Georgetown, S.C.

Hazzard Marina on the Sampit River. We decided to get the generator fixed right away. You really can't stay on the hook without one. Well you can, but I'm spoiled. I called ahead and they had someone who was a certified technician for Kohler generators, we were under warranty for 2 more days. This marina also lets you do your own work. We wanted the boat hauled so we could put a couple of coats of wax on the boat and check out the bottom paint and the zincs. The bottom had been cleaned but not painted in 2 years. We felt it would be less expensive in S.C. then in N.Y. The repairman came and said it looks like an easy fix. He put a voltage regulator on it and said we were not getting enough volts. Mike already knew this, he had read the code. Sarcis, the repairman, wanted to check further. Every time he touched something he would moan. Then he would groan a little louder and finally he said it was worse then he thought. Turns out it was the roter. No problem, he'll order the part and we'll be on our way. Not so great, today is Thursday, he can't order it until tomorrow. It won't be here until the following week. He was going to some kind of a seminar next week. We told him to order the part and we would pay the extra fight to have it shipped next week. Friday we had the boat hauled and blocked. We would be sleeping on it while it was on the hard. I'm not crazy about being on the boat in the yard. I kept getting the feeling that the boat was rocking, I felt like it was going to fall over. We worked our butts off all day Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. The boat looked brand new. We put several coats of wax on her. On Wednesday we rented a car and took off to see the local sights. We went to a decal store and had our owl made up for the back of the boat. When I was a little girl my brothers gave me a lot of "Gund" stuffed animals. When I was 16 or 17 I decided to redo my bedroom and give the stuffed animals to my nieces Diane and Eileen. Mike drove me over to my brother's house. On the way he took one of the animals, an owl. He put it on the dashboard of his car. Here it is some 48 years later and it still sits on the dashboard. The owl became our logo and has been on every car, van, truck or boat that we have had. It was also the logo for our first bar, Jocelyn's.

This and That

This is great...Charleston has the Citadel, College of Charleston and the Medical University of S.C. There are lots of young adults in the area. As we waited for the shuttle to take us back to the boat, I noticed lots of kids going into the Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream store. I took a walk over and found out the store was giving away ice cream cones. Well, you know I wouldn't pass up chocolate. As I was on line I found out the store was thanking the kids for their support all year. They did have a cup for donations for homeless. My pleasure, I had ice cream and helped someone less fortunate than I am. That is not great..we like to anchor out, especially on calm nights. We were on the hook and it was about 4 A.M. Our CO2 indicator started to beep. I got up and turned on the generator, when this happens we let it run for about an hour. I went back to bed and all of a sudden it just stopped. We both jump up, what could be wrong. We could not get it started. Mike checked all the obvious things. We decided to wait till the morning and check it out then.

Blooming Jasmine

We took a shuttle to historic downtown Charleston. As we passed a plantation, Boone Hall, you could see hundreds of flowers blooming. We picked the right time of the year, an intoxicating scent filled the air - Jasmine. You could see it climbing trellises, fences and tree trunks. It's a heavily scented white flower cluster. As we walked along a picturesque cobblestone street, it made me think of my grandfather, Patrick McGuire, who paved the streets of New York City with cobblestone. We strolled down Market Street's small shops. A very crowded area with stalls, almost like a flea market. I saw lots of stuff that I didn't know I needed but wanted. If I only had a car instead of a boat, I would have spent a fortune. They had hand made baskets starting at $15.00 to $500. After lunch at the Noisy Oyster we took a journey into the past. We went to a place called Ryan's Slave Market. This was an auction complex that housed the slaves that would be put up for sale. They would be washed, oiled and fed before being sold. I always thought that you could not put a price on human life but the views back in the 1850s were different. Slaves were valued anywhere from $50.00 to several thousand dollars; based on their skill, trade or beauty. The money that was spent here really shows me the wealth of pre-civil war south. Our final trip in Charleston was to Fort Sumter. You have to take a ferryboat to Fort Sumter, the last thing I wanted to do was get on another boat. This is where the Civil War began. South Carolina had seceded from the Union, yet Union forces still occupied Fort Sumter at the entrance of Charleston Harbor. The south wanted the fort vacated, the north refused. Troops of the Confederacy fired on the fort from nearby Fort Johnson. This was the start of a two day bombardment that resulted in the surrender of Fort Sumter by Union troops.

Historic Charleston

As we pulled into Charleston harbor what first caught our eyes was Patriot's Point. The U.S.S. Yorktown is docked here. We were able to stay at the marina right next door to it. After we tied up we took a walk over to see this "Fighting Lady." This 888-foot aircraft carrier had a crew of 380 officers, 3,088 enlisted men and an air group of 90 planes. She is the second Yorktown, the first was lost in Midway. I remember that movie. I also remember the movie Tora! Tora! Tora! which she was in. We took a tour of the living and working space, flight deck and bridge, Captain and Flag Officer in-port quarters and the engine room. They have a field trip for boy scouts, girl scouts and other clubs, the children can camp aboard the ship. The kids actually sleep in the crew quarters. I think I would hear ghosts if I were to spend a night on this ship. Also at Partiot's Point is a memorial to a submarine, Clamagore. We took a tour through her very small inside. She had a crew of 8 officers and 72 men. This sub had 10 torpedo tubes; you enter the sub by going into the forward torpedo room. You have to watch your head and shins as you walk through her, not made for big people. Whitey A. is the perfect size. The final ship in this group is a Coast Guard Cutter, Ingham. She fought in the North Atlantic in the winter. She also spent time in World War II in the Mediterrean, Caribbean, Atlantic and Pacific. Her last tour was in Vietnam. The last part of this tour took us to a true to scale exhibit of the living conditions and operation of a Vietnam base camp. There was a 31 foot river patrol boat, ammunition bunker and 24 foot gun. Its mission was to block the movement of supplies, while preventing the Vietcong from entering South Vietnam. With the sound effect, the movies of planes and helicopter flying over you had to cover your ears the noise was so real.

