Man-O-War, Mangoes, Mother's Day, and Visitors

Between our expedition to the south Abacos and today's arrival at Mangoes Marina in Marsh Harbor, Wayne wanted to make another stop at Man-O-War. I had to needle him a little bit and say that he was having regrets over not buying himself a bag and needed to return to Albury's Sail Shop. I wasn't serious and was surprised when he said yes, he really wanted a bag but couldn't decide what kind to get. Now, I'm a bag lady and had no problem indulging him with a return visit, so off we went. Only problem was that we escaped buying anything for ourselves on our first visit, but I couldn't do that a second time, especially when Wayne decided he needed THREE bags. I bought one. They are such nice bags and so well constructed. The sailcloth they're made from is sturdy, but not bulky.

I took a photo of Annie Albury sewing a patch on my bag. She is the granddaughter of sailmaker Norman Albury. Norman’s wife Selina, founded Albury’s Sail Shop about 50 years ago.

Annie Albury, sewing the patch on my bag

Wayne's new bags

After bag shopping, we headed down to the ice cream shop where we indulged ourselves again, then sat at a table outside to get caught up on internet stuff. It was the best Bahamas WiMax connection we have had since losing our booster, so we made good use of it. I was actually able to upload 32 photos to Facebook! The highlight, though, was being able to call Mom on Skype to wish her a happy Mother's Day, but better than that, I got a bonus: three for the price of one! My sisters, Andra and Jodi, were with Mom because she had just returned to the Twin Cities from Florida on Friday, so I got to visit with all of them. Being able to do that makes being away from them today on Mother's Day easier to take. Every year previously we have been in Minnesota for Mother's Day, and Mom usually rides back with us from Florida. My sisters and their families and our kids and we all get together to celebrate the holiday and Mom's homecoming, and it's nice to be able to see everyone shortly after we get back. Also, May is my favorite month of the year in Minnesota and I like to get as much of it as possible.

Wayne lost his mom in September and my thoughts today are with his siblings, Robin, Greg, and their families. My cousin Denise just lost her mom on April 29, just three weeks after being diagnosed with cancer. I'm praying God's blessings of comfort and peace for Robin, Greg, Denise and the rest of the family, and so many others I know who have lost their moms recently.

Joey just called to wish me a happy Mother's Day. Thanks, Babe, I love you. Amy's parents from Michigan are visiting Michael and Amy. I'll give them a call later today.

Since we'll be starting our trek back to Florida sometime the middle of this week, hopefully, we had a lot on our to-do list and accomplished most of it yesterday and this morning. We'll be traveling for longer stretches - no more lollygagging - and not much time for boat chores. Yesterday I made yogurt, did two loads of laundry, baked bread and breakfast bars from the mixes I made up ahead of time, and cookies from the dough I froze before we left home. My oven takes so long to heat up that I figured I'd do it all at one time, and replenish my dwindling supply of frozen provisions. I also hard-boiled a dozen eggs for quick and easy eating on the way back. We even have a clean boat now, so we're all set.

Betsy and Chuck are here! The taxi dropped them off at about 1:30, an hour after we docked at Mangoes Marina, and we were so excited to see them! They are here to spend the week with Ginny and Chris on Ginny C, who are docked right next to us. Mary and Rich, on board Change, are docked on the other side of them. Ginny is on her way back from spending a few days with her grandkids in Connecticut and should be here at around 6:30. We had everyone over for drinks and appetizers and the eight of us will have dinner at Curly Tails at 7:30. For those who don't know, we're all members of the Mariners, our boating club in Punta Gorda. Fun!

Dinner with the gang at Curly Tails in Marsh Harbor