Our long drive yesterday to Marianna paid off today. Having less distance remaining allowed us time to enjoy swimming and exploring Ponce De Leon Springs and have a nice lunch at Sonny’s in Pensacola. Everyone is glad to be home again!

We had a good day on the road – just a few slowdowns in south Florida, but otherwise light traffic and good driving conditions. We’re staying overnight in Dove’s Rest Campground. The owners of the campground are some of the nicest people you would ever meet, so we like staying here. Everyone is in good spirits and eager to get home to tell you all about the trip. Mr. Bob is rustling up some dinner for us.

Last minute fun yesterday at Rodriguez Key. Robbie drove the boat to Key Largo. The boat is clean and we’re all loaded up. Time to get rollin’!

We had a great crossing from the Bahamas to Florida! The wind gave us power, but not too much; the seas were mostly about 1 meter. We saw a few cruise ships enroute. All of our crew survived  – not a single one turned green. We’re anchored up at Rodriguez Key recuperating from the overnight sail, organizing the boat, and having some last bit of fun before docking.

Mike took this photo of the conch fritters we made last night. John and Mike  collected up the conchs. We put in 4 different peppers, onions, celery, seasonings, and flour. Chef Bob fried ’em up along with some freshly caught fish. Some say that was the best meal of the trip!

Wow – what a day! We hand fed stingrays and even pet a nurse shark. We explored a shipwrecked sailboat. Some made the trek to the lighthouse. Of course fishing is the best at this anchorage.

Hugh Rolle joined us for breakfast on our boat. Landon and Jason stocked up on Goombay Punch before leaving. Robbie learned how to check the engine and transmission oil and how to check the seawater strainers. After readying the boat for departure, we left Big Game and headed out. We met friends inbound aboard Aurora on our way out. We raised sails and sailed north along the length of the island, came about and sailed south again, past South Bimini, heading southeast onto the Great Bahamas Bank before Turtle Rocks. We sailed to the Sapona, a ship made of concrete and steel aground in 15 feet of water. This is THE place to snorkel – inside the ship and all around it. Our crew saw sea turtles up close and fish everywhere. Landon and Robbie used their super powers to climb way up onto the deck of the ship. They both jumped off in turn impressing the rest of our crew and the crews of several tour boats. Landon and Jason sailed Blue Moon from the Sapona to Honeymoon Harbor at the north end of Gun Cay. We are securely anchored for the night. We expect to catch many many fish here. We’ve already caught 12 including a remora, and we’re just getting started. We plan to hand feed stingrays at the beach in the morning.

We started our day with a wonderful breakfast thanks to Mr. Bob. Next was completing the mission to deliver books to the local school. Mr. Domonic Sweety, principal of Louise McDonald High School welcomed our group to his school and introduced our students to faculty and students there. We had a wonderful time sharing an appreciation for reading, with the conversation opening up to broader education and life. After lunch we did a number of things like visiting the local shops, fishing, snorkeling off the beach, catching up with Mr. Hugh Rolle, and otherwise having a great day.  Wednesday, we’ll snorkel the wreck of the Sapona and check out Honeymoon Harbor.

Today is Easter Monday, a Bahamas national holiday. We had a picnic with our Bahamian friends from Wesley Methodist Church in Alice Town. We also toured the Dolphin House, Bimini’s museum, hand built by Ashley Saunders. Afterwards, the crew took the dinghy to Conch Island in search of Conch shells. We’re spending two nights at Big Game Club Marina.

We had a slow morning as we each woke up to a new day after a rough crossing. We didn’t eat much yesterday, but we made up for that today! Mr. Bob made a breakfast of eggs, bacon, toast, waffles, juice, and coffee. Lunch was baked chicken breast sandwiches, chips, etc. For dinner, we went to the Big Game Club restaurant – half pound cheeseburgers and fries for most (Mike had a huge bowl of pasta) – quite delicious. The highlight of the day was snorkeling at the Three Sisters. The mighty spear fishermen slayed some fish! We’re back on the hook on the west side of Bimini. It’s so nice here. We do have a loud DJ on the beach partying down all night. He’s so fired up, it’s great entertainment.