Zzzzzz

I have to admit, I'm kind of tired. It's not that we did all that much, it's that hanging with people on vacation is a bit like herding cattle. They're not on schedules, don't necessarily have plans (and/or are perfectly comfortable changing them mid-stream), and aren't always on budgets either (although all of our visitors have been very conscientious of our situation). We tried valiantly to keep up with our rotating guests, and I think we did a pretty darn good job of it and had fun, but I'm a bit beat. With the family leaving on Saturday, Michael took the day off Friday and we all headed to Smather's Beach. Andres is so going to miss this moped....

Once there and inspired by his stint on Fine Line, Andre felt the need to get a little salty, so rented a Hobie Cat.

When we tacked, we'd hand over the captain's duties to the person on the other side of the boat, so after Andres did his stint, I got it.

Sailing an 8-ton, 37' catamaran is slightly different than maneuvering a lightweight Hobie Cat (where the heck is the autopilot?!), but the winds were perfect for novices,
and everyone went out and took a stab at it over the hour we had the boat.



There was a little floating & soaking going on in water that was very shallow pretty far out (can you see Michael standing way off in the distance there?), and some sea grass as well, but nothing to keep anyone out of the water.

Taso tried to find the motherlode so we can all go on a permanent vacation - no luck.

Then it was a trip to the grocery store where Michael & I used our access to 4 wheels to stock up a little. Dinner got pushed back a bit when we had some drama. Andres went to re-light the gas grill after realizing that the pilot had gone out only to be rewarded with an explosion. Three of us were outside with him when we heard the tell-tale "whoosh," and then saw the hair on Andres's arms flame and burnout. A shocked, red-faced Andres jumped back, and it took a bit for us to get him to jump into the pool to cool off (he was afraid he'd offend us with his underwear - sheesh). After about 1/2 hour, his face returned to a more normal color, and the nurse in the family returned from a walk with some salve. I have to admit none of us were overly nurturing (including the nurse). We're a tough crowd (and this has happened to Michael twice - once on Jacumba, once off), but all was well, and dinner was eventually cooked and eaten (around midnight - oy).

The next morning, we were happy to see that the final damage from Andres's run in with the BBQ grill was one eyebrow with a little less hair, hairless forearms, and what looked like a bit of road rash on one arm, but otherwise, he came through in pretty good shape. Then it was off to Croissants de France for a farewell breakfast (some of us still full from the night before, although that didn't stop us/me from eating a huge crepe). Stuffed and unable to stall anymore, everyone drove off to their various destinations. Everyone was gone.

Sort of. It turns out that our pals on Fine Line are back. While we were thrilled to see them again, I think they'll be the first to say that the circumstances of their return stinks. Yep, the yin and yang of sailing rears its ugly head again. They're hoping to be able to try again by early Tuesday. So...early last night we, along with two other boaters that should no longer be here, all got together to hear a recommended band (to them) at The Green Parrot.

Kelly's

We lasted 5 minutes inside before we had to go outside. It was loud! Holy cow. It was so loud you couldn't even understand what they were singing or saying when they talked to the crowd (who didn't seem to notice). Even standing outside, we had to yell at each other to discuss where we wanted to go next. We decided on Mallory Square. Michael went off to get the moped we should have left home and planned on meeting us there. Anne has a long-time friend who has lived in Key West for about 4 years. She's quite an insider and was giving us a few tips on where to go and not spend a fortune. We happened to walk by Kelly's, which turned out to have a really good happy hour ($3.50 strong margaritas and $2 micro-brewed beers) so we stopped. Call Michael, reroute.

Refueled, and with travel drink in hand, we took off for Mallory. It wasn't overly crowded and we watched the Cat Man do his thing for awhile.



The requisite sunset photo, one with the ladies of our group in the shadows.

And then everyone decided to go to Onlywood Pizzeria. It was 9pm. I was not eating a pizza at 9pm. As a matter of fact, I was fading fast. A couple of weeks ago Michael & I had noticed a sign for this place and decided we wanted to try it because the pizza is wood-fired. Though tired, we decided to at least go over with the group and see what the restaurant looked like. Michael went off for the moped while I walked with the others. On the way, we took a quick detour to Virgilio's where something special was supposed to be happening. Call Michael, give new instructions. Except that this turned out to be a "never mind" and back on to Onlywood we went. Call Michael, give new instructions... Once we all sat down, I could see Michael losing momentum too, and we confirmed we'd try the place another day and bid everyone a goodnight.

There's supposed to be a party out in the anchorage tonight (Sunday), but I'm going to have to find a second wind (Michael slept in until 10am - I was involuntarily up at 6am). After hearing the plans for this soiree, this might be one of those occasions where what goes on on the boat, stays on the boat, but we'll see.