This month is dedicated to our trip to Seattle to do the Tall Ships Festival. The only other event of note was our trip to Pikes Peak, but I've made a little travelogue for your entertainment and education so I focused on our Seattle trip.
Colorado is going fine. Sharon's doing well for Ruth, selling art. Her sales are way up over the previous year. As for me, I'm not really making much but my sales are great. We've had the chance to hang out and get to know some of the local acts and visit with some friends we don't usually get to see this time of year.
We've been looking forward to this trip for a while. We really like the Seattle area and we all really need to make some money performing. Plus, I may get a chance to see my step brother who lives out there.
 Jef takes pics at Pikes Peak |
 We arrive at SEATAC |
 Riki's got the rental car |
The flight into Seattle was easy enough. Ronn and I were in Colorado so we flew out together. Riki was in Minneapolis so he flew in from there. We flew in from Denver 'cuz it was cheaper than flying from Colorado Springs. The only problem with that is that the airport is like 60+ miles from where we stay, so it makes for a long drive.
After we made it to Seattle, we called Riki who had landed a little earlier and was picking up our rental car. We loaded up and headed to our hotel. The hotel was a Quality Inn. At least that was its name. I'm not sure it was a "quality" inn.
Once we got settled we went to grab some food and check out our stage. We found a micro-brewery in Tacoma near the site and had some great food. After eating we went to the Tall Ships site and checked out our digs. The stage was huge but had no audience access from the front of the stage. Being the type of show we are, we needed to be able to access the audience easily, so we made the choice to do the show in front of the stage instead of on the stage. I talked to my step brother about hooking up and we decided to meet at the show on Saturday so we could get some rest for the next day's shows.
Our first show wasn't 'til noon so we could take our time have breakfast and leisurely head over to the festival. Once we got there we got mic'ed up and got ready to perform. Our friend Mary Eagan showed up to help us sell our DVDs. She's been an incredible supporter of the twins on the west coast for years. We got her the product she needed and gave her some pointers on moving our swag.
 Our stage (before we went on) |
 Our show schedule |
 Arrr, drink up and plot yer course |
The first show was light but enjoyable. And, I have to say we had an audience. (As small as it was.) The musical act before us had nobody there at all. This continued to be the theme throughout the day. Musical act... no audience, Tortuga Twins... audience. Etc, etc...
 Watch video as an WMV |
At the end of the day, Mary invited us to dinner. She said there's this cool place called the Lobster Shop. It's on the shore of Puget Sound. Since it was the 4th of July we thought this would be the perfect place to eat and watch the fireworks. On the way to the restaurant we ran into a bunch of roadblocks. I'm not talking figuratively, they were actual roadblocks! Apparently, the area where the restaurant is is heavily visited for the fourth due to its vantage point for all the fireworks. We had to drive about 6 miles to go one and had to sweet talk some cops, but we finally made it. We got as close as possible and walked the rest of the way.
Once we arrived at the Lobster Shop we realized what a beautiful place it was. And, it had outside seating ON the water. We all had lobster, of course. It was incredible! Some of the best lobster I've ever eaten. Toward the end of the meal, the fireworks started. They were also very impressive and they lasted like thirty minutes! I got some decent video of it. After the fireworks and the meal Mary informed us that she was buying us dinner. We were blown away! We really didn't want her to do that but she insisted. Well, let me be the first but certainly not the last to say THANK YOU MARY! Thank you for wonderful dinner and all your help. We really appreciate it!
 Jef and good friend the Geico Gecko |
 Dinner with Mary |
 Gorgeous 4th of July dinner view |
I managed to sneak off and corner our waitress long enough to pay for the deserts. It was the least we could do. After dinner we found our way back to the hotel and got some rest to prepare for day two.
Day two went much the same as day one. Do a show, go to the beer garden... do another show, go back to the beer garden. About half the way through the day we stumbled upon a fan from Arizona and his wife. Well actually he stumbled upon us. His name is Dave and he's in the coast guard reserves. He was using his boat for security in the harbor during the event. As they were coming in from the harbor they heard us over the sound system say "and the crowd went wild!" He thought, "Holy crap! The Tortugas are here!" As soon as they docked, they came and found us.
Apparently, I've dragged Dave on stage a couple of times in Arizona as the Sheriff of Nottingham. He was at the Tall Ships Festival with his wife and son and some friends if memory serves me. They're a great bunch. He offered to take us on a little boating trip to another one of the restaurants on the sound near where we ate last night.
 Me and the boys aboard the EAGLE |
 The boys and David |
After our day of performances we went over to Dave's boat and sailed off into the sunset, literally. We docked near the restaurant and walked over. Ronn, Riki and I were still in costume so we managed to turn a few heads. It wasn't so bad because everyone in the area knew about the Tall Ships and expected to see a sailor, pirate or two. Some woman actually recruited us to sing her friend Happy Birthday.
Dinner was fun. It was nice to hang out with Dave and the gang. We headed back to the dock so we could head home. The boat ride was wonderfully enjoyable, as were the cocktails on the way.
 David and the crew of the Sand Cutter |
 Night cruise aboard the Sand Cutter |
 Dinner with David, wife and family |
We finished out our run without a hitch. I did get to see my step brother and his daughter. What a cutie! (His daughter, not my step bro.) The other days all went well. We even had to have them add seating the last couple of days.
Thanks to all the people that helped make this an enjoyable and successful run. Mary, Dave... thanks for your help and hospitality. Thanks to the beer garden crew for all the free drinks! And finally, big thanks to Lori for hiring us and taking great care of us. I hope we can work together again.
 Mountain view over the wing |
 Ronn reads USAToday on the trip home |
 Minois being cute |
Lastly, I've been doing all this construction on the side to make ends meet. I thought I'd be glad to be finished and not have to do it anymore, but I think I'm gonna miss it. I really like working with my hands. Who knows, maybe I'll keep doing the construction thing. All we have to do is finish one more weekend and then it's off to Minnesota! I can't wait! It'll be nice to be a Tortuga again. See ya there!!!
P.S. A little info about the Bounty... This ship was built for the 1962 film: "Mutiny on the Bounty" starring Marlon Brando. All thru my childhood it was docked at the St. Petersburg Pier in Florida. I'd been on it and thought it was very cool. A couple years ago a film company came to St. Pete and wanted to use the ship for some scenes for their production. The city agreed and they started filming.
 The Bounty aproaches |
 Poster from the 1962 film |
 Poster from the 2005 film |
One day, one of the employees of Cha Cha Coconuts, the restaurant on top of the pier, (Sharon was a manager there - Ronn and Riki waited tables there) recognized some of the actresses getting out of the vans as very well-known porn stars. It turned out the company had given the city a fake script so they could use the ship. That movie was "Pirates" the largest budget porn ever shot with a budget of over 1 million dollars. And, the first porn shot in HD. Just thought you should know. 😉
[The official website of this epic porn film: http://piratesxxx.com - there are videos and photos on the website, including a trailer for the sequel. Plus, here's a (no nudity / all (porn-style) acting clip posted on Youtube, and another YouTube clip, all from the original fine film. - AB]
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