Month: January 2018

Mega yacht sunset

It was a long slow slog of a motor sail to St Kitts, into the wind and into the seas.  Our boat is heavy so it wasn’t that bad, but we were only averaging 3 knots which took forever.  On top of that the description of the main town where you clear in (Basseterre) was that it is horrendous in the winds we were facing (southeast).  Added to that we’d be getting in at night, so instead we stopped 10 miles north and dropped anchor to get some rest.  One of the rollier anchorages we’ve had to manage for the night, but it got us to daylight the next day.

Christophe Harbor

The anchorage in Basseterre turned out not to be bad at all, so we dropped the dinghy into the water and headed into town to clear in.  Once done with that we decided to explore a bit.  Unfortunately, a) it was Sunday and most local places were closed, including the two restaurants we tried to visit on recommendation, and b) two cruise ships were in town which meant only cheesy tourist shops were open and were flanked with people.  The upside was that we found a supermarket to pick up a few extra things (precious tonic for Trip’s drinks) and ran into a couple (Torben & Judy) we briefly met weeks earlier in Jost Van Dyke.

Christophe Harbor

We got back to the boat and headed south to White House Bay where we were finally protected from some of the winds and nearly all the roll.  For the first time in days we got a really good night’s sleep!  The southern end of the island is also mega yacht capital – we watched multiples come in and drop anchor just behind us.  Also just inland is Christophe Harbor, a local home to the mega yachts.  Mayan Queen IV, who we saw in Maine this past summer was there along with other boats that boggle the mind.  We could have brought the boat into the harbor (certainly dredged deep enough) but instead threw the jerry cans in the dinghy so we could top off water and fuel.

There’s a little coffee shop at the yacht club that provides wifi so we stopped for lunch.  More importantly they have the fabulous Salt Plage (Salt Beach) bar.  We missed the live Latin music the night before (though it wafted out to the boat) but the canned music was still fun.  We had been told that the bar was too expensive to do more than have a single drink, but being from the northeast we didn’t find it that bad and wound up staying for a couple of appetizers too.  The bar is comprised of old tin and equipment from the old salt mills, but also has a great dock plus nets that allow you to savor cocktails while hanging out over the water.  We ran into Torben and Judy again and they invited us for dinner on their boat the next night.

Salt Plage

Salt Plage

We went for a hike the next day up the road where we got some great cliff shots of the anchorage and saw the vervet monkeys that have taken over the island.  Then it was off to dinner.  Judy made pizza which was absolutely delicious and we traded cruising and cooking stories.  I was reminded to pull out my sourdough starter and revive it – if it’s salvageable I’ll share.

Vervet Monkey

Off to Nevis later today!

New dive gear

We left the BVI a day later than we intended because New Years Eve Trip managed to remove the old prop zinc but ran out of air (we have a small tank) before he could get the new one on (too bouncy & not enough weights). We tried talking to the dive shop owner on the island (where we had done some work the week before), but he said no one was diving Jan 1 ( they survived the storm and were intending on getting shit-faced New Years Eve. Can’t say I blame them), but he would loan us a tank that afternoon. The next day came and no sign of John in person or on the phone. Trip was relaying his problems to Stephen via radio when new friend Don broke in with the news that he had a spare scuba tank if we wanted to use it. Lifesavers! Trip went over, got the tank, attached some extra straps and he had the prop zinc attached in 20 minutes.

Since we were staying the night we had the Judds and Don & Mel Roy over for one final BVI sundowner. We didn’t have to leave early the next morning, so we tidied up, disposed of trash at the ferry dock (where Trip went in to say hello and goodbye to the woman who runs Sugar N’ Spice – she treated him to a final pate on the house), and stopped by the Judds to say goodbye. I have to admit it was a total treat having them around for both Christmas and New Years. We had talked about meeting up by boat in the Caribbean for so long it was hard to believe we made it come true. Here’s to hoping we see each other somewhere down island, along with all our other new boating friends.

We managed to sail for a couple of hours, but unfortunately the winds were coming directly from where we needed to go (does this sound familiar?). Fortunately we had a clear sky with a startling full moon (this should sound familiar too). We had a pod of dolphins swimming under the boat for about 10 minutes that was wildly entertaining – we jokingly wondered if they were the “don’t go” group from the BVI or the welcoming party for Saba.

