From: owner-edheads-digest@efohio.com (edheads-digest) To: edheads-digest@smoe.org Subject: edheads-digest V8 #125 Reply-To: edheads@efohio.com Sender: owner-edheads-digest@efohio.com Errors-To: owner-edheads-digest@efohio.com Precedence: bulk edheads-digest Thursday, November 10 2005 Volume 08 : Number 125 Today's Subjects: ----------------- EFO Cruise IV - Frey perspective [Kerry Frey ] 19th in Somerville? ["John Eddy" ] Re: EFO Cruise IV - Frey perspective [Nicole Carlson ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 10 Nov 2005 12:50:14 -0500 From: Kerry Frey Subject: EFO Cruise IV - Frey perspective I thought about redoing it, but I'm swamped with work, so here's my blog entry (hope this can make up for Shelly's epic ones - your were sorely missed, Shells): I was up way too late Wednesday night. There was packing, web surfing, laundry, DVD burning, and TV watching to do, and I only got about an hour and a half of sleep. We caught a cab to Dulles, and checked in and got through security quickly. The big question in our minds was if Julie would be joining us on the cruise. That was quickly answered in the affirmative, as Joe and Kitty Murphy (her dad and mom) were on our flight down, and they let us know she'd be coming. We were pretty happy about that, and the flight was uneventful. We took a taxi to the cruise pier, where we had a slight delay as both of us had lost our sunglasses (I need a subscription to a sunglass a month club), and we went one at a time to buy some from a cart in a nearby mall. The band had pulled up in a giant limo while we were waiting, as well as our friends Janice and Stuart and my wife Jill's mom Sue and her husband Dave. We were bringing them on the cruise as a combined birthday/anniversary/Christmas present, kinda like my parents and I did for sister the last time (though last time I'd really thought it out and at Christmas, my sister got an unmarked videotape that when she played it had Robbie from the band saying "Sharon, you're going on the cruise!"). We made it on the ship by 1, and headed up to the Lido deck to grab some lunch with Sue and Dave. We were both sleepy after that, and we headed to our room to nap. We got up in time to make the cocktail party in the Rock & Roll Disco (it was promptly pointed out that Rock & Roll Disco is an oxymoron). The only time we'd get free drinks, we took full advantage of it. It was good catching up with people we hadn't seen since the last cruise, but we were a little buzzed by the time dinner rolled around. Our tablemates were Andrea and her mother Linda, and Jim and his wife Jen and her parents. Ironically, Jim was ready to propose to his wife on the last cruise, but I'd stolen his thunder with my proposal, and he'd done it shortly after the cruise. They'd gotten married the day after us (and the same day as our friends Meg and Jeremy) as well. It was a good table, and I believe I had steak that night. We went to bed shortly after dinner - the nap wasn't that long. Friday we didn't sleep too long in the morning as we'd gone to bed so early, and made breakfast in the dining room. I had to have some eggs benedict - very tasty, and Jill had french toast. We went up to the spa and made plans for a couples massage the next day after we returned to ship, as well as a facial for Jill. I went on deck to read for a bit, then grabbed a reuben from the deli and went back to the room to read, but napped instead while Jill napped for a bit then went to tea with Sue. Got up in time to dress partially for dinner (it was formal night) and get my video camera ready for the show. The night before at the cocktail party, we'd been given a slip of paper and told to vote for two songs. We'd formed a block with Sue and Dave and all voted for "Hole Hearted" and "Woman Of Faith". "Hole Hearted" is their cover of the Extreme song. I'd heard it on the last, epic show at the Bad Habits club they played every Tuesday for 6 years, and had only heard it once at Falcon Ridge in 2003, but the wind and bit of rain that day made a less than pristine recording. "Woman Of Faith" is Jill's favorite efo song (and the one I'd proposed before on the last cruise), but they hadn't played it since Robbie's divorce (he wrote it for his wife), and thought that would fall into the "Hell no" category of songs (the other two being "ok" and "We can't remember it"). They played "Hole Hearted" during the first show, and as usual a parody song about the cruise ("Sailing With The Edheads", to the tune of "Number Six Driver"). A good show, but we had to hurry to get to dinner on time. Dinner was ok - I had a lobster tail that wasn't very fresh, but I smothered it in butter, and had a bit of Jill's prime rib. After dinner, we went to the Candelight Lounge for karaoke, and much cattiness back where we were. Except when Robbie and Julie went up to sing "You Don't Bring Me Flowers". We also went down to the piano bar (the scene of much activity on the previous