Guest Blogger: The Journey Home - Dude'n It.

Hi,

I'm the (step) son-in-law, Ben. This is the story of the journey home - The Guy's Trip:

When “The Dudes" and I met Uncorked in Toronto she was happy to learn that all of her female passengers had departed. This was the last leg of her voyage and she knew that only the bravest of brave would steer her home across the wilds of the North American Great Lakes. At her helm was Captain Vertin (as usual) with the tiller in one hand and a bottle of Grand Marnier in the other. On her bow was Tommy, a mildly overweight yet capable first mate (note: by birthright). On her stern was Dickey, prematurely balding, but no less knowledgeable by second mate standards. In the galley was the cook/ (step) son-in-law; a bit short in stature but mildly good looking and a whiz with freezer-burned shrimp and granulated garlic.

Day/Night 1: As I noted, the adventure began in Toronto. Labatt 50 was the beer of taste that evening as the crew eagerly devoured their steaks seasoned with only the finest green-colored salts mined from wild Canadian volcanoes (seriously). Bored with taunting waitresses, crashing weddings (don’t ask), and unsuccessful duck hunting from Uncorked’s swim platform (with breadcrumbs and a fish gaff), they decided to hit the rack early. A big day was to follow: Two countries and 320 vertical feet of Wellington Canal Locks were ahead.

Day 2/Night 2: Day two started early, the crew was startled by the rumbling of Uncorked’s diesels at O-seven-hundred. They all knew Captain Vertin was awake……and hung-over. A brisk run across Lake Ontario brought them to the foot of the day’s endeavor. Curiously, myth and legend told that the Wellington Locks could be traversed in no less than 8 to 10 hours. After a warm up bloody mary, Uncorked made quick work of those ramparts in less than 6 hours without a scuff on her rub rail (ok, a little one - stern lines should not be manned by a cook). Erie, PA was the port of call. “Yard Bird” and euchre were on the menu.

Day 3/Night 3: Uncorked was spared overnight as tornadoes tossed the great lakes states, but she sustained 30 knot winds while heavy rains strained her lines. The crew slept somewhat soundly only to wake and realize that the daytime goal of reaching Mecca (Put-In-Bay, OH) was looking unlikely. After a hot breakfast served by twin waitresses and jell-coat scuff by a couple of drunk teens on a wind-strewn 84 Wellcraft, Captain Vertin elected to try his luck on the 6-10 foot seas. Uncorked is a large vessel, no doubt, but she was built for the warm water of the inland FL Keys, not the tempestuous chill of eastern Lake Erie after twelve hours of NW 30 knot winds. The freefalls sheered bolts, split refrigerator racks, and after only 40 minutes the Uncorked crew was disheveled by their predicament…………and then there was vomit…………lots of vomit.

Pulling the rip cord, Captain Vertin plotted a course. Ashtabula, OH was the savior……three hours and forty miles after leaving Erie, PA. Affectionately called “The Armpit of Lake Erie,” ancient, rusted and mostly vacant, Ashtabula proved to be nothing less.

Day 4: The crew awoke again to the rumbling of the Uncorked diesels. Captain Vertin was pumped for the journey home. A brisk 20 knot pace and 2-3 foot seas brought Uncorked to Put-In-Bay by 11:00am where rum runners and pizza entertained their weary souls. After a few cocktails, topless sunbathing, some fuel and a much needed pump-out, the voyagers were on their way. As they passed by Middle Sister Island and up the shoots of the southern Detroit river, the sulfur of the foundries caressed their nostrils (the holding tank was now clean, so by process of elimination……). The home waters of Lake Saint Clair were sweet and a welcomed reward after traversing Lake Ontario, The Wellington Canal and Lake Erie (lengthwise) without a functioning GPS.

The Old Club, Harsens Island, MI – Home Port: The boat well was shallow and the crew half-drunk (mostly drunk), but Uncorked managed to find her way home. As the journey came to and end the captain adopted the second mate into his family as “his new son”, the first mate drove home as he was the closest to sober, and the cook, overjoyed, relished in the fact that for a fleeting five minutes he was allowed to drive (chaperoned) the 50 ft private yacht…Uncorked.

