of trouble. Hope not, but, well, it's a cruise, not a carnival ride.

We stopped a few minutes early tonight so we could see the farewell in the atrium. Disney characters lined the staircase outside Triton's restaurant as Assistant Cruise Director Darren led the show. One last wave and they all said goodbye and only Mickey was left. Darren thanked him for cruising with us and then Mickey climbed the stairs, waving the whole way. The crowd was awesome.

With a countdown from 10, pixie dust filled the air. And, then came the balloons and the confetti and the streamers. It was really something to see. I mean it. It's really cool to hear the simultaneous ooooooh from the crowd as 4 stories of atrium fill with all that stuff. There's magic on the high seas and it's right here!

At 5am, all is well. L is sleeping, but it looks like an all nighter for me. Just hoping the customs guy is in a good mood and we don't have to go through all that ( how do you spell rig-a-ma-roll?), like last time.

Monday January 4, 2010... late night
Another Journey Comes to an End.

It started right after the last entry ended. Immigration at 6am, luggage scan at 7:30, and crew officer meeting at 9:15. The disembark announcement for passengers repeated at 9:30, which means there's still passengers on the ship and they have to get off before crew can disembark. So, we waited. 9:45, there is another announcement, so more waiting. At 10:30 when the crew officer was pretty much over it, she called down to whoever is in charge and they said, "oh yeah, bring them on down".

So, here we are, in the customs area of the DCL terminal. It's cold, we're not dressed warmly, a porter is pulling a cage with 10 pieces of gear and luggage piled up, Lynley is loaded down with stuff, and I'm pulling up the rear with yet another cage full of stuff. The area, which is normally filled with lines of people and their luggage and purchases is now empty except for the customs agent at the very end of the building, and he's waiting for us. This is gonna suck. This guy has had to deal with whiney passengers non-stop for the last 2 hours and he's not looking happy. We're going to have to pull it all apart, explain every piece and hope he clears it all into the states. You know that fuzzy (not the good kind) of feeling you get when you first see the blue lights behind you? That kicked in! Here we go. Just 100 more feet to freedom, but first...HIM.

L:Good morning.
Agent: Good morning.
R: Uh, hi.
(L presents passports, and customs forms)
Agent: What's all this? The band?
L: yes sir, we're the leaving duo.
(Customs agent looks at the sheet and back to the piles and back to the sheet and then at me)
Agent: So, what do you play?
R: Steel drums and guitar primarily. Lynley plays pans and congas.
Agent: Really, you play congas? cool. I was a bass player for a long time
R: That was my gig for 20 years. I cut my teeth as a bass player.
Agent: (stamp stamp) Well, welcome home. Have a good time?
L: Sure did.
(cages and luggage rolls past the customs guy and into the cold freedom of the drop off/ pick up area)
Crew officer: Ok, see you guys later, it's been fun. Be careful on the way home.

The customs man is a musician! What luck! While L and I had nothing to claim and had done everything by the book, Customs can pretty much do what they want when it comes to entering the US. Last time was a mess; this time was a breeze.

Now home, it's cold, but the heat's on and the cats won't leave us alone. It's our bed, and our towels, and our tub, and our little 1050 sq ft cottage that now seems palatial.

This journey is over, but another starts in just a few days. Time to dust off the bluer material and stow the clean cut. Now, where's my damn goatee?

Thanks to all the folks at Disney and to all the guests onboard for 6 remarkable cruises. It was a blast and we can't wait to do it again.

Peace on Earth, R & L (The Nuts)

ps....hope Steve the one-man-wave, and all the New Englanders made it home safe.

Finis... fade to black.

"..And I heard him exclaim as he road out of sight"
December 12, 2009
Jacksonville, Florida

It seems like the term "time to hit the road" has been said a bunch recently, and the year will end for us the same way as it started, trav'lin.

It's been way to long since we've been to Jacksonville and playing the Beaches A1A Parrot Head Club Christmas party was nice reminder of just how cool the folks there are.

We rolled down a soggy I95 south and followed the gps in the rain right to the door of the Captain's Club. Charlie from the PHC met us at the door and helped us load gear through the rain drops. That was over and above the call of duty as far as we're concerned. With all the east coast rain these last few months, "stay dry" has become the regional mantra.

With the gear up, the firebowls burning and people starting to arrive, the place took on that party atmosphere. We were glad to be out of the van and hanging out with smiling faces. These folks danced and conga lined and ate and drank and did it all night long. Cool.

11pm, when everybody was gone, was when the fun started. With all the gear in the van, we went to duck back inside to see if we've forgotten anything. The rain the rain the rain, I should close the van door. It seems that something has gotten wet and not only has the alarm gone yumpy, but now the doors lock whenever they want. This isn't a bad thing if you're in the van and driving down the road, but if you're standing in the rain, in the middle of the night, in a dark parking lot, in a strange town, with the van running, and the spare keys IN the locked van, with the cell phones, AND the AAA card? Not good. No, not really good. kinda bad actually.

We borrowed the bartender's cell phone to call AAA just before she left and we waited. You know, that AAA kind of wait, where you look at every headlight coming down the road and hope that when the vehicle itself comes into view it'll have AAA on it somewhere? Not bad, 40 minutes wait and then 3 seconds for him to get us in. Makes ya hope that AAA service folks never go into a life of auto theft.

Ok, let's find the hotel...... there it is......2 blocks away. Damn, wish we had figured that out. Heat? On. Lights? Out! Gotta crash, the road calls tomorrow. We have a date with a mouse and all his friends.

Thanks to Beaches A1A PHC for a great time and a great party. It was nice to see you again.

Saturday November 21, 2009
Christmas/Buffett's B-Day Party
St. Louis Parrot Head Club.

You know you're in St. Louis when you see the arch. It's like our version of running down I(95) as passing the first Welcome to Florida sign, Or I(95)at Dillion, SC. for a little South of the Border time,

But this time we came into ST. Louis from Nashville. We weren't 100 percent convinced that we were right until we saw that shiny jewel in the sky.

We're here to play a Jimmy Buffett's Birthday Party AND a Christmas Party. Same time, same room ,same people.

After seeing Phil Clark and meeting some of the chairpeople and board members, it was time to go to work. We have most everything in cases now, so instead on 45 little trips, we make 11. The stage, being so close to the loading door made this set up a breeze.

The guy who went before us...DIDN'T. Don't know why, but the stage area was black at 7:15, when we start at 8pm. Yes sir, yes mam, Sure we can set up fast and start a bit early. Sure, we'll knock of early because we started early, no problem.

These folks had been drinking since the morning and they were REEEEADY!! This was another 3 Slow Songs a night kinda gigs. These people wanted to dance.

We found out that there are 2 roller derby girls in their club.. Lynley always wanted to BE a roller derby girl, and I always thought roller derby girls were HOT! Needless to say, the conversations after the party, did different things to the different CalypsoNuts....hahaha.

We never knocked off early, we actually went late.. They weren't finished dancing and roller girl Brenda, who is also a conga player, has not played with us yet. SHE ROCCCCKKKKKED the house. Anytime girlfriend, anytime, just call us and maybe we can get our colors to match team colors. That is,,,if you were even thinking about coming as your rollerderby baddass self.

