Key West at a glance.....Days 5 & 6

Sunday, Nov. 2nd!

Sunday is always a good day in Key West. It was a beautiful day! Our first show was at 2pm!! We took advantage of doing some shopping on Duval. My absolutely favorite shop in KW is called 7 Artists! My home is full of glass that is painted by Michael Sanders! He is so very talented! Its always refreshing to walk into his shop, he greets us with big hugs and a true conch update. Michael and I met my first in KW after a two hour shopping trip in his shop on a rainy day! He took the time to really talk to me, ever since, we've remained great friends! He always gives me a good deal on his stuff!!


After shopping, we decided we should at least eat once at Margaritaville! It was much less crowded than when the Boat Drunks were playing. We sat next to the stage. It was so inspiring, thinking of all of the wonderful talent that has performed just a few feet away... awesome. We had calamari and a bowl of corn / crab chowder! It was delicious. We finished our shopping trip next door buying Margaritaville shirts for the girls!


Finally, its time for the music. We head to Blue Heaven, the most amazing show of the weekend! James Sunny Jim White hosts the Singer/Songwriter show atop the water tank in the courtyard of Blue Heaven. Its such a great show.... James invites artists to come and sing a few songs, the list goes on forever! I truly enjoyed hearing each and every singer! I always enjoy watching James and his father Shady play together! Shady was in Jamaica with us, he likes to call me 'Divin' Deb'... He is a sweet, sweet man! I got the first opportunity to finally hear Bob Karwin sing! It was so exciting and fun! He is truly talented. I found a spot to watch in the middle, Bob launches into his Rudy song inspired by Jim Hoehn. Jim seems to be standing near me during this song, it was so fun listening to Jim's comments during this song! They both are so entertaining!! Jim and Bob really make me laugh and smile through their talents! I also really appreciated Tall Paul speaking to me later in the afternoon. I've always been a TP fan, but he and Kristie makes it personal for Craig and I. When he asks for my requests, I feel its a must to sing his original music~ I would love to go to a show and hear him to sing all originals!! I know the crowd loves the covers, but I think he is an amazing songwriter! He was so sweet.... might take him up on his offer to let him sing to me in his living room any song I want to hear!!


Once the show was over at Blue Heaven, We found a nice table in the back and had the most amazing meal ever! Surf and Turf!!! Absolutely amazing!!!! If you ever go to KW, its a must to have this exact meal at Blue Heaven! It is without a doubt, the best meal of my life! So amazing!


Once we were stuffed, we headed off to hear Don at the Conch then we drifted to Schooner's Wharf to hear Jim Morris finalize the weekend. Hanging with Milkaukee Mike one last time before the weekend is over. Took a few more photos with him.. (hopefully Craig recognizes me in this one...hahahaha) We ofcourse finished our night with Hugo at the Hog. I couldn't believe our vacation was already almost over! Toward the end of the night, Craig and I met up with Don Middlebrook and Lori to head to the Green Parrot. We picked up my new favorite musician along the way, Bob Karwin. He was only with us a moment before he stopped to play his guitar on Duval. How fun! After the green parrot, the four of us headed to end our KW vacay at Mr. Z's for one last slice of pizza!





The vacation of a lifetime...until next year!!!!!


Monday, Nov. 3
Its Monday morning, Craig and Rick head to get the rental car as we finish cleaning up our little home away from home. The drive home was quiet.... we stopped at the 7 Mile Grill to have one last fish sandwich. It was wonderful! Thanks for the advice!! Next stop... Indiana!!

Key West at a glance.....Day 4

Saturday, Nov. 1st!

It's Saturday morning, our first show isn't until noon. We get to sleep in alittle! Arriving at the Rum Barrel at 11:45, to the long awaited show Tall Paul and Crawdaddy! The six of us found a big table atop the outdoors deck! It was gorgeous, the weather was perfect! This show is the one we were all looking forward to...it definitely lived up to our expectations!!!! I can't say enough about how wonderful this show was! The energy, the passion, the MUSIC... exemplar! The place was packed! We enjoyed a great lunch with great music! Paul sang the 'boat song'! He asked anyone who knew the motions to come up... I so didn't want to stand in front of all these people, but Paul knew I Knew the song. He coaxes me up there with the help of Crawdaddy who keeps calling me "Sparkle" (I was wearing a sequences shirt...shocking!!) I did dance! It was fun! Later, when Paul and Michael were taking a break, Rob and Lynley, the CalypsoNuts were singing! The crowd was enjoying the show, at one point, they referenced St. Somewhere...(my all time favorite FAVORITE band, Matt spurred my interest and love for trop rock and I will be forever grateful!) ...anyway, one of the girls was wearing a tye-dye St. Somewhere shirt... it took me back.... Next thing I know, I hear Robbie launch into Postcard (this is Matt Hall's song... his baby, his signature song). I found myself moving to the front of the crowd, with mixed emotions....truly mixed. I couldn't sing along, I just stood in awe. Part of my thrilled to be hearing this live again... another part of me, concerned and protective. As the song went on, I just didn't know what to do... I was overcome with emotion...reflecting all the shows I attended to see Matt, Quincy, Aram and Craig's favorite, Kevin. The girl in the St. Somewhere shirt comes to me, tears in my eyes, she goes on to tell me that Matt gave them permission to sing the song and he even helped with some of the riffs in the song. The whole experience left me missing them desperately!

