It's Gone.....

In the 1970's my cousin's husband built a home on Elbow Cay in the Bahamas. It was just down the road from Hope Town perched on a bluff....the Atlantic on one side and White Sound on the other. It was a beautiful spot. When Rob designed it he took a clue from Mother Nature....looking at the palm trees around him he noticed that they were all leaning in one direction. So he angled his roof line to mimic the trees and build the house to be strong and designed it to withstand strong winds and hopefully hurricanes. And Seascape did make it through many storms. Sometimes the door blew in and the wind raced through the interior blowing out the windows in the back. So there was wind and water damage that had to be fixed....but while neighboring homes were wiped out, Seascape remained.

Until Dorian. Until this weekend. We haven't gotten the final word.....but all texts back and forth between family members indicate that she is gone.

Dave and I only visited once. We were living on our sailboat and exploring anchorages in the Abacos. We visited Green Turtle, Marsh Harbor, Treasure Cay, Man-of-War Cay and other spots throughout the northern Bahamas. And then, finally the weather was good and we were able to go around Whale Cut and sail to Hope Town. We anchored, jumped on our folding bikes and pedaled out to Seascape. Claudia and Rob were there with two of their kids....so we had a wonderful but short reunion. They flew home to Indiana the very next day. That was 2001.

How young we look.....and happy to be together in their island hide-away. Claudia died almost three years ago so she is not here to experience this particular heart ache. But I look at the photo of the house....and the photo of the six of us and I remember. And I feel sad....can only imagine all of the memories Rob and the kids have.

A toast to Seascape and all the good times.......