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That's all she wrote

February 10, 2008
posted by Lauren | View Comments

Coming to you live from the Miami Airport after 4 long weeks of cruising our asses off…

We’re exhausted and ready for a day off, but these five cruises were absolutely magical. I’m so pleased to be part of a team that pulls together when it really matters. I hope Sixthman was able to deliver each and every one of you a dream vacation. Perhaps a more detailed wrap-up blog will follow, but for now, here are my most memorable (and hilarious) moments from the last month…

Koosh drama. Tony sleeping in the office in his silk pjs to ward off intruders. (Not so) secret crushes. Getting sea-horsed too many times to count. Beach party photo-ops. Finding a great friend in Chris Kappy after knowing each other for years. My new found craps addiction (or was it crabs?). Biloxi is only a 5 hour drive! “Peepers! PEEPERS!” My mom finally seeing what I do. Blackjack with Doug and the hidden $100 chip. Crew bar! Pure exhaustion. Confetti cannons. Excalibur hand dryers. Finding that moment on each cruise. John Mayer in a Borat bathing suit. Kissing Bandit. The Mardi Gras parade that could. Peanut butter jelly time. Grilled cheese sandwiches with bacon and tomato. The Junk Department. The Craptastic Four. Jet skiing with Barb. Free laundry. Not breaking any fingers. Rock Shots. TRB alumni show. Being recognized by people. Gelato milkshakes. Ticketing shows. Perfect weather. Seeing the same 5 minutes of Die Hard on the in room TVs. Having Ashley as my partner in crime. Rudy, Alina, Loi, and Bogdon. Cankles. “Ah! Nipple in the eye!” Singles Party dance moves. Ate-ing contests. Bingo with Carbon..errr…Oakhurst. Pity parties. The dollar slot machine of doom. Brandi Carlile improv sets on Promenade. I need a pedicure. Too many Rachels. Spending pre-flight time at Chili’s. Not playing hard to get. Onion rings. Tears of joy. Learning how to block. Eighter from Decatur. The real meaning of Cayamo. Making friends with the Carnival staff. Champagne explosion dream come true. Pulling it off.

We’ll get news about the 2009 cruises to you soon (yes…they’re all coming back for another round!) I hope I’ll see you all again next year.

I’m so excited to see my dog. And my Peepers. And my bed.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, February 10th, 2008 at 4:19 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

  • ~ annie

    Welcome home y’all!

  • Willow

    Sounds like someone had a good time! Glad you made it back in one piece.

  • Do

    In an effort to grasp on to anything real and still lingering of the cayamo experience i stumbled across this blog and the few others posted, and I’d like to confirm that your perceptions of the Cayamo attendees were right on. For me and many others it was like discovering my tribe. I returned to my doldrum life healed and happy, although longing for more captain’s cocktails by 1pm this afternoon. I thought my dedication was impressive..but i’ve only been a fan for 10 years or so….little did i know that of all the Lyle fans I met on the boat, this being my 8th time to see him would make me the youngest newbie to the fanclub. Many of these folks have followed him for twice as long and most never had met him before. Meeting Lyle and talking to him was in my top 10 things to do before I die. I had that moment within my first hour on the boat and it was nearly surpassed by having the chance to see Shawn Colvin walk out and perform North Dakota with him. I cried, and I don’t cry. It was like having a fleeting thought you had 15 years ago of “wouldn’t it be great if…” and it actually came true on the cruise. My knees got weak when i introduced myself to John Hagan and got to chat a bit in the casino. Studying Brandi’s face up close and hearing her voice live, right there, real life, not amplified, as she sang on the Promenade, discovering Beth Wood, Gaelic Storm, many others and for the love of God, Shawn Mullins live knocked my knees out again…We never went to bed early, because we couldn’t. it wasn’t that there was such a “party” going on…but seriously, how do you sleep when you have such great music to hear and discover and other people much like yourself to share it with? A truly remarkable and extraordinary experience.

  • Mary

    What happened to the original Cayamo page? After returning home, I wanted friends to see what they had missed and they can’t even look at the great lineup. What gives? The blog is meaningless to anyone who wasn’t on the boat.

  • http://www.jacobmoon.com Jacob Moon

    Hey guys!

    I am from Hamilton, Ontario, and I had a fabulous time, and I have posted a blog with photos from the cruise at http://jacobmoon-the-loop.blogspot.com/.

    Thanks for the opportunity to play for such a nice group of folks. They cleaned me outta CDs!

    Canada is a little warmer for this experience.

    Okay, maybe not so much…

    Thanks, people!

    Jacob Moon (.com!)

