Our cottage was called the Hummingbird House which was a short walk down the beach from the main resort. At night the clear skies gave us a spectacular view of the milky way on the walk back from dinner.

On Saturday Donna the resort manager drove Joyce and I to the Hermitage, which is a tiny chapel and hermit quarters built by Father Jerome atop the highest hill in The Bahamas. This Franciscan monk ministered to the people of Cat Island until 1956 from his Heritage, which affords a great view of Cat Island.

Our stay at Fernandez Bay Village was too short and we will return. It is a great place to relax and experience Bahamian hospitality at its best.

We spent four great days and nights at the Grace Bay Club. We dined at three very good restaurants including the Anacona at the resort. The weather was perfect, warm but not humid with a nice breeze, and the beach as well as the pool were beautiful. The evening were warm and in all it was a great stay.

On January 26 we departed a 9:00 AM for Fort Lauderdale, KFXE and with a nice tail wind were on the ground in Florida, in 3 hours. The flight was back up the Bahamas chain over Stella Maris, Nassau and Bimini, rarely out of sight of land.

The islands and water were beautiful.

We landed, cleared customs, refueled, picked up a box lunch and were in the air in an hour. We again enjoyed a tail wind and arrived in Hilton Head before 4:00 P.M.

It was another great trip to the magical waters and islands of the Bahamas and tropical Atlantic.

Our friends the Yanofskys sent us a card with the “Just Relax” advice, which was so appropriate for the Christmas holiday.

The Montgomerys arrived the Thursday before Christmas from Fort Lauderdale. Friday was spent doing the final preparation and Alexandra visited Santa Claus.

Saturday the Prados otherwise known as the traveling circus arrived. Heidi drove and Gary came over on his boat. The Montgomerys and Prados enjoyed a boat ride which included a up close dolphin encounter.

Heidi helped Jennifer with the annual ginger bread house project. Jennifer then captured some images of her helpers.

Grandma prepared Christmas Eve dinner and then the children made reindeer food and put out cookies and milk for Santa. This year it was decided that the two traveling families would stay at a Villa in near by Shipyard Plantation so the children would all have a real bed and a chance to sleep. Everyone left with great anticipation that Saint Nick would soon be here.

 

Grandma then prepared brunch for us all before everyone started to either play with or set up their gifts.

Grandma then prepared Christmas Dinner, while the playing and entertainment continued at a high level. There was time for a few more Christmas pictures when the children were ready for dinner, then we all enjoyed our Christmas feast.

After dinner more playing and family time then the children got into their Christmas PJ’s for one last photo and they were off to their Villa’s. Grandma and Grandpa relaxed and enjoyed desert and the sound of silence alone, then went to bed exhausted from a very active day.

Monday everyone played and enjoyed family. Gil and Brenn went to the airport Grandson learned about Grandpa’s airplane. They had lunch and went to a movie. The rest of the family had lunch and went to The Sand Box a children’s activity center. Pizza for dinner and of course lots of time on the new computers and playing with other toys. Tuesday the Prados left early and Wednesday the Montgomerys headed back for Florida. It was a great Christmas family holiday.

The Prado’s celebrated Thanksgiving with Gary’s family so Joyce and I flew from Hilton Head to Fort Lauderdale on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Except for head winds, it was a great flying day and we arrived by noon. We met Jennifer for lunch and picked Alexandra up from school. Mike came home form his office and we enjoyed grilled steaks in perfect Florida weather.

Wednesday was a relaxed day of shopping, preparation for tomorrows feast and more family time. We got to know the newest member of the family, Max, Alexandra’s new black kitten. Max is a piece of work, constantly at play.

We went out to the Weston Bone fish restaurant, which was packed, and had a very nice dinner.

Thursday, Thanksgiving day, the serious cooking got started. Alexandra showed off her skills with her Wi, beating everyone at bowling, tennis and hitting a few home runs. Thank goodness she has gotten tired of golf, since I don’t need to be defeated by a 7 year old. We watched football while the cooking continued and then enjoyed a great Thanksgiving feast. It was a perfect day, accept that evening our beloved 49ers took it on the chin from the Ravens.

Friday we visited the Everglades and Saturday we flew back to Hilton Head. Our flight was great, with a tail wind this time, so we got back in a little over two hours. We had lunch with our friends the Turrisi’s who had spent Thanksgiving on the Island. It was a great Thanksgiving week.

Friday after Thanksgiving Jennifer and Mike organized a trip to the Everglades. We drove to the Shark Valley entrance to the Everglades National Park and had reservations on the guided tram out into the park.

Jose was our guide, who educated us on the flora and fona of the Everglades. We observed creatures and learned how this giant river works. The tram proceeded out to a observation tower that gave us a good view of the vast expanses of this unique place. Alexandra soaked it all in and that evening was spouting facts, including the fact that alligators have 80 teeth. It was a fun and interesting day.

On Thursday, September 22nd. our planned departure day the weather between Dayton and New Hampshire was thunderstorms, rain and low ceilings. Worse, the Maine coast was forecasting bad weather on Saturday our planned departure day from New Hampshire. We decided to wait and develop a plan B, which was to fly to Burlington, Vermont if New Hampshire didn’t improve. On Friday the weather had not changed, so plan C was to fly to Burlington on Saturday. The weather improved Saturday, with a forecast of ceilings getting better in Burlington during our flight. As we flew toward Vermont, we had a nice tail wind, but the ceilings stayed at 400 feet, with mist and rain at our destination. When we got to Syracuse, New York, we decided to land and did an instrument approach in to Syracuse to wait for the weather to improve. It never did, so we stayed overnight in Syracuse and developed plan D. Weather permitting we would fly to Bangor, Maine refuel and proceed on to Sydney, Nova Scotia which would put us back on our original schedule.