First mate's log:
July 5, 1969
We had our first real Fourth of July on the island, with fireworks and hot dogs and speeches and everything! It was great, maybe even better for being on an island, with clear skies for the fireworks. We're still part of the U.S.A., but we're also independent.
The Bradys were of course one of the families that went to the festivities yesterday, but today the Skipper and I took them over to Blenford for a two-week vacation. Not that they're going to stay on Blenford the whole time, but that's where they're starting from. King Kaliwani now has a business where he takes Americans to an island three hours from Blenford, so that they can go camping in a place that is wild but doesn't have anything deadly on it. (By the way, the king is over "Gilliana" and has a new wife who made him stop throwing girls in the volcano, so that's a relief.)
Mr. Brady wanted to take the family camping for the first week. Then the second week, they'll stay on Blenford itself, going to the movies and doing stuff they can't on our island. It won't be much of a getaway, but he wants to stay in contact with the building project on our island in case of emergency, while still getting some time away with his family. If something happens while he's camping, well, he'll hear about it when he gets back to Blenford, and hopefully everything will be OK for that week.
I'll miss them while they're away but at least it's just for a couple weeks. And I'm glad that Ginger's moving to Blenford, to work at the new TV station, BITV. Yeah, the Skipper says we can get a television set, but we won't be home as much as we've been, because we're actually going to do four ferry runs each weekday, and once on Saturdays!
We were just going to do three a day, but the timing didn't work out. So we'll do the 9 a.m., noon, 3 p.m., and 6 p.m. runs every day, not bothering with the 9 p.m. But we'll just spend an hour there for each of the first three runs, like leave here at noon, get there at 12:30, depart at 1:30, and return at 2:00. If someone needs more than an hour on Blenford, or here, they can just wait for the next ferry back. We will stay for two hours for the last run, not ending our workday until 9 p.m. But, yeah, it's not like I'll be on the ferry the whole time, and I can still go to the movies in the evenings.
We are getting a bigger ferry, and Mr. Howell is paying for half of it. The new one will carry up to 100 passengers. And, yeah, the Skipper is hiring a new crew. I'll still be first mate, but we'll need more men for a ship that size. It'll be weird when it's not just the Skipper and me, but we'll always be best friends and probably live together until we die.
Carol Brady's diary:
July 14, 1969
The family just spent a week camping. King Kaliwani is now focused on making money, so he's set up a camping site on a mostly uninhabited island. He takes people back and forth, for a week at a time, leaving them to fend for themselves. I was dubious about this and the girls really didn't want to go. As Marcia said, "I like our island but it's nicer now that we don't have to 'rough it' every day." Still, I knew it was important to Mike that we do this as a family, and after asking for inclusion on the clubhouse, I didn't feel like I could really argue that this should just be for "the Brady men."
It turned out to be fun for everyone, despite some mishaps, like the girls scaring away the fish. (Alice and I stowed a fully stocked picnic hamper on board Kaliwani's boat, just in case, so we wouldn't all starve while camping.) Kaliwani had promised that there would be no volcanoes or dangerous animals, but I still worried about accidents happening, far from any doctor. It was a relief to see Kurt there, working a summer job as a ranger. He's only 17 but he does know how to survive in the wild.
We made it through all in one piece, and I must admit it was nice to get away from it all. And I know it was good for Mike to relieve some of his job stress. Still, it was sort of funny, because we live on a tropical island and are vacationing on two other tropical islands.
And now we're on Blenford for a week or so, "the big city," as Greg jokingly calls it. Still, he and the other children are very happy to be able to go to the movies and other attractions that this island offers, like the new indoor skating rink. Mike joins in, especially loving to teach them miniature golf. It's good to see him relax and play, although he does exchange daily written messages with Larry Dittmeyer, just to stay in the loop.
Mike is also taking boating lessons, having wanted to for several months but never having found the time. He's going to buy a boat so that we can visit Blenford without having to rely on the ferry, although the Skipper is increasing the runs to twenty-one times a week! No, not three times every day, but four times each weekday plus once on Saturday. We Bradys will probably mostly stay on Brady's Island, but it would be wonderful to have more flexibility.
Meanwhile, the population is going up here and at home almost every day, and it's hard to believe all the changes. I had lunch with Ginger yesterday and she was marveling at how different Blenford is from when Dr. Balinkoff owned it. She's particularly struck by this since BITV (Blenford Island Television) is going to broadcast from the mad doctor's castle.
In contrast, nothing has changed with her and the Professor. They flirt and are still good friends, despite a year spent apart, and she doesn't think anything is happening with him and Mrs. Smith either. Ginger dated in Hollywood and Paris of course, but she says no man could compare to the Professor. I hope that things work out for them eventually, but as with Gilligan and Mary Ann, I'm not holding my breath. Marcia will probably have a date with her crush Alan Anthony before those two grown couples get anywhere.
Author's Note: I will be taking a break of about six months from this story to work on other stories. Yes, I will cover the other four and a half seasons when I return. Thanks for reading almost 100,000 words of this crossover!
