Bob (m/v September Song) has been planning a surprise 60th birthday party for Stephanie for a few weeks now, making preparations long distance while they were in Sarasota for a DeFever rendezvous (at which their two dogs Cassie and Godiva made a presentation). She wasn't totally surprised, since some friends called with regrets the day of the party, but she was somewhat taken aback by the crowd and of course the wonderful decorations, which were the finest Daffy Doug's and Dollar Tree had to offer.
Bob hired a great band (Tim Dee and Jim Hill) and Dockside made some delicious appetizers. Bob even had drink tickets for all the guests! There were the regular dock possums, some DeFever friends who will be traveling with all of us to the Bahamas, and lots of old and new friends. The cake was big enough to share with the whole restaurant, and some kids at a nearby table enjoyed Stephanie's scented bubbles.
There was laughing, dancing, some real and gag gifts, and a great evening of fun. One guy in the bar apparently was worn out just from watching the party!
Thanks to Bob for the great food and music, and thanks to Stephanie for finally joining all the rest of us in our 60s.
It's great to have 4 boats from Tennessee at Dockside, and even greater to run into Tennesseans here and there. It's happened so often during our travels that we shouldn't be surprised, but we always are. Last year in Key West we ran into friends Steve and Peggy from Kingston at Schooner Wharf (our home away from home), having had no idea they were anywhere near us. We joked about coincidences and caught up on several years' worth of news.
When we went to Key West last week to get our U.S. re-entry certification, of course we were in Schooners. And once again, out of the blue, there was Steve! They'd come back to Marathon for several weeks in their motor home, accompanied by other friends from Kingston. Turns out some of them knew some of us (or our kids knew each other), and we had a fun visit.
Steve and Peggy and their friend Nancy (I can remember her name) came to Dockside to visit Monday night, and we decided to run into each other accidentally again. What a treat!
Sunday was a slow day, since the fishermen were all worn out from sacrificing bait and everyone else was recovering from the not-fish fry the night before. So we took a well-deserved trip to the pool to cool off and let our cabana boy (William) serve us poolside. Not everyone was lazy though, because just before the pool trip, we spotted two kayakers zipping through Boot Key Harbor and into the marina docks.....Phred and Candy!
The guys have been itching to go fishing for weeks, and Saturday was finally The Big Day. Rick and Therese (m/v Capt. 'n Hook), friends from Twin Dolphin in Bradenton, have lots of fishing gear and a great boat for the trip. Captains Rick, Bob (Floating Stone), Bob (September Song), and Jay (Serendipity), accompanied by the lovely Therese and Katie, spent all day in the hot sun trying to catch dinner. The potato salad and slaw were already prepared, so all we needed for another dinner at the Table of Wisdom was the catch of the day. We all rushed to the dock when they arrived back around 5 to see if dinner would be mahi, snapper, grouper, or something else.
The rotisserie chickens went well with the potato salad and slaw, and the hors d,oeuvres and tossed salad were great too.
Bob and Katie wanted to have a low country boil, and of course everyone agreed. It took a few days to get a date set, but they finally just said "okay, Thursday." They did the shopping, prepping, cooking, and presentation, and they're definitely hired!
Everything was delicious, and we even overlooked the slight smell of fire in the hedge from the shooting flames around the cooker early in the afternoon. William's on a new diet, which meant he couldn't enjoy everything in the pot, but we all ate enough to make up for it. Apparently Rick ate enough to make Debbie think he'd overflow.
We applied for our Local Boater's Option cards (which allow us to call Homeland Security when we arrive back in the States after our trip to the Bahamas, instead of taking a taxi or bus to Customs and Immigration), and had to pick them up in Key West (oh darn!!). We took six couples in two vans just to make it an event, and of course after visiting Customs we went first to Schooner Wharf to make sure Michael McCloud and Cinderella were doing okay without us. Thankfully, they were fine, but we stayed several hours just to make sure.
We stayed in touch via cell phone, so when we got a text that part of the crew was at Rick's, we headed over to check it out. The performer (Chris Gustelli) was great, so we spent several hours listening to his music. He probably wasn't too thrilled that the spring breakers he'd expected were almost all on Social Security, but he had a repertoire that would please any age group. We were by then able to dance like gazelles and sing like birds, so we accompanied him on many of his oldie tunes. Phred and Candy volunteered to be DDs, so they behaved and had cokes at the bar. Bob and Katie and Rusty and Nancy tried out for Dancing with the Stars, while Judy and Katie discussed their scores.
