This is it folks. The last blog on the last day of Cayamo. I think they chose me to do this blog because Cayamo goes beyond being my favorite event. All my idols, friends I have done shows with…all of them in one place, at one time…it’s the most inspiring 5 days I could hope to spend anywhere. I honestly hope this cruise becomes a staple. An event that becomes a household name, so one day when I am packing my little girl’s bag to bring her on her first Cayamo, I can tell her to expect nothing less than magic.

Maybe I’ll tell her about Lyle Lovett and Shawn Colvin (our stowaway) singing “North Dakota” and how the whole theatre sat there still and mesmerized. Not a cough, not a whisper, not a camera click came from that audience until the minute that the lights faded perfectly to black and gave us all permission to breathe again.

Of course I could also tell her about how John Hiatt rocked people’s faces off so hard that he got a standing ovation right in the middle of his show after laying his soul right out there on the floor during “Cry Love.” Or how I watched a woman with tears streaming down her face during the encore of “Have A Little Faith.”

Or I could tell her about how many people thanked me repeatedly (some almost in tears) for giving them the only tickets I had left in the theatre – seats so bad I that I felt bad and tried to convince them to leave instead – just because it gave them a chance to hear Brandi Carlile sing “The Story” and “Folsom Prison Blues” just one more time before they went home. Some of them even hugged me on their way out.

But mostly I think I will tell her about how I worked with a group of people who endured 17 hour work days, very little sleep and more khaki than anyone should ever have to wear to create an experience that people will not only talk about when they get home. They’ll tell the stories from it for years to come and take back friends that hopefully they will keep for a lifetime.

Cayamo….I just love it.

Jill Mac