Locked and Loaded

31 locks in 4 days! We are celebrating our accomplishment with Veuve Cliquot that we put on ice the day we left and we may have had just a little too much of the bubbly.

We got back to the boat late Friday (28th) with our friends Dave and Lynn Lozon. Saturday we ran around stocking the boat with all the necessary items like old fenders and lines, boat hooks, work gloves, food, and vodka and although it was mid afternoon when we finished, we still set out for the Troy Lock,the first on the NY Canal System. We headed into the lock with a plan that quickly came unraveled; it really just became "somebody get a line around a cable and hold on" Of course we did all manage to hold the boat steady against the lock wall but we made it much harder on ourselves than we needed to. We decided that 1 lock was enough for today and put in for the night.

Sunday we were blessed with fabulous, sunny weather and knocked off a dozen more locks. After the 4th one we got a little cocky and thought we had a great process but then lock 6 threw us for a loop when nothing was set up as in the previous 5. All hands on deck! New Process! We learned to be flexible any way. It was one really long day but we managed to find an empty spot on a concrete wall in Canajoharie at about 7 p.m.(no shore power) so we tied up, ate shrimp cocktail for dinner and called it a night.

Monday was another beautiful day so we decided to try for Lake Oneida. All of the guidebooks warned that a 10 mph speed limit is strictly enforced through the canals but we met a local who said this was bunk so...techie Lynn said "Google it" We did and found that the local guy was right. The speed limit was 30mph through the part we ran yesterday - today's run is where it drops to 10. CRAP. Unfortunately the locks were father apart and seemed to take a lot longer to get through today even though we had perfected our technique: ) Dave was feeling the work of the previous day in his lower back so he asked Lynn to get him a couple of Aleves. Evidently he combined all of his pills into one bottle and Aleve and his sleeping pills look extremely similar. Our "Ship's Nurse" delivered the wrong meds and it took us the better part of the day to figure out why Dave was so groggy and quiet. We demoted him from "bow line tend-er" to the stern, figuring it was less distance to fall should he doze off midway through a lock.

We did finally make it to Lake Oneida and pulled up to the port just as a downpour broke the heat spell. We got soaked but had shore power, which translates to air conditioning at night without the sound of a generator to keep you awake.

Tuesday we treated ourselves to breakfast at a dive and got a late start on the water. We still managed to get through the rest of the locks and put in by 6 for our celebration. We laughed over the fact that Lynn warned us before agreeing to come, "I'll go but I'm not good crew - I'll watch Scrappy but I don't want to do lines or anything". Lynn ended up having the role of picking up the slack and trust me, there was always slack. Waiting on the Captain, grabbing the center line on the lock wall when the aft or bow line was missed by Dave or I, running up to the bridge to get a line that was too short to reach from the transom, running boat hooks to Dave and I, communicating Captain's commands out the side door to us (and often times softening the message to keep our morale up). The only thing she didn't have to do was watch Scrappy because he basically laid in the sun and wanted no part of our folly.

Tomorrow we head West on Lake Ontario to Rochester then Thursday it's off to Toronto for some culture!!!

I Heart NY!

I completely understand the pride and infatuation that New Yorkers have with their home state. The New York I always thought of was Manahattan, Times Square, Wall Street, and Broadway, all of which were fine for a weekend but I could never see the allure of living in the busy, smelly, pushy city that never sleeps. But running the boat down The Hudson brought it all into perspective. I have never seen such beautiful boating. Not even Georgian Bay, which is some of the finest display of nature I have ever witnessed. What makes The Hudson special is the combination of nature and architecture. As you are awed by the beauty of lush green against the backdrop of black mountain rock, you round the bend and are faced with the massive Westpoint Academy. And then there is the train that runs along the river...that was really neat to see. Up in the hills are some of the most splendid homes - both modern and gilded age architecture. Just a fabulous run. I'm so glad we did it. Now I get why people summer in the Catskills.

