Lucaya National Park

After breakfast this mornin, we decided to drive about 25 miles East to the Lucaya National Park. Once we got away from Freeport, things thinned out quickly. We saw nothing but pine forest for miles at a time. It was interesting to pass through the different towns & neighborhoods of Grand Bahama. Just when I was beginning to wonder if we were lost, we arrived at the park.

The park is divided into two sections. The first area we visted was the natural caves. We were able to go inside some of them, but they continue for thousands of yards underwater. We enjoyed seeing the caves and learning about the Lucayan Indians that inhabited this area many years ago.

The next section was across the main road. We followed a nature trail & boardwalk through a mangrove swamp down to a beautiful beach. It was nearly high tide, so there wasn't much sandy beach area, but the water was warm, clear, and shallow --we walked quite a distance out and the kids could still stand up. We had a great time swimming, playing, & snorkeling.

We started getting hungry and decided to continue 7 miles further East to Bishop's beachfront restaurant (recommended by a park ranger). We would never have found this place on our own, but it was great. We ate at a waterfront bar on a beautiful beach. The kids made sandcastles and played in the surf while I sampled the local beer of Grand Bahama: Sands.

At one point, Cameron wandered away from the bar and some playful dogs started scampering around nearby. He got scared and started to run. I'm sure you can guess that the dogs thought he was playing and started chasing him. I have never seen Camron move so fast! It looked like his tippy toes were barely touching the ground. Unfortuneatly, he was running away from the bar area and it took us a minute or two to catch him and get the dogs settled down. No harm done, just scared.

Finally, we decided to head back to the hotel. Someone told us that the Black Pearl from the Pirate movies was stored nearby, so we decided to check it out on the way home. We got lost and ended up in a junkyard, instead. Not exactly a tropical paradise! We gave up on that idea and made the long drive back to the Westin. Everybody was sawing logs by the time we got there.

We rested in the room for a little while and then got dinner at a chinese restaurant here at the hotel. It was delicious! Afterwards, we strolled around the market across the street and then came back to the rooms. It is so pleasant outside, I was reluctant to come in!

We will be heading home tomorrow, but the boys don't have school until Monday. I'm sure we will find something fun to do back in Tampa.