Just before noon the next day we arrived in Saba. The approach is incredible – the peak visible clearly at sunrise. The island is dramatic – volcanic stone rising sharply out of the sea. There was one – count one – other yacht in the anchorage. We headed around to Fort Bay to clear in. Customs & immigration is great – one building and you can clear in and out at the same time (most countries require clear in and clear out separately). We went up the road to pay for our marine park permit (the waters surrounding the island are a marine park sanctuary) where we also were able to book a taxi tour of the island for the next day. One of the local guides offered us a lift up the hill where we filled our gas and diesel jerry cans (no docks deep enough here to come in and fuel up). We also found one of the dive shops where we dropped off our tank for a refill.

Local resident

Bottom

The island is so small that buses and taxis aren’t super plentiful, but hitchhiking is normal here. We stopped someone to ask how to get a ride up to the Bottom (one of the two villages & yes, you have to go up to get to the Bottom) so we could grab lunch and he offered us a ride. Trip got in the cab like a sensible person, silly me thought I would be fine in the bed of the truck (having watched others do it). Oh. My. God. I have never been on roads so steep and stacked in my life. Being local, our driver sped around hairpin turns with less than 2 feet of a wall in between us and the plummeting hillside. Google some images of Saba – I’m not joking when I say plummeting. I still can’t figure out what even made someone think to land on the island much less colonize it! So we get to the Bottom and none of the restaurants or bars are open. So the driver continues on to Windwardside – the other village. More hairpin turns. I closed my eyes, breathed deep, and started meditating. Luckily we made it to a nice lunch with a grocery store right across the street for a bit of provisioning. The island is Dutch so they had a load of wonderful Dutch cheeses, cured meats, & cookies. Once again – we wouldn’t starve. We caught a taxi back to the harbor and dinghied back to the boat, where we took off for the mooring field.

Goats in the hills

The mooring field is on the leeward side of the island – the 1 mile stretch with the least wind and current. There are 6 mooring balls (normally 10 but the storm ripped out a few) and I’m pretty sure they’ve never been full. We grabbed the first one which happened to be really close to ‘the ladder’. Centuries ago the island was only inhabited by pirates – men so crazy they would call home the top of the steepest cliffs with no access so they couldn’t be attacked. When the island finally became colonized, they cut a ladder out of the stone in the cliffs – it rather looks like the Great Wall of China. Boats coming in had to wait for small surf and bring all their gear in through this ladder. People rarely hike it today it’s so steep, and the one remaining building is the customs building that was only half way up when it was used. It really gives you pause and amazes you about the sturdiness of the locals. The rest of the view was no less spectacular. The island looks like something out of the Isle of Dr Moreau, and Trip kept expecting to see King Kong come leaping from one of the peaks. When the sound of the surf died you could hear goats bleating up in the hills from impossibly craggy peaks.

Ladder Bay

It’s not the kindest anchorage – there’s a bit of a roll which we don’t notice on a boat as heavy as ours. However when the wind meets the current we no longer pull back on the mooring ball and instead smash into it, which can make for an unpleasant night. My goal someday is to come up with a solution to this and make my millions…..

The next day we headed into town for our tour. Rodney picked us up right away and was kind enough to deliver our dirty laundry to a local woman. It was expensive, but nothing like drop off at 10:30 and pickup at 2:30. He gave us a more detailed tour of the Bottom including the local Roman Catholic Church (beautiful) and a stop at one of the local artisan shops where we picked up some local spiced rum and tatted lace (local specialties). We also got a first hand look at the architecture – white houses with green hurricane shutters and red corrugated metal roofs. Turns out these structures were Scottish in design (one of the original settling groups) and judging by how little damage they suffered from Irma (the hurricane passed 60 miles from shore) it’s a successful one.

From the Bottom we passed through St John and then went to Windwardside – the other main village. We passed on to Hells Gate and the airport. Holy crap, it’s the size of an aircraft carrier – supposedly the flights in are very memorable.

A note here:  The main road here is nicknamed ‘the road that couldn’t be built’ when the Dutch government said it couldn’t be done and the locals did it anyway, resulting in a steep but beautifully designed roadway. Then there’s ‘the road that shouldn’t have been built’ which comes down to the anchorage. We didn’t try it but everyone says it lives up to its reputation. The airport is another spot where the government said it wasn’t possible so the locals found someone who could do it. The result is utter madness and it’s listed as one of the top 10 world’s most dangerous airfields, but they have a spotless record.

We came back to Windwardside for lunch – Rodney’s wife owns a café right in the middle of town and we were happy to give her the business. We also stopped and booked a dive trip for the next day. Laundry was running late as we came back to the Bottom, so we stopped at a local café for smoothies (my body doesn’t know what to do with that many fresh vegetables and greens anymore).