A Little History

Beaufort, S.C. pronounced Bewfort; Beaufort, N. C. pronounced Boefort. Beaufort was the number one contributor of men and money to the American Revolutionary War; not New York, Virginia or Massachusetts as I always thought. The articles of Separation were drawn up right here on Craven St. The war came to Beaufort when the union needed to close the harbor during the union blockade. On a hot July day, 130 ships of the North sailed into the harbor. Sixty ships were equipped with the latest in war weapons, steam power. With this new invention the ships could maneuver without wind or sail. The ships formed a circle and one after another fired on the city. This pounding lasted for hours. Meanwhile, the rich plantation owners were taking whatever possessions they could carry and leaving the city. This is what history books called "The Great Skidaddle." The town was left to the slaves and one white town drunk. The party was on. The northern soldiers entered the city four days later and ended the party. They had planned on burning the town, without the owners to see it, they changed their minds. The John Mark Verdier house became headquarters for the union during the war. For several years Beaufort was a union town. Many of the homes and churches were made into hospitals. Ships came into port day and night with wounded and dead soldiers from both sides. They used cemetery head stones as operating tables. The First National Cemetery is in Beaufort. After the war, few of the rich plantation owners returned to town. Most of the homes were sold to carpetbaggers for the tax lien. Over 21 movies were filmed here. "The Big Chill", The Prince of Tides", "The Great Santini", "The Water Runs Deep", and "G I Jane." We saw the house Sally Field lived in while filming "Forest Gump." Live oak trees around the city are said to be 400 years old. They are magnificent in their sizes and shapes. The waterfront park has swings for two . They look like the old fashion ones that are on a front porch or verandah. It is a beautiful city.

Beaufort, S.C.

• Beaufort is one of the oldest cities in S. C. A small town where everybody says "Hello". The ambiance is more serene.
• The first thing we did was take a fascinating walking tour back in history with John Sharp. He was a hollywood actor who was shipwrecked in Beaufort. He was rescued by the Coast Guard and brought ashore by helicopter. He says he fell under the spell of Beaufort's natural beauty, her people and her history. The tour usually takes about 2 hours, the day we went it took 3 hours.

Southern Hospitality

• I woke up one morning and I kept seeing spots before my eyes. Thinking it was the start of a migraine, I took one of my pills. I walk around all day a little out of it but I can function. I still see the spots, but there's no pain. The next day I woke up again with the spots in front of my eyes. Rather than take a chance of getting a real painful headache, I take another pill. The next day I'm no better.
• The only way I can describe the spots is to tell you to think of a camp fire. When you put a newspaper into the fire pieces of the paper fly up, they look like black flakes that just flow.
• After a week of this, starting to think I have a brain tumor or something, we decided it's time to seek professional help.
• We get a car from the marina, we can have it for one hour. Its around 1 o'clock. Mike drives me to the walk-in clinic. They tell us it will be a two to three hour wait. Mike gives me money for a taxi home and I get comfortable while I wait.
• Two and a half hours later, I go in to see the doctor. Well its Doogie Houser. This man can't be over 21. He's handsome and has just enough of a southern drawl to make me melt. He must have spent a good hour just talking to me and asking me questions. He called a collegue of his and made an appointment for me to go right over to his office. I explain that I do not have a car, that I have to call a cab. He offers to drive me to the other doctor. I decided to call Mike, I'm a little nervous. Mike gets the car, it's 5:30 and he must have it back by 6, the office girl wants to go home and can not as long as we have the car.
• Once again Mike lets me off at the second office with money to call a cab. This doctor is just as nice and young. Maybe I'm just that old. My mother once told me when the police, priests and doctors look young, you're over the hill. No, he is very young, he just opened his practice.
• After examining me and taking several x-rays, he tells me I have Posterior Vitreous Detachment. PVD is a common condition which occurs in about 75 percent of people over the age of 65. The jelly-like substance inside the eye changes. To make a long story short, the central part of the vitreous becomes more liquid and the outer part peels away from the retina. This causes the floaters or flashing lights. I have to learn to live with it. I can handle that.
• The only people in the office now are the doctor, his assistant and me. It's near 7 oclock and I'm about to call for the cab. My eyes are dilated and very light senitive. The doctor says, "Don't be silly, I'll drive you home." Can you imagine that. I have never had a doctor keep his office open for me before, much less drive me home. That's what I call southern hospitality.

Age Matters

• Mike was thrilled not to have to pay to see this fort. Months ago he purchased the National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Service pass. It's one of the few times he was happy to admit he's a senior citizen.
• Castillo De San Marcos National Monument. This fort is the oldest and largest stone fort in the U.S. Built by the Spanish during 1672-1695 with blocks of coquina (shellstone).
• When the British attacked St. Augustine in the summer of 1740, they expected a quick victory. After thirty-eight days of siege, the frustrated English forces left and returned to Georgia. The fort is over 300 years old and most of the damage to it has resulted not from the past battles but from the thousands of people who visit it each year.
• The San Sebastian Winery was a good place to head at lunch time. The tour took us from one extreme dry wine to sweet or desert wines. After tasting 11 wines we went to the basement on the Roof or the Cellar Upstairs. Being a wine novice this was a delightful experience. We relaxed to local jazz music and a tremendous view overlooking the San Sebastian River. We had one of the wines we tasted and some cheese. We went back to town on the train.
• Went to one of those Ripley's Believe It or Not Museums. There was a replica of Michael Angelo's "David". It was as 18 foot tall hand-carved marble statue weighing 20,000 pounds. I can understand why this was a controversial piece. I wasn't impressed, girls, if you know what I mean?
• A little shopping, at a store called Among the Flowers, I got a beautiful Vera Bradley pocketbook.
• Time for dinner at Harry's. All New Orleans style seafood. We were tired and ready for bed so we headed home. This time that little stretch of the leg became the walk of the long stretch of the leg. We had no trouble sleeping.

