We Rock Out with Blue Man and the String
Cheese Incident
Angel Kiss
was never better and Hvar LOVED
us
Continued from Page
11 I slowly crept up to top side and quietly
walked down the crew
hallway. The only sound
was the the lapping
of waves against the
hull of the Crystal
Wind I usually do not feel the need to carry a
gun, but something
inside me warned
my gorgeous
blond head that danger
lurked on the high
seas. I suddenly felt a strong hand on my shoulder
and I tried to spin around, but the firm,
gentle grip kept me from moving. "Tory,
do not be scared. It is me the Guardian".
I turned around and felt a peace come over
me as I looked into
Something told
me I was in
danger aboard
the Crystal
Wind, even
in my comfy flannel
pony jammies
his deep calm eyes. "I have come to warn you that you must
leave these waters
immediatly. Your destiny
and the destiny of
your World is at risk".
the Guardian slowly
spoke. He then handed
me a pair of night
vision binoculars and
pointed out into
the darkness. I raised the binoculars to my eyes and focused.
I saw two speed boats
about 2 miles out,
coming right for
our flotilla. "They
are modern day pirates
who have heard of
the special talents
of Avatars. They
are
here to take the
whole bunch of you
hostage".
WTF? I reached over
to the fire alarm
on
the wall, and pressed
it sending out a
wailing
that caused the lights
to come on all four
Yachts. I turned back around but the Guardian was
gone. I ran to the wheelhouse bumping into
Mela in
I saw two speedboats
racing towards
our flotilla
through the
night vision
binoculars the Guardian
had given me.
the hall. "We are going to be attacked
by Pirates, I frantically hollered".
"WHAT"? Mela replied and we quickly
made our way to Rando who was already deploying
our defense system. "Put these in your ears", Rando
barked and gave us
ear plugs. He then got
on the radio and
gave a code to let the other
Captains know to
have their passengers do
the same. Rando then spun the Crystal Wind around to
face the oncoming
pirates and flipped
a switch
near the GPS on the
console. The other
yachts
followed Rando's
lead and within a
minute,
spotlights from all
of the yachts lit
the
dark ocean. We were
using LRAD (Long
Range
Acoustic Defense)
by the American Technology
Corporation to disorient
our attackers.
Every yacht
should have
the non-lethal LRAD
defense system
The speedboats slowed just a bit and then
accelerated as if
they had paused to
think.
Rando and Mela were
calm, but I have
to admit
I was pretty darn
scared. I heard a
whooooosh
and then the Crystal
Wind shook with a
LOUD
explosion. Rando
told us to grab everything
we needed and begin
evacuating the Crystal
Wind to the Shadow
Yacht. "I am not leaving our brand new yacht,
not for Pirates or anything", I snapped,
stamping my foot down. "We could be
sinking", Rando replied, "I am
sure that was a shoulder launched rocket,
and the boom means it hit something". Mela said she would go down to the engine
room near the crew
quarters and check
to
see if we were leaking
or sinking. Rando
continued to operate
the controls and
our
defense system while
I ran back to our
cabin
to change out of
my Waya pony jammies.
We simply loved
shopping in
Hvar (yes even
the Moove hunks)
When I got to our suite, I was shocked. It
was in shambles. Not from any bomb or missle,
but from someone who was looking for something.
My WONDERFUL designer clothes were strewn
everywhere, drawers were emptied and then
I noticed it......... Mela's laptop was gone. All my notes were
gone and my Dell Inspiron was missing. I
ran to the intercom and let Mela and Rando
know what I saw. Mela came back through the
intercom and told me the damage was minimal
and the crew could repair the damage. Rando then let us know that the speedboats
were heading away from our flotilla and that
the yachts were going to undergo a full security
check before we were to once again be underway. The security check showed no signs of threats
and it appeared the
only things missing
were
the two laptops and
all our handwritten
notes
from our time travel
experience. This
means
they knew about our
shape-shifting and
time
travel gifts. Mela
and I made the decision
to skip any more
Greek islands and
head up
to Hvar Croatia two
days early. This
would
allow a slow and
relaxing cruise,
which we
all needed. Our trip North to Hvar was pleasingly uneventful and we arrived
at our chosen Resort,
(The Amfora Grand Beach Resort), relaxed but still concerned over our missing
notes and laptops.
Hvar is a wonderful
and historic
city with
warm, friendly
locals.
