They say it's Spring

 At this point we are happy that we have no plans for return. We have an approximation for departure, but nothing is concrete. Punxsutawney Phil has apparently made many enemies this year with his bogus prediction of an early or on time Spring. Seriously. What do you expect from an over grown rat? In light of the way Spring is coming into our lives this year, we really have no incentive to move the boat yet. There have been opportunities to get across the Gulf Stream but they are infrequently available at best. So we will probably temper our enthusiasm to get back with the notion that March has been cool and windy. Hopefully April brings us more moderation and May even more calm.
 Beyond that whole debacle, the arrival of March usually means an influx of boats into the Abacos from points South and this year was certainly no exception. Hope Town Harbour is mobbed and we're glad we moved South to Sea Spray back in December. In addition to the boats coming North from the Exumas we have additional boats coming across from the United States as Spring Breakers arriving to rent houses. Hopefully all of the businesses are sharing in this increased tourism because it seems like there is plenty of it!
 All of the additional traffic certainly influenced the attendance of the Barefoot Man Concert on Guana Cay. As usual, and pretty much expected, the band put on three shows. The first show was on Friday afternoon which was a perfect day for a crowded venue. It was breezy and cooler than lately which made for a comfortable experience.
 At night the show was equally comfortable except folks wore long sleeves, pants and a jacket. That may sound out of place in the Bahamas but over the course of Winter there are several days, let alone evenings when it is appropriate. But given the alternative of shoveling a driveway clear of snow, we'll take it. The crowd at Nippers was more subdued this year than in years past. We recall one lady that was up on a table dancing the whole time the band played. Eventually she was carried out when she ran out of enthusiasm supplied by Frozen Nippers. She was there at least three years running. But not this year and testimony to the subdued crowd's activity, no one took her place. In fact we didn't see George (the Barefoot Man) signing any of the ladies' behinds or breasts. People must be getting worn out or they are tired of bouncing off the rocks along the path home.


This year coincident with the concert the harbour at the settlement was crowded but our assessment says there were a few cancelation of slip reservations at Orchid Bay. While the marina did well and was fun to be at, it seemed like there were always a few open slips this year at concert time. We will say that it was great to have the restaurant at Orchid Bay open for business and we thoroughly enjoyed our dinner there one night. Speaking of night, the water at Orchid Bay marina is very clear which had us leaving the transom lights on over night. Various aquatic life showed up in the lights and entertained us with their presence. Turtles, squid, and sharks all made an appearance. However, the small Green Heron that used to hang out on the swim platform was not to be seen this year. So that marks the first time in 5 years we did not see our Heron buddy and we missed him.
 But we did get to hook up with many folks we had not seen in quite a while. Folks at Grabbers, Nippers, the Yacht Club and the Pirate's Cove. Fortunately we were able to spend some time with Jerry Fording the proprietor and share a few laughs. While we sat there with Sally mixing for us, Oz, a box office smash was playing on his projection TV. I asked Jerry, "Ok, how did you get that over here to play on your TV when it is still in the theaters raking in huge bucks?". He replied "And the name of this place is?" Yup. The Pirate had swiped a copy some how. Too cool. Sadly not long after our stop at Guana Jerry passed away while closing up the Pirate's Cove at the end of the evening.
 We're all sorry to see you go Jerry, you and the Pirate's Cove were an icon of the Abacos. RIP Man.
 Anyway, Winter down here will be Winter and we had a few good storms out of the North East. One of them pushed on shore well and made a mess of places like the Abaco Inn. If you click on the photo it will become apparent that stones with other debris was washed up from the bluff and into the pool at the Abaco Inn. Looking off into the distance one can see how high the tide came in that day. Not to worry, local Bahamian ethic had it cleaned up in short order and every day life moved on as though nothing had happened. No whining about getting FEMA cash here.

Since we are down here a while I have to check for recordings on the phone once in a while. One day I get a message, "Dan? Your sister says we should get in touch with you. Are you in the Abacos?". Returning the call led to a meet up with a couple of gentlemen from Pa. that attend church with my sister. So in her honor we all went fishing with Justin the owner of Local Boy Charters out of Hope Town http://www.hopetownfishing.com/ It wasn't long before all three of us had a wahoo on at the same time! There are a number of Charters out of Hope Town and Lubbers that can turn an otherwise dull day into a bit of an adventure while providing fish for the table. If you get over here and don't have the boat to go outside (like us) give them a call, they will take care of you and you will have a good time at a reasonable price.
 And that brings us to April our last month in the Abacos. We've had a great time so far and hope to cap it off with more good times. We could not have asked for better service from our hosts at Sea Spray http://www.seasprayresort.com/ and the Hope Town Inn and Marina http://www.hopetownmarina.com/. Both of these places have great staff and a good restaurant to dine at when you want to break up the stay with a night out. In fact on many occasions we were pleasantly surprised to have Asian food prepared expertly by Carlton at Sea Spray followed by the New Entry Band providing dance music.
 But the season has to end eventually even though we are not looking forward to it. So it's time to squeeze in everything we have not removed from the bucket list before we head West.