Fat Tuesday Party

We went to a party at the yacht club on Tuesday night. The party was for Fat Tuesday, which sounds bad but when I asked what that meant one of the club members asked me if I knew what Mardi Gras was. I replied that I did know, it was when all the homosexuals get dressed up and go out onto the street for a parade to celebrate their sexuality (like in Sydney). He and his wife looked a bit shocked and asked if I knew about lent and explained Fat Tuesday is the last night before lent and was an opportunity to have one last party before you give up the vice of your choice! Trust me to be the un-educated bozo who got that wrong. I bet that guy won't forget me - ever!

Bottles of alcohol are very cheap here and as a result, huge! The photo above is of me attempting, in my jet lagged state, to pour a cup of mojito with out spilling it. This bottle cost about $20US. We have brought some Tanqueray gin in a 1.75L bottle for $30US which is absolutely unheard of at home.

These photos are of us at the party. We became true celebrities and the party continued a our table long after everyone else had left. They all asked heaps of questions about our trip and our home. The marina is quite a well to do area and most people here have been to Australia at some time of their lives. They all love to share their experiences. Some people have said they love Tasmania so much that "When we are done with America, we wanna move there"(broad American drawl).

To get to the party we rowed across the marina in the dinghy (or dingy as American's say). On that note, Bruce went to get some fishing bits today and asked for some gear to get catch tuna. he guy looked at him blankly but with a smile, so I said 'toonah' and then he knew straight away what we meant! We are having some really weird moments like that. People here are very weird about the word toilet. If you ask where the toilet is they quickly say 'Oh, the restrooms/bathrooms are over there and look at us like we just said something rude. I drank some really nice cider in San Francisco made from pears. We have been trying to find it ever since, but for some reason no-one can understand what we are saying. It is so bad we have to write it down! As a result I may never taste it again - sad.

We met some lovely people at the party and they all said they would pray for us while we are away. That is normal to say here - it does not mean they think anything bad will happen........ I think! Dinner at the party included Claw fish. Which are like tiny crayfish and very yummy. We did comment hey would want to taste nice becouse they are very fiddly to open. We also sampled gumbo which I quite liked.

We a going to move to Catalina Island tomorrow. We are not officially starting our trip then because it is bad luck to start a sailing trip on a Friday but we have said if it were Australian time it would be Saturday anyway. We are unsure if phones or internet will work there so this may be it for a while. We will still write but can't put it on the net till Hawaii. We hope our journey is enjoyable and we have lots of exciting stories for you at the other end. Thanks for reading and for sending us your messages. We get very excited when we hear from you! So long for now........ sorry, that was very American!