Of Spiders and New Friends

Most cooler mornings as I walk from Pure Grace down the dock to my Jeep I gather a cobweb or two from here and there. Not intentionally, but they are strung like silly string from one light stanchion across the dock to another. The webs coat my arms and legs, and yes, even my face, like a fine veil. Thankfully, I haven't yet found the webs' owners clinging to my clothes after I've made it through the gauntlet.

Last weekend was the annual Marina Day celebration at Fox Chapel Yacht Club. Although the weatherman was predicting a major storm right about the time the buffet line was to open, the threat held off until early the next morning. So it turned out to be a fine, fun day with a lot of activities, a treasure hunt for the children, a climbing wall, a Chinese auction to benefit the Humane Society, who turned out with two pit bull puppies, a kitten, a rabbit and a beagle-Sharpei mix (it was much prettier than it sounds), and all the beer one could drink (not for me, thanks!). I did consider adopting the beagle mix but Bill would've had a heart attack.

There was an unofficial competition of sorts on Marina Day. In fact, just about every weekend you'll see Bill and our neighbor Dave washing their boats, so most of the other boaters on the dock are very glad we're down the line at the end of the fresh water supply, thereby not causing a reduction in their water pressure!

Each of the 11 docks is responsible for contributing three things to make Marina Day successful: a dessert (cupcakes, cookies or brownies -- H Dock was assigned brownies this year); a basket for the Chinese auction (ours was a tribute to Jimmy Buffet, complete with lots of booze), and a "dock drink". Visitors to each dock are given a small glass (or two) of the drink and encourage to mingle with other boaters. I guess if you managed to drink your way from A Dock all the way down to K Dock without falling into the river that would be a good thing. Our dock drink was called Sweet Breeze but don't ask me how many liquors it contained; the only thing I contributed was the measuring cup to mix it up! My favorite dock drink came from I Dock; they cored large strawberries, filled them with Bailey's Irish Cream and topped them with whipped cream. Yum!

The Esprit de Mer is a newcomer to our dock this year; in fact we have six new boats and that means more new friends! Pittsburgh being the small town that it is, I've found some connections to mutual friends and acquaintances. While we were chatting with this crowd, I managed to focus my eyes at the right time to see a spider shoot a strand from one person across another and latch onto a third person, who thought the spider had dropped out of nowhere. Perhaps it was my morning companion!