The Ninth Annual MardiCrawl 2013, February 23rd-An Emotional Story And A Good Cause On A Day Of Fun

We were vacationing in Quebec, my father and two of my brothers. It was a fishing trip. At the time my father was in his mid-sixties. While we were fishing, my father's line would get tangled up on the reel of his fishing rod. When that would happen, he would spend the longest time trying to untangle it, thus missing out on quality fishing time. Granted, tangled fishing line can be a challenge to undo, but for some reason he just could not figure it out and would appear to be frustrated by it.

My father was a mechanical engineer, a person who designed and performed trouble-shooting on motors for vacuum cleaners. Yet, a tangled fishing line appeared to stump him at the time. It was the first signs my father was suffering from the beginnings of Alzheimer's disease, the affliction that little by little stole away his personality and eventually his life.

The Ninth Annual MardiCrawl 2013 will be held this Saturday on one of the hottest stretches of water in the Charleston area, and in behalf of a cause for people who have experienced what my family struggled with. The cause is the South Carolina Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association and other local charities. The party is hosted by the Lowcountry Parrot Head Club. The Alzheimer’s Association is one of the groups main charities because Jimmy Buffet's father also died from Alzheimer's disease. Beautiful, historic Shem Creek in Mt. Pleasant is the place.

I have attended a couple of the Parrot Head meetings held at Red's Ice House. The Parrot Heads are a group of social people who love Jimmy Buffet music and engage in activities that are charitable, educational and that promote the general welfare of the community. The last meeting I attended, I became closely acquainted with one of the mascots - a white parrot who was placed on my shoulder by the head speaker during the group's discussion about memberships and upcoming events they planned on sponsoring. It was the first time a bird of that size sat on my shoulder. My advice to you if you ever attend one of their meetings - don't turn your back to the speaker or else wear a heavy, leather shirt and maybe a few crackers. Curious about the Parrot Heads - they meet the third Tuesday of every month at Red's Icehouse on Shem Creek and anyone is welcome.

The MardiCrawl begins at 2:00 pm at Red's Ice House, February 23rd. Check-in and registration on the day of the event is from 1 - 4:00 pm. Advanced registration costs $25 and on the day of the event $30. Participants will receive an official badge and t-shirt. Then the fun begins. You will crawl, not literally, from restaurant to restaurant eating tasty foods and sipping on favorite cocktails with your friends and new acquaintances. The sequence of restaurants will be Red’s Ice House, R.B.’s Seafood Restaurant, Vickery’s Bar and Grill, Water’s Edge Restaurant, The Shelter Kitchen and Bar, Shem Creek Bar and Grill, and back to Red’s where you will regroup for the after party at 8:00 pm. There will be live music, and of course the beautiful waterway.

Click on Red's Ice House and Shem Creek to learn more about this beautiful area.

Charleston Parrotheads-The Jimmy Buffet Party Is Coming To Town

It is somewhere between the Port of Indecision and southwest of Disorder, but no parallels of latitude and longitude mark the spot exactly. You don't have to be a navigator to get there. Palm trees provide the camouflage. Ocean breezes bring the seaplanes and sailboats, tourists, and travelers. Passports are not required. This is where it is, but what is it? It is Margaritaville, and the exact physical location can be anywhere you want it to be, for the reason that Margaritaville is purely a state of mind.

This coming February 2nd, a Thursday, that state of mind will be transformed into the North Charleston Coliseum. The Kahoona of the Parrotheads, Jimmy Buffet and the Coral Reefer Band, will breeze into town for a one night party starting at 8 PM. Passports are not required, but a ticket will be essential.

You know when Buffet is around it's going to be a party. His music is catchy and lyrics easy to remember. His songs portray a laid-back, easy going lifestyle with a humorous, carefree outlook towards setbacks and problems. Nothing some booze from a blender, likely a frozen concoction made from tequila, couldn't solve. An "island escapism" kind of state of mind outfitted with flip-flops, shorts, and tank tops. Margaritaville is his signature song and a crowd favorite. Why, you may even see me singing it while on a cruise in the Caribbean. Other crowd pleasers are Cheeseburger in Paradise, Bama Breeze, Fins, Come Monday, A Pirate Looks at Forty, and Volcano.

If you want to get the true feel of Margaritaville, book a stay at Margaritaville Beach Hotel in Pensacola Beach, Florida. The hotel sits on over 800 feet of gulf-front property. An additional 800 feet overlooks the bay. The new beachfront hotel features 'barefoot elegance' with 162 newly appointed guest rooms. It has a poolside tiki bar, LandShark Landing with live entertainment, snacks, beverages and an array of activities including beach ping pong, volleyball, hammocks under the palm trees, and Frank and Lola Love Pensacola Cafe named after "Frank and Lola," a 1982 Jimmy Buffett song. Room prices range from $129-$199. Check out the special packages.

If you are in or plan to visit Myrtle Beach, put Margaritaville Cafe located in Broadway at the Beach on your restaurants to visit list. Great seafood or just try their famous Cheeseburger in Paradise along with the concoction most likely to be offered while your are in Margaritaville. The last time I was there the Stiltwalkers were out entertaining the young ones with their tricks and balloon figure-making skills. Click here for the complete schedule of the Stiltwalkers. After dinner, the restaurant transitions into a swinging nightclub where dancing is a must and live bands perform every night of the week.

There are no hotels or cafes in Charleston, but there is a Margaritaville Store for all the Parrotheads to buy the latest goods. It's located at 282 King Street. To access a complete list of Margaritaville's click destinations.

Where does tequila come from? It is made from the Blue Agave plant. It takes 8-12 years for the plant to reach maturity and ready for harvesting. Tequila is a small town in the valley of Jalisco, Mexico. Who is the largest consumer of tequila? The United States consumes more than Mexico.