cruise) to check out Robert and his talents. We ended up not spending as much time in there as some, but we were still pretty busy. We stayed up for the grand buffet at 12:30, which was ok, and went promptly to bed as we had an early wakeup. Saturday morning we docked at Progreso, Mexico. We had room service deliver breakfast as we didn't think we'd have time to make the buffet (and we were right, though cereal wasn't what I consider a cruise breakfast, though the muffins and bacon Sue brought back helped). We were off the ship by 9ish and waited for a couple minutes for the rest of our party before boarding a bus to the Mayan ruins at Dzibilchaltun (pronounced d-zeeble-chall-toon). There was also a trip to the legendary ruins at Chichen Itza, but that was a 2.5 hour bus ride each way. 50 minutes was much more our style. Funniest line was Dave's when we got off the bus: "They tell us to stay away from the water in Mexico, and the first thing they do is give us water!" (it was bottled). Our guide, Dario, was of Mayan ancestry himself, and was extremely informed and passionate about his ancestors. He may have been more interesting than the ruins, actually. They were still pretty cool, but I got hot with the cast and full backback, and the "swimming hole" wasn't very attractive. After the first hour and a half, the tour was done and we had a another hour and a half of free time. We went back to the entrance where there was a restaurant on the second floor (where Jamie was already camped out), and had a couple of local beers and Jill had nachos. Then we had some margaritas made with some local tequila. After the tour, they dropped us off on the pier next to the ship where they had some shops. I was looking for some coconut rum for a coworker, but all they had was Bacardi. Plenty of tequila, but I'll never drink it straight again (bad experience in college) and I'm not that picky about margaritas (although thr one we'd had that day was mighty tasty, but I was hot and sweaty). Back on the ship, we showered and changed for our massage. It was the first time we'd done that, and it was different having each other there, but not very romantic. Of course, the fact that I fell asleep as usual may have had something to do with that. Afterwards, Jill stayed for her facial and I went up to the cabin to read. We joined our table for dinner, and Jill took one look at the menu and informed me I'd start with the duck entree as an appetizer, then have the caesar salad and finally the chateaubriand. I looked, said "damn you" and let her order. It was good, the best meal I had on the ship. We went over to karaoke, but not much was going on, and we wandered around for a while until the party on the Lido deck started. We stayed until the Mexican buffet started, then took it back to the cabin. It was better than the grand buffet the night before. We thought about going to bed, but got a second wind and joined the Edheads still on deck as they went back to pizza and chatted until it was pretty late. The next morning we slept in. I slept 'til almost 11 and hurried to make the debarkation talk, but Sue was there and caught the beginning. When I got back to the cabin, Jill was still asleep and I woke her as she'd said she wanted to join us for lunch. After lunch, I went up to the back of the Vernanda deck with the other Edheads and read and chatted while Jill went to play bingo with Sue. I got hungry and grabbed another reuben on the way down to the cabin. I ate it, changed, then joined Jill in the hot tub. They've got hot tubs next to the pools, but those are filled with seawater and are cool, not good unless you're hot. Before we got our massage, we'd discovered that in back they had a real hot tub, so we soaked for a while in them, then went downstairs. I started reading and got caught up in my book and had to rush to change, only to be completely pissed off during the show as my video camera stubbornly refused to work. On previous cruises, they'd had a long electric show and a shorter acoustic show. Due to Julie's condition, they'd decided to do two electric shows, about the same length (about an hour and a half) as the acoustic show. One new thing they did this year was have a raffle to do efo karaoke, where the male and female winner came up and sang with the band. The winners were pretty good (can't remember their names, hopefully someone onlist will), especially the lady who killed on "Independence, Indiana". Joe had been picked, but ultimately decided not to do it. Julie wore her blond wig for "New James Bond" (though she didn't need it) and wore it for the rest of the show, bringing on a lot of picture taking. They had a question and answer session in the middle (mostly the standard questions about the name and meeting, but they did tell a new story about playing the same places the Dave Matthews Band, only to play a dive in Annapolis one night in 1994 to a small crowd, then see Dave Matthews Band that