Monday, June 30, 2008

Wedding in Cancun

While not aboard this week, nevertheless, we've had a fun week in the Yucatan at the Club Med. We flew down to Cancun the last week of June for the wedding of Paul McDonnell and his fiancee, Muriel Cornelis. (Ron was the best man, as Paul had been for Ron when we were married 22 years ago!) A fun group of family and friends attended, literally from around the world, from Belgium, The Netherlands, Spain, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Maryland.

Ron and I dove the first five days we were there, from north of Cancun proper, then over by ferry to Cozumel's Columbia Deep with Paul, after which, we said a brief hello to Don Julio for old times sake. (See photo at right --->) From there it was to the cenote Chikin Ha, then to Puerto Morelos for immense nurse sharks and the wreck of the C-56. All in all, a satisfying time underwater, amongst the preparations and partying for the wedding celebration!
We all got to know each other during the week-long vacation, and kept very busy. Some enjoyed the sights from Chitzen Itza to Tulum, others the Club Med activities, from tennis to sailing to waterskiing to lounging on the beach with a drink in hand.
The wedding was truly elegant; held seaside on the lawn of Club Med on Friday evening, followed with a beachside reception, dinner and dance party until late in the night. Dancing in the sand barefoot to the steel drum band was fabulous! We all enjoyed it and were delighted to share the memories together!

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Jimmy Buffett: The "Year of Still Here" Tour

Yes, we couldn't resist, and did it again....! While it meant a weekend away from the boat, it was worth it, as we had 2nd row center seats at Philadelphia's Citizen Bank Stadium, with Dan and Trish Carney, Allison and her dear friend, Claire Messano. Ally had just finished her week at tennis camp in Florida that morning; Claire and I picked her up at the PHL and then rejoined the others for an entertaining afternoon of tailgating, people watching and music at our own little "Tiki Bar" amongst the hundreds of other parrotheads. The weather was brutally hot and humid, and of course, it wouldn't be Buffett if it didn't rain....and rain it did!! Right after G Love opened the show, a huge thunderstorm cell aimed right at the stadium, drenching us all in the outfield. After a bit of a lightning delay, we commenced to rocking out with Jimmy and the Coral Reefers for the next two hours, uninterrupted and undeterred by the continuing rain and drizzle. As usual, Jimmy seems to truly enjoy his summer job! It was a GREAT concert, with all the old favorites and gold standard songs; while it didn't have the synergy of a new album/CD like last year's "Take The Weather With You" Tour, it was, for us, still fabulous after all these years! After his encores, Jimmy threw his wrists bands to the audience, with one aimed DIRECTLY at Allison...who was most bereft when she dropped it!! As the kind souls in front of her bent to retrieve it for her, another woman to the left snatched it up and kept it herself. Luck of the draw, I guess...but it was intended for Ally!!


It was a great time, a family event that made memories to cherish and enjoy. Here we are!

Monday, June 9, 2008

Steve's Yacht Yard, Annapolis

This first full week of June after Ally finished school and was off to Evert Tennis Academy for a week, Ron and I took the boat down to Annapolis for a week of scheduled boat work. Ron will commute from Eastport while we address the final few nagging punch list items that remain to be rectified. While the boatyard and the docks aren't much to brag about (new docks are due in July -- much needed!), the view of Annapolis and the Naval Academy to the west are glorious indeed!! We arrived in the midst of a heat wave, and with the temps hovering around 100, we've missed having the BMC pool nearby, but dinghy rides have helped to cool us down each evening after Ron has returned from work in Baltimore. Trek is doing much better on his course of prednisone, and is able to get up and about without too much discomfort. Of course, I'm walking him 7 times a day, with his need to pee from the steroid use. Poor guy!