Spring Weekends
May 01, 2026
The most entertaining part of a story is usually the most embarassing part for the story teller, so let's start there.
We had a charter set up a few weekends ago. It was a lovely family who knew sailing and was looking forward to getting out on the water. We had a clear warm day, with humidity so low that the clear air gave you that affect like when you get new glasses and can see everything just a little better. The wind was perfect to zoom across the water without it being uncomfortable. It was really just perfect. They brought booze and an ice chest full enough that the fact that we forgot to buy a bag or two of ice didn't matter.
I am 100% certain that it would have been a great evening on the water.
But then the engine wouldn't start.
Check out this amazing spread from the aborted charter.
It felt like a fuel issue, and I couldn't remember how to bleed the air coming in. I was in the salon looking at YouTube videos while they sat in the cockpit enjoying each others' stories. I'm just so glad that the music wasn't playing from my phone, because I would have forgotten about that and piped audio from engine videos out there into the passengers.
I never did get it started that day. They couldn't have been nicer about it, but just typing it here is making me cringe. So embarrassing.
For the record, I have the engine running now, and I've also fixed the freezer issue that was keeping us from having ice there for days at a time. I wrote more nerdy boat things about my Spring Repairs over here.
That was in the middle of a stretch where we were in New Orleans quite a bit this Spring. On Easter weekend.
Easter Sunday was rainy, but we had brunch reservations at Commander's Palace. I don't think it was the kids' first time there, but it was the first time they remember. One of my favorite things is to go walk through the kitchen there, and I knew V would love it too. I can't believe how many people it takes to make a fine dining place sail smoothly.
After brunch, we went to the Quarter to catch the Gay Easter Parade, but the weather must have gotten the plans discombobulated. We waited on the route, but it came down a different street a block away. It didn't take us long to get down there, but once we did, the only groups in the parade were
- A largish pack of drag queens (pack is the word, right?)
- Three sets of fancy old guys in horse and buggy
- A big pack of eccentrics, led by a dude wearing only a cape with some underpants. I was still in my suit from brunch, and I would have traded outfits with the guy in a heartbeat.
People know to come see the costumes on Fat Tuesday or Halloween or even on Labor Day, but Easter is a very underrated costume day in the Quarter. I wish I had taken more pictures.
On our latest trip down, both kids stayed home and left me and Mrs. theskinnyonbenny to fest on our own. It's so sad to have your young adult children stop doing the family things that you've always done together.
I asked Ko why he wasn't coming, and he told me, "I'm don't really want to be there, and I would probably just bitch all day." So I'll give him high marks for self awareness.
And then a little video of some sights and sounds of the festival...