January 8-15

Kristi and Brett arrived Friday afternoon and we were very excited. Corinne and I were having a hard time deciding what to show them first. After getting settled in back at the boat, we opted for a walk down the beach to Port Lucaya for an early supper.

The next few days were rather cool and rainy. As such, they were great for reading and relaxing, a couple of refreshing walks on the beach, and Christmas presents.

We rented a car for a couple of days mid-week. On the first day we headed to West End. It was both interesting to get a sense of the other communities on the island, and an adventure, as apparently in Canada we drive on the wrong side of the road.

The next day we headed east to the Lucayan National Park. Along the way we pulled off the main road and headed down a small trail to a deserted beach. The tide was low and the beach was absolutely spectacular.

After hiking through the caves at the park and walking along the boardwalk to the beach, we headed back to Lucaya for a late lunch. We stopped at Garden of the Groves. If a restaurant is all about location, then it is very hard to top this one. The Garden of the Groves was the personal garden and retreat of Wallace Grove, the founder of Freeport.

On Thursday we were invited aboard Exhale, a catamaran owned by John and Joanne, a wonderful couple we have met at Ocean Reef. We motored down to Petersen Cay, about ten miles away, and anchored for a couple of hours for lunch, snorkeling and checking out the beach on the cay.

How quickly a week passes, though. All too quickly it is time to see the kids off and think about where we are headed next .