Remember that one time I met Jenny because I talk to strangers and she seemed like a nice one. Well after that encounter we because internet friends, spent time together on Cayamo 2010 and decided she needed to visit Seattle again. What better time then a weekend she could see her sister as well.
So I drove down to Portland and picked up this pretty girl.
Her sister, Katie Herzig (who's albums you should purchase) was playing a show in Portland so after a delicious dinner and a little drive through town, we headed over to "hang out with the band."
We drove back to Seattle after the show and literally laughed and cried together. We talked about how weird it could have been since we really did not know each other, but we were meant to be friends. It just felt so natural. Saturday morning we woke up early and cheered on these three amazing triathletes followed by breakfast with my brother.
Can we pause for just a minute to talk about my brother and his love of peanut butter on his waffle. Now I love it to, but he is so committed that he keeps a can of it in his car and is not ashamed to bring it to breakfast with him. You know, just in case they don't have any. Not only is Jared passionate about his PB, but he's also one heck of a paragliding pilot so I strapped Jenny onto him and sent them off to jump off of Tiger Mountain.
It was a quick flight, but everyone was safe and all smiles. Then it was off to another KH show. Not only is Katie a nice person but Clair and Jordan are real nice people too.
Those Herzig girls...they take such great photos.
Jenny, thanks for taking a risk and coming to visit your internet friend. I'm so glad we are now real life friends. See you this weekend to do it again....literally.
So I never blogged about my amazing adventures on Cayamo, but whatever. One of the MANY things I love about it are the great people I have become friends with.
First there is Mike and Dwayne. We sat by them the first year during our headliner shows. We quickly hit it off and found that gay men and straight Mormon women make great BFF's.
Then there is Jack our first year. I met Jack out on the pool deck. I was reading a book, he kept offering me some of his beer. Before I knew it, I was giving Jack the first discussion and was was claiming Steph and I as wife #1 and #2.
Not only was Jack amazing, but his girlfriend Amy was just as great. Seriously, love these people. This past year, Jack proposed to Amy so we all got bumped down a wife number, but being the good wives that we are we brought 2 additional wives with us. Here we are lined up in order, following Jacks order to stand in a line and not touch him.
Last but not least there is Amy and Stacy. These two gals were formalizing their love and got hitched which brought the entire Cayamo family to Seattle.
It was a beautiful Seattle day and was so fun to see everyone more then once a year.
Guys. We will see you again in February. We'll be the ones chasing down our ice cream with s*@t loads of Diet Coke.
I'm off the boat and once again had an AMAZING time at Cayamo. I'm sad my soda card no loner works and bar service is not at my beck and call. The radio sounds like crap because I want it live and my balance is all kind of jacked. I'm walking funny and feeling like I'm still on the boat. Literally.
So much to share, but I'm exhausted and heading to Disneyworld and one more Brandi Carlile concert tomorrow before I fly back to reality. More to come.
This was really hard for me to do, but I promised a friend I would so here you go, my faves (not necessarily in their numbered order) of the last year.
Concerts: 1. Brandi Carlile – Cayamo - piano impromptu concerts in the lounge 2. Brandi Carlile - Easy Street 3. Adele 4. Jay-Z 5. New Kids On The Block (no seriously, It. Was. Awesome.)
Books: 1. The Glass Castle - Jeanette Walls 2. The Hiding Place - Corrie ten Boom 3. Where the Red Fern Grows - Wilson Rawls (I read it every year and EVERY time I cry like a baby) 4. All The Pretty Horses - Cormac McCarthy (I actually did not love this book, but it made me understand men so much better) 5. The Book of Mormon
Songs: (I can't pick just 5 so these are 5 random songs that were in my 25 most played songs from iTunes) 1. Touching the Ground – Brandi Carlile 2. You and I - Ingrid Michaelson 3. You Got Growing Up To Do - Joshua Radin 4. Scar – Missy Higgins 5. My Repair – The Noises 10
Albums: 1. Brandi Carlile – Give Up the Ghost 2. Joshua Radin – Simple Times 3. The Fray - The Fray 4. Kings of Leon – Only By the Night 5. Ray LaMontagne – Gossip in The Grain
TV Shows: 1. Friday Night Lights 2. Grey’s Anatomy 3. Cake Boss 4. Biggest Loser 5. Glee
Moments: 1. Running my first 1/2 marathon and meeting my friends and family at the end 2. Cayamo - It's like God planned a vacation specifically for me 3. Em's visit to Seattle. It really could not have been more perfect 4. Sunday night Girl Squad game nights at my house 5. Loosing my high school best friend to a long battle of lupus. I think about you everyday T-Bird
Steph and I ventured down to the Triple Door for some amazing dinner and an even better concert. We found and fell in love with Katie Herzig on our Cayamo cruise and were excited to learn she was coming to town as part of the Ten out of Tenn tour. It was great. What a fun way to get to know more artist while enjoying a few I already knew.
