8 July 2023
What a great day! No diarrhea, got the washing done and the house semi-cleaned and had a late lunch with Jim, Holley and Marilyn.
Marilyn is Holley’s Mom. I first met her on a trip to Shark Valley in the Everglades with Marilyn, Loyd, Jim, Holley, Judith and Chris. I brought chocolate chip cookies and I think I earned a friend with Loyd over those. Marilyn is a treat. Sadly, Loyd passed this year and Marilyn was down to visit Holley and Jim and I hoped I would get a chance to see her again.
I’ve been in touch with her over the years with my blog and Facebook. Interestingly, many of my friends on Facebook have become friends with Marilyn. Birds of a feather…. She told me today she doesn’t know how to “Friend” someone on Facebook but when someone sends her a “Friend Request” she accepts. That means a lot of my friends love her posts. I think that’s great!
Today, we went for a late lunch at the Boatyard (formerly Bimini Boatyard).
It was a little hot out on the patio but later a rainstorm came through and cooled everything off. Holley treated everyone and I think she tried to get me drunk. I had a Bloody Mary and after all said and done insisted to the waiter to bring me an Espresso Martini. Let’s just say I was feeling no pain at the end of the meal.
I can understand where Holley gets her joie de vivre. Marilyn is witty, fun, and full of life. She is planning to come down to Fort Lauderdale for her second knee surgery and stay with Jim and Holley during the recovery. I look forward to more time with her. I’ve already gotten Jim and Holley to plan to take her on the Jungle Queen when she comes back down. The Jungle Queen docks a block from my house even though it starts on Fort Lauderdale Beach.
The first time I did the Jungle Queen was when my friend Reid came down to visit me and his cousin. Since then I take most visitors on it. Archie and Tanis enjoyed the trip even though only a block from the house.
It’s a fake paddle wheeler that travels the New River from Fort Lauderdale Beach to my neighborhood (around 4 miles as the crow flies). They claim it’s a trip to an “exotic” island (not) and they provide a dinner of BBQ ribs and chicken – all you can eat. After dinner, they do an entertainment segment outside in an amphitheater and then on the way back they do a sing-along.
What’s fun is to pass all these very expensive homes along the New River on the way to the “island” and all these people in the homes make a point of waving at you on the way to the island.
You pass under several draw bridges along the route and you find out, tongue-in-cheek, that every bridge tender is named Johnson. The company that runs the Jungle Queen has an agreement with the Florida Department of Transportation that the bridge always goes up before the Jungle Queen gets there, so you never have to wait for the drawbridge to go up.
So, next time you are in Fort Lauderdale, let me know and I’ll get us tickets to the Jungle Queen. If you don’t want to do the sing-along, we can walk back to my house – it’s only a block.
Tonight I get to watch the last episode of “Endeavor” on PBS.
Stay tuned!
