Wake up in a truckstop somewhere about 9:30. Run in to pee on solid ground and grab a newspaper. Damn it's hot in Florida!
We pull in to our hotel at exactly 11:30am. We're staying at the Hilton Garden Inn, right on the beach in Pensacola. Big, new, touristy, and not at all damaged by the hurricane that blasted through here 6 weeks ago. We saw a lot of hurricane damage coming into town, though…
It takes me until 3:40pm to get everyone on the 4 buses checked in. After the initial flurry of about 15 rooms being available, I give my mobile number to Jasmine, the cute young lady at the front desk. I head back out to the bus to watch the NASCAR race and she calls me every 15-20 minutes to let me know as more rooms come open. Such is life when trying to check in about 40 people on a Sunday at a beach resort.
Finally get in my room at 3:45. You can see the view in the photo above. I piddle about the room for an hour or so, then grab a shower. My friend Abby is driving in from about 4 hours away in Louisiana to visit tonight and tomorrow, and she's due to arrive around 6. We used to work together on Slipknot. She just left the Motley Crue tour a few weeks ago and now does wardrobe for Bon Jovi. I tried to get her hired on with System for this tour, but she got the Bon Jovi offer the same week and I don't blame her a bit for taking that tour over this one.
I head down to the parking lot a little after 6. The hotel was kind enough to cordon off a section of the parking lot for our 4 buses to park up, leaving plenty of space to have a cookout today. It's a little too early for that – still hot as hell out. I run into some of the audio guys (my boys!) and join them on their bus for a beer. Abby calls, she's in her room and has been calling mine and getting no answer. I tell her where I am and then jump off the bus to see her waving from her room window about 4 floors up. Goofball!
She's down about 10 minutes later. I introduce her to everyone, then we head off to the liquor store across the street for some ice and a big old bottle of some fancy-ass Tequila. Get there just in time – the store closes at 7 and it looks like we're the last customers of the day.
As we get back to busworld, some of the other folks have started to congregate. The grill's are going and the party's on. Jasmine (from the front desk) has been calling me for the last hour wanting to know when the cookout would start. She got off at 3 and wanted to come back and hang out with us. I tell her to come on back – I want to try and hook her up with Za, our guitar tech.
The sunset tonight is breathtaking, but I don’t have my camera with me. Oops!
By about 9:30, me and Abby are pretty buzzed and in need of dinner. We didn't eat any of the burgers because we want to try the sushi restaurant (actually an Asian/Cajun menu) in the hotel lobby. Invite Andy Battye to join us for dinner and also Za & Jasmine are gonna come along for drinks. Somehow Za & Jasmine never make it to the restaurant, so the 3 of us sit at the sushi bar. Great food, then back to the party in the parking lot.
Drink, talk, drink, talk, drink. Then drink some more.
Look at my watch and it's a little after 11. Because of all the beers & shots, it behooves me to get my butt to my room. Gotta be up at 7, so I want to make sure I'm in bed sometime soon. Could be an ugly morning…
Follow the Bobzilla's Photos link at the right to see photos from my travels.
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