We ducked the aferparty due to road weariness and beeing relatively sober. We opted for machine vended munchies, and some TV, and left the continued party up to the big dogs.

Up and at em next day to drive to knoxville and walk in on Tall Paul's last set. Great Time. Matt Hall came and played and Paul had his built in college girl crowd. Awesome. We stayed in Knoxville that night and got up to hit the nonstop road home. Part of I40 was closed due to rock slide, so Gypsy, our always trusy (EXCEPT THIS TIME) GPS re-routed us and we were golden for the first 20 miles, after that, we were on rt 100 going not straight up a mountain, but CURURURURURVVVVVEEEEE up a mountain.

After the same thing, but down...we got back on track toward home, but we had a little time to think about the party the night before.

Parrot Heads from the Midwest, have a way of making a FULL COMMITMENT when they RSVP for a party. The throw their hearts, souls, and livers into it full force.

A Great Party and A Great Bunch of People.

R&L DA GNUTS

Sunday November 15, 2009...3am
Between Orlando and Port Canaveral

We dashed home from MOTM in Key West just in time to play the monthly meeting of the Parrot Head Club of Tidewater and the bat phone rang.
It was Disney Cruise Lines asking about a last minute fill in.
It seems there's a hole that needs to be filled and that's where we come in! But, We've only been home for 3 days!
You need us? We're there? Point it South down I95, here we go again!

With The St. Louis Parrot Head Club's Christmas/ Jimmy Buffett's Birthday party next week, we could only play one cruise, but that will give them plenty of time to secure the entertainment for the remaining open time.

So,,,,,,,,,,Once again, we're off to see Mickey and Minnie and Donald and Daisy and Goofy and all their Disney pals and sail with them aboard one of the prettiest ships at sea, The Disney Wonder. We'll play a quick 4 day cruise to the Bahamas and to Castaway Cay where the Flying Dutchman is docked. A world of endless wonder is the best way for us to describe sailing aboard either the Disney Wonder or her sister ship the Disney Magic. Boarding passengers will smile and dance and laugh and sing all because just like Disney World, this too is the happiest place on earth.

Lynley and I are more proud than you know to have been asked to play this special week for DCL, and we look forward to an absolutely Magical time.

more tomorrow after crunch time,
nite, R and L (CalypsoMagic)

Sunday November 15, 2009... 6:35pm
Aboard Disney Wonder

After a little hiccup in Passports (L left them at home), we're onboard and underway. Boarding was strange. Will we recognize anyone? Will anyone remember us? We were almost immediately met by Natalie from entertainment and cruise directors staff. It was like old home week, and even the people we were meeting for the first time treated us like old friends who have come home after a long time away.

Gear made it onboard with no problems at all and we were set up and ready for sound check at 4pm. Justin from the Magic is now aboard the Wonder and he has the sound dialed in for us already. It took him 5 minutes and we were running smooth and punchy.

The 5:15 show, is what we call the "5:15 slow train". The crowds are ambling around either getting the lay of the land or remembering favorite spots from their last journey aboard this floating wonderland. We'll break out the up tempo stuff later, but the 5:15 slow train is our chance to meet and smile and chat with folks from all over the globe. It's a great time.

In other words, 1 set down, 2 more and three days to go. It'll all be over too soon.

More later, All Smiles from Disney Wonder, R and L (CalypsoMagic this week)

Monday November 16, 2009... 1am
Aboard Disney Wonder

Day one is done. It's hard to believe that we're already 25% finished with this cruise. I mean, it just started.

The Lounge tonight was a lot of fun. We had some campers and some strollers, but the place was always busy. The second and third sets went pretty much exactly like we had hoped. Set 2 was dance central and set 3 wound them down a bit.

A quick piece of pizza at the end of the night and a walk through the shops has pretty much put us at the point juuuuust before hitting the wall. It's nice to be back aboard and to be a part of this "crazy thing", but when we're done...we're done.
Back in the cabin, yes that cabin, and ready for some Potter 6 on TV and a little sleep before whatever tomorrow brings.

peace, nite, R and L

btw: We are very happy about Potter 6 being on TV, our last cruise with Disney was 5 and a half weeks of "A Christmas Story". "You'll shoot your eye out kid"

Monday November 16, 2009... 6pm
Aboard Disney Wonder, docked in Nassau, Bahamas

With yesterday and last night being not only very fun, but real tiring, we fell asleep early. Our little cabin with the hobbit-sized bed rocked us gently in to lala land.

Spent some time onshore today, going from shop to shop, only to fnd the exact same things in every store. The shopping wasn't all that, but today's weather is the reason people cruise in November and Decenber. The sun was out, but it wasn't too hot and there's that constant island breeze that keeps you cool in the shade if you want it.

Back onboard for semi-formal night. Just 2 sets tonight in the Promenade Lounge makes the night fly by and makes it easy to meet people. The guests from last night who all wanted to know about our pans will be back and this time we'll have all the time to answer every question.

Formal nights are cool on cruises, but so many people try to do so many things in a 4 day cruise that semi-formal works out good. Those extra days at sea during a 7,9, or 11 day cruise gives the ladies and the men time to plan and execute some incredible formal outfits. The kids are even dressed to the nines sometimes, but you can tell they hate it! This semi-formal idea proves that it's your vacation, you should do what you want.

More later after dinner and two sets in the Promenade Lounge with the bar staff. We never know exactly what's going to happen and that's where the magic begins. One small smile and one little twirl on the dance floor will cause kids and adults alike to shake and shimmy and twist the absolute night away.

soon, R and L (MagicNuts?)

Tuesday November 17, 2009... 3:30am
Aboard Disney Wonder
Sailing toward Castaway Cay

It's after 3am and all is well with our little world. The Promenade sets were great. Just 2, but they were fun. It's amazing just how quickly people will jump up when they hear a twist song or how fast they'll grab onto each other during a steelpan ballad. ...And, if you combine styles, well that works too. Drive, obviously a pop tune, but done with a female (Lynley's) lead voice and leadpan as the hook instrument, floored them. That's going to be a good song for us.

We saw a lot of repeat faces tonight. People come back if you reach out to them on day one. A sincere smile means something these days. Cheesy, fake, put on smiles are a dime a dozen and obvious, but if you actually take the split second to connect and just wave or nod hello, people will remember that. We'll always remember the first time we stepped aboard a cruise ship. We were met by a smiling person who said, "Welcome Aboard, lunch is being served if you're hungry". Not only will we always remember the chilled peach soup, we'll especially remember the way we were welcomed as if we were old friends, and that lunch is a good word.

A couple walked in and sat down as we were finishing the night. They didn't dance, the just sat and enjoyed steelpan. You could tell by the way they watched that it was the pans that brought them in. They clapped and smiled and there was that connection. "Folks, we're officially finished, but you just walked in, can we play one more for you?" The smiles said "Yes, please". Goodnight moon is not only a great song, but we loop a verse and chorus of guitar so I can back Lynley's tenor pan solo on double seconds. They came up afterward and we talked for a few minutes about pans and the sounds and how they hear less and less pan when they cruise or visit the islands these days.

