April 1st (April Fools’ namesake) we arrived at the Hope Town Inn & Marina.
We pulled in just in time, after all three boats tied up, we met up at the pool bar and the heavens opened up with a torrential rain. Luckily it didn’t last long and the sun was back out. The winds, however, started picking up which was the exact reason we decided to come to this marina for a few days. Winds were forecast to be 20 to 25 kts with gusts up to 35 kts for a couple days.
My hubby did manage to get in a swim, the marina grounds were gorgeous, although they have been working non-stop to rebuild and repair since Hurricane Dorian in 2019.
That evening we enjoyed happy hour onboard Stacy Lynn
Friday, we all got a chance to catch up on some well needed sleep. After coffee, we decided to explore the island. Sadly there is still lots of debris around, homes and businesses that have been destroyed. Some homes were swept completely off of their foundations. It’s amazing to think of the changes that took place, post Dorian. We went for a walk through Hope Town to visit a hotel that was supposed to be a great resort. It was on the top of the island. When we arrived, the hotel was gone, except for the foundation and the pool had filled in from the tidal surge. Most residents don’t believe that the hotel owners are going to reconstruct. We did see signs of construction and some places that either did not get hit hard or have already been repaired.
Yard full of abandoned, derelict boats 
Photo Op
Robert & Stacy 
Susan & Bill 
John & Robin
Saturday the boys called a Captain’s meeting to discuss the plan moving forward. Winds were still gusting so it was decided to stay one more night at the marina and leave Monday morning.
Some of us went up to the pool bar for lunch, there was a band playing for a fundraiser for the medical bills for a local woman who has cancer. The place was packed, it was really nice to see all the support shown by locals and visitors alike. We were told that this island has really learned to come together and lean on each other for support since Dorian. Today’s events were just one example of that new attitude.
Sunday was Easter. This was the first time that we’ve been away from family on Easter. We decided to take the bikes over to Hope Town, and visit a great little resort restaurant called Fire Fly Resort. I think this is first time John had Grouper for Easter, but according to him, it was delicious. Then we decided to ride to the end of the island to a place called Tahiti Beach. We got to go conch shell hunting! You couldn’t help but to see examples of the devastation caused by Dorian. Some homes were nothing more than shells, some homes were in the middle of repairs and other homes that we saw seemed like they weren’t touched by the hurricane at all. We had a great day! It was fun but a long, long ride and all of our butts hurt by the time we got back to the dingy dock to be picked up 5 hours later!
Goegeous multimillion dollar homes 
We tried calling this marina for slips 
Now we know why they didn’t answer 
This home was just a shell 
Dug up some conch shells 
Ride back to the marina 
Life Aboard April Fools 
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