I insisted that we stop in a little town called Saugerties because I had cooked up a big surprise for Tom. About two years ago while in Miami we saw these magnificent binoculars from WWII warships that had been polished and mounted on large aluminum stands. We thought one would be great for freighter viewing off of our balcony but decided to "think about it" and of course never went back to the antique show and bought one. Tom has said several times since that he regrets it so I tracked down the vendor and lo and behold, his workshop is in Saugerties, right on the Hudson. I knew we'd be passing by and thought what a great surprise outing it would be. Guess what Tom is got for his birthday this year. I am traveling with a very Happy Cappy again!!

Saugerties is as small town as small town gets. Really quaint and the people are so accomodating - not at all the classic New Yorkers. The marina was tiny so they had us tie up at the fuel dock for the night. As soon as we docked this undersized and unremarkable golden retriever jumped from the dock to our swim platform, proceeded to the aftdeck and promptly squatted on Scrappy's little pee grass (fake grass) that we keep on the boat for emergency pees while running. She then turned and jumped back onto the dock and was Scrappy ever ticked about the whole thing. It happened so fast that by the time he got out to defend his property she was gone. That dog was every bit a typical "New Yorker".

We are parked in Albany and after two weeks of unbelievably perfect boating weather, all "hail" broke loose. It has been like winter here. Still we washed all traces of saltwater off Uncorked and told her she is on track to a better "freshwater" life with us in Michigan. We are heading home Tuesday and then we'll return in a few weeks to work our way through those dreaded locks. (Well, I dread them because I'm crew. Captain Tom is excited about the whole journey) That will be the final leg of my blog. Look for an entry around May 29th.

NY is in sight!

After the big Hatteras adrenaline rush we played it safe in the Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds and laid over at Portsmouth. We waited out the winds for two days and used the opportunity to get the props aligned. We also went to the historic movie theater in town and saw "Oceans", the new Disney movie. It was incredible. Hard to believe all that activity is going on underneath us as we run the Atlantic. From Portsmouth we had flat seas and ran to Virginia Beach and then up to Atlantic City for Cinco de Mayo, which we celebrated by making tacos on the boat. Not too impressed with Atlantic City. The weather was not cooperating but we just couldn't spend another night is this sorry substitute for Vegas so we ran inside and it was really a nice, fast and beautiful run alongside Long Beach Island, NJ and up through Barnegat Bay. We put in at Manasquan Inlet at a little town called Brielle where we met a fun couple and emptied a few bottles of wine together. The Weavers, Bonnie and Jack, are also retired and enjoy traveling so we had lots to talk about and shared stories about favorite destinations. We agreed that often what makes a place memorable is the people that we meet; we share laughs for a night and then often never see or hear from one another again but it's great to have these "encounters", which is the term that Jack used to describe these snap friendships.

Today you can look for us in The Hudson.

Hats off to Hatteras!

What a rush getting here. We came via the Atlantic against the advice of the charts and guidebooks. We had a following sea all the way up the coast, which made for a pretty smooth ride so I rationalized, "these books advertise for businesses along the ICW and so naturally they encourage boaters to stay inside - this is fine" The waves started building about 10 miles out of Hatteras, which was still fine because they were big rollers that were just pushing us a little harder - good for fuel economy, right? Then we had to turn to head into the inlet. The following sea became a sideways sea and that got a little dicey but timing is everything and as we were coming in, so was the tide. It pulled those sideways waves and us into the inlet at a wild speed. It was a little like rapids. Would have been a lot more fun if finding markers wasn't so critical. None of them are shown on the charts as the channel is constantly changing and the markers get moved regularly. So as you come into the inlet it becomes a game of speed finding your way through the shoaling. Anyone watching would have cracked up; "Green, there's the Green!" "Red 2 o'clock - turn! turn!" "Another Red! And Green - over there!" "Scrappy stay!" "3 Greens!" "We're in"

We docked and went straight to the bar. Great ride but neither of us said, "Wanna go again?" We'll be running inside tomorrow - the guidebook recommends it.

3 States in 3 Days!!

The weather has been kind to Uncorked. We've been able to run the Atlantic for three days with a gentle wind at our back. We spent Sunday & Monday in New Smyrna, FL (had to run up to Daytona and check on the house) but Tuesday we docked at Jeckyl Island, GA, Wednesday we tucked in at Charleston, and tonight we are in Wrightsville, NC. Long days but with flat seas, why not? I am so, so happy to have avoided the slow, no-wake nightmare of NC intercoastal. It's supposed to be pretty calm tomorrow so we are shooting for Cape Hatteras. NY by 5/10 is starting to feel like it could actually happen.