The performers had great energy, but the venue was a little restrictive as we were at tables eating. And man do they pack those tables in there. Getting in and out pretty much required you to get to know the stranger sitting next to you in a way most of your friends don't even know you.
They did a great job of keeping the show moving by having one set of instruments that everyone shared. I was impressed with the wide range of talent and can honestly say I enjoyed every song. If they are coming through your town I highly recommend you go. Tickets were cheep so Steph and I splurged and bought the "bundle" CD package that included one of everyone's CD's as well as the Ten out of Tenn CD.
Said a quick hello to Katie after the show and found out she will be on the cruise again next year. Can't wait for THAT.
Felt great to attend a concert again and don't you worry. I've got another one tomorrow night.
There is no way I can adequately explain the week I just had on the Cayamo cruise. Really, it is something you all need to experience first hand and I think you all should next year, but I’m getting ahead of myself.
Friday I arrived in Miami, checked into my hotel and decided to stop by the cruise pre-party at the pool. After making a quick walk through, I was surprised by the large number of older couples but was excited and ready to go. Steph arrived later that night and we found it a little ironic the movie Titanic was the only decent thing on TV.
Saturday we jumped on the shuttle bus and were off. As someone that has planed large scale events I was extremely impressed with the efficiency of getting all 2,200 + people through customs, checked-in, and on the boat. Ran into Lyle Lovett as we were walking up to our room and spotted him numerous other times that day. We slowly made our way to the pool deck and were ready to set sail. Saturday night we caught the following performance: Emerson Hart, Kathleen Edwards, Ed Roland, Marc Broussard, Shawn Mullins.
On the bus heading to the port
Relaxing as we get ready to leave Miami
Spotting the twins and Josh as we leave Miami
Women and children first!
Kathleen Edwards - Love her!
Marc Broussard was by far my favorite performance. He was playing an acoustic set with his Dad. He did not have a set list and played songs people yelled out while throwing in a few of his “family” favorites. I even got his pick at the end of the show. The man can sing and his dad does things on the guitar I did not think were possible.
Marc and his dad making music
Each night there are 3 headliner shows. We signed up for the late show and had traded our Lyle Lovett tickets for tonight’s show (sorry Dad) for Brandi tickets so we could catch all 3 of her performances because that is what obsessed fans do.
Each night they would turn down your room and leave some type of towel animal. This was my favorite.
Sunday was a no-port day so we soaked up the sun while multiple bands played on the pool deck. It started with Brandi Carlile and the Indigo Girls and kept going from there. I must say it was the best Music Church Sunday ever. We also saw Webb Wilder, Over the Rhine, Girlyman, Katie Herzig, Aslyn, Shawn Colvin, Mindy Smith.
Brandi and Amy Ray
This pool deck is where we spent the majority of our day Brandi and the Indigo Girls
Katie Herzig and Aslyn were great. New artists I will defiantly try to see again and would recommend to you. Check out Katie’s song “Forevermore” and Aslyn’s song “Wally.”
While laying at the pool, Brandi, Josh and the twins came walking by and we could not stop laughing at Tim in his tiny swim suite. During a show later in the week, Brandi explained they were lost and Tim walked all around the boat in his little shorts. Yikes.
We caught our first headline show with Shawn Colvin who always sounds beautiful. She did a great remix of Gnarls Barkley's song Crazy. Check it out: I liked that the headline shows had assigned seats because it gave us a change to get to know our neighbors and turns out they were great people. Amy and Staci are from Seattle and Mike and Dwayne live in Chicago. We ended up hanging out with them quite a bit during the rest of the week.
