Kate, daughter, and Rich, son-in-law, come to the Swan in Ocean Reef, in the middle of February. It was a great time and many thanks to Bohdan and his generosity with his car and condo. This is my very handsome son-in-law taking in some Bahamian rays at the Pool at Ocean Reef.
Here are Anthony, Rich, Kate and Me, out in front of the Rum House in Port Lucaya. Time to walk around the Straw Market and buy some Baileys and Tequila.
You can buy separate bottles of beer and they give them to you in a brown paper bag and you can walk around Market and drink your ice cold beer at the same time. Three local beers are Sands, Kalik and Eclipse. I think they taste fine, all of them....like beer.
Rich in front of the Irish Restaurant, Shinanigans, near Count Basie Square in the Straw Market.
Bohdan had a very small SUV and we stuffed ourselves in the back seat. It was a lot of fun. It's legal to drink and drive here but the penalty for driving drunk is very high. It felt strange drinking in public, in the car, at the market....everywhere, anywhere.
Our Katie Mae on the boat. The boat in the background is Sarah Jones'. Sarah is now in Georgetown, Bahamas and her crew, Scot is coming in in a couple days and they are off to the British Virgin Islands. It's the first part of May right now so send her prayers and good vibes for a safe journey. If anyone wants to crew let me know and I'll put you in contact with Sarah J. she needs crew when Scot isn't there, which is most of the time.
Kate and Dad, we're probably at Bikini Bottoms drinking Sands, locally brewed beer. Bikini Bottoms is on the beach just a 10 minute walk from Ocean Reef. One of our favourite haunts. Believe or not the owner's partner is from Sedro Wooley, that's where Anthony grew up in Washington State. It's a small world.
Kate and Rich....Rich has a name tag on so that means it's Monday Night and we're at the Bahamian Party at Groupers. Charles does a great job organizing games for the Timeshare people and Boaters to get to know each other and have a bunch of fun. We go around and introduce ourselves to everybody and then some people are picked to try to list off all the people's names that they can remember. There is always the Electric Slide, the Macarana and another slidey dance that I don't know the name of. The Boaters always get up and do all of these dances. It's a lot of fun and we act really silly. Then there is some serious dancing for about two songs and it's over. The food is rice and peas, meat balls, mac and cheese, coleslawf, conch fritters and free Bahama Mama's. It's a fun night and it happens every Monday...and it's free.
Here we are doing the Electric Slide....with Charles in the front leading. Charles is hired by Ocean Reef to organize the entertainment. He is fabulous.....Bahamian Party Night, Bingo, Karaoke, Pool, Poker, Mexican Train Dominoes (with Diane's help), more Bingo, etc. He's the greatest.
Rich and Me.
These are Man of Wars on the beach. Don't step on these...they'll sting you. They got washed up on shore by the tide. They aren't always there but there were a lot this day on the beach. The stuff around them is dried sea weed.
Here we are at Taino Beach.
Kate and Me.
Rich on Taino Beach.
Kate and Anthony at Bikini Bottom Beach or Kate/Rich Beach. Anthony is holding up a purple common fan that washed ashore. Kate got to take it home in her suitcase. I hope it didn't break up.
The beaches are beautiful and not very busy as you can see.
Me and my shadow.
Self-portrait. I'm loving it here.
Kate on Kate/Rich Beach collecting shells and coral.
What a beautiful day!
The limestone here wears away from the water constantly washing up on it. It makes it look like the moon? or something very strange and not earth-like.
Bougainvillea, yellow ones, these grow between Ester's Restaurant and the Tennis courts. So beautiful.
The Grand Bahama Island does have some Raccoons but no Fox, Wolves, Ground Hogs, Squirrels, etc. The Raccoons look smaller and skinnier than the ones you find in Toronto.
At Garden of the Groves they have the raccoons in cages so they won't eat the ducks and other birds they have there.
This is a beautiful plant found at Garden of the Groves. I looked it up in my reference book and couldn't find the name of it. I'll have to notice if there is a sign near it labeling it the next time I go. I love Garden of the Groves....have been there about 7 times.
Isn't it just beautiful....a garden of Paradise.