Lozons introduced me to audiobooks on the ipod so we have been entertaining ourselves for these 8 hour runs with Stephen Frey books. First, "The Chairman", and now the sequel, "The Protoge". Suspense novels set in the business finance arena - we love it. Could have done without the dramatic reading of the scene where the lead character is out boating and a storm comes out of nowhere almost capsizing his 150 footer. This chapter, of course, was read when we were out in the Atlantic with no land in sight. Lynn Lozon asked me a while back if I get nervous when I can't see land; well, I never used to but now that she asked...

Rain Rain Go Away Kathy Wants to Run Today

We returned to Marathon on the 20th to find Uncorked shining like a new dime. The wet-sanding and waxing really made a difference and Tom is one happy cappy. After errands and stocking the boat, we headed out.

We stopped over in Lauderdale for a little more maintenance; cleaning out the fuel tanks. It's amazing and grotesque what can grow in a fuel tank that is left sitting in the heat. The best way I know to describe the procedure is to say that the boat got a colonic.

We had a full day of running today. Mostly out in the Atlantic, which helped us gain some ground (so to speak) Eventually we had to slip in to get to a fuel stop. We ran this narrow little fresh water channel and for the first time ever in all my trips to Florida I saw gators. Creeped me out! Their heads were halfway out of the water and looked like really big rocks; one was right off our bow. And just beyond the gators, these guys were standing in the water fishing!? Also, this little day boat passed us going in the opposite direction (toward the gators) and all these girls were sitting out on the bow dangling their feet into the water. I just hope those gators weren't out looking for something to snack on.

Tonight we are in New Smyrna and Mother Nature is in a foul mood. It's raining and between downpours there is constant thunder and lightening. Hopefully she gets it out of her system by morning. Tom and I admit that we are fair weather boaters but we are also on a mission; NY by May 11.

Does anybody really know what time it is???

So, we spent the first hour of the day trying to figure out what hour of the day it was. In fairness, we had been on a week long Old Club Rendezvous in the Carribean, which is one hour ahead and because the cruise ship wanted us to spend all of our time (and money) in their bars, casino, and gift shop, they blocked access to normal television news channels. So we have been out of touch for days.

We returned to our boat in Marathon Key with Neal and Lillian Stoneback last night with the best of intentions; getting up early to go to church and then setting out to Little Palm Island (that's Torch Key FL Jim Franey) The service was at eight but we missed it and for the life of us couldn't figure out why our cell phones, and Fox News said 9:00 a.m. when our watches and clocks said 8. We finally copped on to the "Spring foward thing" but felt that March 14 hardly qualified for spring. So we missed church but Lillian says we get points for trying.

Little Palm was still just as lovely. We encountered two little Key deer while lunching by the pool and fed them leaves from the tall trees that they love but can't reach. Then we snapped pictures of Spencer, the resident Great Blue Heron. But perhaps the most fun of all was what we encountered on the dock next to our boat.

Our new boat neighbors pulled in and set about washing the salt off their boat (we skipped that step in favor of rum drinks at the tiki hut) The woman was washing the windows, which is a huge turn on for Tom and he couldn't resist chatting her up. "Want to do our boat next?" She laughed and said "You can't afford me" I asked "where are you from?" and she held her hand up in the all too familiar mitten, pointed to her lower thumb knuckle and said "originally Michigan - it's where I grew up" We couldn't believe it. We all introduced ourselves and said, "We're from Harsens Island" to which she responded "Pickeral at Browns! What's your name?" Tom answered "Vertin" A look of horror came over her face as she said "Tom? Tom Vertin?" and quickly moved from her husband to the dock and frantically sputtered unrelated pieces of data. "I dated your friend Mel. Alexander. This is my husband. Patrick. How long ago was that? Wow" And then she moved toward me, hand extended and reintroduced herself "I'm Kim". I said "Yes-you said that back there" gesturing to her boat and sort of relishing the fact that my husband clearly knew something about her past that she did NOT want her husband to know. Then it occured to me almost instantly that my husband WAS what she didn't want her husband to know. As the realization came over my face the relish moved to Neal who muttered "Oh this is gonna be good" We made plans to have a cocktail with our new friends before dinner and retired to our boat at which point Lillian said "Mel dated that woman!" followed by Tom and I saying in unison "So did Tom(I)" Kim went back to washing her windows and we called Mel who when confronted by Neal with the whole thing offered this response; "So did Tom"

