May 10, 2014:
After the horrendous slam-a-ground just outside of the Port St. Joe bridge and the heroic motoring of our boat to get us off the shoal and bring us safely to port, the Captain, the boat and I were all ready to kick back and relax. For the crew, it was shower, then shrimp, then a cocktail or two.
For the boat, it was a nice rinse down and a washing of anything on the boat that could fit into the machine. We were throwing linens, clothes, everything in the basket, with reckless abandon.
“This towel?”
“Sure.”
“The rug?”
“Why not.”
“The curtains?”
“Maybe next time.”
By the time we got to the laundry room we had a heaping pile, but the facilities at the PSJ Marina are great–clean, always available, accessible and fully-functioning. And, they certainly earned their “Florida’s Friendliest Marina” title by helping us cash in our wadded-up dollar bills for quarters for the machine. Three loads later, everything on the boat, minus the curtains, was clean, pressed and fresh as a daisy.
Unfortunately, a full inspection of the boat revealed yet another casualty of the Keys trip–the overflow valve for our holding tank on the port side. Like Larry said, “If you’re bumping into things, it just means you’re getting out there.” Well, we had apparently bumped into something while we were out there, which ripped the black plastic cover off of our overflow head and left a small gouge in the side of the hull.
Uggh. Add that to the list.
For dinner, we knew exactly where we were going to go–Joe Mama’s Pizza! But first, we wanted to get a pre-drink and pay a visit to our old pals at the Haughty Heron bar just behind the marina. Last time we were there, they’d given us a free pour and a free Heron t-shirt! Not that we were expecting the same treatment, but, much like feeding a stray dog, it certainly had us coming back! We love the vibe in that bar, though. Very laid back, great atmosphere and a great wine selection.
And, on this night of all nights, the ‘tender told us they were going to have live music in the “Beer Garden out back” and that we should come back for it after dinner. “The guy on the sax will blow your mind,” she said. “It’s like he sings with it.”
Although it doesn’t take much to entertain us, particularly when we travel–we seem to find interesting sights, people and performances just about anywhere we go–but, a singing sax?? That was certainly a new one for us. We were definitely in! We finished our pre-dinner drinks at the Heron and told her we’d be back for the show. Then it was off to Joe Mama’s for their famous wood-fired pizza and (my personal favorite) the HUGE family-size house salad, made table-side with all of the fixings.
They claim it serves a family. I’m inclined to think it would be just right for me a toddler. We also got the sauce-less wings again, too, which we love and I tried the red wine flight.
The Chilean Veramonte was the highlight, until the pizza Gods rained upon us with savory fennel sausage, melted mozarella and caramelized onions. It was a glorious Italian bounty.
We ate like kings, drank, rested and ate some more.
Our bellies full and our bodies content, we made our way back to the Beer Garden outside the Haughty Heron for this promising sax show. The Heron had built out an awesome deck area behind the bar complete with an amphitheater, palm tree landscaping, string lights and plenty of tables and chairs to sit and enjoy the free live music.
And, the guy on the sax … Let me just say, it reminded me of that Dusty Dinkleman character from that Ryan Reynolds classic — Just Friends.
“Have you seen him play that guitar? It’s like he has 15 fingers. I can’t compete with this guy!”
Sorry Phillip. But, the guy was a mad genius with the sax. Whatever Dusty could do with his fingers, well, this guy could do with his mouth.
He was incredible, as was the rest of the band (although I have to admit I didn’t notice them much). Sorry again. It was Latitude 29. Check out some of their other covers and shows HERE. I was like a tweenager at a One Direction concert, singing and filming and “whoo-hoo’ing.” Seriously, I whoo-hoo’ed.
Several times. We stayed till the sun fell, belting out the words (or whatever words came to mind) to every song, until they closed up shop.
Great, GREAT night at the Beer Garden! Thank you Haughty Heron (and the Sax Sultan from Lat 29) for putting on such an incredible show!