Pans don't have to be just about calypso or soca music and ours aren't. A well made and well tuned pan can fit in anywhere and add new dimensions to old favorites from the islands or from Detroit. They sound good on "Jamaica Farewell", but they sound just as good on "Bang on the Drum all Day" or "All Night Long".

Can you tell it's been a great day and night? After hours, we packed gear so we can haul it topside tomorrow and play at Quiet Cove pool for Pirate Night. Another quick slice of pizza and back to the cabin to chill until tomorrow.

another sidenote: The 8 foot tall ginger breadhouse we saw onboard last Christmas is being built in the lounge this week. The whole place smells like one big gingerbread cookie. just sayin......

Goodnight Moon, Goodnight Stars,
Robbie and Lynley

Wednesday November 18, 2009 I think

Wednesday morning, Disney Wonder docked at Castaway Cay alongside the Flying Dutchman from Pirates of the Caribbean and guests raced down the gangway for fun in the sun and sea as only Disney can offer it. The day was perfect.

Lynley's day started with coffee on the top deck with a great view of the Dutchman and mine started with a great view of the backs of my eyelids.

We moved some gear to deck nine and forward to Quiet Cove pool. This area is considered Adults only and sometimes it actually is. There's a nice stage at the end of the pool. We did an early evening buffetty show and then chilled for a little while before Pirate Night got rolling.

The idea of us at Quiet Cove pool for Pirate Night is to give adults an option that isn't big lights and sparks and fireworks. Quiet is a misnomer though. Some folks danced, some listened, some grabbed a cappuccino from the Cove Cafe and chilled at the railing just watching the world go by. Nice.

We'll be at sea all day tomorrow, just taking it easy on the slow trip back to Port Canaveral. The ship absolutely flies to get to the Bahamas and then almost floats back to the US mainland. This last day is filled with games and shopping and one more elegant dinner in one of the restaurants before finally docking back in Florida Thursday morning at dawn.

Normally we'd say that as these folks leave with memories by the score, we look forward to welcoming another brand new group, ready to soak up some sun and some of the same memories. Sadly, we'll be leaving the ship when this group does. Just one quick 4 day. Just enough to get into it. Just enough to feel at home again. Just enough to smell that gingerbread house. But, just enough to miss friends and cats and home and shows up the road.

Just a quick 4 day,,,,,but it's only day #3.

for now, peace,
R and L (NutWonders)

ps. I wish I had a nickel for everytime I called us The CalypsoNuts or The CalypsoWonders; or the Ship, Disney Magic and all possibilities in between.

Wednesday November 18, 2009...6pm
Sailing Sailing over the bounding main.....

The adult pool on deck 9 during an "at Sea" day is a good place to play. Two powered monitors onstage with us makes it really easy to mix the sound for the house. And...the house speakers are varied and many. There are ceiling speakers under the overhang of deck 10 and subwoofers hidden here and there and speakers on poles up on deck 10 and it's all been laid out great. I would go crazy trying to blend all these different speakers, but this tech crew rocks.

Great weather and lots of smiles, Quiet Cove pool was really nice, even if we only played one set from 4-4:45pm. Great requests, and we knew most of them.

We'll play 2 sets in the lounge tonight and then pack the gear and our luggage for disembarking tomorrow morning.

more later while steaming west toward home at 23+ knots,

Wednesday November 18, 2009... late
Rolling along, singing a song

Remember those repeat folks that I told you about? A lot of them came to the lounge to say bye, dance one more, or just stroll through and wave..Nice. one little girl about 6 wanted to dance during "Diamonds of the soles of her Shoes" , but she didn't have her party dress or fancy shoes on last night. Ok, well, tonight then.We didn't know this, she just showed up tonight in her frilly "Fairy Princess" outfit and waited. After the set, her mom told us the story and asked if we'd play it next set. We said "Of Course", went on break, had dinner, and when we came back, she had already snuggled up tight against her stuffed animal and was out. She had waited patiently and crashed anyway. I guess timing is everything..

Lots of people went out of their way tonight to take a second to thank us for entertaining them and for helping make their vacation memories even better. One man was late to meet his group for dinner, because he wanted to just chat about how things are so professionally done here. I just nodded and nodded and nodded. I wasn't being rude, I WAS AGREEING!

Tomorrow??????????????? We'll pay for food and have to stop at red lights.

Thanks again to all the staff aboard Disney Wonder, the untiring way that you approach very tiring jobs blows us away.

We can't wait until the next adventure begins.

Thank You,
Robbie and Lynley CalypsoMagic ("for 8 more hours")

Friday November 19, 2009... 11pm
Nasville, Tennessee

R:Uhhh, uhh, what time is it?
L:Uhhh, they just called final debark!
R:Where's my tooth brush, we're outta here.

We grabbed our computer bags and flew up to deck 3, no problem.
We got to the gangway, no problem.
Off the ship and into the baggage area, no problem.
Porter with a strong back and big cart, no problem.
Up to the customs agent, PROBLEM.

Agent: What's all this?
L: Musical gear sir, we're the duo.
R: uhhh yea, duo.
Agent: Are you married and why is this a FAX of your passport.
R: She forgot them..... haha?
Agent: And all this equipment you brought on with you?
L: Yes, sir, you see.....
Agent: Ok, you're going to have to bring this all in the back so we can go through it.

The day had begun. Pans, crates, guitars, all the luggage and the main audio rack had to be opened by us and gone through by him. The whole time, he was explaining to us about proceedure and how people need to do it right or it holds up the game plan.
It was pretty painless, but he gave us all the important and necessary information about the loading and off-loading of any kind of commercial/ musical instrument and/or gear. He was very thorough about why the implimenmted rules and regulations were not only important but strongly upheld. ok, gotcha.

10 minutes later, the gear was all re-stowed and we were off to the curb and freedom. We remembered where the van was parked and we remembered how to pack it, but we can't seem to remember a single thing the customs agent that we must remember, to make next time easier. Oh well, time for some light reading on US Customs Rules and Proceedures.

Hours and hours later, we got toPaul and Kristie's place in Nashville. The old secluded stone tudor is a seedling or grass clipping short of Arboretum status and is way cool. We'll stay here tonight and tomorrow, tell stories, catch up, and weave devilish plots plots too dark even for the craziest pirate. In other words, we'll chill for a while before we take off to St. Louis and yet another great Parrot Head Party.

Cruises always spark the mind and give us a hundred ideas. What's on the horizon? What did we come away with this time? Muuuuaaaaahahahahahahahahahahahaaa!!! You'll have to wait a while.

Until Next Time,
Smile when you can and Fake it when you can't, just Smile

18th Annual Meeting of the Minds 2009
....................Floridays....................
November 5-8, 2009 (Key West, Florida)
....and a little halloween fun in Naples!

October 29th, 2009... 5:09am

Folks, it's been a long one. Our new CD was supposed to arrive Tuesday and didn't. The CD place really had no answer that made Lynley smile, but they did overnight them to us and they arrived at 9am Wed...She'll deal with them later..

