Morning, everyone.
Chris, I forgot to ask about your wife. How is she doing and did she tolerate the surgery well? I hope everything went well. Sounds like it must have if she had more fun in the hospital than we did in the Bahamas.
Next time, it will be Florida for sure compared to ever going back to Nassau.
BOC, I suspect any of the islands with too much American influence is a bad thing. The Bahamas may be the best example of that. I sure hope you find those files. Things like that can cause a world of trouble when you have to report it the government.
Jeffrey, from what I've read of your description of your dad's complaints, it sure sounds like gallstones or maybe a bile duct problem. Whatever it is, I hope they find out soon since I'm sure the poor guy is miserable.
Ken, does make you wonder about grandmas (and grandpas) sometimes. I hope shes OK. I know I tend to overdo things, thinking I'm still about 35 years old until my body attacks me.
Tony, I've sail in the Caribbean for the past 20 years or so. Most of the islands are great once you get away from the larger towns. Even Jamaica has really nice bays and places to visit once you get out of Kingston, probably the most dangerous city in the Caribbean. Barbados has gotten really industrialized since you were there but there are still nice spots to go - you just need a shallow draft sailboat. Same with the Bahamas. I've sailed to the out islands like Cat Island and Inauga and they were all uniformly nice with very pleasant people. There's something about being around too much gambling, drinking, and drugs which can destroy whole cultures.
Tom, I sailed into Freeport in 1992. It was a typical island town at that time although a lot more industrial than most of the Caribbean. My understanding is that Freeport has gotten a lot worse since then. I loved Gettysburg. For some reason, you really feel like you are back on the battlefield when you tour there.
Karl, the cruise ships are a real problem now in Nassau. They've dredged out the harbor and they now get six or seven of those monsters in at once. You can get just about any kind of fake designer handbag and watch ever made in China at the straw market. All the tourists are a real corrupting influence on what used to be a nice, laid-back culture. I'm sure it helps the economy of the Bahamas but it's ruining their culture. I haven't run any trains yet but I'll look for that one that was making noise that's now a park display.
Sandy, I've actually stayed at the Broadmoor. It is an awesome place. I always loved sleeping on deck on the sailboat when we were in a nice, protected anchorage. Just rocks you to sleep.
Bob, I agree, it's hard to beat the Virgin Islands for sailing, diving, and undersea life. The people are generally nice and, although it's not the cheapest place to go in the Caribbean, it sure is pleasant.
Boy, the weather has followed us back from the Bahamas. Warm and humid with showers and some thunderstorms although nothing too severe yet. It was actually warmer and more humid here last night than in the Bahamas. I never realized what was really wrong in the Bahamas until I heard all the tree frogs and insects making noise in the backyard. I heard nothing like that down there. Too much man made noise. Didn't have to worry about the lawn dying though - we had about four inches of rain while we were gone.
NEXT TIME, Time proven FLORIDA! we had just enough sunshine this week for you to have gone back home with a nice sun burn, with just enough rain to spend money in the local Malls and shops... Old Florida Never lets you down
I'm not complaining at all I LOVE IT!
