Tammy here...(from now on, just assume it's me unless you hear otherwise)
Robin and Jim from Adventures drove over from Marathon Marina and to our delight they had Bob and Stephanie from September Song and Joe from Sea Pearl with them - both boats had just pulled in and were docked over by Adventures!! The more the merrier at cruisers parties! The last time we had seen those guys was a couple weeks ago in Pelican Bay so it was great to catch up and whoop it up. And whoop it up we did - I don't think I've laughed that long or hard in quite some time and that's really saying something. Carol and Dan from Lucky Stars joined us mid-whoop. It all got started with Naked Big Boat Bob and our comments on his blog which quickly (and in truth I'm not exactly sure how) morphed into the idea of the century - a "Men of DeFever Calendar"!!!! The ideas flew fast and furious as Robin even acted out one tasteful yet highly suggestive "davit scene". Each gentleman was asked to pick his favorite month and suggestions for the monthly photo shoots were bandied about, one funnier than the other. Suffice it to say we now have for the calendar: Pirate Doug and his two wives, Naked Big Boat Bob, Fisherman Dan with his big rod, Big Dinghy Jim - how do you lift yours?, Writer John with his big pen and Big Orange Balls (I mean fenders) Joe...ladies, you'll have to wait to see the calendar to see the actual poses but just as a tease, they do all involve some form of subtle suggested nudity....look what you started Bob! Don't worry Norm (TideHiker), Rick (Rickshaw) and Steve (Aurora) - you haven't been left out! We have saved a month for each of you and have some pretty good ideas for your calendar pose but will welcome your creative input as well. Any other DeFever guys out there that are interested (it's for a worthy cause - next year's Rendezvous!!), please let Robin know - she is the artistic and photographic coordinator!
When we finally headed down to Docksides to see Joe Mama, the ideas were still flying - but more nourishment (and drinks) were needed.
We sat in the back of the restaurant (do you think they know us by now??) where the acoustics weren't great so we didn't really get to hear Joe Mama too well but we had a grand time just as well!! During the middle of the evening Bob and I even made plans to do a repeat on Sunday - party on Gypsies and then hit Docksides to hear the Florida Straits band!!! Why not?? We had plans for Saturday but Sunday was still open and that just won't do!!
On Friday after some morning recovery time, Doug and I proceeded to bike all over Marathon - or at least it seemed that way! We hit West Marine at one end and then biked all the way to Coco Plum Marina which is well past the Vaca Cut on the other end of Marathon! Thank goodness (and Hank who we bought them from) we had the bikes!! After a "family meeting" and much consultation with the experts (Jim and various guys at the inflatable stores around Marathon), we decided to upgrade the motor on our dinghy from a 9.9 hp Honda to a 20 hp Honda which only weighs about 10 pounds more!! So after much angst and dinghy envy, Doug is finally going to be in the land of the big boys (well maybe not quite since we still have the smallest dinghy!) - but at least now we will hopefully be able to get up on plane which should extend our exploration capabilities!!! Since we really couldn't get a bigger dinghy without some structural work on the boat (cutting railings to make it fit), getting the bigger motor seemed like the best way to address the "undersized dinghy problem!!" We should get the motor next Wednesday before heading over to the Bahamas so Doug now will be able to hold his head high once more at cruiser parties!!!
Friday night the Gypsies sat up on the flybridge watching Mother Nature's wild and wonderful spectacle - on one side of the boat we had storm clouds darker than night with thunderheads reaching to the heavens
and on the other side of the boat we had the most spectacular sunset over Boot Key Harbor.
Our heads were on swivels as we kept turning from one side to the other until finally the dark side won - with the first hail sized rain spatters we headed down into the security of Gypsies and watched as the wind and rain roared through the marina, fierce but yet short-lived. Living on a boat truly makes you appreciate the tremendous force of nature - glad we were safely tied up at a dock for that squall line!!
Saturday we rented a car for the day to run more errands (filling up gas cans, getting the cat's herbal antibiotics over on Big Pine Key, buying new lines at Boater's World which is going out of business (boo hoo) and most importantly, getting more beer!) It also came in handy to transport us, along with our food and beverages to the southernmost DeFever mini-rendezvous which was held yesterday afternoon over at Sombrero Beach. The Gypsies joined Robin and Jim (Adventures), Stephanie and Bob (September Song), Carol and Dan (Lucky Stars), Joe (Sea Pearl), Larry (Algonquin) and Mike and Jane (Blessings) as well as the boat dogs (Cassie, Godiva, Godiva (no that is not a typo - there were two chocolate labs named Godiva at the party) and Salty)!!
We had a great time under one of thatched roof huts despite the rain that threatened all day and finally came towards the end of the evening.
We even got to see sneak peaks of some photos that Carol had taken of Dan in anticipation of the calendar - practice, practice....we have re-nicknamed him Big Davit Dan....
The weather is still pretty blustery this morning so it may be a day to hang on the boat and get some stuff done....although March Madness is upon us so we may have a sports bar in our future...we'll see!! Tonight's festivities may be in jeopardy due to the overcast and blustery weather - the folks from Marathon marina are coming by dinghy which is weather dependent - as cruisers we get used to this. Hopefully it will clear up but the forecast is looking pretty unhappy well into next week - looks like the Bahamas crossing won't be at least until next weekend. Bummer - but if you have to wait out a weather window, Marathon is not a bad place to do it .... and with such great people to keep us company and play with, life could be worse...a lot worse!!!!
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