LONG ISLAND in the BAHAMAS WITH ANN& BUELL MILLER

​LONG ISLAND in the Bahamas
 
  A good friend of ours, Ann Foskett, married Dr. Buell Miller of Cumberland, Maine three years ago. We have known Ann for many years and are getting to know Buell—a retired ObGyn Dr. This summer they invited us to visit them at their house in the Bahamas over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. We decided to do so as we’ve never been to this area and decided why not try something different! 
  We flew from Hilton Head Island to Charlotte and non-stop to Nassau. After a three hour wait, we met Joel, our pilot who flew us in a twin-engine plane to the Stella Maris Airport on Long Island—one of 700 islands in the entire Bahamas. Ann and Buell met us there and we drove on a pot-holed road to their house on the Atlantic side of the island, facing east. The west faces the Caribbean and not far off the Florida coast.  
  Long Island is approximately 80 miles long and fairly narrow most of the time. 
  Buell bought this house in 2007— ‘just before the real estate crash—and one reason we decided to visit them is that their house is now for sale. One of the days we were here a couple of their friends stopped by to look their house over. 
  This area is unique. Not too ritzy with a number of developments started and ended when the principals ran out of money. The Miller house is located in a beautiful area, over-looking the Atlantic and built about 20 years ago. There are not many houses in the area and the roads are terrible. Ann and Buell have a Honda Horizon car which seems like the perfect car for these roads. It is like a Land Rover, only not as fancy. These Honda cars were never sold in the US.
  The development we’ve gotten to know best is the Stella Maris Resort. This resort was started by Germans and is still managed by a German named George who was with Stella Maris development from the beginning. Joel is George’s son and helps out at the resort. Buell has been coming here for almost 40 years and knows everyone. Another former German named Bruno cares for the Miller house when they are in Maine. Bruno is married to an attractive black woman, Yvonne, who is a native of the Bahamas, growing up in Freeport on the island of Grand Bahama. She reports to George and oversees the front office, dining room, and bar at Stella Maris. 
We had our first evening meal at Eagles Nesting Restaurant that I’d give an A-. We were the only guests there but they have developed a good take-out business.
 
 We’ve been to a number of places for dinners. Among our favorite was Chez Pierre Restaurant and beach, cottages. We stopped there on our way back from a two-hour drive to the Flying Fish Marina Restaurant in Clarence Town—down on the southern end of the island; where we enjpyed a delicious lunch.
 
We’ve been here five nights with four more ahead of us. It’s been a relaxing time as there really isn’t much to do on Long Island. Today, Friday, December 28thwould have been my father’s 121st. birthday. Tonight, we are going to a restaurant at Stalla Maris called “The Cave.”
 
Buell is almost the same age as Pat and I with Ann five years younger. They lead a fairly relaxed life and are staying here longer than most trips (four months). Living in Maine during winters is rough and they are fortunate to have their get-a-way in this warm area with an average temperature of 79-80 this week.
 
I’m writing this blog on a Friday afternoon. Buell is reading at the same table I’m writing on and Pat and Ann are working on a 1,000-piece puzzle. We had talked about driving up to see a Columbus monument in an area reportedly entered by Christopher Columbus on his first voyage to the New World. We walked this morning on a beach called, “Love Beach” and ran into a rain shower, which seem to be frequent this time of year. We decided not to see the Columbus monument today as the weather was iffy.