Shawn Colvin and Lyle Lovett
After Shawn we went to see Mindy Smith. Brandi, the Indigo Girls, and quite a few other musicians were all there as well as the shows in this particular location were supposed to be the “bigger/better” artists then some that played in the other venues. Watching Mindy was extremely uncomfortable. She clearly was not prepared and does not do well on the stage. She literally could not tune her guitar and after starting one song three times she stopped halfway through and said she was done playing it. We had to leave, as we were embarrassed for her.
Enjoying our daily ice cream
Check out those sweet sunburns
Monday we woke up in Samana and were whisked away to a “privet island” otherwise known as a tourist crap hole. The beach was beautiful, but the food and other accommodations were trash. Big let down there. While lounging on the beach we met Jack and Amy from New York who are great people, but if we only knew then what we know now. More to come on Tuesday.
The private island in Samana
We headed back and I decided I had better get in a run if I wanted to meet my goal of 2 runs for the week. I could not have asked for a great running experience. So cool what happened. Read about it on my running blog.
Everyone got “twice as nice tickets” to an artist of their choice and you can guess who we picked. Saw Brandi Carlile at 8:30 and she rocked it again. My favorite part was when Marc Broussard and Vienna Tang joined her to sing a soulful version of “Let It Be.” Brandi and Marc also sang “Georgia” together and I left the show on a music high. Next it was off to our regular headline show to see the Indigo Girls and they did not disappoint. Brandi sang a few songs with them and for their famous closer song “Closer to Fine” they brought out a tone of other artists. During their set, they had David Ryan Harris perform one of his songs and wow. We quickly added him to our artist sets to catch.
Excited to see our first official Brandi show
Brandi and Marc singing Georgia
Brand, Phil and Tim
After grabbing our nightly 12:30 ice cream cone, we caught a bit of the Zack Brown band. They were rocking the house but these two sober girls were tired and did not last long. Turns out they played until 6:00 am. I remember lying in bed thinking life does not get any better then this and hoping that this is what Heaven is like.
Tuesday we ported in St. Thomas, which sad to say was an even bigger dump then Samana. The islands always looked so beautiful from the boat, but once we tendered to them it was a different story. I’m sure there are beautiful parts of both these islands, but we apparently never made it there.
St. Thomas
Walked through downtown shopping area and got back on the boat. You should be proud of me because 99% of the items for sale were jewelry and you know how I have a weak spot for that. I did not buy a single bracelet, got a great deal on a ring and did not buy the beautiful $350 necklace I’m still thinking about.
Ran into Jack while sitting on the pool deck. He ordered a bucked of beers to help with his hangover. He kept trying to offer us one when I finally told him we do not drink. He asked why and before I knew it I was telling him the Joseph Smith story and how he obtained the plates. Jack could not believe we did not have sex and started asking us direct and personal questions that not even my closest friends know about me. He was not rude and we were actually laughing hysterically. I think it’s a little funny that Jack knows more about me then any of you reading this and yet I still don’t know his last name. From this point on, I was wife #1 and Steph was wife #2 otherwise know as the “slutty one.” Amy, Jack’s girlfriend, later heard about our conversation and was so embarrassed and from that point on, every time we saw she told us about her crazy Mormon cousins that believe in sleeping with anyone to procreate.
Me, Amy, Jack and Steph
Marc and his Dad performing out by the pool
Enjoyed Marc and his dad by the pool and discovered his cute sound guy was actually his brother. Who knew my new boyfriend was brothers with Marc. ☺ Caught Brandi Carlile again for our normally scheduled headline show. Sadly no Marc Broussard duets, but still a fun show. We also saw Girlyman, Katie Herzig again and a bit of Glen Phillips.
Wednesday we skipped our beach excursion after our bad experiences the previous days and due to the dark clouds moving in. Ended up taking a bus ride around Tortola, which was beautiful. Even made a new friend with the tour guide.
Us on the tour bus
It was cloudy, but those the Virgin Islands behind me Steph and one of her many boyfriends The view from Tortola
Got in another quick run before heading off to see David Ryan Harris and our last official Brandi show. We to see Katie Herzig's set again and since Buddy Miller suffered a heart attack a few weeks back and was not able to make the cruise, Ed Robertson filled in and he was great. Very funny. It was then onto our headline show to see John Hiatt. He was very old and very loud, but I was so tired by this point. Mike and I both fell asleep for the last 1/2 of the show. I felt bad since we were so close and I'm sure he could see us sleeping, but what ever.
