On the lighter side...

This dog is amazing...

Life is short —

— then you die... We've all heard that many times and sadly, as we get older, we realize it's true.

The statement in the above pic doesn't exactly apply to us, but the lines in the bottom left hand corner certainly strike a nerve. Mel and I, both, sit at the helm of responsibility for mothers who are on the cusp of their great rewards and we're constantly slapped in the face with the reality that... the last days of one's life can be an enormous profit center for others.

As crew Istaboa sits landlocked, our thoughts often turn to the siege of obligations, responsibilities, sorrow, and wishes for freedom from the aforementioned, but we refuse to, "die as if we never lived". We strongly promote the idea that—

A bit off color but...

Stephen Colbert is really funny. Don't click if you're offended by beeps, religious references, or remarks about Asians.
It's just comedy.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Aqua ThreatDown - Oyster Sluts, Japanese Hackers & Israeli Regulators
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes 2010 Election Fox News

Who has the right of way?

In the end, does it really matter?
Maybe to the insurance company.

Anchor anxiety? Hardly, maybe the lack of...

Seems the Captain of this new Kadey Krogen 55 was a bit overconfident that his anchor stuck and his hook pulled during a squall in Camden Harbor, Maine. Luckily some very helpful and capable folks came to his rescue while he and the crew were in town. They managed to keep him off the rocks, that at low tide would have left him high and dry... and screwed.
YouTube clip included —

Sun still shines in Memphis.

Happy to hear that John Mellencamp, aka—John Cougar, came to Memphis and took advantage of Sun studios; hallowed ground for Rock and Roll. His new CD named, No better than this, features a tune cut at the old shrine where Elvis made his first record more than 50 years ago.

Thinkabout — Cuba

We have wanted to go to Cuba for as long as we have been cruising and almost did it in 2000, but the weather made it nearly impossible to cross the Straits of Florida and we ran out of time. Actually had the paperwork done and were sitting on go in Key West. (did the Dry Tortugas instead)

Happy Birthday — Mason Taylor

Taken on this day, 31 years ago
.25 cent photo booth pic.
Mason and me at the Cotton Carnival in Memphis.
circa, 1979

Water toys

This looks fun, but if they became popular they would probably be as annoying as a pod of PWC's.
Click continue reading for a video.

Tour of the 394' yacht "A"

Remember this one....  Check out this tour of the interior.

The interior of Russian billionaire Andrey Melnichencko's 394-foot yacht has never before been viewed by the public -- until now. The Wall Street Journal gained unprecedented access to tour the ship, called the 'A,' which reportedly costs more than $300 million.

Everything old is new again—

—unfortunately, in this case.










Brother, can you spare a dime?

 

Zen Quotes

1. Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead.
   Do not walk ahead of me, for I may not follow.
   

Blown away at St Maarten

We have seen many pics of the airport at St. Maarten, but never knew of it's affect on the beach folk until now.

Photographer Thomas Prior takes us inside the mayhem and chaos at St. Maarten's Maho Beach. With an international airport situated immediately adjacent to it, Maho Beach is the perfect place to watch low-flying aircraft on their final approach. That is, if you're more interested in plane spotting than tanning. Lucky for us, daily arrivals and departures times are displayed on boards by the beach, so we can easily plan our adventures, accordingly.

Cut from http://www.mymodernmet.com/

While we aren't cruising—

—check out what these folks are doing.

Here's to a better day...

 

And, an even better tomorrow...


 Photograph by:

Interesting

Photo manipulation... Reality altered:

Thinkabout—Vonnegut's thinking

Signing off for a while

The cruising for crew Istaboa has come to an abrupt end with news of Mel's mom. We hope to have that stabilized soon and continue on doing what we love, but, for now we do what we must.
It's that time in our lives, and we're sure many understand, where obligations take priority.
I will continue to keep the lights on in our blog by posting what I think are humorous, weird, and sometimes thought provoking photos and junk that I excavate while poking around the net.
So, until we return to Gloucester Point, Virginia....

Adios,


Istaboa