February 11, 2020. Arrived into the Lake Worth cut about 3:30 and docked at the first marina we saw Riviera Beach Marina, because we were excited to get off and see the sites.  This area rivals Fort Lauderdale with the boats and waterfront and Joe kind of likes to look at boats (in case you were unaware) so the next few days included much of this activity.  
Friday Feb. 14th - Valentines Day, We moved to our friends, the Powells, dock and hung with them, and their daughter, son in law and beautiful grand daughter Sophie, for a couple days.  They are super gracious hosts with a fabulous home and they toured us around the area by boat and car, complete with historical commentary.  Enjoyed great company, food, games, boating, etc.  

Sunday Feb. 16, 2020, we took the intercoastal to Stuart where we will have some work done while we go home and await our new grand baby.  As soon as we tied up the boat at Sunset Bay Marina in downtown Stuart, we were greeted by some Loopers and invited for 'little beers', which a Great Loop tradition to meet or send off fellow Loopers.  Little beers are actually a liquor drink topped with cream to look like beer.  This a tradition we like and will pass it forward.

​Chris and Kermit Wold, friends from MN, were our local hosts here and tour guides. Stuart has a quaint downtown and many bays, marinas and boating areas.  More great food, company, boating, etc.  We toured the various shores of the St. Lucie River and then the Manatee Pocket where there are great restaurants.  
The next day we all had dinner at the Dolphin House.  This place was owned and operated by Frances Langford (her signature song -"I'm in the Mood for Love") as the Outrigger Resort.  Many celebrities frequented here and their pictures hang on the wall.  Jackie Gleason apparently liked the bungalow closest to the bar.  The restaurant today had some of the best shrimp and tuna along with a great view.  

Lucaya, part of Freeport, is another resort area of the Bahamas that is has so much untapped potential.  Its latest struggle is Hurricane Dorian, which damaged most of the island outside of the small area of Lucaya.  The far eastern end of the island is pretty much gone, as are the adjacent Abacos Islands.   Lucaya was spared but the water supply and clean up are ongoing.  We rented a car and toured some of the damaged area you could get to. Boats thrown blocks from inner canals and a mile or so from the coast, new developments with houses either gone or totaled. Electricity outside of the main city won't be reestablished for months. Help for these areas is pretty limited still but slowly things are happening.

The Grand Bahama Yacht Club was a fun place to hang out with the very limited people there. We ate several times at the poolside bar called the Thirsty Turtle, which is recently opened by a young Brit couple that had their resort literally swept away at the eastern end of the island by the hurricane.  These people are so resilient and positive!

Banana Bay (great lunch and beach) and Fabian, who has been at the marina about 30 years.  

More windy days and we would have loved a few more days here but took advantage of a fairly good travel day to get across the Gulf Stream to Palm Beach.  A good 90 mile ride in 3'-4' seas, but at least not on our beam and the weather was fantastic. 

A good day of following seas to get to Great Harbour and the top of the Berries.  Past Great Stirrup Cay, which is owned by some of the Cruise lines and typically have ships anchored there, into the narrow channel into Great Harbour. 

Winds held us here again for a few days, one rainy day but we were able to bike the entire island and enjoy the beaches (although the wind prevented staying there too long).  There is a long abandoned golf club which was frequented in the 60's by the likes of the Rat Pack and other rich and famous.  Now you can just walk around and imagine how it was.  The marina was a great host with events each evening.  Pizza night, BBQ night, movie night...   We met more new friends, Steve and Sheli, from Michigan and had a competitive (not really) game night.  

Our next stop (Feb. 3, 2020) was this small island at the northern tip of Eleuthera which has been mainly a fishing village its entire life. It now has some tourism and most of the establishments are sprinkled around the residential areas and are part of people's homes.  Great seafood location and we took advantage of the giant stone crab claws unique to this island.  

Eleuthera 
February 4, 2020. We took the 10 minute ferry across from Spanish Wells to Eleuthera where we were met by a local women who rented us a car for the day (arranged by our marina).  This island is more remote except for the resort island adjacent, Harbour Island, which we 'saved fo next time'. We drove past the Glass Window Bridge, which is a unique place where the Atlantic and the Bank side meet.  The water is wild and dark on one side of the rock cliff and beautiful aqua and calmer on the Bank side.  Queens Bath is a short hike to tidal pools and cool rock formations.  We made it to Governors Harbor, the original government location of the Bahamas and had lunch.  Hurricanes have taken away lots of tourism here in the past 20-30 years including a Club Med we hiked around, which is abandoned but was obviously wonderful in its day. While the communities are relatively poor here, the people, as everywhere we've visited in Bahamas, are very friendly and happy people.  Oh, and the beaches and the waters are beautiful here too!

Yet another weather event with high winds coming in so we planned a long weekend stay at Highbourne Cay where we could also enjoy Superbowl Sunday.  The marina was full over the entire stay and we met some great people and had a ton of fun here.  The entire island is a pristine resort with a beautiful 3 mile beach on the Atlantic side plus others on the Bank side, gazebos to enjoy with views, plus bikes all the water toys you can imagine.  Good snorkeling around the island too, but you have to watch out for sharks.  Got some fishing tips from some slip neighbors and watched football with new friends at Xuma, an outdoor restaurant with a wonderful sunset view.