So the monday Bruce and Joan were here we were on the Cow Hunter. The big talk most of the day was about a Russian guy who was in distress 10 miles off shore on the east side of the island. The Coast Guard made the trip out there to rescue him, aparently there was lots of radio chatter tyring to find a guy on the island who speaks russian. Turns out there are about 4 people here who CAN speak russian, crazy!

his boat was taking on water was about all anyone could gather. he was dropped off at Hawk;s Nest and locked up in a room to wait for customs to come visit him. The story was strange as he said he left FL a few days ago, but he lived there for 2 years and didn't learn any english. He had no passport and he never cleared customs anywhere. Have no idea what the Bahamian customs agents decided to do with him.

so the boat was left out at sea to make it's way in on it's own. That monday guys on the property said they could see the boat coming in. there is a large reef that protects that side of the island and the reef did it's job. The boat came up in pieces. jerry and crew were out on the beach all day the friday we were at the airport. They came home with all kinds of stuff, tons of wood from the interior, even the toilet seat, don't ask.

The saturday after Bruce & Joan left we went to work then into Old Bight for food, we ended up at Grammy's. The cheeseburgers were so good. We hung out with her for 2 hours, taking shots and telling stories. On the way home Chris pulls off the road onto the side road that takes you to the ocean. This road is so terrible it takes 30 mins to get out and I bet it's only 3 miles. the brush is so over grown and the road is mostly exposed rock bed. the beach was litered with debris from the boat. a portion of it came up along side the old dead tree on the shore. We got a few pieces of wood for ourselves, but most had been scavanged the day before.

There was the red dingy that was full of holes that was almost on shore, wish I had the camera, I tried to pull it in, to no avail, did manage to get pretty wet though.

Fastforward to the following monday, a crew of us at Jerry and Donna's to watch Wheel of Fortune. his daughter Sandy was on and she was the winner. There had to be 5 diff conversations going on at once, then all of a sudden there is agreement all around the room and I am clueless as I was in the bathroom. They have decided to go back to the wreak site to look for the chain and anchor. This means getting into the water.

Newsflash low tide starts at 6am tuesday, I am still tired from the week before and desperately want to sleep in. Wake up call is 7am!!! to get wet....we leave at 730, make to beach by 8. I have pics to post of the guys getting the dingy into the water, still on camera. So, Roy, Chris, Jerry and Ali all take off for the reef. Donna and her dogs walk south with Virginia (a guest) and Lucille and her dogs walk north. While I go back to truck get my book, blanket, and towel. I set up and promptly fall asleep, that is till I hear teh boat motor.

jerry comes flying in to get Roy's backpack full of tools. They found the chain and anchor. Now I am fully awake and watching Jerry to see where he goes. They were so far out on the reef you almost couldn't see them. after about 2 hours they all come back in. When Jerry was going back out he had 3 dolphins, as in Flipper, follow him out. They guys all got to swim with them, wish I couldhave been out there but the water looked rough on the reef. Chris came in winded and excited. Said there was tons of stuff down there but no real reson to bring it up. the chain was the focus as Roy needed one fro his boat. the had to drag the chain about 30 feet across the reef to get it to the boat.

After the guys got in, we all cracked a beer thinking nothing of it till someone said it was only 1045! We loaded up and had lunch at the Pilot Harbor. always something exciting going on here.

pics to come later

I am a week behind on posting this but here goes....


Sunday we got to the airport early and had to wait for bout an hour and half, as it usually goes with any trip to the airport. Turns out they were on the same flight with people we know on the island, so they got to chat with folks who know us a bit. After getting through customs, we started the senic drive to the south end. We stopped at the Old Bight Beach and had some drinks and cheese and crackers. The day was a bit overcast and was actually not too hot. Lots of catching up to do before we loaded up to Flamingo Bay.

Soon as we got back, clothes were changed and cocktails were made for a trip to the beach. The guys decided to make a mad dash to the property to do some flagging and the ladies stayed on the beach drinkin G&T's. Cedell, our neighbor up the road, came over for a quick visit. While she was here, Joan decided to unpack all the 'gifts' they brought to us, it was like Christmas!!! More GT's consumed and before we knew it we had to be next door for spaghetti dinner. The day ended up so great, Jerry and Donna made a great dinner.

Monday was a day on the Cow Hunter with Billy and Dari. The weather was about the same, overcast till bout 1pm. Not much catching happened that day, a few dolphin and a tuna. The Wahoo were not biting off Columbus Point. I got a few pics as my camera battery was dying, I did not get a pic of poor Joan wretching, as she later called it, over the side of the boat. The motion pill didn't help with the hangover of gin from the night before. We came back tot he dock earlier than usual and Jerry and Donna met us at the Cat House, for dinner. Dari made dinner with the day's catch and I got to see thier house in the day light for the first time. They have amazing views of the ocean from every room!

