January

I can’t believe I haven’t written since New Years. I’ve taken loads of photos that I hope will become a table top book when we get home. We continue to enjoy the Hopetown Sailing Club activities which include racing and wonderful stand ups. A stand up is the cocktail party on Saturday nights and after racing. The nibbles are wonderful from sushi to incredible assortments of appetizers. I’ve learned several different hot dips (crabmeat is one of my favorites). We have been invited to several members homes that are quite lovely and designed to fit into the colorful environment of beach, sand, water and sun. We have made pizza on the boat for friends and have had sundowner gatherings that usually last from 5-7 and then we are on board for dinner ( of course we are usually not very hungry after drinking a little !!! and eating snacks). We have had evenings where we lit our propane heater but mostly the temperatures are bearable to delightfully warm in the sun. Of course we still feel the effects of winter but I manage to get in the pool for water aerobics 3 mornings during the week.

I surprised my sister by flying in to NY for her 70th birthday. We had a nostalgic dinner at one of my father’s favorite restaurants, the Jolly Fisherman, in Roslyn. Lots of love, laughter and good food. It was a short trip but I loved seeing friends and family. Everyone was so supportive and special thanks to Tony and Nora for nourishing me in both body and mind, the Newgaards who lent me a cellphone, a much needed visit with the Block family and a night out for a wonderful Sushi dinner with Jan. But seeing my little grand-niece was the highlight of the trip. She is adorable and thriving beautifully.
The traveling between NY and the Bahamas was also uneventful but terribly long.

So what have we been doing during the month of January. Well, meeting new people is always at the top of the list. There are so many wonderful, bright, funny, helpful people who live on their boats as well as those that have homes on Elbow Cay. Many who are living on land also have skiffs or some other type of boat to get around the Sea of Abaco. In addition many of the people we have met had boats but have, for many different reasons, ended that part of their life but all love to tell stories of past adventures. We have met people from as far away as Finland and others who have traveled the globe who also regale us with fascinating stories.

We have walked the beaches many times and each time seems so very different depending upon the weather and tides. We have had gorgeous days where we snorkel and kayak and explore. Bill has been called upon for fixing lots of boat stuff as well as helping Brad reattach broken shards of glass as a temporary fix for several windows at the top of the lighthouse.

We gather in groups for meals onshore and just this past Wednesday there were over 25 people from the Sailing Club who ate at the Jib Room for rib night. Bill was very happy with the meal but there was also dancing – check out the photos on the Web Page.

‘Interim’ was the committee boat for the race on Jan. 21. A gorgeous day and the racing was exciting. We also played Trivia at ‘Captain Jack’s’ restaurant with Bill and Di. We were good but didn’t win – there’s always next week!!! And on Jan. 22 I had a wonderful birthday. I was serenaded in the pool by the water aerobic gang, had lobster salad for lunch and went to the Abaco Inn for dinner with Neil and Phyllis.

February is looming as is a gorgeous full moon. We have been invited to a super bowl party, will go on a mini cruise with the Hoptown Sailing Club to Treasure Cay and look forward to a visit with the Goldbergs. Of course every day brings new adventures. Yesterday Bill went out to search for more Conch with our friends on 'ChrisDeke' and he brought in a fabulous shell.

So keep on looking and I'll keep on taking photos and writing in the blog.

The Holidays Are Over

The time does fly by and I can’t believe Christmas and New Years are both over. We continue to meet new people who come and go in our community as well as building friendships with those that are staying here for the entire winter. I did get overwhelmingly nostalgic as the holidays were approaching but we did find many ways to celebrate. From caroling and souse to being invited to share Christmas Day dinner at the home of Libby and Dick. We have also gone fishing – I did get a bite but the enormous fish just nibbled and went on his merry way. We walk along the beach and never get tired of the beautiful changes in color and wave action that occurs with the wind, tide and time of day. We had an incredible rainbow that was neon colored and remained in the sky for a very long time…surprisingly no rain accompanied the rainbow.

Bill has done some more hunting for conch and still experimenting with how to get the animal out of it’s shell without destroying the shell or the meat (we have a friend who will take the meat and make it into conch fritters but so far we don’t have enough to give her. We’ve tried a few restaurants and love the view from Cracker P’s. Right across from Cracker P’s is Tahiti Beach. On one of the very warm days we anchored for a swim and took the Whaler to shore. Much to our surprise when Bill through the little anchor in the water Simon’s fetching genes surfaced and he flew off the boat to get the anchor. Of course the water was very shallow and he does swim. He seemed to have the best time swimming along with us. The beach is on the protected side of the ocean and is incredibly calm.

Bill has taken on a project teaching anyone who wants to learn how to make turks head knot bracelets. He also gave lessons on splicing lines. He does need to keep busy. We do volunteer to open the library for 2 hours Thursday morning – another way to meet people and join the Hopetown Community. One of the major events that frequently takes place here are fundraisers for a variety of organizations. Recently there was a Rage Party. The Rage is a Bahamian boat that races competitively – shirts are sold and of course food and drink are always present. We also had a Golf Cart parade. Although there are many cars on Elbow Cay, the primary form of transportation are Golf Carts. Most of the homeowners have one and there are many available to rent. However, during this past week when the Cay was inundated with tourists all the carts were rented. Unfortunately, there were only 5 Carts decorated for the parade (on Guana Cay they had 44 highly decorated carts) so there may be more incentive for next years parade.

Junkanoo – this is a traditional parade that occurs during the holidays and is comprised of groups and/or individuals who wear highly elaborate colorful costumes accompanied by drummers and a variety of other noisemakers. Unfortunately, last year here in Hopetown the parade got out of hand and it seems there were people who were wounded. I’m sure liquor had an influence as well. So the powers that be cancelled the midnight Junkanoo. New Years Eve was gorgeous. There was a full moon, millions of stars and it was warm. We had a wonderful, colorful, loud fireworks display that we watched from Jim and Nancy’s flying bridge. So instead of the adults the children of Hopetown (visitors as well as residents) had a Junkanoo during the day on Dec. 31st. I took lots of photos that are on my web page. The children were adorable but the surprise was they also had a group of musicians and once you hear the sound of the drums everyone starts moving and dancing with their own noisemakers. The parade went through town, the sun was shining and it was great fun to watch. However, for those of us who miss the pageantry there will be a 2 night event at the end of February for groups that will eventually be competing in a major Junkanoo in Nassau. We have reserved a slip at one of the Marinas in Marsh Harbor for those two nights.

While we are waiting for moderating winds and temperature we will walk the beach, collecting sea glass and visiting the other Cays around the area.

Bill, Simon and I wish all a Happy, Healthy New Year filled with love and joy.