BYC 40th Anniversary & 2012 Officer's Installation Banquet

The month of December came and went without us being able to attend even ONE of the events held at the Club.  Saturday night we got dressed up and stepped out to attend our first of the New Year, the Officer's Installation Banquet.  Everyone seemed surprised to see us thinking we had dropped off the planet.  It's a new year and we're ready for it!

This year's event was held in the upstairs banquet room at the Water Street Seafood Company.  I didn't even know there was a room up there but it made a cozy setting for our group.  Phyllis did a marvelous job of decorating and everything looked festive.

We have the Officer's Installation every year but this year was special.  It's the 40th Anniversary of Bay Yacht Club and that's something to celebrate!  We had some words from one of our charter members, Pat Arnold.  It's been a difficult year for the Club and hearing her speak about looking back through the years gave me a renewed sense of community and excitement about the changes in store for us this year.

Pat's husband, Tom read to us his epic poem recapping the entire year of 2011.  He has done this every year since we joined the Club and it is nothing short of a marvel.  He covers every month of each year and most events and somehow brings it all together in rhyme.  It is quite a feat!

We had some cake and then it was time for Lisa to get up and present all of the awards and recognition certificates for 2011.  There was a long list of honorees with each parading to the front to accept their accolades.  Then it was time to bring up our next Commodore, Walt Crawford. 

Walt took his burgee and the Oath of Office and Lisa gratefully collapsed into her seat!  It's OVER!  This long tough year is finally over and she had made it through...

Well, she didn't get to relax for long before Walt called her back up to accept the Club's gift of gratitude for her year of service as the Club's most Senior Officer.  Lisa is only the second in Club history who has held the office of Commodore without ever having been on the Board before.  She received a very nice race timer wrist watch and seemed very happy with it. 

Walt gave a speech outlining his plans for 2012 and the changes he hopes to bring about.  His biggest idea for change is to encourage Club Members to use the Clubhouse for more than just weekend dinners and socials.  We are moving into the New Year with plans for weekday Bunco and Poker Nights.  We are also going to be making some big decisions in the coming year about building a new Clubhouse or moving the existing one onto land.  This is an exciting time for the BYC! 

Next came the call to take the Oath of Office for the other 2012 Board members.  Everyone filed up and accepted their burgees and the group oath was administered.  Bruce is a second year Director on the Board this year.  We have a really talented group of leaders with a lot of big decisions to make this year. 

We stayed only a short time longer, chatting with a few Club members we hadn't had a chance to speak to yet... then we snuck off to home.  Happy 40th Anniversary Bay Yacht Club!

Mark and Brenda's Anniversary Weekend 2012

What says "Honey, I'd do it all again" like spending your Anniversary with half a dozen or so of your closest friends?  Mark and Brenda invited us along for a Saturday Sail aboard SeaFlight to kick off their 38th Wedding Anniversary and of course we agreed.  The day was gorgeous and the seas were kind.

 Bruce and I moved our boat back to the Port Aransas Marina a few months ago with heavy hearts that we would be leaving our CC friends behind.  We were thrilled when a few weeks later, several of our CC friends also moved their boats to Port A!  Woo Hoo!  Let the FUN begin!

We sailed out of the Port A Jetties and turned towards one of the many oil platforms that lie a short distance offshore. 

We had some rolly swells to begin with which made some of our eyes glaze over a bit, but by the time we got closer to the rig, things were settling down.

There were a couple of fishermen tied off to this rig and we did a couple of donuts around it so that we could watch for a while and see if they were catching anything.  We saw them reel in two or three in just the short time we circled.

On our way back in we got a phone call from the Streeps... where are we, about 3 miles out... we're leaving the dock now, be there in 10 minutes.  Wishful thinking but it wasn't long before Merlin was right out there with us. 

We turned and followed them back out for a while but lost interest and turned back for home. We were getting hungry and the dogs were looking green.  Lucy wouldn't let Brenda put her down as she clung to her shoulder.

The winds continued to die off and the seas flattened out to nothing.  We saw a few dolphin rolling lazily about but that's about it.  There weren't even many ships anchored offshore waiting to come in.  One or two other sailboats could be seen off in the distance besides Merlin, bringing up the rear as we headed back to the slip.  Our Capitaine was stylin' in his hat.

