Life's A Beach....: Elbow Cay

As much as I love seeing the world, Elbow Cay (Hopetown) in The Abacos (outer islands of the Bahamas), has a special place in my heart. We went in 2011 with the Edwards, Blakes and Steve and had the best time. So this year, when they passively mentioned they were going back and we should join.....i immediately began planning. We rented a cute house (Dreamsicle) on the south side of the island. The rest of the gang rented a couple houses about 2 minutes away by golf cart at Seaspray Marina. We arrived on Saturday the 8th of June and they arrived Monday, the 15th. Both of us had some serious delays getting to the island. We were lucky to happen upon some guys meeting a large fishing boat at Elbow Cay and the captain of that boat brought the boat over to Marsh Harbor (larger island where the airport is....20 minutes to Elbow from MHH). They offered to take us over (our ridiculous luggage and baby and all) since we missed the last ferry. Such nice people and wouldn't take anything in return. Good does exist in this world and I guess since we can't repay them, we will have to pay it forward. Our week consisted of visiting Tahiti Beach, going for boat rides, snorkeling, finding conch, bellying up to our favorite bars (which were all kid friendly and near the beach or sound). We went swimming in the pool, swinging in the hammock, played in the little park, leg wrestled, danced, laughed (a lot), ate some tremendous food courtesy of Les and Wes and logged quite a few miles on our trusty golf cart. Vacations sure have changed since Drew arrived but it was good to tackle the travel-bug with him. He is a pretty good traveler.....I mean, he is 16 months old which creates a busy atmosphere and an attitude for miles when he doesn't get what he wants, but for the most part, he was great on this trip. The Edwards, Blakes, Steve and Jane were so good to him and tried to play with/make him laugh as much as possible. Les, Suzanne, Rhonda, Wes, Steve, Jane, Blake, Lawson, Elle, Avery and Neil....THANK YOU for everything!! Drew's version of "All Done" became the universal signal for this trip and anytime someone was "over" something, they threw their hand up like Drew....signing they were all done. Hilarious. Of course a trip with a baby wouldn't be complete without some drama and ours came by way of an extremely bad diaper rash from the diarrhea that he came down with. We visited the clinic and nurse Judy (doc only comes once every two weeks or something like that). took good care of my boy....even checking his ears and blood pressure (that was a first for Drew). She gave him some prescription cream, we paid $50 and we were on our way. Louie and Janice also rented a boat in The Abacos this week and after 5 days, they ended up on Elbow Cay and at our marina bar!! We hung with them a short while that night (introduced them to On Da Beach) and Drew and I met them the next morning for coffee before they left for another adventure. The thing I love most about Elbow is the relaxed atmosphere and the general attitude of the locals. Far different from Nassau or Freeport, the locals here don't hound you or gauge you for money. They appreciate you for being there but don't try and suck every dime you have out of you. We actually got to know some of the locals while there the first time and reacquainted ourselves with them this trip. One of our favorite bars (On Da Beach) has a cute bartender (caroline) and she has a sister named Julie who keeps children during the day......so guess who stayed with Julie one day??!? DREW! I was so scared but trusted my gut on this one and he had a perfectly fine day. So did we as we went snorkeling and enjoyed the Blasters at Pete's Pub. We also met Pete this trip! Anyways, a fun week in a fun place and I'm sure we will be back! For anyone interested, here are my favorite things about The Abacos....and take me with you if you decide to go:

Pete's Pub at Little Harbor - http://petespubandgallery.com
Abaco Inn - http://www.abacoinn.com
Seaspray Marina - http://www.seasprayresort.com
Stand Up Paddle Boarding - http://www.abacopaddleboard.com/index.html
Firefly Resort - http://www.fireflysunsetresort.com
Cap'n Jacks - Restaurant/Bar in Hopetown
Harbors Edge - Restaurant/Bar in Hopetown
Vernon's Grocery - http://vernonsgrocery.com (not hugely stocked but great fresh bread!!)
Hopetown Coffee House - http://hopetowncoffeehouse.com
On Da Beach - http://www.ilovehopetown.com/on-da-beach-bar-and-grill/ (get a fish sammie and a banana whacker)
Cracker P's - http://www.crackerps.com (on Lubbers)
Nippers - http://www.nippersbar.com (on Great Guana Cay)

And now....some pictures....

Waiting pant-less in the FLL Airport....he peed through his diaper while we rushed to make our connection and due to some circumstances (storm, stupid airline) we ended up delayed 8 hours!