We had to leave the show early at 5pm!!! We were registered for the sunset cruise at 6pm. We rushed around to get ready and head to the pier. We walked through Mallory Square! I've been to KW 5 times and had never made it to the square. It was the perfect time of day to walk through Mallory Square! Wow, what a mix of entertainment! Im glad we ventured through there. We loaded the boat near the Pier where SunnyJim was playing. We got to hear him sing while we waited, what a joy! The cruise included Rick and Janice, Craig and I. The reason why we signed up for the cruise was Rob Mehl!!! The headliners of the cruise was KD Moore, Greg "fingers" Taylor, and Amy Lee! It was great! Unfortunately, Rob only played 4 songs!! Overall, the cruise was a success! It was beautiful quite cool actually...cool as in temperature!

Once the cruise was over, we met up the Emmon's on Duval Street. We stay upstairs of Rick's and watched the actions below. Some of us wanted to go dance at Sloppy Joes, others wanted pizza, I knew I was heading to the PierHouse to hear Peter Mayer!!! Craig and I drifted through the inner garden of the Pier House. Peter is so talented. This show was GREAT! People sitting in a small semi-circle around 2 wonderful musicians! Many were sitting upon beach chairs, our feet in the sand, up close! Soooo Magical! I didn't want this show to end!

From here we headed to the Hog to finish our night! We were standing outside the Hog talking to our wonderful TX friends, when a guy with a guitar on his back approaches! Gayla launches into a huge commercial for this guy... Bob Karwin. I know I had read his name various places but had never really heard his music or even know who he was. We immediately hit it off, joking and laughing, he is so charming and fun! He had my attention, I asked about his music, Gayla couldn't say enough about his talent. Bob pulled out one cd, he then decided to give me another cd....at this point, I wasn't going to except only one. I had to have them both. I bought both of them....giving them such a hard time saying that I had never bought a cd without hearing the music first, I was buying this on faith! It was the BEST decision I made all week!!!I haven't stopped listening to them! It was a Great night! We stayed for the end of the Hughie's show, I think we were even there for the very end... its odd being on Duval at 2:30am... its almost quiet in places.

Craig and I decided this was the night we were going to make it to Mr. Z's. We walk to Southard, and step up to order our pizza. At this point, I laugh! There are only 2 people in Mr. Z's.... Howie Golub and Bob Karwin! What fun... Craig attempts to order his steak and cheese sandwich and a piece of pizza....the poor guy working behind the counter replies, "sir, I didn't understand a word you said..." again I laugh...and place our order! It was a perfect day!! We walked home and enjoy our snacks at the the quiet surroundings of the Key West B and B.

What a night!

Key West at a glance.....Day 3

Friday, Oct. 31 - Halloween Day!!!

Today was a rough day, we started at 10am!!! Every year, I come to the Hog for the Sarasota Parrothead Club party. It typically is huge!!! To enter, you must allow someone to place a big Parrothead sticker on your backside! Once established, you may enter! Years past, they had Matt Hall (my favorite) play for their party! This year was John Frinzi!!! He is soo talented and has a unique voice. He brought along with him the ever talented Doyle Grisham and the hottie, John Patti... talk about easy on the eyes!!! The perfect photo: Frinzi & Patti! Yummo!! ....sorry I got side tracked. We drank Fuzzy Navels, Bloody Mary's and Pineapple and Malibu all morning. It was a good show, our friends the Rasslers and Mitchell's were there also!