St Augustine

• So much history and so much to do. St Augustine is great. The city marina was full for the weekend. We had to go across the Indian River to the Anchorage Motel and Marina. It was probably a good thing. The city marina is right in the heart of town. Where we stayed you had to walk across the bridge every time you wanted to do something. As John Wayne would say "a good stretch of the leg." I'm glad we were there on a weekend, there was construction going on at the bridge and the noise would have been deafening.
• On Friday night we met Rita and Robert W. for cocktails on their boat. We went for a walk around town and to dinner at an outdoor cafe, Crab Grabbers. The music and atmosphere really made the night.
• Saturday morning we went across the bridge and took Ripley's sightseeing train. The ticket is good for 3 consecutive days and you can get off and reboard at any of the stops. The tour takes about 2 hours and shows you everything you want to see. We stayed on the train until the end and then went on our own.
• St. Augustine's age of 442 years may not seem significant, but the city is indeed very old. Despite seemingly endless colonial calamities, including fires, floods, destructive storms and wars and even starvation in its first two hundred years of life, St. Augustine has survived and now flourishes in this new century.
• Our 1st stop was at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine. It was founded on the feast day of St. Augustine in 1565 by Don Pedro Menendez de Aviles. Father Thomas Hassett a priest from Ireland, with assistance from Spain, built the church of coquina stone in 1793. It was completed in 1797 by another Irish priest, Father Michael O'Rielly. There's a shrine to St. Patrick, patron saint to thousands of Irish Priests who served in the New World for over 400 years.
• This is the oldest continuously active Catholic faith community in the continental United States. The great fire of 1887 seriously damaged the building but left its wall intact. It was rebuilt the same year. Actually it was rebuilt three times. The stained glass windows, the sanctuary murals, the murals above the vestibule are all works of art. You don't have to be Catholic to be impressed with this cathedral.
• We went to lunch at an Irish Pub. They don't make corned-beef sandwiches like the N.Y. Jewish delis. We think there was meat on it. The black and tan was good and cold.
• First tour was Flagler College. Henry Flagler was a self-made millionaire who, with John D. Rockefeller, founded the Standard Oil Company. Flagler decided to develop St. Augustine into a winter resort for the rich and famous. He built the Ponce de Leon Hotel, this grand gilded age structure still stands today and functions as Flagler College. Many presidents stayed at the hotel. It was $6.00 to $60.00 to stay there, in today's money it would cost $20,000 a week. This included everything except your bar bill. Flagler didn't think the place should be perfect. He believed that only God could make perfection. There's a tile in black that should be white in the entrance, if you know about it you can find it. As we walked through the school we saw the largest collection in the world of Tiffany Windows. The students actually eat in the dining room set up as it was in 1887. The murals and painting of the parlor room, the hand-carved columns of the rotunda all take your breath away. A national landmark, Flagler College has spent more than $23 million restoring the hotel. It's a private, liberal arts college with more than 2,000 students and is one of "America's Best Colleges."

Marinas in Fla.

• As we headed up the coast of Florida we stayed one night in lots of marinas. We would much rather stay on the hook; it's cheap and in many of these small towns there's really nothing to do. New Smyrna Beach, we stayed here because it was very windy. Daytona Beach, again because the weather was bad.
• One night we stayed at Palm Coast. Mike was washing some of the salt off the boat. He let the hose drip into the water. All of a sudden he jumped and let out a yell. He scared himself. Out of the corner of his eye he thought he saw a big fish jump out of the water, maybe a shark. It was big alright. It was a manatee. Apparently, it stays around the dock for fresh water. When Mike let the hose drip, he came right over for a drink. I had the camera handy and got a picture of him. Ugly. It was about 800 pounds and smiled at Mike.

Kennedy Space Center

• We stayed on the anchor at a place called Dragon Point. The next day we headed to the friendly Titusville Municipal Marina which is under construction, no sleeping late here. We rented a car and went to the Kennedy Space Center. The center is on Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge, 140,000 acres.
• We enjoyed listening to inspiring stories of the NASA's journey. If I was a little girl I would want to be an astronaut. We roamed through trails of Mercury, Gemini and Apollo missions and saw the actual rockets. I was amazed that we were allowed to get so close to the launch pads. The center had an air conditioned bus that took you from place to place, you could stay at any sight as long as you wanted.
• In the Imax theaters they had 3-D glasses and you were transformed from movie watcher to moonwalker. Tom Hanks produced and narrated the movie. I love it when the rocket takes off, it's like a great roller coaster ride. When sparks fly through the air you duck or put up your hands to prevent getting hit by rock of debris.
• The next film was narrated by Tom Cruise. Again you had your glasses. This one was all about weightlessness. Watching and getting the feeling you were just floating around in the space station, it was awesome.
• We went on a shuttle launch. You are given a locker to put any loose items in; your glasses, change and jewelry. If you have had any recent surgery or injury you cannot participate. You are strapped into a seat and get the full sights, sounds and feeling of a vertical launch. The extreme shaking, motion and vibrations can effect you. One lady felt motion sick and as my kids would say....what big chunks she blew. It was a thrilling experience. You have to take the time and stop here one day yourself.
• The international space station, sending people to the moon maybe someday I will get there. We were lucky enough to see an actual launch, a communication satellite.

Vero Beach

• Since I was a little girl I can remember Indian River Oranges. Now I know where Indian River is and where those oranges came from. Vero Beach is a great stopover when heading north. It's an affluent resort town.
• We stayed at the municipal marina. The marina is in a park like setting and you can walk to the ocean front with dozens of restaurants. Every two hours a bus was available to drive you to town. The bus was free, but donations were accepted. We took the bus, we have found that the best way to see an area is to take local transportation. We needed some supplies from West Marine. At night we had a mile or so hike to Mulligans Restaurant and enjoyed our 1st Maine lobster. I didn't share, I ate the whole thing. The walk home was much needed.
• The next day there was a Walk for Life, Birthright. We walked the 5 miles and now have another tee-shirt.

