Jon & Michelle

February 18^th – There I was reading a good book and listening to Jimmy Buffett aboard Lastdance one night last week when Jimmy begins singing about oysters and beer. The seed was planted and before I know it, I'm up at the Sandbar woffing down a dozen steamed oysters and enjoying "a cold one." Now I've had oysters raw, oysters Rockefeller, oyster stew and fried oysters but this was my first taste of perfectly salty steamed oysters and there was something really relaxing about sitting at the bar shucking my own oysters with echos of Jimmy Buffett singing Tin Cup Chalice on my mind. 
   The weather has improved dramatically since Superbowl weekend but I think I’m going to rename this town Blowfort. The wind just never stops blowing, often over 25 knots for days at a time. Fortunately, temperatures have been in the 60’s almost every day so I get to open hatches and give Lastdance a good airing out. Nights have been pretty warm also and I’ve not had to use my second heater even once at night since early February.

   It’s been a quiet month but I get to Michelle’s every few days to get “beat up” by my grandkids. Furi has perfected his jab-right hook combination to a point I felt boxing gloves were in order before he breaks my nose. I made another Sunday afternoon visit to Cru’s Wine Bar and the Back Street Pub and kind of like spending my time doing that and meeting the tourist who think I’m a local until I unleash the remnants of my Brooklyn accent on them. Michelle was here for an overnighter with Ali and Furi and we had a great time watching the Land Before Time. I made biscuits with the kids in the morning while Michele succumbed to the effects of a gently rocking boat. We then went fishing off of Lastdance and took photos to send to Christopher in Iraq. He is back in Al Anbar province in Al Asad and we hear from him regularly. He says things are quiet and reasonably comfortable compared to his 2005 deployment when he and his men from Kilo Company lived in an abandon railroad station and were engaged in frequent fighting.

   I met Jon and Michelle the other day. They’re a really nice English couple who just became American citizens and are off s/v Audry, a Pearson 36. They are here for a month after getting whacked by a nasty storm north of Frying Pan shoals during a winter voyage to Florida. Michelle whipped up a great Thai dish and with some fresh sourdough bread, we laughed and talked our way through 2 bottles of wine and half a bottle of port. Good cruising etiquette required that I reciprocate so we did it all over again on Lastdance last night with my shrimp risotto, 3 litres of wine and a few glasses of grappa. This is such a tough way to live huh?