19
Location: The Bight, Norman Island
We woke in Great Harbor in Peter Island full of patriotic anticipation for the day to come but we had to put all of that aside and get ready for the day at hand. With a nice breakfast of french toast in our stomachs, we headed to shore where Elliot talked about the late Conrad and his family who have lived on that island for years and how happy they are living with close to nothing except a roof over their heads and cold beer from the world-class resort in their backyard. As we tried to approach the house, we were greeted by friendly signs that read “angry dog beware” and “you will get bit” and then finally the dog himself. I thought these to be invitations but the staff told us we should turn back, so we did. When we got back to the boat, we were given the opportunity to do whatever we wanted whether it was snorkeling or riding in the super dinghies. I decided to do nothing, how the founding fathers and God intended and had a wonderful time. After lunch, we set sail for Norman island where we did a deep clean of the boat to get it ready for the next session and at this point, I could barely contain my excitement for the day of our countries birth. With love and pride for America in our hearts, we cooked dinner and then were briefed about our evening activity. We were given the assignment to write notecards to each of the other boat members and tell them things we like about them and leave them kind messages. Personally, this activity took me a long time because I would constantly shift in and out of a blissful hypnotic type state of patriotic nirvana and would often find myself accidentally writing the preamble of the constitution on the notecards instead of the lovely messages I intended. By the time I was done, the clock had struck midnight, and a tear cascaded down my cheek as the greatest day of the year had begun and the pride I have for my country grew.