Bahamian Snow Day- What the Heck Wednesday

We have been having some wild weather here recently.  Typically December is pretty windy and we have had our fair share of wind so far.  The other day as we were leaving the neighborhood there was a LOT of water in the road.  It was coming from the beach across the street and going right into our neighborhood.  Sometimes if we get a real big high tide and wind at the same time this happens. 

Not a huge deal because our neighborhood has a canal system and the water will run right back into the canals.

So I took the boys to school and we marveled at the big waves along the way.  I stayed for my usual volunteering time and then made my way home.  When I came over the hill and saw that what we had thought was high tide was really just nearly high tide.  The real high tide hit while I was at the school.  And with it came a lot of stuff that shouldn’t have been in the road.  Normally this road it a pot holed mess.  It had officially just gotten worse.

As I drove down the road I was simultaneously thinking, “This wasn’t even a storm” and “My car is going to get eaten alive with this salt water.”

The close I got to home the worse it got…

Have you ever run over a coconut?  I don’t suggest it.  I sounds like you just ran over a bomb.  {Or what I imagine running over a bomb would sound like since I’ve never run over a real bomb, but I have run over several coconut explosive devices}

As I got ready to enter my neighborhood it was a total mess.  There was a bus that got stuck in the sand.  Some guys were trying to pull it out by using a light post as leverage. 

There were regular people passing through and poor tourists who had to get off their scooters and push them through the mess.

I stayed within our neighborhood for an hour or two and when I came out they had tried cleaning it up some….

I’m thinking that these guys know how to drive a tractor, but snow plowing is just not their thing….

You see they piled all that sand right there. 

In the exact spot where the water came onto the road.  The exact spot where the water is going to come back through when the tide is high again next time.

Hey!  It beats a snow day in the North any day!

Bonus Year

When Allen initially accepted his position here he was given a two year contract with the option to extend another two years and then one final year for a total of 5 years.  At the time we thought we would stay two to four years.  We thought that that amount of time would be plenty and we would surely be ready to get back to the US after four years.  The fifth year wasn’t really something we thought much about...

We arrived here October 7, 2010.  Whoa!

There were plenty of times in the beginning where we thought we wouldn’t even be here two years.

Last Spring,  in preparation for our departure at the four year mark, Allen looked to see what positions were going to be available to him for our return to the US.  It was pretty slim pickins.  {Yes, we want to be in the Southeast and we also know that there are many more opportunities elsewhere, but we have to try, right?}  So he looked in quite a few places, but there wasn't too much available.  So much for planning!

We wouldn’t mind staying another couple of years.  In the Spring we had sooo many friends who were in similar situations.  There were around 7-8 families who knew they were leaving, but didn’t know where they were moving to or when they would leave. 

Imagine that.  Where will you live?  Where will the children go to school?  What do we need to do to move to_____?  Misery loves company!

It turns out that several families have left and scattered themselves all over the world and some did not…we are still here.

It is hard to have friends leave to start their next chapter, but we are still here…wondering “What next?”   We are anxious to know what our future holds, but we also know that no amount of worry is going to reveal it any sooner than it should be.  So here we are getting ready to begin our fifth year here.

We’re calling it our Bonus Year!

In the spirit of the Bonus Year we are going to do as much as we can to enjoy our time here.  Time that we never expected to have here, but are going to wring every bit of fun and enjoyment out of!

We will be back to living normally soon enough.  If you need to find us we will be on the beach, fishing, having coffee with friends, island hopping and generally living it up, because Bonus Year!. 

Happy Independence Day Bahamas

Today marks the 41st anniversary of Bahamian Independence.  We have loved living here and enjoying everything that the Bahamas has to offer.

 

It is our pleasure to celebrate with the Bahamas and our Bahamian friends.

Happy 4th of July

We were so happy to spend the 238th birthday of the United States with some friends and family here in Nassau.

My niece Romi and I had fun working together on this video.  Enjoy!

Island Hopping: Getting There

When traveling to the smaller islands of the Bahamas, there are a few options.  One option is Bahamas Air.  It is notoriously late, but is the largest regional airline.  It also has the biggest planes.
There are also several small operations, Pineapple Air, Southern Air and Flamingo Air.  None of those really inspire confidence in me, so we chose Bahamas Air.  It is only a 30 minute flight, so how bad could it be?
We took a Dash 8 aircraft because it was the biggest.  I don’t like to fly, but it is necessary at times, so I just do it.  Here we are on board with about 50 people.  All is well.

Despite my father being a pilot and my mother being a stewardess, I get motion sickness while flying.  So embarrassing, but it’s true.  Keeping myself distracted is the best for me.
Jackson and I are looking at the sunrise out the window.

