The sun was shining on us, as we made our way slowly through the harbor. I felt almost comfortable in the boat—until Rick cranked the engine and off we went at full speed ahead! I gripped Tony’s hand and held on to my hat for a good five minutes, before Rick’s hat blew off his head! Rick hollered, “Hat Overboard!” And, then turned the wheel sharply as we slowed down to look for his hat. When we located the helpless hat, bobbing in the wake, John grabbed a long pole with a huge hook on the end of it, and rescued the drowning cap! Rick was happy, Tony and John were happy that Rick was happy, and I was happy—not to be traveling at light speed, but that didn’t last real long. With wet hat on head, Rick, once again, revved the mighty engine and off we sped.
When we arrived at the dock of this privately owned island—John, Tony and I were in awe of its beauty! And, the Lighthouse was magnificent! Yes, it had a working Lighthouse on it, built in 1855, and Rick lived on the island, and was the official keeper of the Lighthouse. I couldn’t believe that I was standing on a dock looking up at a sixty-seven foot tall—working Lighthouse!
After the guys had unloaded our luggage from the wannabe-water-rocketship, Rick gave us a tour of the three houses built back in 1919.
First, we saw Rick’s house, which was absolutely beautiful, with tall ceilings, hardwood floors, and giant tall windows with storm shutters. He also introduced us to his cat, Goober Head—that loves the water, and will actually go into the water to catch fish! Rick showed us pictures of Goober Head standing in about ten inches of water—with a fish in its mouth!
We grabbed some beers, and then marched down the steep steps, took a right, and then walked the railed, and boarded planks to the second house, which was where we would be staying.
The second house was absolutely incredible! It had three bedrooms, a reading room, a huge kitchen and dining room, multiple fireplaces, and a beautifully hand carved, wrap around deck on it! In the few mansions that I’ve ever been in—this place beat them all—hands down!
Then Rick took us to the final house to show us the beautiful, hand carved, antique pool table, and poolroom!
When we arrived back to ‘our house,’ I said to Rick, “This sure beats our twenty-four-year old trailer—and it’s a Fleetwood!” Rick laughed, and left us to unpack our worldly goods—that didn’t take long.
After, going from room to room to admire the fine architecture, painting, pictures, etc.—I started taking pictures of ‘our house’—so I wouldn’t forget it.
Rick showed up, and told us to come with him—and we did. He took us down to the historical Lighthouse and invited us in for a tour. John was the only brave soul amongst us, and he climbed all of the way to the top, while Tony and I stared straight up at him.
After John had returned safely from the clouds, and his feet were firmly planted back on the island, Rick told us to grab the camera, and to meet him at the boat—he had something to show us! While Tony went to get a camera in ‘our house,’ I skeptically, racewalked—to the fastest boat on the planet! After we were all aboard—Captain Rick said, “Hold on!”
I grabbed Tony’s leg and held on for dear life, and then off we went—destination unknown! Within minutes we were racing beside a gigantic, orange colored, oil tanker, that was coming in to port! “Get your camera ready, Tony!” Our Captain ordered. “And, watch the front of that ship!”
How Tony was ever able to shoot any decent pictures, with me holding on to his leg, is beyond me, but he captured some beautiful shots of the dolphins swimming ahead of the tanker—joyfully, leaping high into the air—like a water dance! It was so beautiful watching them at play—I actually forgot about my fear—until we turned off and went back to the main island to check on the three boats!
While Rick went off to find his mechanic, on his yellow, Vespa scooter, John, Tony and I went to the only grocery store and bought a few groceries—beer. When we met up with Rick, he told us that Kelly got off of work at 7:30—so we had an hour to kill.
Rick drove us around the island and gave us a grand tour! Our last stop, was at Shorty’s Bar, an historical, sixty-year old bar, that was still family owned—and a must see for all tourists!
When we walked inside, everyone in the bar welcomed and waved to Rick—he was a local. Rick introduced us to everyone in the bar, and everyone was so nice and friendly. They made us feel welcomed and we enjoyed visiting with them.
The coolest thing in the bar were the thousands of ‘give me’ caps hanging from the ceiling! Seriously, there were over a thousand caps and they covered the entire ceiling! While we checked out the bar, Rick, who is absolutely hilarious, went over to the jukebox and slipped in some quarters. Before we knew it, a man using Elmer Fudd’s voice, began singing the song that Willie Nelson wrote—the one that made Patsy Cline famous—“Crazy!” We all got to laughing, and the more we listened—the more we couldn’t stop laughing! I am sure, that I lost a pound from laughing so hard—thanks Rick!
When we arrived at the boathouse, Kelly and Pete, and Rick’s friend, Andy, were already there—waiting for us! Rick opened up the Boathouse, and we went inside and boarded the boat and took off for the island. I guess because I had drank a beer, and was surrounded with great company—I forgot to hold on to Tony’s leg!
On the voyage back to the island, Kelly told us that she had just faced a fear of heights by going para-sailing, a few days ago! The way she told the story—she had all of us laughing so hard—that I had happy tears, and nearly threw my back out! This was by far, the best Halloween I have ever had!
When we arrived at the island...
To be continued...
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