Finally in the Bahamas!!!

When we woke up at Great Sail Cay, all of the other boats around us were leaving, so we figured that it would be smart to leave too. We pulled up the anchor and headed to Hawksbill Cay. By the time we got to Hawksbill Cay, it was dark.

In the morning, we went to some of the small islands near shore that were surrounded by 2 feet of water and waded around until we stumbled across a sand beach that we spent almost the rest of the day on, but dad told us that we should start moving to some other places to get farther south so that we could see more places (that was a really long sentence). So, around noon, we pulled the anchor and headed to Powell Cay. On the way there, I took a nap, and woke up just in time to see mom put down the anchor for the 3rd time. Apparently, all of the sandy spots, places we needed to anchor, had been taken by other boats, and that left us with two options. We could either set up a Bahamian anchor and hope for the best, or we could go back to  Hawksbill Cay. With much reluctance (because there was the most beautiful sand beaches and great snorkeling), we headed back for Hawksbill Cay, and planned that in the morning,we would get up early (by that I mean 10:00) and go to Spanish Cay where my dad would clear customs ( at that point, we had still not cleared customs to become official "visitors" of the Bahamas). Anyways, when we got there,my dad got off the boat to clear customs, and since the captain is the only one who can leave the boat while clearing customs, Wren, mom and I fed the fish that were hiding under our boat. As soon as dad came back (Wren and I were pretty anxious by then to go and run around), we got off the boat and and discovered a pool, hot tub, showers and a long sand beach to run on with lots of crabs to catch ( although we never actually caught one). We went to the beach first, then the pool ( with occasional hot tub breaks!) and last, but not least, the showers. When we got back to the boat, we met a family that had two kids of almost the same age! Imogen, who is 5, and Franklin, who is 12. They have a sailboat and were docked right next to us, so in the morning, we had company in the pool! After lunch, we were going to another anchorage. I was sad to leave my new friends, but in the Bahamas, you are bound to see your old friends again, so we weren't too sad. We headed to a new anchorage in Powell Cay. This cool island had a long sand beach and a short hiking trail to the top of a rocky cliff. We saw a Bahamian humming bird collecting nectar from the lots of morning glories that grew freely all over the islands. That was fun. The next morning, we pulled anchor to go to Green Turtle Cay, but as we got to Green Turtle, a call on the radio from Funny Things made us continue on to the Whales. The Whales is an island that you have to go out into the ocean to get around, and the weather had to be just right, in which it was, or else you get 10 foot waves coming up over your bow. It turned out that the weather was perfect, and there wouldn't be another chance to get through until next week. Plus, there were three other boats that were going today, so we jumped on the opportunity, and skipped Green Turtle Cay altogether. The Whales was shorter than I expected. It was only an hour, and we were right next to land. We followed the other boats into Marsh Harbour. It is a little town with internet, and there are a lot of other boats here. Including Funny Things! 

Life is good right about now...

Miss you all!!!

Riley  

The Gulf Stream

I woke up to the sound of Kiawah's engine and water rushing past her bow. Yesterday's plans flooded back to me as I got up and moved through the darkness and into the cockpit. "Morning early bird" my mom said. "Morning" I answered back. It was very dark outside,still, and I could see the little lights back on land. It looked a ways back. "How far away from land are we?" I asked my dad groggily. "About three miles" he said. Inside, I jumped up and down for joy, because I was going to the Bahamas...

Bahama bound...

after this nap.

Just like that, I was in the Gulf Stream, on my way to the Bahamas; It was 2:00am when my mom and dad pulled up the anchor from Peanut Island's sandy bottom; 2:30 when my mom and dad motored out of the gap between Peanut Island and the mainland, Florida; 3:00 when my mom and dad passed the buoy that marked the edge of the Gulf Stream; and it was 4:00 when I got up.

Soon after, my sister got up. I was still tired, so I went back to sleep and didn't get up until 7:30. I sleep a lot. Anyways, Wren and I got hungry, so mom made us some oatmeal.

I could tell that my sister was nervous to cross,but I was really excited, but who wouldn't, WE WERE GOING TO THE BAHAMAS!

Somewhere during the day, my dad put out the fishing lures. About halfway through he crossing, the line pulled tight, and the rod bent. Dad rushed to the line and fiddled with it. The fish at the other end thrashed around in the water, making loud splashing sounds. At first, my dad thought it was a Tuna, but as he struggled to reel it in, he shouted, "It's a Dolphin"! (not to be confused with the mammal kind of Dolphin...) We all gasped. We had caught a Mahi Mahi! There are pictures below.

Ready with the gaff

Mahi-Mahi!

