2012 - April - May - Cruise to Naples

APRIL
My cousin, Sue, her daughter, Loni, her daughter, Hailey & my favorite ‘Jersey boy (JB)’ Dean

(he’s not really from Jersey I just call him that) visited. It was SO great seeing them again &, even though we only had a short time together, we made the most of it. We brought them out to the boat for dinner. Hailey was able to blow the conch for sunset.

It’s a strange month here in the Keys with fronts arriving often, lots of wind & rain, sunny/cloudy, hot/cool-you never know what to expect. Friends, Pete & June, from Charlotte county, FL arrived to spend a month of fishing & veggin’ out.
We decided to look for another VW Cabrio…but was easier said than done. Bless the internet but who knew it was such a popular model?? I’d locate one here in Florida, call about it & was already sold. Then I found her (or should it be a ‘him’?) a 2002 (last year they made them) silver, new black, electric top & black leather seats; new tires - pristine with only 47,000 miles & located in Cape Coral. (Gregg, Wayne’s brother lives there) I immediately called. He just took a deposit on it. Buggar!! (as the English say) He took my number ‘just in case’ the deal didn’t fly. Sure enough, on the 19^th he called to say it was ours if we still wanted it…but he needed a deposit asap. We called Gregg; he drove over right away
& reported that it was as pristine as it looked. He gave him a deposit. Wayne took the Ft Myers ferry on the 25^th, secured the car & was home on the 27^th. He/she sure is sweet.

MAY

Kathryn, Wayne & Kari

 

Kathryn and her friend, Kari, arrived on the 3^rd for a long weekend. (Mickey doesn’t know what he’s missing). Good times, good food, good drinks &, of course, happy hour at the Warf. It was time to prepare for our journey North to Naples for David & Shannon’s wedding on the 18^th & Nicholas’s christening on the 20^th. Scupper made sure she told our resident "Iggy" the
Iguana 'stay off the property! The fuel truck arrived at the sea wall & fill us up, we secured the house & off we went on the 9^th. There was a nice high tide so we decided to be brave & head out the ‘back way’
(I mean really, what’s the worst that can happen?) - meaning - instead of cruising 4-5 hours to Marathon or Key West & go north from there, we took Niles channel north past Knockemdown & Sawyer Keys directly into the Gulf. Saved many hours; miles & fuel...

 

2012 - May - Wedding Daze

 

We decided to anchor at Middle Cape (Cape Sable,the southern most part of the US mainland) a place we’ve never been before. It wasn’t a bad cruise at first, but by late afternoon & as we anchored, the wind was whipping in from the West & crashing onto the beach. It was too rough to get the dinghy ashore & too late to re-locate. We were stuck there for the night & a crappy night it was.
We headed north to Marco Island on the 11th & 10 hours later anchored in calm waters. We took the girls to the beach at Rookery Bay which is the southern-most part of Keeywaydin Island.

 

 

Wayne holding w/ Scupper & holding Molly so she doesn't get stepped on

 There was hardly a place to beach the boat. Hundreds of people crowded the small beach and I’ve never seen so many diverse law enforcement officers, plus EMS, tow boat companies & food boats. We soon learned that the Naples annual canoe races were that morning & everyone comes here afterwards - who knew? We met so many nice people mainly because of them ogling over the girls.

 

We tied up at the Naples Boat club on the 14^th to get ready for the busy week ahead. Shannon, bless her heart, expertly planned the entire week of fun & excitement. Wednesday the 16^th was the bachelorette / bachelor parties. I agreed to watch Nicholas but at the last minute, they found a new sitter so I was able to join the girls - YEA!


Susan, Shannon, Sherry, Felicia, Laura, Lindsey & me

 

Sherry, Felicia, Susan, Lindsey, Shannon, me & Laura arriving @ the Mercado



 

Shannon

Our driver - what a cutie, but can't remember his name ??

David & Shannon picked us up in front of the Tavern at the marina in a 36’, school bus yellow Hummer! Well, that brought everyone out from the bar. The girls & guys met at a very trendy bar/restaurant in the Mercado - a huge new development -I was SO lost in a town I lived in for over 10 yrs. Even though it was a 'school night', the place was packed! Groom on one side of the room, Bride on the other. Appetizers & drinks galore. The guys eventually left in their own ’boring’ black limo to a girlie place in Ft Myers - we stayed put & drank & danced the night away
 Thursday, 17th pedicure & manicures then rehearsal on the beach & dinner at Café Lurcat, a beautiful Italian restaurant where David works.



My David & Wayne at rehersal

Clowning around @ the rehersal dinner



The 18th , the big day but hair styles first. We kinda took over the salon at Robert's of Philadelphia  - I have no hair to style so I just got a simple, but very needed cut. (I was one of Roberts 1st customers in the early 80’s when he came to Naples -he was expensive then & still is-but worth it)

Alexis, Shannon's sister

The wedding was at 5 - we had to be there by 4:30 for pictures. Since we spent more time at the hairdresser than we planned, I didn’t think we’d make it in time but Shannon seemed to remain cool & calm - at least on the outside.




Ed, the beautiful bride, Shannon & her mom, Susan

Shannon was a princess - my son is very lucky. Gorgeous wedding, gorgeous day at the beach & everything went off without a hitch. Back in the Hummer & onto Café Luna for the reception (Shannon is a partner)

My favorite pic: Shannon listening to Nicholas 'talk'

 



Awwww

(Both Cafe Luna & Lurcat are on high rent district 5^th Ave South & across from each other) All of David’s childhood buddies were there & I’m mom to them. It haven’t seen most of them in 14 years. An exceptional night.




