YOUNG AMERICA at Bannerman's Island

YOUNG AMERICA at Bannerman's Island

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

November 30, 2009

The early Monday morning finds us cruising along the Mobile Bay, in water that--at 8-8-1/2 feet--is not as deep as many swimming pools!  It is a gorgeous sunny morning with fluffy clouds scattered randomly in a sky that contains more shades of blue than you can shake a stick at.  We’re heading south to the bottom of the bay--where it joins  the Gulf of Mexico. We’ll turn east into the Gulf IntraCoastal Waterway where we’ll ride inside the barrier islands, and head for Pensacola.

Last week was divided between the two sides of Mobile Bay.  We stayed in Turner’s Marina until Wednesday afternoon and for the first time since Canada, we took the dinghy down!  The outboard thought we’d forsaken it, and had quietly faded away, but a charge from the handy battery charger/compressor thing-y Fred found in a recent hardware store  brought it back to life. It felt good to be back in exploring mode. 

Wednesday, the Turner family organized a Thanksgiving lunch and I went early to learn how to fry a turkey.  Definitely a southern cooking method.    For those of you who, like me, find fried turkey a bit off the beaten path, here’s how it was done..  Drop your turkey in the pot and cover it with water.  Remove the turkey and measure the amount of water, then dump it out and replace it with the same amount of oil (peanut, in this case). Using this early step should assure that you miss out on the excitement of extra boiling oil frothing out of the pot when the turkey proves that there was too much oil heated.  While the oil is heating, infuse the bird.  You should have pre-purchased a kit with seasoned butter-y liquid and a packet of stuff to rub on the outside of the bird.  The liquid gets drawn up into a syringe that took me back to some you-don’t-want-to-hear-about-them hospital events, and as the chef injected the bird--everywhere--he assured me that this will be a moist, juicy, tender turkey!  Pop the bird head first (well, had his head still been there...) into the pot and let it boil for 3-5 minutes a pound.  The first deep fried turkey was served along side of the traditionally roasted bird, while the second was frying away for second helpings.  Pretty slick!  By all accounts it was delicious.

As were all the other goodies brought by the boaters.  The weather co-operated and about 40 people spent the afternoon in the shade of the covered patio.  A nice event.

Immediately after the pumpkin pie, we threw off our lines and headed across Mobile Bay to the Eastern Shore Marina, where we stayed until this morning.

We enjoyed a second Thanksgiving gathering, this one at the home of Bob and Vikki Riggs.  They generously expanded their traditional dinner for 8 to include Loopers--they posted an invitation on the Great Loop website and the crowd grew to 26!    Great people, great food, and a delicious afternoon.  Much to be thankful for!

At the Eastern Shore Marina we got a tour of a shrimp boat--Miss ‘Bama!  Paul and Carol, who use her for a boating hobby, not their livelihood,  explained how all those nets work.  On many of the shrimp boats we’ve seen, the huge nets are dragged behind the boat and the outriggers (the huge net ‘holders’) ride along the sides of the boat above the water.  On Paul’s, and many other shrimpers, the outriggers are weighted by ‘shoes’ and hold the nets beside the boat, but skipping along the bottom.   Makes it easier to grab the end of the net and pour the catch onto the sorting table.  From the table, the little fellas go into the ice chest for distribution.  Pretty slick.

We really enjoyed a post Thanksgiving Day visit with Paul, his dad, Jesse, Carol and Rushme, the exchange student from Nepal who is sharing their home.  A great family.

On Sunday, I found a Unitarian Fellowship.  Fred cleared items from his ‘to do’ list.  Some further challenges came up to be added to the bottom of the list.  That amazing list just cycles and never ends.

The above-mentioned gorgeous morning has deteriorated smartly as I type away.  We left the Bay with a large grey cloud  hovering, and now, as we near Pensacola, the rain and fog have become our best friends.  We entered FL at 1:15 p.m. and were greeted by gracefully leaping dolphins!  First we've seen in a very long time.

This will be the final message of 2009.  We’re leaving YA in Pensacola, safe in the hands of the Picas (remember Carolyn Ann?).  On Wednesday we will fly to NY for the holidays.  

The Monday Messages will resume in Mid-January.  May you and your family and friends enjoy a particularly wonderful Holiday Season!

Fred and Linda

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