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.