Island State of Mind Trip report 6/27/09 - 7/4/09 - Lubbers Quarters

[Island State of Mind]

I admit that I am one of those individuals that tremendously enjoys reading the trip reports of all who will indulge and divulge. I always have the best intentions of posting my own stories and then never get around to it. Well here goes...

This is my first trip report but not my first trip... this is my 12th trip to the islands and of course I already have the next one planned and booked and am mentally working on the one after that.

I had been emailing Patti at Summerview since Spring 08 to work some time onto Lubbers Quarters. It was one of the cays I had never explored and it was right smack in the middle of all the good stuff we like to see when the weather is good as it usually is in June. After many attempts to secure a "room at the inn" so to speak we finally had a date nailed down by last July. Summerview is a very popular rental and books up quickly which I now can understand.

Okay that brings you up to date to now... we booked our flight with Airgate and have flown with them the last three trips over. All I can say is "Thank God!"... the night before we fly out I get a call from Airgate that my hubby's passport is expired by two weeks... what the...?!! I would have bet anyone a frozen nipper that the passport was good until August. I look at his passport and things go downhill quick at this house. Not happy at all! I remembered that I had read somewhere that you can enter the Bahamas with an expired passport up to 5 years. Hey I was going with that plan. My husband was like I'll worry about getting back once I'm over there... so we hoofed it down to Sanford and was real quiet about the whole situation. They let us on the plane and they let us off the plane and we got a "have a great trip" at customs and immigration. Yeah... we were in! That was all that mattered. He might be a man without a country later but we were in!

[patw]

I hear you met my husbands son, Neil Weatherford?

[JJ]

Pics to go with the trip report??

[Island State of Mind]

Okay so we're in. I had called Ms. Debbie Taxi # 145 from the state side as I usually do to meet us for pickup. She was there as always with a wonderful smile on her face. She is such a darling woman and is a wonderful cook as well. She usually makes all kinds of desserts and sells them on Fridays. Kevin always asks her if she has any "Little Ms. Debbie cakes" but she didn't as it was Saturday. Note: her guava cake is to die for! She takes us around to do our usual... grocery, wine store etc. She drops us off to meet Jay Sands from Waterway Boat rentals at the old ferry dock who takes us back to Man O War to sign all the docs etc...

We head to Lubbers Quarters and are met at the dock by Patti & Eddie Davis, hosts extraordinaire. They help us secure the lines, unload the luggage and carefully handled my wine & rum purchases. We visited for a few minutes as they showed us the cottage and just got to know each other some. They invited us down to their house the next night for appetizers and then said their goodbyes.

We headed to Cracker P's for lunch and a much deserved rum-thangy and for the much touted fish dip. It was really packed and they had a band. It was Cracker P's 10th anniversary and they were really packing the place in.

After lunch I was wiped out... it was very hot and I was tired because I didn't really sleep the night before. We went back to the house and napped... it was great... we were on island-time...nothing to do and all day to do it!

Sunday came and it was a beautiful day. Weather was good and we headed over to Nippers to meet up with some friends that had come by boat and were staying at Orchid Bay Marina. As usual a great time was had by all. It is always fun to take friends that have never been to Nippers... the view, the atmosphere, the characters... it all works.

I got to see my favorite Bahamian, Linc Jones. He loves to dance as do I and is a whole lot of fun. After a couple of nipper drinks my friends were dancing with him too. The music was great as usual and I noticed they played a LOT of Michael Jackson that day. I don't think on any normal Pig Roast Sunday you would hear even one of his songs. But hey you just go with it... I think I saw Linc doing the moon-walk!

We left out and stopped by Milo's for some fruit and potatoes. We made friendly small talk as he bagged up my produce and he offered his words of island advice... be careful of the sun... I guess he could see that I am of fair complexion and was pretty red in the face from the heat.

[Island State of Mind]

Hi Pat...yes I met Neil yesterday. What a super nice guy. I asked him his last name and since you & Sidney were the only Weatherford I knew I inquired if there was a close relation... he seemed pretty surprised that I knew you. He was very helpful to us as Jay Sands had to turn us over Neil's care as he was to be off island for a funeral. It was nice to be handled in such a professional and friendly manner by Neil and Jay.