Perferct, we got 'em,,, but 4 hours sleep is not good. We jumped up, unpacked and re-packed cds (500 of them), unpacked and re-packed tee shirts (500 of them), had a salad, kissed the cats and hit the road (AFTER LYNLEY PACKED ALL THE SUITCASES). Long story done,,,, we left VA at 6pm this evening instead of 11am yesterday.

All is good though , we'll sleep until 10:30am, and then haul it to Naples for a 7pm show with Tall Paul and Kristie.

The road tonight was awesome. Weather was perfect, had Harry Potter books 1-5 on the ipod, and the miles just flew. Lots of chit chat on IM and lots of emails and calls about the new CD and Shirts, so I'll fill you in and then I'm crashing.

The CalypsoNuts "No Lifeguard on Duty" is a 19 song CD.. We were going to release it as two, but decided to craft a very long "Double CD" on one disk. The disk features Brad Brewer on Sax. With absolutely no time left, he flew to the house, walked in with horn in hand, and NAILED IT. This was a fun project the way studio projects should be.

Lynley has also released a CD single of a song of hers from the 2009 Atlanta Parrot Head Cruise. "I Need a Vacation From My Vacation" is in very limited supply and is a dear diary perspective of the seven days we spent with many strangers we now call strange friends. She's covering costs only and all proceeds will go toward the 2010 Atlanta Parrot Head Cruise's battle royale against breast cancer.

6 tee shirt designs this year thanks to Peggy Sue at Sun Graphics in Richmond, VA.
"Have You Seen My 'Nuts?"
Pans in the Palms (cd cover art)
Pans in the Palms (Christmas edition)
Peace Pirate (some are tie dyed)
CalypsoNuts Motel... No Lifeguard on Duty, Lounge Open 24 Hours
More Fun Than a Gecko in Your Shorts

Craziness and now sleep. More tomorrow from Naples. This is gonna be a fun trip.

October 29, 2009
Naples

Long drive and without knowing the whole I95- rt4- I75 thing, we have learned that you need to take that exit onto 4 with plenty of fuel to get you passed the place that sells reg unleaded for $3.10. We were on vapors and had to stop there.

Here now, and Naples is beautiful... more later.

October 30, 2009... 4pm
Grace's Place in Naples

Phew,,,, last night,,, phew... Under the Shady Palm Pub in Naples is a very cool place with a real nice local/islandy/buffetty/feel good atmosphere. Not being the biggest place in the world, we decided to unpack the gear outside and bring it in as we needed it for set up instead of hauling all the cases inside all at once.

The corner stage area was completely filled with gear. the Bose rig, the pans, the lights, the congas, the nuts, and the Tall Paul and the Kristie. 25 cent word for the day,,,,encompassing.

It really worked out to be 2 long sets. Paul started the night, rocked the house, and had Kristie join him for the last half of set 1. Team work, Team work, they kicked butt.

We did set 2 with just 5 minutes between them and us. Fun times with fun people. Dancin' and singin' and movin' to the groovin'. It was a great time. Can't wait to do it again.

We're staying with Paul and Kristie at Grace's house in Naples. Great house, Grace is just too cool.

We'll play later today here at Grace's place with a bunch of other musicians from around the area.

So far, AWESOME.,, more later

By the way: Saw a huge eagle flying over the Wal-Mart parking lot today. yea!

October 31, 2009...5 am
Naples, FL

To say we played at Grace's house tonight, would be an understatement. We set up our rack and Paul brought his bose gear and we really got a nice sound going under her Lanai. Not used to these Lanai things yet. kinda covered/not covered/ outdoor but feeling like indoor spaces with half real roof and half screen roof with a pool. Outside living , but not. Get it? I know you Floridians do.

Lots of musicians tonight: Paul, Kristie, Lynley, Me, John Friday, Dennis McCaughey, John Patti..... The music started around 6:15 and never stopped. Once again, people listened and danced and sang and partied and ate and drank and hit the pool and the hot tub and ate and drank, and then, pooof, it was done, but not until late late.

This is how all parties should go. All of the fun, none of the drama. Perfect.

After lunch today and while the Lola's were doing the mani/pedi thing, Paul and I walked into a place called Naples Music and met the co-owner, Cindy. This small, local music store focuses on some new instruments, some used, some repairs and lots of lessons. They also have Panyard's Jumbie Jam pans for sale. They saw them last year at NAMM in Nashville and were hooked.

Cindy, said they've been open since 1992. That's 17 years in a buisiness that is tough even in a great economy. Three cheers to her and her husband!!

More tomorrow

October 31, 2009... 5pm
Naples, FL

Today has been nice. We had a chance to take a tour of a local dentist office for a little emergency dental repair. Lynley cracked a tooth on a marshmallow or a sip of water or something. The dentist(s) were very nice. A young husband and wife team with a "2 year old daughter who is very musically talented and we're open on weekends because of the needs of our community and our new sound system is being worked on and yes, oh and yes, and, wow. We know more about these people than they know about us.We also know that after 1 hour and $660 worth of dental work, they recommended tylenol and advil for pain.. NOT! Sir, Mam, I'm expecting you to make sure my wife is comfortable and experiences no pain after that "post work" Novacaine wears off. I mean, if there's going to be no pain, why that last parting shot of novacaine?
Needless to say, L is slurring every word. Right now it's due to the novacaine, later it will be from the "something a little stronger" that I was not leaving that office without a perscription for. 2 tylenol 3's make a tylenol 6, right?

Another touch on last night's party. Once again, it was a great time and I think everybody had a blast. I know we did.

We'll leave Grace's place in Naples tomorrow and point ourselves toward Key West for "The Meeting of the Minds".

More later

November 1, 2009..
KEY WEST, FL

Wow, hey, a lot has happened since last time.

The trip across the state was nice. I guess they're called them the Everglades because the go on forever. No gators, but ibis and heron and eagles and hawks and jumping fish made up for it.

It was in Mikkasouki (right in the middle of nofreekinwhere), where we stopped for fuel, that we noticed a local policeman just kind of looking at cars as they'd come in.. It was also just then that we noticed that our tags were expired. Ok, just get the gas and get back on the road. No speeding , keep it legal, we'll be fine.

Down the keys was beautiful. The sun was with us and the clouds were big and puffy and white. just enough to take away that blue/grey oversun that washes out the colors sometimes. The green of the gulf really does meet the blue of the sea. nice.
From key to key, we rolled away the miles pointed straight toward mile marker 0 and Key West.

7 miles or so from Key West, we get pulled over, but not for the tags........The officer wrote us a ticket for not slowing down 20 mph and moving over at the scene of an accident. Well, there was a truck in front of me, there were cars close behind and people in the other lane. He saw out of state tags I guess.........Oh, he warned us about the tags,, how nice..

