July 3rd has been on the calendar for months. I was sitting on the beach in Maui enjoying Charles Thayer’s Murder Mystery – Synthetic Escape, and I shot Charles an email inviting him and his wife, Molly, to cocktails when we visit Boothbay for the 4th of July.
We met Charles and Molly when we were here in 2022. Mrs. Horne bought me an autographed copy of Death and Due Diligence, and as soon as I picked it up, I became hooked on The Paradox Murder Mystery series.
From Cocktails to Party to Open House
I also invited Boothbay Harbor Marina owner Kim Gilies and her husband, Chris. Within ten minutes of our arrival from Kennebunkport, Mrs. Horne began inviting others from nearby boats to the party. By Wednesday morning, she had invited everyone on our dock, and The Cocktail Party took form.
There was only one little problem; it was no longer a Cocktail Party but rather an Open House that could easily go on for hours. My kind of party, but one that I hadn’t stocked the galley to host!
Hannaford To The Rescue
In most ports, stocking for a party of 20+ would be challenging, but there’s a full-serve Hannaford Supermarket half a mile away, and I have an eBike.
There is also a gourmet food store a little further up the road, but I found everything I needed at Hannaford.
I was particularly impressed that they had a 2-pound bag of raw U-13 shrimp ($20.99) and a 1.75L of Titos for $29.95 (far less than Wines and More’s $31.95 price.)
In light of the increased headcount, Mrs. Horne spent the morning doing a little extra cleaning. She requested lunch on board, so I made another quick trip to Hannaford to shop for lunch ingredients.
Once I saw a fresh baguette, the black pastrami, and baby Swiss jumped in the cart. I simply assembled three sandwiches and toasted them on Convection Roast for ten minutes.
Lunch was served…
After lunch I thawed the shrimp, cleaned and shelled them- leaving the tails on for dipping in the cocktail sauce.
4:00 PM – July 3, 2024
And just like that, our boat was boarded by friends we hadn’t met yet!
Apologies to the folks I missed with the camera. I was busy being bartender, chief steward and enjoying the party.
Charles had come from a book signing at Sherman’s and graciously gave me a copy of his latest book – Fatal Illusion.
The party wrapped up around 7:00, and I think everyone had a great time.
Next Up – Exploring Boothbay