Pickwick Bound

The trip to Missouri did not provide any insight regarding my mom's health condition, so I returned to Demopolis on Thursday, June 28th. The Captain and I had made plans several months ago to be on Pickwick Lake for a pre-4th of July party on June 30th at our friend Bud's (the Iceman) house, although we thought we would be there aboard "Life's2Short." Nonetheless, Bud graciously offered to let us stay in his beautiful home, so we took off Friday afternoon in the rental car and drove the four-and-one-half hours to Pickwick Lake where we enjoyed a beautiful evening overlooking the water and got reacquainted with Bud's other house guests, most of whom we met last year on Pickwick Lake.

Saturday dawned bright and beautiful and the guests started arriving around 10:00 a.m. Bud and his planning committee put together a virtual feast for the gathering - pork butts that had smoked all night, baked beans and cole slaw from Corky's in Memphis, and a plethora of other side dishes contributed by several of the guests. By 2:00 p.m. when the food was served, there were between 200 and 250 people in attendance. Many arrived by boat and were anchored near Bud's sea wall while others drove; all appeared to have a wonderful time at "The Iceman's Tribute to the Pickwick Lifestyle" whether they were singing karaoke, pitching washers, swimming, sunbathing or just sitting around socializing with other guests.

From left to right: The infamous Bud (Iceman) and houseguests Mike, Michael & Niki visiting from Indiana.


A sample of the "smoking butts" - pork, that is!


The lakeside view from Bud's lawn with several boats anchored nearby.


Bud with long-time friend Mike and a "butt-cooker" (so to speak) in the background.


The Iceman plays host.


Let the butt chopping begin!


What an amazing spread!


Is anyone ready to eat???


By 6:00 p.m., the party guests had cleared out and the rest of the evening was pleasantly quiet. Bud's house guests were leaving Sunday morning and he had his sons and grandchildren coming in to spend the week with him, so we readily agreed to help him turn the bedrooms around before returning to Demopolis. By 1:00 p.m., the laundry was done and the beds had been re-made, and the Captain had even put together a wonderful breakfast for us, so we said our goodbyes and began the journey south.

Within an hour after our arrival in Demopolis, a thunderstorm developed and we got some much needed rain which cooled the temperatures down enough to make for a relatively pleasant evening. After a quiet Monday, we started making preparations to leave Demopolis on Thursday to begin the journey north to Pickwick Lake. We stopped by the restaurant Tuesday evening to say goodbye to our friends there as we had a couple of 4th of July events to attend on Wednesday.

We went to Fred's house early Wednesday afternoon and enjoyed a feast of smoked ribs, baked beans, corn on the cob, cole slaw, homemade cookies and both vanilla and chocolate homemade ice cream for dessert. We returned to the marina about 4:00 p.m. and proceeded to join several of our marina friends for another feast organized by Rick & Peggy, a couple who live aboard their boat on B dock. The evening feast included smoked pork butt, two varieties of drunken chicken, baked beans, potato salad, garlic bread and a variety of appetizers and other side dishes too numerous to mention, plus more homemade ice cream for dessert.

After (over)stuffing ourselves for the second time that day, we watched the fireworks show and retired to the boat for the evening. Rick & Peggy really outdid themselves and we sincerely appreciate all the time, money, effort and energy that went into making the evening a huge success!

The master meat cooker, Rick, with his drunken chickens and pork butt.


The Boater's Lounge at the Yacht Basin decked out in red, white & blue, courtesy of our hostess, Peggy.


We made a final restocking trip to Wal-Mart this morning and will leave Demopolis tomorrow (Friday) morning to begin the journey to Pickwick Lake. Our plan is to spend about a week making our way north to Bay Springs Lake, spend three or four days there enjoying the sandy beaches and beautiful water and then travel the final forty miles to Pickwick, arriving on or about July 15th. Our Internet access will be somewhat limited along the way and after we get to Pickwick, so be patient if you send us an e-mail and/or are checking the blog for updates, although we should have Internet access while we are at Bay Springs Lake.