Then it was back to the boat for the most magical sunrise behind these magnificent peaks. I think we were both in bed by 8:30…..

The next day we came ashore for a scuba trip with Sea Saba. There were only 4 others on our boat, a nice small dive trip. Saba is known as one of the top diving destinations in the Caribbean and it makes up a significant portion of their tourism dollars. (It’s not the easiest place to get to – requires a flight or ferry from St Maarten.) Because the island is so small you can be at any of the dive sites in less than 20 minutes. It was 5 maybe to our first dive – Babylon. The dive site is named so because it looks like the hanging gardens of Babylon. The lava oozed out as the island formed, no spewing. Consequently, trails of lava went down the mountainside and into the water with furrows in between. The furrows are currently beds of sand and the lava slides support an amazing abundance of wildlife. As I descended we immediately saw a reef shark. The dive took us past moray eels, a nurse shark, and all sorts of corals and sponges. Absolutely amazing. After the limited snorkeling we’ve been doing in places that were hit by the storms, it’s lovely to be in a place with this kind of underwater marine wildlife. Our second dive easily rivaled the first. The Man o’ War shoals rise from just north of our boat mooring and are a pair of pinnacles covered with every color of soft coral and sponge. The current passing through creates an environment for fish swimming everywhere. Because it’s a marine sanctuary, the grouper and the lobster are the biggest you’ll ever see, without any fear of landing on someone’s dinner plate. As I read in a local tour book, diving this site is like swimming in an underwater painting – it’s absolutely dreamy.

After the dive we hitched a ride up to the Bottom again with local dive mates with a car and had lunch at Island Flavors – highly recommended for their spinach salad with seared scallops. The mother of the owner offered us a ride back to the dinghy dock rather than get a cab so we accepted and headed back. We’re enjoying our final sunset on the boat over cocktails. Dinner will be served at 6 and we’ll probably be in bed by 7 (diving is exhausting). Tomorrow off to St Kitts!

New Years Eve sunset in Great Harbor

Foxys on Jost Van Dyke is famous for their New Years Eve party. Writeups have been done listing it as one of the top three places in the world to celebrate the new year, just behind New York and London. Stephen and Maureen learned sailing friends were also headed there and agreed to join us. We had an absolutely delightful sail from Virgin Gorda to Jost Van Dyke. Trip and I grabbed one of the moorings furthest out of the harbor (to avoid the music and lights at night), while Stephen and Maureen grabbed one close to shore and close to all the festivities. It’s really been nice having company – Maureen and I have been trading dinners periodically. We had them over that night for jambalaya and we went over the next night for broccoli alfredo & avocado salads (yummmmmm).

Rob at work on the ‘Christmas navigation hazard tree’

We did another trip around the corner to White Bay and were thrilled to see how business had picked up at the Soggy Dollar. I splurged and bought a tshirt labeled: “I love day drinking” even though I know it gets me in trouble some days….. : ) We went over to Hendo’s Hideaway for lunch so Trip could re-create his favorite, most memorable burger ever (they didn’t fail to disappoint again).

And then the anchorage began filling up. There’s about 24 mooring balls spread out in the bay, but a lot of folks cram in and drag anchor. It’s a bit dangerous because of very poor holding and we watched many a boat have to up anchor and reset (one boat we watched do this 7 times before they were successful – ugh). Not such a big deal if you have an automatic windlass, but Maureen and I cringed at the thought of having to bring up chain on a manual windlass to reset the anchor over and over again.

The navigation hazard Christmas tree

After pates at Sugar and Spice (curry chicken or fish filled empanadas) we ran into Rob again. Trip helped him finish making a makeshift dinghy dock at the ferry dock and then we met him back at Foxys. There’s a tree that overturned and landed in the shallows, half submerged, half visible. Not a big deal during the day, but at night a true hazard for all the dinghies heading back and forth to Foxys. Did I mention no one uses dinghy lights in the Caribbean and they run their outboards full tilt? And did I mention the alcohol most drivers have consumed? Partly to mark a navigation hazard and partly to say we decorated a Christmas tree while down in the islands, we took multiple strands of Christmas lights and a generator strapped down to a makeshift raft made out of flotsam out to the tree. It was totally convoluted but really fun and a great last volunteer project on the island.

