Easy livin' down in paradise!

Though I enjoy all of our trip to the Bahamas; the west coast of Florida, the Everglades, The Keys, Bimini, Chub Cay and Nassau, my favorite place is Exuma. Crossing the Bahama Banks and the Tongue of the Ocean are right under giving blood, on my detestable list, however, to get to my little islands, I have to endure it.

Well, lets be honest, Ray has to endure ME, enduring it! It takes SOOOO long to cross the banks and the wind is ALWAYS right on the bow, which means saltwater gets all over everything. Water will find its way into anything in its path!! We do not have anyway to get the salt off and the water out until we reach Nassau. If I could bypass that whole 15 hours, I so would! Thankfully, we met a nice family in Bimini who just happened to be going our way. Chris, Summer, Sam and Noah and their sweet little doggie, MoJo,, left Colorado with only the essentials and traded the cold rat race, for the slow sailboat pace. They wanted to spend more time as a family and have their boys learn that the world is more than Middle Class America. You can always go back to work, but you can never go back to your kids being young. What an amazing memory they are making together as a family. I feel so blessed to be in that memory, and I hope they will feel that way about being etched into mine.

We left Nassau on June 28th and though the wind was in our face, it was actually a great run.

We came through the coral heads with me on the bow, handheld radio gripped tightly in one hand, the other hand clutching the starboard rigging. Nu Trix was punching through the waves and I got quite a nice workout bending and swaying with the motion of the boat. My legs ached that night. I love workouts that aren't workouts! Anyway, we maneuvered through the beautiful coral heads and finally came into the Highbourne Cay anchorage.

We were right off of the beach. Ray and I put the dinghy together and hailed "Freedom". We all decided to go swim and snorkel off of the beach. The water looks like a swimming pool that is so clear, it allows you to see all the way to the bottom. We snorkeled over the coral heads and saw colorful fish, a large orange fish with very large eyes, an anemone (say that fast), a couple of sea urchins and all kinds of different coral. We were actually getting chilly with the fresh breeze coming out of the southeast, so we decided to call it a day and go back to the boat. Once back aboard Nu Trix, Ray and I cleaned up the boat and took a nice shower. Chris called and asked if we would like to come over for dessert to celebrate Summer's birthday. Well, I for one, never turn down chocolate or a party. We had already taken the engine off of the dinghy so Chris came over to get us. What a fun night laughing, eating, drinking and listening to stories from our new friends. Their two boys are so much fun to talk with about their lives. Their excitement is contagious and made me more anxious to get going. Soon we were all yawning, so Chris delivered us safely home where Ray and I feel into a great sleep. The cool wind was funneling down the hatch and the fans moved the air around nicely. We actually grabbed the sheet and snuggled in for the night. Our first night in Exuma was simply amazing.

The next morning, we pulled the anchor and set our sights on Norman's Cay. It is the island with quite an infamous history. Carlos Leder, a drug lord, had the island for the distribution of cocaine into the US. With enough money, the government looked the other way and the operation flourished. Money flowed into the outer islands and the older locals will tell you how everyone seem to have money in their pockets. Pretty soon the United States government got tired of the smuggling operation and set out to put an end to the rain of cocaine. Well they tried anyway. The US government came in with guns blazing and even shot down a plane loaded with contraband.

The smuggling operation was ended, however, the plane that went down is now a thriving community for coral, colorful fish, stingrays and sharks. I guess the government divers took all the money and drugs off the plane, because I've yet to find anything... :)  Nu Trix and Freedom motored into the anchorage not sure what to expect. The people at the restaurant on the island, have been saying for seven years, that a marina is being opened soon. As of 2017, there is no marina. Our little island with the tall palm tree has been altered with storms and tides. The tree has fallen and the little bench is in dire need of repair. Maybe next year, we can bring wood to fix it. The tree, though gone, has little heirs popping up nearby. Maybe our grandkids can bring their children and see trees once again giving shade. We dropped the anchors and set out to the plane wreck. It was low tide, so the plane was easily accessible. I used my gopro to get some really amazing videos of the fish and coral. We didn't see a shark or a stingray, but the fish were quite plentiful.

