"THIS IS AS GOOD AS IT GETS!"

“THIS IS AS GOOD AS IT GETS!” We found ourselves repeating that line often during my two day birthday celebration and our first Christmas Season on board TESSA. Originally, due to a bruised cruising kitty, I was hesitant to plan anything special for my 51st birthday. “It’s your 52nd birthday Darling” Gary cautiously reminded me. Well in THAT case, let’s go to Islamorada! Time is going by way too fast! So off we went the morning of my birthday, Thursday December 18. First stop was Winn Dixie in Key Largo for some cold beers. You can’t be in The Keys without cold beers. Lunch had to be at our favorite local hangout, The Whistle Stop, for their famous dolphin sandwich. Gary suggested we split it to lighten the tab. Birthday Girl says NO WAY, get your own sandwich Captain. Now is not the time or place to cut corners. As we pulled into the Holiday Isle parking lot to scout out room rates, my mood darkened a bit and I was very close to suggesting we turn around and head back to Tessa to save the money. Gary nudged me out of the jeep and said “Go work your magic and get us a deal!” We lucked into a free upgrade in the Tower Building, third floor, with king bed and private balcony, for $79.00. A deal too good to pass up. Now it’s time to hurry up and hit the beach for some reading and sun. After the whirlwind non-stop previous week of visiting in Dayton, Port Clinton, and Detroit, it was wonderful to just kick back and relax for a few hours. Soon it was 4:00 and time to hustle over to Zane Grey’s for Ahi Poki. I’m not sure who found it first, but Zane Grey’s has become a must-do happy hour for us and Cuzzin Debbie and Mike. It’s a “men’s club” type bar located on the second floor of the popular “World Wide Sportsman” store. The bar staff is always friendly and entertaining, and they make this great sashimi tuna appetizer that we love. This visit was as good as it gets. It was a very light crowd so we had Rebecca and Alex’s undivided attention at the bar. Rebecca shook us up a couple of Martinis as we laughed at her funny stories, and the Ahi Poki was fabulous. Except……..last time it was a $5.00 special, this time it was $10.95. The price of the Martinis was never an issue when we had paychecks coming in. We were able to discreetly recover from the Martini sticker shock and tab out. After all, they made me a special birthday Key Lime Martini on the house! The plan was to share something at Ziggy Mad Dogs for dinner. We had passed by this place many times due to the lackluster outside appearance, and were pleasantly surprised by it’s classy Chicago style ambiance last year when we checked it out. Perfect spot for a birthday dinner…..until we blew most of the birthday budget at Zane Grey’s. We haven’t stopped at Bentley’s in years. Let’s see if they’re givin out any freebies. We made the right call on this one! They needed a six foot tall blackboard to display the happy hour appetizer menu, prices ranging from $3.00 to $7.00, and including .35 cent oysters on the half shell. Hooray!!!! Except…it was 7:00 and happy hour ended at 6:00. Not to worry says the Manager, you order whatever you want and we’ll honor the happy hour prices. Could have been because we made it loud and clear that it was my birthday, but whatever works. Order away! Food was great, company at the bar interesting and extremely generous. Ava our bar stool neighbor shared a giant king crab claw, which would only happen on my watch if I was knocked out cold or held up at gunpoint. We had a great, and key word here, inexpensive time. Since we saved so much at Bentley’s, it wouldn’t be wrong to stop at Ziggy’s for a nightcap would it? Our new buddy at the Ziggy’s bar just happened to be the husband of the Mayor of Islamorada. Cathi showed up after a late meeting just in time to say hello and chat a bit. It never hurts to have friends in high places. The next morning we went for our usual long walk to enjoy the surrounding turquoise waters, then hit the road for another must-stop at Alabama Jacks on the way home. We learned of Alabama Jacks a few years ago from some girls at Islamorada who told us of the legendary hockey-jersey clad bartender. It’s on Card Sound Road, a short-cut to miss the Highway 1 traffic through Key Largo. We were most impressed when Mike the Bartender showed us a USA TODAY article in which Jimmy Buffet listed Alabama Jacks as one of his top ten favorite bars in the world. After one stop there we understood Jimmy’s selection. It is a unique experience to stop by and enjoy the laid back atmosphere while observing Mike’s high energy, hilarious exchanges between customers and wait staff. Mike told us that they were closed on Christmas Eve and he and some friends would be fishing at Alabama Jacks. Did someone say FISHING??? Count me in! Except, as Gary reminded me out loud, we weren’t exactly invited. OK, so I invited myself, but it’s my birthday and I can get away with these things. Mike said “Come on down!” We ran across the street to purchase fresh blue claw crabs from Paul, who lets you grab them right out of his tanks. With some not-quite-long-enough tongs. It is quite challenging, and I always hand the tongs over to Gary after a few screaming close encounters with claws. That night, we steamed them up on Tessa, and Birthday Celebration Number 2 was complete! Sunday evening, the 21st, was Gary’s first Great White trip of this season. It was a Christmas party for their employees and prospective customers. I was invited along as a guest, not as an official hostess, and welcomed the opportunity to learn the ropes and get a feel for the job. Guests arrived, the sun went down, and mass quantities of Loaded Coronas were consumed as Captain Gary smoothly glided Great White along the Miami shoreline. As we approached the popular South Miami Bayside area, they cranked up the Latino Rap music and the kids danced on