21 Mar, Wed

Wed, 21 Mar ... today is the tomorrow i was waiting for ... and i still don't feel that great. when i got outside, i looked in the trees and saw the monkey ... but this one looked smaller ... and ... it has a tail ... there must be 2 of them .... well, now i feel better, that there isn't just one monkey all by himself. ...i got a few pictures of him ... later in the day, Michelle told me there are actually 3 of them; ...and yes, one does not have a tail. she said they can be very destructive and torn the screens and gotten into the cabins and made a horrible mess :( ...they have lots of cats, dogs, and birds here; so i'm thinking they are 'animal people' ... so i hope they can learn to live together :( went to the RMP, and .... my orange juice was there ... i don't know how they do it, but it is the best sweetest OJ i've ever had ... the minute you open the top, you can smell the oranges ... that made me feel a little better. Todd and i finished putting the fish net on the rest of the bins; and then called it a day. Christie asked me if i wanted to join her tomorrow. she was going to a school .... first thing i asked was, 'do i have to talk to the kids?' :) ...she said no ... so i said ok. she does a presentation on the reef, fishes, corals, etc. on one day with the kids in school, then a day or so later, they all get to go on the Glass Bottom Boat to see what they learned about. tomorrow we do both, but with 2 different groups of kids. ...sounds like fun ... i've never been in a Glass Bottom Boat and have always wondered if it was any good ... now i'll find out .... i forgot to mention, when i met with Christie on Monday, i also met her Mother. they were both born in Honduras, but her Mom spent time in the U.S. .... where? ... Ohio ... really? i'm from Ohio .. she said she lived in Tiffin !!!!!!! ....that's where i was born!!!!!!!!!! ... she said Mercy Hospital? yes, i think so, .....(Mom.... is that where i was born?) ...she said that is where one of her son's was born too !!! .... so we hugged on the street ... Christie turned around to see us ... and said ... 'you two bonded already?' ..... small small world !!!!!! i got a Baleada ... which is a nice warm fresh tortilla, with refried beans; ... and i ordered chicken and avocado ... it was good and i needed food. ...went home, and still didn't feel much like doing anything .. but i thought maybe if i went for a snorkel, i'd feel better. so i just went out to Half Moon Bay in the center of the village. i crossed to the other side of the bay and saw this TrumpetFish .... notice his placement of his dorsal and anal fins and their coloration ... you can see why they call it a TrumpetFish because the shape of his head and lips looks like the mouthpiece of a trumpet .... and he was right in front of this Flamingo Tongue ... i took this photo with my macro lens, i usually use the 'underwater' auto setting on my camera; because it is supposed to adjust the color; but it doesn't have a macro feature; so i thought i 'd try not using the 'underwater' feature ... on this Flamingo Tongue ...and i think i like it ... and am going to try it more often ... then went outside of the entrance a little way .... i saw this Midnight ParrotFish .... they are very large, and very dark blue .... i couldn't get a good picture of him unfortunately ... also saw this HogFish with his pretty subtle colors ... you know a HogFish by his spiny dorsal fins (the ones on the top) .... then crossed back to the other side and snorkeled outside the entrance along the other shoreline and saw this Blue Indigo Hamlet and this TigerTail Sea Cucumber ... which i saw last year for the first time ... and i still think it's very strange .... their skin is kinda saggy and looks squishy .... maybe it's old :( a pretty Blue Tang and this very decorative Reef Sea Urchin ... much more interesting than the Long Spiny Urchins which are just black .... and i swear this NeedleFish was trying to show me his teeth ... they've always looked very benign to me ... but he looked menacing ! ... this is a Sergeant Major, which is usually yellow and white striped; ... but the male turns this pretty blue color when it is defending it's eggs .... which you can see as a purple mass behind him ... he darts out at everything and will even nip at you if you get too close ... but he is only about BlueGill size ... you can see he legs of a hemit crab beneath this conch shell... well barely ... this is why they ask that you not take shells from the seas ... even if they are dead ... they can still become homes for other creatures ... i sure see a lot of Lobsters lately ... since it is their mating season .... it is illegal to hunt them between 1 Mar and 30 June here in Honduras .... they must know this :) i'd been snorkeling for 1.5 hours and i was cold, i wear gloves because my fingers get cold, but the tips were numb ... time to go in .... back in my room i was happy to have a hot shower ... but i still couldn't get warm. .... i put on my sweats, undershirt, and sweatshirt and climbed into bed; i was still shivering ! ... after awhile, i decided i must have a little bit of temperature. i took a motrin, and stayed in bed ... again ... for the second night in a row ... hopefully tomorrow WILL be better !!!!

