No problem, Mon!

Most years we went back to Freeport.  We banked our week and traded for another location a few times, but we were happy in the Bahamas and we wanted to go there more than anywhere else.  Our first apartment was a one bedroom, which theoretically slept four if your guests weren't interested in comfort or privacy.  We wanted to share our tropical paradise with friends, and provide comfort and privacy, so we upgraded to a two bedroom unit in 1995.


Our unit had a complete kitchen and we took advantage of it.  We went shopping at the local grocery store and bought supplies for breakfasts and lunches.  We opted to eat dinner at a restaurant each night.  Our unit was at the Princess Country Club Hotel, and was across the street from the Princess Towers Hotel and the Princess Casino.  We had access to all restaurants and all pools at both facilities as well as the seafood buffet served in the restaurant in the casino.  We were also conveniently located across from the International Bazaar in Freeport, which offered hundreds of shops, liquor stores, restaurants and the straw market.  The Bahamas are noted for their high quality and inexpensive (by U.S. standards) emeralds, and jewelry stores abound.  We could walk to almost everything we needed, and what we couldn't walk to was just a short taxi ride away.  We even started buying the necessary ingredients to make our own Bahama Mamas to save a few bucks when it wasn't happy hour (when you got two for the price of one).  Liquor in the Bahamas was far less expensive than in the U.S. so we always stocked up on a supply of Bailey's Irish Cream to bring back to North Carolina.  We found an incredible restaurant named Pier 1 that required a taxi ride, but was well worth the trip.  Pier 1 was actually built on stilts out over the water and each evening the staff fed the lemon sharks living in the waters beneath the restaurant.  So, we could sit outside watching the sharks feeding, while feeding on shark (Bud did).  The food at Pier 1 was a cut above most of the local establishments.  The decor was typically nautical, but the service was top notch and the staff friendly and informed.  Pier 1 was completely destroyed by hurricanes in 2004, but has been rebuilt and reopened in February, 2009 -- see legendary Pier 1 reopening.


Sometimes during the day we'd go on little excursions or side trips -- beach parties, boat excursions, flora and fauna viewing.  One year Bud and I paid to spend a day as assistant dolphin trainers.  We got our money's worth.  We spent the entire day helping the staff at the dolphin facility with feedings and training.  We saw the regular daily dolphin show, but after the tourists left, we we allowed to swim with the dolphins.  We went with the staff when they took a boat out into the open water and brought along two dolphins from the facility.  The dolphins stayed near the boat the entire time and it was exciting to have them swimming alongside and leaping out of the water while we were motoring along.  When we turned back, the dolphins turned back too.  They had absolutely no interest in taking off into the wild.  I'd say those guys knew who provided their meals.

Most days we'd just go to the beach.  At the beach there were waitresses to bring you drinks, or you could walk up to the bar and get your own (we usually brought a stash of our homemade Bahama Mamas in a cooler).  You could get hot dogs, hamburgers and fries.  There were straw market stalls with towels, t-shirts, dresses, bathing suits and cover ups for sale.  There were girls who braided and they would braid anything.  One even offered to braid the hair on Bud's chest (which is usually longer than the hair on his head).  I never got any braids, but because I almost always have long hair, it was a never ending effort to get those girls to go away.  There were people selling jewelry like ankle bracelets and necklaces made from shells and beads.  There were volleyball nets, there were catamarans, there were jet skis, there was para-sailing.  I did that one year.  What a great ride!  And there was beautiful, clear blue, warm water.   After a day at the beach, we'd head back to the hotel and get in the pool or the hot tub while we consumed our quota of Bahama Mamas during happy hour.


Most evenings we'd wander over to the casino for awhile.  I'd throw away about $20 worth of quarters in the slots.  Sometimes I took an hour or two; sometimes it was over in ten to fifteen minutes.  Bud would play blackjack, and after studying the book he bought, he now won more often than he lost.  One evening I had just about run my course at the slots.  It was a 25¢ machine, and you had to play three quarters for the big payoff.  I dropped my last three quarters in the machine, got up off my stool, pulled the handle (back then they all still had handles instead of buttons -- I liked the handles much better) and almost started to walk away.  Suddenly there were bells and whistles and flashing lights and the lighted bar on top my machine started whirling around.  One of the casino employees came over and told me to sit on my stool and stay there until he came back, because they were going to pay the money to person who was sitting on the stool when they returned.  I was totally in shock.  I had just hit the jackpot for that particular machine.  When the three guys in black suits came back, I was glued to that stool.  They made me sign a bunch of papers, and then they presented me with $750.  It wasn't a fortune, but it was a jackpot and it was mine.  I asked them if they were going to report me to the IRS, but they said they weren't required to do that for such a small amount.  But, yes, for all you nitpickers out there, I did report it on my 1040 that year.  I still play the slots, but I've never even come close to winning anything again.


We loved our home away from home in the Bahamas and so did everyone we took with us.  The properties changed hands and went from Princess to Royal Oasis, but the adventure remained.  Until those same two hurricanes that destroyed Pier 1 in 2004, also destroyed our home in the Bahamas, and the economy of Grand Bahama Island and Freeport in particular.   Pier 1 has recovered, but the economy, the two hotels and the casino have not.  There are plans (see What's Happening with Royal Oasis), but it looks as if it will still be awhile before progress is made.