2019 Cruise - Week 2

2019 Cruise - Week 2

Sunday, January 13, 2019 - Celtic Festival - Day 2!

Another day at the Celtic Festival with more music and more food. The Drake Dancers, West of Galway and Albannach performed while we were there. An audience member who danced with a hula hoop was the subject of many photographs. She danced almost the entire time. Just before I went to take her picture, she sat down for a break.

Later in the afternoon, we went to the Marathon Grille and Ale House to have a salad and watch the Eagles game. They played well but came out on the short end of the score.

Monday, January 14, 2019 - Acoustic Jam & Tai Chi!

Relaxing in the morning is becoming quite a habit. Eventually we get in gear. After lunch, OK, technically it was breakfast for lunch, we hoofed it to the Library to check out the acoustic jam. There were five guitar players and a bassist. We even played some percussion when they played the City of New Orleans. There was talk of them performing at the open mic night at the Hurricane, but since no one had ever been, most said they rather check it out first.

We returned to the boat for R&R and dinner after first doing some shopping at Publix. After dinner, we were off to see a demonstration of Tai Chi. AM signed up for the beginner class. I’ll probably join her. Check out taoisttaichi.org for info.

Tuesday, January 15, 2019 - It’s Chilly!

Today’s news is that it’s chilly and windy. The high temp was supposed to reach 67° but it didn’t feel like it made it. The wind was blowing 20+ knots out of the north which could help account for the chilly feeling. Everybody was wearing windbreakers or sweaters. It’s been blowing out of the north for a couple days now. The change from south to north caught Chris by surprise. He turned the bubbler off and by the time he realized the wind had shifted, seaweed had entered the harbor. It’ll be here awhile as the north winds promise to stick around for a few days. We may not see the 80s until next week!

Four Sheets to the Wind is playing on the back deck at the Hurricane. We watch their three hour performance while noshing on pizza. Carol and Gary joined us, but Gary was tired and went back to their room after a few songs. Cindy from Ontario did an outstanding performance of a couple Janis Joplin songs. 

Wednesday, January 16, 2019 - A Day Trip to Key West!

It is cool (67°) and windy; a good day for a trip to Key West. We left around noon but arrived in the town at the end of the road too late for the first showing of, “On the Basis of Sex.” So we went to Schooners Wharf for the crab and avocado Salas and Michael McLeod. The salad was good as usual, but MM had the day off. He’s there Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Jeff Clark was holding down the fort. He was very good, played many original tunes that were funky. A few mainstream songs made it into his act as well. He has an interesting style and uses a drum machine and a looper to give depth to his sound. He rendition of Unchained Melody was excellent!

After an hour and a half, we were off to the Tropic Theater to see the movie mentioned above. It  is the story of the early professional career of Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg. I was blown away by the story and the performances too. RBG is an inspiration. What a great woman. 

We made it back to the boat by 1900 hours after a quick stop at Burdines for some Stone Crab soup and fries. The gang at the north end was holding  court, so we visited for a few minutes before calling it a night. They are a fun group to hang with.

Thursday, January 17, 2019 - More Arrivals!

It was cool yesterday with a high of 67° and a low of 62°. Today it’s in the mid 70s and it feels cool at the point. We walked to lunch at the Keys Fishery. Along the way we noticed that the Keys Boatworks is closed. All the boats are gone and the property is vacant.

We returned to find Jim and Terry. They arrived yesterday afternoon. A few hours later, Tom and Jackie arrived. We had an impromptu gam at the Point with both couples and Gary and Carol. We were introduced to Marilyn, one of Terry’s friends. Loretta (Toto’s Tug) seems to know Marilyn and she stopped by to join the conversation.

I made Key Lime Scallops for dinner. It was excellent (as usual)!

Friday, January 18, 2019 - Rebedding a Portlight!

Another beautiful day in paradise. I think we say that most every day. Today ‘s High was in the mid 70s with a gentle breeze blowing. A bunch of folks boarded the Ranger atug, Toto’s Tug for a day trip. Anna Marie went to Yoga with Deb, Joann and Doreen. I stayed back and caught up on email and news.

When they returned, a discussion about lunch ensued between AM and me. She choose Calamari at the Island Fish Tiki, one of our favorite dishes. I can report that it is as good as ever, but the portion appears to be half of what it has been, and the presentation is not nearly as nice. We continued lunch at Frank’s Grill, a place we haven’t tried before. It gets rave reviews. We chose the Eggplant Parmigiana. It was served piping hot, too hot the eat. Ten minutes later, it was still piping hot. The eggplant was covered with a ton of cheese. So much cheese you couldn’t taste the eggplant. It tasted like baked cheese and tomato sauce over flavorless mush. The dish was served with fresh bread, but no pasta. We weren’t impressed.

Back at the boat, we rebedded the round portlight on the port side of SUNSHINE. We used a double layer of butyl tape to accomplish the task. 

We were both exhausted so we went inside at 1800 hours, binge watched seven episodes of Frankie and Grace (season 5 was released today on Netflix) and hit the sack at 2230, amazed that we stayed awake that long!

Saturday, January 19, 2019 - Happy Birthday, Geoffrey!

It’s early to rise this morning. A quick breakfast and we’re off the the nautical at the Marathon Marina. A lot of stuff was for sale, but nothing that struck our fancy. Our friend, in the market for a 35 lb CQR anchor, found one for $20.00. It was the deal of the day!

After the sale, we were off for the Big Pine flea market. There we found the cheese lady, the bread lady and the olive guy. We bought some cheese (aged balsamic cheddar) and olives (Healthy Harvest Koutsourelia (healthyharvests.com)). We also bought a balsamic reduction from the olive guy. We’re going to have delicious lunches, snacks and salad dressing from these purchases!

One other thing, the wind changed direction last night and blew most of the sea grass out. We helped get the bits that were trapped in slips 1 & 2 out by jetting them with the hose.