Mother's Day Visit

For Mother's Day weekend, Jeff's mom, Denise, came for a visit. She arrived Saturday afternoon just after the launching of the new dinghy. First order of business was a cruise of the harbor and then back to the boat to relax, cool off, and settle in. We opted for an early dinner at Castaways...it had been a long day for all of us...where we shared delicious, stuffed hogfish, shrimp ceviche, and a fried seafood platter.
The next morning, we had tea/coffee on the boat and then headed to shore. I took Denise with me to run an errand and go to the grocery while Jeff dug out the Mother's Day presents he'd been holding on to since March...2 beautiful copper and glass sculptures purchased at the seafood festival.
Jeff could just picture them in his mother's hosta bed and attached to the large, maple tree in her back yard softly lit from underneath so that the colored glass sparkles. Jeff's present also includes delivery and installation so Denise will have to wait a little while before she can view her new yard art actually in the yard.
After the big reveal, we took several pictures then safely tucked the presents back into the storage area. Next, we went back to the boat for a little downtime and to marinade the steaks for the cook-out we had planned for the evening. We had invited 12-13 of our close friends to bring a dish and join us at the tiki hut for a Mother's Day celebration. At 6 o'clock we fired up the grills. I melted butter in a roasting pan for some fried plantains, and we tossed the steaks on the grill. The steaks turned out to be quite tasty after marinating all day in pineapple juice, garlic hoisin, and soy sauce. We had quite the array of yummy side-dishes...chips and bean salsa, Caesar salad, pasta salad, fresh mozzarella with basil, fresh fruit, and grilled squash & zucchini with key lime pie and carrot cake for dessert. Good food, good conversation, and good friends. You couldn't ask for a better way to spend an evening.
Everyone made Denise feel welcome and are still telling me what a lovely lady she is and what a pleasure to talk to.
[Nothing I didn't already know.]
Monday morning came around just like it normally does...with one exception: Jeff didn't have to leave us for work in the morning as he had taken the day off. We had a nice breakfast at the Wooden Spoon and then ran some errands. A battery was purchased at NAPA and then a trip to West Marine. While Denise and I looked at sandals and hats, Jeff purchased fenders and a battery box. Later we spent some time just hanging out on the boat watching the water go by until it was time for happy hour at Lazy Days. We had arranged to pick up Megan and Cindy since we were traveling by dinghy and they wanted a ride in the new dink.
Lazy Days is renowned for their happy hour. Starting at 3pm, they offer 1/2 price drinks and a fabulous selection of appetizers such as wings [hot, mild, bbq, or teriyaki garlic], conch fritters, jalapeno poppers, and peel & eat shrimp...all 3 for a $1.
We had a big table of people...some we didn't even know to start off with.
And once again, good food, good conversation, and good friends were the order of the day.
We motored on back to the sailboat and spent the evening watching the sun go down.
Tuesday was to be Denise's last day, but we had saved the best for last by booking a Dolphin Encounter at the Dolphin Research Center for her and Jeff. I have been volunteering one day a week at DRC for several weeks now. One of the best parts is wandering around the lagoons in the morning and being one of the first people the dolphins get a glance at. They are happy to see you and quite chatty and attentive. We went in the gate at 8:30...a half hour before the public is allowed entrance. I gave them a quick tour of the grounds and we walked out onto the causeway to visit the dolphins. The 2 new babies, Luna and Delta were happily swimming around with their mamas in their lagoon. The big boys [Rainbow, Talon, Pax, and Sandy] kept popping their 500 plus pounds out of the water for a peak and to say hello. Jax was busy watching a diver in his lagoon and paid us no attention, but all the others observed us with one eye out of the water and chattered or blew bubbles our way.
Jeff and Denise walked back to the gift shop to get checked-in for their encounters and I went to the volunteer office to put myself down as the swim monitor for their group. It's one of the jobs volunteers do. We take a stopwatch and sit on the platform while people are in the water, timing the encounter and providing an extra set of eyes and ears for the trainers.
At 10:15, Jeff and Denise entered the water of the front lagoon to swim with Tursi and Cayo. They were having a great time, but apparently the ladies of the lagoon were not. We had to take a dolphin "time out" when Tursi smacked poor little Cayo with her tail. The trainers switched dolphins around, and just as they were getting ready to get back in the water Cayo gave Gypsi a similar smack with her tail. The trainers decided to leave the girls to work things out amongst themselves and the swimmers switched lagoons to be with Talon. Talon was happy to be included and proved himself to be quite the enthusiastic entertainer and playmate.
Unfortunately, their time in the water with the dolphins was over way too quickly. They headed to the photo tiki to peruse their photos and I went to write down the time and sign out.
Lunch time was quickly approaching so we decided to go next door to the Wreck & Galley for a bite to eat. Denise and I ordered Grouper BLT's and Jeff opted for a fried mahi sandwich. Both were excellent choices. The grouper was crispy and well seasoned served on texas toast with lettuce, tomato, and bacon. Jeff's said his sandwich was quite possibly the best he's ever had as the huge, slab of mahi dwarfed the bun.
We were having a nice, relaxing lunch on the Wreck's breezy, outdoor porch when we were approached by a chicken...a bold, hungry chicken, at that, as she jumped up on Jeff's lap and took a bite of his sandwich.
We shooed her away, but she circled the table to come around on my side. I was busy guarding my lap when she jumped up on the table in the middle of mine and Denise's plates and scattered ketchup and french fries everywhere. The ketchup mostly ended up on my shirt and shorts and the fries fell to the ground below where baby chicks waited for what their mama might provide. The waitress was horrified and while she tried to get the owners on the phone, the bus boy rushed to clean up the mess, all the while apologizing. We assured her that it was alright, that it wasn't her fault, and we were done eating anyway. She brought our adjusted bill to the table and offered me a free t-shirt or tank of my choice. It ends up, the chicken is named Juliet and she has several babies to feed. The next morning, I overheard some of the guys at DRC talking about the chicken who had attacked several diners at the Wreck. They were trying to catch her and her brood in order to relocate them but so far she had eaten all the bait and evaded capture. Smart chicken, I'd say!
It certainly gave us a good laugh and made lunch even more memorable.
We spent the rest of the afternoon floating around the mooring ball. Denise and I got in several hands of gin [which she won!] before we called it a day.
The next morning, we took her to shore and sent her on her way...
We certainly enjoyed the time she was here and hope she comes back soon!

Check out the slideshow of the Mother/Son Dolphin Encounter.