This is Alizia julibrissin more commonly known as Mimosa or Silk Tree.
This kind of tree is not in my book. It drops down roots from it's branches. Very different looking.
These statues are carved from old trees left in the ground. So spiritual, so touching, so amazing...right beside the the little chapel at Garden of the Groves.
They do weddings and wedding renewals here. What a gorgeous little spot.
Another angle of the wooden statues of Women.
Turtles in the pond. They come up to be fed.
Not in my book...but still very amazing.
This is the Meditation Pond and it's right beside the labyrinth.
I went to the labyrinth on May 1 to walk it and meditate at it on Peace Day. May 1 at 1:00 many people around the world were walking their labyrinth in the name of World Peace. We did it too here with the help of Warren, the facilitator. He gave us a prayer to say and contemplate on as we walked the labyrinth. I loved it. A new friend, Ann, drove Anthony and I to the Garden. It's about an hour bike ride so it's a lot nicer to get a car ride, thank you Ann. Bohdan used to take us but he's back home, working now. He was a great help with Kate and Rich, driving us around everywhere. Thanks so much Bohdan for you're unending generosity.
Hibiscus, they are everywhere in all colours and double ones too.
Kate and Rich at the Restaurant at Garden of the Groves. They have great spicy tuna dip and hummus and Sands and burgers.
This guy is there every time too. He was an injured Juvenile Yellow-Crowned Heron or Juvenile Green Heron. I can't remember which. He never moves when you take his picture and you can come right up to him and almost touch him.
Off to the Caves. These are the steps that go down into the Caves.
They are very beautiful and this one leads to a huge network of caves that go under the Island.
Gold Beach, where Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and 3 were filmed.
Boardwalk through the Mangroves.
At the Mangroves, near the Caves.
We had a fab time with Kate and Rich. They stayed Friday to Friday or was it Monday to Monday. West Jet flew to Freeport on Fridays and Mondays and that was it. Only a 2 1/2 hour flight direct. It only lasted from November to the end of April so I'm really hoping next year they fly for 12 months of the year. It is so convenient to come here from Toronto. We tried to do everything we could in one week.
Kate, daughter, and Rich, son-in-law, come to the Swan in Ocean Reef, in the middle of February. It was a great time and many thanks to Bohdan and his generosity with his car and condo. This is my very handsome son-in-law taking in some Bahamian rays at the Pool at Ocean Reef.
Here are Anthony, Rich, Kate and Me, out in front of the Rum House in Port Lucaya. Time to walk around the Straw Market and buy some Baileys and Tequila.
You can buy separate bottles of beer and they give them to you in a brown paper bag and you can walk around Market and drink your ice cold beer at the same time. Three local beers are Sands, Kalik and Eclipse. I think they taste fine, all of them....like beer.
Rich in front of the Irish Restaurant, Shinanigans, near Count Basie Square in the Straw Market.
Bohdan had a very small SUV and we stuffed ourselves in the back seat. It was a lot of fun. It's legal to drink and drive here but the penalty for driving drunk is very high. It felt strange drinking in public, in the car, at the market....everywhere, anywhere.
Our Katie Mae on the boat. The boat in the background is Sarah Jones'. Sarah is now in Georgetown, Bahamas and her crew, Scot is coming in in a couple days and they are off to the British Virgin Islands. It's the first part of May right now so send her prayers and good vibes for a safe journey. If anyone wants to crew let me know and I'll put you in contact with Sarah J. she needs crew when Scot isn't there, which is most of the time.
Kate and Dad, we're probably at Bikini Bottoms drinking Sands, locally brewed beer. Bikini Bottoms is on the beach just a 10 minute walk from Ocean Reef. One of our favourite haunts. Believe or not the owner's partner is from Sedro Wooley, that's where Anthony grew up in Washington State. It's a small world.
Kate and Rich....Rich has a name tag on so that means it's Monday Night and we're at the Bahamian Party at Groupers. Charles does a great job organizing games for the Timeshare people and Boaters to get to know each other and have a bunch of fun. We go around and introduce ourselves to everybody and then some people are picked to try to list off all the people's names that they can remember. There is always the Electric Slide, the Macarana and another slidey dance that I don't know the name of. The Boaters always get up and do all of these dances. It's a lot of fun and we act really silly. Then there is some serious dancing for about two songs and it's over. The food is rice and peas, meat balls, mac and cheese, coleslawf, conch fritters and free Bahama Mama's. It's a fun night and it happens every Monday...and it's free.
