Our Adventure begins

I arrived in Eleuthera on January 6th 2011. The weather was gorgeous – about 78 degrees and wonderful. I arrived with a rolling carry-on bag and two suitcases all stuffed with frozen meat. Over 150 pounds of it and it all made it just fine. Now we are eating like kings. I think I might gain a few pounds on during my time here.

So, before my family arrived, I painted the ceilings, painted the walls, unpacked three pallets and cleaned. I had a great time but worked from about 7:30am till past midnight for five days. I had a blast. I also went to church with my friend and neighbor – they attend a Methodist church and it is really beautiful. The service was a lot different than I am used to (they sang Oh Come All ye Faithful with a Reggae beat) but I had a fun time.

My family joined me on Tuesday January 11th. The kids have been so excited to get here and they have been great. We have been busy doing small jobs (like fixing toilets – why do toilets always break? And more painting, stained glass bathroom windows, hanging pictures, getting DirectTV working (but too late for me to watch the Pats loose but I am on the Steelers tomorrow!!) and as of last night – the Internet is now up and running!) And today, Saturday the 22nd, outside work has official begun at Parlay at Sunset. The forms are prepared for our patio, the house is being prepped for painting, new soffits will be installed, repair a few missing shingles before painting the roof and installing hurricane rated roof vents, and prep for a concrete wall that will (theoretically) help to protect our home if our sand dune seawall is breached in a storm. I can’t wait to see what it looks like when it is done! Many pictures soon to follow.

So some fun stuff – Charlotte lost her first two teeth on Thursday. The tooth fairy visited with Bahamian and US dollars. We started school this past Monday and have been doing great. We are all having a great time of it so far and I can happily say that both of my children seem to be having fun AND benefiting from it. Off our beautiful seashell beach, we have discovered at least two resident rays (one is about three feet across) and a juvenile shark. He seemed a bit more curious about us than the rays as he came around us a couple times to check us out. I have no worries about these creatures and the children; the water is so clear and beautiful we can see all creatures from far away and they are not interested in eating us or anything, so we respect them and they don’t bother us.

We visited the most gorgeous beach yesterday. Now, my beach is beautiful; the water is amazing and it is perfect for kids with a sandy bottom and small places for snorkeling and exploring. But our beach is a shell beach (again, I love this because I am a shell hound). There are billions upon billions of shells on our beach – I just can’t even describe the different shapes, sizes and colors – you’ll have to see them for yourself;) Anyway – the beach we visited was at the old Club Med (I believe it was one of the first ones ever – it was unfortunately destroyed during a hurricane in the not too distance past) – French Leave it was called. This beach was pristine – the pink sand that Eleuthera is famous for – sand the texture of powdered sugar…it was amazing. The water was beautiful of course and Kelly snorkeled a bit right off shore and saw some really big angel fish and other coral favorites. The kids and I boogie boarded and although Char got taken out by a wave, she recovered nicely and had a good time. This beach is right in Governor’s Harbour only about 35 minutes from us and we WILL be going there regularly. I told Kelly it was a good thing I didn’t know about his beach when I arrived as I wouldn’t have gotten much done!

Last week we ventured south to try to find Lighthouse Beach, but we went down the wrong dirt road and ended up at some small beach and saw a Princess line cruise ship moored out and ferries coming back and forth (Princess visits Eleuthera regularly and they have their own beach here set up with shops that we visited in a small town about 20 minutes south of Parlay). On this beautiful beach, we saw 4 or 5 lobster carcasses – they were HUGE…these bad boys must have weighed at least 5 or more pounds and I want one! I will find these guys and let you know how it goes.

I guess the point is there are SO many gorgeous beaches in Eleuthera – all waiting to be explored!

Well, I will post more another day and photos soon as well. Wish you were all here – seriously, I do!

Come One, Come all...

Come one, Come all….

So, we are getting ready to go to our Island Paradise escape. Parlay at Sunset is calling to us. We will be in Eleuthera, Bahamas from January 11th until March 3rd. While we are there, we will be doing some home improvements, some island touring, learning how to geocache, doing some homeschooling and some lounging in the sun. Would you like to join us?

We would love for anyone and their families to join us while we are there. All you have to do is get yourselves there and we will take care of the rest; we’ll house you, feed you and show you around or you can explore on your own. How else could you have a tropical family vacation for around $500.00 per person? You can stay for as long or as little as you’d like. Our home comfortably sleeps 10 people in our 5 bedrooms – there are only 4 of us…so come on down!