[patw]

Neil was here today on Guana and told us the story. He said, "The lady said she brought you ink for your printer." I knew exactly who he was talking about when he said that. He said you all had to try and miss some squalls to get to MH. Glad you got to meet Neil. He is a nice guy.

[Summerview]

Island State of Mind- (Kevin & Denise) So glad you made it back to Florida with the passport issues!!! One never knows these days.

Thanks for the kind words!!!! We enjoyed your company. You both have been visiting the islands for many years, enjoyed all your stories. One nights we never made it off the porch, as rain was everywhere. Enjoyed fresh conch salad and a glass of wine with you. We all were hoping to catch up Dr.Ralph & Bunny!!!!

Glad you enjoyed the pelican islands, it sure is a special place.

Great trip report!!

[Island State of Mind]

Monday and Tuesday were excellent for lounging around as the weather was just so raw we couldn't get off island. We read books, napped in the hammock and just got our minds right. We actually enjoyed the downtime. We spent the better part of our week sitting on the screen porch admiring Eddie's carpentry abilities. He constructed the cottage himself and it is very well-built, functional and comfortable. I loved the outdoor shower.

We had been invited down to Patti and Eddie's home for appetizers. They had been out diving and had gotten several conch. Eddie made the fresh conch salad and adds spicy V-8 juice to it. I had not eaten conch salad that tasty before. We had saltines and two bottles of white wine... so delicious and an absolute great time spent with them! They have a very beautiful home there overlooking the Tilloo Cut and Tahiti Beach. It is so warm and inviting and perfect for them. Patti likes to be able to look out through Tilloo Cut and see what the ocean looks like for fishing. They are both so acclimated to their island lifestyle and Summerview is a true fisherman's paradise!

By Wednesday we were getting "cottage-fever". We were up everyday before 7:00 and were spending our morning drinking coffee and coming up with the day's gameplan, weather permitting.
We heard Patti calling to us. Her and Eddie were going to troll right outside of the cut and invited us along. What a treat! We had a great time trolling up and down the Atlantic side of Elbow Cay. We were in a 1000 ft of water and could still see their house. Amazing to me. Eddie set up the outriggers and the other poles and we spent the better part of the morning doing that until the weather ran us in. Several blackfin tuna were caught and Eddie and Patti shared with us. At their suggestion we put a little olive oil and sesame seeds on it and seared lightly. Dipped in soy sauce and wasabi... sooo good!

The weather cleared up finally so that we could run to town to stock back up on supplies and eat lunch at Captain Jacks. Had the coconut fried grouper, peas ' rice and coleslaw. Very good meal as usual. Went over to Vernon's to get a key lime pie. The man does not disappoint... as good as we remembered.

We had been communicating with Dr. Ralph and hoping to catch up with him at some point but never did see him or Bunny. We did spot PapaNasty though when we went to Garbanzo for appetizers with Eddie and Patti. Enjoyed happy hour at the Abaco Inn ... what a beautiful view.

[JJ]

We are Green Turtle Cay lovers. We have tried Treasure, Man O'War, and Guana which were all wonderful trips, but GTC suits us best. However, I thought if I tried somewhere else in the future, it would be Lubbers. Ideally, in my dream world, it would be a week on Lubbers and a week on GTC. I see from another thread that you have spent time on GTC, too. I know the experience must be totally different, but just wondering if you could compare. I do worry about going a little stir crazy if unable to get off the island due to weather.

[BahamaAngie]

Very nice report. The pictures are lovely and the house you stayed in looks so neat and clean looking and quality. Really has character. Glad you had a good time. Did you get to see your friend Suzanne?

[Patti Puzo]

Good job! Thanks for sharing your trip. That cottage looks absolutely charming, and having Patti and Eddie so close is an added bonus. I think Lubbers would be a lot of fun.

[DaGoose]

It is amazing to be at the dropoff in a few minutes! Lubbers is a great place although we've never stayed at Summerview. Tried to twice but they book up really fast! I can see why!

Thanks for the report!

Tina

[SCMako17]

We were the group of 14 sitting next to you guys at Nippers. It's funny to have a forum member right next to you and not even know it.

