DOLPHIN HOUSE, Jan 10, 2013

This is a very interesting "home/museum" located on North Bimini that is owned and being constructed by Bimini's resident poet, Ashley Saunders. I wish I would have taken more photos. The house is almost totally constructed with homemade concrete from crushed coral, and decorated with beach shells and discarded broken tiles from expensive island homes. It's really charming. Mr.Saunders even took on a personal tour through his home portion of the building . . . kitchen, bedrooms, and even showed off his handbuilt tile bathtub. Ashley's brother, Ansil, is the famous 5th generation wooden flatsboat builder here in Bimini. Interesting family.

Fortunately or unfortunately, we couldn't leave this week so we went back to the Dolphin House again today, Jan.16, with some friends who hadn't seen it yet, and I got to take a whole bunch more pictures. What an interesting place! By the way, this whole house is built out of "found" materials; even the concrete is homemade & handmade by Ashley himself by collecting and burning lime rocks & coral from the beach which results in a powder that puts our Home Depot concrete to shame. He works on the house constantly when he not giving tours and writing his next book.

Ashley has also written two history books about Bimini & the Bahamas. We bought one of them and got him to sign it. He taught school for 30 years here on Bimini where he was born. You can stay in the upstairs apartment for $50 per person, with its living room/kitchen, 2 bedrooms, & bath. Part of the decor in one of the bedrooms is vehicle license plates from all over the states. We did learn that he's missing only Utah & Minnesota; we promised to get him a Utah plate for his collection. It will be fun to watch his progress with the Dolphin House over the next few years.