Lee Stocking Island / Norman's Pond Cay 1/1 - 1/3

New Year's morning we decided to move on because there wasn't as much we were interested in at Little Farmer's Cay. We headed out late morning and the plan was to go all the way to George Town, Great Exuma Island which we thought would take around 6 hours.  It was a rough sail! The wind was not as forcasted and was not working well for sailing so we had to tack to make any progress. It was slow progress. Plus, the waves were much bigger than expected -4-6 feet and it was kind of rough. The kids all got sick. Emily threw up twice, Lucy 5 times, and Noah once. That was super fun. The only excitement was when Paul caught a tuna...head.. during the sail. A shark decided to eat the tuna before he could get it reeled in so we only ended up with the head. It was pretty sad but funny. Anyway, after battling the waves and wind for about 5 hours, we finally decided to cut back in off the ocean to take a break for the day.

That turned out to be a blessing because we found Lee Stocking Island and Norman's Pond Cay and it was beautiful. There was only 1 other boat there -at a different anchorage too, so it felt like we had the place all to ourselves. We stayed there 2 nights so we could check out beautiful beaches and try out a few snorkeling spots. And to just try to forget about that rough sail.  We found a nice beach and packed a picnic lunch and just hung out there for awhile. The kids found old bottles, logs, etc and that is all it takes to entertain them for hours on the beach. This island definitely will be one of our favorites. Peaceful and beautiful.

So beautiful!!

We left early on the morning of 1/3 to try again to make it to George Town and this sail went much better. Waves were much calmer and the wind was more cooperative. We were all feeling much better this time. We anchored and dinghied to the town dock. We were very excited to find a real grocery store and the prices are the best we've seen since Nassau. I have never been so excited to have fresh salad and fruit as I was today. This really has made us all appreciate how easy our lives are in some ways back at home. We appreciate the food and cost of food back in Utah, that is for sure. Sometimes I hear the kids talking about their favorite foods they miss and their favorite restaurant they want to go to when we get home. They really don't complain about it though. But there are things we all miss and after this, we will probably need a big break from rice, pasta, pancakes, and peanut butter.

We will probably be in George town a few days because high winds are expected. We will check out the snorkeling and beaches and town a little more.