John's Pass!

When we got to Florida, one of the things we did first was check out the neighborhood and then we went to John's Pass. It is a shopping/tourist area located on one of the causeways and ocean. It is the home of the famous Bubba Gump's restaurant which features seafood and (of course!) shrimp!






It is full of shops and you can catch deep-sea fishing charters there and of course take their famous "pirate cruises". Everything is geared toward the pirate theme. You can get pirate anythings!


But,one of the funniest moments for me and my daughter was during a break we took at one of their little outdoor pubs. It was a warm, sunny wonderful afternoon.
First, I was aiming my camera out at the water to catch shots of their many pelicans (which I LOVE!).


A couple was sitting next to me at a little table. The guy was a HUGE man and had Mardi Gras beads on. He was sitting with a tiny woman (wife?). They asked what kind of camera I had and we chatted about it for a bit. Then she said: "He was going to sing here today, but his throat was too sore!" Evidently he and a saxophone player were going to be the singers outside for the bar. So, I look to my left and there is this guy with a saxophone and a fake set of (blonde!) dreadlocks over his black hair and dressed like a pirate. He has his official eyepatch on......the whole deal.
So, we end our conversation and I head back to my table, where my hubby and daughter are.
They tease me about trying to pick up the Mardi Gras-bead-wearing-sore-throat-guy.
Then, the sax player starts.


He actually sounded pretty good. (Maybe it was the mixed drink I was having out in the sun?). He's playing reggae and oldies, and I am getting into it.
Then, a pelican comes and lands REALLY close. Like right behind the sax player's shoulders while he is singing.
So, I jump up, and standing in a corner pretty far from the singer, I raise my camera to see if I can use my zoom lens to zoom in on the pelican (beyond the singer).
Well, the sax player sees me aiming at his general area, and thinks I am filming him.
He starts smiling, (dare I say flirting?) and nodding his head at me as he is singing.
By then, I had already taken the bird photo and am just cracking up. So then I think, "what the hell!" and I snap two photos of him. Here he is (in all his glory!):



So, I get back to my table and I am giggling, telling my daughter that the guy was winking at me.
And, in deadpan manner, she says: "MOM! How can you TELL he was winking at you? He has an eyepatch on!"
Then, without missing a beat, she says: "You Know....when you are a pirate, every blink is a wink!"
(Because of the eyepatch!!!)
Of course we get a giggle fit like no other.
Since she is good at graphic arts, she says to me: "When I get home, I am going to make something we can use to put on a T-shirt that says: "When you are a pirate, every blink is a wink!" and makes this:





We still get the giggles whenever we see an eyepatch or a pirate.