20 Mar, Tues

Tues, 20 Mar ... ... i can not and will not, ever again, ... mix drinks with wine ... promise ! ...i didn't feel very good this morning; but got myself up and headed to RMP to see what they had for me to do. Christie had started making some recycle bin frames; then she got some old netting from fishermen (reusing); and i needed to put the fish netting around the wooden structures with a staple gun. simple enough. i got started and another guy showed up and asked if he could help doing anything at the Marine Park. his name is Todd, and she put him to work with me. we worked for awhile; then she asked him to make some square tops for bins with the skill saw. ...i was glad she didn't ask me to do that, ...i don't like skill saws very much, they scare me :( ...when he finished that, he came back and helped me again. ...i wasn't feeling any better, ....it was hot and where we were working there wasn't any air, .... around 12-1pm, we called it quits for the day. .... i went back to my place and sat at the restaurant and used the internet for awhile .... but the kids had gotten out of school and they were all in there, ... doing something noisy :( .... i wasn't going to last long down there with all that noise. i was ready to leave, but needed something to eat ... a mango smoothie ... yeah, that's what i needed ... they are expensive here ... but i'd have to say, they are worth it .... you get more than you can eat ... i put the last part of it in my freezer ... i had to stop and take a picture of the 2 white cats ... actually they aren't totally white, they have a little orange stripe ... i should have known ... aren't all orange cats mellow ? they are both very large cats, not fat, but big ... this one has blue eyes and this one has longer hair with tufts between it's toes ... when it rolled over to have it's belly rubbed, it has a piece of bone out of place on it's chest ... not out of it's skin; but it sticks out..... doesn't seem to both him though ... they are all very affectionate ... the black and white one comes to visit me often; let's himself in my room :) by the time i got to my room, i realized i was getting a migraine ... and ..... i had 3 new roommates ... a couple from somewhere, and another girl from somewhere else ... i don't remember, ..... and i'm sure i wasn't a very good welcoming committee. ... the rest of the day was wasted ... i never left the room ... missed dinner, ....missed The SunDowner and my friends. i went to bed early and happy that the day was over, and couldn't wait to have tomorrow here when i will feel better ! ... and vowed again, before i went to sleep ... no mixing drinks !

