Back To The Island – Day 4 and 5

Katie January 21, 2013 0 Comments

On the 4th day of Back To The Island – Maribeth went snorkeling while I hung out in the lobby and played on the WiFi.  Hanson had announced they’d be doing it again next year and I was reading all the girls who were at home complaining because we got priority to book first and a discount.

We went to the beach for a bit and were going to go from the beach to the autograph signing, but ended up going back to the room when we noticed I was getting a bit burnt.  We changed out of our bathing suits and then found out that we were not only getting an autograph but we were doing PHOTOS WITH THE BAND as well.  Good thing we didn’t roll up in our bathing suits!

The funny thing at the M&G was – Isaac and Zac just kind of asked how I was doing but Taylor decided he was going to ask me if I was going to the show that night.  I kind of wish I had said no – but I said Yes in what I am sure was a confused tone.  Why would I pay all this money to fly to Jamaica and skip the last show? haha.  I know he just was trying to make small talk, but it was amusing.

Then we just kind of hung out until the last show… We decided to bring a chair mid-beach so I could be a bit closer.  Girls started standing on tables closer to the front completely blocking our view so we had the Island Gigs staff ask them to move.  Very frustrating that they had to be that close and standing, but they listened and moved off to the side.  I ended up standing behind my chair and hanging on to it for support once the show started though because more and more people were standing in front of us and not scrunched up towards the stage.

I also loaded up on glo sticks. Perhaps too many, but I wanted to use them all and not have to bring any home!

They did 2 new songs – their first single from the new album “Get The Girl Back” and another new one that Zc sings lead on called “You can’t Stop Us Now” which I absolutely am in love with.

During Give a Little they had 2 guys and a girl up on stage to dance and it was freaking hilarious. I wish I got it on video. Someone must have, I’ll have to track it down and post it because we were cracking up the whole time.

They were also joined by Warren Haynes for “Soul Shine” as well.

After the show we ended up waiting for the guys to come out from the “backstage” area. Isaac came out and a bartender asked for his autograph but Isaac didn’t have a pen – but guess who did? Oh right, me. So he borrowed my pen and then all 3 of the guys left a little while later.

Turns out they went to the piano bar, which Maribeth found out about when she was in the lobby for WiFi. I was in the shower so I missed out on most of the fun, but I did get to hear Zac singing from outside our door because they had opened the doors at the piano bar so at least I got to feel a little special! (And considering how crowded it was, I probably wouldn’t have wanted to get much closer anyway!)

Then next thing we knew it was time to have our bags outside our door so that we could take our shuttle. We went for breakfast, packed up our carry ons and I managed to break my leg brace… when the dresser tried to eat me. (Not looking forward to how much the replacement is going to be!)

But we made it to the airport and only got my bug spray confiscated. (Not sure how I got it there but couldn’t take it back, but that’s ok. I almost left it behind anyway!) then we had a few hours to kill at the airport.

The rides home were uneventful except that I definitely got a cold from SOMEONE on board… and then I made it home without a problem from the airport and was happy to have the next day off to relax!

Back To The Island – Day 3

Katie January 20, 2013 0 Comments

We kicked off Day 3 with tie dye with Zac.  The staff was hanging out when we got there and we were told to stay cool and they told us a bit about how no one paid any attention to them once Zac had come with the first session.  Zac showed us a couple of tie dye techniques and and then came around to each of the groups to see how we had done.  Tricia, one of the staff members, was helping Maribeth with her design and then taught Zac a new technique while he was with our group – which ended up in him draping his shirt over my shoe for the demonstration!

After Tie Dye we hung our shirts out to dry and then we went to hang out at the pool for a bit.  Then I ordered a wood carving of the Hanson symbol and then we went to the beach to hang out for a bit.  We saw some crabs at the beach too.

While Taylor and Isaac’s events were going on with the other session, we hung out in the lobby to snag some wifi and also to see if we could catch a photo with Taylor or Isaac when they were leaving / going to their sessions.  Of course, many others had the same idea and while some were successful, we were not, mainly because I am not aggressive enough.

Night 3 the show was Charlie Mars and Robert Schwartzman. We had hoped Robert would be on first, so we could catch his whole set, stay for maybe 1 Charlie song and peace out. Instead, Robert was at dinner with us so we knew that Charlie was on first. We actually timed it perfectly though because we heard maybe 12.5 Charlie songs and he was done and then we hung around for all of Robert’s set.

