Ahhh, Florida! Brrr, South Carolina!!

4/15, 3:23pm: Just finished lunch - a delicious turkey wrap w/ fries (Beth loves when I go into detail
about my food) - and decided it was time to update the old journal. Right now we’re in Myrtle Beach, S. Carolina where, I must say, it’s beautiful but rather windy & cold. However, the sun is out and as soon as I finish this I’m going to take a walk to the health club and hit the weight room. I can finally move without my skin feeling like it’s being rubbed with sandpaper (more on that later).

We kicked off a week in Florida at West Palm Beach where it was incredibly warm, sunny, and quite tropical (as you might expect). Had a good show and then took off for Naples. Naples is Florida’s version of Beverly Hills but near the beach and without the plastic surgery. We stayed at a luxurious hotel called The Inn on Fifth where the sliding glass door in my room opened up to a lovely courtyard & pool. Yup, I could literally take 10 steps and be basking in the sunshine next to a perfectly heated pool. I don’t know about you, but I like it when the water is around 78 degrees; just cool enough to cool you down, but not so cold as to cause shrinkage.

Anyhow, first day there I laid out by the pool to get some sun & fun. I don’t know, it must’ve been around 2pm; had a mag, my shades, and some lotion. A slight breeze was blowing from the southwest (actually, i don’t know where it was blowing from or if there even was a breeze, but it sounds good doesn’t it?) and all the pieces were in place for a slice of paradise. Fast forward to 2 hours later. I’m in my room, red as a tomato and wondering where the time went. Oh boy did I get nailed! Plus, I was wearing my sunglasses the whole time (don’t want to get wrinkles around the eyes!) and so I had this reverse raccoon look going on for the next 4 days. Oh, and did I mention it hurt like hell? Aside from that, Naples was great.

Where next? Clearwater! Not the beauty of Naples, but equally great weather and, thankfully, places to eat after 10pm as well as a decent-sized mall within walking distance from the hotel. I had left my cellphone charger in a previous hotel room and was grateful to find a Radio Shack where I could by another.

In Clearwater we had truly one of the best shows ever. Not only did the band sound great, but Humpy was clearly enjoying himself. I noticed he was having fun with the music; playing around with the melodies a little bit and even throwing in alittle scat here & there. (FYI: “Scatting” is a term for vocal improvisation). Also noticeable was his inclusion of some very funny and perfectly timed jokes I had not heard before. When he gave Jeff (our MD) a high-five as he exited the stage, I knew we had hit one out of the park.

And so, as I sit here in the comfort of my room in the Hilton Resort in Myrtle Beach, SC, I contemplate - among other things - how perfectly I trimmed my goatee this morning, how fortunate I am to know the love of a terrific woman, how grateful I am to be doing something I love in such beautiful surroundings (no...not napping!), and to have my Dad - whom I love - happy and healthy and continuing to win at poker.

Until next time...
--Adam