New dive gear

We got back to the boat and Trip decided to change the prop zinc which was becoming well worn. He put on the new Mantus dive gear, and went overboard. The good news is that he got the old zinc off. The bad news is that the threads wouldn’t take and he couldn’t get the new zinc on before the air in the tank ran out (to be fair, not much more than a pony bottle – not a full dive tank). He gave up and took a brief nap while I continued to watch with nervousness the boats anchoring well and not so well around us.

Zeus & Diana

Stephen and Maureen’s friends Mel & Don have a catamaran and were nice enough to invite us over for sundowners before everyone headed to shore. Onboard we met two other cruising couples and had a lot of fun trading stories. Throughout the rest of the night we kept running into each other on the island – it was rather fun to have a new group of friends.

We eventually headed to shore and were amazed at the transformation. In addition to the restaurants that had been rebuilding, a half dozen or so shacks had been set up just steps from the water. Every single one of them was packed.

LED hula hoop girl

The routine for New Years Eve is that most people go to White Bay (Soggy Dollar) for the afternoon and then when the sun sets comes back to Great Harbor. Great Harbor was anchored by Foxys on one end with a live band and the scuba shop mid island that now features a bar (and guest DJ New Years Eve). We started at the scuba shop, marveling at how far they had come in the week since we helped clean debris. The Soggy Dollar crew showed up and we chatted for a while – they were thrilled with the amount of business they had taken in that day – getting back to the good old days. We then wandered the main drag, buying a drink or something to eat here and there at the little stalls before getting to Foxys.

Trip & Geiga

Did I mention the theme of the party (yes, there’s a theme) was toga party? I couldn’t be bothered and had opted for a light long sleeve shirt and jeans to ward off the bugs (you’ve already read about how well I do with bug bites), but it was a lot of fun to see how people had gotten into things. We continued to make our way down to Foxys and the crowd was worth it. We were intercepted by ‘Zeus’ and ‘Diana’ who insisted on pictures, and had a lot of fun watching one of the performers – a hula hoopist with a hula hoop with LED lights – I’m sure it was even more fun with more to drink.

NYE merry makers

I can’t remember the last time I made it up past midnight, but we did it. We headed back to the boat watching the fireworks (praying that none of the ashes were drifting down on us) and sat out in the cockpit with an after dinner drink enjoying the sounds.

Happy 2018!

Maureen & Stephen, Top of the Baths

Post Christmas we sailed off to Virgin Gorda. As winds were blowing in the low 20s, we had a double reefed main and a partial jib. We had to tack our way east into the winds. Trip’s kind of sailing, my day to just ride along on the boat. We made it to Spanishtown as the sun was going down and grabbed a mooring.

The next day we moved a mile down the coast to the most famous part of the BVI – the Baths. I refer to it as a prehistoric Disneyland with granite boulders dumped on top of each other creating the most spectacular caves and climbs. The park service provides two dozen moorings off the Baths and despite being post-storm, all fill up on a daily basis by mid morning. You then dinghy from your boat to a special line where you tie off the dinghy and then swim to shore. There’s not much coral (though there was one impressive stump of elkhorn coral that made it through the storm) but lots of fish to check out on the way in.

The boys goofing off in the Baths

There’s a path through the boulders that’s a really fun hike and great photo ops abound. Once done with the hike, you toss on a tshirt or coverup and then walk up to the Top of the Baths. There is a restaurant (complete with its own swimming pool) on a ridge overlooking the Baths and the boats. Plenty of shade, so we could relax with a drink and lunch before heading back.

No joke – that’s a basketball court on the uppermost deck

We didn’t get back till later in the day, so we opted to stay over night. In the meantime several mega yachts moved in, one featuring a half basketball court topsides – I still haven’t figured out if it was an NBA player, owner, or just a wannabe with too much money.

Minuet @ the Baths

The Judds needed wifi and we needed groceries so we headed back to Road Harbor. More visits to the scene of carnage, but I was able to stock up nicely with groceries at the same store we shop at when we charter bareboats down here. The marina had free wifi so we sat and paid bills and updated devices. And to top things off the chandlery was open and Trip was able to get the dinghy light replaced. It’s not the prettiest place to stop and the mooring field is really rolly but is really convenient and we were particularly lucky that the port authority wasn’t collecting mooring fees right now.

I will freely admit it feels very strange to spend Christmas in a swimsuit going sailing and swimming, enjoying cocktails as the sun goes down – but I’m not complaining (particularly since the northeast is experiencing really, really cold weather this year).