Miller and Allen are too.
I had just closed my eyes to catch a few minutes rest when Jackson asked me what that smell was.  I thought because it was an older plane, it was just bad exhaust smell so I told him to just breathe through his mouth. 
Shortly after that I hear a commotion from the seat behind Allen and Miller.  Two women were very upset and pointing out the window.
You know those times in your life when time just totally stops? 
The engine right outside Miller’s window was on fire.
Not smoke, but fire coming out of the side of the engine.  I immediately started praying.  In my mind we were going down.
So many things go through your mind at a time like this: When do  we put on our life jacket?  I’m a stronger swimmer than Allen, so should I take Miller? How many rows to the door in case I have to count and can’t see?  What is the safest crash position to be in with the boys?
Allen was very calm.  The stewardess was very calm and reassuring.  The woman behind Allen was having a full panic attack.  All the passengers were on edge.  After trying to put the fire out with the built in fire extinguishers, the pilot shut down that engine and the fire went out. 
Then we were flying on one engine. 
Just one.
I thought we would kind of tip over since the engine on one side was still going.  We kept going.
Another minute or two later the pilot came on and said that the situation was under control and that we would be landing in Rock Sound shortly.  I had to explain to Jackson what was going on and that the pilot was doing his best to get us there safely.
One great thing about this situation is that when you have your kids with you you aren’t allowed the luxury of panicking.  Staying as composed as possible was my only choice and I did it for them.  We prayed harder than we have ever prayed.
It was probably ten minutes after the fire that we landed safely in Rock Sound, Eleuthera. After we landed, Allen took this picture out of Miller’s window.

That hole is where the fire was coming out.

I waited over here for Allen to exit the plane.  Since I had left my camera on the seat, he waited to get it for me.  So glad I didn’t lose it on the plane.
See the smiles of the people getting off the plane?  Every one of us was all smiles.

We were about 50 miles south of where we thought we’d land, but that didn’t matter.  We happily took a taxi the rest of the way.

I could go on about how emotional it was, but let’s just say I’m not ready to go yet and I’m so thankful that we made it there safely.  Thank you God!
We pretty much had to take Bahamas Air home.  I wasn’t getting on a smaller plane, the ferry wasn’t until Thursday and I knew we would be on a different plane. 
Also, I had to do it for the boys.  They needed to see that we were going back up and despite feeling uneasy we were going to do it again.  Miller must have said 50 times, “This is my first Bahamas Air flight that didn’t catch on fire!”  At full volume.  Out of the mouths of babes…
A few days later, one of the local newspapers ran this story.  It is pretty vague, but somewhat typical of news stories here.  Another article is here.
After having some time to process things, I know one thing for sure. I’ll never fly on a single engine plane in my life.  Ever.  Flying is a risk, but so is crossing the street.  I’m not in control, so I just have to make the best choices I can and hope for the best.

Island Hopping: Eleuthera

Allen also captured some really neat photos while we were in Eleuthera.

Glass Window Bridge

 

Sunset off of Tippy’s Beach

Tippy’s Beach

Tippy’s Saturday night band.

Fresh conch salad!  We watched the “Conch Ninja” pick up a conch{ that was still trying to get away} and turn it into our dinner.  It doesn’t get much fresher than this!

Eleuthera pineapples have us spoiled for life.  You’ll never taste a sweeter pineapple than this!

And last but not lease of Allen’s pictures, there is this one.

Island Hopping: Eleuthera

There are so many things about Eleuthera I want to remember.  All the driving can be tedious, but when you come upon beauty like this, it makes it all worth it.

The Poincianas are beginning to bloom.  Their other name if Flame Tree.

This pineapple fence left me with a little fence envy…  Is there such a thing?  I spy a pink cottage behind that pineapple fence.

Most of the time the boys were good sports about all the driving we did.

Coming into the settlements you come upon things like this.

It is just beautiful in its simplicity.

Some settlements would have a few roadside stands, a few houses and maybe a single pump gas station.

Others were slightly more developed.  Miller loved seeing the chickens all over the place.

Allen was fascinated that functional phone booths are still there.

This was my favorite cottage.  Can’t you just imagine what it might be like on the inside?

One of the unofficial slogans of Eleuthera is “Eleuthera: It’s not for everyone!”  I have to agree.  We loved every second of our time there, but it is very basic.  If you’re looking for something particular, you would want to bring it with you.  The food stores are also their hardware store, gas station, pharmacy, and everything in between.  I’m so glad that we got to experience the real Bahamas.