"The Fish Fry, and most of the restaurants, provide music. Club Waterloo was about half a mile from my house. It's where you go if you want to mingle with Bahamian music and people and experience a nightlife that is a little more on par with the nightlife here in the States. It's not a lounge; it's in an old colonial mansion, and it's sort of like spring break all the time. They have performing bands for calypso, reggae, and also a taste of home."

Where are the best shops in Nassau?
"Bay Street is a strip where you can find everything that you need Bahamian and everything that you need high-end, such as Louis Vuitton, or whatever. It's also where the Straw Market is. It burned down recently, but they've re-created it. You can get straw hats, handbags, shopping bags, place mats, dolls. The Atlantis has a lot of high-end shops, too. There are great jewelry stores. John Bull has all the watches at a good price. Cuban cigars are abundant, but I don't tell anybody to bring them in. I don't want the government after me."

Where would you advise someone to go off-the-beaten-track?
"I would tell them to rent a moped or a car and drive from one tip of Nassau to the next on that Bay Street strip. What you will get is the seclusion of both ends of the island, and the culture of Bahamian stores and restaurants in the middle."

Any final thoughts?
"I grew up in a great place. I've just always felt like my island was where everybody wanted to be. Everybody always said, 'Oh, you live in the Bahamas! I wish I could go there!' Every time I compare it to where I've been, I always come back and go, 'You know what, if I ever find someplace better than this place, it will be a miracle.' I don't think it's out there."