Nice Work if You Can Get It...

After about 12 hours of getting on planes, getting off planes, getting on and off other planes, sleeping on planes, not sleeping at all on planes, sleeping (and not sleeping!) in various airports, we finally arrived.  The beautiful Grand Bahama Island was waiting on the other side of brightly painted customs and immigration counters.

With passports stamped and three suitcases full of makeup to negotiate (another 6 crates of makeup, hair supplies, and periphery had been shipped the day before from my home in Salt Lake City) we set off to find our driver who would take us to our rooms at the Port Lucaya Resort. Vacation?  Trust that there is a sheepish grin as I admit this is work (pause for a collective eye-roll, I know.)  A three week shoot for an independent film called "Way of the Dolphin," shot on location here in the wild and gorgeous Bahamas.

I try to not think too much of coming days when we will film at the dolphin research center...my heart runs the real danger of actually exploding into a million little fragments of joy in anticipation.  Who knew that my life-long dreams of working with dolphins (remember the day it all started, Mom--feeding that dolphin at Marineland thirtyfour-ish years ago?) would be realized in such an unexpectedly wonderful way.  And rumor is, they are actually paying us to do this job...

Not the girls to miss out on highlights of local culture and tradition, Rockets (no-not her real name, yes-everyone calls her that) and I out tonight for the weekly Fish Fry over at Smith's Point.  This happens every Wednesday night and is known the world over for the great food (featuring Conch-the meat of conch shells-cooked in a myriad of different ways), lively music, and relaxing atmosphere.

A short cab ride from our hotel with a jolly local drier named Ruben Nathaniel Grant ("I love all people, whether I know them or not, because God tells me I should," he says as we drive) and there we were at the famous Fish Fry.  And yes, we did eat conch.  Conch fritters and grilled conch (which ended up being more like a conch stew), alongside some fried plantains and the best potato salad I've had in a while.  I'm glad my mama taught me to try new things even if they look terrifying, because although the grilled conch looked sorta wrong, it was really really quite yummy.

Tomorrow I'm gonna find myself a conch salad for lunch.