19 Mar, Mon

Mon, 19 Mar .... got up and worked on my photos, and then headed to meet with Christie, at the RMP. ... she was coming down the stairs as i was going up.... she said she was just leaving and that i could join her. the Mayor was coming to meet with the people about the road .. and more specifically about the new public bathrooms, which i was witnessing while i waiting for a taxi yesterday .... it seems there is no communication here, and he decided to put the bathrooms right in the center of the 'round-about' at the entrance to the village ... unconcerned about the hazards associated with children running across the street to get to the bathrooms from the beach .... and the first impression of tourists .... there was also no forethought about exactly 'where' the structure should go ... they 'stole' 12 ft of beach and narrowed the roadway, when it just as easily could have been moved 12ft further from the beach ........ oh, it went on and on ... it was an unorganized mess, the people of the village weren't happy, but unfortunately they don't have a 'village council' so there was no agreement even on the part of the residents and business owners ... and the only thing on the Mayor's agenda was to vent his anger because someone put something on a blog about his intention to build a Marina for the Yachts, which he says isn't true ... it was all about him, ... and how it made him look. ...and i mean he was angry ... you could tell he was 'hot' about the whole thing!...... i hope he doesn't come after me because of my blog now ! :) then someone handed their cell phone to him and he said that some lady offered some of her land that was right on the beach; to use for the bathrooms. so now, all that work and money, and cement in the middle of the road ... for nothing .... and since it's a 3ft tall cement pad, they can't use it for a road, or even make a 'green space' out of it ... crazy ! there was also concern that no one is overseeing the quality of the work that is being done on the road construction, and the new sewer holding tanks are leaking; and bulging at the sides ... and their solution is to put some sealer on them ... it is a real mess ! ...i wonder what will happen next ... stay tuned ... island drama ! i will meet Christie tomorrow morning to decide where i can be of help for them. she mentioned making some recycle containers for people to put recycle plastic in ..... sounds familiar, huh? before i left i remembered there is a guy that comes to the village on Tues and has gallons of fresh 100% orange juice .. i remembered this from last year and i asked Christie and Nic if they would get me a gallon when he came by ... they said they would ... i left them money ... i got something to eat and came home and worked on my blog ... always trying to get caught up ! ...then laid down for a little nap ... i heard something running across my roof ... i looked out the window and saw a monkey on my porch railing. Axel had said there was a monkey around ... someone's escaped pet, coz i guess they are not native to this island. i grabbed my camera and he leaped to the trees ... i walked out on the porch to see if i could find him ... it was so comical ... i was bobbing and weaving to try to see around the trees and leaves .. and i could see him ... doing the same thing ... he'd move, then peek through the trees ... then move again, peek ... i was doing the same thing ... it was quite funny ... at one point he came out on a palm branch and was quite close ... he was larger than i thought ... i wondered if he was going to charge me ... but i saw he was just trying to get to the papayas in the tree between us ... you can see the unripe papayas, about tennis ball size, in the foreground of the photo ... then he tore it open and began eating it ... he is a White-Faced (or White-Throated) Capuchin, ... a medium sized monkey, ... info i've read said it has a tail that is often carried coiled up ... but i sure don't see a tail on this one, .... supposedly an intelligent animal using tools as weapons and for getting food. can live to be 50yrs old .... poor little one ... all alone on this island :( i walked to The SunDowner again and visited