Tuesday, June, 26, 2007
As you Know I am going to be traveling to Switzerland and England to help support JSI with their International Festivals that take place in these 2 countries. JSI is a company based in Nashville, TN that provides entertainment to festivals all over the world. The last of June seems to kick off the festival season and JSI, which is owned by my ex-wife Judy, has quite a few festivals that run consecutively and she asked if I would be available to help with some. Before I could begin this trip I had to go to Nashville and begin my “schooling” on what I can and can’t do. I  failed to tell you that my daughter, Lindsey, also works for JSI and she and Judy and Penny were really getting a kick out of telling me what to do. I guess pay backs are Hell. LOL.
The day started and ended with me not understanding everything, but I am getting there.

Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Got started early. Still being instructed on what I need to do, not only from the travel aspect but also connecting the computer, using the phone internationally and who I am to give gifts to. There is a lot to learn but there is a reason for this. Ever sense I have known Judy, she is very thorough on what she does. Does not matter what it is, from housework to festivals, all bases are covered. Her thoroughness is why JSI is considered one of the top entertainment providers for Festivals through out the world.
OK. I think I have most of it down. Countdown is coming fast. I have to throw this in. Judy left for her part of the trip this afternoon. The night prior, she had gone to a business meeting in Nashville and when she went to leave, she had a flat tire. Since it was pouring down rain, she decided to get a ride home and have AAA come out today and fix the flat. However, Lindsey gets a call today at 11:00 AM and she asks if we can go down and change her tire and take it to the nearest Firestone. It was about 90 degrees and the car was parked on a hill. As I was changing the tire, Lindsey received a phone call from Judy asking how it was going. I told her to tell her mom that I had a piece of paper in my pocket that said I didn’t have to do this anymore. LOL! I guess this is the start of things to come!

Thursday, June 28, 2007
My flight to Switzerland is today. I leave Nashville and fly to Newark and then on to Zurich. The flight to Newark was delayed for about 2 hours due to weather in Newark. The flight itself was a little rough and the gentleman next to me was on his first flight and it was tough on him. About half way the ole bag was pulled out of the seat pocket, however it did not last long, he must not have eaten much before we left. The flight from Newark to Zurich was a 7 ½ hour flight. I only got to sleep about 2 hours due to some excited kids on the flight and a dad who had not the slightest idea how to handle kids.

Friday, July 29, 2007
I arrived in Zurich about 9:00 AM Zurich time. Which is 2:00 AM Central Time. I am suppose to meet up with Carlene’s manager and the Bellamy Brothers. We are all suppose to ride from the airport to the hotel together, the hotel is about 2 hours away. After I arrived I found Cathy, however The Bellamy’s have missed their connection and were about 1 ½ hours late arriving Zurich. When they do arrive, they have no luggage or equipment. We wait around for an additional 2 hours trying to work out the details of the luggage, etc. We decide do leave and hope for the best. Everyone is fried and The Bellamy’s, luckily, do not have to perform until Sat night. The drive to the hotel is great. About 30 minutes away from the hotel, the Alps come into view. The sight is unbelievable. We pass over lakes that are the clearest you have ever seen. Upon arriving at the hotel, Judy meets us with all our packages. I am trying to watch her every move so I will know what to do in England.
Carlene Carter, Augie Meyers and TexManiacs are the acts that JSI has on the Festival for tonight. The festival is called Trucker Festival and in the States we would call it a Fair. The trucks are all brought in for display. The grounds are full of campers as well as cycle riders. They are expecting over 20 thousand for tonight’s events. The Bellamy’s are told some of their Equipment has been found and will be delivered Saturday morning. Some of the guys had to buy essentials on one of the guys bought some underwear and he had a great time describing it to everyone. All the band as well as Howard and David were very cool about it all.
Augie and the Texmaniacs go on and brought the house down. These people are going crazy for their music. They love their country music here. Carlene goes on and does a great show. They love Carlene here. This is her second year in a row at this festival.
Get back to the hotel about 2:00 AM; by the time I get to bed around 3:00 AM, I realize I have not been to bed since 4:45 AM Thursday morning!

Saturday, July 30, 2007
Cannot get to sleep, so I get up at 6:00 AM and go to breakfast. The day starts by taking the Bellamy’s over for load in. They send their soundman, Greg, back to the Zurich airport to get what has come in. The rest of the band does load in and soundcheck with borrowed equipment. All of their equipment comes in, except the Steel guitar. They know that Heather Myles is arriving today for the festival and they can just use hers. Just to show you how things can happen, when Greg returned with their equipment, the Bellamy’s steel had arrived and he rode back to the airport with Heather and her band. However Heathers steel guitar was lost and she ended up using the Bellamy’s steel!
I have to tell you that Interlaken is one of the most amazing places I have ever seen. The people are most friendly. They mainly speak German here, but they know English very well. It is all small streets, very narrow. There are as many bicycle riders as cars and the young kids ride with their parents in the middle of the road. You have to really watch for them. The Pedestrians have the right of way. If it was like this in the States, half the population would be gone in the first day!
Heather Myles performs first tonight. I was really impressed with her and her band is super. The crowd loves her. She is from California and has a huge following in Europe. She is also very nice on the eyes. The Bellamy’s go on next and everyone went wild. It was strange to see about 5 thousand people in the tent all singing the Bellamy’s songs along with them. They only have 1 of their concession bags so all the merchandise was gone very quickly. In all over 30 thousand people were at the festival and the promoters were extremely pleased. Get back to the hotel about 2:00 AM again and have to get up at 4:30 AM to get the Texmaniacs and Augie off to the airport.

Sunday, July 1, 2007
Have Sunday off, Judy has left with the Bellamy’s headed to Austria, Ireland, Latvia and Germany. Heather and her band leave for another date somewhere in Europe. Chris and Cory from Carlene’s group, along with myself go to “the top of Europe” This is trip to the tallest point in Europe. It is a 2 hour train ride up the Alp with stops in little quaint towns. The train ride is a normal way of travel in Europe. Upon arriving at the tope we were in about 2 feet of snow. We walked through ice caves. You also had the option to ski or snowboard. We had lunch and looked at the beautiful scenery. Just unbelievable. It is very hard to describe, but an unbelievable memory. We got back to the hotel and had dinner with Heather and Carlene and band. It was a great evening. Went to bed about 1:00 AM and have to be back up by 4:00 AM to see Heather off to the airport.

Monday, June 2, 2007
Another day off. Walked through the town and bought some souvenirs and chocolates. Tonight is dinner with the 2 promoters. I have never had real fondue until tonight. I don’t think I have ever eaten this much cheese and bread! Also learned how to cook your own beef as you eat the cheese. It was a lot of starch, but oh so good. The promoters Iris and Lorenz are very nice. This was the 14^th Festival and the most successful. Glad I had a little part of it. We leave for England tomorrow.

Taylor