Merry Christmas to All! Shavago, our friend and dock assistant at Emerald Bay Marina also doubles as a photographer when need be! Granted I dropped the tree into the "drink" as I was getting all my props and cat on the dock, but ya gotta have a Christmas tree, even tho it was a little wet! Buddy had a wonderful flight home, once again stopped traffic at TSa as we carried him through the check point, everyone stops and you hear "look at that cat" "Oh My God, he is huge" etc, etc. He is really not a big cat, he is just fluffy! Diabetic, arthritic, but the love of our life!

Here is a shot of the Islands of the Bahamas, showing where we started in Miami, actually Coconut Grove/dinner Key marina, then crossing over to Bimini to clear customs. We were NOT impressed with Bimini regarding the marina, the people and the safety factor, we hope our experiences were an isolated incidence, but we will not return. We did have a great dinner of conch salad, and the sunrise was one of the best of our trip, so as usual my glass is half full as I do have some great memories after all....food and sunrises!! Not all bad, maybe we will give it a second chance.

Our trip back to Emerald Bay Marina on Jan. 5, 2010 will be the start of our return to the following islands and I am sure we will explore some new areas as well. The Acklins need to be visited again, Cat Island, Rum Cay, Conception, so keep checking back to see where we may end up and what adventures we experience! Of course Buddy will be with us, and I am going to start his own Blog, will let you know when it is up and running, a lot of cat lovers out there that will appreciate our crazy love for this fabulous feline!

Merry Christmas from these Christmas Tree Worms on coral. These Christmas Tree Worms are usually very shy and will not stay open when you are close and taking a photograph, but these guys were posing for a Christmas photo!

A Trumpet fish that thought he could hide in the soft coral, but I caught him! I had chased him a bit as I knew my first picture was not good, and then thought I lost him....but a sharp eye gave me the Ah ha moment and I got the shot. Amazing what Mother Nature has taught her children!

Veda L, very happy in her slip, she looks like a sizeable boat....right? That is until "BIG DADDY" is tied to the dock behind her....

Is Veda L the tender to "Big Daddy?" No, but she is our mansion on the Sea, and is really all that "these two amateurs" can handle, and still have time for fun. "Big Daddy" seemed to have a crew of about 10, plus scooters, jet skiis, fishing boat, tender, etc., etc. no heli pad however; that was on a different boat seen at Emerald Bay Marina however. They took a little helicopter ride over to the Golf Course to play a round, then flew back....it takes me 15 minutes to jog there. Ah, to witness the lifestyle of the rich, which is easy to do at Emerald Bay as we are almost always the smallest boat in the marina. We say that the further south we get.....the smaller we get! I love this picture!

A shot of my morning jogging trail...around the greens, but still keeps me off the pavement which gives me shin splints, but keeps me out of the taller grass where snakes may lurk....saw one yesterday and Jeez can I swear a blue streak when confronted with a serpent, an amazing/creative string of profantities that I can tie together smoothly.

We will be diving this in about an hour, Poor Betty's Reef is the name of it, and is a lovely little spot between our point and the Atlantic. Marina guests 2 years ago were collecting golf balls here and selling them back to the golf course, then donating the money to the local animal shelter. Being the golf course has not been in operation for a few months it will be interesting to see if there are any more there, there were HUNDREDS last time we dove here.

Life is Really Swell on Veda L as we have found our "Bahama/Exuma home" again on Great Exuma not far from Georgetown. Is it any wonder they named this area Emerald Bay? The Marina at Emerald Bay is The Top Destination for boaters who want to have a home base that has every possible amenity, yet feel like they are in a small town atmosphere due to the friendly staff that will not let their day end until all details are taken care of for their guests. Check out their new web site to see where Veda L. is living for a few weeks! www.MarinaAtEmeraldBay.com They were closed for a few months, but it made us happy to see that the slips are filling up fast! If we did not have The Marina at Emerald Bay in the Exumas to leave our boat (in great hands!) it would be nearly impossible for us to make trips home for visits with our family.

Our Cat Buddy, (don't tell him that...he thinks he is a little boy in a cat suit!) asked Ericka if she would join him at the bar for a Kitty Cocktail. Wahoo's is a great little bar/restaurant with fabulous chowder just steps from our dock. Ericka, the office manager was kind enough to cat sit for Buddy while we took a two week trip home, that was two years ago and they have been friends ever since. Ericka lives on Great Exuma but this year has taken a job managing a private island, their new office manager came over from the Four-Seasons Resort and is highly skilled in public relations.

When we came back to Emerald Bay/Exumas after a 2 week excursion to Cat Island, Rum Cay and other Cays nearby we were greeted by Shavago, Ericka and Leonard, shown with Capt Bob...they brought down two Kaliks in brown paper wrappers as a special "welcome home Uncle Bob!" Yes, they have become family to us! It has been two years since we have been here due to health issues and the death of my Mother, but we had a sort of family reunion as we walked into the office to see all the smiling faces, and so great to see the upgrades that have taken place in our absence. Wow.....

A full moon over Compass Cay brings beauty and remembrances of our neighbor Jeanne Lyner, who was such a major part of so many lives, we are reminded of her every full moon as that is when she left us.

Rachaels Bubblebath is what they call this natural pool that gets ocean waves coming in thru a cut, this is a picture as the bubbles dissipated....otherwise you would not have seen me! The wave comes in, pushes out out about 10 feet and bubbles up all around you, a fun ride, and cold as the ocean water hits the warm pool water. Sea Urchins cling to the rock walls so we must be careful where we step. Heaven. Just Heaven.

This is the rotten dirty scoundrel posing as a beautiful fish that you would never want to kill. If you look closely however, you will see 3 prongs sticking out of his left side, eat a baby scrawled file fish will you? Not if we can help it! Bob pulled the file fish from the poisonous Lion fish mouth and let it go...just in time we hope!

Ahhh, beauty. Simple Queen Angel fish beauty. I think she is smiling at me.
Reef at Compass Cay. Google Compass Cay, a slice of heaven for sure. We are the only boat here now for 3 days, we have the place to ourselves. Did I say heaven?

Here is the beautiful and poisonous Lionfish that we found on the reef that we enjoyed yesterday, the Giant Sea Anemone below is one of my favorites with the purple tips waving at you!