Voyage 2023: Chapter 1

10 Jan 2023, Settling in with Karen at the Rose Cottage, 26 45.552 N/ 077 19.788 W

It was 0930 and time to head for Marsh Harbour to pick up Karen at the airport (MHH). She is a newbee to the Bahamas but has much traveling experience as an Air Force officer. Getting to Marsh takes a bit of time. I have to catch the 1100 Bolo Ferry to Treasure Cay, get a rental car and drive 40 minutes to the airport. The parking lot at MHH was confusing (I am a newbee here) so I parked in an adjacent area. The plane was on time and she saw the placard I made saying "Karen L Cook". Great seeing her and she appeared glad to be here. Great Abaco Island suffered greatly from Dorian also, and is still suffering from the aftermath of the storm. The trip on the main road of Abaco illustrates the depth of the destruction and it is sad.

The trip back went quickly. We returned the rental car, caught the next Bolo, and took our golf cart to the Rose Cottage. We didn't have much time to unpack as today was Wednesday ... Pizza Wednesday. We took the golf cart to Sundowners and asked Caroline "what day is it?". She smiled and said "Pizza Wednesday". What a nice start for Karen's GTC experience. As the sun was setting, Karen starting taking pictures. That's when I noticed her Pixel camera. More about that later.

20 Jan 2023, Our Daily Routine, 26 45.552 N/ 077 19.788 W

When Ann and I sailed here, we were often asked "what do you do on such a small island?" Back then, we spent 2-3 months at GTC. We told the folks that we had to sail here; work on the boat; go on multiple daily walks, both short and long; eat at the excellent restaurants; meet new people, share with folks we knew from before, and swap sea stories with anybody that would listen. Once Dorian and Covid passed, we found ourselves too old, so we flew to GTC in early 2022. Her cancer would cut that trip short.

Karen and I built on the routines that Ann and I started. Many days I began with an early morning (0630) walk with Julie, Fanny, and Angie, then breakfast with Karen; usually at the "Liguor Store or Karen's cooking at the cottage. Afterwards, we would go on a walk, go on a mission (we'll talk about that later), fetch some lunch, maybe go on a golf cart excursion, sit on the porch and dabble on the cottage's roses (mostly Karen with my supervision). Dinner was often leftovers or a home cooked meal by Karen. Next we'll discuss the 'missions' and highlights.