May 31, 2007

Okay to finish this up! Don, Erica and Hanna Banks and Katie and Hanna's friend Whitney arrived for the voyage back to reality. We set sail on Sunday May 20th heading for the main land. This proved to be a bad choice in my opinion. It was the roughest day I have ever spent on a boat, and it had me swearing it would be my last. The seas were truly mad, but we made it to Marco Island and re-grouped. I thought about a flight home, but since I was in this far I stuck it out. I made Johnny promise if it was rough we stayed in port. Don and Johnny navigated us through ClearWater, Carabelle, Destin, and Orange Beach and finally to New Orleans. Our next several days were much better and we arrived home on Friday 25th. Our adventure was wonderful, and I can't wait to run away again. If you get the chance you should try it.

Leslie Cramond and her friend Paul the painter or the fisher also came for a visit. I think they enjoyed the entertainment with our crew. Paul really enjoys fishing and Leslie reeled in a fish or two also.

May 17, 2007

My internet connection was down for awhile so I could not post. We have had so much company lately ther was also not much time. I really enjoyed being with my three sisters last week. We always enjoy ourselves when we are together. I am so very blessed with such wonderful family, and I often feel like i have been blessed twice with mine and the Garrity's. Lets see 3 brothers, 3 sisters, 10 brother in laws, 11 sister in laws who could be so lucky. Anyway sorry about not keeping in touch better. We also had some of our May birthday friends (Rob and Debbie Wolfe, Frank Henning and Tommy Clark) here for our birthday celebration. It was so nice to do that as we have been missing these last several years. It had the potential to rank up there with some of our best celebrations, but thank God we are a few years older and we must be some smarter, because we were mostly well behaved. It did not hurt that the restuarant did not offer us even a second round of drinks. I guess they could tell when we walked in we had already gotten a good start. It was really nice to be with old friends. They are truly a treasure. I went to kindergarden with those crazy guys. I must be getting home sick I think I'm getting all mushy. We will be setting sail soon and should be home before too much longer depending on the weather and currents. This has been such a wonderful experience, I don't know how I will handle being back home and the real world again. I might just run away again, anyone who wants in contact me. Love to all The Reel Garrity's

May 10,2007

On Monday Johnny & I fished and caught a nice Sailfish and a couple of nice Dolphin, then the sisters arrived on Tuesday and on Wednesday we filled up on Dolphin. They are really doing some bragging. Rosann was a pole hog and caught a few big ones. Poor JoNel only got to reel in one and it was on the smaller side. Teresa did pretty good, but she needs some arm workouts. It was nice to ride back into the marina with the fish flags flying. Sandra you would have been proud. Tomorrow we are going snorkling. Hope all is well. Love to all. The Reel Garrity's and the Sisters too.

May 6, 2007

We have had a quiet week without any company. Catching up on some rest and relaxation. We have some fishing lined up for the upcomming week. My 3 sisters arrive on Tuesday with Leslie and her friend Paul on Thursday. On Friday Robert and Debbie and Frank Henning and Tommy Clark arrive so we hope to be catching plenty of fish as well as having plenty of entertainment. After that Katie, Hanna, Don & Erica Banks and maybe Jimmy Cramond and Jack Anderson come for our voyage back home. I can't believe our time here is almost over. It has been quite an experience. It will take some getting used to home and dry land. Give me about a month and maybe I will be back to normal. Whatever that is. Hope all is well with everyone and ya'll families. Love to all. See you soon. The Reel Garrity's

Brother in Law Sun-bathing Beauties

A good day of snorkling beats a bad day fishing!