Conde Nast Traveller magazine has elected
the island of Hvar
one of the ten most
beautiful
islands in the world. Tucked into a tranquil bay, surrounded by
a lush pine grove, and only a short ten-minute
walk
The weather
was wonderful
the whole time
we stayed in
Hvar
from the historic city of Hvar, Amfora is
the most exciting new resort in the Adriatic.
With its state-of-the-art conference facility,
diverse amenities and a beautiful private
beach, Amfora is ideal for family vacations,
team building and large conferences. Whether you are relaxing in one of the stone
cabanas at the 1930*s
Bonj *Les Bains*,
enjoying
a local seafood dish
at one of hotel*s
fine
restaurants, or brainstorming
with some colleagues
in the deluxe boardroom
you*ll be amazed
at how the light
and sea dance around
every
corner of this hotel.
The Hotel Amfora is a three-floor, beachfront
property on the Croatian
Island of Hvar in the Adriatic. The hotel is situated on a pebble beach
in a picturesque
bay close to the Hvar town
center. It features
330 guestrooms with modern
decor and balconies
or terraces with sea
or park views. Room
amenities include air
conditioning, satellite
television, wireless
Internet access,
minibars, direct-dial phones
and bathrooms with
bathrobes and hair dryers.
The Amfora Grand Beach Resort was purrrfect.
The hotel has several dining options: From
Maestral, a yacht deck restaurant that serves
dishes smoke-grilled over grapevines, seafood
and fine wine to Colonnade, a beach bar and
grill serving cocktails and picnic-chic lunches
to Veranda, a turn-of-the-century architectural
gem with a wide-open view of Hvar's Amfora
Bay where guests can lounge during the day
and
Delicia is
owned and operated
by a Father
and Son team.
If you have
a super yacht anchored
in the bay,
be sure to
stock up.
enjoy creative dining and dancing under
the stars by night. We all checked in, and then we broke out
into seperate groups.
Some of us explored
the resort, while
others felt the need
to
get even MORE sun
and surf, while the
rest
decided to go to
shopping downtown
Hvar.. Of course, I went with the bunch who went
shopping in downtown Hvar. I had heard of
two shops I really wanted to find: Tanja
Curin, which makes fabulous pieces of jewelry
that are works of art and wearable sculptures.
- and Delicia, which offers a variety of
superb homemade sausages, prosciutto, cheeses,
olives, capers and other
Tina sells
seashells by
the seashore
delicacies. We found Delicia first and Mela and I decided
to stock the yachts with as much as we could
from the Father and Son owned shop. Apollo bought some Lavender Oil as a gift
and Aylin found a
wonderful little
girl,
named Tina selling
shells at her small
stall. Tina speaks several languages and is simply
adorable. We ordered
a total of two dozen
shells and had them
delivered to the
pier.
If you are ever in
Hvar, you simply
must
head down to Dubovica
bay and look for
Tina,
you will not be dissapointed. As the afternoon
Angel Kiss (minus Twisted) doing an acoustic
set
sun moved to the West, Mela, Craftie, Twisted,
Samantha Sings and I decided to do a dress
rehearsal for the concert the next night.
We dressed in our trademark Cheerleader uniforms
and found a nice quiet spot down near the
sea. It was almost like doing an acoustic set
on Austin City Limits or MTV. We were able
to adjust some chords and reworked a few
rifts. We sounded pretty good, I thought,
and slowly as the guests of the Amfora went
for after dinner strolls we attracted a small
group. It was such a wonderful moment as
Avatar and Human couples danced slowly as
the stars began to appear. By the time we
were finished, there was almost $2000.00
in our open guitar case and we cracked up
laughing. We finished our impromptu acoustic concert
and I stopped by
the front desk on the way
back to our suite.
