After our wind-filled weekend, we moved back down to Staniel Cay and dropped anchor right off of Cruisers Beach. We were all very eager to get on land, so we treated ourselves to a fancy dinner with friends at Fowl Cay Resort.

We spent the next day and a half at Staniel. We had lunch at the Staniel Cay Yacht Club, did some provisioning, got a birthday present for Theo ($21.50 strawberries!), and did a little exploring around the island.

The following day was Theo’s 9th birthday. We started the celebration at anchor with birthday french toast, complete with homemade whipped cream and Sugar Bob’s maple syrup straight from Vermont. Before we left on this trip, I was focused on making sure we had all the safety gear and medical supplies. Theo, on the other hand, had his own priorities, like making sure we had enough maple syrup to last the entire trip.

After breakfast, we heard the birthday song blasting through the window. Theo ran out to the back deck to see where it was coming from. Our friends from Desert Oasis were passing by and surprised him with a drive-by birthday dance party. Leave it to Theo to get the royal treatment on his special day.

Theo opened his presents (a book, an action figure, Oreos, and those very special strawberries), and then we pulled up anchor and headed down to Rudder Cay for the night. As soon as we arrived, Theo asked to go see the mermaid. The mermaid is an underwater sculpture of a piano and a mermaid, commissioned by David Copperfield and placed near his private island. It was very cool, and we were all so happy Theo got his birthday wish.

After a day of snorkeling, exploring underwater, and checking out caves on land, we cleaned up and got ready for dinner.

Theo requested pizza and a chocolate cake with a sea creature theme. Miraculously, I was able to pull both off. We had our friends from Desert Oasis over to celebrate with cake and ice cream.