Chandra, Red Sox, a bon voyage party

So what have we been up to?
Well, Sunday, Bev and I went to Tropicana Field to watch the Tampa Bay Devil Rays play the Boston Red Sox. The Sox lost 5-2. The game was scoreless through 6 innings. Then the Rays got 5 runs on 3 homers in the 7th. The Sox came back with 2 back to back homers. Both teams brought out new pitchers in the 8th and shut down the hitters.
Neither of us had been to a ML game in years. It felt good to be in the crowd eating a $5 hotdog.
After the game we had a beer at the famous sports pub "Ferg's."
Last Thursday we had a bon voyage party for our friends Patrick and Lynn and "Mr. Christian" the cat. They have purchased a new boat and will be leaving the marina. We sent out fliers to the other boaters in the marina so we got pretty good attendance. Good food, good drink, good friends - it doesn't get any better.
Last week we had another visit from Chandra. She stay with us a few days. She and I took the dingy out with the sail a couple of times. Chandra saw a manatee swim in front of us. She also took a few trips around the marina in the dingy by herself. She now claims the title "Captain of the Dingy." She's quite the little monkey, climbing all over the boat, up onto the boom, etc.
One day we all took a bus down to St. Pete Beach. We saw the "Transformers" movie and then went to the beach. Chandra and I flew a kite (when I could get the little fish out of the water!)

Visitors

What a busy week!
Friday afternoon we took some new friends, Mitchell and Laurie, out for a sail. It was his first time sailing and he expressed surprise at the slow speed. (Hey, he was used to power boats, so 4 knots seems slow to him.) Sorry Laurie, for some reason we didn't get you in any of the pictures.
Friday evening we went to the theater in Gulfport to see the Summer One-Acts. These were 8 short plays written, produced, directed and acted by local people. The stage manager, David, took us back stage to see some of our old friends from Scapino.
The plays were all very well done. Some were funny, others poignant.
Bev and I tried out for some "extra" roles in a documentary being filmed in Ybor City next month. It is about Charlie Wall, a gangster from the 20's and 30's. He was known as the "King of Bolita," a type of "power-ball" that was popular, but constantly rigged.
Yesterday, we had a visit from Mike and Phyllis. They are contemplating building a boat to go cruising and the AS-29 is on their list of possibilities. We took them on the tour of the boat and answered their questions about the boat and the cruising life. They took us down to the Pier for lunch at The Columbian. It was a real treat, the food was terrific, the company great and the view fabulous.
This morning I got a call from my ex, Judi, who told me that she is bringing Chandra over to stay for a few days. This will give me some time to get to know my granddaughter a little better and maybe teach her a little bit on the guitar.