[Island State of Mind]

Thursday was a good day weather wise and we decided it was Pete's Pub or bust. We got an early start so that we could spend several hours on Tilloo Bank. It is absolutely gorgeous down there. Such a wonderful part of Abaco a little off the beaten path. We spent the morning sitting on the sandbar and Kevin snorkeled for sand dollars which were plentiful. We pretty much had the place to ourselves... maybe 5 boats at most. After a while we headed on into Little Harbour and Pete's Pub. Bought a couple of shirts, looked through the gallery and ate a scrumptious fish sandwich (pan fried red snapper). I would have to say their fish sandwiches always seem to taste better than everywhere else. I don't know why. Walked over to the beach side and enjoyed the view. We had struck up a conversation with a Bahamian gentleman named Charlie sitting across from us. Turns out he knew some of the same people I did. It always amazes me how small the Abaco world is. As we were leaving out he approached us and offered to show us the "blue holes" in the Bight of Old Robinson area. I had heard that is was a neat place to explore and there was sea life there you don't see anywhere else. We followed him in his skiff and as we got closer to the entrance he anchored and climbed on board with us, him and his long pole. We were on low tide and there were areas that he jumped in and pushed the boat through. He had us meandering this way and that. He showed us the memorial marker that is in remembrance of the 5 divers that died in those holes. We jumped in and snorkeled around. Much colder water there and saw what we could without real dive equipment. After a while we decided that we would have a real problem getting out if we didn't leave then. We really wished we could have spent more time there with him and the blue holes. We dropped him back to his skiff and said our goodbyes to Charlie and headed back to Tilloo area. We spent another couple hours there... ahhh paradise!

[Island State of Mind]

more pics...

[patw]

Oh my goodness! That's Charlie Sweeting from MOW. It certainly is a small world! I wondered where he got to, haven't seen him in a year or more.

[Island State of Mind]

Satursday came around too soon. We packed up and said our goodbyes to Patti, Eddie and Island Wonder Dog, Wilson.
Since we had rented the boat from Man O War we saved exploring that cay last. I want to say here what a nice boat we had from Waterways. It was the 18.5 ft Albury. It was well maintained and very fuel efficient. We burned only 28 gal of fuel all week. I was very pleased because we loafed around quite a bit. Jay and Samantha Sands were very professional and you can tell they take a lot of pride in their business.
We took in the usual sights... Lola on her golf cart selling her freshly made bread and cinnamon rolls. The Sail Shop which set me back about $ 50... good memories though. We ate at the Dock 'n Dine... excellent fried dolphin fingers and IMHO the best coleslaw anywhere. I had to make the pilgrimage to this restaurant. My man Kenny Chesney showed up here last fall and was so pleased by how he was treated that he gave an impromptu concert. Why am I never in the right place at the right time?
A year or so back we had met Island Pastor Randy Crowe and his wife Paula. They serve there on MOW and are super nice people. I liked them immediately and decided to drop in on them to say hi. Randy was actually playing ball with the island kids down at the ballpark. It is very impressive. The ballpark sits high on a beautiful overlook to the Atlantic Ocean. And it is hooked up... high fence and big lights for night time games. We watched the kids play awhile and then Randy came over and we caught up. He is very involved in out-island (as in real desolate, poor out-island) ministry and has been working with an orphanage on Cat Island. Very inspiring.

I had heard somewhere that there is a trust set up so that that beautiful piece of property the kids enjoy playing ball on will never be developed or sold. It is so refreshing to see a community regard family and their children's future so highly. We liked Man O War... very friendly island folk.

After seeing all we could in such a short span of time we had to dodge the squalls to get back to Marsh Harbour. As was mentioned in an earlier post Neil Weatherford (PatW's stepson) drove us back. Very nice guy. He pointed out all the islands on the back side of Marsh and got us there safely. Ms. Debbie was waiting there as usual and got us to the airport.

We're home and that's all I can say about that. We throughly enjoyed the trip, enjoyed Lubber's Quarters, enjoyed the folks we met and are already planning the trip after next.