Surprise

We called Ruth and Dennis to let them know we were back in the states. To our surprise, they drove 3 hours from Fort Myers to Hutchinson Island to spend the afternoon with us. We had so much to talk about. They have their boat up for sale so we can rule out spending time in the Bahamas with them. They are keeping Tango, Mike's boating buddy.

Hutchinson Island

• Our first greeting after entering the St. Lucie River was a parade of dolphins. They loved our wake. They leaped and danced for us; made us squeal with delight.
• Just one mile from the St. Lucie Inlet, we docked at the Hutchinson Island Marriott Beach Resort. Coffee and paper in the morning, beautiful pool and laundry was free. In the Bahamas I paid $6.00 every time I did a load of wash.
• The fist night at the marina they had an end of winter party. We had hamburgers, hot dogs and all the trimmings. As Mike always said, the best beer is a cold free one and there was plenty of everything.
• We gave Pete and Peg G. a call with the hope we could get together. Early the next morning they were there. They were very gracious in offering us their car to use. Instead we sat back and let them drive us around. First stop was to check in with customs. You have a 24-hour number to call as soon as you arrive back in the states. The officer then gives you an arrival number and you are instructed to present yourself and your crew for a face to face inspection. We had to go to Fort Pierce Airport, Pete drove us and on the way gave us a tour of Jensen Beach and Hutchinson Island. We expected a big hassle with customs, we were in and out in 10 minutes.
• We headed to a restaurant for lunch, (favorite pastime) at this point we called Marianne and Joe G. to meet us. We sat at the bar, waiting for Marianne and Joe, it was hot so the drinks went down easy. I impressed Peg, I kept up with everyone. We had a nice lunch and went back to Joe and Marianne's condo. What a beautiful home they have, the location is ideal.
• Time to leave and we went to Pete and Peg's. I could not get over the front doors to their condo, they are massive. I love the open and airy Florida living. I could not stop looking out from their balcony, the ocean is just never ending. No wonder Peg loves it so much.
• We went to the public grocery store and had a ball getting all the stuff we could not get in the Bahamas. Important stuff, like large stuffed garlic olives and mallomars.

Grand Bahama Island

• We were at Old Bahama Bay Marina the very 1st night we came to the Bahamas. Here it is our last night and we are back. It's kindof a "gotcha." There's no other place to stay in this area, it's the only real shelter. We were lucky to get a slip. We could hear other boats calling on the radio looking for a safe haven for the night and being turned away. I called several days before and was put on a waiting list, it all depends on how many boats can get out.
• We had a very nice dinner with 2 other couples. The plan was to leave early in the morning so we already paid. Once you leave, you have trouble coming back, they can't tell you if there is a slip available until late in the day. When we woke up another storm was raging. Should we go or not. Since we paid last night, they did not have a slip for us. It would depend on how many other boats left. The rain stopped. One of the other couples left. Their boat was a good 10 feet bigger than ours. We waited to hear from them. They called us on the VHF radio and said it wasn't too bad. Do they mean it or does misery enjoy company? We left with TK III, safety in numbers. On the radar we were picking up rain showers, but they were always ahead of us. The first six miles was a little rough, than it calmed down, the ride to St. Lucie was a breeze. We said goodbye to Ron and Sue, "See you next fall."

Time to head back to the States

• We have been living in our second home for 11 months now. We explored islands above and below the sea. It has been an adventure so different from the hustle and bustle of our normal life. Now it's time to head back to reality, start heading home. More than 75% of our trip is done.
• As I think back, we did not have a boring day, we were busy all the time. That's why I did not write in my blog.
• As usual we had to wait for the right weather conditions before we could start our journey back. We were ready a full week before we could start to head for the West End. It was a little windy when we decided to leave, not bad. The ocean was rough so we decided not to go through the Whale Cay Passage, which takes you out into the ocean. We would go through "Don't Rock" rock and Sand Bank Cay. The problem here is it gets very low. We went through at high tide and had never hit less than 6 or 7 feet. We had a smooth ride to Great Sale where we anchored early in the afternoon. We got off the boat and went to shore to explore, again getting many shells to make frames and stuff with the kids. The cay is just a stop area. It is uninhabited and stretches for 5 miles north and south. This cay was once home to a US missile tracking station, the ruins can still be found. We had cocktails aboard TK III and to bed early.
• There were around 7 boats anchored. At 7:30 the 1st boat left heading to West End. All of a sudden a squall came up, there is shattering thunder and shocks of lighting with winds whipping at 40 mph and the rain was like someone spraying a hose full force on us, the sky is black. The waves had the boat rocking up and down. Our anchor started to drag . We were getting too close to TK III. Mike started the boat and I went up top to pull up the anchor. When we put an anchor out Mike puts a snubber line out. You put this line on to take some of the strain off the winch. As I untied the snubber line, I held it in my hands, and started to pull up the anchor line. Well, I screwed up, the middle of the line got caught in the anchor chain and started to suck the snubber line into the well. The whole thing jammed. It froze, I could do nothing. Meanwhile, we are getting closer to the TK III, maybe 25 feet. We were going over his anchor line, if we hit it both our boats would be up on the coral and rocks. What a mess. If we go on shore we can kiss the boat goodbye. The water is pouring off me, I look like a drowned rat. I had to go into the cabin to reset the knife switch. Duh, I forgot how to do it. We only had a problem like this once before about a year ago. I go in to take the wheel while Mike tries to get the anchor up. He keeps telling me not to run over our anchor chain, I keep putting it in neutral, I also have to make sure I do not back over the other boat. My heart is pumping I can't tell what is sweat and what is rain. Mike starts pulling the line in by hand, a wave hits and he has to let go. He starts pulling it in again. Mike is giving me some signals. It's raining so hard I can not see him on the front of the boat. TK III pulls up his anchor, all he wants to do is get away from us. Can't say I blame him. Even though the storm is still raging, Mike gets the anchor chain up and tells me to just go go go. Get out of harm's way. While I was driving, Mike fixed the winch. We are heading for West End. Anything to get away from the rocks. The storm leaves just a quickly as it came.

