Red skies at night, sailor's delight!

What a great weekend!  The weather was spectacular, starting with a massive lightning display on the ferry on the way over that features chain strikes that sometimes spanned 135° or more.  Luckily, the storm passed us over completely for the most part leaving fiery red skies out on the deck as David and Lauren hooked us up with a long marinated batch of grilled deliciousness.   After the meal, we got to drinking as usual and after the bars, there was a round of midnight Frisbee on the beach with Lauren’s glow in the dark disc.

Beach day

The old adage proved true and “red skies at night” welcomed in one of the most gorgeous days in memory on Fire Island.  We broke out the surfboards and were able to catch a few rides with the long boards at a sandbar that has been forming up between Kismet and Saltaire.  The breeze was really light and we all were happy to spend time on the beach under the sun.  Aaron kept us well supplied with a cooler full of drinks.  Steve set up in the studio again and this time, we have tunes down there.

Party Planner

Around 3:00 Krista confidently marshaled a crew to get ready for the main event, the Luau.  We made a lot of improvements even before the decorations, such as replacing that crappy alarm-clock radio excuse for a stereo with a real receiver and a pair of rich sounding JBLs mounted on the walls.  The decorations were a lot of fun and they were very complete too.  Great care was taken in decorating everything from the railings (Tyler was waiting for an excuse to use a staple gun) to the cupcakes (special thanks to Alison and Christa for their great topping idea and surgical application thereof).  Even a coconut bra came into play.

The coconut bro

We all started early sitting around in our leis and drinking extra fruity drinks while rounds of finger foods came out.  Some of the big hits included: bacon-wrapped scallops with cream sauce, (Birthday girl’s fav) grilled sweet corn on the cob with a butter and pepper, and mini pulled pork sandwiches with grilled pineapple that were finger lickin good!  A few things that you may not know about our shares as fun facts:  Tyler makes a mean piña colada and Aaron really pulls off a coconut bra with surprising confidence.

Dave Warton's crew

The guests arrived in waves starting around 7:45 and included Chance House upfront, Blue View Terrace accompanied by party-goers from one or more previous engagements that evening who were kind enough to bring the smorgasbord with them, Cozy-A, and finally Dave Warton’s crew who stirred up the dancing until late.  Wherever there is dancing,  there is Steve and vis-a-versa –so there was dancing.  Hip hop, salsa, even some flamenco moves!

A hawaiian wind blows

Just around midnight, on Cat’s actual birthday we all circled up to wish Cat well and watch her blow out the candles.  We followed it up with a champagne toast and then headed out to the bars.  The next day was another stunning beach day and the hangover was taken care of first thing by Cat and Lauren with some spicy Bloody Marys of which almost everyone had two.  Later that afternoon Tyler stepped it up again with margaritas on the rocks and an original rendition, which I think was his best, the Black Cherry Margarita. yum.

Fruit skewers

By dinner time it became clear that we hadn’t left enough time to cook before the last ferry so we headed to the Surf’s Out for dinner.  We sat outside and the proprietor was nice enough to drag every heat lamp over to the table until he found one that worked for us.  In the meantime, some lady at another table filled with some sauced middle aged women fell backward off her bench and was knocked out cold. Lesson for you, if you’re gonna drink on benches at Fire Island, be sure you take Cat’s Pilates classes to stay upright. (This lady did not look like a Pilates enthusiast).

Opening her gift

Just before we headed back to the house to pick up the dog ad catch the ferry.  Cat opened her birthday present and received a set of pearls she’d coveted on a vacation last year.  Here’s the happy lady modeling them!  All in all a great weekend.  Special thanks to Krista for taking the helm on party planning and set up and to all of you who pitched in to make this the best 30th birthday party [yet]!

See you in Kismet!

Lady in pearls

Sunset

Bacon wrapped scallops

Birthday toast

Birthday girl

Party dancers

Grass skirts

Chair-dance action

NOW its a luau

Boys clean + make drinks

new bikini

Cat, Jamie and John B

Hey B Team!

Cupcake masters

Mark and Aaron

Sunbathers

Hula-la!

Jamie and Tyler

Luau ladies

Check Cat's face...

