Adventures of Tom, Jan & Peanut Continued: A bike ride to 7 mile beach

Sunday:
Seven mile beach is a short bike ride away. We left the bikes at the bottom of a sand trail and headed up a small hill thick with brush and scrub on both sides. As we neared the top the brush gave way to a beautiful sand beach and water colors that made you take a breath and smile. Shades of blues and greens some light some dark coming together with invisible lines that kept each color sharp and distinct. It reminded me of coloring with my grandchildren. Be sure to stay in the lines Gram so the colors don't get all mixed up. I'm not sure how far we walked me at the waters edge, Tom combing the piles of sea grass that gathered away from the water. We took turns calling out to one another to proudly display our finds. About an hour into our walk we came across a blue building with a large covered deck up on a sand hill. The only clue that it could be a bar/restaurant were the Kalick umbrellas. Once up the hill a small sign bearing it's name "The Beach Bar" was visible. We sat at the bar and talked with a couple of Americans who own winter homes nearby. They explained that the Beach Bar is the oldest established bar in Harbour Cay. Behind it was a little building no bigger than a small storage building you would put in your back yard. It houses the Art House. Inside were a variety of arts and crafts made by local artists. All profits from items sold are donated to the all age school on the island. We were invited to stay and play a game similar to bocce ball that used small metal balls but we declined and headed back to our bikes.

Monday:
Don and Cindy, on the sailboat next to us rented a jeep to see the island and run some errands. Tom rode to the gas station with Don to fill up the dingy gas can then I rode with them to the grocery. This gave me a little tour of town. The jeep was an experience in itself. I think the floor board was close to giving away and the back seat was just a long cushion. When we arrived at the grocery Cindy had to reach for the outside handle to open the door. Don did well working the stick shift into the proper gear with a little creative wiggling. The grocery is a basic brick building with a sign that says grocery in the window of the door. If you blinked you would miss it. We looked around and checked prices. A box of Kelloggs special K, the only cereal they had was $8.33 a box. Water was $12.00 for a gallon. The next store delivery would not be until Wednesday so the produce was pretty slim pickins. Cindy bought a cantaloupe for $4.50. I just looked. From the grocery they gave me a brief tour. There were quite a few nice homes for sale and a number of others that were never finished. There are several dirt roads leading off the main highway to houses but really not much else to see. After lunch Tom and I rode our bikes out to the Beach Bar and began walking where we left off yesterday. My goal was to reach Shell beach, located at the very end. At low tide the sand dollars are plentiful and easy to find.
Monday evening we attended a potluck dinner hosted by the Marina. It is always fun to hear where other boaters have been, where they are going and where they are from.