Visit from my brother Tom

My brother Tom had driven down to Florida to visit friends in Sarasota. He asked if he could spend a few nights with me and I said of course. Here are some of the things we did in his short stay (four nights) with me....

Tom arrived around 1 PM on Wednesday, March 15. I took this photo with my new one-shot camera...

Tom in my messy home

I said that we should get some lunch so I drove him to Cocoa Beach and we stopped at the SandBar. I was in the mood for shrimp tacos. The place was very crowded for a cold day (temperature near 60 F) so we each got a beer but no food. Next, I drove up to Port Canaveral where we went to Fishlips. Tom ordered a beer and I ordered a Bloody Mary. This was one of my favorites on the Bloody Mary quest, so reason not to have another.

Bloody Mary at Fishlips

We ordered some appetizers and I ordered a bowl of their clam chowder. All food was delicious!

On Thursday morning, we drove over to the Sun on the Beach Restaurant in Satellite Beach. It was crowded because no one was out on the newly refurbished back deck because of the cold. I had a Greek omelet and Tom got a basic breakfast. We were headed to Orlando to attend the first two games of March Madness at the Amway Center.

Parking was horrendous and my regular garage was full. We were able to get a spot in the garage across the street. We arrived at halftime of the first game. The University of Virginia was playing University of North Carolina Wilmington. The Virginia cheering squad was on the floor during halftime.

UVA cheering squad performs at March Madness

The game was very close until the end. The UVA Cavaliers were the winners of this first round game. I took a photo of the scoreboard at the Amway Center as the game was nearing the end.

Amway Center Jumbotron at March Madness

The second game in the first session was the University of Florida Gators against the East Tennessee State University Buccaneers.

Florida Gator at March Madness

The seats were pretty good. I go them through the NCAA because I am a Magic season ticket holder. Three years ago I went to all six games, but that was too much. I did get to see the Gators win. Retired NBA player Rick Barry was known for shooting free throws underhand, and his son is doing the same at UF. He is actually pretty good at it, just like his dad.

Barry shoots a free throw underhanded for UF Gators

The mascots had a dance off...

Florida Gator mascot in dance off against ETSU Buccaneer "Bucky"

Of course, there were college dancers performing also. Not sure why I took a photo of that...

Florida Gator Dance Team

I did catch a nice selfie of Tom and I sitting in Section 111 at the Amway Center.

Tom & BJ Provoncha at March Madness in Orlando

The second session was having Florida State University and I was giving the tickets to my cousin (once removed) Jason Provoncha for his birthday. He went to FSU so I knew it was a treat. Tom and I met him outside the Amway Center. He arrived with his friend Juan. While waiting, Tom and I enjoyed the free crackers they were giving out. Nice snack before the ride home. The Amway Center as viewed from our parking garage.

The Amway Center and Interstate 4

When we got home, we turned on the TV to watch more basketball on TV. Not the second session at the Amway Center, but the Catamounts of the University of Vermont play in round one. They were seeded #13 and had to play the #4 seed Purdue. It was a great game but Purdue beat them and also won the second round to make the Sweet Sixteen.

Friday was March 17 and I told Tom we had to go to Meg O'Malley's in downtown Melbourne. They always have a big shindig and I knew Jose & Nancie Marin would be there. Tom had met them on a ski trip and other times he had visited Florida.

Tom Provoncha & Jose Marin at Meg O'Malley's in Melbourne

There were dancers of Irish jigs...

Irish Dancers on stage in Melbourne

 There was a previous World Champion dancing too...

World Champion Irish Dancer

 Even the beer cans were in the mood for Saint Patrick's Day...

Miller Lite in Irish mood

 Our friend Mark had a great tee shirt...

Stephan enjoys a Long Doggers Hot Dog

 "Whale, Oil, Beef, Hooked" (And now say it fast). You will sound Irish!

Stephan bought us a round of Irish Car Bombs, a shot of Bailey's Cream dropped into a glass of Guinness. If that was not enough, someone bought us each a Jello shooter. Mine was lemon-flavored...

Jello Shooter

Tom drove me home....

Saturday I was supposed to go to Session three of March Madness with my nephew Brandon. My cousin Jim called and wanted to meet us at Church Street because there also was an Orlando City Soccer match. The new stadium is just a block away from the Amway Center and it was going to be a madhouse for parking. I decided to sell the tickets to my friends Jose and Stephan from the St. Paddy's party. They both had a son who graduated from UF and they were big fans. Tom and I took the tickets over to Marin's house at noon.

After getting the tickets, I took Tom to lunch at Gator Dockside on Wickham Road. I had the wing flight, which was 12 wings and four different sauces. They divided the wings by sauce using the celery.

Wing Flight at Gator Dockside

After our meal, I asked Tom to take my photo in front of the Gator in front of the restaurant...

BJ with wild Gator

What happened to BJ?

Although there would be big crowds at the NCAA March Madness, I did not know if there would be crowds at the launch of a Delta rocket from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. I have an annual pass to Jetty Park and I took Tom there. There were pelicans and dolphins in the water...

Pelican flies over Dolphin in Port Canaveral

 We went out to the fishing pier. I caught Tom checking his phone for launch updates...

Tom Provoncha at Jetty Park in Port Canaveral Florida

 The sun was going down....

Sunset at Port Canaveral

 The launch was delayed about 33 minutes. I caught these photos of the successful launch of the Delta

Delta rocket with four boosters

Wide angle of Delta Launch

Delta continues on its flight to the East

The night time contrail of the Delta Launch

 Overall, we did a lot in the short period Tom was here. I had fun and I know he had fun. He left at 5 AM on Sunday morning and was back in Vermont on Monday. And retirement continues for me, coming up on three years...