I asked for an envelope
and put the money
in it and wrote Tina's
name on it. I do
not why, but there was something
totally precious
about the little businesswoman. The next morning was spent exploring the
fabulous resort,
and making sure everything
was all set for the
concert. Blue Man was all ready and the opening act,
The String Cheese Incident had also arrived. We
Checking out
the arena for
the show with
our security
met with the local police, the concert promoter,
and several VERY excited fans before heading
over to the stadium where the show was to
happen. Of all the concerts and shows we have done
so far, the folks in Hvar were by far the
most professional. Everything was set and
ready to go - from the sound and lights to
making sure there was a good supply of lemon
cookies and Oreos for yours truly. LOL String Cheese took the stage at 6:00 PM and
the packed arena
suddenly was engulfed
in
a sweet smelling
smoke. The really kewl thing about String Cheese
is that they can
just jam for long periods
of time on the same song, bringing new sounds
to an old familiar
friend. Starting their
set with Black Clouds (from the 1997 CD - Born on the Wrong Planet)
and moving right
into "How Mountain Girls Can Love", it did not take long for the Hula
Hoops to come out
and swirling dancers
filled
the crowd. Auntie Wood ran out from back stage and jumped
off the stage into the mosh pit and the concert
goers LOVED it as a roar of approval was
raised to the Heavens. The String Cheese Incident, one of the bands
involved in the jam movement of the mid-to-late
1990s was formed in Boulder, Colorado in
1993. The band is composed of Michael Kang (acoustic/electric
mandolin, electric guitar, and violin), Michael
Travis (drums and percussion), Bill Nershi
(acoustic guitar, lap steel guitar, and electric
slide guitar), Kyle Hollingsworth (piano,
organ, Rhodes, and accordion), and Keith
Moseley (bass guitar), and, in 2006, Jason
Hann, an auxiliary percussionist. Their music is strongly influenced by bluegrass
sounds, as well as forays into rock, calypso,
Auntie Wood
Nymph in the
mosh pit
country, funk, jazz, Latin, reggae, and
occasional psychedelia. The String Cheese
Incident (often abbreviated to SCI) has been
described as a democratic ensemble rather
than a band, since all of the members contribute
their own original compositions to the group's
burgeoning library and share vocal duties
on a number of cover versions as well as
their own songs. If a de facto leader had
to be named, such a title would probably
fall upon Nershi, who is responsible for
the bulk of the group's original song library.
According to the band's website [1] "After
summer 2007, Billy Nershi is leaving The
String Cheese Incident to pursue other musical
projects."
The source of the
band's name is shrouded
in mystery.
String Cheese
did three encores
amid a strange
sweet smelling
smoke
Much like other jam bands that tour the country
extensively, and like the Grateful Dead before
them (with its legions of Deadheads), the
String Cheese Incident have a large and loyal
following of fans. Many of their fans will
travel in caravans from show to show and
see one concert after another
"Sometimes
a River"
. The improvisational nature of the music
allows for a totally different experience
each night, so it is never like seeing the
same thing over and over. Friends of Cheese, as the fans have come
to be known, are
generally sort of
"Hippy"
in nature, although
the String Cheese
Incident
has attracted a wide
range of fans due
to
their great musicianship.
Many FOC were former
devotees of the Grateful
Dead, Phish, and
other bands that
no longer tour. Some
fans
move between the
tours of other groups
like
Widespread Panic,
Yonder Mountain String
Band, etc. and then
jump back to see
String
Cheese when they
want to. SCI played until almost 9:00 PM, using their
famous light and laser show to woo the crowd.
After three encores and a 30 minute break,
Blue Man and Angel Kiss were ready to take
the stage.
The Moove Hunks
making sure
our fans did
not rush the
stage.
I cannot even describe the show with Blue
Man. If String Cheese was a cornucopia of
sound, lasers and light - the Angel Kiss
vs Blue Man Show was a wonderful mix of theatrics,
GREAT music and the famous percussion of BMG. Starting out with Rock Movement #63 and finishing
with the Who's "Baba
O'Riley",
the 3 hour show was
by far the best concert
the members of Angel
Kiss had given so far.
Mela's voice was
right on track, Twisted
Dragon was never
better on drums and Craftie
was simply superb.
I was okay on guitar. The absolute best part of the concert and
our visit to Hvar were the people - they
were so very welcoming and friendly.even
the security people were dancing and some
were even hula-hooping. (Be looking for our
DVD this Summer) After the show, we hooked up with some locals
at THE gathering
spot in Hvar, "Carpe
Diem" and danced
until the wee hours
of the morning with
Italians, Greeks and
locals. On a scale
of 1 to 10, I give Hvar
a 12. LOL. The extra
two points are because
of the locals. I
simply loved them.
Copyright 2007/2008 - TorLa Inc
This Site is an independent affiliate of
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All Coding except where noted is owned by
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Contact Us: CrystalAngelFashion@earthlink.net
I slowly crept up to top side and quietly
walked down the crew
hallway. The only sound
was the the lapping
of waves against the
hull of the Crystal
Wind
The Amfora Grand Beach Resort was purrrfect.
Angel Kiss (minus Twisted) doing an acoustic
set
time on the same song, bringing new sounds
to an old familiar
friend. Starting their
set with 
and the famous percussion of BMG.
. 