All I can say is its a good thing I'm not the jealous type. We had a cocktail with them and actually enjoyed ourselves very much. We never tipped our hand but when her husband mentioned that they also might like to go to the Bahamas this year on their boat I couldn't resist suggesting we run across the gulf stream together just to watch her squirm. What I lack in "jealous" I make up for in "evil".

Sorry for the lack of blog in February. Nothing much to report during that period. Big news now though...Not only are Ben and Val expecting in August but Tommy and Kelle have another bun in the oven that's due in November. We are going to be up to our ears in Grandbabies and loving every minute of it!!!!

There's No Place Like Home.

So Brother-in-law Tim is here with us. We had a really busy day. We had to inflate the dinghy and go across the canal to investigate the 4 foot long iguana hanging out in the mangroves a little too close to our boat for my liking. Now the guys are picking on me regarding my pre-coffee disposition this morning. Evidently I was a touch on the crabby side. And now we are debating whether we should be good little patriots and suffer through yet another of those redundant, uninspiring, rhetoric-ridden, Obama performances. They made me swear that I will withhold narrative until its over. And they are laying bets on how long I'll last. I said, "that's it - I want to go home" Tim told me to click my heels three times. I responded, "y'know this is a little like Oz. I've got the Cowardly Lion to my right (Tim), the Tin Man to my left (Tom) and we're about to listen to the Scarecrow" sing along with me folks..."with the things that I'd be thinkin' I could be another Lincoln, if I only had a brain..."

I failed miserably. Obama opened with Ladies and Gentleman our Constitution states...and I blurted out, "oh NOW you want to consult the Constitution!"

Uncorked Help Menu

This blog is dedicated to our friend Jim Franey who recently complained that my blog does not contain enough geographic data. For example I told you that we traveled from Key West to Little Palm Island but I neglected to tell you whether that was Little Palm Island Florida, in the Keys, or say Little Palm Island India. My bad. Should I commit a great oversight such as this in the future, might I suggest that confused readers familiarize themselves with this new thing called "Google" where you can enter just about anything and get info on what and where it is.

For those of you who figured out where Little Palm is, here's another pic of us while we enjoyed this heavenly little 5 miles in size island in the Keys, near Pine Key, but west of Marathon Key.

From Manatee Moments to Senior Moments

Our friends headed home to Michigan today but not without a great Florida send off from a Mama Manatee and her baby. Yesterday morning Tom was cleaning the boat and this big manatee was attracted to the fresh water from the hose. I commandeered the hose and Uncorked became Sea World. First we held the stream over her head and she opened her mouth to drink. Then, while getting in position to touch her, I accidently let the end of the hose go into the water and she latched onto it like a baby to a nipple. Seriously, I couldn't get it out of her mouth without really pulling. It was just like trying to take Ella's bottle away! This manatee was right next to our swim platform we were eye to eye. What a sweet and wonderful encounter. She let me pet her head and everything. None of us had ever seen a manatee so close up and it was really quite an experience. Her baby just hung out underneath Mama's flipper and showed no interest in the fresh water and Mama seemed to keep her away from it. Fresh water must not be good for baby manatees - it was like all the new human mommies who say "no dairy!" as naughty grandparents try to slip a little whipped cream into their mouths (not that we would ever do anything like that) I made a slideshow of our manatee encounter - if you scroll over the picture to the left and click, I believe it will open in large format. First try at this - no promises.

