Labor Day Low Country Boil

Chow line

The marina (basically awesome Dock Mistress Sherry) threw a great Labor Day party with a Low Country Boil as the feature.

Par Tay

As two kids from Kansas, Low Country Boils are new to us.  Sausage, new potatoes, corn and shrimp.  Fresh, wild Georgia shrimp - YUM!

Dock Mistress Sherry - one kewl lady

We all brought side dishes.  YUM again. 

Leftover haul

There was tons of food and leftovers.  We aren't too proud so we gladly took home some leftover...boil.  I guess that is the right phrase, although that sounds weird.

After party joke and story telling

AND there were some give away prizes.  While we didn't win, a fellow cruiser won the fresh but leftover, unboiled shrimp - about 8 lbs.  She didn't want it all and offered up part of her prize to anyone that wanted fresh shrimp.  Again....we aren't too proud, so we took a pound or so for tomorrow night.  The other prizes were West Marine gift cards but none of the winners of those offered them up like the shrimp.  Darn!  We had a nice time visiting with various cruisers we know and meeting new people that we haven't met before.  People are starting to talk winter plans.  Good stuff.   

Splice This

Just a tad bigger than 10 gauge!

As part of our marine electronics upgrade we have been doing some cable splicing.  Luckily we are under the watchful eye of a master marine electrician and learning tons!  All the proper ways to connect stuff up in the marine environment - above and beyond typical level of connecting stuff.  Very kewl!!!  So back to the splicing.... silliness over took me the other night at Home Depot when I spotted this little ole cable laying in the sale bin.  "Let's splice this up to the helm instead of the 10 gauge we spliced up today!" 

Stocking up to start our own company - NOT!!!!

Then the real silliness set in and I began stocking up to open our own company.  We were sober (honest) but very tired and slaphappy.  A couple of big marine electronic hiccups yesterday and today knocked my cocky little behind to the ground so to speak so our All Your Marine Electronics Solutions Here shingle will have to wait for now.  BIG roll eyes!  Actually it's been good.  Challenging, puzzling, frustrating, and crazy but good.   

I Dream of NMEA

Old NMEA

First you must get the theme song to "I Dream of Jeannie" in your head.  Have you got it?  If not, click HERE to listen to it.

N2K - the T looking things

We are upgrading some of our electronics.  This means we are dealing with NMEA 0183 (or old NMEA as I prefer to call it) and NMEA 2000 (N2K).  These are marine networks. It's been a bit....challenging to keep it all straight in terms of what gets plugged into what and where.  I have literally been dreaming NMEA for the last couple of nights and thus the theme song "I Dream of Jeannie".  However mine is I Dream of NMEA and it's been playing in my head as we work to connect everything up correctly...old and new NMEA. 
*Yes, I often have theme songs playing in my head depending on the situation("Everything Must Go" by Steely Dan for when we were moving out of our house), location("Thrift Shop" by Macklemore and Ray Lewis as I made multiple trips to donate our clothes this past spring), or person/persons ("Plans for Nigel" by XTC  when reading Nigel Calder books!).