It's been a LONG, EVENTFUL few days...

AIS was supposed to be 0630 on Saturday, December 28th.  We didn't

quite make it until 0715; I kept forgetting this or that.  I was out of sorts

as Cap'n graciously did the refrigerator clean-out while Ellie and I went

to visit my 100 yo grandmother for the last time on Friday.  The man

worked his fool self, inside and out, all day and all evening long.  I have

to admit though, it took me out of my game having him in our one butt

kitchen most of the evening.  It's easier for me to simultaneously clean

and pack all at the same time.  I try to have the basics to get the galley up

and running on Marquesa when we get there, but that didn't happen this

year.  The good news is he bleached, cleaned, defrosted the entire fridge

and freezer by his own big self.  For his lunch that day, he made a loose

egg and put it on top of some leftover lasagna we found.  He learned that
trick from Kenny a long time ago- that a loose egg tastes great on just about

anything.  (yuck!)  Donnie said fending for himself that last day at home

reminded him of his bachelor days....scrounging around in the fridge and

freezer and eating about everything in sight! We locked up the house and

pulled out of the driveway at about 0715 Saturday morning.

Willis T is a pretty good car rider, though it takes him
about to Indianapolis to get over himself and settle in
for a long two days in the car.  He would come to say
"hi" and get pets on occasion, then he retreated to
behind the driver seat or on top of the cooler.

The traffic was unbelievable all the way down.  It took an hour and a half to get about 15 miles on either side of Atlanta.  It wasn't rush hour time, and it was a Saturday to boot.  It seemed everybody and his brother was on the road- going both north and south.  We figured it was everyone getting to and from their families for the holidays.  As it turns out though, it was good we left a little later, and it was good that we were waylaid in Atlanta.  There was a terrible wreck on I-75S near Valdosta, GA.  Somebody stole a tanker truck, then crashed it into a bridge in Valdosta.  The traffic was completely stopped and backed up for over thirty miles.  Had we been stuck in that all afternoon, Cap'n would have lost his mind, for sure.  We were slowed a bit as we entered the Valdosta area, but by then it was after 8pm, and we were ready to stop for the night anyhow.  We were fortunate enough to find a room- it's the same place we always stay at.  They are Willis-friendly, and serve breakfast in the morning.  My brother had given us an Olive Garden gift card for Christmas, so Donnie dropped me off there just a few blocks from our motel.  He went ahead and checked in, getting one of the last rooms available while I waited for a table.  It worked out perfectly.  I was no sooner seated and had ordered for us, and he came through the door.  We had a delicious meal- thank you Kent and Kathy!

We got going the following morning soon after 7am, and our ETA into Marathon was about 4:00pm.  As always, once we hit Highway 1 in the Keys, it's bumper to bumper at about 40 miles an hour for nearly two hours to Marathon.



We were worn out from the two day's drive, so we
didn't unpack and move aboard when we arrived.  I couldn't
 wait to get out of the car to see Marquesa!  Isn't she beautiful?!
She was shining so well, I COULD see my reflection in the
hull!  Cap'n did a fine job polishing :)  There is no bimini on
the rails as Cap'n has a new one being sewn.  It should be
ready in a day or two- though now we're on island time.

I swear to you, Willis went straight to the patio door, peeked
his head around the curtain, and looked longingly at Marquesa
tied up on the dock. Dern cat.  We must have went back to
the door and peeked out at the boat at least five times our
first night at Mamaw and Pap's condo.

Donnie and I took a late night scooter ride, that I've nicknamed "the blue hog".  It's a little 49cc that Donnie bought in Key West earlier this fall.  While he scoots, I plan to pedal, pedal, pedal my new clown bike that I got for Christmas.  We stopped in and saw Dan and Biddi over at Black Fin.  It's going to be strangely silent over at Banana Bay without Danny shining his spotlight into Marquesa and yelling, "Whatareyadoin?!"  We walked the docks at Banana Bay, and saw some new boats as well as some returnee's.  Mimi, Ragtime, Reflection, and Merlin are all back again.  There are a number of new sailboats here this year- so that will be nice.  Also, all the docks behind us used to belong to Ray and his Fish n' Fun boat rental business.  They have moved up to the Island, so we won't have all of that usual activity with fishermen renting the boats.  I have appointed Cap'n Donnie the new mayor of Paradise Pointe, and except for the occasional touron (moron tourists) that come down to fish off the rocks or see the sunset, we have our own little slice of paradise all to ourselves.  Larry did tell us that a big trawler is coming in for January and February, and will be docking in front of us where the Beast used to be.  That's just fine with us as we need a big wide body boat in front of us to help block the waves that come in on a north wind blow across the Gulf of Mexico!