  • sara

    God it was amazing !
    and i must say , Brandi Carlile and her full band must be there next year , the girl is awesome she blew me away for all of this cruise and her little piano-set that she did two times on Cayamo was great she is a jem !
    Please bring her back for the 09′ Cruise

  • Romaniac

    Cayamo was without a doubt the BEST vacation I’ve ever had…and from someone who has spent 20+ years in the travel industry, it says something about the concept in general, about the performers definitely, but especially about the Sixthman organization. The customer service on board was exceptional…everyone was there to make sure the experience was all we expected and more. The musicians were great both on and off the stage. The fellow cruisers were like meeting long lost friends and the demographics of the group contributed to a perfect balance between a mellow laid back environment for the artists and a “what-ever floats your boat” party atmosphere throughout the cruise. Lyle was, as always, a stellar performance and witty first class act; Brandy’s live performance exceeded all my anticipation. That girl has a huge future ahead; I’ve listened to John Hiatt on records and cds for years but now really understand why he is such legend as a live performer; I’ve seen Shawn Colvin and Emmy Lou before and they just seem to get better each time. They were so gracious and personable it was easy to forget what huge stars they are. Patty Griffin was our last show and when Emmy Lou and Shawn joined her on stage, I got shivers up and down my spine. And then there was Shawn Mullins. He just kicked ass…sorry there just isn’t any other way to say it. He gave all in every one of his shows and I overheard people in total awe of his voice and his songs and his musicianship…my favorite show was the one on the Lido deck with David Ryan Harris and Edwin McCain…serous talent and alot of heart. The other groups and singers were great too, At some point you realize that this is as close to nirvana (the spiritual experience, not the band) as it gets in this world!…my only complaint was that open mic conflicted with some of the big shows so I didn’t get to catch as many of those as I would have liked. Anyway, I’d just lke to say Great Job, Sixthman ….and it goes to show that when you do what you love, you create excellence. Can’t wait for next year!!

  • Maryellen

    Ditto what Do said. What a fantastic experience, despite contracting (diagnosed just Monday) asmatic bronchitis! And I only missed one concert — Brandi, bummer. I can’t imagine how much better the experience would have been if I had been feeling good.

  • http://www.myspace.com/ironbath Ironbath

    It was just the best floating festival ever, but please, Sixthman, listen to the feedback as there are things that need to be improved for next year.

  • http://www.porchmusic.com Chris

    Just cruised the Eisenhower Sea and got home this morning on the Oakhorse, our veggie-oil fueled bus. (BTW, we have had the best grease hunts in Atlanta-coincidence?). We are tired, but so energized by this cruise season.

    As the only band (I think) to have endured all 5 cruises, Oakhurst feels like the “Sixthman Family Band.” We had a blast, loved hanging with all the cruisers and staff and made friends that we will know for lifetimes to come. Sixthman events are the best of the best and we can’t physically show how appreciative we are unless we could stretch our arms to the ends of the galaxy and say “WE LOVE YOU THIIIISSS MUCH!”

    Thank you again. We will see you next year, hopefully sooner, we need to play SE USA more…

  • Ken

    Wow. Loved it! Thought a cruise, not for me. Well my wife was right again and I’m wrong. The music, the tribe, the vibe had a great time. Looking forward to the line up next year. “Goin Keep on livin thill the day I die” Danny Flowers

  • 5Zs

    For those interested (e.g. Mary) you can get to the old cayamo website (or most of it) via web archives. Just Google “wayback machine” and go to the internet archive link…..

    What a trip this was!!!

  • http://expatjane.blogspot.com Regina

    Awesome to hear you’re back home Lauren!

    I just made it back to Seoul. I hope things work out that I can make it to next year’s MCC ;) I missed the Borat madness ’cause 1) I refused to stalk Mr. Mayer and 2) I literally couldn’t as I was out cold due to partying until 7am.

    Now that I’m back, I’ll send in my feedback survey to Sixthman. I’m sure you folks are taking note of our suggestions ’cause I completely missed some stuff. I heard there was somewhere on the ship where there was an 80s prom. I also heard from some folks that they had no idea where to go for the t-shirt contest. However, compared to the big fun I had, not knowing there was an 80s prom was minor.

    Next year I’m sure we’ll have to get you an even better gift!

  • Judy G.

    My son was the senior entertainment tech on the Victory for this year’s cruises, and reading your descriptions of the goings-on was, ahem, enlightening. (Some things the mother does not need to know.) Geoff had a good (if exhausting) time and enjoyed the music immensely. What a great break from his everyday routine!

    Maybe someday we’ll get our act together up here in Canada and organize ourselves for one of the music cruises.

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