The Lee Family: Spring Break 2018, Day 2

We awoke Saturday morning eager to start our vacation at Fernandez Bay Village on Cat Island. Connie made us a fantastic and hearty breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast and bacon and we all enjoyed one last meal together before packing up the Baron and heading out to Cat Island. First, we had to stop at Ft. Pierce, about an hour or so south of CK's folks on the coast. Ft. Pierce has all of the documents we need for travel to the Bahamas and was a last fuel spot for us before we headed out over the water. Once again, Olivia's ears were really bothering her as we descended into Ft. Pierce, so once we landed she was not happy. She asked if we could "just drive" to Cat Island because she was "done riding in the Baron." Poor girl! We tried to explain to her there was no way to drive to Cat Island, and she soon accepted that we would have to fly but would stay a lot lower and it would feel better to her. Before we left, Connie also made us ham and cheese sandwiches and gave us carrots and celery to snack on during our flight. After the Baron was fueled and we had all of the necessary documents, we took off toward Cat Island! It was more cloudy than when CK and I visited 11/2 years ago in the summer, so Olivia and I read and relaxed in the backseat. When we flew to Cat before, it was an incredible view with clear waters and small islands doting the view, but we didn't get to see as much this time.

We enjoyed our sandwiches, which really hit the spot and were soon descending to land at Cat Island! Olivia's ears hurt a little bit but not as badly as before, thankfully. As soon as we landed at Cat, a local man named Victor came out with a luggage trolley to load all of our stuff. It was awesome! We actually brought a bunch of snacks with us from Texas, so we had an small ice chest and another container with food and drinks, so it was nice to have the help. Victor took a family photo of us too before we headed into the customs office. Victor hung out outside with our bags while we went into the little rundown building that was the "customs office." Inside the small office is a nice man who stamped our passports, accepted our $50/person "visitor fee," and took all of our paperwork. The process is a few minutes long and we were soon in a cab to Fernandez Bay Village, just a few minutes down the road!

This visit we stayed in Beach House, which includes a living room with kitchenette and two bedrooms/bathrooms, one on each side of the living room. It was perfect! The weather, although a little cloudy, was warm and humid and all of the doors to Beach House were open, so we unloaded all of our bags into the living room and were so happy to have finally arrived. Meanwhile, the girls jumped out of the cab with their backpacks which they dropped in the living room and ran through the sliding glass doors to the water. By the time we were done with our bags, both girls were swimming in their clothes! CK had originally tried to reserve a stay at FBV last spring break, but it was completely sold out so he booked it for this week nearly a year ago!

The girls had a ball swimming and they soon changed into their swimsuits since I barely packed enough clothes for them to wear, thinking they would mainly be in swimsuits all week. CK and I sorted out our bags and put the girls' things in their room and our bags in our room. To access either bedroom, one has to go through the sliding glass door into each bedroom, with no direct access from the living room. It's really cool, and feels great to be outside to get into each room. Each of the rooms have wall air conditioning units, which we really didn't need until bedtime, mainly to cut the humidity while we slept.

Soon, we were all in our swimsuits, the girls swimming and CK and I lounging on the lounge chairs reading. It was awesome! It wasn't as warm as when CK and I were visiting in August, but felt great, especially after the cold winter we've had in Texas. The water was cooler, but as long as the sun was out, it felt great! Within minutes, Sofia befriended a little boy, Charlie, who is 81/2 and introduced herself to his parents. The three kids became fast friends!

We hung out on the beach and relaxed until it was time to get ready for appetizers and then dinner. We met a few of the other folks staying at FBV, including a couple who flew in from Los Angeles, picked up their 20-year old twin boys from NYC and were down to celebrate the boys' birthday on St. Patrick's Day. They have been coming to FBV every year for over 20 years! Charlie and his parents, Chip and Lisa, are from Connecticut and left a snow storm to come to FBV. They have been coming every year for 5 years and normally meet up with a British couple that they plan their visit with in the summer. We visited with everyone and soon it was time for dinner. Dinner is always awesome at FBV and includes a great salad, veggie and fresh seafood. Tonight we had lobster, mixed steamed veggies and salad. It was delicious! The girls loved it all too! After dinner, we returned to our living room and played a very lengthy game of Uno. Both girls are competitive Uno players and we had the longest game ever, before we finally let CK win so we could all go to bed!

Family selfie before heading out from Ft. Pierce. Olivia is NOT happy and wants to drive to Cat Island.