Bonita Bill's on Friday night

Even though the Captain tries his best to keep the Admiral away from karaoke, we were invited by new best friends John and Elizabeth to join them at Bonita Bill's for what they promised would be a great evening...and they weren't wrong! Thankfully, the Admiral kept her seat (having asked those at the table to shoot her if she got up, and the Captain asked them to shoot him too just in case she lived -- he'll pay for that one) and we all enjoyed the music.

We were joined by Todd and Allyson (son-in-law and daughter of William and Poor Old Judy -- more Mayberries growing wild!), who were in Ft. Myers to celebrate Todd's birthday. He wore the traditional family birthday hat (featured earlier on son Eston in Key West), which is passed on with an addition for each new recipient. The addition this time was a line attached to the hat and a coozie so he could always have a beverage handy. The hat was a huge hit, as it was in Key West, and could have been sold for a hefty sum.

The karaoke was buckets of fun (there were also pitchers of fun on the table, but that's another story), with performers ranging from very young (~12 maybe?) to quite mature (~80 maybe?). But by far the best, most popular and sought after performer was Allyson, who did a rousing Dixie Chicks solo, then performed Happy Birthday on stage with Todd, then.....surprise!!...a duet with William. The DJ was so impressed with Allyson that he asked her to attend his session on Saturday night also. Maybe a new career is in the making?

Farewell to the Keys, Hello Ft. Myers

All good things must come to an end, and we untied from Dockside in Marathon last Saturday. We had a good time and met some great people there, but it's time to quit being dock possums and get back to real boating. Not too soon, of course, because we went to Key West when we left.....one last trip to Schooner's Wharf to hear Michael McCloud sing and see our favorite waitress Debbie was a necessity for the Captains. The Admiral also needed an animal fix, provided by McCloud's roadie Cinderella and a sleepy Hemingway cat waiting for the fishing boats to come in. And of course one last sunset shot at Mallory Square for the memory book....

We meant to go to the Dry Tortugas for some great snorkeling after we left Key West, but the winds didn't cooperate with us so we decided to sail overnight to Ft. Myers instead. Winds were predicted at 10-15 out of the east, which would provide a great sail. Monday was great all day, with both the main and the headsail out and gorgeous weather. Monday night, however, the winds picked up to 25-35 for quite a long stretch. We rolled and rocked and pitched and slammed for what seemed like two nights instead of one. When we finally got to Ft. Myers at noon Tuesday, the boat was crusty all over with salt and there were things in the floor we hadn't seen for a year or two...lots of lockers had opened themselves during the night. Thankfully, the only damage was a few bruises and loss of sleep. It took the rest of Tuesday and all of Wednesday to get everything rinsed off and put back in place, but now it's done and the sun is setting in the mooring field.

On our first cruise, we met a man in Georgetown who learned to play bagpipes and brought them with him on his boat Go Lassie Go. His wife was less than thrilled with his new hobby, but it was a treat to hear "Amazing Grace" every night at sunset in the Bahamas. We also anchored near them in Staniel Cay and got to hear his serenade at sunset there. We saw the boat in Marathon last week, but weren't sure it was him. Imagine our delight when we heard bagpipes at sunset Wednesday in Ft. Myers! It was Go Lassie Go, with the piper on top.

The Tribe Increases

We made a journey to Tennessee and Georgia this past week for a very important reason. Our youngest son Jesse and his fiancee Brittany are getting married May 8 in Macchu Picchu (they're acclimating to the altitude now). In order to have their union recognized in the U.S. they were required to have a civil ceremony here also. That meant we got to attend! We captured the courthouse along with Brittany's grandmother Janice, our daughter Julie, son-in-law Lake, and grandbabies Madison and Micah. It was a wonderful day, a beautiful ceremony, and we're proud to add a lovely daughter-in-law to our motley crew.

Keyed up again....and again....

When you're this close to Key West, especially during the Conch Republic Independence Celebration, it's hard not to attend the festivities. Soooooo, back on Thursday for the parade. Wide Awake (Rick and Debbie), Optimystique (only William; Judy is in Tennessee for a bit) and Serendipity headed for the celebration in Rick and Debbie's SUV. We left early in the morning and got back close to midnight, so there was plenty of time to wander around, sample beverages and food, and enjoy the colorful population and activities. We visited the Green Parrot (seen snorkeling on the door) for some great blues (see the guitar and cast of autographers). The Captain even posed with some ladies (oh no they're not) of the evening, one of whom grabbed his backside! The streets were packed with parade onlookers, and candy and beads were flying through the air from the parade participants. The street cleaners in Key West will always have job security!

