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For Quick Access to the most recent update, just remember - AbacoUpdate.com As part of update No. 2. All related material has been updated in the links of AbacoEscape.com There is a new slide show and many new faces in our “Food, Drink and Bartender” pages.
During the course of the year we’ve added a new Quick Access Address. Just remember, AbacoEscape.com Our Trip
May 30th, Debbie and I were off on another pilgrimage to the Abacos. Not unlike previous years the first third of our trip was spent in Green Turtle Cay with the remaining two thirds in Hope Town. On To Hope Town. This required a water taxi back to the Treasure Cay ferry dock ($10 Each) and a 30 mile ($75) Taxi ride to Marsh Harbour. Did I mention gas was $4.61 that day? After picking up our boat, there we headed out across the Sea of Abaco to Hope Town and The Hope Town Harbour Lodge. A few days later, we were to be joined by my sister and husband (Doylestown , Pa) and my cousin and his wife (Gwynedd Valley, Pa). Both couples booked in the hotel part of the lodge and both complained or water pressure problems to the point of being only trickle. (My suggestion stay in the pools side cabanas or cottages, or inquire if this problem has been resolved.) Anyway we settled in and moseyed on down to the Pool Bar and had our complementary “Reef Wreck”. I was happy to see our old bartender friend Gary behind the bar. It seemed like it was only a few weeks ago that we were sitting at this very spot rather than fifty two. The days passed doing our usual thing, hitting an out island place for lunch like Nippers, Cracker P's or Pete's Pub with a prior stop at a beach or snorkeling reef. Only this time we shared our fun with our newly arrived guests. We used to stay at the Abaco Inn but in recent times switched to the H.T.H.L as it is the perfect place to get around. It has a dock for your boat if you’ve rented one. You can easily walk to Hope Town and it’s shops and eateries. The resorts at the other end if the Island will come and pick you up for lunch or dinner. The lodge has a lovely pool, pool bar and snorkeling reef. Their restaurant is consistently one of the finest in all the Cays. And adjoining the restaurants is “Ray’s Place” named after the owner. It’s a night time spot reminiscent of “Ricks Place” from the movie Casablanca, and it’s all in view of the light house. And as far as the Abaco Inn is concerned, the last couple seasons we've heard of planned major renovations. Even blueprints have been seen. But as of this trip, nothing was in the wind. Prior to departure for the Abacos, I had been in contact with a fellow named Tim from the Abaco Message Board who informed me of a wedding he’d be attending at the Lodge while we were there. What I didn’t know that there were two more weddings the same week! Since we new of the wedding and the fact that the dining room would be closed, we booked our dinner for that day at the Abaco Inn a couple days in advance. Our opening photos features Vernon Malone, who has had the honor of joining over 500 couples in marriage. In addition to being a lay pastor of St. James Methodist Church in Hope Town, Mr. Malone is also a Justice of the Peace, local grocer and baker whose store is hard to miss when exploring Hope Town. For more on island weddings and marriage license requirements go to Barefoot Brides / Hope Town Weddings.com. Ask for Vernon's daughter, Bonny. Our dinners were spent rotating between the Abaco Inn, H.T.H.L, Captain Jacks (still the cheapest), Harbour Edge and the Full Moon Party at Cracker P’s. Oh, we had a Couple lunches at “On Da Beach”. It’s located about a half mile south of Hope Town. It opened last year. I have to say their grilled fish (wahoo) sandwich was the best I’ve ever had. I have to qualify this by saying, you have to include the grilled vegetable topping (onions, mushrooms and red peppers) There is always something going on at the aforementioned places, most of which are covered in our home page. But this year there were two new events that we never participated. Every Thursday there is a trivia contest at Captain Jacks restaurant. Our team, Motu Iti, consisted of my cousin and wife, Debbie and I. Well , we tied our old Bahamian friends Roy & Katie (from the Abaco Inn) and friends for first place. Even after the tie breaker we were still tied (sorry Roy, we got the answer first). Captain Jack’s bought us all a round of drinks. The second event, I’ve know about for years but never participated and that is Karaoke night (Monday) at the H.T.H.L. I should say we didn’t really participate but went and watched, drank a bit and enjoyed. Like I said every night something is going on usually in the form of a DJ or one man band. Sadly there is no four piece band like the Gully Roosters on Hope Town. Aside from the partying aspects we hit the usual gift shops including Sun Dried Tee’s whose proprietor Brook, moonlights as bartender at “Ray’s Place”. Robby who also tends bar there and moonlights in Real estate. Then there is T.J., who when not serving drinks at Ray’s you find him at Curly Tails in Marsh Harbour. Pictures of all the aforementioned along with a bunch of others, have been added to our page on Food Drink and Bartenders in the Abacos And speaking of moonlight, it made us laugh when we heard on the Cruisers net (VHF CH68 at 8:15AM) that folks were still leaving the Full Moon Party At Cracker P’s. In Summary This trip was rather typical aside from the three weddings in a one week period while we were staying at the Lodge. Again we had the opportunity to share our fondness of the Abacos with my sister and her husband, adding this trip my cousin and his wife. Florida schools were on an Aug/May schedule so there were many families with kids on the Cays in June. The only thing unexpected that happened was, one day when pulling up to Cracker P’s, a young lady came running out to the dock with an anxious look on her face and asked “does anybody know CPR?”. Well, my Debbie, a nurse, does. (I do to but decided to leave it up to the professional). She ran up the stars and found a elderly gentleman passed out. Probably the long flight of stairs did it. Seems he had a heart problem and was taking nitroglycerin when needed. IT WAS, and Debbie administered the drug provided by a relative. No CPR was necessary. Patrick the proprietor at Cracker P’s got on the VHF and called BASRA (Bahamas Air and Sea Rescue) and there were there in no time evacuating the fellow by boat to Marsh Harbour. Aside from that event, nothing else of significance happened. Even Hooters photo shoot came early this year, so we missed that. There were no capsizings or boats running afoul of the reefs that we heard about. No one in our group caught sea lice like Debbie did last year. Oh, I did hear on the Cruisers Net that someone aboard a boat owner lost their dog who jumped ship being attracted to a foxy poodle on the beach. Tropical Storm Alberto had no impact aside from one windy day but in general it was HOT & Humid especially our last week. I think next year we’ll shoot for May. I may read more books on vacation in Abaco than I do all year. This years selection included amongst others, Skinny Dip by Carl Hiaasen which is a perfect read for an island environment. I also read a couple of informative books on the Abacos from the historical perspective and added them to a New Page on Abaco Books. They can be picked up at the island gift shops. I strongly recommend them, especially for regular visitors. Finally, as it turned out this year, our Continental flight has its US landfall and customs check in Palm Beach. It's was far simpler than Miami (or Ft. Lauderdale for that matter) especially when connection to another plane. Including baggage pickup, and all the formalities, we were at the departure gate for Tampa in about 15 minutes! |
