Fantasy Fest....day two...are we up to it???

Okay, we had a ball yesterday. We rode the bus full of colorful characters; we ate (very little); we drank (quite a bit); we wandered around saying "gollllleeeeeeee" just like Gomer Pyle; we giggled and pointed and took pictures. Total tourists. Now we're all grown up and ready to go back and behave like our parents would want us to. Or our kids. Or at least we're ready to go back.


We decided to take an early bus, assuming that the younger set (anyone under 60 qualifies for that set) would get a later start and the bus would have seats. Wrong. It blew right past us (which either means it was full or that we looked too seedy to ride, which is a possibility we chose not to consider, given the cast of characters we've seen on the buses before). So there we were, in the blistering sun, all ready to go gawk some more, and no ride. 20 miles. Being enterprising folks, we did what anyone would do, and stuck out our thumbs. But our thumbs must not look too good, because no one stopped. Captain Jaybird accosted 3 guys coming out of a nearby restaurant (Mangrove Mamas, where the guys had already slaked their thirst a time or two during the planning of Getting There Phase Two) and asked if they were headed to Key West. Guess what? They were! They just needed to zip over to their RV park to get one costume out of the dryer (remember this...it'll be important later) and take a shower. Hallelujah! A ride! They really did come back, and we were honored to meet Robert, Henry and Richard. They were very nice guys, all from Florida, who attend Fantasy Fest routinely. Our driver (we were in a pickup truck) was dressed in a crisp white chef's hat and apron (fresh from the dryer). We had a good chat on the way down and they even offered to bring us back or bail us out, whichever we needed. We got a photo of them when we got out at the parking lot in Key West, and were thrilled to see not one tan line.
































There were many options for paint schemes and themes (see poster and do enlarge -- you'll be impressed I promise), and many floats (very elaborate) at the parade on Saturday. The only rules within the Fantasy Zone (when isn't Key West a Fantasy Zone??) were that nudity wasn't allowed. Really?






The floats were amazing, as well as the street people/costumes which were either in or not in the parade (sometimes it's hard to tell). All in all, I highly recommend a trip to Fantasy Fest.....and in the Zone....

Key West beckons....let the fantasy begin

It was time for another haircut for the Admiral, so we took the motor home to Key West last week to attend Fantasy Fest. William and Judy (S/V Optimystique), our dock neighbors and long-time friends, went with us to share the fun. We spent the first night in Marathon, and revisited some of our old haunts from this past winter/spring. We then headed for Sugarloaf Key, where we stayed at Lazy Lakes during Fantasy Fest. This was the first time for all four of us, and we could barely wait to see the festivities.

We walked 1/4-mile to the bus stop on Friday, ready for the ride to Key West (the bus itself is an adventure, with lots of colorful characters).


Our marina manager, Mike, asked us to take some photos with the Twin Dolphin burgee so he could post them on the marina web site. We took LOTS of pix, but for some reason he only used one (and it didn't even have a Fantasy Fest character in it!!). You'll spot the burgee in a few shots, though.



We first visited Schooner Wharf, our favorite place in Key West, and were rewarded with Michael McCloud (Jay and William are total groupies) singing so well even the dogs slow danced. After liquid refreshment and some McCloud tunes, we headed to Duvall Street to see what all the fuss was about.

















We'd heard lots about this event, and have a friend who used to attend regularly. We'd seen his photo album. But you really do have to be there. All sizes and shapes, all ages, all persuasions.....costumes and lack of costumes and paint and two weeks of partying....it was a hoot for these 4 hillbillies! It was also obvious that some of the participants planned their outfit (or lack of) long in advance.





















































Just for kicks -- did you see the USMC hat? Me either.

Traveling up the learning curve

We attended the SSCA (Seven Seas Cruising Association) 8th Annual Florida West Coast Rendezvous in Punta Gorda, traveling by motor home to the Isles Yacht Club. It's a beautiful club, with a large facility for club members and a perfect venue for the SSCA activities. We attended seminars on Cruising Cuba, Heavy Weather, a San Diego-to-Thailand Voyage, a Belize/Honduras/Mexico/Guatemala Cruise, AIS/Radar, Land Travel, and Women Cruising, and gathered lots of information and tips for future travels. There was a happy hour with full-dress flag ceremony, drawings for prizes, lunch and dinner, and we met many new friends and fellow travelers. The dockmaster at Isles YC was most gracious and helped us settle in for the night. We thank Harry and Melinda (S/V Sea Schell) for encouraging us to go, and we enjoyed the company of Rankin and Sandy (S/V Heart of Texas) who also traveled by motor home. John and Susan (S/V Alchemy) arrived by boat from Clearwater, so we had a good visit and catch-up with them as well. We closed the event with a great dinner in Fisherman's Village at Harpoon Harry's.