with Ron and Patricia ... they invited me to dinner on Sat night to celebrate Patricia's birthday. ...watched the sun setting over Half Moon Bay ... also met a pretty lady, Gracie, from Italy. ...she had a Pina Colada that was too sweet for her, so she gave it to me ... they are really good there :) while we were sitting at the bar, i started talking with a pilot from Houston and his son ... i was ready to leave, but he enticed me to stay by ordering me a Monkey LaLa ... hummm ... they are really really good :) ...interesting guy that's been a lot of interesting places. it was time for me to get something to eat; and they invited me to go to dinner with them... we went to the Ceviche place that i went to the other night ... that is some great Ceviche ... and we split a bottle of wine .... then time to call it a night

18 Mar--First Roatan Snorkel

Sun, 18 Mar ..... Roatan .... i woke up to the sound of rain ... ahhhhhhhhhh yes ... a welcome sound, since i didn't have anything planned ... and rolled over and went back to sleep ... it was wonderful .... it stopped around 8:30 and i got up around 9am ... i slept good in my new home. it was a beautiful sunny day. Axel was in his hammock reading and we talked a while, ... yes, nice guy. i decided to treat myself to breakfast at Earth Mama's ... which was also here last year. they have nice food and also do yoga and zumba, and other 'girl' things. their sunday special is Eggs Benedict with a Mimosa for US$8 ... i didn't need the Mimosa, but it was a good price for the special ... so i forced myself. they also had WiFi and i spent quite a bit of time there ... i needed to buy some water, which turned out to be difficult since it was Sunday and most of the little markets are closed. ...then back home ... gathered up my snorkel stuff and headed for Half Moon Bay in the center of West End. ... about half way there, ... i realized i left Earth Mama's without paying !!!!!!!!!!!!! ...and i didn't have much money w/me in case it got stolen again. i stopped at Earth Mama's and my waitress quickly ran over to me with big eyes! ...i apologized and told her i would have to return w/the money after i snorkeled. she said to be sure to give it to her and not to tell her boss, coz she would get in trouble ... i felt really bad ... but she thanked me for coming back. so in the water i went ... maybe i'm mistaken, but it seems like there is more algae growing on the coral than last year ... maybe not .... i snorkeled around for a little while ... but all the time thinking about getting my money and paying my debt ! as soon as i got in the shallows i spotted this Barracuda ... it was the prettiest Barracuda, i've ever seen ... usually they are just a silver color and swimming freely in the water. ... he obviously had changed his color to match the grasses he was hiding in. i didn't see too much since i was only out there about 40min ... i did see this big Ocean TriggerFish .... these are pretty big fish ... probably 18" ... that was pretty exciting ... i remember i saw one here last year too ... maybe the same guy ... there were 3 lobsters hiding under here, just like at Rock Harbor the other day ... perhaps because this is their mating season that they are congregating ?..... this is a little Yellow Tail Snapper and a Squirrel Fish and a nice anemone a SpotFin ButterFly Fish and a Four Eye ButterFly Fish and the ever-present ParrotFish i quickly came home, rinsed off, and threw my camera in fresh water; and went back to Earth Mama's, and paid my debt ... how embarrasing :( came home and cleaned up, laid in the hammock working on my blog, until time to head for the Sundowner. Ron and Patricia were there, again, not much of a sunset ... boy, i remember last year ... there was just one spectacular sunset after another ... i was going to go to Ronnie's Barefoot Bar for their Sunday BBQ, but Ron and Patricia invited me to go to Splash Inn for a Pizza ... that sounded good too, and so did company .... so i had a Blue Cheese and Ham pizza .... good, but i hardly could taste the Blue Cheese ... tried to sit outside at Ruby's in the dark to use the internet ... but the mosquitos got me about 4 times, and i gave up ....

