March 2013

March started with a Tennis Social. We play tennis from 3-5pm and then have dinner at the clubhouse. Diane and I co-hosted with Jimmy and Frances Byrne. The theme was German night. We cooked bratwurst in beer and onions and then grilled them. Other players brought theme dishes to share. We had red cabbage, sauerkraut, spaetzle, cucumber salad and of course German potato salad. Dessert included German Chocolate cake. I grilled about 40 brats. Everyone pitches in to help and it was a lot of fun. We have a good tennis group and we really enjoy them.

March 2^nd we were invited to dinner at the Deehan’s. Tom and Mary Lou are the friends we visited last summer on Cape Cod. They live in Dennis, Ma. See our July ’12 blog for that visit. We were joined by Bill and Danny Hirbe and Kurt and Lynn Weber. Dinner was outstanding and the company delightful. We get to see the Hirbes every summer when we visit CIC. They graciously have a cocktail party for us when we visit and Danny is quite the artist and does watercolors with Diane at the clubhouse. Nice people. We are very fortunate to have such good friends.

The Weber’s next door neighbors in Otis, Ma., Jim and Sue Wall came for a visit and we were able to get out on the boat for a nice cruise around the bay. (When we were in Otis last summer Jim handled the logistics for our trip into New York City. He told us exactly where to go and how to get where we wanted to be. He even had subway passes for us. His assistance was greatly appreciated.) After a putt-putt cruise we enjoyed steak and lobster on our grill. While it was a little cool for us, Jim and Sue didn’t mind it a bit. Otis still had lots of snow on the ground. We were thrilled that we could show them Tequesta from the water. It really is our best side. Did I mention how good the lighthouse looks during the day?

March 9^th was the scheduled date for the Men’s Club annual Member-Member golf outing. The club cancelled the outting but we decided to play anyway. Bernie McAllister was my guest and Joe Sharpnack had Steve Cole. It was a fun morning of golf and we all had hot dogs afterward at the clubhouse. Good times.

March 10^th was the Irish scramble ice cream social. Diane and I both got our respective teams in the money.

March 12^th Diane played with friend Rhea Palczynski in a Member-Guest over at Admirals Cove. This is a picture of Rhea’s house from number nine tee. It is always a thrill to play Admirals Cove. Diane said that everything was over the top. Just a beautiful place and great friends.

March 15^th Sam and Becky Iquenta came over from the west coast. (Burnt Store in Punta Gorda) Joe and Sam were in the Army together. Friday we were able to take a boat ride and Sunday, St. Patricks Day, we had the Sharpnack annual Irish Open. Everybody played golf and then gathered at the Sharpnacks condo for corned beef and cabbage. It was delicious. Thanks Joe and Jan.

There are a lot of Irish in Riverbend, especially during St. Patrick’s Day. It was good to see Sam and Becky again and we look forward to seeing them this summer at CIC when we visit.

They say that no good deed goes unpunished. While cleaning the mailbox posts my neighbor asked if the posts were about to fall down or not. So I wiggled one and then the other. The second one was being held up by a toothpick and it snapped and fell. Termites and carpenter ants had eaten the wood at the ground level after 20+ years. So I made temporary repairs to upright the fallen mail boxes and I worked with the neighbors to replace the posts with new. We got some prices for having the work done. The estimates seemed a little high coming in around $500 which would be $125 for each of us. We talked about it and decide we could do it ourselves. One neighbor had a router and I had a jig saw and we thought we could do it. So we all agreed to pay our share and do it ourselves. The final cost was $12 per person. Three of the 4 mailboxes were in good shape and just needed painting. One neighbor had to buy a new box for $18. But it turned out OK. We now have a new post and the neighbors got to know each other a little better. I know where to get tools now. Thanks Glenn.

March 21^st Diane had her Member-Guest here with Sunny Cole, Rhea and Joann Pinter. They placed 6^th.

The highlight of the month was a visit from Stephanie, Sean, Jack and Clark. The weather was unseasonably cool but we had a great 4 days together. We started each day with tennis. Our courts here have a ball machine and the kids and parents loved hitting balls from the machine. They got remarkably better each day. They of course love the beach and the sand bar. The cool weather didn’t stop them one bit. We made it to the Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge where they got to pet a turtle, snakes, an alligator and a crocodile. We also got to visit the Busch Wildlife Sanctuary .

We were able to have a pool party with good friends Joe and Jan Sharpnack and their son Jay, and wife Stephanie and their three kids Allison, Joe, and Sophie. The kids are all about the same age and they had a ball in the pool. We cooked dinner on the grill at the pool and enjoyed the evening together.

We had to pull them out when it got dark. They went to bed exhausted.

On their way out of town they stopped at the Everglades Holiday Park to see the Gator Boys and take an airboat ride. We look forward all season for the kids to visit and then it goes so fast. Wish we had more time.

Easter was quiet and we just relaxed.