We must have snorkeled around for an hour or two and then decided to go over to the little island and swim. Ray made a rope ladder for our dinghy, however, getting into it, for me, is still a lesson in hilarity. I admonished everyone to turn off cameras and gopros before I hauled myself into "Old Dog"...... I will give it to Ray, he never laughs out loud.... thus he still lives... haha. We got to the little island and swam, took pictures and watched the boys snorkel through the grass and find conch shells and rocks. MoJo, has fun jumping into our dinghy and laying on Ray's towel. He is a cute little dog. We tried to get Brisa off the boat but she hide under pillows and glares at us. I'm not sure if she is liking this boating life. Next year, I thing she'll have to stay with our friends, Wes and Sabine. On the island we decided that we would go ahead and pull anchor to head to Shroud Cay. After coming into the narrow cut with shallow water on one side and a small reef on the other, we had a course to follow so it wasn't worrisome as it was coming into the cut. We still couldn't sail, but the motor down to the next cay wasn't bad.

We got in close to the island and dropped our anchor in 8 feet of water. The wind was blowing at 10k out of the SE which kept us cool all night. Ray grilled a pork loin and I made green beans and teriyaki pasta. We listened to music, ate dinner and read our books. I also have Agatha Christy mysteries on my iPhone, so I laid in the bunk and tried to help Hurcule Poirot solve murders. The days fun caught up to me and soon I turned off the movie and let my dreams carry me away.

The next morning, we put our engine on "Old Dog" and set out to explore the river that runs between the sound side of the cay and the banks. We were at dead low so the sand banks were peeking through the clear water. It is just indescribably beautiful. We saw two large turtles and I actually got some pictures and a video. Mangroves line the sides of the river and the water is filled with plant life, some coral and lots of little fish growing up in their private nursery. We rounded the corner and came to the mouth of the river where it empties into the sound. We beached "Old Dog" and got into the water. The boys tied a rope to the large rock on the shore and then went around to the other side, jumped in and let the current cast them through the narrow channel. Not to be outdone by a 10 and 11 year old, Ray and I jumped in also.

What a fun ride!! The current is very strong and the ride is fast, but sends you out to an easy swim to shore. The sand is so soft! It feels like Cream of Wheat as it falls between your fingers. I imagine building a hut and just living on the beach. On the way back, the two boys and their dad, Chris, let the current carry them back through the river as they snorkeled. Their mom, Summer rowed the dinghy and Ray and I watched and took pictures from ours. Halfway through the river, the tide changed so everyone climbed back into the boat and we set off for home. We once again saw the turtles and got some more pictures. We were going to go snorkel the coral heads, but everyone was so exhausted. I was just going to rest for a short time, but ended up taking a two hour nap! This life!!! It was decided to stay at anchor and leave in the morning for Warderick Wells. Ray and I made a nice happy hour and toasted the sunset up in the cockpit. We made dinner, read a little and once again slept like the dead. Shroud Cay is probably my favorite, so far, in the Exuma chain. The sand is so soft, and there is no civilization on the island. We didn't get to snorkel the coral heads, but next year, I plan on staying at anchor here for three or four days. We had only been in Exuma for a short time, but already we had made such fun memories and done so much together. That is the whole point of this summer adventure, to be together and evidently learn to surf on the bow of a sailboat taking waves over the bow. Oh that head wind and beamy seas..... I will take it over hour long commutes, sitting in traffic, standing in line, or missing Ray while he is at work. We are so rich.... rich in love, family, friends and life. I will never take for granted the blessing that Ray and I have been given. In two day, I will celebrate 49 years around the sun. It seems so unreal that it has been that long, but here I am, killing it!! I could stand to be thinner, could use a thousand or four more dollars, but seriously..... those things do not bring happiness because even without them, I am having an amazing life. When my time is up, I want to be remembered as a wonderful mom, a great wife, a loyal friend and someone who tried to spread love and joy throughout the world. I want to see as much as I can, live as much as I can with Ray, explore and laugh my way through the rest of my life. We are underway again and off to make more memories with our new friends and with each other. Its exciting to wake up and see an empty page just waiting to be filled. While I am not sure what the story will be or how it will end, it is my story and I am going to have so much fun writing it.