Pig Liver Road

Wednesday, April 1, 2009, Bradenton

Happy April Fools Day! I started to do a good April Fools Blog and let my imagination run free with stories of huge waves, EPIRB’s, Pirate Ships, Coast Guard rescues, shark-infested waters. My sister has been sharing these blogs with my mother. Dink doesn’t always get the punch line on a joke and mother over reacts so, I just have to settle for wishing everyone Happy April Fools Day.

There are some events I have to catch everyone up on before we get back to sea stories. Johnathan’s wedding was very nice, the bride was beautiful, and the reception was a sit down dinner. The flower girls, one was Lee’s daughter, were too cute. All of Carole’s family was there, with the exception of brother-in-law Larry and Rebecca’s husband Patrick. Patrick had to work and Larry was sick. As a matter of fact, he was so sick that the doctor told him he was the sickest person he had seen all year out of the hospital. What a bedside manner! He was put to bed with “DRUGS” and is beginning to be among the living again. Y’all realize that being a child of the 60’s DRUGS is a good thing.

Lee’s son Nicholas is 16 months old and is quite a hand full. He is a big kid tall and solid muscle. He is fascinated with doors! Carole and I took him for a walk to give mom and dad a break. In our walking, we went thru the automatic doors at the hotel. That was the most marvelous invention in the world. He stayed there for 30 minutes running at the door making it open. He figured out that if he backed up it would close. He had total control of his world. He was laughing, clapping his hands and was the happiest child you have ever seen. Well he was happy until we had to go then he was kicking, screaming and making us look like child abusers as we pulled him away from the door.

Something everyone ate while we were at the wedding caused varying degrees of illness among the attendees. It varied from Carole having a case of the quick step to Jeremy doing projectile vomiting and Donya having to go to the doctor. I apparently didn’t eat what they had because I had no ill effects. It was probably because I don’t eat healthy foods except when my wife makes me. That healthy stuff will make you sick every time. It was probably some of those crunchy green beans. If they had cooked them all day with a little bacon grease like my mother does no one would have been sick. Last reports are everyone is back to normal again.

Just a couple of random thoughts. While we were traveling in Georgia to the wedding and back and forth to the boat, I came across two very different street names. One was “Pig Liver Road” and the other was “Whiskey Boulevard”. You have to ask yourself what kind of person lives on Pig Liver Road. Do you think there is a church named Whiskey Boulevard Baptist?

Monday was a long drive back. 9 hours thru the back country. We had one stretch of interstate between Auburn and Opelika. It is a pretty drive and fairly easy. Mostly 4 lanes and little traffic. Our car computer said we averaged 60 mph, which isn’t bad for that type of trip. And, no mother I wasn’t speeding. We get to the boat and after a couple of trips to the grocery (We are not going to discuss who did what and why our groceries are in the kitchen floor at home) and crash. I have to be up early to have the rental car back to Hertz before 8:00.

Tuesday, I say good-bye to Buck, Fred, Larry and the TYCC chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. We really enjoyed our stay at Tampa Yacht and Country Club. The people were very friendly and the facilities were a notch above all of the other places we have been so far. I am not going to put the story in print but remember to ask me about Buck, the “King” and the secret service.

OK class when you are trying to get from point “A” to point “B” which way does the wind blow? (a) It doesn’t blow. (b) There is a gale. (c) Directly from the direction you are going. If you answered all of the above, you would be correct. From Tampa to Bradenton, we saw no wind for a couple of hours then we had 15 to 20 dead on the nose for the rest of the trip.

We arrived at the Bradenton Yacht Club about 4:30, secure dock lines, hook up power and have a Budweiser. We will be here at least thru today while we figure out bridge heights and weather windows. Right now, there are 4 to 6 footers in the gulf for the next couple of days. And class what is the wind doing. Gusting to 25 out of the south.