The Captain gives birth

We tried a Maryland stuffed ham on our first journey, in one of our favorite places (Solomon's Island). We bought it in a deli and meant to take it back to the boat for lunch. After one sample in the dinghy, all we took to the boat was an empty container. We got the recipe at the Welcome Center and it has been guarded more carefully than our wedding pictures. It's complicated and time-consuming, with a corning process for the ham, pampering and rubbing, soaking and soothing, rest periods, then finally the chopping and stuffing session. Jay mentioned it to Greg, the chef at Mattisons, and they decided to give it a try.

The original plan was before or during the holidays, but with some ham mixups and Christmas in Tennessee, the delivery was finally scheduled for January and labor was induced. It took quite a few trips to and from Mattisons, and a few false starts, but the ham debuted this week. Jay will miss the fun in the kitchen, and of course we'll miss all the good food they produce. The ham was outstanding!

Bustin' moves and casting off

We enjoyed a goodbye cookout with Todd and Allyson (with Sarah, Gracie and Nathan), Jim and Kathryn (with James and Max) and William and Judy. These lucky sisters live near each other and their husbands work together, and their get-togethers are always fun and busy with kids and dogs and cats and laughter all around.



We all were encouraged (coerced) to dance with the Wii, and the results were enlightening and hilarious. The kids were the winners, but the grannies and grandaddies held their own (controllers). There's a video of the Captain that will have to go viral when the Admiral can download it.

After a great evening, we retired so William and Judy could begin their journey south the next morning. Since Serendipity still had jobs to finish (still don't know why they're not all done!!), we'll be a few days behind them. All lines were finally pried from the dock and Optimystique headed out on a cool but sunny Sunday. It looks pretty empty in the slip beside us, but we're almost ready!