I had the wonderful opportunity to meet John Rood (pictured with me below).  Ambassador John D. Rood was appointed by President George W. Bush in July 2004 to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. He is the eleventh U.S. Ambassador to The Bahamas.  I also met Oswald Ingraham, Speaker of the House of Assembly and Member of Parliament for South Eleuthera.  The children of Governor's Harbour Primary School put on a junkanoo presentation in their honor on Thursday.

We had a great house party Thursday night.  Our bon fire was HUGE - I think the boys overdid it a little.  We had good munchies, great drinks (many hangovers the next day) and great music with lots of dancing...

 We did lots of exploring of the island... 

I did get to a new spot I'd never been before and would HIGHLY recommend.  Seaside Bar in Hatchett Bay.  This bar right on the sea in Hatchett Bay has an open air dance floor.  Friday and Saturday nights they have a live Rake 'n Scrape band "Alex and the Boys".  These guys play great music - from Bahamian to Calypso to American.  The whole bar danced and danced all night long.  The band plays from 8pm thru midnight.  They are for hire for special events, so watch for info about them on this site under the music link.

The Carnival is in town!  A friend passed by the carnival on Saturday evening, there were not too many folks there. All is fenced in and there is a $3 admission fee for adults $1 for children I believe. It looks like the real American ting. There are 7 or 8 medium size rides at a cost approx. $2.50 for the most expensive ride, I believe some were less, there was also a giant slide, maybe 50 feet high, looked like fun!  There are also game joints with stuffed animal prizes, complete with cotton candy and corn dogs. She was told that they were expected to open in the evenings every day and possibly stay as long as 3 weeks.

In other news, I talked with Larry Cleare from the Brilanders - they're still not playing at Bottom Harbour due to the dock not being repaired yet, so no access from Harbour Island.  They are however playing at Sea Grapes, in Briland, on Wednesdays (girl's night out). 

Also, there will be a celebration of the life of Tarpum Bay artist Mal Flanders in mid March.  A service is being held in Tarpum Bay on Saturday, March 19th at 10:00. It will be at St. Columba's Anglican Church with The Reverend Andrew Toppin officiating.  Many of you will remember Mal for his driftwood paintings of island life.  I personally have his paintings of the Bahamian official raising the flag, his hibiscus flowers, and his boy in skiff.  His bright colors and subject matter appealed to many.  Mal's studio is at the top of Bernard Hill in Tarpum Bay.