Isaac came on stage and did “Ain’t No Sunshine” with Rob and then they traded covers and did “Tell Me Why” which Rob knew and Isaac didn’t. It was interesting to see it all come together on stage!

Back To The Island – Day 2

Katie January 19, 2013 3 Comments

The second day we slept in until 11!  We also found out that our neighbor was Hanson’s backup player Dimitrius.  (Later we found out their bass player William was also our neighbor)  We took a tour outside of our back door and one of the water sports guys showed us where some fish hang out.  We also spotted the nude beach – complete with a guy on it. Of course.

We went to lunch at the Reggae Cafe near our room and there was a cat with no eyes that sacred Maribeth.  We were going to make a stop at the pool but there was some light rain going on.  We went back in the room and waited for the rain to pass and saw that 2 lounge chairs outside our door were open so we went to hang out there – immediately spotting a crab in the water!

At 3 it was time to make our way over to cooking with Taylor.  We found a table that also had wifi, so that was exciting as I could “live tweet” what was going on.  Taylor was taught by the chef how to make a couple of things while we all watched.  Honestly of the 3 events we did, this one was the most boring.  They first made Jerk Chicken, then some salt fish and finally Taylor asked them how to fry plantains because he likes eating them and wanted to learn.

After that it was time for mixing drinks with Isaac.  To get in the mood we got strawberry daiquiris.  Isaac was hilarious and had to watch the bartender make a drink and then try and copy it.  It seemed to be a lot more interactive than the first event and Isaac was joking around, enjoying himself and enjoying the drinks.

Then it was time for the acoustic show – which has been dubbed “the show no one remembers” – uhh yeah.  We started in the back and I had one of the drinks that had been named the Isaac Hanson… then Maribeth found us a spot on the side of the stage right by Zac where we remained for the rest of the show.

Zac did another new song – the shocking song with a swear word in it! (shit.)  After the show was over we went to the bonfire and then rested up to be ready for Tie Dye with Zac the next morning at 11!

Back To The Island – Day 1

Katie January 18, 2013 0 Comments

Day 1 of my vacation was off to an early start.  After getting home from Kris Allen at 11pm, I went to bed and got up at 3:30 AM to finish packing and head off to the airport.  My flight was at 7, but I wanted to make sure I got there in plenty of time.  And I did.  The shuttle at the valet parking got there immediately after I did, the security line was pretty quick and then I had an hour to spare before boarding.

Of course, that hour of waiting was not without excitement.  A police officer went down the jetway of the gate next to mine and looking out the window there was a fire truck.  A man ended up getting wheeled off the plane and EMTs with a stretcher went over to check him out.  I stopped watching at that point because I didn’t want to be rude.  Hopefully everything turned out ok!

The flight to Philly was quick and I was met by an attendant with a wheelchair who helped me get to my next gate.  My friend Maribeth met up with me at the gate and then we waited until it was time to board.  She had seats a row in front of me, but when we were ready to take off we realized the plane was nearly empty and we each had our own row! So she bounced back and forth to sit by me and play with our cameras a bit – AND we got free cake from first class.

We went through customs at the Montego Bay airport and then went to wait for our shuttle to the resort.  Our name wasn’t on the list but they told us we could get on the shuttle anyway and it would be leaving in 20 minutes.  Also on our shuttle was Kim and Christalyn and Jess and Val, which was nice!

The shuttle ride was 90 minutes and kind of bumpy.  When we got to the hotel they seemed to not know who we were, so we panicked a bit but quickly our reservations were found and we were escorted to our beachfront room.  We were very centrally located and the view from our room was amazing!

We ended up going to dinner at the Italian restaurant and then heard drums.  When we walked out of the restaurant we found that Hanson was doing soundcheck on the beach! We heard them do Thinking Bout Somethin and And I Waited.

Then we headed back to the room to nap a bit before the show that night at 9:30.  We also thought we would shower and were not so happy when we realized we had NO HOT WATER!

That night was the first electric show.  There wasn’t anything too out of the ordinary, but Zac did debut a new song to us – “Save Me From Myself” as his solo.  Then I was happy because concerts where I can add new songs to my list of songs heard live makes me very happy 🙂