17 Mar--Arrival at Roatan

Sat, 17 Mar ... i really need to figure out why my alarm doesn't go off sometimes! ... it was set for 4:40am, i woke up at 5:15 ... thank you to my Guardian Angel once again .....quickly stuffed the remainder of my things into my bag .... i haven't bought anything, but i can still hardly get the bag zipped up, ... my tuc tuc was right on time ....... Vern's catamaran left as planned; but the seas were not as planned, but only slightly rougher than forecast. i wonder if they are ever going to settle down! it was only me and 5 Canadians, so there was lots room. ... there are a lot of Canadians here! i stashed my bags at the Roatan Marine Park (RMP) and went to look for a place to stay. ...i'd spent a lot of time online and also emailing several different places, so i had a list. Vern also recommended another place, Mariposa. i checked there first. they had a nice private room w/shared kitchen for US$26/night ... i was hoping to find something cheaper. Georphi's was on my list. it is associated with Rudy's Restaurant, which i knew well from last year ... they have the best smoothies in West End :) ... it is also at the south end of West End, (not as far south as last year's place), but far enough away from Half Moon Bay central where it is very noisy at night. Michelle knew my name from my emails and started walking through the trees on a nice path up to the Dorm Rooms ... it's the farthest from the street up quite a hill ... and it's a GREAT location .... with a nice porch and a hammock .. one room has 3 beds and a kitchenette and the other has 6 beds and a refrig ... i'm in the 6bed room for US$10/night ... by myself at this point ... and am hoping it stays that way .... if a couple people show up, .... it will be WAY too crowded and i'll have to find someplace else .. but for now, it's perfect ! i mentioned that it was going to be along haul with my bags... but Michelle told me that the cab can drive right up to my building ... should be no more than 20-25L. so i walked back to find a taxi .... the first taxi i asked said that i needed to ask a 'collectivo' taxi to take me there ... i am familiar with them from last year, they are mini-vans that 'collect' people, and they pass by often taking people to and from other cities on the island. ...so i waited at the entrance to the village and watched the workmen mixing and dumping cement into this huge circular pad. i was told that it was the new bathrooms for the beach, and thought that was a strange place to put them .... right at the entrance to the village .... nice first impression :( ... each time i saw a collectivo, they motioned that another one would take me ... or the next one would take me .... or another 5 min ... this is crazy ! i waited, moderately patient, for 20min, telling myself i was really in no rush. but it became apparent that no one was going to take me. there was another taxi driver sitting on the sidewalk ... i asked him why won't anyone take me ... he said because the road is too bumpy!!!!!!! ...you can see in this photo that the rear of the van is almost touching the road while going into one of the holes in the road. this is a big thing in West End right now. they have sand streets, that do get rutty. .... i was here last year for the Town Meeting with the Mayor, where it was obvious it was a done deal ... not everyone is in agreement with this decision ...including me, after seeing what a paved road did for Utila! ...so they have been in the process of paving the road for months now ... it appears it will take YEARS .... this is a whole other chapter for a later date. so, i guess the taxi and collectivo drivers are protesting by not taking anyone down the road. i asked this taxi driver if he would take me ... he laughed and said no. i said, you are just sitting here, not making any money, i would pay you for 10min work ... then you can come back here and sit again. he wanted to know how much i'd pay him. i told him 50L .... he thought about it for awhile, then stood and said ok .... i thanked him profusely. Oscar was is name, and he stopped back at the Marine Park and helped me with my luggage. on the way to Georphi's he confessed that he only is taking me because he 'loved me' ... now i'm a little concerned that he knows where i live .... but i think he really mean't he 'liked' me.... Spanish to English translation. he said he would like to have an American friend ... i think that's what he said... anyway, we had to go up a very steep hill to get to my place, and i know he was hesitant to go up there, but he did; and helped me with my luggage again ... said it was a very nice place, ... i gave him 100L ... and then he left.... and i got settled in, with my 'safety net' in place ... i laid in the hammock for a few minutes ... but that was all i could do ... i wanted to go see if i could find Jimmy and Tita, the people who managed the place where i stayed last year. ... on the walkway right by my room, i saw this friendly guy .... i am missing Valentine ... i stopped in several times to see her before i left, but she was never there .... :( when i got down to the restaurant, i found this big hunk of a cat ... what a lazy one ... reminded me of Gordo Gato i found Ft Sapphrey much like i left it last year, ...but they weren't around. i had tried emailing and had asked RMP to call them for me, but neither of us could get through to them. another woman owns it now and has the rooms ready to rent, ... for US$35-45/night ... YIKES ... i paid US$250 for a month last year. glad i found Georphi's ... i started walking towards the center ... it was really noisy that way .... when i got there, i saw why .... they were grading the bumpy road ... Oscar and the rest of the taxi drivers should be happy now.... back at home, i met this other black and white kitty ... i met Axel, from Germany, who lives in the other half of the house; ...nice guy ... alone as well in his 3person dorm. he's also hoping to keep it that way. the sunset on the beach right out front ... in the evening i walked to The SunDowner, to hopefully meet up with Ron and Patricia, from Montreal, who i met last year through Marti. they were there and i got caught up on some of the latest gossip. ...there wasn't much of a sunset, and i almost missed it completely ... ...then i went to a little rooftop restaurant that advertised Ceviche To GoGo .. i asked them if i could 'stay stay' and they said of course. nice little place with WiFi, and good Mango Ceviche for US$6 ... not too bad a price for Ceviche .... only drawback to my new place is that they don't have WiFi up the hill this far ... i can go down to Rudy's Restaurant and use it there; but it's not the same as having it in my room .... so Skype-ing will be difficult ... because in the evening i will have to be at a restaurant where it will be noisy, (which was the case tonight) .... or sitting in the dark at Rudy's (coz they're closed at night) which will be buggy .... sorry Mom and Dad ! :( on the way home, i stopped at the Rotisserie Chicken Restaurant, right next door to my place, they were here last year and well known for their chicken, which is good at a good price .... they also had Coconut Cream Pie which i took back to my room with me :) ... and called it another good day !

