Thursday, April 16, 2009
Marsh Harbor, Great Abaco Cay

Well the engine maintenance took longer than expected yesterday and neither of us felt like dinghying into town so we stayed aboard and didn't celebrate Diana's birthday with Cheeseburgers in Paradise (we did that today). While working on the engine, we noticed Spirit pulling into the marina (love those guys - she has the most beautiful white hair and a wonderful tan that makes her stand out). They came by to say hi and to find out what our itinerary was and where we'd been, and to tell us about their travels and itinerary. It's similar to ours only they're planning on heading to the states this Sunday. We're still moseying around for another couple of weeks before heading back to the states.

Today we headed to town for those cheeseburgers, groceries and laundry. I'd heard that the "Golden Grouper" had the best cheeseburgers in the Abacos so we headed there (hey nothing but the best for Diana's birthday!). It's a small little place that locals and cruisers both pack into at lunch time. You'd definitely expect that they'd have seafood there (they do) but they also had good-looking club sandwiches and the burgers. I was not disappointed - the burgers were huge, juicy, loaded, tasty and reasonably priced at 5.95 (10.85 if you include a large portion of fries and slaw). Remember that scrawny 14.00 burger I had at Norman's Cay? I'd have probably paid 14.00 for this one and not been disappointed. The slaw and fries that accompanied the burger were good - this place gets a 4-conch horn blast from me (on a scale of 1-5 blasts).

After satisfying our hunger we hit the grocery store then paid our ransom to the boys guarding the dinghies at the dinghy dock. Um did I mention them yet? School is out here for spring break this week and there's a group of 3-4 boys at the dinghy dock where you tie up the dinghy to go to shore. They help you on and off, and help tie up. Then look at you expectantly for thanks or a tip... I would much rather see them here being entrepreneurs than off doing other things - so of course I tip them a buck for "guarding our dinghy"... Anyhow, they're sweet - I can see them from our boat - standing there all day waiting for the cruisers to come in and out from their boats - trying to make a buck (see picture).

After depositing our groceries and gathering up some laundry we headed over to Harbor Marine to do our laundry. It's closer - we can dinghy up to the marina, as opposed to going back to the dinghy dock and hauling our laundry ½ mile to the laundromat. It's 7.50/wash-load at the laundry, vs 8.00 per load (wash and dry) at the marina. Let's see haul it a ½ mile and back or tie up at the marina... We opted for the marina which was probably cheaper too once you add in the drier costs at the Laundromat. They have nice facilities and a pool at the marina (which we couldn't use because we weren't staying there).

Then back at the boat again. We were still semi-full from our Cheeseburger lunch so snacked instead of a dinner tonight. We still hear the conch horns issuing down the sun at sunset here. Time to turn on the anchor light.