After we returned Monday from our weekend out on the mooring ball, my parents came into Snook Bight the following day, Tuesday. It was their anniversary, and since they were already on Fort Myers Beach, they decided to come to Snook Bight to stay a night and have a celebratory dinner at Bay Front Bistro, the restaurant at the marina. With the winds being so great this past week, they ended up staying another night and leaving out on Thursday. It worked out well since they were able to attend a Wednesday evening dock party.

The theme of this dock party was tamales and Mary Kay had a tamale-rolling girls night party on Tuesday evening. The ladies all assembled at Mary Kay’s for home-made sangria (yum!) and brushetta and learned to roll 3 varieties of tamales. If I haven’t mentioned it before, Mary Kay is an excellent cook and she had prepared filling for 2 different kinds of veggie tamales and pork tamales. We wrapped them in plantain leaves and banana leaves and tied them with string. I’m pretty sure the ladies had a lot more fun rolling tamales and sharing stories over sangria (did I mention the sangria was excellent?) than the men did having pizza at Junkanoos.  So, once the tamales were all rolled, they were ready to steamed for Wednesday’s party.

On Wednesday, the winds did not stop (hence, my folks staying another night). Our dock party was moved to the upstairs pool area at Snook Bight. It was still outdoors (and chilly) but we had protection from the wind and it turned out to be a fine evening. Mary Kay steamed the tamales on the outdoor grill and everyone brought a side dish and beverages. The pool is heated, so the kids (Corey and Maddie) took advantage and swam for a bit until they got cold. The tamales were fantastic and everyone enjoyed good company and good food. It was awesome to have my folks there to enjoy this with us and meet out wonderful dock mates. A special thanks to Mary Kay, our social coordinator and most excellent cook!