16 Mar--BBQ at Bar-a-cuda

Fri, 16 Mar .. got up early and started organizing and packing, because it was possible that this would be my only chance to pack if the day turned out to be busy; and i knew that there wouldn't be any time this evening. ...it's was my last night in Utila, and there was lots to do. i was in and out of the Whale Shark office all morning, ... trying to determine if were were going to have a boat tour this afternoon. making sure that we had 2 Dive Masters, a boat, and a Boat Captain on 'stand-by' ..... it is really frustrating ... waiting, ... not knowing if we're going or not .... there is quite a bit of 'stuff' that needs to be done before we can go, and i hate running around at the last minute ... looking like i don't know what i'm doing. i hadn't heart from the 2 guys yesterday that said they wanted to go ... around 11am the first couple showed up and said they were still interested ... +2 ... the one guy that said he wanted to go, came in and after we talked awhile, he decided he did not want to go ... -1 .... then another couple came in and said they wanted to go, ... +2 ....i asked them to check back at 12:30. at noon the 2 guys showed up and said they wanted to go ... ok, ... so that's 6 ! ...i called the first couple and told them that the boat should be going and to be here at 12:30; .... then we waited for the other couple to show up ... at 12:30 i saw them leisurely walking down the street ... i walked/ran down to meet them .. they were surprised to see me, .... they decided they didn't want to go because of the $$$$ (but obviously weren't going to tell me) .... i asked them if they would go for 1/2 price, but they still said they didn't have the money ... so now -2 ... and .... i now had 4 people all excited about going, ..... but we needed 1 more person ! :( so i asked everyone to just give me 5min; and i ran to the Lodge where i thought there would be some Lodge Guests eating lunch ... i was going to try to find another person who wanted to go. the Manager was sitting there, and when i told her the situation ... she said, 'just go with 4 people' .... i was shocked because we're supposed to have 5 in order to break even on the gas ... i was so happy ... i thanked her and ran back to the office to get everyone signed and paid before anyone else changed their minds !!!!!!! then had to get everything ready and on the boat ... life vests, first aid, oxygen, drinking water with ice, glasses, ask the ladies in the cafeteria (who only speak Spanish) to cut up some watermelon and put it in a sealed container, locate the cooler and fill it with pops and ice, a bucket for masks and cameras, all the forms and paperwork ..... getting release forms signed, people paid, and on the dock so they can take their swim test .... it was stressful .... but it eventually all got done, and we were on the boat and leaving ... we did the introductions and i gave my 'talk' on the Whale Sharks .... the girls were paying attention because they knew that they would be doing it the next time. Frank was our Capt for today and we went around the East side of the island for the first time because the winds were finally calmer. ...we were all hopeful ! ...but no Whale Sharks .... then, Frank said that there was a Whale out there .... we all looked, but we couldn't see anything ... eventually as we got closer, .....YES ... we saw a Whale ... spouting water ... it wasn't a Whale Shark .. but a Sperm Whale ! you can see the water spouting on the left side of the photo, ... and then a black body ... then the end of the body ... it was a big one ... as we got closer ... we saw the 'hump' then the tail ... and it was gone ... Frank said once you see the tail, that means that it is diving down, down, down very deep, and we won't see him again .... very rarely do they see Sperm Whales around Utila because the water is generally too warm for them ... the last time Frank saw one was in 2006, and he had only seen 3-4 in his 23 yrs on Utila .... sooo ... although we didn't see a Whale Shark ... we saw something even more unusual and rare !!!!!! Sperm Whales have the largest brain of any animal; ... they are the largest living toothed animal; ...and the deepest diving mammal, know to go down to 9,800ft; .... it's head makes up 1/3 of it's body size; ... it can live for 70yrs WoW ... what a send off for my last day ! we stopped at a great snorkel place and most of us got in the water for about 25min ... saw this French AngelFish and this Scrawled File Fish and this little tiny baby Smooth TrunkFish ... he is really well camouflaged ... you can hardly see him ... he's right in the center of the photo, ...kind of box-shaped, with his nose pointing SE ... he couldn't have been more than 3 inches .... so cute ! ... got back and spent awhile cleaning out the boat and putting things away; then home to shower and get rady for our BBQ at the Bar-a-cuda .... we had such a good dinner last time, we decided to do it again for my last night .... we had all the same kinds of food, .... veggie kabobs, shrimp kabobs, chicken, beef, rice, salad ... we also had and some wonderful guacamole .... here you can see everyone's hands reaching in and scooping it up ... it went fast ..... tonight we also had grilled pineapple with maple syrup and cinnamon drizzled on top ... and Kelly brought the fixins for Banana Boats .... ok ... this is one i missed in my growing up .... so i helped her prepare them, ..... you take an unpeeled banana and slice it lengthwise, but do not cut through either end ... so there is a pocket down the center of the banana ... inside the pocket you put pieces of chocolate ... do i have your attention now ???????? ... then you wrap each banana in foil, and put it on the grill .... they were so good ... i think you could easily have it with ice cream :) it was a wonderful dinner ... cleaned all that up; and then ... it's Friday Night Karaoke ... i was going to pass and go pack; but wanted to go just to say 'bye' to a few people .... but of course ... once i got in there .... i didn't want to leave. i've never really liked Karaoke ... but for some reason ... it's just so much fun here at this bar with these people .... the 2 guys that were on the Whale Shark boat today were very nice and rather quiet .... i walked into the bar, and they are both there ... and they are all wound up and quite the entertainers !!! i couldn't believe it was the same 2 guys.... had i known, they could have entertained us all 4 hrs on the boat ! the couple that was on the boat came into the bar; and they couldn't believe it either ... they were still there when i left ... enjoying watching and listening ... it was a fun last night