Dave's special day !

It started out perfect right out of the gate !! The sun was out, the wind was down and the temps. were up. And it was my Birthday !!! And I didn't have anything pressing to do on the boat, for a change. So after a relaxing morning including opening my presents ( killer jade necklace and a new clean T-shirt that doesn't have any holes or stains on it ), we jumped in the dinghy and headed for shore. Suzi had arranged for some cruiser friends, Jim & Katie of the s/v Tenaya. to drive our car into town so she and I could walk in and then ride back with them. Not sure why Suzi wanted to walk when she could have ridden but whatever ?? It was a pretty walk following a narrow path along the bay winding around all the coves with their white sand beaches and passing by some great little houses. But by the time we made it to town I was more than ready for a cold beer and I didn't waste any time covering the last mile in under (4) minutes. Ok, maybe not that fast but I was on a mission and there was more than just a cold beer waiting for me at this place. There was" MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL" . That's right, you see Monday Night Football is shown in New Zealand on Tuesday afternoons because of the date line and I hadn't seen an American football game since last years Super Bowl. This place served ice cold Coronas and had very comfy chairs arranged around a large flat screen TV. I had died and gone to Heaven !! Kim & Larry of the s/v Magenta joined us and when Larry, who had gone to USC, found out that both Jim and Suzi had gone to UCLA, he couldn't help but rub in the thumping the Bruins had just received from their cross town rivals, the Trojans.  My birthday was complete as far as I was concerned but no, we still had dinner to go to after the game  and it was one of my favorites !!! All you can eat Chinese food  !!! YES.....  Now some people may question the quality of the food at a chinese buffet but I'm one of those who think that quantity can replace quality  and this place had both. So after a few trips back to "fill her up" we waddled out to the car and headed back to the marina and I thought the evening was over. But I was wrong again; we got detoured to Restless where Brandy and Mark waited with rum on the rocks, a Birthday card ( "May the wind always blow up your aft !!"), and candles on a Brandy home-made fresh apple pie, along with some ice cream  waiting to be stuffed into our already full stomachs. No problem !!! Home (boat) made apple pie with ice cream; there's always room for that so plates were soon stacked high but not until I had made my wish and blew out all the candles. Thank God they chose to use one candle for every decade, no way I could have blown out 61 of those little suckers.
It was a birthday to remember for sure and with the stars out and shining on the water of the bay, we motored the dingy back out to Sidewinder and crawled under the blankets. But there was one little detail I had forgotten to explain to all the fine friends who had helped me celebrate. Since I was born in North America and the time is almost a full day behind New Zealand , my real birthday wasn't until the next day and I felt that we should all meet and do it again tomorrow. Only one person bought into that one; she is by my side as I type this, singing Happy Birthday and helping me eat a choclate brownie with ice cream and fresh strawberries on top. Thank God birthdays only come two times a year .......