new orleans, la

Once we decided on a route down to Florida it was time to pack the car and get on the road. Our goal was to get to New Orleans in two days, spend a day exploring the city and then get to Florida on the fourth day. Our first stop

fall recap

Our fall was just as busy (or busier) than our summer. This fall we - made lots more sourdough, saw the jack o lanterns at the zoo, rode rides at Mall of America, took Nana and Grandpa to Duluth, went to the RV museum in Indiana, took the girls to

summer recap

After we got the boat ready to leave in Florida we spent some time with family before heading back to Minnesota for the summer. As soon as we got back the girls did their yearly assessments so summer could officially begin! We've been going non-stop since we got

st. augustine, fl

I have a lot of catching up to do... After lots of discussion we decided we would leave our boat in West Palm Beach for hurricane season. We were already there. We know the area after living there for a long time. We were all ready to get a break

west palm beach, fl

With hurricane season quickly approaching it was time for us to get out of the Bahamas and back to the US for the summer months. We always put out a fishing line on the long trips, but have only caught (and released) a couple barracuda. We finally caught something worth

paradise island, bahamas

When we came to Nassau at the beginning of April Emma was bummed we didn't spend any time at Atlantis. To be honest, I was a little bummed too. Water parks are on my list of places I love to go. Last week we stopped back in Nassau

warderick wells, bahamas

I have to rewind - somehow I totally forgot to post about one of our most favorite places in the Bahamas. We stopped at Warderick Wells for only a day on our way to Nassau. Their favorite part were the kayaks that were available to use whenever they wanted. The

shroud cay, bahamas

Over the last couple weeks we've been back and forth through a couple of the small islands in the Exumas. In the Eastern Caribbean to go between islands could take days, but in the Bahamas most of the islands are within a couple hours of each other. We

nassau, bahamas

Ah Nassau. Probably our least favorite place in the Bahamas. A lot times when we mention the Bahamas to people it is where they think we are going because it is a very popular, and easy stop for cruise ships. We had planned to visit Nassau a little later, but

cambridge cay, bahamas

Our next stop on our journey north was Cambridge Cay. This island is part of the Exumas Cays Land and Sea Park, which is a protected area covering over 112 acres of land and sea in the Exumas. About a week ago some friends told us about Rocky Dundas. We

back to staniel cay, bahamas

The one thing the girls and I did not do the last time we were in Staniel Cay was snorkel at Thunderball Grotto. We knew we were coming back here and knew the conditions would be better this time around, so we saved it for this trip. This underwater cave

pipe cay and compass cay, bahamas

After spending a week in Staniel Cay we decided to take a little trip to the next island to explore for a few days. The morning we were leaving the water was so calm you could barely tell where the water ended and the sky started. Our spot for the

family

staniel cay, bahamas

Way back in 2012 (before kids) Braden and I made it down to Staniel Cay on our previous sailboat. Staniel Cay is a cool place with a lot to see - sharks, swimming pigs, and Thunderball Grotto (made famous by the James Bond Thunderball movie in 1965). Not much has

family

black point, bahamas

Black Point has a few things that we were looking forward to - (1) coconut bread and (2) an amazing laundromat. We had hoped to stay at least a few days so we could get some delicious bread and get some laundry done... but unfortunately the weather had other plans.

family

little farmer's cay, bahamas

I research each island we might stop at and make a list of places to eat, interesting things to see and unique shops to visit. Little Farmer's Cay doesn't have a whole lot to do or see, but I did find JR's woodcarving shop

family

rudder cut cay, bahamas

Our next stop was Rudder Cut Cay. There were a couple things we wanted to see here, and we managed to get them all done in one day. First - the cave. It isn't a huge cave, but it was cool to pull our dinghy up on the

family

lee stocking island, bahamas

Our next stop after George Town was Lee Stocking Island. We went from being around hundreds of boats on a busy island with grocery stores and restaurants to being around less than 20 boats on a quiet island with only beaches and sandbars. Luckily we were traveling with some boat

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leaving george town, bahamas

After almost 2 months in George Town it was time to move on (finally)! But there were some things we had to do first.... One of the last kid events in the regatta was the kids model boat race. Olivia built her boat on the very first day using a

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around george town, bahamas

Yep. We're still here. If it was up to Braden and I we would have moved on weeks ago, but the girls are loving it in George Town... so we'll stay a little longer. The big event in George Town this time of year is the

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yes day

After dealing with some strange allergic reactions for a couple weeks we decided it was time for a trip back to Minnesota for some doctor appointments. Just Olivia and I made the trip while Emma and Braden stayed on the boat. The Bahamas is so pretty. We had a week

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george town, bahamas

Every year hundreds of boats come from all over to spend their days in George Town on the island of Great Exuma. Currently there are 300+ boats here, which means there are kids everywhere. It also means there was no way we wouldn't run into other families we

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long island, bahamas

We've had a lot of 24+ hour trips this time around. The trip from Great Inagua to Long Island was no exception. One of the stories we've always told the girls is in the Bahamas you can see starfish on the bottom right from the boat.

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great inagua, bahamas

Our first island stop in the Bahamas was the southernmost island - Great Inagua. Fun fact for Austin - Great Inagua is the second largest island in the Bahamas at 596 square miles. We wasted no time hopping into the water. The water is crystal clear and the sand is

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dominican republic

We hadn't exactly planned to stop in the Dominican Republic, but it was nice to break up the long trip to the Bahamas. Plus we got to catch up with some friends that we hadn't seen in months. We knew we wouldn't be staying