Old man John Hiatt
After John, we grabbed our nightly ice cream and headed into the Casio. Brandi, Josh and the twins were there playing the nickle push and black jack. Chatted it up with Phil as we saved him from a crazy fan. Met a few new friends and headed off to bed around 2:30.
Thursday was another full day on the boat. Laid by the pool while Bonepony played. Had pictures taken with Brandi in the afternoon and caught Vienna Teng, Beth Wood, dinner, and Patty Griffin. Patty is so classy and has an amazing voice. She makes it look so easy.
I heart Patty
Enjoying the sunset
Brandi performing with Vienna
Headed to the casino again with our friends to watch them gable and drink diet cokes while my hair marinated in the cigarette smoke. Rumors were flying around the "LUG" that Brandi was going to play later that night in one of the lounges. (The LUG is the lesbian underground. Mike and Dwayne almost blew our cover, but don't worry, we are still in.)
Around 2:30 I had given up on Brandi and headed up to my room. As I was about to crawl into bed the LUG called my room and told me to get down to the lounge. Brandi played the piano and sang for about an hour. AMAZING.
Friday we ported in Nassau and hit the beach with our friends. Had a great time soaking up the sun, getting attacked by the sticky sand and Steph and I got sweet tats.
Staci, Amy, Mike, Dwayne, Lett, Steph and Me
Just a quick shot for Em and Chelsea
Dwayne and I at lunch
Lett, Mike and Steph at lunch
Last chance to work on our tan
Nothing quite says RSP like a sweet tattoo
Tommy need sleepy Heading back to the boat after the boys had a literal bucket of alcohol The sunset on Nassau Someone left this outside of the room for housekeeping to pick up. Who throws away an entire cake
Back on the boat to shower and meet up with Brandi and the band for one last photo. Hit the Katie Herzig show again and Brandi and Vienna Teng sang with her. Went to the closing headline show where each of the main artist still on the boat sang a few songs. Grabbed dinner with Dwayne and Mike before running off to see Aslyn and Greencard.
Josh, Me, Brandi, Tim and Phil.
BCB performing with Katie Herzig
LUG was reporting that Brandi might play again late at night. Hug out in the lounge while The August (who are a great band) and a few others sang. Around 3:00 I was done and figured if I missed one Brandi show I would survive. After all, we say her perform every day except the first day and we will see here again.
On my way back to the cabin, I ran into Josh (BCB band member) watching a band that just so happened to have a guy in it that looked exactly like him. All week Steph and I would see him and have a hard time figuring out if it was Josh or "Josh Jr." Josh walked over, check him out and started laughing. I told him I did not want him to fell left out of the twin thing and he hugged me and said thanks.
Each night we enjoyed beautiful sunsets even if it was so windy the doors would not open to the deck
Saturday morning we were up and at em and off the boat by 9:00. Saw a bunch of Cayamo folks at the airport and lots of artists heading home. Sadly came back to Seattle and snow, but sweet Pamela and Max left us a welcome home surprise.
I heart you Norwegian Dawn
Overall, it was so fun hearing nonstop amazing music while running into the artist all over the boat. My only 2 complains would be the food and that it was only 1 week.
Just a few highlights I want to remember, but may not mean much to you:
Chatting it up with Phil, sitting next to Cathleen Edwards at dinner, running into Marc Broussard at the bar with his wife, watching Aslyn with the Indigo Girls, saying hi to John Hiatt and not knowing it was him, seeing all of the artist with their families, chatting with Katie Herzig and her band members, telling Josh about his twin, seeing BCB everywhere, artists playing with each others, BCB late night sing along, bands playing all night long, making great new friends, amazing overall people on the boat, very well organized, feeling a part of a great community, tendering with Asly and Ed Roberts, laughing with Mike and Dwayne, Mike and his 12 minute power tan, Dwayne and his tamborine.
I can't wait to go again next year and think if any of you have the slightest interest you need to go. I PROMISE you will not regret it.
Not only is Jared passionate about his PB, but he's also one heck of a paragliding pilot so I strapped Jenny onto him and sent them off to jump off of Tiger Mountain. 
It was a quick flight, but everyone was safe and all smiles. Then it was off to another KH show. Not only is Katie a nice person but Clair and Jordan are real nice people too. 
Those Herzig girls...they take such great photos. 
