One of the big draws for cruisers here is Stocking Island. There are 200+ boats anchored here and several protected anchorages. And every afternoon many of them head over to the island by dinghy for fun and games.

There’s volleyball at 2 pm and checkers, dominos whenever you please. The volleyball players, like us, are not as young as they used to be, so the game is about drinking beer, trash talk and trying not to injure yourself making spike moves you can no longer make successfully.

Ed noticed that during the volleyball games, people not playing were sitting at the picnic tables chatting and watching. Making new friends, greeting old ones.

No one was on their phones!

I introduced myself to a woman with a masonboro.org shirt. She turned out to be a neighbor, lives 3 miles from me in Wilmington.

But the big draw is Chat ‘n Chill. Created and owned by KB (I don’t know his last name), they grill outside and make their own homemade hot sauce that he sells on the Internet. He also has a gift shop his wife runs, with your choice of t-shirts, caps, etc.

There are two resident cats, Lightning and Thunder, who didn’t give Ziggy the time of day. And Kendra and AJ run the bar.

We chatted with KB for awhile at the bar. He was college educated in the States and says the biggest need in the Bahamas is to improve their educational options. He preached education to his sons and that must have sunk in, one is a surgeon and the other a dentist in Nassau.

We talked about the history of the Bahamas, and KB shared his views on the islands. He told us the Bimini folks are mostly smugglers. I asked wasn’t that in the colonial days? He said no, they’re still into that.

He also said the biggest problem with some visitors here is their attitude and impatience. Why is my burger taking so long?

We agreed, what’s the hurry? They are grilling it outside so be patient! Get another beer from the cooler (it’s self-serve) and chill!

KB wants to open another place in Staniel Cay, whose restaurant has zero competition and terrible service.

We urged him to go for it! We can be chattin and chillin there too, my mon.