August 28th, 2014
The alarm clocks on our phones were jingling and we snooze
them a few times before we decide to get out of bed. I have everything packed
up and ready to go and so does she. This is my first trip out of the country
with anyone I have been in a relationship with. She and I have never spent this
kind of time together without our kids either. We have been looking forward to
the trip for months now and we are more than ready. Now, it was time to get
dressed and get out the door. She didn’t know it yet, but I had a ring that I
bought for her and it was sitting securely in my carry-on daypack. Kristin asks me what time we needed to leave
and I sleepily reply, “5 or 5:30”. I can sometimes get anxious about time
because I have always been the type of person to be early. All my things are
done and I keep checking on her to see if I can help. At this point, it’s
becoming obvious that I am getting anxious. She reminds me of what time I said
it was a good time to leave, and I tell her that I wanted to amend that quote.
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| Goofing around in flight |
We got loaded and headed towards Will
Rogers Airport. We find the American Airways line, next to American Airlines. As
we move up in line, we have to check in at the computer terminal. She gets
impatient and goes to the desk. However, at this point, I am nearly done
getting our tickets. After they print, we go to the desk and are notified that
our bag is 17lbs over the limit. We had previously decided to share a checked
back, since it was only 4 days and the bag was $25. So, she takes out a duffle
bag that she had stuffed into her carry-on backpack. She packed this for just
such an event. We start shuffling everything over so that I could carry the
duffle and the checked bag would meet requirements. One, heavy duffle bag-full
later, we cleared the bag at exactly 50 lbs. Security was quick and painless.
We hurry past that, get all of our accessories into place, and begin our
quick strides towards the gate. As we get there, the flight is already
boarding. Nothing like cutting it close…
The flight is quick and painless and our anticipation is
growing. We land in Charlotte, NC and decide to get an Americano and a burrito
for lunch. I set our bags down in a decent sitting spot. Kristin comes back
with the burritos after asking me a few questions from the queue. I
would sit down and resume facebooking or people watching and I would hear
“Ahdom”. It happened at least three times. Anyways, the food finally arrives and it is delicious. The burrito was the size and weight of a newborn and full of beans, rice, and cheese.
She’s the best. The couple next to us
seems oblivious to the fact that they are in public, as they baby talk super
loud and super stupid sounding to their infant. The noise is more painstaking
than someone using a tazor on a cat’s butt-hole. I decide to look at our
tickets, to verify that we did indeed have two hours to spare and it suddenly
dawned on me that we switched time zones. The coffee must be working.
We gathered our shit as fast as possible and got to the gate
by the skin of our teeth. We are off to Miami. As we board, we make our way to
our seats, which are not together. I sit down and control the air and begin getting comfortable. After everything gets settled, we are off
into the air. The guy in front of me is snoring really loudly. Everyone is
looking at each other and laughing. I get out my journal to write and as I do I
run my fingers over the ring. I cannot wait to ask her. Ugh. Will I pull this
off without looking stupid? I get nervous and anxious thinking of the
scenarios. She is going to be so happy! So will I! We will be so giddy. Ok. Calm
down. Time to read my “Pirate Latitudes” book.
We land in Miami and I go to the bathroom. I am running
scenarios in my head when a thought occurred to me: I can do this! I can do
this right now. I will.
I come back to the chair at our gate and I recommend that we
do a video blog. Just so that I can propose and have it on video.
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| Liked it, put a ring on it... |
We descend over palm trees and blue water and I feel the
wheels come down to our final destination. After we retrieve our bags, we try
and figure out where to get a shuttle to the resort. We come up to an officer, who tells us to go
to the “Majestic Tours” bus. I immediately notice the officer’s Caribbean
accent. Like the Dominican Republic, the population here is mainly of African
descent; however, they speak English here instead of Spanish. They are a beautiful people, and I
soon discover, also very friendly. We walk to the shuttle only to find out that
were are not listed. He asks if we have a voucher and we tell them that we do
not. After seeking some help we try to call the resort, but do not have the
number. Someone tells us that we can use the free Wi-Fi in the airport, so we
do. I find the number to the hotel and return to call, but we find out that it
will only dial local numbers and I had a 800 number. Damn. We go back into the
airport and find the local number, then go back in to the information building.
Finally, we call and the receptionist tells us to check another shuttle line.
After going back and forth too many times I resign to get a cab and Kristin
agrees.
Our cab pulls up to Breezes Resort and immediately our bags
are taken from us and we are offered two topical drinks; Bahama Mama’s. We suck
them down and get our room in order. Kristin asks for the room to be the nicest
ocean view they have and they did not disappoint. We stop at the bar on the way
to the room and I order a pina colada and a Bahamian beer. Double fisting it…
and she gets a pina colada as well… We came to the room and put our things
down.
