MOTM 2013 Post Mortem Pt. 3: The Weekend and Home

Saturday morning dawned beautifully (duh! Key West!) and once again, guitar on my back, I pedaled off to play. Thanks to Jerry Diaz I got to play at the Zonta Walk/Run, an annual 5K that provides FREE mammograms to under insured and uninsured women in Key West, along with him and John Reno. I loved spending my morning with these two great musicians and watching the runners and walkers arrive. The event is held at Salute's on the Beach right on Higg's Beach and is a really fun way to spend your Saturday morning at MOTM.

From there I rode back down to United, made a left toward Duval and got some breakfast with friends at Croissants de France. Then I headed back up to Duval for a gig at the Speakeasy Inn & Rum Bar with the Blue Hen Parrot Head Club of Delaware. Cheryl Housman joined me again on pans and we played outside on the patio. Good friends were also there to listen and relax on the beautiful porch and a few folks stopped by including Steve Tolliver and Sam Rainwater, who pulled out his ukulele and strummed along from the street! It ended up being a nice, intimate time with some great folks who are now great friends.

With my gig ending at 1pm I had to beat it over to the Casa Marina for the Trop Rock Music Association award ceremony. I was nominated for Female Vocalist of the Year and for the Horizon Award, which is like best upcoming artist. It was fun being backstage again with lots of the musicians, friends and support staff. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. I didn't win either award but was thankful for the consideration and that a large number of people heard a short clip of "TropiGal."

I left the Casa and headed back to T's Bistro & Bar (which, by the way, is directly across the street from the Speakeasy Inn) for another showcase. This one was hosted by Jim Hill and Tim Dee who are musicians who live in the Keys. The Blue Hens were there, too! It was great to see them again and I was delighted they came back to hang out with me. After this showcase I was free to do what I wanted for awhile and that's just what I did.

Sunday was also wide open for me. Yeah! A BREAK! A bunch of us jammed at the Wicker Guesthouse pool including Steve Buenzow, Cheryl, Renn Loren, Rick Schettino and Chris Rehm. The weather was beautiful (Key West!), the pool was perfect and so was the beer. Later that evening, Janene and I headed to the Conch Republic Seafood Company for nourishment and to see Don Middlebrook. Don had me play a couple of songs during one of his breaks and then we stayed for the rest of the show. Janene and I struck out for Duval to head for the drag show at 801 Bourbon.

On the way, we talked to Captain Josh who told me to come over to Willie T's to play Monday afternoon with him and Captain Nick. Shortly after, disaster struck! Walking our bikes around Sloppy Joe's, I stepped off the curb to go around the crowd that had piled up on the sidewalk. Suddenly my right ankle flexed and I landed on my left knee in the gutter. The GUTTER! People called my name, lifting me up and righting me. Grace Swinford, Elliot Feldman and others were there from the Naples PHC and very quickly took care of me, cleaning my knee, applying a large band-aid and handing me a beer. It was a bit of a shock with the pain in my knee and the blood running down my leg. After resting a bit and assuring everybody I was ok, Janene and I walked up Duval. She went to the drag show, I went to find more band-aids and something to clean my knee, then back to my room to rest.

Monday morning was Breakfast Club with the Hanover Area Parrot Head Society, one of the parrot head clubs I belong to. We had a blast eating at Schooner's Wharf and quaffing our favorite Breakfast Club beverage, the Screwmosa. A tradition is that a bag of markers is brought and we "decorate" each other and ourselves. If you see photos of me on Facebook and my left leg looks like a mess, that's the magic markers. That afternoon, with my leg covered in marker and stickers,  I joined the Captains Josh and Nick for music at Willie T's. It was quite a jam!

Tuesday came and Cheryl and I hit the road toward Ft. Lauderdale. It's always difficult to say goodbye to Key West and each time I go it's that much harder. After being there for over a week, I had become acclimated, feeling like I belonged there. Driving away from Key West through the keys was beautiful and sad at the same time. We had lunch at Geiger Key, thanks to the recommendation of a friend. After a great ride and lots of girl talk we arrived in Ft. Lauderdale at the airport and flew back to cold, blustery Baltimore. It took me a few days to feel "normal."

Since then, I think often of this past MOTM. I have a lot of pictures and mementos, some in my hands, some in my heart. I've written two songs since then that were inspired by my trip. I hope to get back to the Keys and the little island town of Key West soon. In the meantime, I'm working on songs for a new CD and thinking ahead to MOTM 2013: "Bring Back The Magic."

See you at the End of the Road,

Dani