Back to Great Exuma!

We were SO excited to be heading back to Great Exuma.  This was our 3rd trip and it seems we discover something new every time.  Nene and Uncle Jay and Gram and Papa Howie joined us this time so it was great spending time with family.  I think we laughed the entire time...mostly at each other! 

We needed a little more space so we stayed at Belle Mer Cottage which couldn't have been more perfect.  Here's the house and our heavenly view...

The first morning it rained which was fine with all of us as we were exhausted! We slept in, watched a movie and were ready to hit the beach when the sun came back out.  The next day was Sunday and Uncle Jay and Gram and Papa Howie were arriving.  We headed to Chat 'N' Chill for the big pig roast.  Marlie fell in love with the stingrays!  She was in the water with them and feeding them for probably and hour.  She said she couldn't believe how much the stingrays loved her.  Who doesn't? They fed the stingrays pieces of conch and neither of the kids were concerned that it looked gross and felt slimy.

 We had a great meal, relaxed in hammocks...or as Matt called them...nets. 

The next day we were up early ready to go fishing.  But when we got to the dock our guide said it was too windy.  Because we were all dressed and up early I asked if we could rent a boat and do some sight seeing of our own...so off we went!  It actually ended up being a fabulous day and probably better than fishing! Our first stop was starfish beach and it didn't disappoint.  We saw tons of starfish and the beach couldn't have been more beautiful.

We could have strolled along this beach and stayed here all day and I would have been happy.  Just gorgeous!

Then it was off to sand dollar beach.  I found one big one and Matt and Papa Howie found a few smaller ones. 

 After all our exploring we were hungry so we went back to Chat 'N' Chill for a great lunch and few "island" drinks which had us tipsy after about 5 sips.  Needless to say there was a lot of laughing!

So we decided we were all in the mood for a hike to the ocean.  Doug and I have wanted to do this the past 2 trips but never have.  So off we went.  We had to climb some hills and go through chest- high water to get there but then there it was...the beautiful and powerful Atlantic Ocean.  We could have stayed here all day too! I got some great pics.  My favorite from the whole trip might be the one of Marlie dancing on the beach. 

What a day! We headed home because the next day we did our day trip tour of the Exumas.  It just kept getting better.  Our first stop was snorkeling at Thunderball Grotto.  I was SO proud of the kids.  They were the first off the boat and the first to swim to the grotto.  They LOVED it! It's like swimming in a fish bowl...there are so many fish.  Marlie was going crazy trying to catch the fish.  Grandparents finally made it in and loved it too.  We had lunch at the Staniel Cay Yacht Club which was great and we enjoyed our new friends from San Diego that were on the excursion with us.

Then it was off to the sandbar.  The one I love was under water but this one was fabulous too.  Much bigger, but the sand was so soft and thick, it was like walking on foam.  The kids had fun with their water guns.  We had fun watching our guide Bob make fresh conch salad, which was not too bad. 

Then finally, what Matt had been waiting for...swimming with the SHARKS! Marlie didn't hesitate getting in either.  We laughed that they were braver than Uncle Jay. 

Our last stop was to feed the iguanas.  I could skip this part of the trip but the kids thought it was great.

It was a great day and we were completely exhausted!  The next day we rested a bit.  In the morning we went into town to shop and visit the crap...I mean craft market.  This was followed by a great lunch at Santana's which quickly has become our favorite place on the island to eat. The lobster was amazing!

 We stopped at a few spots on the way home and snapped these great pics.

We were sad that Gram and Papa Howie had to leave the next day.  We spent the last 2 days at the house being lazy and playing on the beach.  A few houses down was a family with 2 boys that guess what...also love baseball.  They had their gloves too so the boys played catch and we even had a beach baseball game. 

We had a kickball game too.  Matt didn't let us rest too much!  And then we had water balloon fights! Matt and Marlie won the first game and were pumped.

We did some "kayaking" too if that's what you call it.  The kids fell twice, once really hard and it was kinda funny!

We had fun making sand castles.  Marlie insisted on digging this big hole and the kids kept trying to fill it up with water. 

I had to take a few more pictures of course and we got some cute ones.  I like the first one the best...

What an amazing trip.  You can see more pictures in the slide show.  Thank you to all our family for making this trip so special.  It will be a wonderful memory for all of us.  I can't wait to do this again!