Friends and neighbors,
Returned from my trip to Key West last Tuesday. In short, it was a dream fulfilled. Thank you for your well-wishes and support. You were in my mind when I stood with my guitar on that stage in Margaritaville. As my brother so aptly put it... "Margaritaville WAS my Madison Square Garden!"

I received texts and phone calls all week from you guys... which I so appreciated. You were all there with me.

There were photos. Lots of them. But, here's the thing... we got a new camera shortly before the trip. Didn't read the manual (who does that??). Went to download them to my computer the other day. Gone. Can't find them. If you know any secrets to a Canon Powershot camera that I don't know, please inform me. I know I didn't delete them. I have a hard time believing they're actually "gone." At least I don't want to believe it.

So anyway, here's a quick wrap up of the trip... I played nightly from Tuesday, Nov 11 thru Sunday, Nov 16. And though the crowds at Margaritaville (and Key West in general) were a little quiet that week, I couldn't have been more thrilled to be there. Those that were there were "good quality." ;-)

My friend Lori (aka Lolo) flew down from Minnesota for the week, and it was wonderful to see a familiar face in the audience. Terri came down on Friday night and stayed through Sunday. Obviously it meant the world to me to have her there.

Terri's cousin Alli, and her husband Cory, who live in Key West, also came out a couple nights with some friends in tow.

Chris Hambrook (the Margaritaville bartender-extraordinaire) was at the helm, behind the bar, with big smiles... welcoming all to Margaritaville the way only HE can do it. Chris is responsible for getting the "wheels rolling" to get me a gig there. When I was there in May, he was the bartender who called the manager over and had him take my demo CD and info. So I am forever indebted to Chris. Thank you again, my friend.

In addition to Chris, the entire staff... bartenders, servers, managers, sound guys (Tim Bender, Will Parker) were fantastic, and they took great care of Jambo. Thank you guys.

Other notes of interest... Tim Bender and Will Parker (mentioned above) also play solo/acoustic regularly at Capt. Tony's, and both invited me to sit-in and sing a few each time I showed my face there. To play at Capt. Tony's was yet another thrill for me. And to be able to sing "Last Mango in Paris" in honor of Capt. Tony (who had just passed away the week before at age 92) was nothing short of incredible. Thank you Tim and Will for that wonderful opportunity. I was also invited by musician Gary Hempsey to join him at Sloppy Joe's. Didn't get to do that, but sure appreciated the offer.

Also got to catch up with my friend Bill Wood, owner of Key Lime & More (right down the block from Capt. Tony's) and get the latest news and gossip from the "Coconut Telegraph."

Spent a lot of time wandering Key West that week. I had my days entirely free - didn't play until 9:30 p.m. each night - so again rented the "fat tire" bike for the week, and had lots of fun cruising around... stopping in at whatever bars I heard music coming from during the day.

Got my fill of conch fritters, oysters and of course, cheeseburgers. ;-)

I arrived back in Wisconsin.... energized.

And with a notebook full of random lyrics, lines and verses from my week.

I hope I can sort it all out and create a good song or two.

My mind is still on the beach...

Ah, the stories we can tell.

~Jambo
Nov 24, 2008