Justin's Maiden Voyage

Two weeks ago today we got up early.....very early.....like 3:30 am early to drive down to Pompano, launch the boat and cross to Bimini with Justin as our captain. This was one of very many trips for Justin, but it was his first time being the captain, the man with the plan!

The plan was to get to the boat ramp, launch the boat and watch the sunrise as we left the inlet behind and headed for the open ocean.

We didn't quite make it for sunrise because our breakfast stop on the way down, and restroom stops at the boat ramp set us back a little bit, but we were super-close!

There are about 20 minutes of going slow through the intercoastal until the Hillsborough Inlet...plenty of time for applying sunscreen, making sure all bags, etc are ready for the crossing, and getting comfortable for the 2-2 1/2 hour ride....and it's a good time for snapping a few pics.

The captain and his first mate.

The boys....Russell, David and Justin (from left to right).

I told you we were so close to seeing the sun peek over the horizon!

After stops, and 2 1/2 hours we pulled into Bimini Sands where we wait with the boat until Justin clears customs. Our crossing was perfectly flawless! I have to admit that I always get antsy until I see the sea (CDC as grandma would say) on crossing mornings. Two Thursdays ago when I got my first glimpse of the sea I just snuggled into my beanbag in the stern of the boat, closed my eyes, enjoyed the breeze and smiled the whole way to Bimini.

There will be more posts to come about our Bimini adventures! :) And we are doing it all over again next Thursday...weather permitting!

Happy Belated Birthday, Kelly and Danielle!!!

The title of this post is a little deceiving.....we were not belated with our birthday wishes to them, but this post is a day late, sorry girls! :)

Let's start with Kelly....she is my little sister. I have no other sisters, but I can't seem to shake the "little" label when introducing her. She turned 24 yesterday!!!!! Here's the Hogan gang that celebrated Kelly's birthday party!

We started the big celebration at the Pelican Yacht Club where we all had dinner and drinks. The birthday girl is on the left in the front row (wearing the green dress) Jon, Aunt Roxanne, Uncle Pat, Mommy, Daddy, me and Justin make up the rest of the party!

After supper we went to grandma's house to have a homemade Angel Food Cake (Hogan tradition) and ice cream and to open presents! I seem to remember mentioning loving family dinners before....hmmm.

I gave Kelly an Easter Avenue Company purse for her b-day. The selection at Sentiment was sparse (they are expecting a shipment any day now), so I got the purse that had the prettiest fabric, but I had major concerns that the purse wouldn't match anything. Much to my surpirse, the purse matched the dress she was wearing that night....WOOHOO!

Danielle's turn!

Danielle and her husband Russell are our dear friends that live way too far away....Ocala. They came over the Wednesday night before Labor Day to make the crossing with us to Bimini for a short vacation.

Since Danielle and Russell live in Ocala, we were not going to be able to see her on her birthday, so Grandma and I decided that she needed a surprise birthday on the last day of our stay in Bimini!

We got to celebrate Danielle's birthday with Grandma Price's famous Pineapple Upside Down Cake (Price tradition)!

Grandma got help from everyone one the island to pull of Danielle's surprise party. Kenny and Pauline provided Happy Birthday Plates, decor, and parasols and Ron was able to find some blueberries for the center of the pineapples (there were no maraschino cherries in Grandma's fridge, and no one else had any, so Ron got creative).

We had a wonderful steak and lobster dinner, and then, when Danielle wasn't looking, we hung the Happy Birthday banner and pulled the cake out of the oven....it was so fun! She had no idea that we were going to celebrate her birthday, and, since birthdays were never a big deal when she, was growing up she was so excited to have all this comotion just for her.

Happy birthday, girlies! We love you! :)