We were happy to see Bob and Nancy (m/v Miss NanSea) again this year, since we missed seeing them in Ft. Myers as we'd planned. We met for lunch earlier in the month, and of course they arrived in their usual style, complete with helmets and reflective vests.
As an animal lover, the Admiral is always in search of fur. Last year at Dockside, Bob and Nancy indulged with Buffy, who was quite the boat kitten. Buffy has grown up enough to invite us over for happy hour and dinner, so we visited Miss NanSea at Coco Plum marina this week.
The evening was great, and even though Bob was suffering from a toothache, he persevered and we thoroughly enjoyed happy hour and conversation, Nancy's casserole (FRESH tuna!!) and dessert beverages and of course Buffy's performances as he tried to indulge the humans on board. He did roll his eyes a time or two, but tried not to laugh out loud.
Nancy modeled her new great shirt for us -- quite the social statement for boat people!
Last Saturday night was the Super Moon, fuller than it's been in 17 years. There are several repercussions of the gorgeous moon, however, like extreme tides and excessive facial hair. The moon brought out the madness on the dock at the Table of Wisdom, supplemented by margaritas from Rusty and Nancy.
As always, the evening started out calmly with everyone being polite and chit-chatting about current events, airborne particles, astronomy, health food and such. Then, as always happens, things got a little rowdy.
We try to never criticize the artistic expressions of our friends and fellow cruisers, so if William likes his hat we think he should keep wearing it....and maybe we'll find him some flipflops to match.
Our new neighbors Todd and Paula joined us later in the evening, and Paula told us about her stint as a Rich Dumb Young Nymphomaniac onstage at Sloppy Joe's in Key West. She didn't demonstrate, because the dock is really splintery, but she's promised to perform later if the time and place and music are right. Hopefully the fact that they slipped quietly out for the Bahamas early the next morning has nothing to do with us.
We hear this question a lot, particularly from un-retired friends. Who live in houses. The answer is......we don't really know, but it takes up a lot of time and energy (and funds). And it's fun. We've welcomed back friends from years past, made new friends, and voted others off the island. During the day we work on the boat some, go to the beach to clean the dinghy and play, visit grocery and other stores and do laundry individually and in packs, bike or walk to restaurants or interesting landmarks, and make plans for future events while trying not to make any plans. We've also been to a great movie theater, which has new movies in a very small and comfortable setting with affordable tickets, food and beverages. The King's Speech is definitely worth seeing (maybe more than once) if you haven't already. The Marathon Seafood Festival was fun last year, and of course we couldn't miss it this year. The music's great, the seafood plentiful, and the vendor and artisan booths fun to visit. We met some new best friends and enjoyed our old best friends. Think we'll be here for our third?
Our last beach trip was well attended, with gypsies Jake and Amy and Ed joining us for the first time. We cleaned the dinghy (thanks Phred!) and enjoyed the gorgeous water and weather (we also got to see someone run aground, which is always a treat if it's not your boat).
We're so glad Dockside is up and running, both the bar and the restaurant. The St. Patrick's Day gala was so well attended we had to hold onto our seats to keep them.Joe Mama, one of our favorite Marathon entertainers, was back and was VERY well received by sweet Abby, great-niece of Bob and Stephanie (m/v September Song). Bob and Stephanie left for Sarasota for a couple of weeks, so we just kept Bob's brother Ron and his wife Rena as our own relatives. They were joined in their second week by daughter Rhonda, her husband Bill, and daughter Abby. They MAY not have had fun at Dockside, but if not they fake it well! We'll miss them when they head back to cold weather and funny accents. Jay and Phred played golf with Ron and Bill last Sunday, so they're now officially part of the dock possum crew.
Saturday was the huge nautical flea market in Islamorada, and Bob and Stephanie graciously offered us a ride. Jay found a new wet suit, since his had mysteriously shrunk a LOT since he bought it 30 years ago (when he purchased everything else he has). Suspecting that there were still fleas we hadn't seen, we went to the Big Pine Key flea market on Sunday to get new Conch Republic flags. Big Pine is close to Summerland, so we headed further south to visit with Bill and Charlotte, friends we met on our trip down from Tennessee two years ago. They also happen to be friends of Bob and Stephanie, so we introduced them to Rusty and Nancy and enjoyed a visit in their gorgeous home on the canal.
