We’re back to the land of reliable internet! (Home Sweet USA)

Last week, our family went sailing in the Bahamas and my access to internet for blogging and web surfing was minimal. We also traveled with Andi’s cousin, Laura, and her husband Shaun so I spent much of my free time hanging out with them & enjoyed the break from technology. Have no fear! I took some notes and, of course, lots of pictures to share about our time in the Abaco Islands.

——

On Friday, March 30, Andi, Tory, Aden and I packed our bags and said good-bye to Costa Rica and more specifically, the mountain farm where we stayed the last three days of our time there. It was the same farm we stayed at earlier in our trip, but in a different house on the property. Andi and I decided to end our Costa Rica trip there because we enjoyed the farm and its owners so much, and we thought it’d be a good place to organize our brains (and our bags!) for the next leg of our adventure.

Early Friday morning we loaded up our Toyota Fortuner SUV one last time and made the five-hour drive to San Jose International Airport. Our drive was uneventful and so was our flight from San Jose to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Once in Ft. Lauderdale, we planned to meet up with Shaun and Laura, take care of a few errands like haircuts and a trip to the post office, and then fly to the Abaco Islands the next morning. For the first time ever, Tory and Aden asked to sit alone on the flight back to the United States and we agreed to let them. Our seats were in two rows — two in front, two directly behind — so the kids sat together in front of Andi and I. Once the plane boarded, they realized their independence meant that the 3rd seat in their row would be occupied by a complete stranger and they’d have to sit by him — the horror! But, Tory and Aden both agreed to stick it out. And they did for the entire two-hour flight. Tory even ordered them drinks and snacks from the flight attendant all by herself. Proud parenting moment!

Our kids are such great travelers and I attribute their flexibility to the way we’ve raised them. Not once did Tory and Aden throw a tantrum during our long travel day to the U.S. We’ve learned that as long as we share “the plan” for the day and then communicate changes to the plan as they occur, our kids are happy, easy-going travelers.

Together with Shaun and Laura on the morning of Sunday, April 1, we left our Ft. Lauderdale hotel early to catch a flight to the town of Marsh Harbour in the Abaco Islands of the Bahamas. We flew a small, regional airline called Silver for the short, one-hour flight. Our hotel shuttle to the airport was occupied with Spirit Airline pilots and flight attendants and as soon as Tory noticed she said, “We aren’t flying Spirit, are we?” Andi and I laughed. No, we weren’t flying Spirit we assured her. Tory develops a fast hatred for any airline that doesn’t serve free drinks and snacks on board.

The six of us landed around 8:00am and passed through customs quickly. The international airport there is very small. After we gathered our bags, we hopped into a cab and drove to the Abaco Beach Resort & Boat Marina. Today would be a day of provisioning food & supplies for our sailboat, and then we planned to set sail early the following day.

While Laura, Shaun and Andi took a cab to the grocery store in Marsh Harbour, I drew the short straw and stayed back with the kids at the marina. I’m joking, of course! I was the lucky one who got to spend the rest of the afternoon by the marina pool and at the gorgeous white sand beach. Fortunately, Laura and Shaun brought a cooler of frozen meat and packaged goods with them from Minneapolis (they checked a cooler on the airplane) so we didn’t have much to buy other than fresh fruits & veggies. We quickly discovered just how smart of a decision this was because groceries in Marsh Harbour were really expensive! Six dollars for a pineapple, $11.50 for a watermelon, $11 for a pint of ice cream. In all, they spent $320 on produce, dairy, and fresh drinking water for the week.

Meanwhile, Tory, Aden and I had a great time at the marina. They swam in the pool with a few other kids while I lounged on a chair and watched them. They both wanted smoothies like the ones we’d had at Luna Lodge in Cabo Matapalo, so I ordered them each one from the bar. When I got the bill I realized the smoothies were $12 each! I noticed the server charged me for daiquiris so I asked her if that was the correct price since the smoothies were non-alcoholic. She informed me it didn’t matter. Later, Laura said I should have asked her to bring me the two shots of alcohol since I paid for them!

After the pool, Tory, Aden, and I walked down to the marina’s beach. It was beautiful! Perfect white sand and calm, clear water. The marina had free paddle boards and kayaks available to use so the kids and I paddleboared around the bay and then Tory and Aden each took the kayaks out for a spin. It’s going to be a fun summer! I couldn’t believe how well they were able to do both those activities.