 Dolphins are pretty fish with bright colors, and they are prized for their delicious meat. Dad landed the big fish with the gaff. A gaff is a really sharp hook used for catching big fish. Anyways, my dad was psyched. He cut it up into thick steaks, which we later had for dinner.

                
Later in the day, Wren spotted the mammal kind of Dolphin. The dolphin swam right up to our bow, playing with our boat for a few minutes before diving back under the clear, green waves. 

Bottle nose!

After that, Kiawah didn't have much excitement except for a few flying fish that leapt out of the water. They were pretty cool too.

Passing the time

When we got to the anchorage, I had made a 24 foot rope ladder, with the help of a knot tying book I got for Christmas. I can't wait to climb a palm tree!

Anyway, we anchored off a Bahamian island called Great Sail Cay.

So! I am in the Bahamas!!! Cheers!!

Riley

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! I heard you were all getting burried in ice and snow. Sounds like it was a white Christmas in Maine. Not here though. We had a warm Christmas. Actually, it got down to 60 last night - it was chilly. It's usually around 70 to 80 degrees Farenheit at night in the wintertime. Just imagine the summer! Anyways, I am now in a place called Lake Worth in North Palm Beach. We came here to escape a storm that was coming straight for Peanut Island where we were. So we motored into Lake Worth. There is a Publix food mart nearby and you can go fishing. In fact, we caught some yesterday and had them for Christmas dinner. One was a Corvelle Jack and the other was a Spanish Mackerel. Wren and I had fun catching them.

For Christmas, I got some swimming stuff like a noodle and a wave board. I also got some cool games, books and a lot of candy! My mom bought a tiny fake Christmas tree. It's about half a foot tall, but hey! It worked!

On Christmas Day, we opened presents, and then my Dad make really good pancakes. Wren and I played with our new toys while Mom and Dad picked up wrapping paper and packaging. Later in the day, we went to a cool place called Munyon Island. We had no idea what was on the island, but we did know we were in for some exploring! We docked the dinghy, and then walked along the boardwalk. It was a lot of fun until we discovered three inch long spiders blocking our path. It was not enjoyable. We had my dad go first with a palm frond to brush the spiders out of the way. We did a lot of ducking, shouting, and dancing on that trip. I just about died with laughter because my Mom got told she had a spider on her. It was so funny! The trail had led to a beach that was dotted with old coral. The way back was a lot more enjoyable knowing that the spiders were out of the way. On the way back we found a giant centipede. He was SO cool!  

Christmas this year was a lot of fun!

Love,

Riley

Hobe Sound

Peeling coconuts!

Sisterly love...

Gopher Turtle

Praying Mantis

Pelican

Miss you all!

Is there something on my shoulder?

Hi Everybody!

              We're anchored in a cool place called Hobe Sound,  It is really beautiful here!  There are little sand beaches all around us.  Yesterday, Wren and I found some coconuts.  They were washed up on the sand beaches.  We peeled the husks with the claw of a hammer.  Then we split the nut open with a chisel.  It was hard work.  We tried banging them open with a metal bar that was poking out of the ground, but that didn't work.  The insides were pretty nasty.  The first one was completely empty.  The second was rancid.  We are determined to find a good coconut in our travels.  Yesterday, we just didn't have any luck.  Anyway, now to what I actually wanted to talk about.  Our trip to the beach!  So we packed a snack and all piled into the dinghy (ding-ee) and headed for shore.  Once we got to land, we discovered a trail.  My mom and dad insisted we follow the trail but my sister and I wanted to explore the beach a little bit more.  We all eventually decided to go on the trail, which I personally was very glad we did.  We followed the path until we came to a sign that said, "trail",  that led in another direction, for not we just ignored the sign and went a little bit farther.  I was being a little bit jumpy because there were a lot of things I hadn't seen before, like prickly pear cacti, and also I didn't want to come in contact with a black widow spider.  If you haven't heard of them before, it's a good thing.  They have enough venom in them to kill 10 men.  And to make matters worse, they are very territorial.   They are just about the only creepy crawly that freak me out.  So, where was I?  Oh yeah, that's why I was jumpy.  We explored more and then I found a turtle den, or burrow, with a turtle in it.  He was awesome!   Later I found out he was a gopher turtle.  There were signs on the side of the trail that told you what things were nearby.  There were lots of sand dunes that we walked over.  I looked up at the trees and thought about how many hurricanes and storms they must have survived.  Some trees even need forest fires to disperse their seeds.  The trail did a loop and we ended up back at the gopher turtle's burrow.  There was one more path we hadn't followed yet.   As we neared the end of the path, we came upon a building.  It was a nature center!  It was actually the Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge.  As we went in, there were all kinds of cool animals.  There were some awesome tree frogs, bug larvae, crickets, a corn snake, and best of all, a boa constrictor!  A lady came out of a room and welcomed us.  Then she asked us if we wanted to hold the boa!  Of course we both said YES!  So she took the boa out of his tank and handed it to us.  She explained that the snake was harmless and was once a pet.  He was so thick and big.  He wrapped around my arms.  Then it was time for him to go back into his tank so we moved on to the next room.  She said we were lucky to be here when we were because the birds were here.  We saw what she meant when we entered the next room.  On a fake tree sat two cool birds;  a red tailed hawk and a barred owl.  They were really neat.  She also showed us a box turtle and another gopher turtle.  There were also other animals like a cute spotted skunk, sea horses, and some cool lizards.  There was also a crocodile and two alligators.  She took them out of their tanks and let us pet them.  It was a lot of fun.  There was also a gift shop.  All too soon, it was time to go.  We said goodbye to the animals and hiked back to the beach.  We all got in the dinghy and motored back to Kiawah, ready for tomorrow's day of fun. 