night on Saturday Night Live. They did end the show with an off mike "Walk Humbly, Son" that was moving, but I was still ticked about the camera (although there may be an mp3 version of the show eventually). We went to dinner for the last time (more steak), then the football obsessed among us hotfooted it upstairs for the remaining 2/3s of the Skins/Eagles matchup. Eddie and Stuart were smoking Cuban cigars (last night so they had to be smoked), and Bob joined us as well. Good game as it came down to the wire as McNabb almost had a comeback to tie it before a final interception sealed it for the Skins. After that, we went to the Lido deck for some pizza (and I had a sundae), before joining the crowd in the piano bar. We closed it down and went to the Rock & Roll Disco for a couple minutes, but the hiphop was a bit much (and loud) and we were tired. When we got up Monday the boat had docked, and we hurried to a final breakfast (more eggs benedict) before departing. We stayed an extra day in Tampa, and it was pretty nice (don't miss the Tampa Bay Brewing Company). Friday set: 1. Sailing With The Edheads 2. And The Rain Crashed Down 3. This Is Me 4. Imagine Me 5. 30 Second Love Affair 6. I Don't Think I Know Me 7. Porter's Tale 8. Gravity 9. Cowboy 10. Fly 11. Three Fine Daughters Of Farmer Brown 12. O My Brother -> 13. People Get Ready 14. Eddie's Drumpire 15. Schoolhouse Rock Medley 16. Hole Hearted 17. Old Dominion Sunday set: 11/6/05 Eddie From Ohio Carnival's Inspiration Edhead Cruise IV 1. Sailing With The Edheads 2. North Pacific Rain 3. If I Had A Boat 4. Independence, Indiana 5. Great Day 6. Quick 7. Doing Time Under The Lifeguard Stand intermission (question and answer session) 8. Candido & America 9. Lady Freedom 10. Stupid American 11. Baltimore 12. Eddie's Drumpire 13. New James Bond 14. Eddie's Concubine 15. Happy Birthday 16. Alone encore 17. Walk Humbly, Son Sailing With The Edheads lyrics: The good news out here on the cruise ships Is your stopping port is just a suggestion A hurrican comes and kills your island And then you're headed in a brand new direction It's the path of a storm Wilma Whose damage caught on film-a And a force of a Flintstones dinosaur But we will not be thwarted The show's just gotten started And who knows what we've got in store And it's okay 'cause we're sailing with the Edheads And we're just happy 'cause we've got a gig We've got two hours 'til it's time to go to dinner I might wear my blond wig I might wear my blond wig There are Edheads in the middle of an ocean For this cruise how patiently they wait And Eddie's jacking off his new love potion (ok, I'm not sure of this line) It's too bad Mike and Robbie don't have dates But since I am on chemo I'll just hit the casino 'Cause I'm not sure that I'm supposed to drink I've got one night behind me And I'm needing you to find me And deliver me a virgin daiquiri And make it pink And it's okay 'cause we're sailing with the Edheads And we're just happy 'cause we've got a gig We've got two hours 'til it's time to go to dinner I just might wear my blond wig I just might wear my blond wig The good news on board of the cruise ship Is that drinking is just a suggestion But the bad news on board of the cruise ship Is each beverage just begs another beverage And it's okay 'cause we're sailing with the Edheads And we're just happy 'cause we've got a gig We've got two hours 'til it's time to go to dinner I might just wear my blond wig You might see my blond wig You might see my blond wig Or maybe my brown wig Or maybe Robbie will wear my wig My pictures up soon, Kerry ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 10 Nov 2005 10:04:45 -0800 From: "John Eddy" Subject: 19th in Somerville? Anyone going? It's my birthday show and, as part of my trip home for Thanksgiving from Seattle, I'm headed to the show with friends and was just curious who else might be in attendance. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 10 Nov 2005 11:19:51 -0800 From: Nicole Carlson Subject: Re: EFO Cruise IV - Frey perspective Kerry Frey wrote: > I thought about redoing it, but I'm swamped with work, so here's my blog > entry (hope this can make up for Shelly's epic ones - your were sorely > missed, Shells): > One new thing they did this year > was have a raffle to do efo karaoke, where the male and female winner > came up and sang with the band. The winners were pretty good (can't > remember their names, hopefully someone onlist will), especially the > lady who killed on "Independence, Indiana". > Sailing With The Edheads lyrics: > You might see my blond wig > Or maybe my brown wig > Or maybe Robbie will wear my wig Edhead karaoke? "Sailing With The Edheads"? Robbie wearing Julie's wig? Can anyone lend me a time machine? I've decided that I need to retroactively go on the cruise. Damn, this new-homeowner poverty sux. - --n twn ------------------------------ End of edheads-digest V8 #125 *****************************