Afterward, stomachs growling, we went to No Name Pub for their world-famous fabulous pizza. We waited outside with a large Hispanic biker gang for our table, then enjoyed the scenery (loads and loads of dollar bills) and delicious pizzas inside.
That's not me on the bar stool behind Jay, but it could well be if we don't change the lifestyle to which we've become accustomed!
To celebrate our arrival in Marathon, Dockside reopened the bar (which has been closed since last summer). We appreciate the gesture, and Friday night's "soft" opening (for marina residents) was great. Dockside provided barbeque and chicken, and all the marina residents brought pot luck. There was a huge crowd of very happy people. Happy hour prices were in effect all weekend, and John provided live music. We were surprised when Roy also played and sang -- very well (we didn't realize he'd been a musician for many years). The staff of Dockside did a great job of getting ready for the party, and they couldn't stop grinning all night from the joy of being open again. Hopefully the restaurant isn't far behind. Dockside has been a fixture in Marathon for many years, and is a favorite local watering hole.
We found Mariah (our former dock neighbors in Twin Dolphin) on a mooring ball when we arrived in Marathon, and cajoled Tuck and Kathy into joining us at Keys Drinkeries (and Fishery) for sundowners and crab claws on Sunday evening. Nancy passed the sobriety test by pointing toward the light.
We rode the bus to Marathon on Tuesday to meet up with Steve, Kelly, Gerry and Sharon (our Ft. Myers friends). We'd described the colorful bus trips of the past to Rusty and Nancy, and they were anxious to add to their experiences of life in the Keys. But the ride down was very tame -- people on, people off. We arrived in time for breakfast at Schooner Wharf (sudsy breakfast) before meeting the Ft. Myers crew at the Raw Bar for Steve's traditional oyster shooter. Then back to Schooner's for lunch and listening to Michael McCloud. We're so regular there that we get local pricing and the waitress saved us a table while we were at the Raw Bar. Seems like a pattern developing here.... Not wanting to seem like total bar flies, we left Schooner's. And went to the Green Parrot. Sadly, we had to say goodbye to the Ft. Myers crew there, but hope to see them all again soon.
We visited the top of the Holiday Inn to give Rusty and Nancy a great view of Key West. They seem to be adjusting well to this lifestyle. We were disappointed that Rusty and Nancy didn't get the full bus experience on our ride down, but the ride back renewed our faith in all things colorful. A man sat down in front of us who was either smuggling week-old fish in his pockets or had digested and rejected bad fish earlier. He was having conversations with himself, and shook his head a lot when he was losing the argument -- which stirred up his "aura" a little too much. We had to rub hand sanitizer in our nostrils to keep from losing our KW refreshments. We were soon distracted when the crack whore with an iPod boarded and danced and gestured wildly to the music. She also held her cell phone up and waved it around, either taking photos of herself or waving her own candle or getting signals from her home planet. She drew the attention of the rasta carrying all his worldlies in a hospital bag. He'd lost his shoes on the beach (someone stole them while he was sleeping), but had non-skid socks on for the bus ride. He tried to hit on Miss Music by donning all his cool t-shirts at once, while explaining the benefits of each one. Thank heavens for characters (except maybe the dude with the fish)!
We did some serious training in Ft. Myers Beach to prepare for Marathon. You have to run with the big dogs here -- there's no porch. The table is totally prepared (thanks for Bob for the Clorox de-cootie job and Katie for the lovely tablecloth and Rick for the candleholders and Jaybird for the imported umbrella and Capt. Wade for pilfering chairs from Dockside) and has been christened as the Table of Wisdom (since there's already a Table of Knowledge in Dockside and a Tree of Knowledge at City Marina). No rum punches or potlucks yet, but lots and lots of philosophizing, singing and problem solving. Can you tell William's happy to be here???
Jim and Kathryn (on another house call from Freundship Marine) visited the table, and described the session as going "from Mensa to Dependsa" -- you start out with imparting wisdom and degenerate to drooling.