Here we are doing the Electric Slide....with Charles in the front leading. Charles is hired by Ocean Reef to organize the entertainment. He is fabulous.....Bahamian Party Night, Bingo, Karaoke, Pool, Poker, Mexican Train Dominoes (with Diane's help), more Bingo, etc. He's the greatest.
Rich and Me.
These are Man of Wars on the beach. Don't step on these...they'll sting you. They got washed up on shore by the tide. They aren't always there but there were a lot this day on the beach. The stuff around them is dried sea weed.
Here we are at Taino Beach.
Kate and Me.
Rich on Taino Beach.
Kate and Anthony at Bikini Bottom Beach or Kate/Rich Beach. Anthony is holding up a purple common fan that washed ashore. Kate got to take it home in her suitcase. I hope it didn't break up.
The beaches are beautiful and not very busy as you can see.
Me and my shadow.
Self-portrait. I'm loving it here.
Kate on Kate/Rich Beach collecting shells and coral.
What a beautiful day!
The limestone here wears away from the water constantly washing up on it. It makes it look like the moon? or something very strange and not earth-like.
Bougainvillea, yellow ones, these grow between Ester's Restaurant and the Tennis courts. So beautiful.
The Grand Bahama Island does have some Raccoons but no Fox, Wolves, Ground Hogs, Squirrels, etc. The Raccoons look smaller and skinnier than the ones you find in Toronto.
At Garden of the Groves they have the raccoons in cages so they won't eat the ducks and other birds they have there.
This is a beautiful plant found at Garden of the Groves. I looked it up in my reference book and couldn't find the name of it. I'll have to notice if there is a sign near it labeling it the next time I go. I love Garden of the Groves....have been there about 7 times. 
Isn't it just beautiful....a garden of Paradise.
This is Alizia julibrissin more commonly known as Mimosa or Silk Tree.
This kind of tree is not in my book. It drops down roots from it's branches. Very different looking. 
These statues are carved from old trees left in the ground. So spiritual, so touching, so amazing...right beside the the little chapel at Garden of the Groves.
They do weddings and wedding renewals here. What a gorgeous little spot.
Another angle of the wooden statues of Women.
Turtles in the pond. They come up to be fed.
Not in my book...but still very amazing.
This is the Meditation Pond and it's right beside the labyrinth.
I went to the labyrinth on May 1 to walk it and meditate at it on Peace Day. May 1 at 1:00 many people around the world were walking their labyrinth in the name of World Peace. We did it too here with the help of Warren, the facilitator. He gave us a prayer to say and contemplate on as we walked the labyrinth. I loved it. A new friend, Ann, drove Anthony and I to the Garden. It's about an hour bike ride so it's a lot nicer to get a car ride, thank you Ann. Bohdan used to take us but he's back home, working now. He was a great help with Kate and Rich, driving us around everywhere. Thanks so much Bohdan for you're unending generosity.
Hibiscus, they are everywhere in all colours and double ones too.
Kate and Rich at the Restaurant at Garden of the Groves. They have great spicy tuna dip and hummus and Sands and burgers. 
This guy is there every time too. He was an injured Juvenile Yellow-Crowned Heron or Juvenile Green Heron. I can't remember which. He never moves when you take his picture and you can come right up to him and almost touch him. 
Off to the Caves. These are the steps that go down into the Caves.
They are very beautiful and this one leads to a huge network of caves that go under the Island.
Gold Beach, where Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and 3 were filmed.
Boardwalk through the Mangroves.
At the Mangroves, near the Caves.
We had a fab time with Kate and Rich. They stayed Friday to Friday or was it Monday to Monday. West Jet flew to Freeport on Fridays and Mondays and that was it. Only a 2 1/2 hour flight direct. It only lasted from November to the end of April so I'm really hoping next year they fly for 12 months of the year. It is so convenient to come here from Toronto. We tried to do everything we could in one week.