April 31, 2007

Things are heating up in Key West. Not us, this is a family blog. The weather here has really gotten warmer. Soon we will be as hot as New Orleans. We still get some breeze on the water, but it is getting warm and humid too here. We had a really nice visit with George and Mary Jo and also Murphy Banks and Kasi, Kori and their cousin Evan Cuccia who way down the line is related to us Relle's. It is a small world! We had a really nice day of fishing, unfortunately, our catching has not improved any, even with the new crew, not even a throw back. We did have some fun on Duval Street shopping and we tried to Karaoke at a local bar, but had to entertain ourselves and our dock neighbors aboard the Brother in Law. We are some good preformers, just ask to see the video. We also visited Fort Jefferson, a National Park on the Dry Tortugas. This is an uninhabbitable island that our National Government, which never finished the fort, operates about 70 miles west of here. It was also an engineering failure as the foundation could not support the fort. The corp of engineers failures are nothing new. The fort was neat to see and the view and the water were beautiful out there. Everyone got to tan on the ride out and back in and we enjoyed the day on the water. Hope all is well with everyone. Love to all. The Reel Garrity's

Tournament fun at Mallory Square

Brady,Kay,Fred and Paula having a good day aboard the Brother in Law at the dock!

This picture shows Kay having fun catching our dinner and Paula not having fun loosing her's. Fred cheering them both on.

April 24, 2007

Greetings from KeyWest! All is well. We ended the World Sailfish Tournament consistant. Not a sailfish caught aboard the Brother in Law. We had nice weather and a nice crew, except for Richard our deck hand. He is history. Everyone enjoyed and that's why they call it fishing and not catching. We are catching up on our rest since our guest left on Sunday, we are doing a couple of new boat projects and Johnny did some waxing today. I don't wax, yet. Life here is slow, like me. I really like it. Looking forward to George and Mary Jo and Murphy and his girls comming on Thurs. & Friday. They we will hopefully get to catch some fish and we will be partying again. Unitll then I'll sleep late and take an afternoon nap so I'll be ready. Hope all is well with everyone. Love to all, The REEL Garrity's I'm still trying to post pictures, but having trouble. Will try again tonight. Look for Paula coming soon!

April 20, 2007

Okay so we entered the World Sailfish Tournament, no one said we could catch any Sailfish. I am not sure, but I think someone jinxed us. It is either the Banks or our wonderful and friendly deck hand Richard. I'm not sure, but tomorrow he may find himself overboard, fish or no fish. The tournament is over tomorrow and we get to go to the banquet even if we don't catch anything and they have a open bar so we will enjoy. After that I think Richard will be unemployed- bad attitude! Sandra, David, Eddie and Gina Perrin and our faithful boat buddy Nick all arrived on Tuesday and since the tournament started on Wed. morning at 7am we have not done much else. We did hook up with a couple of sailfish, but none got to the leader. We did get a really nice Wahoo so we are eating good. Tomorrow is the last day and if we catch them up you will surely hear about it. There is a $$ prize, our chances are like winning the lottery. Say your prayers we need them. We are having a good time though and the weather is great. Wish you were here! The REEL Garrity's

Key West Days

Getting our vows renewed

Since we make 29 years in Sept. we decided to renew our vows here at the southernmost wedding chapel!!

April 14, 2007

Life in Key West--a lot like at home we have alot of company. Katie & Joey left on Friday afternoon, and Brady, Kay, Fred and Paula came in on Friday evening, just in time to take us out to dinner. We also met up with Todd Babin last night. We have not been able to get together much, but we did meet him on Duval Street. We have had some really nice fishing trips, but not a lot of catching going on. Today Kay did provide dinner for us all. Good thing it was a nice Dolphin. Mahi-Mahi yummy as usual. We could sure use a couple of more sail fish or anything else for that matter the guys like to reel in something, and Kay got all the glory today. Fred did catch a small Mackrel? I'm not sure. It tasted good. Paula did chum some for us between naps. I don't think she wants to go back out fishing. It was really not rough, but some people just feel it worse. I felt really bad for her, but she was really a good sport about it, even with the medicine she was not feeling her best but she did not complain. I think tomorrow the girls will do some shopping. Brady still needs a fish so they might try again, but the weather is not looking great for tomorrow. All the more reason for the girls to stay on dry ground. It has started to feel funny to me not to be rocking. Even on dry land I still feel rockey. Too long at sea I fear! Love to all. God Bless Kalee Jo on her first communion Sunday! The Reel Garrity's

April 12

Life is great in beautiful Key West. Enjoying the sun and water. Yesterday Joey and Katie finished up their dive certifications...they are now official, and Johnny and I went along to enjoy the underwater life. We all spotted a big sting ray, Goliath Grouper, Barracuda and K&J experienced a nurse shark on each dive. I enjoyed these two dives a lot more but i still don't feel like i will be making a habit of this. Went out fishing this morning but were back at the dock by 11am due to weather, caught one lone Bonita. Hoping that the rain runs away this afternoon. Wish you were here. Love to all ---The reel Garrity's

sunset dinghy ride

the lone fish and 8 mouths to feed...

