She met us at the library and drove us to her home stopping along the way to show us some beautiful views and homes. Within a few minutes we were rolling into the shell/gravel drive at her lovely single story, bright blue, white shuttered house, the front garden filled with colorful tropical flowers. She quickly opened the unlocked front door and we stepped inside. The living area had high wood paneled ceilings above, white tile floors, and comfortable rattan furniture. Nancy rushed around opening windows and soon an ocean breeze was dancing through the room. It was quite simply the most amazing view I’ve ever seen. Her white sand beach, shaded with a casurina trees and coconut palms dipped into crystal clear water.
She invited us to take a walk and have a swim, but was too tired to join us. It was one of the loveliest beaches we’ve seen and the water was perfect for a swim. We played and swam until we were afraid we’d be lobsters, then enjoyed rinsing off in the outdoor shower. Meanwhile, Nancy made a tasty cold pasta salad, and some cheese/crackers for lunch. She even made a sandwich for Coleen as she correctly suspected Coleen would enjoy that more than pasta salad. We had chocolate ice cream for dessert. Talk about spoiled! After lunch we played a couple of hands of Rummikub. We had a great time, lots of laughs and were entertained by Nancy’s many stories of growing up on the islands. She gave Coleen a book on Bahamian history. At one point I was sitting there, looking at the view, then down at my miserable hand, and thinking how amazing it is that 3 girls of such varied ages could be having such fun together.
It was getting on 4 o’clock so it was time to leave. On our way back we stopped at a store that had the poster board Coleen badly needed for a school project! It was so nice to make a new friend and especially nice to spend time with a local. She’s going to be away for a couple of weeks, but’s already invited us back for another visit. She also mentioned that if had any guest visiting us, they would be welcome to stay in her spare bedroom, but she wouldn’t cook J