That was the last wonderful vacation moment for The Lozons. Yesterday they left for Miami to stay at the airport since their flight was so early this morning and on their way they realized that they'd left their winter coats on the boat. Then they received an email informing them of the Harsens Island Ferry shutting down until the ice jams could be cleared (could be days) The only way to get to their home would be on the uncovered airboat, which is not only scary but cold as hell (remember where their winter coats are??) They got up this morning at the crack of dawn to get through security at the airport with time to relax over a newspaper and a cup of coffee. You can imagine their disappointment in arriving at the airport and finding out that their airline only flies out of "Ft. Lauderdale/Miami Area" not Miami International Airport. In a panic they hailed a taxi to Lauderdale and $80 later they found themselves racing through the terminal and onto the flight. But - whew - they made it. So much for coming home refreshed.

Had a visit today from Chris LaBelle, Rick LaBelle and Jeff Sangster on their way to Key West. Mel stopped by as well. It's kind of fun connecting with people from home for quick visits. Tomorrow Bro-in-law Tim arrives for a week and agreed to be the Galley Wench (great cook - we will eat well this week!)

Wonder what wildlife we'll encounter next?

Da Plane, Da Plane...

We have found Fantasy Island. Little Palm Island is a magical place and we all want to stay here forever. We are the only boat in the tiny little marina. On the island there are 30 little thatched roof huts;one houses a library, another is the spa, the rest are private rooms for guests. The grounds are manicured yet lush with foliage. There are hammocks and lounge chairs set throughout the grounds so that you can stop and enjoy the 360 degrees of ocean view or enjoy the various birds and wildlife that seem completely untroubled by our presence . Check out the photos I took of a great blue heron on the beach - I did not have to use the telescoping lens - I actually got that close. It is the most romantic place ever and no children are allowed here.

The beach is lovely. Lozons are relaxing with ipods in their ears but Tom and I do not lay in the sun well. We get bored. Tom announced that he was going kayaking and put up his flag to alert the Cabana Boy (Yes, you heard me correctly. We have a Cabana Boy - loved it) I said, "I like to kayak" and Tom responded "You like to YAK" But he let me come along anyway. Very cool kayaking through the mangroves although a little creepy too. We took Scrappy along and while not keen on being that close to the water, he did seem fascinated by the all too friendly wildlife.

Dinner on the beachfront terrace was wonderful and so relaxing. There is a giant firepit and a few tiki torches and that is the lighting - period. A guitarist was there to set the perfect mood but the best, best, best part of the night was having this utterly adorable little Key Deer (like a pygmy version of the white tail deer) wander up between Tom and I and stick her nose right in my lap begging for a little treat (which she of course got - are you kidding!) I don't think I have ever seen anything so sweet and precious in the wild and I broke all the laws and gave her my apple chips (served with unbelievably delicious beignets - yummm) And she thanked me by nearly kissing my nose, which was fine with me until my RN friend Lynn alerted, "Wild animal! Wild Animal" I got the pic though and it's really cute.

Eden. This is Eden and we are coming back sometime soon. (with a stock pile of carrots and apples)

Something to Crow About

Key West is, well, Key West. You can't really do the Keys without going to Key West and it is hands down some of the best people watching on earth. It is amazing what you see on any street near Duval. Scattered among the various drunks and roosters (yes - lots of roosters) are these entrepreneurs of sorts trying to sell their "talents" (and I use the word loosely) to the tourists. There's "Dirty Joke Guy" who will tell you jokes - the more you pay, the dirtier they are. There's the couple who fashion hats out of palm branches they no doubt "borrowed" from the neighbors' trees, mimes (who really likes mimes? they weren't exactly raking it in) And there was this young kid who was very astute at reggae music but who we felt should have been in school on Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. Hmmm

But, our friends Dave and Lynn introduced us to a new little gem among the usual beer joints. Across from the Westin Marina (where we swayed all night on our earlier trip) is a lovely little island called Sunset Key. You can only get there by shuttle and there is a fabulous restaurant overlooking the famous Key West Sunsets. Food was fab and the ambience was magnificient! I'd go back for sure. Thanks Lozons.

Old Home Week

We headed back to Naples on Tuesday and found a whole slew of Harsens Islanders waiting for us. Amy Crouchman (Mel's ex-gf) lives here now - she recognized Scrappy as she drove by us one afternoon and stopped to say hi. Mel is down here visiting his friend Bob Farabee (old neighbor of Tom's). And Dave and Lynn Lozon arrived Saturday to boat with Tom and I to the Keys.

