Bahamas Inspiration

Instead of a post about the boring stuff going on at our house (wall framing on the original side of the house being finished up so that exterior siding can begin), I thought I would be fun to write about one of my most favorite vacations ever, when we went to the Abacos Islands in the Bahamas.  It has been on my mind a lot lately, due to Hurricane Irene.  Luckily the Abacos were pretty much spared, just minor damage to some of the structures and a few sunken boats in the harbor.

I had been doing research on a last minute vacation getaway when I was about 5 months pregnant with Finn.  It was going to be our last big adventure trip before becoming parents for the first time.  I wasn't even looking for a spot in the Bahamas, just kind of stumbled upon the Abacos after finding some vacation houses on VRBO.  I then started doing more research on these "Out Islands" of the Bahamas as they are called and it sounded like an ideal off the beaten path destination for us.  We are not big fans of huge resorts and super touristy areas so this seemed perfect.  The Abacos are a chain of small islands with limited flights in and out of them.  We took a plane to Ft Lauderdale and then a much smaller, 20 person plane to Marsh Harbour on the main island.  From there we were picked up by a small boat and taken to a tiny island to pick up our boat rental as this is the best way to get around.  After a very brief how to on operating the boat (Adam has lots of boating experience so that was handy!) we then drove our boat on a 15 minute ride to another island, Lubbers Quarters, where we rented a charming Bahamian style cottage through Sea Level Resorts.  We actually rented the owners former personal residence, which was a 5 minute boat ride from Sea Level Resort.  Check out our cute cottage:

Here I am about 7 months pregnant, wow!

Even though the cottage was small, it's design was well thought out and has given us a lot of inspiration for the design of our new house: the high beamed ceilings, open floor plan, and large windows.
I really loved this cottage!

Our own private boat dock!

A nurse shark swimming under the dock.

The snorkeling was pretty amazing there, there were spots in the ocean that you just pulled your boat up to and tied it up to floating moorings.

You could also just pull up to isolated beaches and snorkel along the shore.

There were huge giant stingrays swimming all around the shallow water and I was a little nervous to accidentally get stung since I was pregnant but it ended up not being a problem at all.  They were so big and the water so clear you could see them coming no problem!

We also took the boat to other islands for sightseeing and dining.  These next photos are of Hopetown on Elbow Caye.

So many cute cottages here.

I can't wait to bring Finn back here when he is old enough to snorkel and appreciate island life!

I dream of an island vacation every day.

Abacos, we will be back, oh yes we will!