Life of the Parties

It has been like old home week down here in Marathon - not only have we caught up with a bunch of cruising friends that we met along our journey but we have met new friends who quickly felt like old friends. This is what cruising is all about!

Tammy here...

While our days have been spent in the sun at the beach, walking around Marathon (to and from the Stuffed Pig, Boaters World, and various stores), kayaking the canals and mangroves around Boot Key Harbor (I saw a spotted eagle ray and two large iguanas sunning themselves on the mangrove trees) or just reading (the work of polishing the boat starts tomorrow!!), our nights have been filled with fun, camaraderie and a few cocktails here and there. Wednesday night the Gypsies (minus John who was not back on the boat yet from his trip back to NH) hosted a cocktail party for Vicki and Norm from Tide Hiker and Lynnie and Rick from Rickshaw who we had last seen in Pompano Beach. We also had the pleasure of meeting their friends Stephanie and Bob from September Song who have their boat at the Marathon Marina. The wine and food flowed as did the stories - there are always great stories at cruiser parties!!!

The next night we all convened again minus Lynnie and Rick at the local dinner theater to see Marley & Me - hotdogs, popcorn, raisinettes and beer made us feel just like teenagers again (and that takes some doing!) The movie started off pretty funny and I guess none of us were quite ready for the sad turn it took - Bob and Stephanie have two labs (Cassie and Godiva) and we have the boat kitties so needless to say, there were few dry eyes leaving the theater. But despite that, the night was lots of fun and the company was great.

Two nights ago we were supposed to have a potluck supper out on the docks with cocktails beforehand on Rickshaw but a nasty cold front ripped through complete with torrential rain, 25 knot winds and a 20 degree drop in temperature (Colleen and John got caught in it on their way back from the beach on their bikes!) - our get together was postponed until the next night. It's one thing when Mother Nature interrupts our cruising schedule but when she starts interfering in our social lives, that's when we have to draw the line!!! Given the chilly temps, our potluck was relocated last night to September Song which is an amazingly beautiful boat. We all had a little boat envy happening!! Not only did we get to meet Cassie and Godiva (Godiva even made it into the pictures though it was Cassie that kept trying to creep back upstairs during dinner), but we also got to see Robin and Jim from Adventures - the last time we saw them was up at our house in Maine in July when they were cruising the coast of Maine with Vicki and Norm!


We will all be here for another week at least given the weather outlook so I'm sure there will be more parties and revelry in our future!! Today is Super Bowl Sunday so we are off shortly to Docksides to join the other Marathon crazies for a day of eating and drinking way too much!! Colleen has joined the chili cook-off so purely for moral support we will be hitting Docksides around 2:00 and plan to just stay there through the game which will be played on a big screen TV. Should prove to be an interesting afternoon and evening....