Between the cocktail parties and the DeFever rendezvous and the nightly live music at Docksides and the afternoon cocktails on the dock (OK I think you get my point), it's been tons of fun here in Marathon - especially since there are about 12 of us "DeFevers" here (not the exact same Marathon gang of twelve that terrorized the town back in January but the core remains the same - Gypsies, September Song and Adventures - with the addition of Lucky Stars, Sea Pearl and Algonquin this time around). We got to chat with the remaining original gang of 12 (TideHiker and Rickshaw) last evening while sipping cocktails on September Song (more later)!
And if Marathon isn't fun enough, the Gypsies decided to do one last road trip binge to Key West to see our friend Scott Kirby - what a night of excess (all of course in good fun!) If the pictures below look like they have been in the blog before, they have (kind of - same shots, different day!) We started our Key West adventure at the Verizon store (which was the real reason for the road trip - or so we tell ourselves) in search of an international aircard and the unlock codes for our GSM international phone so we can swap out local sim cards - all in an attempt (which may be futile) to have some connectivity at reasonable rates in the Bahamas - only time will tell. That mission being accomplished, we descended on the Kirby household ... feeling a little like "What About Bob" as Michelle (Scott's wife) was heard to utter, they aren't really gone - the boat people (as she affectionately, we think, calls us) are back!!!! As an accountant, she was in the middle of tax season, so we left her in peace to hit Schooner Wharf and hear Michael McCloud - let the games begin.
An afternoon of live music and cold beers somehow segued into an evening of live music and cold beers - the only difference was the location and the musician - we had moved on to hear Scott and Dave play at the Hog's Breath.
The evening faded away as the music died and it was on to dinner with Scott, Dave and Michelle (who had joined us earlier at the Hog) at Bagatelle where of course Scott knew the bartender! UGH!!! Bottles of wine later - yes that was bottles, not bags (we were living the high life) ...things started to get a little fuzzy.....Let's just say 6:30 am rolled around way too early the next morning as we had to get the rental car back to Marathon before 9:00! Colleen and I rested up most of the day, which was good because our chauffeurs from Marathon Marina (Thanks Jim and Joe!) picked us up around 5:00 that evening for a cocktail party and bon voyage dinner (although we told ourselves it was really just a get together to talk about plans for the Bahamas)!
We all gathered aboard September Song where we swapped Bahamas plans, cocktails in hand of course!
We are planning to head up to Rodriguez Key sometime this weekend or more likely Monday now based on the weather to stage for a crossing with September Song at a minimum to the Bahamas on Tuesday. The current plan (subject to last minute weather or pure whim) is to cross the Gulf Stream near South Riding Rock and then anchor out on the Bahamas Bank that night with just the stars and our anchor lights to light up the sky - of course we're hoping to have the grills lit up with all that mahi and tuna we're going to catch crossing the Stream!!! I can just taste it now! Then the next day we plan to make the run to Nassau to check in to the Bahamas - we have a slip reserved at the Nassau Harbour Club (thanks Bob and Stephanie for warning us to call ahead!) After a couple days in Nassau, we plan to head on to the Exumas - as much fun as being dockside in Marathon has been, we are all itching to get out and explore the beautiful waters and keys of the Bahamas and hang out on anchor away from the crowds!! While swapping plans, we technological geniuses found a way to call Rickshaw on speaker phone so we could get their schedule - we hope to catch up with them and Tide Hiker in Nassau or in the Exumas!
The night continued as we all walked down to Frosty's for dinner
and unbeknowst to us at that time, a birthday celebration for Stephanie who was celebrating her 39th birthday (again).... us girls have that prerogative!! Happy Birthday Stephanie!!
We had a great dinner even though the waitress let the cat out of the bag about the bday celebration - the key lime pie tasted just as good! It was sad in a way saying goodbye to everyone - some we will see soon in the Bahamas and the party will no doubt continue, but others we don't know when we will see again - that's just the cruising life I guess. I'm sure we'll all see each other again in one particular harbor...or another!
Today was Doug's birthday...not really, but it seemed that way at least present-wise - at 9:30 our new 20 HP 4 stroke Honda dinghy motor arrived!! Doug was up this morning around 4:00 am too excited to sleep. Even I have to admit, it's pretty cool - electric starter and power tilt - wow!! Best of all though is that when we took it for a test ride, we could plane the dinghy with 4 people - yahoo!!!! We might not be in Big Boat Bob's league yet, but at least we have a dinghy motor to be proud of!!! The Bahamas better watch out - the Gypsies are coming and they are ready (and able now) to explore!
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