September 9, 2008.

First off Hanna is gone, the water has receded and things are great here.

On Sunday morning we undid all our storm precautions and left the dock headed for the anchorage. It was only a trip of a few hundred yards and we were soon swinging comfortably at anchor.

Ten minutes after dropping the hook dinghies from two neighboring boats swung past to say hello and welcome us to the neighborhood. Shortly after that a third dink stopped by and the owner, Bill, invited us over for dinner. This is my kind of neighborhood.

Dinner on Bills boat, Puddlejumper, was loads of fun. There were the crews from 2 other boats there as well. We laughed like simpletons and really had a great time. It also came to light that Bill had built his boat from scratch. He had spent 7000 hours spread over 5 years to complete his 45 foot catamaran. The boat was incredible and if not for the pictures I wouldn’t have believed one man could have created it.

Today we decided to ride the bus around the city. Washington has a great mass transit system. There are 2 different types of bus lines to compliment the Metro rail system. We ended up in Chinatown for lunch before hitting a large supermarket on the way home to the boat.

This evening, our friends the Evasons were performing at Howard University here in Washington. Christy and I decided to take the bus up to the campus and see their show. Holy crap, what a show. Their show incorporates magic, illusion, mind reading and humor.

The audience of young collegians was raucous and the mindset that so many of them walked in with was “I’m not falling for any of that hocus pocus crap”. Jeff & Tessa sent them home with sprained brains and their tails between their legs. It was really cool to watch two people that we know as regular folks become energized on stage and completely manipulate and bewilder a room full of young adults.

During one portion of the show several of the audience were so freaked out that they got up and left rather than to try and rationalize what they had just seen. After the show several kids packed the stage front while Tessa answered the questions that they asked her. She had blown them away with her abilities as a mind reader during the show. She was so good at connecting with them that they had some very personal questions about themselves that they trusted her to answer.

At the other end of the stage Jeff had his hands full with a few dozen kids who needed more proof of what they had just seen. He gave them a private show that blew them away. They were the “non believers” that swore there was a trick or they knew the way “it” was done. He patiently interacted with them in small groups and cleverly manipulated them until their suspicions were dashed. He sent them away bewildered, not knowing what was or was not possible, it was a real treat to watch.

After the show Jeff & Tessa drove us back to our boat where they joined us for a quick nightcap. It was fun to sit with them and watch as they decompressed and relaxed back into the folks we know rather than the onstage personalities that we had just watched.

What a great evening, I hope Washington has something else in store for us besides helicopters to compete with tonight.