Category: Bucket List

I was having a tough time deciding where to go away on vacation this year as funds were tiiiiight!   However I kept at it as I knew we both needed and wanted a place far far away from Connecticut to unwind and decompress.   And we were looking for a place that involved the sun, the sand, and the beach.

As luck would have it, my friend and broadcast industry colleague Marnie listed her Freeport, Bahamas timeshare on Social Media.  Turns out that she and her family were not able to use their 2 weeks this year.  So she ended up selling me a one bedroom condominium unit for one of those two weeks for just $750 – the price of  their maintenance fees!    We were, however,  on our own for airfare, ground transportation, food and drinks…

We chose the last week of May (which included the Memorial Day holiday) to go on our 7 day vacation so that we could use 4  of my vacation days instead of 5 (smile).

We flew from Bradley International Airport on Saturday May 27th and returned the following Saturday, June 3rd.

We arrived at Island Seas Resort on the Saturday (2 flights and one taxi cab ride later) at midday and boy were we starving!

It didn’t take us long to discover that there was only one bar and grille at the resort (Coconuts Bar and Grille) and one restaurant (Seagrape Grille).

We also found out from our new “friends” that the resort’s Wi-Fi, although ‘free’ in the units, was at best, ‘spotty.’    They did however tell us it was completely clear as long as you were poolside…

 

 

 

So after inhaling our lunch at Coconuts we finally headed to our unit.   Island Seas Resort consists of 10 buildings – all named after mammals – we were booked at Dolphin and found, to our surprise, that our building was just one of two buildings on the resort that were deemed ocean side!!  Yay!

 

 

 

On Monday morning we (and a bunch of other resort couples) took advantage of the complimentary shuttle into Port LuCaya for the Island Seas Grocery Run.  It was a trip though because we had exactly one hour to shop for groceries or we would be forced to take a cab back.   I felt like we (and the other couples from the resort) were all on a reality game show as we dashed around with our shopping carts from one aisle to the next frantically searching for the right food and other stuff to make it through the week.   Not easy  to do when you first of all don’t know the store, or  the merchandise, or the prices.   If it wasn’t so serious  it would have been funny but at the time we were on a ‘mission’ (smile).

 

 

On Tuesday night, after spending all day on the beach, we headed to the ‘Bonfire on the Beach’ event which we heard cost just 20 bucks and included BBQ, 2 drinks, and live entertainment.

 

On Wednesday (after finding out that we could not participate in any of the tours that we were looking to book due the effects of Hurricane Matthew) we spent the day at Port LuCaya Outdoor Marketplace for shopping and the much talked about fresh conch salad at the marina…we inhaled the yummy fresh conch salad prepared right before your eyes!

 

We were officially on Island Time now and can I tell you?!?   It was sooooo nice sleeping in late every morning despite being greeted at the crack of dawn with bright rays of sunshine and 80 degree temps.

 

And how freeing it was regularly sporting shorts, tank tops and flip-flops and eating fattening fried foods (smile).

 

 

And I won’t lie, decisions still had to be made, so here is what became the biggest decision of our loooong, leisurely sunny days…

 

 

 

At night our decisions were a tad simpler:

 

 

By the way, before I forget, here are some good local spots to support that are within walking distance of the resort and which serve up authentic Bahamian food and drinks:

The $2 dollar Bar at the end of the beach (wish I had a picture of it…)

and Michelle’s Kitchen located right on the beach – mouthwatering island grub & good prices!

 

 

On our final night (Friday) we took the last free shuttle from the resort back to Port LuCaya Marketplace for some outdoor shopping/dining/bars/marina activities.  We had just spent the entire day there a couple of days earlier but had heard  it was much more interesting and exciting at night.

 

It took us while to find a restaurant to eat dinner at as there were so many to choose from — each with attractive food and drink specials — but we finally settled on Agave and were not disappointed…

 

 

Afterwards we walked down to the marina to hear live entertainment.  We saw and heard a really talented 3 piece band at Port LuCaya Marketplace.

We ended up taking a cab back to the resort as it was late and the resort’s shuttle service had already ended at 615pm.  It was real easy hailing a cab and it felt very safe.

We awoke early the next morning (Saturday) and made preparations to leave.  We felt sad saying goodbye to the cool ocean breezes, the bright sunshine and the lazy, carefree days.   Truly our new Happy Place…

 

Sincerely,

 

TVFL