After months of planning and hoping, the Judds were at last in the BVI at the same time as us by boat! I took up the challenge of a rather unconventional Christmas dinner complete with gazpacho, salmon and potato croquettes over salad, and shrimp and spinach risotto. The daily rainshowers held off for us to enjoy a lovely meal by candlelight and starlight in the cockpit. There was only one other boat in the anchorage and Trip  invited them over the next day for Christmas Day appetizers and sundowners.

Stephen & Maureen Judd

Unwanted wooden hitchiker

We did have one bit of excitement when we went to leave. The advantage of dropping anchor in the tropics is that you can jump in the water with snorkel & fins to inspect your anchor. Trip noticed that we were somewhat close to a tree that had fallen and sunk after the storm. Our luck overnight  was to slowly spin and wrap and catch its branches multiple times with our anchor chain. With the help of Stephen and two guys from a neighboring boat, we were able to hoist the tree up, tie it off with line, unwrap the chain and up anchor. We proceeded to motor out of the bay towing the tree, only dropping it once we reached deep water so as to save someone else from our same fate.

Flipped catamaran in Village Cay Marina

I’ll spare everyone the saga of going back to Road Town to extend our visas past New Years and the number of offices and people we had to talk to – more bureaucracy that only drove me nuts and made me wonder if it was even worth it. We had gotten word Stephen and Maureen aboard their boat Minuet had made it to St Thomas and we would see them for Christmas – it was time to do some grocery shopping!

We headed over to Penn’s Landing Marina on the east end of Tortola. More destruction with lots of sunk boats present. We were particularly nervous with our approach because we were taking a mooring in what looked to be much too shallow water surrounded by wrecks. The wrecks were truly there, but turns out the water is much deeper than the charts indicate so we were fine on our mooring.

Look at the mast on this one – so sad

The marina doesn’t have many amenities right now – no fuel, which we luckily didn’t need. They did have water, so we planned on topping off our tanks the next morning. And they had showers – lovely to take a long (ie. 5 minutes in cruisers time) shower without panicking about wasting water on board.

Since it was the holidays we decided to treat ourselves to the Red Rock Restaurant for dinner that night. It’s probably the only fine dining restaurant open in the whole island chain and it didn’t disappoint. We had complimentary cocktails since we had picked up a mooring – if there had been four of us we would have gotten the mooring for free. We split an appetizer of beef kebabs with the most tender yet charred beef and chimichurri sauce on the side. Trip had pork for dinner which he demolished in record time and I had a chicken schnitzel so big I had to take half of it home for leftovers. Amazingly they had one of our favorite Rodney Strong Pinot Noirs for very little markup from retail, so it was a nice way to celebrate early.

Red Rock Restaurant – decked out for the holidays

The next morning we dinghied over to the remainder of the dinghy dock behind the grocery store. We first went off to the laundromat (Merry Christmas to me now means clean sheets and clothes) to wash a few loads and then to the grocery store, which was surprisingly well provisioned for a) an island post storm and b) two days before a major holiday. I cobbled together exactly what I’d need for Christmas dinner with the Judds. Once that was complete we brought the boat over to the marina dock where the marina manager Justin was waiting to help us tie off. He was kind enough to comp us our water since we only needed half of what we originally thought (we’re getting better at conserving than I thought, especially with all the water we’re drinking down here to avoid dehydration).

Unfortunately Trip had also discovered that the new dinghy light we bought in Road Town didn’t work, so we sailed back over only to find that the store had closed early for the holiday. The good news was that we got word that Stephen and Maureen had made it to the BVI so we sailed back to Benures Bay for a holiday reunion.

Snorkeling for turtles!

It was finally time to explore the other islands. We left with the intention to head over to Cane Garden Bay. I had heard that it was still pretty much non functional – but as we got close we realized there was not a single other boat in the harbor – not a good sign. But there were boats at Sandy Cay, a place we had never visited before. We were on the right tack so sailed over and grabbed a day mooring and spent a leisurely afternoon swimming and hanging out.

We left and headed to Little Harbor, Peter Island. Deep as the water is it’s amazingly clear – we could see 40 feet down to where our anchor lay easily….it was a quiet night with only two other big catamarans in the anchorage. One surprised us by turning on underwater lights and then having half the crew jump into the water to swim (lights notoriously attract big fish – like sharks).

