A few things I learned here...

[Beardie]

I just wanted to thank all of the people on this forum for helping us have a wonderful vacation. My husband and I took my 82 year-old father to Green Turtle Cay April 22-29, so that my father could fulfill a life-long dream to go bone fishing. I started lurking on this forum around the time we lined up our rental house and booked our trip in January, and even posted a few questions to the forum. Many pieces of information that I picked up here and on Dr. Ralph’s site helped us pack the right things and made us feel like “insiders” once we arrived. We had a wonderful time and my father caught bone fish, so he can die a happy man (although I hope no time soon!). I know all of you old-timers are probably tired of reading this stuff, but in case there are any newbies lurking out there (we all know you’re there…), here’s a summary of some of the real “nuggets” that I gleaned over the past few months. I’ve included links to places you can buy some of these items, in case you can’t locate a local source. Thanks to all!!!



Some things I learned from the Abacos Forum:




Food Provisioning: We took a rolling zip-top (easy TSA inspection) ice chest with beef tenderloin for steaks, and ham and roast turkey breast for sandwiches. The ice chest came in handy for beach and boat trips, etc.
Packing: My Dad packed his spinning rod and casting rod in a plastic gun case from Bass Pro Shop (excellent suggestion “Fazsha”! http://coconuttelegraph.net/forums/showthread.php?t=3952 (http://coconuttelegraph.net/forums/showthread.php?t=3952)). Contact information for our rental house on Green Turtle Cay was on all luggage, in case it arrived late and had to be sent over on the ferry. We have always packed all “must-haves” (including change of clothes) in carry-ons, in case our luggage does not make it – but this time it did.
Misc. Supplies: The “What are you packing?” thread had some great suggestions for various scenarios (http://coconuttelegraph.net/forums/showthread.php?t=3635 (http://coconuttelegraph.net/forums/showthread.php?t=3635)). Some items that we found quite useful were:
1. Safe Sea sunscreen (from www.drugstore.com (http://www.drugstore.com/)), although we had no problem with sea lice in late April, it provided great sun protection.

2. Inflatable noodles (http://www.pooltoy.com/72indoodsix.html (http://www.pooltoy.com/72indoodsix.html) and sling seats for them (purchased at Target several years ago) for lolling in the ocean.

3. “Neat Sheet” for the beach (also www.drugstore.com (http://www.drugstore.com/))

4. The Dodge Guide (www.wspress.com (http://www.wspress.com/)) is indispensable.

· Things to do and places to eat: Previous posts clued us in to spending a day with Marcus and Lincoln Jones, bone-fishing with Ronnie Sawyer, trip with Brendal, snorkeling off the beach on the north end of the island, beautiful Bita Bay, Long Bay, and Gillam Bay, delicious restaurants/bars (Green Turtle Club, Bluff House, Pineapple’s, Wrecking Tree, Miss Emily’s), listening to the Gully Roosters at GTC, and wonderful raisin and coconut bread at Sid’s Grocery.

· How to pronounce Kalick (frequently used) --- accent on the last syllable

· That there are some really, really nice people on this forum --- and tops on my list (In addition to Dr. Ralph, of course) is Tom Crevasse, Pres. of Vintage Props and Jets. I’m indebted to Tom for getting the Co2 cartridges for my 82 year-old father’s life vest over to Treasure Cay, so he could use this vest while fishing. And we weren’t even flying on his airline (see things I’d do differently, below)!



Some things I’ll do differently next time:

· Get Batelco SIM card (www.telestial.com (http://www.telestial.com/)): Anyone that doesn’t need to stay in touch with home while on vacation (unfortunately, we do) can skip this. I discovered that my quad-band Cingular Motorola Razr cell phone will work on Green Turtle Cay, despite information here indicating it probably would not. A pre-purchased SIM card provides rates much lower than Batelco’s roaming rate.

· Bring bait from home or get it from www.baitmasters.com (http://www.baitmasters.com/) – bait was surprisingly hard to find on Green Turtle Cay this time of year.

· Arrange for some more off-shore fishing.

· Fly Vintage Props and Jets (www.vpj.com (http://www.vpj.com/)) --- Our Continental flights were OK (although going over was one hour late), but it’s Vintage for us from now on.

· Don’t arrive and leave on a Saturday --- too much cruise traffic in the south Florida airports, plus you can’t take the trip to Nippers for the Sat. pig roast.

· Fly through Daytona or Melbourne rather than Ft. Lauderdale or Miami.

· Stay longer --- one week is not enough.

· Stay on or visit the other cays – from reading this forum I know there are many other wonderful things waiting to be experienced on each of them. So many places to go and not enough time!

[norvell]

Loved your post and glad you enjoyed your first trip (but not last I am sure!)

Just a note: The Nipper's pig roast is every SUNDAY, not Saturday.
I think that Pete's Pub has a Sat. "Boar" Roast, but that's down at Little Harbour.