Auction

• A large crowd of people gathered in the pavilion at the Abaco Beach Resort for the annual Abaco Pathfinders fund raising auction. The goal of this auction is to provide academic and vocational scholarships to as many deserving young Abaconians as possible.
• It all starts with cocktails and hors d'oeuvres and then a roast beef buffet dinner. As we always say at SHYC - fill their bellies with cocktails and they will buy more.
• There were 164 items in silent auctions ranging from grocery store gift certificates to dinners and fishing trips. Mike really wanted the fishing trip, he kept bidding up but when he walked away they closed the bid and he lost.
• The regular auction raised $140,000. Some of the items were airline and ferry tickets, handcrafted pieces and artwork, one week stays at places like Aspen, Colorado, Paris and Canyon Ranch. The auction also included a 33 foot Pearson sail boat and a 22 foot Rosborough Sea Skiff. It was something else.

Company

• John and Cathie came to visit us while we were in the Bahamas. Our friend Manard welcomed them and did Cathie in with his special Goombay Smash.
• Our first adventure was to take the boat to Elbow Cay, where we took a mooring for an overnight stay. Our adventure took them through Hope Town. It's fun to see the reaction of our friends to these little towns. There's the post office, police station and clinic all in the same building; a public dock and several restaurants. We had dinner at the Edge. We have learned to take on the Bahamian attitude. There's always tomorrow. Nothing needs to be done right away. It took us a while to slow down, if you want something done today, plan on having it completed by next week. The Bahamian people should be able to grow very old, they do not let any stress get to them. So we relaxed and just enjoyed a nice slow dinner.
• The next day we went for breakfast at Captain Jack's, this place always makes me think of Billy Joel, you know, "Capt. Jack will get you high tonight." I wonder if Billy was ever at this Capt. Jack's.
• We let the mooring go and are on our way to Tahiti Beach. The white sand and blue water are just picture perfect. We cleaned the bottom of the boat and then just enjoyed the quiet peacefulness of this island paradise.
• We took them to Mermaid Beach and did some snorkeling. John loved it; Cathie swallowed a little too much water and decided to just relax on the beach.
• St Patrick's Day was on Monday. We made corned beef and cabbage with boiled potatoes. We met about 100 people at the tent and enjoyed a traditional Irish feast.

Conch Contest

• Since we got to the Bahamas, Mike has been fascinated with the conch shell. You're only allowed to take dead shells, in other words nothing can be living in the shell. The search was on. No matter where we went on the water Mike would look for shells.
• Each shell he found was set aside for our grandchildren. He spent weeks making lamps and horns. They really came out nice.
• The club had a beach party. We were in charge of a game. We did the one where you had to put the golf ball almost up your butt, walk twenty-five feet and drop the ball into a bucket. I still remember Bill S. getting to the bucket, going to drop the ball and realizing he had already lost the ball. The next game was a play on the 1x6 board with the sneakers screwed to it. Five people had to be coordinated enough to walk together to the finish line.
• The most fun of the night for me was watching Mike enter the conch blowing contest. There were at least 20 people in it. They were judged on the beauty of their conch. How loud they could blow, what length of time you could blow and if you could play a tune. There were two prizes. One for the best and one for the person who needed more practice. Mike won, needing a lot more practice. Maybe next year.

Sock Hop

• When we were kids and dating, sock hops were held in the gym every other Friday night. The Bayview Avenue gym became a dance floor. You were not allowed to wear shoes on the gym floor, hence, sock hop. Now I feel old. We started dancing together back in 1959. Where did the years go, almost 50 years ago.
• The RMHYC had their sock hop in the big tent at boat harbour. Once again the decorating committee did a spectacular job. Most everyone was dressed in what we wore way back then. Poodle skirts and the guys in Tee shirts with the sleeves rolled up. I was a pink lady, just jeans with a pink shirt that said "pink lady." Of course I had a hicky on my neck and Mike's ring on a chain, we were going steady.
• The music did not stop. We danced until our feet hurt. We were picked to be in the twist contest, didn't win, but sure did try.

The airport

• Sitting in the airport waiting room reminded me of the TV show "Wings". The sitting area was shocking orange on the top, like the Home Depot color. The bottom was painted pink. The seats were folding chairs, like the old card table chairs, not made for comfort.
• The same person that sold you the ticket, took the ticket at the other end. She also cleared you for customs and home land security.
• There were 30 or more 10 year old children on a school trip. The public address system announced that their flight was to be delayed due to mechanical problems. They were very well behaved considering they were there for over 3 hours.
• We decided to have some breakfast. It was 8 A.M. so we ordered eggs with bacon or sausage and toast. The coffee was good. The reason I'm mentioning this is to point out what some people eat for breakfast. Pig's feet, steamed bologna, some kind of scary looking fish, chicken souse and grits.
• The plane is a two prop that looks like something the Flintstones would ride in. I still can't figure out how it got off the ground.
• We were back in boat harbour by 11:00 A.M. and in our bathing suits swimming in the pool and having lunch by noon. Hard to believe we were away for 18 days.