All day on Monday we unpacked the car, sorted, and moved everything aboard Marquesa.  It was an all day affair as we had to keep checking our phones for baby watch updates!  Our daughter, Carissa (who lives in Germany) went in to labor within hours of our eldest daughter Jennessa arriving there.  (She was an LD nurse for several years in the USAF and now works as a nurse practitioner).  She arrived just in time.  Carissa labored over 24 hours, beginning on Sunday evening.  Between Jennessa and our son-in-law Austin, we knew she was in good hands. 

At 11:05pm, Germany time, 5:05pm local time, and 3:05pm in
Washington State where Austin's parents live, our grandson was born!

He was 7 lbs., 11 oz., and perfect in every way.



Is that not the look of love with father holding his son
for the first time?  I've looked at this picture dozens of times
the last few days, and I still get choked up when I see it.

This one cracks me up- they're already communicating!

That's one happy and proud momma,
right there.  We love you, Carissa!

It's amazing what technology can do for us.  Though we were not physically present, we were receiving the play by play through a "family only" page on Facebook.  It was incredible.  We were all chiming in, chattin' it up, holding our breath, and I know I was pushing right along with her toward the end.  It was so exciting.  Though this is Carissa's first child, it is our third grandchild. Jennessa is a wonderful mommy to our two other grandkids, Ava and Eli.  However, on Austin's side of the family, it was their first grandchild, so we were especially excited and happy for them.  We got the shock of our lives when several hours later, they called us with the news....

Say "Hello" to Donovan (Donnie) David Deeney- named after
both of his grandfather's.  We were dumbfounded, and we all
had tears of joy.  It was an incredible honor, especially in this
day and age of trendy names and all.  Isn't he beautiful?!  When
Jennessa first saw him and his little round head, she exclaimed,
"He looks just like Dad!" 
Donnie Deeney. Triple D Threat! It's perfect.

Later that night, Donnie took the Blue Hog in search of some Cuban cigars....



The proud Papaw had some celebratin' to do- with Thud, Danny & Bobby.
It's taken him the last two days of religiously brushing his teeth to finally get
the taste out of his mouth! lol

By 11am on New Year's Eve morning, we untied the dock lines to head to
Banana Bay.  The wind was continuing to build, and rain was forecasted for the
afternoon.  It felt good to be back on the water, and the new and improved
Bessie fired right up!  Holla!

Willis T has always had a love-hate relationship with Bessie.  He had something
to say about it, of course.

What is a less than five minute ride by car, is a three hour sail by Marquesa.
Not that I'm complaining!  Mamaw and Paps and Donnie's sister and her husband
live on a canal on the ocean side.  We traverse through the canals, past\Boot Key
Harbor (which is already full with cruisers for the season), out the channel into
the ocean side, under the Seven Mile Bridge to the Gulf side, and up the Gulf
coast to Banana Bay.  We got tied up at about 2:30pm in our slip, #33.

The wind was perfect for a speedy sail, over 7 knots several times with
a full main and only about half a jib.  We would have been overpowered
unless we decided to throw a reef in the mainsail. 

Cap'n fired up Bessie as we had the wind on the nose
coming through the Seven Mile Bridge- naturally.

Heading up the Gulf, we were nose on into the wind and waves.  We had
to motor most of the way.  Between the diesel fumes and the chop in the
water Willis T had the 'hot spit' thing going on.  He was in his sickly
position which is the bottom of the cockpit, eyes closed, wishing
that Bessie would shut up and the seasickness would pass.  I cannot
lie, I also had the puke burps happening, but thankfully neither of us got
sick.  I clearly do not have my sea legs yet, and it was MILD out there.

Cap'n no sooner had us docked, tied down, and the water and
shore power connected when the rain started rolling in.

It was just starting to sprinkle when the guy from Keys Canvas came with our
new bimini- hooray!  Sadly, it was the first B.O.A.T. of the season already,
and we hadn't even been in our slip an hour yet.  Boo....

Cap'n is a happy boy- the bimini fits beautifully.  No sagging, no bagging,
and no leaking- so it was definitely worth it :)

Willis was just happy to be "home" :)

Happy New Year, y'all!  Here's to some more amazing adventures in 2014!!!