Jimmy Buffett Dock Party Saturday 6/27/09

We have been having dock parties for the 10 years Chip and I have been at the marina, but this time it would be even more special. Paul & Jennifer, on the M/V Parrots Nest, decided to kick it up a notch and try to emulate a Jimmy Buffett concert from the tailgating to the concert itself. In our opinion, they succeeded.

This was a pet friendly event! Tailgating started at 5:30 pm. It was a bring your own grill and your own carnivorous habit to put on the grill, and a dish to share. Some folks even had their trucks backed up on the grass for their tailgating....hey make it as real as you can! People donned grass skirts, Hawaiian leis, parrot hats, shark hats and I think every guy there had a Hawaiian shirt on. At dusk (around 8:30) Paul turned on the DVD player. He had draped two king size white sheets across the back of his boat for a screen and placed a DVD player/projector up on the grassy hill behind the boats, just below the condos. What a great set up. People brought their lawn chairs, blankets, towels... anything to sit on.

The concert was great! It was truly almost like being at the real thing!

Harborfest & July 4th Celebration!

It's amazing what you can find at Wally World!

For the first time Norfolk has combined Harborfest with July 4th for a weekend of fun and fireworks! It starts with a parade of sails on Friday at noon, to kick off the weekend. We decided to arrive on Thursday evening since we had a good weather window. To our surprise Ray & Benita on M/V Rhythm & Blues, Rob & Emily on S/V Emerald Sunset, Steffanie & Andy on M/V Sea State, Linda & Ken on M/V Wicked Itch and Paula & Willie on S/V Avatar had all decided to arrive on Thursday as well! We all got to Hospital Point around the same time and rafted up together. We had an excellent spot to view the fireworks!

On Thursday, then again on Friday we were joined by Kenny & Billy (and their friends) on M/V Just Right, they watched the fireworks then made their way back to Bay Point. A myriad of friends stopped by for a visit or to watch the fireworks. The weather was perfect all weekend. We ate, drank, partied, danced, grilled out, danced some more, did a little fishing, played in the water and just relaxed for four days. Life is good!

On Thursday night the girls cut loose and decided to give poll dancing and disco lessons on our boat. Then on Friday it was Latin Salsa lessons on the bow of Emerald Sunset. On Saturday some of the ladies decided to get on the floating island so Chip & Andy could pull them around the harbor by dinghy. Everything was going good until the Coast Guard decided to put a stop to their fun by telling them the ladies had to wear life jackets because officially they were "tubing" therefore needed them. (oh please!)

I think all in all the highlights of the weekend were, of course, the fireworks, how much fun a group of people can have without ever stepping foot on land and Ken & Linda in their 4th of July outfits giving us all a reason to smile :-)

What a great weekend!