LAST CAST
HOOKED ON SMILES Of the world’s greatest lost treasures—the golden Aztec
much to ourselves, stretches the entire length of the resort
kingdom, the city of Atlantis and common sense in
and has all the toys—volleyball, horseshoes, snorkeling
government—there’s one that may be even harder to
gear, and even freshwater showers to rinse of those pesky
fnd…a teenager’s smile. It’s a treasure, for sure, that even a
grains of sand and salt from our scorched skin.
parent’s devoted love may not be able to unlock. But I had a key, or to be exact, a caye, called Grand Bahama. I kind of fgured a few days on a tropical island might
For the past 25 years, Fred D.
was gin clear, calm and ofered up lots of critters with which
reset the teenager button and push a smile or two out of
to mingle. We saw tons of big starfsh, some barracuda,
my 17-year-old daughter, Teal. She’s a self-motivated teen
quite a few turtles and lots of tropical fsh. On the second
with an outstanding GPA, so my wife and I don’t have a lot
day, a local fsherman pulled up to the shoreline in his
to complain about. But I still miss her wonderful dentistry-
bright yellow, 22-foot boat and started showing of a bunch
enhanced grin. Of course, it’s not as if Teal walks around
of fresh lobster and conch he’d harvested that morning.
scowling all the time. She laughs a lot with her friends.
FRED GARTH
We quickly melted into the beach life, rotating between suntanning, snorkeling, swimming and eating. The water
But I was shooting for the “parent-induced” smile. With all due respect to Grand Bahama, there
“Just calm down and cast like you did before we saw the fish,” Tommy said.
Garth’s articles have appeared in
are many dozens of tropical islands that will evoke
numerous books, magazines and
a blissful, blue-water state of happiness. Ours just
newspapers around the world.
happened to be GB because it’s an easy 30-minute
Read his blog at:
hopper fight from Miami, and I managed to arrange a sweet
After a quick negotiation, I bought three lobsters and three
GuyHarveyMagazine.com.
travel-writer lodging discount at the Old Bahama Bay Club.
conchs for about what I’d pay for one lobster back home
I wasn’t really sure if the OBB was a laid-back beach
and delivered the goods to Jesse, the resort’s friendly
hotel or a mega-Atlantis-style amusement park resort until
cook. As I waited at the bar sipping a tasty rum and coke,
I browsed the photo gallery and marveled at their upscale,
Jesse created a seafood feast with rice and beans, fresh
pastel, beachfront townhomes and landscaping that
vegetables, potatoes and the works. I had positioned myself
compares to Hawaii. My prediction was that Mama and
so I could see my family’s hungry faces as they entered the
the kids would be happy. As it turned out, Old Bahama Bay
room. One look at the food festival Jesse had prepared was
was a perfect family getaway. Oh, and it’s a member of the
all it took—their eyes sparkled and wide smiles popped out
Guy Harvey Outpost family, so it has Guy’s personal stamp
all around, even on Jesse! Success was mine.
of approval. OBB is literally at the western tip of Grand Bahama, far
The “hook it and cook it” option is something the restaurant does regularly. It’s perfect for guests and the boat
away from the hustle and bustle of the island’s town center
people who visit OBB’s deep-water marina. Because of its
of Freeport and Lucaya. The beach, which we had pretty
proximity only 68 miles from the Florida mainland and its
