One day after we got home from Boca Grande my nephew and his family arrived for two days. Bob and his wife, Pam, came from Detroit with Elizabeth (7), Mark (6) and Kenny (4). We were thrilled that they wanted to spend part of their vacation with us! As soon as the kids got on board, I told them they had to sit on the couch so I could talk with them. They thought I was going to give them a long list of rules, but no..... Instead I told them our tale of woe. The pirates had come to our boat and left their flag on our stearn along with some shirts (that just happened to fit the three of them). I convinced them that the pirates wouldn't return, if they would wear their pirate shirts. Well, they bought it hook, line and sinker! Stories were read and pirate life was discussed for the entire visit. In the end it was unanimous -- the pirate life is the life to live! On Friday at 3:00 they left and at 5:00 Mary and Russ arrived. They are moving Mary's Mother to Venice from Minnesota and had an evening free. We rendezvoused at the boat so we could have a quiet visit before we went to dinner. It was good to hear about what is going on in our old neighborhood. Saturday morning we were up and on our way to meet Mary and Doug at their house. They had friends from Atlanta visiting and invited us to spend the day with them. We all drove to Brandon where their boat had just completed repairs. The guys hopped on the boat and made it back to Longboat Key faster than the girls could drive back (of course, we did make a couple of stops on the way). Lunch was next at the beach, back to their house and then home to prepare for the arrival of Sunday's guests. Didi and Peter had just completed a week in Boca Grande and were on their way back to Virginia when they came by. We visited them there for two days last week. While they were here, we packed the days full and had a two night Rummy Cube tournament. Guess who was the grand champion -- ME! It probably wouldn't have made the blog if someone else would have won. Hey, it's my blog! Tomorrow night we're visiting Jon and Bonnie's 39 foot Krogen and Thursday Mary is here for dinner! We love having company and spending time with friends. Like I told someone last week -- "all I need is time to change the bedding, clean the bathrooms and refocus" then bring on the company!
Gotta smile -- We're lovin the ride!
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| Off to look for pirates! |
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| Pancakes for the crew. |
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| Lots of dancing in the water, running on the beach, hunting for shells, digging in the sand. |
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| Mary and Russ visit before dinner. |
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| The opposite of our trawler ---- 60 foot Searay that goes very fast. Repairs made and ready to head back to Longboat Key. |
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| After lunch on the north end of Longboat Key, we sought out the wild peacocks. This male is doing his best to get the females attention. Looks like the girls are more interested in eating. |
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| What looks like a shadow at the water's edge is actually a six foot manatee. He rubbed his back and stomach along the bottom of our neighbor's boat for 15 minutes. These prehistoric looking mammals grow up to 13 feet long and weigh up to 1300 pounds. |
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| A perfect day to explore the coast in the dingy with Didi and Peter. |
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| Lunch on the dock of the bay. |
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| The guys patiently wait while Didi and I shop. |
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| Beverages and Peter welcome us home. |
I think that I am drawn to either the pancakes or the beverages. Hmm...since I've been in school for 7 hours, I'm going with the beverages. Looks like you are still having lots of fun.
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