3/12/16
We are getting ready to say good bye to Bimini. We arrived
on Wed. morning over a week ago. Most of the other boats here also arrived
around that same time. The wind started blowing quite hard from the east soon
after our arrival. It is suppose to let up and clock a little further south, so
it is time to say good bye. Almost everyone will be untying and slipping away
tomorrow. Right now Reggie is meeting with the others to go over the charts,
share opinions and options. Some of these friends we may never see again, some
we may run into down the road, this year or in years to come.
Today we practiced the mass get away, in a small scale. Nine
dinghies, some carrying more people than they were designed to carry, followed
our leader, Dan, in his small motor boat to East Bimini, which is really just
mangroves. I’m sure everyone felt like
we were baby ducks following our mother. During high tide you can carefully snake
your way through to a memorial to Martin Luther King. There is a platform and a
statue of him there. Why? You may ask. This is where he came to write his last
speech. One of our group had a recording of that famous speech which he played
while we were there. It was quite a touching experience. From there we continued on to a beach for a
lunch snack and then hurried home before we were stranded there in low
tide. When we arrived home, everyone got
busy stowing the dinghies and everything else for the expected passage
tomorrow. Each evening there has been a
gathering here in the marina of boat people to meet, greet, share whatever
treats show up, etc. Tonight our evening sundowner is expanding to a full blown
potluck.
But I digress. Since we last posted, we visited the Dolphin
House. It is an amazing structure built by Ashley Saunders almost completely
from recycled materials and stuff he has found on the beach. He is an amazing
man. Just a few of his accomplishment: taught school here after getting his
degree in the states, wrote the history of Bimini in two volumes, “because
there wasn’t one”, published short stories and poems, artist, and master
builder. We took too many pictures to show them all, but here are a few:
There are car license plates from every state in the union. Barbara looking at the Montana plate which happens to be from Flathead county where we live.
Barbara in one of the guest rooms he rents out.
Pieces of trash transformed into art.
And Reggie gets a clippin'.
Thanks, Marilyn!
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