Not a bad morning view to wake up to on Day 2. Where yesterday was all about Travel & Transit, day 2 had a completely different vibe. All of our focus was on getting ready for our Oake on the Water broadcast with Eric Hutchinson and to be honest, things were a bit frenzied. Coordinating the delivery of the production gear, talent, staff and guests is no small feat when combined with the lack of cell service or texting...did we forget to mention that? Not an international calling plan among us!



By early afternoon, Oake on the Water was in full swing from the open-air conference room at the Iberostar. Ocean behind us, a room full of friends from Minnesota in front of us and Eric Hutchinson beside us...things don't get much better.



After we wrapped up air with Eric things got awesome but also a little weird...let's start with the awesome: Eric and Elliott began taking requests and played for another half-hour just for our guests. That set even included an impromptu cover of The Champ's classic 'Tequila'...it was stellar. Even though the heat & sun was intense and he was decked out in a suit coat and dress pants, Eric & Elliott hung out for another hour or so just chatting with our guests and snapping photos.



The weird? Well, this happened:



Perhaps eHutch was inspired by the strength and machismo that oake exuded while masked or he was trying to disburse the embarrassment a bit in an act of bro-solidarity...whatever the case may be, Eric Hutchinson also ended up in the mask:



I believe he was muttering under his breath, "I regret this already." Keep an eye on TMZ.com as I'm sure more photos will be surfacing and Eric Hutchinson in a Luchadore mask is obviously breaking news.

Well, night 1 really...we flew out of Minneapolis in the afternoon and after a connecting flight in Atlanta we arrived in Cancun a little after 10pm. The flights were on-time and we avoided all of the storms along the way, kudos Delta! Warning: Cliche airplane window photo:



Customs was more than a little curious about all of our production gear for the broadcasts which led to a bit of a delay leaving the airport. Our highly skilled engineer Veronica (I believe she's the only bilingual staff member on this trip) handled the situation like a pro and we were on our way!

Rolling up to the Iberostar in the evening just doesn't do it justice. This place is massive! The bar near check-in was fully populated with guests as we arrived and we were lucky enough to run into a handful of our winners and guests from Minnesota and shared a drink or two. Everybody's really amped to see Eric Hutchinson's set today for Oake on the Water. We had a chance to sneak into the area where we'll be broadcasting and it's a real trip...check out the view:



One of the friendly faces that welcomed us at the bar last night was Eric's guitarist/keyboardist/singer, Mr. Elliott Blaufuss! He checked in a day or two before us so he was well equipped to give us the lay of the land and showed us around. He told us that he had been chatting with an employee of the Iberostar on his first night about how the hotel is so bright that the baby sea turtles think it is the moon and charge up the beach and amass on the shore outside the hotel. He actually went out in the middle of the night and helped collect them and set them back on their way by releasing them back into the ocean. Maybe it was the alcohol or Elliott's romantic retelling of the turtle run but we made our way to the moonlit beach in hopes that we too could cross paths with the turtles and help them on their way. The beach was covered with little turtle tracks but alas, no turtles to be found. Maybe tonight.

Oake on the Water's live broadcast with Eric Hutchinson will kick off at 3pm today. Eric is slated to perform around 5pm so be sure to tune in or stream it all live via iHeartRadio here.

Whether you can make it to a broadcast or just tune in from work, we're giving away two trips for two to join Brian Oake and Keri Noble for the last Oake On The Water of the season from Cancun Mexico. The trip includes airfare and 4 days, 3 nights at the 5-star, all-inclusive Iberostar hotel from Delta Vacations plus an on-site Studio C set from Eric Hutchinson!




Purchase A Trip - Delta Vacations have put together a wonderful vacation package that includes:

• Flights to Cancun aboard Delta Air Lines®
• Hotel accommodations at the all-inclusive Iberostar Cancun, Premium Gold in beautiful Cancun, Mexico
• Roundtrip transfers between airport and hotel
• Welcome cocktail party on Sept 5th
• Oake on the Water live broadcast & performance on Sept 6th from Eric Hutchinson

If you book before September 1st using the promo code 'CITIES97' you'll save $150 per booking. Click here to book your trip now! If you have any questions about the trip, please call our Cancun hotline: (952) 417-3297.

It may have taken a bit longer than expected, but the wait was worth it when Ed Sheeran arrived at Maynard's last Thursday!
 


Be sure to join Cities 97 as we broadcast live from the lake/river/ocean side for Oake On The Water.