Beach Bums

Our first trip to Abaco was May 2006. I often get asked how we picked Abaco and, more specifically, how we picked Guana Cay.

It was very scientific, let me tell you.

Matt had been flying for a while and we were finally comfortable setting out across the ocean. For the previous 5 years, St. John had been our “go to” vacation spot, but it was too far to fly on our own power.

“Find us an island we can fly to,” Matt said.

Given our flight range, that pretty much meant the northeaster Bahamas, so I picked the closest island: Grand Bahama. We went in January 2006. It was a whole lotta’ NOPE.

So I picked the next island over: Abaco. I chose Guana Cay …..because it was in the middle.

We never looked back.

We bought our first house, a tiny little settlement cottage on Front Street, in 2015, Teeny Bikini. We loved that little house, but quickly outgrew it, as it only had 1 bedroom. We purchased a second house on Front Street in early 2019, Bikini Hut. Just 6 months later….the island was hit by Hurricane Dorian.

Teeny Bikini was a total loss. Bikini Hut only had minor damage. We were very lucky.

We thought Bikini Hut was our “forever home,” until Matt saw a listing for a damaged home in Orchid Bay. The beautiful Orchid Bay community on the south end of Guana Cay was his dream. Unfortunately, it was a dream we really couldn’t afford. Until now. You see….this house had some DAMAGE. A lot of damage. The owner simply didn’t want to move forward with repairs and we were able to purchase it and renovate it within our budget.

I was hesitate to take on such a project…until I saw the view from the living room. I was IN.

Beach Bums, as it is now named, is literally our dream home. We had a contract on the home in May 2021. We closed in September 2021. The next 6 months were spent rebuilding the home. We moved into Beach Bums in March of 2022.

THIS is our forever home.