Thanksgiving At the Marina

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I think this is the warmest Thanksgiving I’ve ever had. Temperatures were in the lower 80s and there wasn’t much of a breeze. Wayne spent the morning removing bolts and screws from the pulpit and the bowsprit and I’ll admit I pretty much blew off the morning on the computer. The Bayfield Owner’s Association site has a detailed entry on how to remove a bowsprit on a B-36 which we’re finding quite useful! It appears that several of the 36s have had to replace theirs so we’re not alone in this endeavor. Thank goodness for fellow Bayfielders!

After showers we headed to the marina for their Thanksgiving meal. I was kind of sulking, walking over there, thinking about Diana’s sweet potato casserole with pecans but was grateful that the marina put on this dinner. They really put out the welcome mat for the cruisers this past week. I’m so very impressed with it. I’m not sure if I ever wrote what the festivities were for the 2nd annual Thanksgiving Rendezvous. All the drinks, food, and entertainment were paid for by the marina.

The rendezvous is a four-day celebration starting with the Kickoff Party on Monday, and culminating on Thanksgiving Day. The entire event was free (Compliments of the Marina) and quite the celebration.

Below was their schedule of daily events for the week; the only one we participated in during the day was a walk through at the flea market:

· MONDAY
Kick Off Party - Reggae Luau started 5:00 PM with Live Music from Pan Paradise Steel Drum Band. They had a rendition of Island Food, Beer, Dancing, limbo, and hula-hoop contests. There was quite a turn out.

· TUESDAY
Daytime: Marine Flea Market & Boat Show then at sunset it was Karaoke night. There was some Good & Bad singing, Food, Fun, Beer and Dancing (we actually missed Joe singing – right after we left)!

· WEDNESDAY
Daytime: Dingy races & games.
At sundown it was the "Grape Escape" Wine Tasting and Grape Stomping Competition with Wine & Hors d'oeuvres galore along with live music, from the Dr. Dave Band, and Dancing. Dingy Race Awards were presented and the Grape Escape Awards with more wine, dancing and camaraderie. Did I mention that I got 2nd place?

· THURSDAY
Thanksgiving Feast, Best Pie Contest, Live Music, Beer & Wine and Dancing (if you could – we couldn’t!).


Tam & her yummy pie!

We found Tammy & Joe (Tamara) and Eric (Summertime from NM) in the courtyard (Blue Pearl’s neighbor in the boatyard with the border collie) and shared a wonderful dinner with them and all the other cruisers. I couldn’t believe the spread the marina put out. There was a ton of turkey, green bean casserole, Brussel sprouts with clams, mashed potatoes, gravy, DIANA’S yam casserole!!!, stuffing, cranberry sauce, cranberry salad, cranberry-apple-pecan casserole, rolls, beer, wine, tea, pop (excuse me – soda here ya’ll from Michigan) apple, cherry and pumpkin pies, crisps, and ice-cream! Yeow! We had some of Tammy’s pumpkin/ice-cream pie – of course, and it was delicious! The whole meal was wonderful with a delightful dinner music ensemble (I didn’t get the name of the ensemble). I think everyone was to stuffed to dance and we sat around talking for a bit after dinner. I’m not sure what happened to the pie contest? I think all the pies got eaten that were going to be judged, which was a shame because I’m sure Tammy’d have won and, if not would surely have picked up second place!

After getting back to the boat neither of us felt much like working. Tammy had loaned us a movie that she said was her favorite movie – Joe Dirt, so we spent the evening watching Joe Dirt. It was sad and funny at the same time and the sound track had a lot of the songs that the Dr. Dave Band had played the night before (good sound track). David Spade did a good job at Joe Dirt!