Tuesday we all went out to the property for a short while. Checked out the fresh water that was hit the day before and showed them around a bit. It was during this time the tractor was down for bolt tightening. We had lunch at Bluebird before Chris went back to work. i got some paperwork done as the headed to the beach. i joined them a few hours later after Chris got home. They fell in love with the beach at Flamingo. We spent a while down there drinking wine and beers. jerry turned on the hot tub for us once we got back. We ended up in the hot tub fairly late and then decided to make dinner. The guys cooked some fish while Joan and I drank and looked at pictures on the computer. Dinner was good, peas and rice, potato salad and some other stuff. I swear Bruce and Joan were not affected by the double time change, diff time zone and time change happened the day they got to Cat.

Wed. Chris went to work for while and I drove us back out to Hawk's Nest to the gift shop. It's one of the very few places on the island to purchase any kind of gifts. We made the long trek up to the north for lunch at Sammy T's. A resort that Chris and I had yet to visit. The place was beautiful. Lots of landscaping and the water view was amazing. lunch was pretty good tooo. Turns out they have a pretty stocked gift shop also. another night at Jerry and Donna's for drinks and apps. Got to show them the dvd's on Cat Island, even a new one I had not seen before. We spent the remainder of the night out on the deck watching the full moon rise, once again time does not affect them. chris and I were exhausted and they showed no signs of tired.

Thurs we got up early and had a day planned of site visits. we hit up the bourbon Plantation first, not what I was expecting, well I was expecting more i guess. Took lots of photos of the remains of the buildings. The Deveaux house was next, then the Port Howe Church. I think I took about 300 wed and thurs. The old Catholic church in old Bight was really cool to shoot. Lots of great old stone images and doors. After our daily stop at 2 corners for more wine we headed to the fry shacks to see if anyone was there, only Frank was to be found. he did have some beers that were cold tho. Another trip to Flamingo beach, this time everyone came down, jerry, donna and all the dogs. The tide was extremely low due to full moon phase and we were able to walk out a ways and look for shells.


We had dinner at Roy & Lucille's that night, the food was so good and the conversations were hillarious. more picture taking on my part, I wanted Joan to have pics of every thing. got home and headed to our villas for more drinks ;) We ended up chating, drinking, playing farkle and eating popcorn till 2am!!!!!! they are troopers I tell ya, however it was thier last night on the island.

not sure about everyone else but I had a touch of a hangover friday morning. It was another wonderful airport excursion as always. Everyone tells you how difficult it is to get to Cat, what they don't tell ya is how damn hard it is to leave. OK, here's the story.

flight is at 1:30 they want you there 2 hours before. no problem, we left a little early as it takes about 30 to get there. So we get there at 1030. no one that works at the airport has a damn clue what is going on. You ask a question to 3 diff people you get 3 totally diff answers. customs spent 30 mins going through their luggage and just talking. so now we are at 11am, not that big a deal we hang at the bar Double D's across the street waiting till 12 so we can go eat at Fernandez bay. so we are just sitting around watching bad Bahamian tv and watching the clock go by. Fernandez Bay had a few guests but we still got a table outside facing the bay. It was gorgeous that day with a nice breeze. Lunch was pretty good, most resorts have good food. As we were leaving we discover that FB has a gift shop also. a Nice gift shop with clothes and such. Bruce & joan bought us this awesome jellyfish made out of tiny beads on wire, it's green, blue and yellow, for our new digs. As we are at the front desk to pay out, the manager tells us the airport called and the plane is not leaving FL till 3:45!!!!!

no remember that the luggage is at customs, already inspected, so no bathing suits or change of clothes. So we head back to Flamingo Bay, as we have 2 1/2 hours to kill. Joan and I take a short nap while Bruce and Chris try to get a hold of Continental about the next flight. I still have no idea how they made that flight but kudos to them. Get to the airport and the plane has still not left FL, it takes 1 1/2 hours to get to Cat IF if flies directly here. So we head back across the street to bar. I have about gotten over the hangover and am now drinking beer. We get a call from a girl we know working at the airport, she tells us they need to get there now, WTH we were just over there and didn't see a plane land. Rush over there they jump out say good bye, hugs and all....it's the DAMN wrong plane!! told you no one knows what they hell is going on there.

So back to bar, more sitting around, did get to watch Seasame Street ;) Not 10 mins later we get a call that the plane has to touch down in Eluthera first and everyone has to go through customs. Great more time lost. The plane finally lands at 4:50, for the original 1:30 flight, no clue as to why they left FL late, we will never know. It was the big Lynx plane and by big I mean it holds 19 people. I think Bruce & Joan were the only ones on with the pilot. The plane then sat on the runway for another 20 mins. We gave up and left the airport at 510. Funny how doing nothing makes you so exhausted.

all in all it was such agreat time, I wish it had been a few days longer as there was actually some things on the island we didn't get to show you guys. hope you and everyone in TX is enjoying the pics.

