Mike and Elaine Cedrone still have the hotel receipt from their honeymoon in Bermuda in September, 1974.

The couple paid $313.60, total, including 10 per cent gratuities and 2 per cent government tax, for seven nights at the Rosedon Hotel on Pitts Bay Road in Pembroke. Prices have changed a lot since then, but their love for the island has only grown.

They have been back repeatedly since then, and were here this week to celebrate their 50th anniversary on September 15.

“We love Bermuda, and keep coming back as many years as we can,” Mrs Cedrone said.

They were not sure exactly how many times they have visited Bermuda.

“We did not always come every year,” Mrs Cedrone said, “but we have been here a lot.”

The retired couple live in Stoughton, Massachusetts, where he was a fifth generation stone cutter, and she worked for L’Oriel Designer Perfume as an account co-ordinator.

When they first met in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, he was riding a Harley-Davidson motorcycle on the beach.

“I had a helmet on so she could not see my balding head,” Mr Cedrone said. “I had some beers in a bag. I shook one up and gave it to her and when she opened it, it sprayed all over her.”

Mrs Cedrone was unimpressed, but gave him a chance.

“For a first date, we went to see a Woody Allen movie,” Mr Cedrone said. “I don’t remember which one.”

“It was Bananas,” Mrs Cedrone said, laughingly rolling her eyes.

“The sweetest words in a marriage are ‘I was wrong,” Mr Cedrone smiled.

They were married 18 months later. The couple chose Bermuda for their honeymoon on the recommendation of his parents, Hugh and Barbara Cedrone.

“They came here in the early Seventies,” Mrs Cedrone explained. “Bermuda was one of the first trips they took. Raising eight children, they had never had a chance to go places. It was a big deal for them to come here.”

Since then, four generations of the Cedrone family have visited the island, with some branches now living here.

Mr Cedrone’s sister Eli Cedrone, an artist, resides here for part of the year. Mrs Cedrone’s sister, Marsha, married a Bermudian, Ronald DeSilva, and also lived in Bermuda for a time, before moving back to the United States.

“After my son Michael was born, I would bring him to the island when my wife was working,” Mr Cedrone said. “She would come down and meet us. We would stay with a Bermudian called Richard ‘Rip’ Simons who lived on the South Shore. He worked at Mermaid Beach Club, in Warwick, for years.”

Their son Michael, 45, honeymooned in Bermuda last year, continuing the family tradition.

He and his wife are planning to return soon for their first anniversary, and are even considering buying property here.

“It is still beautiful,” Mrs Cedrone said. “When you fly in all you see is that beautiful blue water, before you land.”

They have visited other islands, but said they did not measure up to Bermuda.

Mr Cedrone likes that Bermuda’s political situation is stable. “In Bermuda we always feel safe, and we never see a policeman,” he said.

In addition to staying with friends and family, they have also tried many different hotels.

“So far, Sandpiper Guest House in Warwick is our favourite,” Mrs Cedrone said.

Now when they visit they like to go to the beach or visit with family. They like the South Shore, but they also have a friend who lives on the North Shore.

“We often get invited to different people’s homes on the island while we are here,” Mrs Cedrone said. “That is really nice because it gives us a taste of the island, beyond the tourism places.”

In their younger days, the Cedrones often rented mopeds when they came on vacation.

“Some of the mopeds back in the day, if you didn’t get a running start, you would not get up the hill,” Mr Cedrone said. “Mopeds have come a long way since then.”

Now that the Cedrones are in their seventies, family take them around, or they use taxis.

Another thing that keeps them coming back, is Bermuda’s proximity to the United States East Coast.

“It is so convenient, only being an hour and 45 minutes from Boston,” Mrs Cedrone said. “There is usually a flight from Boston when we need one.”

Although they admitted that taking the 7am flight from Boston was not fun.

“You have to be at the airport at 4am,” Mrs Cedrone said.

They have seen some negatives over the years they have been visiting, such as a reduction in nightlife.

“I really feel the hospitality is just not as welcoming as it once was,” Mrs Cedrone said. “Years ago, there were so many places to go to and listen to music, bands and local talent.

“There was so much talent here. Bermuda used to have musicians like Hubert Smith. It is sad that you do not see that as much any more.”

In June 1988, Mr Cedrone travelled to Bermuda on a 35ft boat with his good friend Allen Edness and two other Bermudians. The group were bringing the boat from where it had been purchased in the US.

“My son was seven, and at the time we lived next door to my mother-in-law,” Mrs Cedrone said. “She was not a superstitious person, but she said she had a premonition that Mike should not go. He went anyway, and he was fine.”

Mr Cedrone sometimes stayed with Mr Edness when he came to Bermuda on his own. They loved to fish together.

The Cedrones were deeply saddened when Mr Edness and Micah Battersbee were killed in a boating accident in rough weather in January, 2003.