Following the show, we headed for B.O.'s Fishwagon. A popular dive in Key West, Jimmy sings about it...it truly does have the most amazing fish sandwich!! On our journey down Caroline, we run into Stan the Man!!! He is a legend! Everyone knows Stan, he is an icon in the parrothead community. Craig and I met Stan in Put-In-Bay, Michigan at Phlocking of the Phaithful! Stan and I talked about various friends we had in common, he then pointed us to his house that he was staying where more friends of ours were there sitting by the pool! Well, we invaded their home and met up with Billy Bullets and Raynell as well as Jim and Kim... all people we had been to Jamaica with several years previous! Im telling ya what, there is nothing more exciting than reconnecting with old friends!! Billy played us a song he wrote about our night in Ocho Rios at Margaritaville! We felt "A Drunk front' moving in!! Ohhh the memories from that one night were captured in a song...How wonderful! (thankfully my little 'dip' in the ocean was left out!! --- if you want to know those details, buy me a drink ...or several...and I might share!!) Billy Woods decked us out with black tshirts from his leftover tail gating! These special shirts were to be worn at the viewers discretion!! *you might see one pop up later this week* We finally reached BO's for the best grouper sandwich on the island!!

With the early morning show, we decided to take a break and head for the hot tub!! It was so relaxing! too relaxing actually.... Craig and I both decided it was time for a KW nap! We got all nestled into our cozy king bed, and the electricity went off in our B and B!! This means NO AC!! Well, Craig still had no problem drifting off to sleep. I tried ...but I just kept thinking..."Im in KW, its Friday....the Streetfest is going on right now...how can I possibly sleep?????" SOOOO... I snuck out of bed, got dressed, pulled on my cowboy hat (it is Halloween ya know) and headed to Duval St. Alone!!! I meandered my way through the crowd, bought a rum punch and watched in awe as the Boat Drunks rocked the stage!!!! I found my friends from Iowa, Teresa, Dave, Randy, Doug and Deb. They were standing across from Mville and below the parade of people tossing beads to...those who were 'earning' them! We stood and watched both shows! I heard Mike Miller take the stage. He has a special place in my heart, I forced my way to the front and stood in awe!! After about 40 photos of just Mike, I then was in place for Club Trini!! Robert Greenidge is simply amazing!! As they took the stage, the people around me was swelling in hopes that JB would show.... It was so tight, I couldn't breathe!! I slipped to the side stage and watched as TC, Nadirah, and Tina paraded right down in front of me! It was a great view. I got so wrapped up in the show, I lost track of time! It was already 5pm, I was missing Hugo's Fan Appreciation Party!!

I headed back to the B&B, where the AC was working full strength! Craig had been asleep for over 2.5 hours! The Thomas' were on their way back from the beach, and Tall Paul was taking the stage at the Bottlecap any time! Ohhh the choices!!! We knew that Hugo's show was be amazing and crowded so we opted for TallDaddy! After getting the directions, we headed to what we thought was a small walk to the corner of Catherine and Simonton! HA!!! We walked forever!!!! It was down near Louie's Backyard.!! Once we got there, we found the bar to be quiet and enchanting!! A small crowd had gathered and we finally got to see Michael Crawley! There is some magic going on during a Tall Paul / Crawdaddy show! It is beyond unbelievable! You through Kristie in the mix and it is magical! Something everyone should experience! The talent is amazing! At this point, we are relaxing in over stuffed lounge chairs and I was drinking Captain Morgan and Diet...Once Paul finished singing Romeo and Juliet, Craig leaned over and whispered, "I finally get it.... I know why you come to KW,....its not for the party, its for the music!... that was beautiful! I get it!" Wow!!!! So many times, people hear KW and think PARTY.... but for me...it is the music. It's always been the music. It motivates my soul. I live for those magical musical moments. Sooo thank you Paul and Michael for providing Craig that opened door to music!

After the show, we headed back to the Conch! Don was playing and we were ready to relax by the bay and listen to Don! We knew Lori was flying in today for the weekend!! We met up with Lori and had a great night with Donnie!

Following Don's show we headed for the finisher...Hugo. It was Halloween and it was night and man where they partying on Duval. I think we made it to the World's Smallest Bar, and even had a special house shot before we got to the Hog! We brushed through Hugo's show, had a round of Key Lime Shooters, again Brian, the Bartender calls me by name to get my drinks! soo funny! After awhile, Duval is really hopping and we decide to walk and see the sights! I was partly discouraged, I hate giving up a Hugo show. I only see him once a year, but the group as a whole wanted to go explore so I was trooper and tagged along! Once on Duval, the costumes were outrageous! We slipped into Captain Tony's for a drink! Craig bought a beer from a very cute painted girl! wow... Next, we headed to 801! Yep, 801!!!! For those who know KW, know what where we went, for those who don't.....when you go, make sure you visit 801!! It was really something!!! An experience I will not soon forget!!! We drifted in other places along the way, really taking in the whole ambiance of Halloween on Duval!!! The 6 of us really had a GREAT time! We finished the night at the Green Parrot where the Sauce Boss was playing! We got there around 2am and they were serving up the Gumbo! Wow, it smelled amazing! I didn't taste it, but everyone around me had some. (Thanks to all my friends who said my homemade Gumbo was better than the SB....really? that is crazy!!! but thanks anyway!) Don and Lori were there also! It was a GREAT night!! We strolled home very late at night. Passing by 623 Southard St., the house we stayed in a few years in the past! Wow, I laughed out loud retelling stories and memories from that house. Any readers from those years, "Captain Ron" was my favorite memory! (Miss ya Casey)

ahhhhh another day in paradise!!