PHISH PHISH PHISH PHISH PHISH PHISH PHISH PHISH PHISH PHISH PHISH PHISH PHISH PHISH PHISH PHISH PHISH PHISH PHISH PHISH PHISH PHISH PHISH PHISH PHISH PHISH PHISH PHISH
is on my mind!!!!! I am bouncing around the room listening to a sick ass YEM from 94. btw how the hell can they paly YEM this weekend, they gave the tramps away at shitty Coventry. Oh how I WISH I could be in the mothership aka Hampton these next 3 days!

where is my teleporter....to all my phriends making the trek have a mind blowing time, I can't even imagine what the electric energy will feel like in the room as the lights go down, arugh why oh why am I not there...oh right venue is only round 9K seats THAT's WHY!!! people are willing to give up thier first born for a tix for the next 3 days. alas I had to walk the beach today and listen to the Best of PT compliation and dance in the sand, where was Kuroda.

Can't wait to see the live set list updates and even more excited for the FREE (!) downloads for all nights.

ps. family I appologize as you have no idea what I am talking about.

Carini

The past week was a blur, the tractor was down tuesday and part of wed, so nothing got done. But we still had work to do on another location of the property. We have this silt fence that must be installed 100' off the salt pond all the way around. We are talking over a mile folks. and most of this mile is on a damn sand dune. We had a crew of guys come out and cut a path in the vegetation about 2' wide all the way around. the lake side didn't take them long at all the dune was another story. Friday we started to haul this fence that is wrapped in bundles with 8-12 stakes up this freakin dune along the path. It was pretty hot that day and hard to walk in loose sand with a bundle in your arms or on you shoulders. The plan was to hammer in the stakes and 2 other guys will come behind and dig the trench for the actual fence.

Well, where ever the fence came from it had obviously been sitting out in the elements for a very long time. More than 3/4's of the post were rotten and molded. One hit and they would explode into moist shards. Great. so most of the fence is lying on it's side waiting for new post to be attached. And how do we accomplish this, well we call the guy in Nassau who is getting a hose for the broke down tractor and have him pick up many bags of zip ties. Which we will use with the stakes that were brought over for marking the road, reminds me we need to order more of those. We came home and Jerry had turned on the hot tub for us, which was grand. We were both exhausted and sore. New guests had come in, Kristen and Sam from Boston I think.

Sat was more of the same. Hauling this damn fence up the dune from the trucks. it was SUPER hot this day and you lose the sea breeze at different points of the dune and it gets stifling hot and humid. I think I had over 4 pounds of sand in my shoes by noon. Of course we ran out of said damn silt fence and need about another 10 bundles to complete the dune. We left the guys digging the trench for what they could and using the few road stakes we gave them. after a quick shower we headed to the Sailing Club/Regatta site/Fry shacks for some beers, food and domino's. Well, they were out of most food including rice!?!?! and most of the whole menu, ran out of Heineken's, and the domino's were no where to be found....ahhh the island.

Beers are delivered and put into freezer, domino's were found but alas we didn't' get a chance to play. Hung around for a last minute improv rake and scrape session. Pumpy on his accordion, Cedell using a screwdriver on a saw blade and an old oil drum with leather for the beat. Wish I had my camera. We made a mad dash back to Flamingo for the night of heavy apps. Roy and Lucille came over and we had some wonderful homemade pepperoni pizza!!! Good evening with all, lots of talking going around. I was excited for bed tho I have to say cause we had the next 3 days off, IN A ROW!!!!

Sunday was lazy day, slept in watched some b-ball. I layed out for a hour or so then headed to pick up Sheila for a massage. My legs have been killing me with all the hiking around over and over again. She was asleep when I got there at 145pm! We got a late start but it was nice. Now this is the Bahamas and not a posh spa in CA, it was different but she uses Young Living which is a co out of Chicago that has amazing oils. Coriander, lemon grass and oregano (i smelled like pizza all day)

The rest of the day was spent trying to get supplies ordered and put into list form for the new apartment. Not as easy as it sounds, net shopping is for the birds when you have to do a purchase this large and extensive. How am I supposed to pick out towels and not be able to touch them to check the plushness ;) but really, waiting for the pages and all the images to download is so boring and time consuming. I am still waiting with crossed fingers that we will be able to go to FL and get the stuff ourselves. but our work schedule may not allow it.

So the next 2 days off!!! but we have major rains coming our way, bummer for pool time, great for getting dust down on property. Some laundry to do and that's about it. Billy and Dari are back and having a party on friday! I missed them stopping by the house as I was with Sheila, but they have invited us to FL to stay at their house during the SunFest festival in West Palm Beach. Dari is the head honcho organizer and wants us to come check it out for free and stay in their Love Shack (guest house at their home) that is in late April 1st of May. Damn I can't believe it's already March.

Time change next sunday and Joan and Bruce will be here. Fingers crossed for sunshine.

~K&C