We had originally hoped and planned to have my parents visit us in the Bahamas, but my mom’s current cancer treatment regime prevents her from traveling. Instead, we decided to come to Seattle to help celebrate her birthday. It’s sort of a bizarro spring break, trading the warm, sunny, and dry Bahamian climate for Seattle’s cold, dark, and wet March weather, but we’re excited to see family and friends, and have a long list of Seattle outings in the offing.
We booked a small-plane flight from Georgetown, Great Exuma to Fort Lauderdale aboard the oddly-named Watermakers Air (they started life as a company providing reverse-osmosis desalination plants for the islands) and were able to see from the air many of the places through which we’d just sailed. The four of us — along with a woman and her service doberman pinscher — were the sole passengers aboard a Cessna Caravan. We flew up around 12,000 ft at 135 knots northwest over the Exumas, New Providence, Andros, and Bimini before getting to Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport about 2 hours later. From Fort Lauderdale, we had a regular American Airlines flight back to Seattle. After moving at just 6 knots for the last nine months, it’s sort of stunning to travel all the way across the country over a hundred times as quickly.
Cessna Caravan.
Small-plane selfie.
Satisfied customers.
Emerald Bay, where EXIT is currently holed up.
Little Farmers Cay and its cut leading from the banks to Exuma Sound.
Divide between development along the Florida coast and the Everglades.
Everglades, doing a very passable impression of the Okavango Delta in Botswana.
Lake Sylvia, where we waited to make our Gulf Stream crossing, and the Port Everglades entrance.
Heading back to the land of same-day Amazon deliveries, we compiled a list of items to acquire while back in the States. We think that we’ll even try to do some provisioning prior to our return, maxing out the 50-pound baggage limit on the return flight and replenishing some of what we have consumed since doing our heavy provisioning in Florida. Food, especially packaged food, is expensive and hard to come by in the Bahamas, where there are no Costcos or Trader Joes, only what comes in on the weekly mail boat.
Hope to add some photos and videos to the blog posts that we’ve previously made via the (extremely low-bandwidth) satellite phone.
March 19, 2016 at 12:30
Spectacular land and ocean colors! Celebrate Janie well, and hug her for me, my fellow Piscean. ox
March 19, 2016 at 18:49
And of course this Mom and Nana cannot think of any birthday gift better than having our four intrepid sailors with us for a couple of weeks. They are my best medicine! Janie
March 20, 2016 at 02:12
What a fantastic opportunity to see the sea and inlets and islands that you’ve been sailing about, in and around! Also, you look utterly healthy and happy. Wow. A beautiful and heart-warming gift for Janie’s birthday to have you with her and Po and others. Martin and I are sending our love and best wishes to you all as you celebrate together. Hoorah! Love, Mindy and Martin
March 20, 2016 at 11:12
You folks are amazing! the kids the noticeably bigger already! I’m so glad your adventures are going well. I hope the family visit is good.
March 20, 2016 at 22:47
I’ll be visiting Seattle next week due to work, love to catch up! How long will you be there for?
March 21, 2016 at 00:01
You guys look absolutely great! Glad you’re having a safe travels & best wishes to your Mom.