This is my friend Nick aka "Nicktorious" performing a show at the Sunset festival, Pier 60, Clearwater Beach, Florida on Sunday evening 2nd February 2025. Which means I didn't quite make the ship. In actual fact my second plane not only arrived on time, it was 30 minutes early. So on arrival in Tampa I collected both of my checked in cases (both full of show props) and ran for a taxi. My driver did his very best and I was at the cruise ship terminal at 3.45 pm. "Oh alack, alack" they have already pulled up the gangway. The dock crew called the boat, but sadly the Captain would not let that gangway back down and I watched the ship leave without me. My daughter Poppy who had flown over from London waved me goodbye.
What to do now?
A couple (or ten) phone calls later it was decided that I should fly to Key West first thing in the morning and I should stay overnight in the Tampa area.
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade! Remembering that I actually have friends in the area I headed for Clearwater Beach. I booked a reasonably priced hotel (something that is getting much harder to do) in the taxi and after checking in I headed for the sunset festival. I arrived just in time to catch Nick perform his show right after the sun set. I have known Nick since he was a child and he is the prodigy of my friend and fellow performer Dallas Saupe, this was the first time I had ever seen Nick perform a solo show and I was impressed. Nick has great skills, nice comic timing and comes across as genuine. Go see him! Also afterwards we had dinner at Frenchy's which has some of the best Grouper sandwiches in Florida!
And so yesterday morning I am in a taxi at 5.30 am for a ride to Tampa airport, my flight to Key West is scheduled for 8 am. I check in both my prop cases and finally board a very pretty pink airplane.
It was so cute I had to take a picture of the Flamingo on its engine.
There were 6 passengers onboard and without incident we arrive on schedule in beautiful Key West where I had spent 9 years (2001 through 2010) performing at the Hilton / Westin / Opal (same owners, different franchises) two shows per night, every night (almost) 365 days of the year (barring hurricanes) during their own Sunset celebration.
Guess what? one of my checked in bags was missing!!!!!! There was another flight coming in at 11 am, hopefully it would be on that. I headed down to the dock, which ironically is where I used to perform my shows, to wait the ship and have coffee. My ex coworker Curtis was playing the steel pans to welcome the ship and we were happy to see each other again.
And then the boat arrived and Poppy was waving to me from the deck.
A short while later I was boarded and better still a short while after that my other case arrived.
Poppy and I had a lovely day visiting our old haunts and even our old house.
And now we are just off the North East coast of Cuba heading for the Dominican republic. My first show is tomorrow night at 9.15 and I am pleased to say i have all my props!
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