BOUNCING IN THE 'BEEMER'...............

Some day real soon, someone is going to get a picture of us, screaming, flying, bouncing and riding in our BMW............ The white one, with the 15HP Johnston outboard that does at least 60mph on the "Blue Autobahn". I hold on to the throttle on the one side, while the Queen holds on to her body, and the other side............and after each wild flight-ride, we 'discuss' how to do it more gently.......and during those moments of post-traumatic stress, while the Queen re-adjusts her anatomy, and on occassions her attire, we laugh and realise that a bad and bouncy dinghy ride still beats a super-brilliant day in any office.
You see what I mean, the Queen gently walks to the water's edge, adjusts some straps and we are good to go again................................. the bird shakes his head, turns, and walks away in disgust...............



A quick dip in the water and tranquility is restored........ There are so many glorious little islands and coves to explore, for which the dinghy and a relaible outbourd are absolute essentials. We sometimes travel miles in the dinghy and when we plan to cross sections of open ocean, we carry our portable VHF radio with us, just in case. How do you make the call on channel 16 (emercency channel) that says " we are drifting approx. 2 mile S-SE of No-Name Cay, waving madly, while sitting in a white BMW with the top down,..................and we think we might be out of gas"

On one of our trips we went to look at the developments at Baker's Bay, where the northern end of Guana Cay island is being converted to homesites, a golf course and a five-star marina. The expenditure and infrastructure is immense. One of the big winners is the Abaco island population. The project, despite the economy, is currently employing more than five hundred locals, with full time constructon jobs. A real boost in hard times.................and as for the guy in the fancy hat, well,..... he's a surveyor. Not the "theodolite and walkie-talkie" kind you see on the highways,... no, this guy works with his deluxe powerboat, nudges up to a pylon, hits the GPS connected to his laptop and 'voila' the position has been marked on the map for all eternity, or at least until the next hurricane takes it somewhere else........ and after that they will be able to show with absolute certainty where it used to be.



Staying fit and getting enough exercise is getting to be a real problem. These trips of "more on shore" have created " a little on the middle". We have a plan in place to buy bicycles as soon as we return to Florida. The Queen does her yoga in the morning, just as the Sun is making its presence felt, and she paddles around in her floatie, when there is no longer any doubt that the sun has the upper hand and is winning the game.



We took the 'beemer' to "No-Name" Cay and then across to Pelican Cay, a small rocky outcrop barely above water with palm trees, a cottage and a sandy beach, the kind that movies are made for. Across the brilliant water to the back of Green Turtle Cay for a long walk amongst the Australian pine (Casuarinas) and the sea oats.



Back in Green Turtle, we did a little shopping and then climbed the stairs of a building built in 1870 to look down upon the historical commemorative garden honouring the first loyalist settlers, all in bronze, and full of patriotism for the UNION JACK. You should really double-click on this garden. Even the footpath has recently been painted a brilliant red........... After so much exercise, we definitely need to take things a little easier, collapse the AC tent first, then up with the double hammock (thanks Dana & Chris) and add a couple of 'Sundowners'. So what shall we do tomorrow...............................