Win some lose some

• Because it was a holiday week, we had trouble getting a flight from Nassau to N.Y. The best we could do was Wednesday. We didn't want to stay in Atlantis, it was too expensive. We went to a hotel closer to the airport and in the heart of the action.
• On Monday night we decided to go to the casino for dinner and a little gambling. Mike had a very good night. As you know, there is no place to sit in a casino, I was so tired, sleeping at the slot joker-poker machine. I hated to ask him, but I had to go home. With a little pout, we left. The next day we spent at the pool and beach. At night we went back to the casino. I had tried to get a reservation at the steak restaurant, no go, all booked. We decided to ask if we had any comps from the night before. The hostess looked us up and said yes, she could give us $150. toward dinner. Wonderful, we would like to eat at the steak restaurant. She made all the arrangements. It was great, what could be better than a free steak dinner, wine and all.
• We flew to N.Y. wearing our shorts and sandals, no coats or shoes. It was around 30 degrees. I was so happy that John and Cathie N. brought coats for us when they picked us up.
• We saw lots and family and friends. It was not the way we would have liked to see them. Funerals are never fun.
• Mike and Sean took us to the airport on their way to work. When we got to Nassau we could not get a flight to Marsh Harbour until the next morning. Mike again asked the hostess at the hotel if we had any comps left. She did. Were we surprised when we saw our room. I was just happy staying in it. The oceanfront rooms, overlooking the pool, were from a James Bond movie... Just magnificent. It doesn't get much better than this. Mike played Texas Hold 'em from 6 at night to 4 in the morning. This time he just broke even. We were happy, the stay didn't cost us anything.

When I grow up

• When I grow up, or in my next life, I want to be a dolphin trainer. We went to the dolphin pond and had a great experience playing with them. They actually have personalities. We had an eleven year old boy, Brewer. He entertained us for a good hour. They are like children, they just want to play. We got to pet Brewer, rub his belly, feed him a fish, hug and kiss him. Yes, I kissed him. He could hum a nursery rhyme. (Made me think of Cathy B. and blame it on the Bosanova, indistinct murmur). The instructor told us not to rub him in certain areas, he is a young male and will respond. Brewer danced for us, he jumped into the air and twisted and even walked on the water. I'll never forget this day.
• While on vacation with the kids, Mike's mom passed away. The children left all tan and healthy looking. We will go home in a few days.

Atlantis

• As I mentioned before, we didn't go home for Christmas, which meant we did not see our children since last September. Our whole crew is meeting us in Atlantis, Nassau, Bahamas.
• Our plan was to take the boat to Nassau. We made a reservation at the Atlantis Marina and found out it was $4.50 a foot and a minimum of 40 feet; we're only 33 feet. It's been very windy here and the ocean waves are well over 6 feet. We would have to travel 110 miles in the ocean. It would not be a comfortable ride. A few weeks before the trip we decided to fly over and get a room.
• We arrived 2 hours before the kids. We checked in and then checked the kids in. We had asked for rooms together. What a surprise, the rooms were all in a row.
• We had enough time to put on our bathing suits, get breakfast and check out the place. We were sitting in the lobby when their van pulled up. My God, seeing the children brought tears to my eyes. Mike's eyes looked watery also. We grabbed the grandchildren and took them to our room. Once, Karen H. told me you should always jump on the beds when you go to a hotel. So we all started to jump on the beds, singing "5 little monkeys jumping on a bed." We were having a ball until their parents arrived. The kids got the LOOK. My little angels, I hope I think of them as angels at the end of the week.
• We spent the day at the pool, relaxing and catching up with 6 months worth of stories.
• Every morning we would meet at breakfast. The sad thing was that you had to get a lounge chair early. You had to put some stuff on the chair to save it (books, towels or shirts). It was very annoying because people would save chairs and never use them. There should be a rule against saving seats for more than an hour.
• After the second day the kids were told to buddy up and they could go on some rides without us. After all, they knew their way around better than we did. They found the best stuff to do and were busy all the time.
• One slide took you right through the shark tank. You would be sitting in a tube and the speed of the water would push you through. You look up and the sharks are swimming around you. I think they said it was awesome.
• Another slide had you sit and when the light turned green you would push off. You entered a pipe that was dark, you would go about 2 feet and then you would just drop. It seemed like you were free-falling forever. All of a sudden you were in a cave, it would take a few seconds for you to realize that you should stand up. I heard loud screams on the way down and they were mine.
• In another ride you sat in a tube, actually you were laying down, you went through a narrow opening that you could see through. It was like a roller coaster with twists and turns that made you go up on the side of the walls or banks. I loved it and so did everyone else.
• The best was the lazy river. I believe it ran for a mile and took 45 minutes. On the river you would go through rapids that made you scream with delight. You would get hit with waves that made you go high in the air. The waterfalls came and you got soaked. They had a double tube that was great. We took turns taking the little ones in these tubes.

Black and White Dance

• Commodore's Ball...This year the members that organized the ball made it a black and white theme. You were asked to wear anything you wanted as long as it was black and white. Living on the boat, we do not have any dressy outfits (Mike loves it when I call his clothing "outfits"). Some women actually had gowns and the men tuxedos. Others, like us, wore white Capri pants and black shirts or black shorts and white shirts. We looked OK.
• The decorations committee did a wonderful job. They took twigs and sticks, spray painted them red and made them the center piece. They were surrounded by 3 white candles. The napkins were white with black bows as holders.
• A 3 course dinner was served. The DJ was great, we danced to a variety of music. We were one of the last to leave. We had a 7:30 flight in the morning. I was so worried about over-sleeping that I didn't sleep all night.

Dentist

• I had a loose filling and was worried about it falling out. Of course I had my tongue pushing on the filling all day long. I was like a seven year old playing with a loose tooth. This time I wouldn't get a quarter. Actually I think the tooth fairy now leaves a dollar to five dollars. This time I probably would get a toothache.
• I realized I would have to go to the dentist and have this fixed. To tell the truth, I was afraid. After all we are not in the states. I don't know why but I pictured sitting in the dentist chair, the dentist holding a pair of pliers, with his foot against my chest yanking the tooth out. I made an appointment and several times I was going to cancel it.
• To my surprise, she, the dentist had quite a practice. The office was much nicer than the one at home. Much more modern. She did a wonderful job. In fact it's cheaper to have your teeth cleaned in the Bahamas then it is to have a pedicure!

