First mate's log:

June 27, 1971

I can't believe this, although maybe I should've seen it coming. Mary Ann is engaged! To Gopher!

She told me herself. I told her I was happy for her. I guess I am. I mean, she always wanted to get married, right? And he's a nice guy. And it's not like anything more was gonna happen with me and Mary Ann, right?

They're getting married in August. She needs time to arrange for her aunt and uncle to come to the wedding, but she wants to have the wedding before the kids are back in school. She wants the Bradys to be part of her wedding. I'm just glad I'm not good enough friends with Gopher to be best man.

Carol Brady's diary:

June 30, 1971

Poor Gilligan! Mary Ann is engaged, to Gopher! Gilligan claims to be fine with it, and of course he and Mary Ann never officially dated, but they were sweet on each other, especially during the marooned years.

I wish I could help him, but I don't know how. Mike of course thinks I should stay out of it. I'd matchmake Gilligan, but I really don't know any girls as well suited to him as Mary Ann. But maybe we could distract him somehow.

The biggest problem is that they're stuck on an island together. Yes, it's not as isolated as it once was, but she hardly ever goes anywhere, and Gilligan just goes back and forth to Blenford on the ferry. Even going to another island probably wouldn't help.

July 4, 1971

I went to see the fireworks over the lagoon with the Skipper. I guess I'll always have him, until he's old, two bachelors always living together. I'm lucky to have such a good best friend. It's just, sometimes I wonder what it would've been like to have a girlfriend, or even a wife, too.

July 7, 1971

Mike and I have been talking for awhile about taking the kids on a surprise trip this summer, not just to Hawaii, but someplace big. And now he's booked a trip to the Grand Canyon! We'll of course take Alice along, but he suggested inviting Gilligan as well.

"I thought you didn't want to interfere."

"It's not interfering. The kids think of him as an honorary uncle. And he probably hasn't traveled much, inland I mean."

"Oh, Mike!" I gave him a big hug and kiss for that. I'm sure Gilligan, Alice, and the kids will love the idea.

July 14, 1971

I'm on a plane to Phoenix, Arizona! The Bradys are including me, and of course Alice, on a family vacation to the Grand Canyon! Mr. Brady is going to rent a station wagon and a camper and drive to the canyon, which is about three and a half hours away from the airport. He's paying for everything.

I did feel bad leaving the Skipper, but he encouraged me to go. And at least he has Gopher and the rest of the crew to keep the ferry going.

No, I don't want to think about Gopher while I'm gone. I'm just going to enjoy the scenery and the different climate, after so long on tropical islands. And it'll be fun to hang out with the Bradys and not have to worry about work.

Anyway, I'm writing this in the restroom, so I can't say much right now. Hopefully, I'll get a chance to be by myself a little and update you as we go along.

July 15, 1971

To think that we left the island only to be stranded in a ghost town! We stopped in a gas station on the way to the Grand Canyon. Yes, all ten of us are going, or we were until we got sidetracked. The gas station attendant told us about Cactus Creek, an old ghost town, so we thought that might be fun. And it is very authentic and charming, in a dusty way.

Unfortunately, there's a crazy old prospector who thinks we're after his gold claim! He lured us all into the jail and locked us in! And now he, Zacchariah T. Brown, has driven away in our station wagon!

We managed to break out of the jail, using our belts, socks, and shoes. Mike decided to walk along the road and twenty miles back to the highway to see if he can find help, and Peter has gone with him. We had a little picnic here when we first arrived, but there's no food or water left now. I hope they don't have to go far.

And I really hope we don't have to spend the night, or longer, here. Camping out at the Grand Canyon, with the trailer, tents, and all our supplies, and with park workers nearby, would be a very different matter. No one knows we're here, except the gas station attendant, and no one's going to go looking for us for quite awhile. After all, everyone back on our island just knows we're in Arizona and they don't expect us back for another week.

I have to do my best to put on a brave face for the children. I'm glad I'm not the only adult here, but both Alice and Gilligan have a tendency to panic. At least I can confide in you.

July 16, 1971

The weirdest thing happened yesterday, and a lot of weird things have happened in my life. We all went to a ghost town, although I was a little scared that there might be ghosts. Instead, there was a crazy old prospector who thought we were trying to jump his claim. He locked us in a jail and we had to escape. The weirdest part is I thought he looked just like Mr. Howell, except with a grizzled beard and old Western clothes, and nobody else saw the resemblance.

We got out of jail, but not before he drove off with the station wagon, and the trailer. He came back in a couple hours, with Mr. Brady and Peter, who had gone on foot for help. He wanted to file his claim in town. The Bradys aren't filing charges, so I guess I won't either, but it was not what I expected from this trip. Still, yeah, it's helped to distract me from Mary Ann's engagement.

Oh, and he offered us each one percent of his claim, but it'll probably turn out like those investments Mr. Howell offered us on the island that ended up being worthless.

We got back on the road. The Bradys do a lot of singalongs on long trips by the way. In my family, I just read comic books.

We got to the Grand Canyon without anything else going wrong. The scenery is really amazing, in a different way than the tropical islands I've gotten used to.

We got to see a Hopi Indian rain dance, which really worked. But I've seen enough with voodoo and other things back home that I know that some stuff isn't just native superstition.

We spent the night at a campsite near, but luckily not right next to, the canyon. Then today we rode down on mule train. Alice was pretty nervous, but I like animals, so it was fun. We'll be camping down here for a few days.

July 17, 1971

Yesterday, Bobby and Cindy wandered off here in the canyon! It was just before dark and we were all very worried about them. They did finally turn up before dinner, and Mike gave them a good scolding. In some ways, I was more worried than I would've been on the island, at least since it's been civilized. The canyon is so vast and unfamiliar.

Then they wandered off again after supper. They didn't go as far and it turned out that they were sneaking food to an Indian boy. When they got lost earlier, the boy, Jimmy helped them find their way back to camp, but he made them swear not to reveal his own whereabouts. He'd run away from his kind, but traditional grandfather.

Mike had a good talk with him and convinced him to come back to camp with us for the night. Even if he is native to the area, he's a ten-year-old boy and almost as vulnerable as Bobby. He disappeared by morning though.

Alice ran into Jimmy's grandfather, Chief Eagle Cloud, while she was fetching water. She brought him back to camp and he told us that Jimmy came home, Mike's talk about talking things out having helped. Although the chief is old-fashioned, he supports Jimmy's dreams of being an astronaut.

In gratitude, the chief has invited us all to a special ceremony in his village tonight.

July 18, 1971

A couple days ago, Bobby and Cindy disappeared in the canyon but they made friends with an Indian boy a little older than Bobby, and he helped them find their way back to camp. Last night we all got to go a special ceremony with his tribe, where we saw more native dances, and we all got special Indian names. Mine is "Monkey Man," which might be an insult or a compliment, I'm not sure. I wonder what the Skipper's would be, or Mary Ann's.

July 21, 1971

We're flying back to Hawaii and then Blenford today. Except for a few stressful but soon resolved crises, it was a relaxing trip. But I miss our island home and it'll be good to be back. I hope the trip helped Gilligan, although I know it takes more than stunning scenery to cure a broken heart. And, yes, I still miss Tim sometimes, happy as I've been with Mike.