Road Trip!

 Well, not really. Actually it was a short trip South to Little Harbour where Pete's Pub was celebrating Pete's 20th 50th birthday with all sorts of slow roasted fare. If it was me I'd rather celebrate my 50th 20th birthday but I guess his version works as well considering the alternative. As usual we had to traverse North Bar Channel and Little Harbour Cut as a part of the trip to Little Harbour. However the weather leading up to our departure was mild which meant the seas were calm making for a very pleasant ride. The first photo is an image of how Little Harbour Cut was behaving for the ride down, and North Bar Channel was no less calm. There was perhaps one foot of slow rolling, well separated seas coming in from the Atlantic, and by the way, this is the East side of Abaco. That means there is nothing out there until you get to Africa. To offer this kind of sea state quite a bit of the Atlantic has to be sedate. We were wishing that we could have been headed South to the Exumas with this window of excellent weather!

But hanging in Little Harbour on one of Pete's Pub moorings is a very good thing and we took advantage of it for 3 nights. With a forecast of calm weather for out almost a week it was worth it to stay a night on either side of the Pig Roast. I didn't notice any swell coming in past Tom Curry point into the Harbour so it was totally flat for the length of our stay. But besides the good weather we were lucky enough to meet up with some friends and share a couple of dinners together even if I had to help hang the flags up around Pete's new cottage on the dock.

 The bash was scheduled for Saturday and we started around 11:30 AM. Yes, kind of early but when more friends showed up in their boats it all flowed very easily. With great seats we proceeded to have a couple of beverages and wait for the food to start coming out. I should have taken a photo of the plate they laid down in front of us. It was completely full and all of it was terrific. BBQ wild boar, smokey baked beans, cole slaw, potato salad, rice and beans, and a cold beer. While this shot is mostly chicken, there was hog as well and was it ever good! But then Pete's Pub does have a reputation for bringing out a good plate of food regardless of the occasion.

No trip to Little Harbour without a walk up to the remains of the light house is complete. I have to admit the light that was there is worse now than I have ever seen it. Looking it over quickly defines why the light is listed as not operational on charts. It's gone! The tower it was mounted on is laid over and the foundation is all rusted and crumbling like the rest of the house. It's a shame it fell to this point because it certainly would make a great tourist attraction like many of the other lights we have visited over the years.  

  When we visited the remaining structure in the past, there was a spiral of conch shells that people kept adding to on the floor. Even this has been laid to waste. But most of the walls are still up, the water tank and small out building are still there and the scene really lends itself to some sort of renewal.

 Heck with a view like this it has to be worth something to the crown. Maybe someone with cash to spare will pick up on it and perform a restoration and turn the light back on. It would be a welcome addition to the parks system here in the Bahamas and become a popular visit for everyone. Maybe even a little educational for the local kids.

  Back on the Harbour side we stopped in at the Gallery and had a look around. If there was a place I'd like to drop some spare change this would be it. They have plenty of their foundry handy work on display and some of it is actually affordable. 
 I will admit I managed to get a good shot of this piece of work without the price because I did not want to spoil the impression but wow, was it worth it if I had the cash. Maybe some negotiation is possible but I knew up front it was out of my realm of affordability. Thankfully, the trip down here and the times with friends here is and that is certainly worth it.