Since we'd been to KW twice in a week, we didn't plan to go back until we take our boat there in early May on our way to the Dry Tortugas. But.......our neighbors invited us to go back Saturday with them and their company and it was hard to say no since we were listening to our Michael McCloud (our favorite performer at Schooner Wharf) CDs at the time. And we seldom say no to a good time anyway. So, back on Saturday for the Bed Races and the Pirate Competition. One day soon we'll need to rest up.

After a stop by the Big Pine Flea Market, lunch at Hog's Breath, and a glimpse of the entries in the Bed Race, we headed for Schooner's. A gentleman stepped up to our table and took off his sunglasses to say hello, and it was Steve Bacon from Kingston, TN. He and his wife Peggy were visiting the Keys and just happened to be in Schooner's. The world closes in again! It was great to see them again, and lunch plans are already made for Monday.

There were already pirates everywhere, including the trio from Marathon seen at the table, then the gypsies arrived! We seem to run into them a lot lately; once you know them they're everywhere. They're making plans to return to the real world in May, so we're glad they're partying with their friends in the meantime. But we do miss Doug's ponytail.

Now back to that resting up.....

Small world!

Sunday was a good day to recover from the Key West trip, so we had happy hour at Lazy Days. We had crew from 6 boats, so our table was full. The docks are far too high for dinghies, so it was a challenge to get in and out. As we left, Susan decided to compete in the dinghy/dock diving competition. Of course everyone in the place was watching (as they always are when you don't want to be seen), and after compiling the scores she won a gold medal. What a good sport to come up smiling and make the long dinghy ride back soaking wet!

Monday morning we listened to the Cruiser's Net, as usual, and were pleasantly surprised to hear Leap of Faith on the radio. We met Newt and Alice in Clearwater on our way back from traveling in 2007, when we anchored and crossed the Gulf together. When we got to Panama City, they directed us to their yacht club, took us to their home for dinner, loaned us their car, and generally took us to raise. We've stayed in touch over the past few years, and it was a treat to have lunch together and catch up. Unfortunately they planned to leave Tuesday morning so it was a short visit and we were disappointed to learn they'd been in Boot Key Harbor for a whole month. They'd visited Dockside many times (they knew Ed, our resident pirate at Dockside, from earlier days in Panama City) and had walked past our boat on their way to town. The world is small enough to run back into them, but large enough to be within 20 feet of them and not connect!

Monday concluded with a long visit on Miss NanSea with Bob and Nancy. We met on the dock a few weeks ago and they've joined us on a few occasions for revelry. Their gorgeous cat, Buffy, is a magnet for the admiral, but their beautiful boat and hospitality are unrivaled. We enjoyed the evening so much we almost spent the night!

Key West can be a drag

The intrepid crews of several boats hiked to the bus stop (outside the infamous Brass Monkey) for a trip to Key West on Saturday. In celebration of the independence of the Conch Republic, two weeks of festivities are underway. The bus trip is about 2 hours each way (since we circle the hospital a few times and change buses at Publix and stop along the way for pickups and dropoffs), but it's an excellent chance to people watch and hear some remarkable conversations -- including a seminar loaded with not-so-historical facts on the way down by a rasta in the back.

After the required stop by the Raw Bar for lunch, we hiked to the race track (otherwise known as Duval Street). The drag races were performed by some lovely (and some skanky) drag queens in the highest heels imaginable. They included timed trials, navigating through a maze of tires, all while pushing a shopping cart. It wasn't like Tennessee drag races, but well worth a trip to see (photos included later; our batteries conched out and we hope to get pix from friends). We weren't a bit surprised to see that the races had been invaded by....the Gypsies! It was nice to see them again, and they introduced us to some of their favorite watering holes, El Alamo for a cool place to rest and Green Parrot with a great blues band. It was a long day, but fun for all.

No one voted off the island yet!

When we had the rum punch party on the dock last week we missed Survivor, which is the one show we try to watch when we have reception. Even though we found out several of the attendees were taping the episode during the party, we weren't among them. We were able to catch up on the computer the next day, and were warned by John and Susan (Alchemy) that they'd be on our boat the next week for the show (they have no reception in the mooring field). We were then kindly invited by our neighbors Fred and Candy to join them on their boat house (Sunset Dance, described in a previous post) for Survivor evening. Happily, we were all allowed to stay on the island and enjoyed a lovely evening of watching scalawags try to outwit each other. Thanks to Fred and Candy for their hospitality!