Love you all,

Riley

Night walk

We crept slowly around the boatyard, observing silently as we took light steps. The air was crisp, but a warm breeze was sweeping over the sleeping earth. We were engulfed by the cricket's soft chirping in the grass as we plunged deeper into our mission. We slunk around a corner, where a broken light was trying its best to keep out the darkness. A gecko watched us as we passed. A katydid flew noiselessly in the darkness, and the ants at our feet marched on. The night sounds grew nearer with each careful step. We stopped. At our feet was a board. We had stopped at many boards like this before, but this one was special. We took the opportunity. Our spirits high, we lifted up the old board. A mixture of fear and excitement singed me. Everything was waiting. The sounds. The air. Us. All of it stopped.

Underneath the board, was a scorpion...

Mission Completed!

This is just a little story I wrote a while ago. My mom insisted I put it up. It was when we were still in the boat yard and we went on a night hike around the dream lot, a place where all of the boats go to die. We found a lot of cool things, including a scorpion! There are pics of all of the animals we found below, Hope all is well,

Rile- poo :)

                

hideaway anole

Gecko - night hunter

katydid (libby didn't)

Blind snake

scorpion!

Gone Fishin'

December 12, 2013

Hi everyone!  

I haven't posted in such a long time! We have been so busy scrubbing the decks and slathering ourselves 

with suntan lotion. What is it, like 10 more days until Christmas? It's kind-of hard to get in the Christmas 

spirit when it's 80 degrees, sunny, and there are palm trees everywhere... But , yeah, I am having a blast 

down here!!! There is one thing that I have learned, people are NOT, under any circumstances, impressed 

at catching catfish. Mostly because people don't eat them. I don't see why not! They're considered a "trash 

fish"! Wren and I were catching catfish and feeding them to the pelicans. I mean, some of these fish were 

HUGE. It was awesome. I can't wait to catch Mahi Mahi.  Now those guys can get up to be over five feet 

long! We had some Mahi Mahi the other night. It was imported, frozen, from Peru, and it was SO good!!! 

We will also catch Red Snapper, Snook, and Grouper once we get o the Bahamas. I miss home a lot, and I 

think of you guys often... getting buried in snow. Ha Ha!!!

Love, 

Ri.          P.S. I have no idea why this got formatted in this way...

In Florida

I am in Florida!!!! It is so warm here! There are palm trees everywhere! It's awesome! I am using so many exclamation marks! Anyways, sorry I didn't post the last couple of days, I am so busy! I will tell y'all's what's happening and what's been happening. So, on Friday, we went to the National Zoo in Washington, DC. It was so much fun! We took the train to the zoo in D.C. and saw all kinds of animals! My favorite animals there were the lizards. They, in my opinion, were the coolest of them all. The gorillas were pretty cool too, but not as cool as some of the lizards were. We saw pandas, lizards, gorillas, lionesses, small mammals, cool birds, alligators and crocodiles, wolves, awesome reptiles, sea creatures, fish, and orangutans. Everything was so cool. I felt bad for some of the creatures that were trapped behind glass and nets, but it was such a unique experience. As soon as it got dark, all the trees there lit up with decorative lights, and Christmas music played in the background. We bought popcorn and walked around a little bit more. That's when all the people came. There were probably, literally 1,000 people walking around. It was like an amusement park. We decided to leave because of all of the people (my family, including me, does NOT like when so many people are around you, you can't breathe). When we got back to the RV, we were so tired, we went to bed almost instantly. So, yeah, that's my Friday. Now, for yesterday, you can look at the next few posts... Sorry again!!! 

Hope everything is well,

Riley