Once we docked the boat, we opened up the cocktail hour and waited for Merlin's crew to arrive.  We had a brief planning meeting and decided to send the boys to get tuna while the girls got the rest of the stuff for dinner on SeaFlight.

The moon was rising and it looked like it would be a beautiful night for an Anniversary Party.  Last night when Bruce and I got to the boat, I was so strung out from my work week, I piled into the V-Berth and went to sleep while Bruce hung out with the crowd.  They had a blast and I missed it.  Well I wasn't going to miss it tonight, although I did put on my pajamas so I could be ready to crash when the time came. 

The girls were down below making a wonderful salad while the tuna warmed up. 

Bruce and I must have missed an episode or something because everyone else is on some kind of new kick where the dinner is served in courses instead of all together.  So we all sat down to salad and wine with baguette crackers and port wine cheese. 

What's an Anniversary dinner without a TOAST?  Here's to another 38 years! 

Salad course out of the way.... it's time for the main.  Pretty nerve wracking... $15 per lb. you'd better not mess this up! 

Not to worry... he had it all down and finally it was time to serve.  The tuna from the Port A Seafood Company is always sublime and tonight was no exception.  You get to pick your cut to the desired thickness and it's the freshest we've found anywhere.  You can't go wrong when the tuna is this fresh!  The steaks were giant and nobody finished their piece. 

We cleaned up the dinner mess and started a game of GeezerWeezer, or something like that.  It was at this point that things began to go downhill...

Anytime Bill is involved, things can be dicey...

But when you add the older brother into the mix...  I have no words!

We somehow made it through three of these games which are sort of like Trivial Pursuit.  Boys against the girls, you have to pick tiles for question subject then advance your gamepiece by answering correctly.  There are a few curves thrown in but that's the gist of it.  The girls one the first game... here's the Winner's Circle photo taken by Bill.  That's me in the pink pajama pants. 

The boys won the next game so we had to play a third tie breaker.  By the time we were done there was nearly a massacre as Bill's brother got more and more under Jan's skin.  It was a close one but the girls prevailed in the end with a 2 to 1 win.  Bill is still pouting about the correct answer to the world's fastest animal... Cheetah.  He thinks its the Perigrine Falcon, but I got it wright with Cheetah.  You have to know what they want!

Christmas Vacation Part VI

We left St. Petersburg with heavy hearts, first because there was so much left there to explore, and second, because we had travelled as far "away" from home as we would get on this trip. It was time to backtrack.  We stopped in Largo Florida to see a house my oldest daughter could potentially call home, then we pressed on to Clearwater Beach Florida, where we thought we might find a place for the night.  It looked inviting from afar.

We quickly changed our minds once we reached the barrier island and the massive ball of TRAFFIC!  Nothing moved very fast.  All we wanted was to check out their marina, but after 15 minutes of crawling through the parking lot, we bailed.  This place was NOT for us.

Our next destination was Foley, AL where we would spend a night with the Waltons.  We wanted to knock off a few hours today to shorten our drive tomorrow.  So we headed back to Crystal River and got a room at a Best Western right off the road.  This was by far, the least wonderful place we had bunked, but it was clean and quiet.  We ate the cold cuts and cubana bread we had brought with us and hit the sack.

We were back on the road early the next morning.  We stopped again for our last "foreigner" breakfast, this time at the Hudle House, a Waffle House knockoff I suspect. Bruce voiced his thankfulness that there aren't any of these places near home, or we would be enormous!  As it is, we split a plate and this was what we each had to eat.... amazing!

We travelled on to Foley, AL. where we stayed a night with friends and former members of BYC, the Waltons.  I took a break from taking pictures for some reason so there are none of this portion of our journey.  The Waltons welcomed us into their homes warmly and extravagantly...  Their place is huge and gorgeous nestled in the scenic rural town of Foley.  Lynn took us on a short drive to Gulf Shores, AL.  It's a beautiful beach destination with lots to do, including a visit to the famous Lulu's.  This place looked like it would be fun.  It's owned by Jimmy Buffet's sister.  It's on the list of places to revisit, as is Florabama!  We checked it out on the advice of another friend from the Club, but found it undergoing massive remodelling.  It was still crowded, but we'll check it out next time through.

Susan and Lynn fed us a marvelous home cooked meal, which was such a pleasure after eating our way across four states in greasy spoons and tourist meccas.  Thank you SO much for your hospitality.  Our room was fit for royalty and we spent a restful night there once our stomachs quit aching from all the food we had consumed.