Chilled out tonight, met up with P and K for a bite of dinner and we all just sat around in the hotel room facebooking and emailing and blogging and generally geeking out before the week gets so busy that there's no time.

more later

Tuesday November 3, 2009... 10am
Key West

wow, good times so far. It's 10am and Lynley and I start todays show at the conch in 2 hours.
We played there yesterday from 1-5 and it was amazing. The crowd, the weather, perfect. At 5pm the boat "Fryed Conch" pulled into her slip right behind the stage area with her day's catch. Racks of spiny lobster tells us that she's made her limit and has had another banner day. We love playing at The Conch.

It's great to be here again this year. Parrot Heads (WHO I HOPE ALL REGISTERED) are already in full swing. Lots of friendly, familiar faces and some that come in strangers and leave friends.

Blue Heaven for dinner last night. Freebo invited Tall Paul to join him onstage for his last set. Freebo is a whole post all in himself, so let's just say that he's played bass with Bonnie Raitt for years and that's just the start of it. Paul got his ya yas last night that's for sure. Another very cool musical friendship started because of Parrot Heads and their yearly journey to a little blip on the big GPS screen.

Great house this year. Our room mates? Paul and Kristie, and Matt Hall's parents, Frank and Ruth Ann. If anyone ever needs to know where and how Matt got that sense of not only humor, but also of life,,,,,I can tell you.

Outta here...... off to the Conch for 1-5

Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Key West

I know I keep using the word wow, but there's a reason...wow.

The crowds at The Conch Republic Seafood Co. are growing and MOTM hasn't even officially started yet. Once again, the weather was perfect and by 1 pm, everybody was raring to go. Mike and Renee Ripa from Walton, NY were at the bar again today and it was mojito time again for the two of them. Tax time makes them crazy and this is the calm before their storm. Count beans later Mike, don't count the mojitos, it'll scare you.

The crowds are getting larger and that also means that the crowds are coming from more places. WA, NC, FL, VA, PA, MD, NC, GA, TN, and a bunch more states were represented well today.

The staff at the Conch are always 100% "ON". Johnny, OGI, Libby, and the rest of the bartenders absolutely rule the place. The hot is hot, the cold is cold and it's always right there when you want it. Any restaurant would be proud to have this staff, they're top notch. Fun, fun, fun and very professional every second of the day.

Went to dinner at BOs Fishwagon tonight. An old chuckwagon, with a temporary corrugated roof. Its a Key West favorite. The fish of the day is just that. It was caught this morning or this afternoon and you're eating it now. Absolutely delicious.

Eric Hartelben from OBX is in town after losing his wife Robin a few months ago. Although it's really emotional for him, Robin would have had it no other way. She'll be missed forever. Rock on Eric, we've got your back.

Nice to see Rich and CHOLLY, our sponsors from KokomoIslandTraders.com in town and with a booth at the mini mart. Good stuff... I hope they sell out. They deserve it.

Tomorrow is an early one for us. We will play during the goodie back stuffing at 8:30 am... yep, 8:30am.. That means a 7:45am load in. This kicks the official week off for us. MOTM 2009 will be underway for us as soon as we strike the first note tomorrow morning and the bag stuffing begins. Bring it on! |
PHIP and MOTM staff are probably sweating right about now just because of the nature of the beast that is a convention of this size and with participants not only willing to come, but looking forward to it. This isn't a mandatory company picnic folks, this is Meeting of The Minds, "THE" National Parrot Head Convention, and people phlock from everywhere to take part in it.
Our home club is PHCoT (Parrot Head Club of Tidewater), in Virginia, but down here, the sheer volume of ParrotHeads causes a One Human Family effect. We all still have our hometown pride, but it gets bigger than individual clubs during MOTM.

Tell my brother Brooke, that our hearts can handle it. All aboard,,,, The Night Train!!!!

Thursday November 5, 2009
Key West, FL

Amazing times down here on the island.

Started yesterday really early, and so did a lot of other people. We showed up to set up at the goodie bag stuffing, and folks were lined up to get in and get to work. Some had coffee, some had tequila. Us? We had sleep in our eyes.
After the initial "this is how it's gonna work" announcements from Mother Hen and Bojo, it was game on. People started getting it done, but the party atmosphere was there too. They had a purpose, but they were also there because the goodie bag stuffing is fun. Some people do this "O dark 30" event every year.

You have to be creative at this event. The band can almost dictate the pace of the stuffing circle. We have come up with a list of things that we keep in mind and self-imposed rule number one is; never play slow songs. Ballads at 9am cause bottlenecks. Round and 'round they go, getting info sheets and programs and giveaways into the mountain of empty bags. Convention goers look forward to getting them, so they've gotta be stuffed and this crowd gets it done quickly.

You can tell when it's coming to the finish line. The mood starts to change a bit. The task at hand has become a party and now that the piles are getting smaller and smaller, the task at hand kicks back in. With the "last bag is coming around" announcement, comes a new sense of purpose. We came, we saw, we stuffed, we danced a circular conga line for 3 hours non-stop and now we're alllllmost done. It gets noisy and the cheers start as the last bag turns the last corner.

Tall Paul and Crawdaddy started poolside at 11am. Will there be a crowd? Will there be any people really ready to "GO" at 11 am outside, in the heat and Key West sunshine? I mean, will folks really be ready to kick in the party mode?
uhhhhhhhhh,,,, yep! We walked outside after our gig and found the whole pool area filled with people. Paul and Crawdaddy had incited "poolside party #1". cool.

We stopped in The Rum Barrel for lunch and to check out "The Rum Daddy" Paul Artrip's rum tasting event. This was really cool. People got samples of some high end rums, some signature rum cocktails and rum info and stories. Later, Lynley, Paul, Kristie and me, met up with The Rum Daddy and his wife Cheri for dinner at Pepe's where Artrip had Steak smothered in Pork Chops. This guy doesn't do anything halfway.

Another stop by Hogs Breath to say hi to some friends just getting to Key West. Ahhh, the clear eyes of people just getting here. You have some catching up to do Muah hahahahaha.

Friday, November 6, 2009...2am
Key West, FL

Today was great. It started early and it's ending late, but that's the way it goes here on the rock. There's time for sleep when it's all over, for now, it's GO TIME!

We played The Rum Daddy's Rum Fest today. It was like the event Paul played yesterday, but with some different rums and some different people. There were some repeaters and that showed that The Rum Daddy's events are fun, informative and fun and informative. Larry Solano and the crew, 4 folks we met aboard Disney Magic, drove down the keys today. Remembering times at sea was cool and at one point we had the WHOLE PLACE singing "It's a Small World" with us. GO RUM DADDY!!!

Stopped by the Casa Marina tonight to see Ilo Ferreia on the main stage with Club Trin and The Boat Drunks. What a voice.. A great singer songwriter from Cape Verde. Hoping to see him pop in to sing a few before he flies out.

More and more folks are showing up and more and more folks are stopping by to say hi. The whole parrothead attitude is great. They know that we musicians are gigging and they come out to see us, hear us, and to catch up on what's been happening in the world (ours and theirs).