The next morning I had already told Trip I didn’t want to snorkel and instead was ready to leave when I suddenly spotted a turtle in the water. We grabbed our gear and jumped in the water. We lost sight of the turtle, but spent some time checking out the fish near the shore. Then, just as we were approaching the boat again to leave, we finally saw our first turtle in the water – really cool and nice to see, up that close and not just from on deck!

Soggy Dollar – back open for business post hurricane!

Jost Van Dyke is one of the most famous islands in the BVI, thanks to three bars – Foxy’s, Ivan’s, and the Soggy Dollar. I’m happy to report that two out of three are open for business again and Ivan’s is getting close!

Saturday morning we decided to hike over the hill to White Bay, home of the Soggy Dollar. It was hot and sticky even though it was only 9:30 in the morning, but we needed some exercise. The management team at the Soggy Dollar were already setting up. We offered to help if they needed anything, but like Foxy’s, they said spending money was the best thing we could do at that point and offered up drinks.

JVD church

It was so strange to have a beach to ourselves that is normally flooded with boats and people. There was one lonely catamaran on a mooring with no sign of life. This must be what it was like when people were first cruising down here thirty years ago. Fun to have it to ourselves, but heartbreaking for the businesses that need to be rebuilt and the time it will take.

Gazpacho – classy fancy lunch

We did find out that a beach party was going on next door at Hendo’s Hideout the next day so we came back by dinghy. Post storm, every Sunday a different bar is selected and everyone shows up to show support and simply relax when spending every other waking moment cleaning up and recovering. It was incredible to meet all sorts of people from both the BVI and the USVI & to hear their stories. Despite everything that they’ve been through, the resilience is there and they’ll rebuild and things will come back. And in the meantime it was time to relax with a painkiller in hand and enjoy the beach and the water.

Dock pre-work

Monday morning we thought about moving on, but decided to go in one last time to say goodbye to Foxy. At the dinghy dock I noticed boats unloading lumber and lots of tools. I casually asked one of the guys what they were doing and did they need any help. Turns out they were from Kenny Chesney’s LoveForLoveCity Foundation. Though they were originally set up to help rebuild on St John (where Chesney has a home), they’ve extended work to Jost Van Dyke given Chesney’s close connections to the island. That day the team was there to rebuild the government dock to the island. The dock is critical because it’s the main one – used for customs, the medical clinic, and even the bars. New Years is always a huge deal on the island (supposedly one of the top three places to celebrate along with Times/Trafalgar Squares in NYC/London) and this one is going to be really important post-storm and because it’s a celebration of Foxy’s 80th birthday.

Finished dock

The team readily accepted our help and we headed back to the boat to grab our workgloves and shoes. The work wasn’t easy – especially since there was no hiding from the beastly sun. We were ripping up the old dock and replacing with new lumber. But the team moved fast and worked hard and it was a pleasure to help them. They even treated us to lunch at Foxy’s, over which we found out that Seth, one of team members, was formerly a chef and had set up the Rhumb Line Restaurant in Camden, Maine – where we visited earlier this summer! Small world sometimes.

It was a long hot slog, but we managed to get the dock done by the end of the day. Back at Foxy’s for drinks we met a local dive shop operator who accepted our help for the next day clearing debris, and met Rob, one of the other foundation members who said he’d definitely have things for us to help out with the following day. Looks like we were in business!

The next morning we met up with Greg and his team at Jost Van Dyke Scuba. They were already rebuilding the main building, but debris and inventory needed to be cleared from the yard to make room for a container being delivered to hold equipment and supplies as they rebuilt. It was a daunting task because the bugs were awful and there was so little room, but we managed to pile up the debris in the far corners and stack kayaks and paddleboards to make room.

The last board on the dock!

We caught up with Rob the third morning and he took us over to the medical clinic. They had already put on a new reinforced roof, so we took on the next phase. Trip prepped the walls and spackled so they could be painted later and I did demo work on tiles on the walls. No bugs this time and even better out of the sun, but still hot and dusty work. Worse, the tile fragments were coming off in shards and I looked down to see my legs bleeding in several spots. Good thing we were at the medical clinic, because the nurse practitioner was just downstairs and cleaned/patched me up pretty quickly. Rob was nice enough to drive us over the hill back to the Soggy Dollar at the end of the day – turns out he’s good friends with the management team so we enjoyed a few painkillers there as the sun went down. We headed back across town and stopped at a more ‘local’ establishment – A&B’s which is nothing more than plywood and drinks in coolers, but the locals hang out there and we heard yet more incredible stories about the storm.

We started to think about extending our stay and hitting Foxy’s for New Years Eve…