[Island State of Mind]

Greetings JJ...
Hey I know the dilemma. I absolutely adore GTC. It has it all. However I do find that when the weather is good and novice boaters like us want to get out and sightsee there is so much more that is accessible in the Central Abaco area. If we stayed on GTC we would probably never venture down to my favorite haunts Pete's Pub, Tilloo Bank, Sandy Cay, Vernon's, Grabbers and Nippers because of Whale Cay (my husband is a little freaked about that area).

It is always such a difficult decision. I tend to lean toward GTC if I have a trip during the winter months because I would be happy to just stay on GTC and not venture out much beyond the beaches and the settlement.
If I do a trip closer to the summer months I like to be more in the hub. I really enjoyed Lubbers as did my husband. It is so centrally located to so many good things to see and do. Obviously we cannot control the weather... that's the one downside I guess. With the rain we had last Monday and Tuesday even if we had been on GTC we still couldn't have left the house. Hope my rationale helps!

Originally Posted by JJ

We are Green Turtle Cay lovers. We have tried Treasure, Man O'War, and Guana which were all wonderful trips, but GTC suits us best. However, I thought if I tried somewhere else in the future, it would be Lubbers. Ideally, in my dream world, it would be a week on Lubbers and a week on GTC. I see from another thread that you have spent time on GTC, too. I know the experience must be totally different, but just wondering if you could compare. I do worry about going a little stir crazy if unable to get off the island due to weather.

[Island State of Mind]

I had bought an Abaco Forum shirt and forgot to pack for an occasion such as this!

[Island State of Mind]

Hey Angie...
No I didn't get to see Suzanne this trip. I was very sorry to have heard as we were heading on Saturday that her father, Mr. Allen Bethel passed away last week. She was off island spending time with him. I am sure it was very precious time for her and the rest of the Bethel family.

Originally Posted by BahamaAngie

Very nice report. The pictures are lovely and the house you stayed in looks so neat and clean looking and quality. Really has character. Glad you had a good time. Did you get to see your friend Suzanne?

[Summerview]

So glad you had a nice time. Abaco is filled with a lot of nice people. And sounds like you are meeting most of them. Your pictures are great, we love the blue hole, also.

We like our little island, Lubbers Quarters. Very quiet, but close enough to all other islands. Come back in winter and you will enjoy walking the road to the other side......great beach there!!!

Have you noticed how green all the islands and vegetation are ??

[TOLERance]

So...did you have any problem getting back into the United States without a passport? Were you detained? How Long? or did they just let you through as ususal when you arrived? Did the airline get fined by Homeland Security as has been explained in other threads?

[TOLERance]

Thanks for the PM... :-)

[BahamaAngie]

Great report and pictures. Thanks. We have never been to MOW so it was nice to be able to see those photos. Lubbers does look great. We were looking at it also. Maybe some day.

[BahamaAngie]

So sorry to hear about Suzanne's loss. I am glad that she got to spend time with him. Nice gal.

[Henz]

yeah, I we have been trying to get back there since 2004! Ho hummm

[Charlotte Couple]

Thanks for the report and photos. The view from the Sail Shop on MOW shows the dock for the cottage we rent there, and we love seeing that view every day during our visits.

Hey, Neil Weatherford looks very familiar. Does he also drive a taxi in Marsh Harbour? If so, we met him through Jay Sands and Sammie Albury in May, and he drove us back to the airport when we were departing. Very nice guy, but I didn't connect him and Pat/Sidney.

[DaGoose]

Originally Posted by Charlotte Couple

Hey, Neil Weatherford looks very familiar. Does he also drive a taxi in Marsh Harbour? If so, we met him through Jay Sands and Sammie Albury in May, and he drove us back to the airport when we were departing. Very nice guy, but I didn't connect him and Pat/Sidney.

Maybe you're thinking of Jeff Key? I believe he's related to Jay. He drove us back to the airport in May '08, very nice man.

Island State of Mind, did you get a chance to see Jay & Samantha's son? What a lucky kid and such happy parents!

Tina

[Charlotte Couple]

You're right, it was Jeff!

[Island State of Mind]

DaGoose... no I didn't get to meet Jay and Samantha son. I will say though that the children I did see on MOW looked pretty happy too. Must be the good living!