Chapter 4: Island Adventure - the First Guest

Window view - candlelight reflection on the field of daisies.

It's fitting that my very first overnight guest on Ship Island is one of the gals who was with me when the opportunity to have it in my life presented itself.

When Brian offered to buy it for me as a birthday gift, since he ... QUOTE "haven't got you much over the past 70 years so I likely owe you some gifts" ... thanks Brian ... I didn't jump on it. "I don't really need another place to 'sit' when I don't have enough time to sit at the places that I have and love now." I told my two friends who had come up to see it with me.

Enough light for writing.

This particular friend is an "AND Girl".  We had played the game together at a workshop we were at.  The one person says something they want to do ... like "I want to go to Ireland" or "I am going to get a little cabin on an isolated island." The other person, for everything they say, replies with 'BUT' and follows with some reason that it won't work. "BUT you can't afford it. BUT it's hard to get to. BUT you don't have enough time now to do the things you want to do."  And then you switch and say the exact thing but with the reply of "AND" instead. "AND you can visit all those cool castles in Ireland. AND you can look up your family history! AND you can drink lots of Guinness!" When we did that exercise, the energy in the room totally changed to electric and excitement from the dragging down of every one's dreams.

We can find a photo-op anywhere.

Yes, she is an 'AND Girl'.
Her 'ANDS!' for the cabin were a rapid fire pistol:

 "AND you could have SO MUCH fun decorating it!

AND you can go over there and paint and write! 

AND it could be a retreat for other writers and artists and tired women! AND we could spend the night there!!!"

And so we did.

Morning coffee in the daisies.

I must tell you, this dear, wonderful, always-supportive AND Friend is a City Girl. When she slept in my cabin on the farm - feet away from the house with a big yard light shining like a full moon, she didn't. Sleep that is. She kept saying 'What's that?' 'Just the donkeys knocking around.' 'WHAT'S THAT???!!!!' 'Bullfrogs.' 'BULLFROGS! Oh LORD!" Yep, a City Girl, bless her heart.

So the fact that she was keen ... and I seriously mean KEEN to sleep over on Ship Island was really cool besides being completely fitting to be my very first overnight guest.

We packed a little bag with the most essential 'overnight-in-a-cabin-on-an-isolated-island' items ...
comfortable lounge wear, a book, journal, snacks and coffee.

 AND off we went.

From the outside looking in.

It was heavenly. 

We lit the candles and then went outside to look in. 

We both played 'taking pictures'.

We talked.

 A lot. 

We both said 

'Isn't this COOL?!'

 a dozen times.

We figured out how to make the couch into a bed so we didn't have to both squeeze into 

the tiny double bed in the tiny bedroom.

In the morning, we sat in the meadow of daisies and raspberries and read. 

We soaked in the peace and serenity and history and magic. 

And we were grateful.

 Grateful for friendship; 

adventure;

 for freedom;

 for time 

and for the fact

 that it only takes

 the very simplest things in life 

to make us

gratefull.
And gleeful.

And then another Very Cool Thing happened. 

We got VISITORS!

I happened to just catch them as they were coming up the well-hidden path.

What fun! My family ... well a good part of it, got to see finally see where I am when I say I'm 'heading overseas'.

I think they approved.

Visitors! Woohoo!!!

Their very first time there.

Perhaps a longer trek than they expected.

I gave them the grand tour ...

the cabin, hout 'ouse, cemetary and Tom Tumbler,

leaving the Lighthouse and other challenging hiking for another time.

Then they said goodbye and we carried on for the rest of the day,

doing what we were doing.

Nothing.