deck while Captain Gary expertly navigated us through the congested marina area. Great White was definitely the envy of other partiers, and the evening was a huge success. Each of the three partners of Great White congratulated Gary on his captaining. He modestly replied in Captain Ron like fashion “Well, at least I didn’t bump into anything.” On December 22nd, we decided to make the rounds and wish our Fort Lauderdale friends a Merry Christmas. First stop was Tijuana Taxi Company to see Tina. She didn’t disappoint, all dressed up in an adult elf costume. After that, a quick stop at the house in Tamarac we rented last year to check on B-BOY, Gary’s banana tree. B-BOY has tripled in size, and Gary posed proudly for a photo. Mrs. Z, the neighbor lady across the street, waved us over to her place and invited us in to see the Christmas Cactus we bought her last year, doubled in size and in full bloom. We were so moved by how such a small gesture of friendship can warm the heart a year later. The wonder of Christmas! Next stop was our hang out in Tamarac, J.B. Locals Raw Bar, to see Allison and the regulars at the bar. It felt like home. Not so sure if it’s a good thing to feel so at home in a bar, but Allison truly makes it special. We completed our old home visit at Doris’s Italian Market, where George was still running the fresh seafood department. The atmosphere at Doris’s is frantic and festive as Christmas quickly approaches and everyone scrambles for produce, meats, seafood, home baked breads, and pastries. George fixed us up with some Clams Oreganato and his famous fish cakes, and we headed back to Tessa and Key Biscayne. We were up early Christmas Eve Day to prepare for fishing at Alabama Jacks, and Mike did not let us down. He and his friends John, Pink, Squeaky, Hippie, Vince, and Russ were totally entertaining, just kickin back some cold ones and casting for snook, mangrove snappers, or anything else that would bite. I caught more fish than everyone else added together, but no keepers. We felt guilty, yet privileged, when car after car of eager tourists pulled up, excited to visit Alabama Jacks, only to be disappointed to hear from our group “WE’RE CLOSED, COME BACK FRIDAY!” We laughed at Mike’s great stories, listened to the friends harass each other, and totally enjoyed this unique day. Christmas Eve Day as good as it gets! Especially when you complete the day with Escargot and Old Bay Steamed Blue Claw Crabs for Christmas Eve dinner. During the Christmas season in South Miami, we stopped numerous times trying to find our most favorite Christmas CD, Jimmy Buffet’s Christmas Island. Except the Cubano clerks did not even recognize who Jimmy Buffet was!! “Jeeemy Who?” they would ask. Just step aside and let me type it into your computer, Amigo, I’m losing my patience with Miami really fast here! We continued to crave our favorite Buffet Christmas Carols….until Christmas Morning. I awoke early to hear familiar lyrics faintly dancing across the water from a neighboring boat: “A sailor spends his Christmas in a harbour on the hookCali Calais no work today, let's shelve the old log bookThe waterfront is reveling, the season has begunA sailor spends his Christmas in a harbour having fun.” “Gary! Wake up! I hear Jimmy Buffet!” OK, I was a little more excited than my sleeping Captain, but he was soon caught up in the feeling of our delightfully unusual Christmas experience. Christmas Eve I had phoned Donnie Dunn and Lauren to wish them a Merry Christmas. Perhaps Don detected a bit of loneliness in my tone when I asked what they were doing for Christmas, and he invited us to come join them. Invitation accepted! So while our family and friends were sharing bountiful Christmas morning brunches, I was feeding Gary sliced turkey lunchmeat while we sped across Alligator Alley toward Fort Myers and Bonita Springs. Since we were heading to the west coast, we decided to share surprise drive-by Merry Christmas wishes with several friends in the area. Our first stop was to see Paul and Stevie Pendel in North Fort Myers, but they were away from home. Our old sailing buddy Pete Wagner had a trailer in the same park, but a neighbor said he had moved to a home in Cape Coral. Strike two. We hit a home run with Dick and Molly Widdis, as their daughter Paige, husband Jim, and their two kids had just arrived from Ohio. We enjoyed a festive visit with them and were tempted to stay much longer, but needed to keep the Christmas train moving on to Estero to see Dick and Ann Whitman. Last but certainly not least, Lauren greeted us at our final destination in Bonita Springs with an abundant spread of appetizers and a fully stocked bar. We spent the evening talking and laughing on their screened in patio, surrounded by warm air, lush tropical foliage, palm trees, and most importantly, good friends. Every so often, Gary would belt out a Santa-like “HO HO HO!!!! MERRRRRRY CHRISTMAS!” It certainly wasn’t a normal Christmas for us. Several times during the day we wondered out loud how things were going at home. Many, many more times, our thoughts drifted north. We missed the warmth of Christmas Eve at Mom’s with Cindy, Amy, Justin, Alivia, David, and Sandy. We regretted not being there when Chas and Jon came by to bear-hug Grandma Dot and wish the family a Merry Christmas. We wished we weren’t missing the traditional Milson Family Christmas with everyone in Detroit. We reflected on how fortunate we were to have all those wonderful Christmas memories to treasure. And we felt oh-so-lucky to be adding a whole new dimension of memories to file away for Christmases to come. Honey, remember the year I caught a blow fish on Christmas Eve…and we had turkey lunchmeat for Christmas Brunch……….. No matter where you are, if you have good health, and joy, and love in your life, isn’t that all it takes to make each and every Christmas as good as it gets?