A triple tomorrow and it starts in less than 7 hours. that means sleep as fast as possible starting right noowwwwwwwwwwwwwwzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Saturday November 7, 2009... 3:15 AM
Key West, Florida

It's 3:15 am and our first job "today" "yesterday" "last night" "whatever" was at 9:10am almost 20 hours ago. We started at The Conch, playing for the MOTM 2009 Club Leaders Brunch. 2 folks from each parrot head club show up for an early brunch and meeting. This is cool, because although we see the same members from some clubs from year to year, some of the club leaders change EVERY year and it's a whole new, early morning experience for them. Upbeat live islandy music, breakfast, news from PHIP leaders about important changes and plans, and always a video from Jimmy Buffett welcoming them and all the parrotheads to key west and thanking them for the hard work they do in our communities.
People always stop by to say hi, snap a "look at mommy with the monkeys" picture and share memories from MOTMs past. This is another obscure event that takes a little more foresight than an 8-11pm club gig. Timing is the big thing at this event, you have to play them through the buffet and get everything you want to say, musically said pretty quickly. The more upbeat the songs, the quicker the line goes.

From here, we just schlep the gear to the other side of the restaurant for the 1-5pm show at the bar/patio. Today we split the bill with Tall Paul, Crawdaddy and Kristie. They played the first half of the show and we took it to 5 o'clock. Lots of fun playing to a full house, full of friendly recognizable faces and a few new ones. Lynley's wrap pants stayed nicely in place in the wind thanks to duct tape and somehow I ended up with a wig on my head. Lots of fun and lots of laughs. Loved it.

At 5, we tore the gear down and high-tailed it over to Dante's to set it up again and play for the radiojimmydreamz.com party . We were expecting a house PA, but there really wasn't one. It's hard to mix a live show through speakers aimed inward toward the dancefloor. Works great for a DJ, but stinks for bands and musicians. Musician pow wo time Our gear, our lighting, our setup, game on. Help us get it in the place and we'll set up a rig for all the acts.

Dennis McCaughey and R. Scott Brian went on first and Lynley and I joined them for a few adding steel pans to the mix. Fun for us for sure. Dennis is a greatl songwriter and you should look him up on the web. R. Scott Brian plays with Peter Mayer and brings a cajon and a floor tambourine for Tropical Soul gigs. Nice touch to an already nice sound.

Up next, The CalypsoNuts on not enough sleep! Punchy CalypsoNuts are hard to predict. You can call me Al, right into All Sumer Long, right into etc etc etc. It was party time at Dante's baby!!! We did 2 slow songs, Drive and Goodnight Moon.

Tall Paul showed up around 10 with Kristie, Crawdaddy, Country dave, ILO Fereria, and his buddy named Klem. They took the stage and quickly brought Klem up to play say on Crazy Love. ILO got up, talked to the crowd for a minute and went in to a very cool version of One Love by Bob Marley.

The night ran longer than expected, but really needed to.

Finally back at the house and chilling out while hoping for a quick visit from the sandman. Rum Barrel tomorrow on the roof. Gonna be a blast and gonna be soon.

AMAZING DAY and NIGHT. Proud to be a parrothead.

Sunday November 8, 2009... 2:10 am
Key West, Florida

Just one show today, but the show was very fun. The rooftop of the Rum Barrel was hopping by the time we started around 1. Once again the line-up was Paul and Crawdaddy and Kristie and us two 'Nuts, with a few guests.

We had two guest join us today. Trop Rocker John Friday joined us for a few. He did a great job and the crowd really enjoyed what he was doing. Thanks for the pop in John.

Then there was Klem. Remember last night's post when I mentioned ILO's US connection Klem? It turns out that Klem is Klem Klimek of NRBQ. Klem showed up, brought his horn and rocked the Rum Barrel's world. Crazy Love and Use me were awesome , but the very coolest was when Pauland Crawley did "It comes to me naturally", an NRBQ song. Cool intro, but Klem had no idea what it was until the vocals kicked in. Smiles smiles smiles. I hope he had as much fun as we did.

After tearing down the gear, we ran to the Casa marina to see Jimmy and The parrots. These guys (and girl) are the highest energy thing running in the trop-rock world. They embody the whole idea of tropical meets rock meets showband meets 220Volts AC.

8:45 and main stage is buzzin' . While we'd been backstage for over an hour hanging out with and playing with Jimmy, Jimmy and all the Parrots, the credential requirements changed quickly after the finished.
9pm!!!!! LITTLE FEAT! Wow! What a perfect Saturday night headliner for the main stage.

Before ending up back at the house with chillin on the mind, we found ourselves making our yearly stop at MR Zees beside the Pegasus Hotel. Pizza and Cheesesteaks are only half the reason we go there. The other reason is, we always seem to run into Jimmy Maraventano and the whole crew. We did again this year. Jimmy and his whole band and family are incredibly nice folks who don't know a stranger and it's always great to see them and hang out for a story or 2.

One more show tomorrow. Conch Republic Seafood Company from 1-5 and we're done too.

For now, it's good to know that so many people are having a great time here at the end of the road on a dusty little island called Key West. There are a hundred nicknames for this little slice of heaven, and they're all fitting. The Rock, Isle of Bones, Cayo Hueso, you name it, it fits. The history here is more than well worth reading about and we recommend it.

more tomorrow

Tuesday, November 10, 2009... 2am
Hardeeville, SC. (where?)

Where did Sunday and Monday go?

Sunday was really windy at the Conch. During setup, Lynley heard, "LOOK OUT", and spun around to see our tenor pan literally flying off the stage in a wind gust. Her movement can only be described as cat-like. She basically dove into the air to catch the pan before it hit the ground. She saved the day and the rest of the day we spent with our feet on the panstands to keep things from getting realllly bad, reallly fast. Thanks to Jimdad for the heads up.

We started with Pate Pate the minute that Jim Morris finished outside. He recommended everybody go home and take a nap before his night show, but we were bound and determined to keep them there with us for an Island Party. Some left some stayed and some came back after about 2 minutes. The Conch was packed to the rafters for our last show. The patio, both sides of the bar, the garage door bars, the restaurant, it was packed and that was nice.

Our buddy Win Winsley from Smithfield, VA got up for a few songs and he nailed it. A Buffett, a James Taylor and a couple originals. Judy (Win's wife) was videoing with her camera so I handed her mine as well, hoping she could multi task, while we played with Win.. She nailed it too.

Breaks were quick, because so many people had so many requests and the 1 hour late start cut our show to 3 hours. We just kept rolling. The turnover between us and Win was 5 minutes on each side. and break two was about 6 minutes.

Our plan was to pack the gear, hit the house to get our suitcases, have a bite to eat with Paul and Bow chica Bow Bow at EL Siboney (our favorite cuban place) , and then hit the road for a slow crusie up the keys. Hurricane Ida decided that wind was necessary that night and that along with our level of "WOOPED" made staying the night an easy decision.

Yes, we stayed, but we ended up at Louie's Backyard with P and K, Jimmie and Kris and Marybeth, Dennis and Sue, and Scott. Dirty Martinis are good when the salty sea spray rages over the deck rail leaving 4 inches of ocean water and seaweed covering the deck. We stayed until the bartender got nervous and concerned about the boards popping off the deck and the electronics of his register getting ruined. So, back to the house for long talk about goodbyes and next times and friendships and etc etc etc are you gonna eat that last piece of pizza. With sleep coming soon, we said goodnight and crashed, knowing that today we'd be rushing around to get packed and out by 11.