Making Memories

• A few years ago, Walter and Nancy, Al and Wally, Jo and Whitey, Nancy and Gregg and the two of us chartered a boat in the BVI. Every time we pull into a new harbor I think of them. You pull in and all you see are wall to wall boats. You have to ride around until you find a mooring ball not in use, or a place to drop your anchor. It's like driving into the mall parking lot at Christmas time. The difference here is everything is moving.
• It was raining when we pulled in through the narrow opening of Man-O-War Cay and navigation can be tricky because it is shallow. You have to be sure no boat is coming out. We could drop the anchor at no cost but instead we decided to pay for a mooring ball because it was windy and the rain was driving. A mooring is safe, you don't have to worry about your anchor dragging. By the time we were ready to leave the boat it stopped raining, it was hot and we were ready for a swim.
• We took the dinghy to shore, tied her up and headed to the beach. We had our snorkel gear with us and started walking. This cay is not big and, still, we got lost. I'm not sure, but I'd say it's less then the distance from Merrick Rd. to Sunrise Highway in Seaford. We finally met a woman in a golf cart, asked directions, and she offered us a ride to the beach. Good thing because we would have been walking miles in the heat.
• The beach was clean and beautiful. Looking through our masks you can clearly see shells and small fish of different colors especially against the oatmeal colored floor of the sea. It's unbelievable.
• This cay is dry - no liquor, beer or wine. You can't even get a drink at the one restaurant, Hibiscus Cafe. Well, the first person we ran into, I mean he ran into us, was drunk. He looked at us and said, "I hope you realize you can't get a drink here!" He laughed and so did we.
• The warm salt water here causes a lot of growth on the bottom of the boat. Because the water was less than 5 feet, Mike jumped in and started to clean the bottom of the boat. It took a scrub brush and a scraper to get the grass and barnacles off. He only had a few cuts from the sharp edges; he didn't draw any sharks.

Art Festival

• On Friday night the resort had an art show. There's a huge tent and a pavilion, where around 30 local artists displayed their crafts. You could buy books and the authors were there to sign them. One of the writers, Jeep Byers, had a sign up that he had a best seller. The book was about a terrorist in the Abacos. Mike asked him if this "best seller" was in the New York Times; he just smiled.
• There were oil, silk and acrylic paintings, photography, sculptures in wood and one of a kind jewelry. I was tempted several times to purchase "stuff", but what would I do with it? We had intended to go to dinner after the show but since we ate so many crab cakes and such, we couldn't justify spending money on dinner.

Dinghy Rides

• It's always fun to take a dinghy ride. We pack a lunch - God forbid we should go anywhere without snacks and beer. We always take our snorkel gear with us, you never know when that lobster dinner Mike promised me is right under the boat. Did I tell you Mike bought a Hawaiian sling to catch fish and lobster? Mike said he sees lobsters all the time, they're just not big enough. He's waiting for the 10 pounder before he shoots. There are places here that remind me of an english muffin, you know, nooks and crannies to pull into. We went into this creek, eventually it was a dead end. The silence and seclusion is amazing. Mike cut the engine and we just sat there. You can't tell how deep the water is, it's so clear. You think it's shallow. We held hands and jumped in together. It was deep and cold. Now, how to get me back in the boat... Glad there was no one to take my picture.

SeaSpray

• We took a vacation from our trip and went to another marina, SeaSpray, White Sound on Elbow Cay. It's between the Atlantic Ocean and the Sea of Abaco. I believe 28 boats went on the rendezvous.
• The ocean was just breaking, the waves were perfect for jumping over. Only thing was the reef was right there. You could not go in the water; it was actually dangerous. If a wave knocked you over, you landed on coral not sand. There were several surfers; they were wearing helmets, like the ones a person wears when bike riding.
• We took a long walk along the beach and collected great shells. My butt is burnt from bending over and having it face the sun.
• We sat by the Garbonzo Pool Bar, took a swim and had several libations. We had dinner at the Boat House Restaurant. A band played a mixture of music and we danced the night away.
• The next morning a brunch was planned. We were to gather on the dock and each boat was to bring a dish for 10 to 12 people - sound familiar? I made french toast, only a little differently. Down here coconuts are plentiful. The local bakery makes coconut bread, I had it sliced a little thicker. I made the regular mix with eggs, milk, vanilla and sugar. Mike put some coconut rum in it. Oh my God, was that good! Two loaves of bread disappeared quickly. The only problem was that it started to rain cats and dogs. We could not use the restaurant because they were serving breakfast. The couple that arranged the weekend split us into three groups and we went on different boats. We were on a 65 ft. Talk about luxury!
• After eating, we went with another couple to Mass. They had a golf cart; it's still hard to remember to drive on the left side of the street. Mass was held in the library, which is about the size of our dining room at home.
• The whole day was a wash. In the afternoon, the manager, Junior, let us use the restaurant for games. We learned a new card game, "Golf." Nine hands and you have to pay attention. At night we were shuttled to the Hope Town Harbour Lodge. Mike had the best prime rib ever.
• The next day we were in a whole different world. We took a walk passed saltbox cottages with white picket fences. The other extreme was huge mansions with beautiful flower gardens. We went to Tahiti Beach. I was told that this beach is one of the top ten in the world. We headed back to Boat Harbour, which we are now calling "home" and once again enjoyed sitting around the pool.

Walk for the Cure

Members of the RMHYC were out in force to support the 1st Abaco Cancer Society Walk for the Cure. We were each asked for a donation as we registered for the walk. The walk was 5 miles all around the streets of Marsh Harbour. The funny thing was you could purchase a shirt. It was $8.00 and again the money went to the cancer society. The shirts were left-over from September 29, 2007, Nassau Cancer Walk. We felt good to get a little exercise and to do our bit to help.