Around 3:00pm, the three of us walked back to the sailboat to meet Andi, Shaun and Laura. They’d already unloaded all the groceries and were busy settling into the boat. One of the marina’s captains gave us a quick orientation of the boat and then we were free to enjoy the marina for the rest of the evening. The six of us were all starving by this point since we hadn’t had lunch, so Laura and I prepped a snack plate of deli turkey and salami, crackers and cheese & toasted to the start of our trip with a round of cocktails.

After we ate, all six of us walked back down to the beach. On the way there, we saw a big turtle swimming in the boat harbor. The waters are so clear you can see right down to the bottom.

Laura and Tory kayaked for a bit while Andi, Aden and Shaun paddleboarded around the bay. I was content to sit on the beach and watch everyone else paddle around. After about 20 minutes or so, we noticed a shark swimming really close to the shore. It was eating a mahi mahi carcass that a fisherman had thrown over the seawall. The shark wasn’t very big, but it was still a shark! Another paddleboarder told us it was a blacknose shark.

After we spotted the shark, we all decided it was time to get out of the water. The sun was setting anyway, so we walked back to our sailboat — the Lucky Cat — where we’d sleep for the evening. Shaun grilled cheeseburgers and zucchini for dinner so we could test out the boat’s grill. Then, we all sat around the outdoor table in the boat’s salon, drank cocktails and shared stories. Aden also lost his 2nd tooth that night! He wondered if the Tooth Fairy would be able to find him on the sailboat and if she would bring him Bahamian money. We’d soon find out!

Monday, April 1

Time to set sail! I was a ball of nerves that morning when Captain Dave arrived to our boat to do his final check-out before we left the harbor. He took his time showing Andi and I where are the gauges, water tanks, bilge pump, etc. were located and then we drove the boat out of the harbor and into the open ocean to demonstrate our ability to anchor, raise & lower the sails. While Andi and I do have our sailing certifications, we hadn’t sailed since last summer. I felt a little rusty being on the water again, but it all quickly came back as we performed the various maneuvers. Afterward, we took the captain back to the fuel dock inside the harbor and then we set off for a week at sea.

The weather was a perfectly sunny 75 degrees with a light wind. We raised the jib and then Andi sailed while Tory and I did some school worksheets. Without internet this week, we aren’t able to do our usual online school program, but I packed a back-up workbook for us to complete instead. Tory wasn’t very excited about it, so we’ll see how this week goes. It may end up being her “Spring Break” this week.

We planned to anchor Monday night in Tiloo Cay and we took our time getting there giving everyone a chance at the helm. Laura and Shaun don’t have their sailing certifications, but they are very interested in learning to sail so it was great having two extra crew members on board.

After we anchored the sailboat at Tilloo, the boys (Andi, Shaun and Aden) lowered the dingy into the water and went for ride around the island to check things out. Meanwhile, Tory, Laura and I played a few rounds of Go Fish on the boat. The boys returned about 30 minutes later to let us know they saw lots of sea creatures on their scouting adventure so we all piled in the dingy to check it out.

We saw a giant maroon-colored star fish in crystal clear water and a few sting rays swimming by as well. Andi wanted to get a closer look at the star fish, so he stopped the dingy and hopped over the side of the boat into the shallow waist-deep water. He picked up the star fish and handed it to Shaun in the boat. It was fascinating! The top of the star fish was spiny and its bottom was smooth. After we had a look, we carefully placed it back in the water. Shaun swore he saw a shark swimming by (or maybe he was just gun-shy from yesterday’s shark sighting?!) and the thought spurred Andi back into the dingy in a hurry!

We returned back to the sailboat and stored the dingy. Shaun and Laura made chicken kabobs on the grill for dinner with rice and broccoli. We watched a beautiful sunset from the boat. It was difficult to let the true beauty of our surroundings soak in. Every once in a while you’d hear one of us say, “Wow! Look at that water!” The vibrant blue color, the sailboat accommodations, the beautiful sky and we had it all to ourselves in a quiet anchorage— definitely paradise! After the sun set, we grabbed a few blankets and laid on the trampoline at the bow of the boat to watch the stars twinkle above. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen so many stars in the sky. Tory intently pointed out all her favorite constellations.

How happy is a sailor’s life.