Meeting of the Minds '99
   by BobRob

The 1999 Meeting of the Minds in Key West last month was not only my first Parrothead convention, but also my first trip to the Florida Keys. The Five Amigos (Randy & Jean Little, David & Lynne Rogers and meself) rented a Ford Windstar to carry us all to the end of the world. Our first stop was in Orlando for supper at the Margaritaville Cafe at Universal Studio's City Walk. After 2 hours of shopping at the Mini-Mart and eating my first official Cheeseburger in Paradise, we were ready to hit the Florida Turnpike and head for the Keys. We reached Key Largo about 4AM and made the next 100 miles in total darkness, oblivious to the striking beauty that lay around us. Key West greeted us around 5:30AM and we cruised a deserted Duval Street trying to figure out our next move. The other Four Amigos couldn't check in to the Holiday Inn La Concha until 4PM, so we all crashed at the Truman Annex condo where I was staying in until it was time for them to check in. From that point on it was non-stop activity until we left on Sunday morning. The following is a brief account of what actually happened during the next 4 grueling days in paradise.

We toured the Key West Lighthouse, saw the Caribbean Cowboys at Rick's; went to the Southernmost Point in the continental US; saw Sunny Jim White at Sloppy Joe's; had breakfast at the Blue Heaven (awesome garden spot to eat complete with chicken graveyard & outdoor shower stall where it's $1 to shower and $2 to watch); caught St. Somewhere at the Hog's Breath Saloon; saw the sunset at Mallory Square; saw Koko Loco at the Pier House (with Jackson singing Please Take Your Drunken 15 Year Old Girlfriend Home), saw the 6-toed cats at the Hemingway House; caught Scott Kirby at the Pier House; toured the third-oldest house in Key West; saw Jim Morris and the Big Bamboo Band at Rick's; was given a private viewing of Barbara Quigley's Tro-Pics line of original oils and prints at the aforementioned third-oldest house in Key West; saw Jonathon Birchfield at the Margaritaville Cafe; Randy & Jean & I ran into Mike Utley on Duval Street and followed him like the true stalkers we are until to our surprise, he did an about face and started walking back towards us. Ever the diplomatic Parrotheads we waited for him to approach us again and got a few pictures and autographs; also caught Gary & the Landsharks at Sloppy Joe's and some heavy-metal reggae band at the Green Parrot, the oldest bar in Key West, a true locals establishment. All in all, the trip was well worth the effort and ultimately seemed to fly by way too fast. Sunday rolled around and it was time to head for SC. Another highlight was meeting up with several friends of mine from the alt.fan.jimmy-buffett newsgroup that I'd never met before. A great bunch of folks, many of whom are members of the SPHC. See ya next year Cayo Hueso. You ROCK!