[Beardie]

Oooops! Thanks for the correction. Now I recall that we didn't go to the pig roast because we wanted to spend our first full day exploring Green Turtle Cay.
Hope you are enjoying your new house, Norvell!

[DrRalph]

Thank you, Beardie.

[floridacargocat]

Good that you had so much fun and that the CO2 cartridge problem was solved

[johnrudy]

Thanks for the helpful info especially the SIM card stuff. We'll be going for our 1st time next month.

But the best part of your post was doing this for your 82 y.o. dad! What a sweet, generous thing to do. He must be a great Dad!! This made my day today!

[RI BLUES]

I agree, what a great trip you must have had! thanks for the tips we will look into the zip top cooler to bring some frozen meats. did that go on as carry on? Thanks, Marianne

[Beardie]

Thanks for the nice feedback, everyone. A couple of additional notes….



Re: the zip-top ice chest --- I love ours. I ordered ours through Amazon.com, but later saw it at our local Tuesday Morning for less; REI has a similar model. I froze the meats in zip-lock bags and packed the cooler the morning that we left, putting a frozen blue block on the bottom and beach towels on top of the meat. We checked the cooler rather than carrying on, and when we arrived at Green Turtle Cay, everything was still frozen.



My Dad is a gem. All people should be so lucky to have as wonderful a father… I’m just glad that my husband and I had the opportunity to do something nice for him. He’s had a tough time – my Mother had to go into an Alzheimer’s facility a year ago – so we definitely needed to get him away for a little R & R. He loved it and can’t wait to go back again!



Re: SIM cards, please read the separate thread on this forum concerning Batelco SIM cards. Although my Cingular phone worked on Green Turtle Cay, I have no idea if it would have worked on other cays. So, before anyone invests in a SIM card, check on the latest reports for the cay that you will be staying on. And check into local availability of SIM cards, which may be less expensive than the source I cited.

[elcahun]

Inflatable noodles (http://www.pooltoy.com/72indoodsix.html and sling seats for them

I wondered if the mesh seat would work with the inflatable noodle. Will have to pick up a couple.

[RI BLUES]

was that a soft sided cooler that could fold up? or was it hard cased and had a zipper? thanks for the great info.

[SusieAndAl]

That was a delightful, informative post. And what you did for your father is great! My Dad (also 82) was diagnosed with a terminal illness a while ago. He lost his spirit and things weren't looking good. I flew up to visit him and had two round trip tickets to Marsh Harbour with me. I told him they were non-refundable, so he and Mom simply had to come down in six months and do some fishing. Long story short, the impact was remarkable! He regained his spirit and we had a wonderful time here. He is now in remission, and looking forward to another visit next year!

Thanks again for your post -- it made my day.

[Beardie]

Re: the cooler - I got the soft-sided cooler that we used from Amazon.com on clearance, and I can’t find it on their site anymore. A similar one is available through REI (http://www.rei.com/product/12894608.htm (http://www.rei.com/product/12894608.htm)), or go to Amazon.com and do a search for “rolling cooler” and you’ll see several different styles. None are true full sized ice chests, but you probably don’t want to take one that big if you also plan to use it on the beach. Just make sure that the telescoping handle will retract and that it also has side handles. We put lots of extra ziplock bags in the outside pockets and they certainly came in handy. The cooler I got will fold relatively flat (except for the wheels) when empty, although we filled it with dirty clothes and towels when coming home. If you catch a lot of fish and want to freeze some and bring it back, well that’s an even better use.



Susie and Al – I loved reading of your similar experience in getting your parents down to the Abacos, and I’m so happy to read that your father is now in remission. There’s no time like the present. We’ve learned that all too well having lost both of my husband’s parents in the past year, so don’t put off having your folks back soon. I jokingly e-mailed my father yesterday asking him if he was ready to go back to the Abacos. Here’s his response, referring to the folks at the bar in the retirement community where he lives:

“Yep! Be ready in an hour. These crazy people don't seem to know what I am talking about when I order a Kalik Gold at the bar. Twas fun for all!! Love—Pop”



Elcahun – I enjoyed reading your recent post about trip preparation, and certainly saw a lot of myself in it. A caution about using the inflatable noodles with the mesh sling chairs. They don’t work as well as the regular noodles, but they’ll do. If you have access (Marsh Harbor?) to the regular noodles, use them instead. Also, I think the mesh chairs that have a sleeve for the noodle work a little better than the ones with an elastic band.



Guess that’s it. ~ Charlotte

[RI BLUES]

Thanks, I saw a similar cooler at our local 'Job Lot' I am going out to get one. as I recall from our trip last year to Exuma, the meat selection was a bit slim and not too appealing. I too love baggies for everything and will bring coffee and crystal light, my favorite! Thanks,Marianne