We survived the crossing to Bimini. Showers and wifi – what else does one need?

We made it to Key Largo and spent the night aboard Big Easy II.

Had a good drive east on I-10 to Lamont, FL, just east of Tallahassee. We pulled into a campground for the night at about 11:00. All is well.

Our next trip to the Bahamas will be over the Easter holidays – April 13-23, 2017. We’ll leave after school on Thursday April 13 and drive to Tallahassee. Friday will bring us to Key Largo, and Saturday we’ll set sail for the Bahamas. We’ll return home on Sunday April 23. Now is the time to act if you would like to go – we have only one spot left on our crew. Contact Captain Dan right away if you would like to go!

During the spring trip, we do a lot of fishing, island-hopping, and reef diving. The dolphin sighting high month is in April, so we will probably see a lot of them. Be sure to check out the Galleries to see what the spring trip looks like!

Well, we made it! What a great trip!!

Our last overnight was at Dove Rest RV Park in Marianna, FL. It was perfect for an overnight stay – quiet, clean, uncrowded, and the staff were quite funny. We’ll definitely go there again.

We unpacked and cleaned the RV and, sadly, everyone went home. Bonnie literally went the extra mile to drive Hugh to New Orleans to see his friend there. There are lots of stories to tell and pictures to view, so check out the gallery of photos from our trip!

Today, while traveling toward home, we visited Rainbow Springs State Park and ate at the 19/98 Grill. We are settled in for the night at a nice RV park in Marianna, FL called Dove Rest RV Park. We expect to return to Ocean Springs around noon tomorrow. All is well.

We had a great night at anchor at Rodriguez Key just off Key Largo. This morning we organized our belongings and cleaned things up. At about 10:00 am, we motored the short distance to Port Largo canal, refueled the boat, and then returned her to her dock. Then we began the labor of off-loading our gear from the boat and loading onto the RV. We were definitely not excited to be going home! We all discussed the idea of just going right on back to the Bahamas!

Reason prevailed and we began the road trip home with several hours consumed going into Miami to clear customs. They seemed particularly inefficient and it was around 6:00 pm before we got onto the Florida Turnpike headed north.

We stopped at our favorite overnight campground at Lake Panasoffkee for a good night’s sleep.

We had a beautiful return Gulf Stream crossing and are safely anchored at Rodriguez Key, just off Key Largo. We’re going to decompress, eat hearty, get some good rest, clean up, and organize while at anchor. Tomorrow morning, we’ll refuel the boat and return to port. After that, we’ll make our way to customs in Miami (by road), and then continue on to our overnight RV park- either Lake Panasoffkee or Blue Springs State Park. This has been a most amazing trip. Everything went as planned or better and we’ve had no mishaps or injuries. All the kids have gotten along well, contributed to the success of the group, and have been awesome. Lots more to post and many photos to come!

We’ve turned Hugh into a sailor! Hugh sailed back with us to the U.S. and will be visiting his friend in New Orleans.

We had a fantastic time at the Berry Islands and just returned to Weech’s Dock in Bimini. We explored Great Harbor Cay and met our friends, the Govatos/Willis/Nell family, at Hoffman’s Cay. We swam and jumped into the Blue Hole at Hoffman’s Cay. We made red beans and rice for everyone. We had a bonfire on the beach and roasted marshmallows. Suffice to say, we had a great time in the most incredible place. The sail there and back was smooth. We will depart Bimini to go back to the U.S. tomorrow morning. We’ll anchor tomorrow night at Rodriguez Key, just off Key Largo.

So, we’re anchored at Great Harbor Cay in the Berry Islands planning to meet our friends at Hoffman’s Cay. We contacted them via VHF radio first thing in the morning. They were excited to know we were on the way and we were excited that we would see them again in what would turn out to be one of the most beautiful places on earth.

About an hour and a half later, we dropped our hook near Tanda Malaika just off of Hoffman’s Cay. We had cays rising up from the water all around us and the water was crystal clear. Aiden and Glade paddled themselves from Tanda Malaika to Big Easy II on a tow-behind inner tube. We were very happy to have them aboard and, soon after, their siblings would join us too. Thereafter, the adults all assembled aboard Tanda Malaika where we planned our day at the Blue Hole on Hoffman’s Cay.

Two dinghies full of people made their way to a little cove behind Hoffman’s Cay. The beauty there is incredible. The sand was very fine, the water crystal clear, the green fauna lush. In short – paradise. We landed on the beach and made our way through a narrow little trail about a 1/4 mile inland to the Blue Hole – a 600 ft deep natural pool with a cliff to jump off of! We spent the rest of the day there enjoying the beauty of the place and the good company of friends.

While at the Blue Hole, we met a troop of Boy Scouts from Atlanta who sailed in from Nassau. They were on a 5-day Bahamas expedition.

That night, Tyler made red beans and rice for the crews of both boats and Belinda served up some delicious cole slaw to go with it. Believe me when I tell you, this was synergy in action. It was a delicious dinner. Tanda Malaika had a nice treat for us afterwards, having previously stacked wood for a bonfire on the beach. We roasted marshmallows and made s’mores and played night games on the beach. Wow, what a night!