Yesterday we went to a beach that used to have my favorite beach bar, Iggies. Jef and I went there the first year we visited and I remember lying in the hammock outside the bar while listening to the band play. They had a hook screwed into a palm tree and you had to swing a ring onto it. Everyone tried their luck and if you got it, everyone cheered for you. One year we stayed over Christmas in a condo on the hill above Iggies and combed the beach for interesting coral and seashells. This is what it looks like now:

We have driven around the island quite a few times and you can still see remnants of the devastation. There are houses that are still missing roofs, boarded up restaurants, tennis courts stripped of their surfaces, and less people frequenting the bars at night. There are new people that have moved here, but many people left. The loss here is evident to anyone who has been here more than once. The island has a different feel to it than I remember. It’s not quite the same place and it makes me sad. I still love it here, but I miss many things that were lost with the storm.

Today we spent at least an hour and a half driving around the island looking for the best spot to hang out. We drove to Sapphire Beach, hoping to end up at Linquist, but the wind was strong and it started to rain while we were there. We headed to Hull Bay. The waves were very high and many surfers were out trying their luck. As we parked the car it started pouring. So we settled in at Brewer’s Bay again. As you can see from the picture, it is an excellent place to look for shells and coral. There is not a lot of shade, so it is not my favorite, but today when we were wading I spotted turtles! Jef swam out to follow it and swim alongside. It was so cool to watch them surface and peek out with their cute little heads.

As we were getting ready to leave, Jef wanted one more swim. I was not going to join, but decided last minute that I needed to cool off. I saw another turtle, not far from where we were standing. We both swam off to get closer. That turtle was fast! Jef is a better swimmer than I am and he kept up with it, but I gave up and moved closer to shore so I could rest. As I was resting, another turtle popped up next to me for air! I must have been swimming with him/her all along and was not paying attention. It was such a cool experience. There were lots of other turtles there if you swam out far enough so I would definitely suggest going here even if you don’t have snorkel equipment to see turtles.

Tonight for dinner, we went to Jef’s favorite BBQ, which is a truck parked on the waterfront. You can get half of a chicken and two sides for $10. We took our meals and drove over to the University to watch the sunset. It was a perfect spot overlooking the runway and Brewer’s Bay.