If you would like to visit, check airline flights from your closest international airport to Rock Sound (airport code RSD) then check with us for dates (as we already have some visitors coming and we want to make sure we have enough room for all).

Don’t delay – check out a flight, GET YOUR PASSPORT, and come on down…..

Weekly Rental Rates for Parlay at Sunset

We have been working on our rates for some time; wanting to give the best rates possible to our friends and family guests, as well as a great rate to folks that find us either through a family/friends connection or the Internet.

We have come up with the base rate of $1200 USD per week for Internet bookings (meaning folks that want to rent the house that we have never met before).

Our family and friends will be welcomed at a lower rate. Please contact us for that rate when you are interested in staying.

Our intention is not to make money on this endeavor but really just to cover our costs...(electric [which is very expensive in the Bahamas - about triple the cost of electric in the States], water, Vonage, TV, Internet, monthly property management, insurance [car and house], grounds keeper [to maintain the beach when guests come] and a lady to clean before and after guests' stay).

Also, friend and family are welcome to come down to the house and visit or help with projects during the time that we are going to be there (Jan/Feb and first week of March) and certainly stay for free (depending upon how many extra people are there will determine if we would appreciate a contribution towards food costs). We will need to know if you would like to visit so that we can arrange the visiting schedule and make sure our rooms are appropriately saved. (We have two extra bedrooms that sleep 4 and we would like to accommodate all guests comfortably)

Please contact us if you have any specific questions about booking a week...we are already taking bookings for March 2011 and beyond.

How'd you get this place...

Well, it has been brought up a few times, so I will give the simplest answer I can. The Smith Family had been dreamily searching for a winter retreat on line; somewhere with a tropical climate to escape the harsh Maine winters. This was mostly due to medical concerns for the hubby, Kelly, and the family's desire to make the long winter months more mentally and physically pleasing for all involved.

After a series of unforunate events (mainly Kelly's physical disabilities caused by another), we found ourselves in a situation where we were able to invest in a vacation/retirment/income property in the Bahamas. It was the right place at the right time, as the seller had the house listed for a while, needed to sell, and the house required a bit of work to be livable for these relatively pampered Americans;)

So here we are. We just can't keep this beautiful place to ourselves and that is why we are opening this home for rental when we are not there! We sincerely hope many will enjoy the miles of beaches and crystal blue waters of Parlay at Sunset!

Amenities At Parley At Sunset

Parlay At Sunset is a large, 5 bedroom home located just outside the quaint fishing village of Tarpum Bay, Eleuthera, Bahamas. The home is beachfront on the azure waters of the Atlantic where you can spend hours playing on the beach, snorkling and soaking up the warm Bahamian sunshine. The following is a list of many of Parlay at Sunset's wonderful amenities:

5 bedrooms/sleeps 10-12 people
A/C in each of the bedrooms
New "American" style kitchen
Play room with toys, games
and PS2 video area
Full sized washer and dryer
1997 Jeep Wrangler for use while staying at the house
Outdoor shower
Beach chairs
Sand toys
Outdoor games (i.e. horseshoes)
Grill
Hammocks
All pots/pans/dishes
Linens

A bit about Parlay at Sunset

Parlay at Sunset is located just outside the beautiful fishing villiage of Tarpum Bay, Eleuthera. This serene home is set on miles of gorgeous ocean/beach frontage and is protected by a burm of scrubby pines. Its sandy beach is the perfect place for shell hunting, beach combing, sunbathing and relaxing in one of our seaseide hammocks.

The shore at Parlay at Sunset is gently sloping and largely shallow for up to 100 or more feet; perfect for young children at play and exploring using our snorkeling equipment. Small reefs are located within the shallows and beyond the sandy bottom just off our beach.

Parlay at Sunset was built in 1993 and has survived a few great hurricanes largely unscathed (thankfully). We purchased this home in early 2010 and began a nearly complete rehabilitation and updating to make this home a retreat for our family and a vacation destination for friends. We have done many of the renovations ourselves (with much help from family) and we are proud of the "American" standards and comforts our home possesses.

It is our desire that during our winter stay in January and February 2011, we will complete a number of projects that will further the comfort and enjoyability of Parlay at Sunset. Some of these projects include:

• building a patio/adding patio furniture
• enclosing the outside shower
• finish clearing the beach
• build a cabana near the beach
• landscaping front and rear of the home
• interior and exterior painting

We hope that our family and friends will enjoy this home as well. Please contact us if you would like to visit Parlay at Sunset.