This morning we cleared customs and headed to band camp by pickup truck. We were very glad to be on land and very glad to see our young musicians at band camp. We started the morning with some tuna and grits for breakfast. Then we distributed instruments to all the kids and began teaching them. Tyler and Zach taught the saxes and clarinets; Dan taught the trumpets; Matthew taught the trombones; Danielle, Taylor, and Beckah taught the recorders. We held off on the drums this first day to give everyone a chance to try out the horns. Everyone got off to a very good start musically.
To our delight, our good friends, the Govatos/Willis family with their friends (and now ours), the Nell family, docked their boat right next to ours at Weech’s yesterday. We met this family in the Spring.

We are all safe and secure in Bimini. We are moored at Weech’s Dock, owned by our friend, Hank Weech. The crossing was a bit rough with the wind on our nose the whole way. We said “hello and safe journey”, via VHF radio, to the Norwegian Getaway cruise ship. We were close enough for their cell service to connect to my phone and deliver a text. We dodged a couple of smaller ships near Bimini. We’ve just straightened the boat up in case anyone we know shows up in the morning. So, tomorrow–band camp!

After a great night at Point of View RV Resort in Key Largo, our boat was ready for us and we were ready to sail! We loaded the boat, fueled up at Sharkey’s, and headed out of Port Largo for open water. It was rocking and rolling out there, which made for great fun for all who dared to ride the pitching bow.

Letting everyone sleep in this morning, after a fun filled movie night! Dan decided that breakfast on the road sounded good! We are on our way to Key Largo!

We have made it to day two of our journey! We are currently spending the night at an RV park in Lake Panasoffkee! This morning we toured the Florida Caverns. Pictures will follow soon! For dinner, it was make your own pizza! Everyone is really enjoying themselves! Pictured are Matthew and Brendon on our makeshift Pingpong table! We hope to be on the road toward Key Largo by 9:00am. We will see if that works out!

All ten of us and our stuff made it into the RV no problem! We want to thank all the parents, grandparents, and anyone who offered some assistance either with food, supplies, or packing! We are stocked up! Our next stop is the Bass Pro Sports in Mobile Alabama to pick up some expert fishing gear!

Only three days out from our departure date and Dan and Danielle Zwerg and Parker Quandt just picked up the first load of food from Bay St. Louis. Some of the money we raised from playing at the Starfish Cafe gave us the ability to purchase some of the food! The load they took consisted of 200 bottles of water, 24 bottles of orange juice, 10 bottles of Riptide Rush Gatorade, 10 bottles of Glacier Freeze Gatorade, 8 bottles of Cascade Crash Gatorade, 10 bottles of Strawberry Gatorade, 10 bottles of Cool Blue Gatorade, 10 bottles of Fierce Grape Gatorade, 42 bags of Famous Amos Cookies, 6 lbs of Tortilla Chips, 18 cups vanilla pudding, 18 cups chocolate pudding, 1 can of Coffee creamer, 2 jars of Homemade Salsa, 3 cans of Air Freshener, 30 Garbage bags, 1 Gallon of Vegetable Oil, 105 Disinfectant Wipes, 6 Aluminum pans, 8 cans of Coke, 16 cans of Root Beer, 16 cans of Dr. Pepper, 11 packs of Pretzel Gold Fish, 17 packs Colored Gold Fish, 17 Packs Extra-Cheddar Gold Fish, 5 packs of Original Oatmeal, 14 packs of Cinnamon and Spice Oatmeal, 15 packs of Apple and Cinnamon Oatmeal, 18 packs Maple and Brown Sugar Oatmeal, 25 Cups of Hash-browns,6 rolls of Paper Towels, and  1 shaker of salt!!! Whoa, that was a lot of typing!  Pictured are some of the remaining boxes not including all the cold and frozen items!! If you have not already gotten with Tyler about some of the food options you can bring please do so soon!! His number is located on the crew information page!

Before setting off on our trip on Thursday, July 14th, a small group of us were at the Starfish Café during Frida Fest. We played some music and enjoyed Bay St. Louis’s amazing Second Saturday atmosphere. Let’s give a big shout out and thank you to Di at the Starfish for letting us use the front porch of the café and for the opportunity for us to have our donation bottle out front. We raised some much-needed money for gas on the way down to Key Largo. We couldn’t be more excited for this last week is Mississippi—a week of preparing for what will be both incredible and impossible to forget. Thanks for everyone’s support. Thank you Di for praying with that group of us and blessing our trip. We ask and thank you for any prayers and well wishes.

Keep up with this blog to stay updated on our trip to Bimini in the Bahamas!

From Left to Right: Brendon, Matthew, Mrs. Di Filhart Owner of the Starfish Cafe, Beckah, Tyler, and Dan

Today our last shipment of major food arrived to J’s Restaurant in Waveland Mississippi! Courtesy of Mr. Kyle Ahlers of Reinhart food service company! Pictured here are individual 48 cans of soup! In addition to that we have 12 big bags of chips, 4 gallons of tuna, 144 fudge round cookies, 120 granola bars, 192 cereal bars, 12 veggie burgers, 10 lbs of sliced turkey breast, 10lbs of pulled chicken, 12 loaves of bread (6 white and 6 wheat), and 12 boxes of pasta! Receiving the food means departure is right around the corner!! If you have the ability to help with food, and have not already, contact Tyler.