I went with my good friend Kevin, who I have force-fed The Doors for the last 24 years. It was a good excuse to get out of town and maybe reclaim what youth we had. Before the end of it, we would discover our age had indeed caught up with us.

We got to the Hyatt after an hour-long shuttle ride. As usual, we were placed in the crappiest room overlooking the parking lot. We immediately went to the corner liquor store and stocked up after discovering our room had a fridge. After getting back and trying to convince ourselves the room wasn't that bad, I told Kevin I was going downstairs and asking for another. A new person was at the desk and, lo and behold, there was now a room available overlooking Sunset Blvd.

Our fridge was loaded by the hotel staff and moved over to our new room. That's when I discovered I was paying for the damn fridge--not once but each night! Fortunately, we were aware that the safe box was not free.

Another DoorsFest participant, Frank Bella, would find out the hard way that the safe was not a free storage bin for his dirty socks.

That evening Kevin and I headed down to the hotel lobby. We eventually ended up at a table with another group of Doors fans including someone who hated The Doors. It was perfect, love them or hate them. We had already started assembling our little Doorsfest family. This was going to be fun. Boston John, Tisch, and Mickey Mack had been added to the group. Or should I say, they added Kevin and myself.

That night was open for exploring the town. We all headed out to different nightspots--one after another. I ended up capping off the night by wandering on Sunset by myself and locating a couple of foreign Doorsfest attendees who were also lost. We found a homeless guitarist on the sidewalk and convinced him to play Doors songs while we screamed our guts out. I did my best rendition of Gloria--obscenities and all. This was fun until we were told to knock it off by a hotel employee. What's his problem, I thought it was early--it was after 2AM! Somehow, we were also right across from the Hyatt and in front of another hotel where a lot of Doors fans were staying. No wonder they weren't tougher on us. Sharlene (another DoorsFest attendee) later told us about some crazy drunks singing Doors songs. Gee, wonder who that was?

The next day was the scheduled gathering in the hotel ballroom. It was a great outlay of everything from books to posters to original artwork and photography. I covered Frank Bella's table for a bit as he needed to go up to his room. Frank was hurting.

Ray arrived and did a small rendition on his keyboard and then the signing began. The line never seemed to go down and you could tell Ray was getting tired, or at least his hand was. However, he was very accommodating and allowed most people to have their picture taken with him. Eventually, they started paring down what he would sign. I had three items already signed and decided to get back in line and try again. Nope--the security guy (was that Eddie Murphy?) snagged me. Security: Hey, you've been in this line before. Me: No I haven't. Security: Yes you have. Me: No I have not. Security: Step out of line right now! Step out of line? What the hell did that mean--I thought I was out of line? That was military talk for get the hell out of there. Oh well, I had some signatures and by all accounts, I think everyone walked away with at least one.

Danny Sugerman would also do some readings next. The group was very respectful. Kevin and I milled around some more and purchased items. I still regret not buying a signed print from Henry Diltz. The prices were reduced at the fest from what you would normally pay.

That evening it was off to the Whisky to see Wild Child. We were all in the mood for some music and good loud fun. The Whisky was serving up plenty of whisky that night. I made the tragic mistake of ordering up rounds of Tequila. When only a few wanted theirs, I thought it was a shame to waste it. That would be a mistake as my mouth was about to get a little loose.

I thought I was at airport security on the way in. The place was packed with security guards. That was cool until I noticed they were in the bathroom as well. Can't a guy take a leak without some Bruno looking over his back? I had enough. It was time for good old American freedom of speech. As I was taking a leak, I asked the guard: Don't you have anything better to do than watch people urinate? No answer. He left. Right on! It worked. As I walked out, Bruno 1 took up position to my left and Bruno 2 had arrived to my right. Bruno 1: It's time for you to leave. His intention was pretty clear. I was escorted out the door. I always figured I would get thrown out of a bar for DOING something. Dorothy was not in Kansas anymore!

Great, now I was on Sunset, $5 to my name (equals no taxi) and wearing an old pair of sandals. This was going to be a long walk back to the Hotel. I walked past a taco place and picked up a couple of Chicken Tacos and chips.

Tisch had shown me the place the night before. The food alone there was worth the trip to L.A. I got back to the Hotel with tired legs and found a couple of stragglers hanging out in the lobby. Military guys. I invited them up to the room to party. That was cool… at least the whole night wasn't a loss. We even had a little humor when one of them was hanging his head out past the balcony. Not a good idea with rooms above you. Sure enough, some liquid hit him square on the head. I would find out later that Darryl Read wasn't exactly holding his glass straight that night above us!

My roommate Kevin would arrive with the rest of the troupe later. Turns out he was "poured" into the back of the taxi by the caring DoorsFest family. I wish I had been so lucky.

We woke up the next morning (the color had returned to our skin) and boarded the Lizard Tour Bus. I thought I was hurting until I saw Brad (another attendee). Good deal, I wasn't the only one who felt like crap. Kevin was just a little better than me. We spent a while at the Griffith Observatory where a crazy Simon (attendee) would recreate Jim's walk along the edge of the wall including an original dance. Simon too had a pretty good audience.

The tour was great seeing all kinds of Doors history. Especially fantastic was the stop at the Alta Cienega Motel and Jim's room. We spent a good deal of time there just hanging out with the vibe.