Next morning, coffee and conversation, then back on the road.  We stopped over at a marina to take a look at a Bavaria Ocean 40 that was for sale in Mississippi but the Brokerage was closed as it was New Year's Eve.  Too bad, Bruce really liked the looks of it, although I still think a 40 ft boat is not going to get it. 

We pressed on to the Seabrook Marina and Wand'rin Star, which would be our home this final night of our trip.  Steve took us around his marina to show us the highlights.  He's been talking to the neighbors and picking up interesting tidbits.  This thing carried a family of 5 down the Mississippi from somewhere up North.  There's gotta be some kind of story there...

There are quite a few "Katrina" boats here on the hard, casualties of the storm in various states of disrepair.  Some still the property of the owners at the time the storm came through, and others newly purchased for a song and in the process of being lovingly restored by their new owners... 

Another story here, surely.  Rumor has it that this boat is being made ready to sail to Hawaii.  Hmmm.

We continued on our walk around the yard.  Bruce is seen here trying to hide a massive case of "Prop Envy".  Who needs this much forward motion on the water?!

We collected Lynn from the boat and walked the short distance to the RV park next door, bought our tickets for the shuttle bus and boarded for our ride to the French Quarter. 

This was the BEST way to get there, no parking problems, no traffic headaches.  Just ride up in style and be at the appointed spot at 8pm to  catch our ride back. 

This would ensure that we escaped the madness that would surely occur in the French Quarter on New Year's Eve.

We strolled through the streets, briefly enjoying the entertainers then moving on...

We stopped in at the Hotel Monteleone to see their Merry-go-round bar. 

It was pretty neat but very crowded already so we only stood and watched it go around for a while. 

I wanted to stop in at the Cafe du Monde for beignets.  This is a Must-Do in the French Quarter but when we got near the place... I stared in disbelief at the ridiculously long line out the door.  Well, we would Must-DO it next time!  We stopped for a beverage across the street and continued on our way.

The streets of the French Quarter were festooned with declarations of allegiance to the Saints with the occasional LSU flag thrown in just to get the juices flowing.  There's a lot of infectious energy here, fun for me even if I have no idea who the Saints are...

Lynn had a place for us to eat all lined up.  We weren't ready for dinner yet but wanted to scope it out so we wouldn't be scrambling later.  We easily found the Gumbo Shop... not to be confused with the less highly recommended Gumbo Pot found earlier. 

We marked our spot then continued on to see the fog rolling in on Jackson Square.  The square was lined with Palm and Taro Card reading Phychics and artists galore.  I came very close to having my cards read but didn't really "feel it" from any of those offering up their services this night.  Lynn was all for it but Bruce was wary... what if they told me something I didn't want to hear.  Maybe he's right.  Better leave the future to unfold as it will.

Darkness fell and the streets were really filling up.  We made our way back to the Gumbo Shop fearing that there would be long lines.








But Fear NOT!  We arrived at our dinner destination and were whisked right to a very nice corner table by a window.  The ambiance was a calm contradiction to the building frenzy outside. 

We ordered the Complete Creole Dinner to share.  Our Waitress, Rose was doubtful that it would satisfy us both, but we figured we could always order more food...

The Steakleys did the same and nobody left hungry.  We can't imagine eating all that food and still being able to walk out on your own...  Everything was delicious with delicate flavors but I'll say that the Jambalaya was exquisite!  I know... word choice seems odd, but it works for me. 

We left the Gumbo Shop with some time to spare before our scheduled rendezvous to be taken back to sanity, so we enjoyed some "people watching".

Who thinks these things up?  And isn't that kind of bad for your skin? 

We soon noticed that there were people "People Watching" US!  The streets were really beginning to fill.  There were already drunks lying on the sidewalks and suspicious looking "puddles" here and there.  We made our pick-up spot in good time and were glad to see our shuttle coming up the street.  There was a younger crowd arriving for the debauchery and we wished them well as we boarded and they disappeared into the streets. 

We were dropped off at the marina where we immediately made our beds, worried that the sporadic fireworks already popping in the distance would keep us awake, but it was not so.  Wand'rin Star is a solid boat and we slept well.  The morning was cool and misty and we were sorry to leave as this meant the end of our week-long adventure.  We said our goodbyes and headed for home.