Ist stop, Sunday at Stan's Idle Hour on Marco Island. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Stan's, it is a party every Sunday, and only Sundays. They have these powerful little drinks called Buzzards (which I'm sure are just Rum - lots of rum- and Hi C)that go down way too easily. There's a little shop called Island Woman Boutique that sells all the tackiest clothing and accessories you could imagine. But somehow after a couple of Buzzards you find yourself shopping in this horrid little store and finding "must have" items like the ones we are sporting in the pictures to the left. In fairness, our boat is named Uncorked and so you see how these items just fit with the theme and had to be purchased and proudly worn. Stan's attracts every walk of life from your basic degenerate to the neighborhood millionaire. Hands down some of the best people watching on earth. And we saw a lot of people we knew, Gary Broad, Marv Tomlan, the Schmidts, the Hobsons, the parents of a guy Lynn and Dave's daughter could have ended up marrying, and someone my hubby did end up marrying, Tom's ex (Mary). Stan's never disappoints.

After much coffee and a little recovery, and after waving goodbye to a sad Melvin who'd lost his cell phone at Stan's, the four of us set off for Key West this morning and got a fairly calm crossing. The weather is back to lovely - yea!!! The Lozons have been contemplating a boat purchase so that they can do The Loop. They thought this week would be a good way to determine whether they will like boating enough to do it - we hadn't even left the dock and Lynn looked at Dave and said, "let's get the boat" We'll see if she's still as enthusiastic on Friday.

Rhapsody in Snooze...

With 40 degree temps, hanging out at a Tiki Bar listening to Jimmy Buffet music was not an option so I found the Fort Myers Symphony Orchestra "Evening with Gershwin" and Tom was game. The first half was a symphony performance of An American in Paris (which we both really enjoyed - well done) followed by a guest pianist performing a tinny, emotionless Rhapsody in Blue (which made me really miss Danny Patrona plopping down at at our piano on random weekends on the island) But what really pained my hubby was the "Selections from Porgy and Bess" performed by guest (not so great)vocalists. I'll never understand why Gershwin wanted some of the greatest jazz/blues numbers he'd ever written performed as an opera. The contrast of classical singing combined with "dis" and "dat" and "nuttin'" just doesn't work for me. High brow doing low brow? It would be like hearing Bocelli do rap. Po' Tom he done had to sit dare and listen. What a sport.

And what a show we're missing at home. Five freighters stuck in ice in the South Channel!! Thanks Lozons, Licatas, and Whipples for the pics and updates on all the island excitement we are missing. I'm posting the pics here for non-islanders.

Greetings from the Arctic South

We're back to the two of us and Scrappy but we proved that our family of 6 + baby can peacefully coexist in under 650 sq. ft. of living space and have a lot of fun doing it!

Family departed at 10a.m. on Jan 2nd and Captain had guests (Franeys) arriving at 11 to cruise up to Fort Myers for a cocktail party. Yes, I could have killed him. We ran in crappy waves but made it to Ft. Myers by 2 and 11 more friends hopped aboard. It was too cold to enjoy the view from the bridge so we stayed inside the cabin and picked our noses. NOT literally...I found these clever cups with noses printed on them so that when you tipped your cup to drink, you looked like you had a new nose. See the pics to the left and you'll get it. Look, its freezing down here and you have to find creative ways to make fun.

Labelles stayed on the boat that night & the next morning Chris reported a repetitive mechanical noise under the v-bunk. Tom checked the anchor winch, the heater, everything, then I put my head on the pillow and said, "I know that rhythm...give me a minute...ch-ch-cha-chu...it's the baby swing!" Sure enough. He stowed it under the bow and the waves must have switched it on. In seven nights Baby Ella never once disturbed our sleep but she got the Labelles good.

I did a 24 hour turnaround trip home to get Scrappy on Monday. When I left Detroit Tuesday night it was 32 degrees...I got to Fort Myers and it was 38. Does Al Gore feel like the fool he is? Global warming my a$$.