Both of us couldn’t believe that the end of our trip was quickly approaching! We had been talking about going to the Bahamas with our close friends from Virginia for the past few years and knew it would be a great and relaxing way to end our world tour. After spending time with Jeff’s sister in Atlanta, we flew back to Fort Lauderdale, FL to meet up with everyone and head to the islands!
We spent a few days catching up with everyone, relaxing by the pool, and collecting provisions to take with us to the Bahamas (hello Costco!). We had some great meals (including candied bacon!!!) and the resident duck at the hotel had some chicks while we were around (see above). Early Saturday morning, we packed up, piled in the church van, and headed to the airport! Since we were flying out of the executive airport, we could take whatever we wanted (food) with us without going through security, and then lounged around the waiting area like celebrities until our pilot was ready. Jeff was our co-pilot for the first flight!
Good looking group!
We landed safely in the Abacos, and got shuttled to the marina in Marsh Harbor. Note: with 12 people, 1 baby, all of our luggage, one grocery stop and 2 crazy islander taxi drivers, this proved much more interesting and entertaining than you might think. After 2 trips on the boat to Elbow Cay, and a few pina colodas- we all finally made it to our home for the week!
The view off of our deck
Hope Town Light House
We had a fabulous week hanging out with our best buds in paradise. Jeff, Andrew, Christine and I snorkeled every day in front of the house and were able to see reef sharks, Bob and Bartholomew the barracudas (yes- they’re named), and tons of other cool fish. A few of us went scuba diving right from the house! Jeff and I even saw sea turtles from the dock (below right)!
I was in heaven sitting on the deck or beach, reading my book every day. Jeff went fishing one morning with Chris, Jason, Joe, Andrea and Jessica. They caught enough tuna, mahi and wahoo to keep us in ceviche for the rest of the week!
Liam was born about 2 weeks before we left Virginia. He still isn't amused with Cara's selfie skills... but boxes are awesome!
12.5 people, cleaned up nice: Jason, Emily, Joe, Liam, Amy, Penny, Chris, Jess, Dre, Cara, Jeff, Andrew, and Christine. Once in awhile Jeff and I can get cleaned up!
I was able to sit up front and be the copilot on our flight back- it was awesome! And only a little nerve-wracking when I was spotting incoming planes before our pilot was…
The hardest part about leaving Virginia was leaving our friends. This week in the Bahamas was awesome- and we are so happy that we could reminisce about old times and make new memories with all of you at the same time. We love you guys and can’t wait to see you again soon!
-Cara
Modes of transportation: Private plane, boat, hotel shuttle, rental van, golf cart
Total Spent: $5330.88
Average Per Day: $761.55
The Bahamas trip was the most expensive part of our trip, but definitely worth it. It was amazing to spend some time with our good friends that we hadn’t seen in a year and even though I’m not a beach person, I really enjoyed the week there. It was definitely a big change in our normal style of travel for the last year! But when you break it down, the total is high but we did have a private charter plane and a super nice house right on the reef, so maybe the price isn’t that high. (Note: a pound of meat was about $16. Island food gets expensive when you have to import everything!)
-Jeff
Golf cart cruising, lots of landscapes (waterscapes?), and another sign (literally...) that its a small world. Jeff's hometown made it onto one of the sign posts. Oh, and fish, because its delicious.
Sometimes life calls for a grilled peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and it's best to answer that call.