Getting Along

When you stuff 15 people into the same house, throw in some lousy weather, multinational olympic competition, and huge age differentials . . . . well there's room for contention. Sometimes the only answer is to spread a few germs in the most direct way possible to quiet things down.

Group Photo on the Deck

Everyone was there. Total kidney count less than two per. Karmella joined several family groups. Eric and Bailey stayed behind just for this photo shoot. It grew dark. The Bloody Marys (mixed by a professional) caught up with us.

Bob's Signature Seafood Pasta

The dish and all the trimmings including spinach and salad with asian spice dressing. Marvelous and zingy. Tossed in the scanty scallops. Filtered with boxed white wine. Celebrating the kidney donation anniversary complete with flowers from down the road. A very nice touch. Prompted reminders of other parts that had already been claimed. Nails in the kneecaps moment.

The MV Seahorse hits a Grass Wall

Close encounter of the wrong kind with the grass beds on return leg from scalloping expedition. Harnessed up a pair of Virginians for a 300 yard pull and into the clear channel. Back to the barn at 4000 rpm. Celebrated with Red Stripes and frozen ritas at the Port St. Joe Marina Bar. Reportedly a Bobcat sighting on the way home.

Finally a Scalloping Expedition

After five days of hammering rain, low cloud, and howling wind Ma Nature settled down. The Expedition Team set forth in two squads. One pontoon boat from Presnells and one from Seahorse Water Safaris met out near Black's Island and hit the scallop beds as hard as possible with limited success. There was only minimal scalloping participation from the international crowd, but the weather was nice, not too hot, beautiful wind. Saw a small hammerhead, sea turtle, spiny crabs, conchs, rays;, just not enough scallops.

Getting off on the Right Foot

Bring your girlfriend to the family reunion, take her down to the beach for sunset, sit in the chair while she has to curl up in the sand. Priceless.

A Real Sunset

After dinner the crowd gathered to view a new thing called "a Sunset". The ancient logs had indicated that this might have happened some time in the past, but no one could remember clearly. As a result some wierd deformation happened to Randy's jaw. If it turns out to be permanent maybe he can pick up a few extra bucks at the county fair.

Cleaning out the Fridge - Leftovers

Someone had a moment of brilliance and decided we should hold leftover night on Thursday. The result was minimal food poisoning and a wonderful variety of chow: Italian Delight, Baked Chicken, Ham, cheesed, cubed potatoes, etc. washed down with gallons of white zin and beer. The conversation was lively even though some lower jaws were kind of twisted.

The Blue Buttons

Wow a whole new animal washes up. Yes, they're related to jellyfish but they're not poisonous. Look, here's the full story: Blue Buttons are not true jellyfish, but are Chondrophores. These are actually colonies of polyps. In other words, they are like a tiny colony of animals. Each animal contributes something different to the colony. Some form the central disk, while others form the tentacles. Blue buttons exist in colonies, and mass beachings frequently occur since they are at the mercy of the wind and water currents. Blue buttons generally measure 1.5 inches across or less, and are generally dark blue or turquoise in color, although a lemon-yellow color variant sometimes occurs.

Deck Repair

All morning in PC looking for metal braces for the deck posts. Way too much wobble on the gulf front side. Stopped at ACE, Bayside Lumber, and finally Home Depot. Returned from 60 mile roundtrip and installed the new braces. Less wobble, more secure. Another year.

Whassup?

Greetings from above the border. The Lethbridge Crewe chillin' in the kitchin with a Playa from NYC.

The Ham Dinner Extraordinaire

A live trio performed on the deck and the grand dame danced to "Louie Louie". Still, there was room for doubt galore after finding the cubed potato bag wrapped around the ice maker macerator and the ice dispenser issuing small frozen potatoes. However, with the some intense effort from the Canadian females, things were quickly back on track and low and behold the Ham Dinner came off with colors flying. Fat Bastard vino played a role, but stories of the air conditioner-less Moore household served as a huge distraction.

Abbreviated Shell Hunt

The waves were huge and the first part of the beach was inaccessible. We walked down the trail and under the gate. Once we got to the beach there were almost no shells. The only thing left was to take photos. Then the rain started preceded by a blast of cold air. The party was over. We quickly evacuated as the stinging rain pelted us. Someone started to cry. We were glad to escape.

Lighthouse Gift Shop

Yes, there is a gift shop. The Proprieteress is the self described historian of Gulf County and you find this out within 10 seconds of entering. There are lots of items made in China. There is some local art and books written by the Proprieteress. The large scale photos of the lighthouse were fascinating. A good place for a rainy day.

French Toast

This morning Uncle Bob fixed a lot of great tasting French Toast. There were just a few people in the kitchen at first, and then, when the aroma permeated, bodies came out of the woodwork. Bob used eight eggs and managed to spoil the punchline on a few pirate stories. After a while there was a massive run on the facilities, and there was fighting in the hallways for a spot in line. Outside there were huge waves and grey skies. An attempt to drum up interest in beach volleyball and a trip to the Ebro Dog Track fizzled. We headed off for shell beach.

Reality

Two pip-squeaks, Karmella and Savannah, cause most of the trouble, but really they're just the tip of the iceberg. The female Canadians tend to hole-up in first floor bunkroom and rarely socialize except for meals. Most of the teenagers end up sleeping on the floor or couches creating a huge distraction for the noble early morning risers who are approaching or have attained AARP status.

What is that Thing Up There

OMG. Is that an alien ship glowing through the cloud? There's no way it's the sun. We wouldn't recognize the sun if it crawled up and burned us.

Eric and Bailey Arrive

The (relatively) newly minted GHS Grads rolled into the Pelican bouillabaisse all fresh and excited. Then the storm hit.

Every T-Shirt Tells a Story

The Corona Ad You'll Never See in a Magazine

The 2008 Season begins

15 intrepid souls arrived at the "Pelican" on Cape San Blas for the summer 2008 season. Most drifted in on Sunday, August 10th and a few more on Monday. The final arrival is expected on the 14th. The Moore - Estling - Rowland family reunion featured arrivals from Gainesville, Lethbridge, Hudson, Virginia Beach, and Chesapeake, Virginia crowding into the 3BR 2B beach house at 7125 Windward St.