After getting settled in we hopped in the dinghies and headed into town. Our destination was Stan’s Idle Hour Bar. As luck would have it they were having their annual Mullet Fest (unfortunately, there were no Mullet - the cold killed them off - but there were catfish to replace them). It was packed with people. They had a huge stage and band (Hot Damn) with guest performers -- some not so good, but many that were great (Jenny Woodman from Portland Maine was really good). We ate, drank, danced and had a fun time. We stayed until the festival closed down and then headed back to the boat. The forecast today was for wind and rain, but nothing ever materialized. We plan on going back to the festival tomorrow. Being able to participate in the local culture is part of what makes the Great Loop so great!!
Before we left this morning, we took a few shots of "our neighborhood"
A shot as we headed out the pass. There was about a 3 knot current to contend with plus some gusty wind. Once out on the Gulf it was breezy, but the ride was okay.
They were dredging at the entrance to the pass ... probably something they have to do often
After entering Capri Pass we saw lots of condos like these
As we headed toward Goodland we had a variety of scenery .... houses on one side
.... and mangroves on the other
Lots of osprey in the area (with babies in the nest)
It kind of reminded us of the Chesapeake .... well except for the color of the water and the mangroves .... okay so really the only thing in common were the osprey
Another shot of the mangroves. Lots of places to go exploring by dinghy.
Passing under the bridge as we headed up Big Marco River. It got very, very shallow in spots, but we never ran aground today.
Approaching the town of Goodland
Some houses along the shore .... definitely different from what we saw earlier this morning
Another shot of the colorful, smaller homes
After settling in at the anchorage, we followed Michael and Jana back to Stan's Bar
We were settled in outdoors at the restaurant overlooking the dock having a burger and beer
.... when we noticed it was the 26th annual mullet festival
... so after eating we headed out to where the real party was !! We stayed for several hours.
One of the performers with Stan and Queen Mary (local institution at the bar) sitting in front
Another performer .... this lady (Jenny Woodland) was from Maine, so later on in the day Gerry went over and talked with her. Since she was from the Portland area we discovered we knew some of the same people.
These were 2 of the contestants in the "Princess Buzzard Lope" contest. See here for more info on the Buzzard Lope: http://www.stansidlehour.net/TheBuzzardLope.html The Buzzard lope was first seen in Sunbury Georgia. It is said to represent a Buzzard getting ready to eat a dead cow.
... and this little girl was the winner of the contest. She won a new bicycle. However, all 3 contestants ended up with around $60 plus a bag of fresh stone crabs. Not bad for standing on stage and flapping your arms like a buzzard!
As you can imagine, with such a large crowd, this place was very popular
The Ya Ya Sisterhood from Chicago. A group of friends vacationing from Chicago ... Stan is pictured on the right and Queen Mary (a local fixture at the bar) on the left.
On the way back to the boats, Jana was doing the buzzard lope. Maybe she's practicing for tomorrow's contest .... the Queen Buzzard Lope. 
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