Banks Fishing Team

Banks Family Snorkeling

April 10, 2007

All is well in Key West. the Easter Bunny found our boat and we got lots of Candy. Kalee Jo dyed some eggs for us. We had a nice mass in the station of the cross garden. Fishing has not been great. We caught one tuna. Yummy and David caught a Bonito and a Barracuda. No sailfish the week. Hopefully next week for the tournament we will be luckier. Katie & Joey will do their final two dives tomorrow for their certification and we may also go diving. I am going to give it another try, but the verdict is still out on me being a diver. The weather is really getting hot here after a couple of cool days. That's all the excitement for this week. Hope all is well with everyone and all the family. Love to all, The Reel Garrity's

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April 5,2007

Last night we feasted on the Mahi Mahi Brian & Johnny caught while Jodi wore me out shopping Daval Street. They also caught another sailfish, that makes the total 5 and counting. They departed today and we have started the Easter Season with the arrival of the "Brother in Law" and the whole Banks family. They arrived just in time for lunch and an afternoon boat ride out to a nearby reef for some snorkling. The water was a bit cold on impact but soon we became comfortable. We saw many pretty fishies and 2 large lobsters. Kalee and David rode back in the dingy into the harbor. After a quick dip in the pool and a couple of beverages we went to PT's a real fine local place for dinner. Next it's early to bed for early to rise to go fishing in the morning. Looking forward to Katie and Joey to arrive tomorrow afternoon. Love to all, Garrity's and Banks

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Johnny's out of practice

I need to thank my sister in law Gail for saving us a trip to the emergency room two islands up the highway last night. Johnny tried to use a 1/2" drill bit for one last project and I was not standing at attention holding the plastic and he sent it into his finger instead. He was bleeding like a pig! Gail your advise really helped out and we got it under control once we did what you suggested. It looks nasty, but he can still fish!

Fish Fish Fish

April 2, 07

Brian and Jodi Balestra have come for a visit. Went fishing this morning and conditions were better than they have been. Jodi and Brian need more time to get their fishing legs. Jodi will not be back on the boat this trip. Brian is questionable for Wednesday. Johnny is going Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Monday and any other day he can. Today we caught two sailfish out of three sightings. We are getting good at this. Looking forward to Banks and Cargol's visit for Easter, (and fishing crew) I need help with all these chores! I will try to get the fish pictures up tonight. Sometime this internet connection works but most times it dosen't. Love to all,
The Reel Garrity's

Saturday March 31, 2007

Well we're official certified Open Water Divers. We did our last two training dives on Friday, and things went much better. The seas were still rough, but not as bad as on Monday. I'm not sure it's really my cup of tea, but Johnny really likes it and may do some more training and diving. Today is project day (again). Two hardware store trips and it's only noon. Some get that, hold this, do it like this, get me some tea, make me a sandwich, then raindance on the windows, and polish the alluminum. I need some reading time, I have only finished one book and barely started the second. Remember to watch the LSU women Sunday in the semi finals. It's time for my daily walk to the grocery so I'll talk to ya'll soon. Living the dream! The Reel Garrity's !

Shopping

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Fisherwoman

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Fun

Thursday 3-29-07

Well it finally happened today! We went fishing! We each caught a beautiful sailfish. Mine was bigger, but I must admit I gave up the pole. The fish had more fight in it than I had in me. It was pretty awesome. We also caught a king mackrel, which we came home and cooked for dinner. Talk about fresh fish, it barely had time to get cold. Another day in paridise. Live the dream! Love to all. Domini & Johnny

Brother in law fun

All the fun