Barbados

Barbados is the easternmost Caribbean island off the coast of Venezuela. George Washington visited Barbados in 1751. The island is 166 square miles about 2 1/2 times the size of Washington DC, and about as difficult to get around by car, with driving on the left ( Barbados was a British possession until independence in 1966) and many roundabouts or rotaries to negotiate. There are as many rum shops as there are churches in Barbados, and there are a lot of churches. The rum shops are the best places to sample local food and drink. The chattel houses are small wooden homes set on blocks rather than on more permanent foundations. The George Washington home is restored as a heritage site on the northern edge of the capital. On the rugged and less populated east coast of the island is the strikingly beautiful fishing village of Bathsheba, with white sand beaches stretching across a coastline of erosion-shaped rock formation. No wonder Washington slept here.