Our Favorite Freeport Moments

We have exactly one week left in Freeport! This week will be filled with things like packing, running last minute errands and of course, Matt studing like crazy. While Freeport has had its fair share of ups and downs, it did serve as a tremendous learning and growing experience for us both. It wasn't exactly how either of us had anticipated spending our first few months as newlyweds, but it has prepared Matt and I for the next step in our journey as we are now preparing for Dominica.

Here's a look at some of the things we will remember about our time here in Freeport.

The gorgeous color of the water.

Favorite place on the island - Gold Rock Beach

Survived our first hurricane.

First seafood meal.

Beautiful roses from the husband.

Many weekends were spent here at Taino Beach.

Matt studying nearly every free minute.

Taino Beach Regatta

Learning to dislike cooking a little less.

Visiting the Freeport Inn where my mother stayed in 1975.

Sunday night grilling dinner with the Womack's

The wildfire!

Seeing all new types of wildlife.

And of course the Conch.

Flying on a turbo prop for the first time.

Getting used to new neighbors.

And of course, our famous lobster.

And the lobster hunters.

Crystal clear water

Gorgeous Taino Beach

Love Banana Bay.

Still love Banana Bay.

And some more love for Banana Bay.

First crab!

Gorgeous views

Awesome blue water.

White sand beaches.

And just have to put some more of Gold Rock Beach in here.

And I know this didn't happen in Freeport, but it's by the far the cutest thing I've ever seen. Or you that you will ever see either. And I got it while I was in Freeport. So it counts. My favorite!

Regatta Freeport Style

We finally had a sunny Saturday! The last few weekends have been rainy and gloomy so we haven't been able to enjoy our surroundings. But today, today was a day I was happy to live in the Bahamas.

A regatta was held at Taino Beach today. Gorgeous! Just look at the color of that water!

So Rachel and I enjoyed the show while soaking up the beautiful sun we've missed.

The water was so clear today, we even saw a huge fish just swimming right near the shoreline. I have no idea what it was, but it was large.

And thanks to the iPhone's new panoramic camera, I was able to snap a couple of beautiful photos of Taino!

The guys unfortunately couldn't get away, as they have studied indoors all day. They don't have a quiz this week or next, but they're preparing for Mini 2 coming up on Oct. 11. And yes, that's a Thursday. Oct. 12 is a holiday here, so they don't have class. And I have the day off! A three day weekend with Matt with limited materials to study - yes please!

But we're off! Tyrone will be here shortly to take us to the airport to pick up Katie and Dan. We can not wait for them to get here and share the week with them! It is much needed for both Matt and me.

We do want to thank every one of you for your encouragement, prayers and well-wishes regarding Emmy. It's comforting to know we have such a great support system of friends and family as we take on these next few months. Seven weeks from tomorrow we'll be home, with our Emmy, and soaking up as much Emmy time as we can!

Treasure Hunting Success

What a beautiful weekend we had in Freeport! Not to mention I got to spend time with my husband away from the books. That only happens after his mini's. And it was much overdue!

So, after Kim left early Saturday morning, we spent the rest of the weekend with the Womacks at the beach.

If this was your backyard, I'm sure you would, too.

Saturday we visited lovely Taino Beach. I'm not sure if the storm brought good treasures in, or if it was the time of day that made a difference. But the guys were very successful!

Yes! That's a starfish (good work, Jon!) three conch shells, seashells, coral and two sea biscuits. The brown thing on the left is one of the sea biscuits. You can compare it to the white one next to it. The brown one is still alive. They are covered in mini bristles that move around when they're alive. But once they're bleached, they are gorgeous!

And, the guys also found some conch shells that still had the conch in them. If you're not aware, conch is a major food here in the Bahamas. There are conch fritters, conch salads, conch burgers - just about everything conch. I even tried the conch fritters.

But after seeing an alive conch, I won't ever be eating those again. They look like slimy creatures from outer space.

And this is how they move. It doesn't get any better - trust me.

People eat that. I ate that. Never, never again.

On to a better topic...

Saturday night we got all dressed up and went out for a nice dinner to celebrate the completion of Mini 1. We were expecting to spend quite a few dollars at this lovely restaurant at Pelican Bay Hotel. However, we found the prices to be more comparable to those at the Port. In some cases, even more reasonable. So noted, a fancier restaurant doesn't necessarily mean more expensive food. Everything is just expensive.

I ordered my first fish entree! And no, it was NOT conch. Pan fried grouper, topped on fried plantains and steamed veggies.  Delicious!

I had never had fried plantains either. Those tasted like the state fair. Mmm.

Sunday we got up early and went to Banana Bay at Fortune Beach. This is hands down my favorite place on the island we've been so far. The views here are just spectacular. The water here is typically crystal clear, and the beach is normally empty. 

We watched a quick rain shower blow in and decided to use that time to grab some lunch at Banana Bay. 

After lunch, we went back out to enjoy the sunshine and the views. Banana Bay is great because they have lounge chairs, picnic tables, hammocks and tiki huts.

Can you spot the stud?!

Matt and Jonathon went out to snorkel, but the water was still a little choppy from the rain shower, so Matt's snorkel wasn't working too well. Jonathon braved it and came out pretty successful!

Two more starfish! They are pretty neat creatures. At one point, Jon put one on top of the other, and the one on top just glided off the other one. You can see from the last picture, that their bottom sides are filled with tiny suction cups that help them move around. Very, very cool stuff!

He also found some more conch. And more reasons why I won't eat conch again.

Can you blame me?! In no way is that appetizing. Maybe if I never saw what it was I could still eat it. Maybe.

So now we're back to Monday. Matt is back into his routine with classes and studying and more studying. Mini 2 is coming up on October 11!