Black Point 2
Ambler Isle
V and S
Sat 5 Feb 2011 13:15
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We went to the very modern laundry at the Rockside Inn
in Black Point. It boasted 16 washers and 16 dryers. Owner Ida had
left for lunch, and I could buy no tokens to operate the machines. So I
sorted and loaded the clothes into 4 washer and we left to go to Bertram and
Verneice's home, just down the street. We never miss the chance to visit
them. As usual, they sat out by the road under a wooden shelter listening
to the radio and plaiting palm fronds. Just before we reached them, we
turned around and walked backwards to them. They cackled with glee when
they saw it was us. Both jumped up and gave us each a bear hug. We
chatted about family, health, her garden, the church. We enquired about
the local events. We'd brought them a tin of the chocolate covered
cookies, too. When it was time to leave, she gave us a big bag of her
homegrown beans and a huge sweet potato the size of New York. Bertram
escorted us to the laundry to make sure Ida treated us right. The washers
were new, the water was r/o, and the cost was $3.50 to wash and $3.50 to
dry. The wash started, we left again, this time to see Lorraine at her
café next door. We ordered Kaliks, and caught up with the events of her
life. She was the first to bring free wifi to this island, but her
equipment is old and slow. A competitors' restaurant had just installed
new stuff and seemed to be stealing her customers. But Lorraine has a
strong following. She'd planned a big Super Bowl Party for Sunday with music,
BBQ, big screen TV, the works. Suddenly the electric power flickered and
went off. Lorraine stopped cooking, we stopped laundering. A few
other cruisers wandered in for drinks. Later, back at the laundry the
power was back on, and a nice lady had restarted all the machines. Finally
the folding was done and we dinghied back to the boat, quite tired from the
activity. We warmed up some BBQ sandwiches I'd stowed in the freezer, and
we enjoyed a quite evening at home.
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