Well, we did it! We conquered the road trip, 2 Gulf Stream crossings, 3 days of strong wind and rain, Alan’s rice, North and South Bimini, the Wreck of the Sapona, Honeymoon Harbor, Molasses Reef, Rodriguez Key, Port Largo Canal, Fanning Springs, and more. You guys were absolutely amazing! Everyone pitched in and made it work. Thank you sincerely for being such a great crew.

We’re on the return road trip today. We came into Port Largo by boat yesterday, then pulled the RV near the dock. We loaded the RV and cleaned up the boat. We left by RV this morning. The drive was nice the entire way. We even stopped at Fanning Springs State Park on the way for a swim. We are now back at A Camper’s World just east of Tallahassee still in daylight. At the moment everyone is watching the movie Captain Ron. We’ll call parents en route tomorrow to let you know the details of our return home.

We had a great day at the wreck of the Sapona and at Honeymoon Harbor. We sailed through the night and returned to Key Largo today. We dove at Molasses Reef on the way and stopped at Rodriguez Key as well. We’re packing up for the return road trip.

The wind was still strong today and it was still wet – but conditions were better than the last couple of days. We made the best of it anyway. Alan and Captain Dan went to Bimini Primary School to deliver childrens’ books that Alan had collected to donate. The principal of the school and the librarian were very appreciative. Landon is now the Monopoly Deal champion. Luke and Garrett played more pool with new friends at Big Game. One of them, Sebastian, came back to the boat for a while and played B.S. (card game). Devon made rice and otherwise radiated coolness.  We had oatmeal for breakfast. For lunch, we had Nutella (or peanut butter and jelly) on hamburger buns.For dinner we had delicious barbecue ribs, baked beans, corn, and peaches. The wind and waves have finally settled. We expect tomorrow to be a good day with calm seas and moderate winds. Conditions for our crossing back to Florida are also expected to be good.

“It’s gonna blow!” This was heard from a local Bahamian about today’s weather. Well, he was right. It blew 25-30 knots all day and is still blowing about 25. Needless to say, we stayed in port and entertained ourselves with a variety of activities. This morning we noticed an overturned powerboat being towed by another. Later, on our way to the ferry dock, we saw the local salvage company bringing that same boat close to shore and righting it with a forklift and a big pickup truck pulling on a thick line wrapped around the hull. It turned out to be the Bimini pilot boat. It had capsized in the terrible weather the night before while crossing the reef. Our purpose in going to the ferry dock was to ride the ferry to South Bimini. There we experienced what our sailors described as a “torrential downpour.” We ate Bahamian food at a local restaurant on South Bimini. The food was excellent – pork, barbecue wings, loaded fries, and plantains. We took the ferry back and were glad to be back at the boat where we had shelter. For our evening meal, we had steak, mashed potatoes, and peas. Everyone enjoyed playing Monopoly Deal, a new card game based on the original Monopoly game and Catch Phrase Ultimate. Our crew is getting pretty skilled at playing pool too. We’re hoping the weather settles down tomorrow so we can go to the wreck of the Sapona and Honeymoon Harbor.

Link to pilot boat video

Landon and Jeremy dancing in grass skirt

Today was windy and drizzly most of the day so we stayed tied to the dock and explored the island. Alan made sausage egg and cheese croissants for breakfast. Today was Easter Monday, a national holiday in the Bahamas. To celebrate the holiday, many locals picnic on the beach. The picnic we were invited to was apparently canceled – we were the only ones who showed up! It was probably for the best anyway as the red beans we were preparing wound up taking all day to cook. They turned out great though and we had them for dinner–much thanks to Devon (red beans) and Alan (RICE). Our kids did swim in the surf this afternoon. Ruston found a big Rubber Maid container lid on the beach and rode the waves in on it like a surf board. They also made some new friends playing pool at Big Game. Everyone is having a great time, but we are all itching to go snorkeling!

Our first day in the Bahamas started out mighty fine with Captain Dan and 1st Mate Antonio, along with all the crew docking the boat perfectly at Big Game Club. Alan cooked up a breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon for the whole crew. Jeremy, always a wheeler-dealer, met a local Bahamian and was offered a truck in trade for his snorkel fins. Landon climbed palm trees for coconuts. The weather kicked up a bit so Ruston took advantage of the downtime to do two hours of APUSH (Advanced Placement U.S. History) homework. Ruston also found a cool conch while snorkeling. Not to be outdone, Garrett discovered part of a house underwater while snorkeling close to the beach. Gabbie went snorkeling for the first time and used her underwater camera. Luke caught a small fish in the harbor and used it as bait for a bigger fish. Well, the shark took the bait and gave him quite a fight before breaking the line on a dock piling (not the shark’s first rodeo!). Devon knocked it out of the park by cooking up pork chops and rice for dinner. It was fantastic!

Tomorrow we plan to share some South Mississippi red beans and rice with our Bahamian friends at a local Easter Monday beach party.

All is well here in Bimini.

We had a beautiful crossing last night, arriving in the wee hours. Already been to Easter services, been to the beach, fishing, and more. Staying here at Big Game Club tonight.

All is well!

We’re staying overnight at Roadrunner RV Resort in Ft. Pierce. All are well fed and otherwise doing fine. They’re exploring the campground and having some fun. Tomorrow we’ll get an early start and head down to Key Largo.