Birthday girl

Returning from a swim

Vince & Alison

On the beach

Fritatta artists

BBQ w/ special sauce

The 2009 summer season has arrived at Seven Seas Sharehouse in Kismet, Fire Island.  From grilling on the deck to hitting the dance floor at the Kismet “Surf’s Out”, it was a weekend chock full of good times and good food.  As members flowed in all the way until the last boat on Friday, we followed a wine and cheese plate with  a late meal of tasty barbecued chicken on the grill (with special sauce, expertly applied by David).  Cat’s system for placing the asparagus on the upper rack of the grill also worked out great- it had a delicious lemony-smoky taste when served.  The oil dripping off the asparagus on top made the flames pop up and sear the chicken (pictured right).  Lauren capped off the evening by serenading us on her guitar.

Laying out

Saturday morning we had pancakes and the morning sunshine in the deck was a great start.   Folks sweated it out to Cat’s weekly 10:30 Pilates class in the studio, and by noon, we were ready for to hit the beach.  Out on the sand there was plenty of space for members playing kadema, throwing the Frisbee and laying out getting a tan.  Our little Crate and Barrel beach table has proved invaluable, and we’ll be picking up a few more before next weekend for more drinks, books, games and lunch both at the house and the beach.

Matching drink and dress

Saturday afternoon, we hosted a cocktail party for a couple of houses in town.  Lauren took it to the next level by creating a drink with Judah to match her outfit all the way down to the shoes.  The house filled up with probably about 40 people all told.  Cat was thrilled to host, as she likes it when people go on about how clean the house is compared to before Seven Seas managed it.  Right in the middle of all this praise about cleanliness, Prozac saw fit to drop a fresh one right on the deck, luckily, it was detected quickly and no one brought in a one-shoe surprise.

mmm...clam sauce

That night, Ben served up shrimp linguine with a white wine clam sauce (mmm…clam sauce).  After dinner, we headed to the Inn and Surf’s Out for drinks.  Cat’s romaine, gorgonzola, blue cheese, and almond salad was so delicious, Ian had to take some “to go”… in his hair.  The Inn had a band playing and The Out was bumpin’ with bachelorettes like it always is.  It was great to see the amazing outdoor space at the Surf’s Out.  We all can’t wait for when the summer tent parties start out there because it’s comfortable, cool, and chic all at the same time.  The Inn remains the Kismet standby, and the place to run in to most of your friends from other houses.  Good news- it seems the restrictions on taking drinks from one bar to the other are loosening a bit, with the Inn offering to allow you to pour your roadie into a cup upon entry.

Enjoying the beach

On Sunday, Lauren both prepared her signature homemade granola with fresh raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries (YUM!) for breakfast and taught an amazing 10:30 yoga class as well.  Well done!  While waiting for the cloud cover to burn off, there was a round of Celebrity in which Team Awesome emerged victorious, though a special shout out goes to Mark’s animated charades portrayal of Monica Lewinsky.  In line with the forecast, the clouds parted promptly at 12:00 and it turned into a fantastic day.  After hanging on the deck for a while goofing off, we cooked up a batch of burgers and dogs and then took it back to the beach for round 2!  Even warmer than Saturday, the afternoon was very pleasant.  After a weekend of trash talking, Judah finally led the charge into the water before a spirited bocce game.

On the ferry home

Most of the crew caught the 5:50, which worked out great because the wind picked up just as the sun started to get too low in the sky.  The four of us who remained decided to have a quick reprise of Saturday’s dinner before hitting the 8:05 just in time for a beautiful sunset and lovely finish to a fantastic and relaxing weekend.  The crew on B weekend was so amazing, full of chill individuals, all very relaxed and down to earth.  Next B weekend is Cat’s 30th birthday party Luau, and Krista (taking the lead on party planning)  has promised to pull no punches in bringing home the authentic experience so next time you pack to come out, bring your party pants–ideally, bring your party grass skirt, I guess…

Guests coming soon!

How do you really feel?

Lauren's musical stylings

Kadema on the beach

Goofing off

Chillin

Prozac had a big day

Drinking sangria

More cocktail party

Chatting at the bar

Guests at the party

Cheers!