On the way to the reception

 




Our family reunited again - David, Frank & me

 

Laura, Ed, Shannon & Felicia

Shannon & her sister, Alexis

Music was great

Music was provided by one guy. He could play anything & was fabulous- the best, I’m told, in Naples. Let me point out that while we were enjoying the reception the restaurant was still open to the public. It was an amazing mix of people all wanting to join in the celebration.

 It was an extraordinary day but flew by all too quickly.  

Saturday, 19^th A much needed day of rest - getting old S*@Ks! We were on the go again that night. The newly weds made dinner for the family - I was grateful but felt guilty too having them do all that work after the crazy week they had. We enjoyed the meal & the company immensely. Because family & friends were in town for the wedding, they had Nicholas's christening in the same week.

 

 

Sunday, 20th The ceremony was held right after the church service at a very unique & beautiful Catholic church. I've never seen anything like it. Nicholas slept thru the service & remained asleep until the priest poured the water on his head. The good baby that he is, didn't even cry. As part of the service, the priest said, "Nicholas David" & he whipped his head around to see who was calling his name - very cute - he's so smart. Ya think I'm a proud grandma?

 

The kids arranged for a wonderful brunch at a small, intimate Italian restaurant down the street from the church. More good food but, sadly, it was time to say goodbye to everyone. We returned to the boat for, wait for it, more rest of course. Jeffrey, one of my ‘sons’, his girlfriend, Sharon & my David came to the boat for happy hour & a lively conversation.

End to another perfect day…and that folks is the end of this family adventure. We left the dock the next day looking forward to being ‘on the hook’ (anchored) for a few days where there are no city lights, no barking dogs & you can see every star in the sky. Ahhhhh

I hope you’ll stay tuned for more stories. Thanks for reading.



BLUE MAX

　

　

 

 

 

2012 - February to May - Summerland Key

 

Around & About Summerland Key

 

FEBRUARY to MAY

For those faithful followers of my ramblings, here I go again. After 3 weeks working with Mark, diesel mechanic extraordinaire & Brian at American Diesel at Oceanside Marina on Stock Island, we still have the oil consumption issue. We tried everything to discover the problem but to no avail.

Joe cutting down the rubber tree

My best buddy, Joe, from Oakhill, FL, arrived at the cottage on February 23^rd for a little R&R & to help out with some house chores. We rented a car so I could drive to the cottage & begin helping him out while they were still working on the engine in Key West. A coat of kool seal on the roof, cut down a few trees & cleaned up all the leaves, re-painted the outside shower area &


Table before & after

porch, several visits to Home Depot




(my favorite place) to get paint for new kitchen chairs & tile to cover the top of the table on the porch & lots of other boring stuff. Of course we didn’t miss some happy hours at the yacht club next to Oceanside or the Warf by the cottage.

Karen, Joe & Sandy

Joe's friend, Sandy & her sister, Karen visited for a few day & we all cruised BLUE MAX home on March 3^rd just in time to miss a nasty front that came in on the 4^th with high winds, rain & big waves. We anchored out in Niles channel. All in all it was a busy month. Joe left on the 9^th &, on the 10th, our friend Billy Downes & Ellen arrived from Situate, MA to spend a week in paradise.

Ellen, Billy, W&W

 

Billy on the conch at sunset

Kathryn arrived on the 23^rd for a long weekend & helped paint the chairs & front gate. We treated ourselves (just the girls) to Sunday brunch on Little Palm Island - Ooh-La-La.



The famous & beautiful Little Palm Island

  

The beautiful shuttle, THE TRUMAN, that takes you to the island - an adventure in itself

 


Kathryn & the Key deer

Great experience, gorgeous setting & fabulous food. Ya gotta splurge at least once in awhile. 
Between projects, I was busy painting some wooden frames found at Sally’s (aka, Salvation Army). I always wanted to display some of our favorite pictures in the cottage taken while traveling. We bought the boat to the sea wall on the 30^th - easier to visit friends & neighbors.
                                                        APRIL
It’s a strange month here in the Keys with fronts arriving often, lots of wind & rain, sunny/cloudy, hot/cool-you never know what to expect. Friends, Pete & June, from Charlotte county, FL arrived to spend a month of fishing & veggin’ out.
We decided to look for another VW Cabrio & found it easier said than done. Bless the internet but who knew it was such a popular model?? I’d locate one here in Florida, call about it & was already sold. Then I found her ..

(or should it be a ‘him’?) a 2002 (last year they made them) silver, new black, electric top & new tires - pristine with only 47,000 miles & located in Cape Coral. (Gregg, Wayne’s brother lives there) I immediately called. He just took a deposit on it. Buggar!! (as the English say) He took my number ‘just in case’ the deal didn’t fly. Sure enough, on the 19^th he called to say it was ours if we still wanted it…but he needed a deposit asap. We called Gregg; he immediately drove over to Glen's & reported that the Cabrio was as pristine as it looked online. He gave him a deposit. Wayne took the Ft Myers ferry on the 25^th, secured the car & was home on the 27^th. He/she sure is sweet.(Oh...so is Wayne) 

                                                      MAY
Kathryn arrived on the 3^rd with her friend, Kari for another long weekend. Mickey doesn’t know what he’s missing. Good times &, of course, happy hour at the Warf.

Kathryn, Wayne & Kari

It was time to prepare for our journey up to Naples for David & Shannon’s wedding on the 18^th & Nicholas’s christening on the 20^th. Scupper made sure to tell our Iguana friends to stay off the property while we were away. The fuel truck arrived at the sea wall & filed up the tank, we secured the house & off we went on the 9^th. There was a nice high tide so we decided to be brave & head out the ‘back way’ - meaning instead of cruising to Marathon or Key West & then go north, we took Niles channel north past Knockemdown & Sawyer Keys to the Gulf. This short cut saved us many hours, miles & fuel…We anchored for the night.