Joie de vivre. This is the term that came to Marie and I at dinner this evening looking back at our 4 days in Apalachicola at RiverCrest!
Marc and Anita Grove; Marc loves boats, loves his customers, and loves being involved with anything on the water. He also loves his cooking, and is one of the top chef's--we had some of the left over chicken this evening--and it is the best I have ever had! But wait a minute--I watched Marc, playing the bass guitar, even though his arm was cramping so badly that he had problem making the cords--he still was getting the bass riffs and doing the songs!
Always a smile on his face--never to busy to talk about C Dorys!
Anita: many years of being The chamber of commerce in Apalachicola--now on the cusp of a new career--putting everything into it. But wait--who was always there to back up Marc? Yep--and I'll bet she has a lot of other talents! Let me tell you she was the organizer, and the person behind the scene.
Ron--the go to guy for getting things done at the gathering, and at Wefing's. He was there--both managing the business, while Marc was working his butt off at the gathering.
Danny--rides the Harley in--and takes care of the hogs! He was also responsible for those fantastic grits!
Robert--helping particularly on Thursday with setup.
Carlton (Hope I got his name right)--he was the keyboard player on Saturday night--and talk about passion for the music--blues, country, pop, and even some classical. A real talent. I was the last one out the door, and you all missed some real entertainment in the next hour, just playing for fun!
But wait--how about the C Brats--I cannot leave out my wife Marie--even though she didn't pay attention to the slicer--and suffered a deep cut on her finder, she still was there working on the sidelines to make sure that things were going right.
Tex--Red Snapper Ceviche, which was fantastic…but no..what about the peach cobbler cooked in a dutch oven on the spot, or the home made ice cream.
Then were was Dave, Dave, Jim, Skip, Mike, (and I am sure I left out a number of specific names) and a lot of wives who all pitched in and got the setups, take downs, Bill Russell who got up at 6:30 on Sunday, to be sure that the coffee was made…but wait--he wasn't coming to the gathering, until he got the OK after minor surgery on Friday PM, and then he and Brenda drove from Arkansas (eating MacDonalds along the way), to make it in time for the Saturday dinner, trailering their boat. They have made every gathering at Apalachicola! Then Saturday night, I watched Bill critiquing one of the wives photography and telling her what a talent she had.
Also a big thanks for the donations--the best yet, even though we had a smaller turnout than some other years. No way that one can find this type of food, entertainment and fellowship for any amount of money! Marc of wefings does this for love of the boats and the people. I was glad to see participation at all levels to help perpetuate this gathering!
Joie de vivre This is what typifies a C Dory owner--and those who live this life style….typified at the gathering! The people is what make the C Dory such a great boat, as well as the physical aspects of the boat. You cannot leave out DaNag and Tyboo, who spend countless hours (and $$) to keep the glue together in this list and web site!
Marie and I had such a great time, and really enjoyed talking to everyone there. This is how you get to know all the multiple talents of our group! What a joy!
Thanks to all!
I'll try and get some photos up shortly.