Ran around town today before hitting the road. At mile marker 24, we pulled into Howard and Cindy Livingstons place for some chill time with other musicians. It's always nice to see Howard and Cindy.

A last goodbye to friends, we hit the road around 1pm and drove up the windy Florida Keys, hoping for smooth sailing to the mainland. All was perfect. Ok, the van blew all over the road every now and then, but we're used to it by now.

There were a few cds in our collection that were too good not to share, so we stopped at random mile markers, propped them against the pole and texted Kristie about where to find them. That was fun.

Now...13 hours later, we're in Hardeeville SC., in a Holiday inn, remembering the couple weeks that just flew by. The shows, the people, the food, the drinks, the fun times, the serious discussions, the laughter and the plans for future rendezvous.

The MOTM committee did a great job corraling a long list of musical entertainment. Three cheers to them for all the work that they've done for so long to make this one week go smoothly. Thanks also to Grace form Naples for putting some of us together for a couple shows.

Most of the musicians really enjoy playing with everybody else and nobody enjoys it more than John Frinzi. John knows what most people will play when he hands over his guitar at Hogs Breath, but has no idea ever, what L and I will do.. The truth is, neither do we. Great guy.

MOTM has always been show #1 for me. The folks are all there with a common purpose and a common thread and they're all there to have fun. Well, we came, we saw, WE HAD FUN, and lots of it.

Lynley and I are happy to be a part of this wonderful event. Parrot heads coming to Key West are like Salmon going upstream to spawn. It's something that has to be done once a year or prolification of the parrothead ways might be tougher.

BTW: The Lola's appeared with Jimmy and the Parrots on the mainstage and once again Jimmy wouldn't let them leave. Paul and I are Lucky dogs, lucky dogs..

Wednesday November 11, 2009... 1am
Wrappin it up from home

In 36 hours, we've driven 1265 miles, snoozed on the big Holiday Inn Express bed for a few hours, and played for the monthly PHCoT meeting in Virginia Beach. In typical Cheeseburger in Paradise fashion, our every Tuesday shows have been cancelled with absolutely no notice, but after the fun of the last two weeks, who cares?

Fuzzy faces were waiting for us when we pulled up to the house an hour ago and since then it's been "LOVE ME LOVE ME LOVE ME LOVE ME". Some people might call our cats needy, but we call it awesome.

Thanks once again to EVERYONE who made the last two weeks possible. We do what we love, love what we do, and hope that it shows.

Signing off until the next adventure, R and L (your 'nuts)

15th Annual "Stars on the Water"
Richmond, VA. Aug. 2009
3 days of Trop-Rock and Phellowship

August 21, 2009

With 15 years in the books, The Parrot Head Club of Richmond's Stars on the Water has officially reached legendary status. When the bands talk about annual parrothead events and parties, this one always comes up in the conversation.

Friday day through Sunday Brunch seems to be becoming the timeline for mulit-day destination events and "Stars" is one of the founders of this idea. Party-goers get to the venue/hotel, check in and leave the driving (if any) to local cab companies. Safety first is also becoming the norm and that keeps us alive and insured.

This years event smoked! Although the weather never really cooperated, the entertainment went off without a hitch in the ballroom. Rain or Shine, this event goes on. PERIOD!

Entertainment this year was varied as usual and everybody got a chance to see their favorites. Here's a line-up that I took from www.phcor.com

* Jim Morris and Sunny Jim White (The Jim & Jim Show)------(Both Jim's are incredible songwriters and very well know in the trop-rock world)
* Jimmy and the Parrots ------------(Absolutely the highest energy trop-rock act you EVER see)
* The CalypsoNuts-----------(uhhh, we rocked,,,, yea, we rocked)
* John Frinzi---------(an amazing songwriter that is very popular, especially with the ladies)
* B2B-----(Richmond's own "Buffet Cover band")
* Scott Kirby with Dave Edmiston --------(Scott's writing ability and Dave's guitar skills are unrivalled. Beautiful stuff)
* Dale Payne, Richmond ------(Dale rocks!!)

Amy Lee, Longtime Coral Reefer, joined the B2B Boys on Saturday morning for what I hear was an incredible show. B2B has been called the Buffett cover band's cover band, so Amy could do this early morning gig with her eyes closed. Having players of Amy's ability join you onstage brings you up a notch and forces you to bring your A game. That's fun! B2B's only problem? 93 members.

Lynley and I brought Jimbo the bimbo bongo boy and Brad Brewer on sax. Brad's band "Right On" has the number 10 song on Billboard Magazine's hot 100 this week. Not only great players, Jimbo and brad are dear friends who we include whenever possible. Our AAA game always includes these two players.

Congrats to everybody, on every committee and on every board, who spent unimaginable hours putting together this event. Your attention to detail shined brightly and everyone had a great time. Can't wait to see how you outdo youselves next year!!!

btw: Ed and some of the radiojimmydreamz.com crew, broadcast the whole event. This time the event was also Video streamed over the internet. What next, teleporters? Great job Ed.

News Update from Virginia Beach, Virginia
Summer 2009... so far
aka: Another Fine Season You've Gotten Us Into

August 3, 2009

The Summer '09 season has really been a hodgepodge (did I really say hodgepodge) of fun stuff all over the place.

It kind of kicked off in Lynchburg, Virginia with Phins on the James. This was a great party that was hosted by the Heart of Virginia Parrot Head Club at Big Lick Tropical Grill. Every square inch of the deck was covered by either a Parrot Head, a tiki bar or the grill/buffet line. Lots of fun for sure and it's nice to re-realize that Virginia really does have it all from Sandy beaches to lush green mountains. A great time.

The OBX Pirates Parrot Head Club in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina threw another great Cinco De Mayo party. The Saltwater Grill opens the doors to these parrot heads whenever they get the call. Rich Romano and all the Pirates really have a system. You see, the OBX cops are wildly serious about drinking and driving, so the local cab companies run strong all night long. It's fun and safe when they party with a purpose in the OBX.

Boat Drinks Baccanal in Lewes, Delaware was a blast. Like other PHCs, the Delaware Seashore Parrot Head Club seems to throw their parties at spots that really love to see them come in. The Lighthouse is not only a great Parrot Head stop, it's a great spot for all day parties with entertainment going late with Jim Morris and The Big Bamboo Band closing the show.

And, what do you say about Put In Bay? The Phlocking of The Phaithful happens every year in Put In Bay, Ohio. Right, where? Put In Bay is a beautiful little island right off the coast of Lake Erie and you can only get there by Ferry Boat. This year's slogan was "Crazy from the Heat, and we like it that way". Mr. Ed's is the host bar for what is probably the most insane Parrot Head party of the year. People seem to leave there livers and inhabitions back on the mainland in their cars. Entertainment is constant and so is the fun that is had by the folks who wait all year for this one event. This is also the only event that features a kind of "I'm Jonesin' for Put-In-Bay" party six months later called "Half Way to the Phlocking". This is also one of the too few times a year we get a little while to hang out with our friends Tom and Michelle (Latitude) from Myrtle Beach.

