Brian and I arrived in St. Mary's, GA late this afternoon. Although we had made the 300 mile jump from Beaufort ahead of Anthyllide and Serendipity, they had both beaten us to the anchorage! Within minutes of dropping the hook between our friends' boats we were boarded from both sides, Matt & Jessica to port and Scott & Kim to starboard. It was good to be back together! Brian showed off his catch from a successful morning of cast net practice at Cumberland Island. Scott was disappointed that we hadn't kept the sea trout, but we still had tuna in the cooler. We debated whether the 11 shrimp were worth cooking up a cocktail and thought they might be better bait.



We continued our jovial chatter as we headed ashore to Seagels, the local bar, which was having a buy one get one special on beers from 5pm-7pm tonight. We had read in our Active Captain notes and learned from Kim that the bartender, Cindi, was not to be missed during our visit to St. Mary's. "Cindi Dean the porno queen," Kim had elaborated, "but trust me, she's no queen!" Seagels was buzzing with other cruisers who had come for tomorrow's Thanksgiving dinner. Tonight there was an oyster bake and pot luck and other cruisers were wearing name tags and getting acquainted. Scott & Kim know several locals since they've spent time in St. Mary's on and off during their cruising. They introduced us to Phil; from Gloucester, MA he is now retired and living with his wife in St. Mary's. Phil asked the guys if they would be interested in some oysters, all they had to do was work for their supper. This was fun and delicious! Seagels was preparing raw and steamed oysters. First Scott, Brian, and Matt did some cleaning.





Then oysters went into the steamer.

Then shucking the oysters.



When the festivities were winding down, we spent some time at the bar talking with Cindi. No, she is not a porno queen. But she is boisterous and quite the story teller. We just had to ask about the story behind this sign.

There was a customer who had a chihuaha and the tiny dog used to walk up and down the bar sticking his nose, and possibly other nether-parts, into people's drinks. One man, a regular who was not actually a paying customer, complained. And so no more dogs were allowed to strut on the bar. Dogs are allowed in the bar and there are some resident cats. (Seagels is a restaurant and hotel as well.) Good times!

1. From Ann Landau on Nov 25, 2012
   Elemental decision we don't often face.....eat it or use it for bait.... You mention the cats that are resident in the bar, they would be hard to keep off the counter.... Dogs are thirstier I guess! I knew of a golden retriever who would hear the family car leave in the morning and then hop up on the counter and lick the butter which had been left there in the morning rush to get the kids out the door....and then there was our beloved Elkhound who loved cheese so you had to keep your eye on him when the coffee table was set with munches for guests....

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