Key West at a glance.....Day 2

Thursday, Oct. 30


We slept in on Thursday morning, finally went to lunch with the Emmon's around noon at Carolines on Duval. Enjoying daytime on Duval was interesting. We all tried the calamari and conch fritters!! Both were very enjoyable! At this point, the Emmons wanted to hit the beach (something Ive Never done in KW!) and Craig and I went to the Conch Farm to hear James Sunny Jim White. We spent some time listening to James, reliving our Jamaican vacation, then decided we would take Tall Paul's advice to come to the Southern Most Cafe for a singer/songwriter gig hosted by Matt Wahl. What a pleasant surprise!! Upon arrival, we were greeted with big hugs from Paul and Kristie then entered to find our good friends from Milwaukee, Rick and Sherry!! We sat at the bar on the edge of the beach, listening to wonderful musicians! We heard a little of Matt, then Mike Broward (formerly of Stars on the Water), The Cedar Island Band (featuring our very good friend, Doug Rassler!!), and also our newest favorite musician John Reno!! When John sang his song, Magic Chair, Craig looked and me said, "Wow, I really like his voice" This was the first of 8 cds I brought home from KW. We ended the show with Paul. What a Great show!!!

Our next stop was the Lighthouse Court. This is another artists gathering hosted by Kelly McGuire! Luckily, we were there when Kelly was singing. He launched into one of Craig's favorite songs, Daddies and Daughters. It was so moving, brought me to tears! Rob Mehl came by to talk to us...its always so nice to be recognized and spoken to. Rob is a key reason for Craig and I signing up for the Sunset Cruise on Sat. night. I love Rob's music. I bought the new Cd, Havana Good Time. Also, at the Lighthouse, we had the privilege to hear John Reno again. Yeah!! I was also introduced to a very VERY good looking pans player, John Patti! The photo describes all..... (Ohhh Jamie... you would have loved him. )




On our way back to the B & B, our friends, Rick and Janice had called to say they had arrived and were ready to see Key West!!! We re-grouped at the Bed and Breakfast, we set out to show them a great time. We met up with the Emmon's at the Lazy Gecko to hear Don Middlebrook!! What a great, fan involved, show! The lazy Gecko is a great place to see a show, you can watch the traffic on Duval while enjoying some wonderful music!!



After Donnie's show, we all loaded up into a very small cab and headed to Louie's Backyard!!!! Wow, the landscape there is beautiful!!!! We had drinks out by the beach while waiting for our table, our table overlooked the beach. One highlight for me was glancing at the table near us, I saw the author Tom Corcoran!!!! I was speechless! Ofcourse, I shared who he was with the table, nobody had heard of him with the exception of Craig. I was so impressed... It took all I had not to speak to him. I respected his quite night out with friends and didnt say anything, but wow... I would have loved to shake his hand!! Our dinner was simply amazing!

Fully stuffed, not knowing if we were able to even drink, we headed back to Hog's Breath to end our night with Hughie! Upon arrival, one highlight for me was standing near the bar and the friendly bartender looks at me and says, "Hey, I remember you..Indiana right?" Seriously... this same bartender remembers me every year! I must have really Really had a GREAT time my first year at the hog. *Those of you who were there, no comments please!!! hahahaha* We were met with all our friends again, Mike and Joe were holding down those bar stools ready for a great show. We all gathered together our nightly Key Lime Shooters and take in Hugo's show! It's always exciting with Greg "Fingers" Taylor on stage. Amy Lee also joined Hughie this year! He never ceases to amaze me! My all time favorite Hugo song is: Between you and Me. Don Middlebrook showed up at the show to party with us. What a night! On our way home, Craig and I made it to the nearest pizza stand. ughh....still No Mr. Z's!

Key West at a glance.....

It's hard to sit down and really reflect and blog all of my MOTM memories. There are soo many! You get to that little island and time seems to move so fast, its uncanny! Before I knew it, it was Monday and time to come back to my 'current reality'. Ughh.. Soo in this segment, I am going to try to take you through my key west experience. There is no way to discuss all the wonderful new friends and musicians we met, but ...im gonna try!

