A Full Boat [Part 1]

Right now, I am less than a month behind in my blogging because I am getting ready to tell you about life on the S/V Thin Line - January 29th through the 31st.

Our first round of company arrived:  Jeff's mom, Denise, and her husband, Kelly.

It was only a short visit, but we love seeing them whenever we can.  They rented a condo in the Sarasota area for a couple of weeks and came down to the Keys before checking in.

They arrived on Sunday afternoon and we shuttled them back to the boat to relax and catch up.  Eventually the subject of dinner came up and we had to make a decision on where we were going.
We decided to meet friends at Castaway's and had a great dinner and a lot of fun.

Those of you familiar with our boating lifestyle understand to get back and forth from the boat to land and back again requires a ride in a dinghy.  And if you go out at night, you do this in the dark.

For safety's sake, a light that can be seen 360 degrees around is required.  We've had various lights on the dinghy...the preferred method being a solar light on a pole.  But our pole was displaced in a towing incident and the solar light has conked out.
But never fear!  We have a back-up battery-powered light equipped with a suction cup.
Normally, you would use the suction cup to secure the light on top of the motor, but sometimes...

...boys will be boys!

Monday, was not the prettiest day we've ever seen in the Keys but we didn't care.  The overcast skies and wind weren't going to ruin our day.  We started off with coffee and tea in the cockpit and then I made us a breakfast sandwich of smoked ham, cheddar and muenster cheeses, and apple pressed in Cuban bread.  We didn't really have any plans for the day nor did we really care to make any.  The boys ended up taking off in the dinghy to take water to a neighboring boat and Denise and I played cards.  When the menfolk returned, we were given the choice of going to the grocery or cleaning the grill.  Us, girls, opted for the former.  The goal was to bring back the biggest chicken we could find so we could smoke it on the Cobb grill and since cooking a really big bird takes 3-4 hours, this was going to be an all day event. Denise and I returned from our shopping expedition to messy boys but a clean grill.  It was time to get that chicken started so while Jeff lit the flame, I prepped the poultry by stuffing it with pieces of orange, apple, and lemon, and then sprinkled it generously with garlic, pepper, and jerk seasoning.
Now it was time for cocktails and a casual afternoon aboard the S/V Thin Line spent in good company.
Needless to say, the chicken turned out magnificently - smoky, juicy, tender - and served with mashed potatoes and mixed greens, you just can't ask for a better dinner...or a better day!

The next morning, we all went for breakfast at the 7-mile grill and then Kelly and Denise headed north.  It was a great visit...even if it didn't last long and Denise did beat me at cards 3 out of 3 times!
We hope to see them again soon.

Stay tuned...More company to follow!