New this year, was Summer in Paradise in Lancaster, PA. Dennis and Sue McCaughey and the Parrot Heads in Amish Paradise decided it was a good idea to throw a summer party at the Reinnesance Fair grounds. The one day event was jammmmmm-packed with fun. Lynley and I kicked it off, got the place moving and immediatelt turned it over to Tall Paul and Crawdaddy, who rocked the house and immediately turned it over to Tropical Soul the Band who blew everybody away. Here's the whole immediate thing; each act was slotted 1 hour. 1 hour is normally enough time to get the crowd going, moving, on your side, and ready to keep going when you quit from exhaustion 3 hours later. In a one hour slot, you have to hit it right out of the chute and go like fireballs looking for a tongue to burn. All three acts did and actually turned it into a 4 act show with a huge jam session at the end. Dennis and Randy (our tropical soul brothers) enlisted the rest of their band and John Patti to play pan. John is an amazing player and it's always great to get a chance to share the stage with him.

Virginia Beach is huge when you take in all the area that isn't Oceanfront and lots of people are getting to know that. G.F. Keagan's at Hilltop has always been a local favorite, but our shows on the deck are seeing more and more folks from out of town. People say that they love the strip and will always come to see us there, but it's nice to get some local flavor just a mile or so inland. And if it rains, we just go inside, no worries.

Both Cheeseburger in Paradise locations (Lynnhaven and Newport News) are still using live entertainment and we're still part of their musical menu. It may be Virginia, but it sure feels like the Florida Keys at Cheeseburger in Paradise. We see a lot of Parrot Heads at both spots. The local Crew and out of towners phlock kinda like Harley owners who stop at each and every Harley place along their journey's path.

The Wyndham at 57th street is where we met Mardi from Keagan's and we're back there this year. Between the hotel and the beach is the patio. There's a tiki bar and casual dining served from the restaurant inside. What makes this place unique is that we set up against the beach railing and play facing the hotel as opposed to away from it. The people on the patio and the people on their balconies can all see the band and the Atlantic Ocean makes for a beautiful backdrop. It's nice to be back at the Wyndham.

The Ocean House at 19th and Atlantic Ave is a beach-goer's spot, but just the opposite of K.F. Keagan's is seeing more and more locals. Cool, locals who don't run away after Memorial Day is a beautiful thing. The restaurant has an inside area for the people who are heat crazed, an outside patio, and a second story covered deck on the roof. There's entertainment all the time with some of it on the rooftop deck and some downstairs on the patio. From upstairs you can see the whole beach and watch the dolphins. Cool place.

Ocean 37 is new to us this year and really different. The restaurant is located at the Sanctuary resort Condominiums in the far south end of Sandbridge. The pool and Cabana bar are right on the beach and really pretty. The swim-up bar is a nice touch and this place really fits in such a beautiful area of Virginia Beach. You'll take a little time getting there, but the drive is worth it. See their facebook fan page and check our schedule for Sunday dates and times at Ocean 37.

Further from home by about 40 minutes is the Riverwalk Restaurant in Yorktown, Virginia. The Rverwalk area under the Coleman bridge on rte.17 has been completely transformed and now speaks of its historic background. It's a nice place to stop and relax after a full day of history and wonder. Museums and shoppes round out this spot and make it a Yorktown's best pick for us.

New friends, new friends, they make our world go around! This was a treat. Longtime Coral Reefer Amy Lee has joined us on 3 occasions this summer. She brought her horns to the Parrot Head Club of Tidewater's monthly meeting, played with us in Virginia Beach, and joined us with Brad Brewer on tenor at The Blackbeard Festival in Hampton, Virginia. Amy is in the middle of a new CD project and is spending some time taking in the inspiring state of Virginia. Amy's an amazing player and what Virginians call "Good People". Within minutes of meeting, she and Lynley were carrying on like they'd known each other a long time. Funny how music can be such a common bond.

Local Summer shows have been really good with lots of chances to see old friends like the Snowbirds from Indiana and the Akronites from Ohio, but also time to meet new folks from all over the Country. The small world thing really shows when you're find out that table 1 is from Atlanta, GA and table 65 is from Athens, GA. They've never met, but by the time the night's done they're chatting away like old friends and talking about the next time they'll meet up at "The Beach".

What's on the Horizon? Well, that's part of the fun. We have a million ideas and as many dreams and goals, but you have to keep stirring the pot to make sure the gumbo comes out right every time. peace

The Atlanta Parrot Head Club presents:
Off to See The Lizard
Parrothead Cruise 2009 to:
Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Belize City, Roatan

March 14, 2009 2:47 am.....
Tampa, Florida

In room 424 of the Hampton Inn between Clearwater and Tampa, Tall Paul and Kristie, and us CalypsoNuts (CalypsoMagic) if you met us aboard Disney Magic or Disney Wonder, are pondering the adventures the next week will bring. We are 7 hours from boarding Carnival Legend for what has been warned as being 7 days of absolute Parrot Head madness and debauchery on the high seas.
This blog, like the many before, will chronicle not only the trip itself, but the antics and goings on of our fellow cruisers. Who's going to do what? Who's gonna say what? Who's gonna show up in a diaper instead of a toga?
We're all looking forward to a great time cruising with some great people, enjoying the sunshine, seeing the sights and hearing the stories of cruises from years already gone.

The CalypsoNuts, Tall Paul and Crawdaddy with Kristie as their very special guest, and Parrot head favorite Jerry Diaz with Mike Mireles are the featured musicians this year. DJ Jeff Allen will also be onboard spinning the tunes for the shipboard world. Many cool things have been said about this year's entertainment line-up, and while that makes us feel great, it also adds that "No Pressure" factor. Knowing all of these musicians, we'll be fine.

So, off we go, "onto the wild blue wonder", where sun and fun are the norm and cell phone contact to the mainland is 8 bucks a minute.

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Aboard Disney Magic for the Holidays

Dec. 15, 2008 4 am...
4 MILES OFF GEORGETOWN, GRAND CAYMAN.

After playing a 12 day fill in aboard the Disney Wonder looping the Bahamas, once again the phone rang. This time it was the Disney Magic. The Magic does 7 day cruises from Port Canaveral to the Eastern and Western Caribbean. We accepted a 5 and a half week contract to fill their duo position over the Thanksgiving and Christmas Holiday season.

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"Barefootin' the Keys"
Another CalypsoNuts Adventure
Meeting of The Minds 2007
...and another Parrot Head Cruise!

October 26, 2007 - November 12, 2007

......."And we'll kiss our furry children and head off for another tropical adventure. This time, Meeting of the Minds is flanked by even more engagements.
First, a stop in Neptune Beach for a show at Cliff's at the Beach, and then on to" Barefootin' the Keys in Key West for Meeting of the Minds 2007. Scheduled next are shows aboard Royal Caribbean Majesty of the Seas bound for The Bahamas. After disembarking, we'll spend two nights playing at Cheeseburger in Paradise in Beautiful Miami.

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