Publish Date: Saturday, January 10, 2009
Getting ready to swing from the tree!
Upon entering “Chicken Harbor” (Elizabeth Harbor), Georgetown, Exumas, it was the last place I wanted to be. I really did not have a whole lot of interest in going there. “Can we just stop to provision?” I had asked my parents. With knowing smiles, they just said, ‘We’ll see.”
Well, It turns out that I would never ever want to depart. The day after we arrived, at 1:30, as I did for the next two weeks, I stepped foot on Chat and Chill Beach. Almost before I had set the dingy’s anchor in the sand, I was attacked by a large number of friendly, smiling, and welcoming faces of kids my age! Everyone was there to say hi and welcome the new cruising kid to the prime hang out. Erin, Geneva, Brady, AnnMarie, Brian, David, Sam, Chris, and Josh, all chorused in welcoming me to the harbor. We were fast friends.
Hanging out on Chat n' Chill beach.
It was soon discovered that to properly be welcomed to the beach, i needed to do the tree swing. This statement was staged to me as, “Come on, Ayla. We want to show you how to jump out of a tree!” I was lead over to a tree where a line of kids had formed. As my turn came up, I looked down to see fifteen feet of air space below me, and then hard ground. I will admit to having second thoughts. However, the others were not about to let me climb down without using the swing. I reluctantly griped the rope, placed my feet on the wooden ledge, squeezed my eyes shut, and gave on hearty push. Wow! The swing turned out to be the best part of the beach there was! I did it about 50 more times in our stay. But this was not the only swing! After several more rides on the high one, I was given a McCflurry. This is where some kids put you on a swing, and twist the rope, then let you go. Yu go flying, and you are laughing so hard, that when you get off, it is literally impossible to walk.
Next up on my must do Georgetown list. Back in some very thick shrubs, is a small clearing about as
More hang time!
long as our salon, and as wide as my parents room. In this clearing, a couple of palm trees had fallen on top of each other, creating something like a roman numeral two. The ten of us squeezed into the clearing, and decided to make a fort. We spent the next several hours finding large boards, stacking, making palm frawn falls, and getting eaten by bugs. This clearing and fort became the best hiding spot, meeting spot, and laughing spot.
I also learned the Toast Song. This song is a common song with cruiser kids, and I will post it here for laughs:
All around the country and coast, coast
people always ask, “what do you like most?”
I don’t want to brag, i don’t want to boast
I just tell them, I LIKE TOAST!
Yeah Toast
Yeah Toast
Yeah toast!
Get up in the morning, ‘bout six a.m.
Grab a little jelly, grab a little jam
spread on the butter, and stick it the slot
wait five minutes and the wires get hot
Yeah Toast
Yeah Toast
Yeah toast!
Under a shady rock on a beach.
Must I tell you all that Georgetown became a place where parties were held, plays were planned, swims were had, and above all, great friends were made.