The golf group continues and also continues to grow, and they too have a learning curve....never ever let your golf ball go to a mama alligator.

Retiring the birthday hat

Sadly, the Mayberries have decided to retire the birthday hat, since it's come full circle as of yesterday, when William celebrated at Mattison's. An ornament was added by each celebrant before they passed it on to the next, and it's become rather unwieldy (but still very popular and a great attraction for strangers). There is now talk of a birthday Speedo. Can't wait to see it after a few ornaments have been added.






Family and friends gathered for happy hour, and rumor has it they retired to Cork's Cigar Bar afterward for karaoke. Serendipity's crew turned into pumpkins and didn't make it to Cork's, but heard that a good time was had by all. William seemed to be pleased with his gifts, and Judy enjoyed hiding behind the musical card. Or maybe she couldn't hear it because she was sitting beside the wild and crazy Gigi (son-in-law Jim's Mom)....

Back on the rolling anchor

We took a short trip back to Sun N Fun on Sunday, joined by Mike (our marina manager), his daughter Lauren, and Wild and Micki (with their new baby Yorkie Sade) from our (in)famous C Dock at Twin Dolphin. C, of course, stands for Cool, Classy, Chic, Charming, Courageous, and Courteous....primarily because a large portion of the dock is made up of boaters from Tennessee.

Sun N Fun has a great pool, big waterslide for small and large kids, putt-putt, and lots of other amenities mentioned in the blog from our earlier trip there. We had a good wet afternoon in the pool and on the slide, then when we went back to the campsite to cook we had a good wet evening with the rain pouring down in sheets while Jay cooked the burgers and wings. But it didn't matter; we had a great time anyway, and we think Lauren may be lured back for some sliding, swimming, snacking, and RV exploring. She didn't even seem to mind being surrounded by old coots, and she and Sade behaved much better than the rest of us.

Back to the beach

We left Myakka and went to Little Gasparilla Island to spend time in a beach house with William and Judy. Their kids rented the house for them for a week to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary (they were only 2 when they got married). All three kids, their spouses, and the 6 grandchildren celebrated with them over the weekend, and we joined them later in the week. They had a few small adventures before we arrived...the water heater burst into flames in the middle of the night and later a scorpion tried to join them. Thankfully everything had been stomped out, replaced, and relocated by the time we arrived.


We'd heard some bad news about the parking situation (you can only get there by boat; no bridges to Little Gasparilla), so were somewhat concerned about leaving the motor home. Thankfully, Eldred's Marina (hear the banjos?) accommodated us (for a small fee) since we used their family's water taxi for a ride to the island.


The beach house was really nice, and the beach was almost deserted.




We relaxed, walked on the beach, picked up shells, were over-served (how does that keep happening??), ate too much, enjoyed the beautiful full moon, and wished we had another week there.

It took two dinghy trips to get off the island, but the dolphin show made it worthwhile. It looks funny to see a dinghy on a trailer (especially behind such a big truck), but the guys got it loaded for the trip back to Twin Dolphin.

Anchoring out on wheels

Marina friends Henry and Chachy also have a motor home, and they're leaving for three weeks of travel to Maine. We spent the night with them at Myakka State Park to see them off, sharing happy hour, dinner and good conversation.

Their motor home is beautiful, but the best feature by far is the lord of the manor, who gets whipped cream every night from his servants.

We enjoyed the super harvest moon (combination of full moon and autumnal equinox, which won't be experienced again for 19 years) and Jupiter at the end of a great evening.





The next morning we explored the park and took the canopy walk. The canopy walk was made possible by donations from park supporters, who financed the towers on either end, the benches surrounding, and maintenance.






One interesting feature was a "nail" on top of some of the posts to discourage nesting (to prevent spatter-painting of the towers and bridge). These are pretty big nails and we've now decided to build a nest somewhere else this year.



The view was terrific from the tower, and the slightly swinging bridge was fun to cross, seeing the tree-top foliage, birds, and the forest below. Not a bad way to anchor out!