Wednesday, Oct. 29

We arrive in Miami around 2pm, after getting the rent-a-car, we took off for our first drive down through the keys! I was anxious wanting to be there already, but at the same time wanting to take my time and really enjoy the drive! I can say, I am so glad we drove down. It is so beautiful and yet so different than I expected. I wanted to stop every 20 miles or so., but when you travel with Craig Kirk you go from destination #1 straight through to destination #2 with minimal stops! We finally arrived in KW around 6pm. I love our Bed and Breakfast, they are without a doubt the most friendly and wonderful staff. If you travel to KW and need a cozy place to stay, I recommend the Key West Bed and Breakfast! Jody and Liz will take Great care of you! We checked in our cute little room with a huge king size bed with white sheer curtains draped over the 4 posts and canopy. It was lovely! We hit the ground running to one of our favorite restaurants on the island, Conch Republic... the locals call it the Conch Farm. As we approach the building, I can already hear Don Middlebrook crooning the crowd. We found a seat near the band and ordered our first Landsharks! Don yells from the mic, "I was wondering when you were gonna get here, Teacher of the Year!"... ahhhh life is good. Bring on the crab cakes! As we were sitting listening to Don, we received a text from friends from Indiana asking how we were doing. Craig responds where we are and what we are doing..ending his text with "wish you could join us'.... shortly later, 2 friends come running and sit at our table...its our friends from IN... The Emmon's!!!!! Little did we know, they had planned on coming with us all along and kept it a secret! What a fantastic surprise!!!

After Don's show, we headed to Margaritaville to catch some of the Boat Drunks show. It was rumored that Mike Miller, the former base player would be sitting in. I love walking down Duval Street at night. There is simply nothing like it! As we get to Mville, I look up and smile, seeing a reminder of why I was there... a tiny sticker that started my love for trop rock: St. Somewhere... We found a table and they were rocking! I noticed the new base player and was kinda disappointed not to see Mike. I glanced around the full bar to find Tracy Golub, (Howie's wife) and didn't see her... so I sat and listened. Jake announced Mike was there and ready to jam. I looked up and saw Mike appear from the crowd without his signature hat (someone brought it for him) and with A LOT of curly hair and full goatee....he looks so different!! I found myself moving to the side of the bar next to the stairs so that I could see Mike without a ton of people in front of me. I was standing right next to Howie.... There were other people there too... Howie spoke to me.. and I watched in awe at Mike as he sang, "This Aint Duval St."... while taking many photos, I noticed Howie looking at me, then motioning me to look aside, there beside me was Tracy! We were standing next to another and didn't realize it, both were watching Mike! What a funny episode...Howie just laughed at us when we saw each other! Mike went on to sing my favorite BD song, Hollow Man. I can honestly say that song is one of my very favorite songs!! Mike also sang Southern Cross like nobody else can. It brought chills to me... Once I returned to our table, I found our friends were already tired and headed back to their hotel. It was only midnight! Seriously, we hadn't made it to Hog's Breath! Later, John Frinzi joined the Drunks on stage. I so love John's voice. What another wonderful suprise!!!!!

Again, we headed down Duval... so much to see and enjoy. We reach the World's Smallest Bar and know we almost home. Turning the corner and hearing Hughie drifting through the night-air... makes me shudder. I stood at the corner of the parking lot briefly to take it all in. Walking up to the Hog, its like coming home to a disfunctional family reunion! Suddenly people are popping out of nowhere to say "HI". Milwaukee Mike greets us with big hugs!!! Its so great seeing him again, we always have a Great time with Mike, what an amazingly wonderful friend! He is with Joe from South Carolina whom Im sure we've met before. Next, we see IOWA... nothing Beenblossom to come running up for a full body, wrap her legs around me hug! Mike leans over and says, "hey, can I get a hug like that?" Welcome to Key West! Next, I see my favorite dance partner coming... I love Steve and Gayla Mitchell! Steve and I always save a dance at the Hog. We met the Mitchell's several years ago in Jamaica with Sunny Jim and Matt Hall. Steve and I seemed to leave those last impressions on everyone. We can always count on spending quality time with Steve and Gayla at the Hog at least once a year! Wonderful people! As the night progresses, I walk through to get a drink aware of the Hogcam and wondering if anyone sees me, I signal to say Hi.. then I turn my attention to Hugo, he notices me and nods or waves. Hugo's music speaks to me, the energy, the feel of the crowd.... Life is good...im Home!

Finally making it back to the B & B around 3am. Mr. Z's will have to wait till tomorrow.... And to think...this is only DAY 1~~~~~