Little Harbour

• It's time to do a little exploring. It would probably be a lot cheaper to rent a car and drive around the cay. I always will remember a time, several years ago, when Jo and Whitey, Sue and Dennis, Nancy and Gregg and the two of us took our boats around the island to Oyster Bay and City Island. It was a 45 minute ride by car and a couple of dollars in gas. It took us a couple of days and a fortune in gas. Anyway, we took our boat to a place called Little Harbour. We left Boat Harbour around 11:30 and headed south. We passed many points of interest, out plan was to go straight to Little Harbour and stop at all these spots on the way back. We passed Cormorant Cay, Tavern Cay, Snake Cay, Deep Sea Cay, Iron Cay and Bucaroon Bay to name a few places. When you read the books on how to approach these harbours it doesn't tell you to follow the red and green markers. It says " When the white house at the SW corner of the harbour is centered in the harbour opening, head for it. Proceed until you are on the range line between the other prominent house (white roof) and the Point, then turn and head toward the house." How's that for directions. There is a nice white sandy bottom with about 3 1/2 feet of water. It's a small, fully protected anchorage. There were moorings in the harbour. I just picked one up and tied it on and we were ready to party.
• We took the dingy to the shore and started our expedition. There's a small dilapidated structure without a traditional lighthouse tower, it was the lighthouse. There's also a place called Pete's Pub, it was closed for the day. The men were busy renovating it. They were busy putting sand under the tables. We took a walk along the Atlantic Ocean. Could this really be the same ocean I swim in at Gilgo? The color is so different.
• Randolph and Margot Johnston made Little Harbour their home in the middle 1950s. The story is that the Johnstons, with their son Pete lived in a cave on the west side of the harbour. Very interesting. Randolph was an internationally known artist renowned for his casting in bronze. There are two art galleries with life size marine bronzes and jewelry inspired by locals.
• We had dinner aboard Sea Smoke, with Frank and his little dog Dee Dee. We left when Frank ran out of vodka. Sad but true.
• The next day we did more sight seeing and riding around the harbour in the dingy. At night we went aboard Sunset Key with Mike and Sue and had a little cocktail party. We left to go to dinner at Pete's Pub. It's an open air bar on the beach that serves delicious food. When we left and headed back to our boat, it was so dark we had trouble seeing our way. The stars were out, the moon was nowhere to be seen. Next time I'll remember to bring the flash light.
• The third day we headed back to boat harbour. We stopped to do some snorkeling. We went to a reef off Lynyard Cay. It's all quite beautiful.

Chili Anyone?

• Every January the RMHYC has a chili cook-off. Approximately 175 people attended the 2008 cook-off. To my surprise it was a man's cook-off, all along I thought that only SHYC was chauvinistic. There were 29 chefs. The categories were hot, medium, mild and unusual. Each chef had a hat with his vessel name on it. The club supplied the libations, salad, condiments, cheese, onion, sour cream and desserts. There were 5 judges, 2 professional chefs and 3 club members. To keep it honest, the pots were marked a,b,c, so no individual names appeared. You'll never guess who won 1st place for unusual...Mike did. What made it unusual was elbow macaroni and sausage meat. The entire evening was fun.
• At home the people at the yacht club were often called the boat people. Down here in the Bahamas the people who live in homes and belong to the yacht club are called dirt people.
• I also learned the difference between a Cay and an Island. An island has fresh water. A cay has to have water brought in.

Happy New Year

• There were a couple of choices for New Years Eve: dinner at the restaurant, Angler's with all the trimmings, or a ferry ride to Elbow Cay and Hope Town. We got together with several other couples and decided to have an early dinner. We all brought something to share. Hot dogs, hamburgers, (guess what I made) macaroni salad, beans and anything else you can think of to make a good cookout.
• It was a very warm night, you didn't even need a light sweater. When we finished eating we all walked to the ferry terminal. We boarded the ferry and away we went. We could not see a thing, except the stars. It was a very dark night. I kept watching for markers, when I finally saw one, I realized it was on land. I said to myself, make a quick left and the captain did. All of a sudden you can see all kinds of Christmas Lights. There's a red and white candy striped lighthouse with lights running up and down. If that didn't set the mood to party nothing would. It's 10 and the festivities start at 12. We took a walk all around the cay. The homes are very close together all nestled on the hillside. There's one road, you just follow it in and out of alleys and you end up right back were you started. At 12 the fireworks start. Once again I'm amazed at the beauty. They were spectacular, on a parallel with the N.Y. City bi-centennial. Then the junkaroo parade started. It's an exciting display of art and culture in the Bahamas, an elaborate display of costumes in a variety of shapes and sizes. You listen to the sound of horns and whistles and feel the pulsating rhythms of the goat skinned drums and cowbells. It's like a fertility dance. I think it's the first New Year that no one was over served. We headed home on the ferry and were in bed by 2:30 the latest I have stayed up in a long time.
• We started the year off with a nice dingy ride. We went to several small cays. One is called Matt Lowe's Cay. The family that owns Lowe's owns this cay. We went to (rumor has it) Tiger Woods Cay. There was a big sign,"No trespassing, by invitation only" Mike figured since he saw Tiger play at Bethpage, it would be OK to visit his cay. We just rode around, did a little swimming and a lot of shelling. It was a hot day. I can't believe we are here for 4 months. It's all a dream. Please don't wake me.
• On Sunday one of the couples on our dock invited us to Nippers on Guana Cay. This cay is on the ocean. You dock at the Orchid Bay Marina or anchor at the Baker's Bay. We walked over to Nippers Bar and Grill. It's a real party place. It's a combination of Willy-T's in Tortola and Flynns on Fire Island. The Nippers' special drink is rum and fruit juice.