We started to look the room over and could not find the
liquor dispensers we read about. We also could not find the mini fridge. I
began to think that we were mixing up some of the amenities of the other
resorts that we had looked over while booking, but she swears that this was
the one. We go downstairs only to find out that none of the rooms have such
things in this resort. Oh well, we grabbed new drinks, came up and changed, and
decided to walk the beach. On the way down, I got another drink, rum and coke.
Ah yes, a Cuba Libre and the ocean. Here we are at last…
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| Two Bahama Mama's as soon as we roll up! |
Later, we find out that there is a comedy show going on, so
we decided to see the show in what they called “the cave”. We follow a scrawny comedian down some stairs
into a dark, cave-like, den that is freezing. We watch three different mediocre
comedians come on, one after the other. In there, we find out that there is a
toga theme going on that night. We decide immediately to join the fun. So, we
got fitted with some sheets.
In the main room, there is a large bar (the one we have
frequented since we got there) and a stage. The stage had a performer singing.
I was pulled up on stage where I do a little dance and have some fun. She even announces our engagement.We decide to retire after we get some drunk food.
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| Togas! |
August 29th,
2014
Hammering. Lots of hammering. Where is that coming from? I
decide to roll out of bed due to the noise, wherever its coming from. She and I
get showered and head to breakfast. Again, we are impressed by the variety of
the foods. I get some eggs, bacon, corned beef hash, and some coffee. We
decided after breaky to get some mimosas and walk the beach. We walk up the
outside bar and order the drinks from a man whom we thought was a bartender. We wait and wait on our drinks until another man (the actual bartender) informs us that the other gentleman is "out of it". He gets us our drinks and moment’s later, I’m looking away and Kristin see’s him knock
his head really hard against a spigot and almost collapse. What’s his story I
wonder? We let the guard know about the bizarre incident while we stroll on to the sand, in case he can help. What were we going to do today? The water was
looking much bluer than yesterday. We decide that it may be a good idea to snorkel
today, maybe even give it a practice run right here on this beach. We get our
suits on and our snorkels. The clarity was decent, but not much for marine
life. So, we resolve to go snorkeling at a better local. On the way back up, we
get more drinks and decide that we will set up the event for tomorrow and hit
the town today. So, we change and head out the door.
We walk to the bus terminal and soon the bus arrives. Our
plan was to go to the market in town. We load up and we are off to see the
sights. We pass something called fish fry and an old fort on the way.
Kristin spoke with a woman on her daily commute about the fort and she said it was called “Fort Charlotte”. She also recommended that we visit the fish fry as well. The fish fry was a collection of places where the locals ate at.
We arrive in town and see that the market is located where the cruise ships make port. As we walk up to the market, we see items hanging and people everywhere. Constantly they are trying to pull you in to get you to purchase. They call you “baby” and “honey” and ask you “how much you like to pay for this”, “Special sale today”, and “come on in”. They even put things in your hands or put necklaces on you and then ask for a “contribution”. I am familiar with this kind of ritual. As we are shopping, I see an old man and a young boy messing with a legless crab. It was right next to that, I buy a pair of fake Ray Bans. Throughout the course of our browsing, we buy some shirts, bags, and some other souvenirs. Then, we move on throughout the other shops nearby. We discover that all of them have slightly better prices than the market and many more options. While Kristin goes into a shop, I see some musicians playing the steel drums. We walk next to a bar to get some Bahamian beers, then to a shop for some coozies. I decide to stop into a cigar and coffee shop to secure a Cuban cigar for later. Our bellies start to get hungry and Kristin suggests that we go to the Fish Fry area that we had passed from before. So, we pass through the street outside the Cigar shop and made our way there.
Kristin spoke with a woman on her daily commute about the fort and she said it was called “Fort Charlotte”. She also recommended that we visit the fish fry as well. The fish fry was a collection of places where the locals ate at.
We arrive in town and see that the market is located where the cruise ships make port. As we walk up to the market, we see items hanging and people everywhere. Constantly they are trying to pull you in to get you to purchase. They call you “baby” and “honey” and ask you “how much you like to pay for this”, “Special sale today”, and “come on in”. They even put things in your hands or put necklaces on you and then ask for a “contribution”. I am familiar with this kind of ritual. As we are shopping, I see an old man and a young boy messing with a legless crab. It was right next to that, I buy a pair of fake Ray Bans. Throughout the course of our browsing, we buy some shirts, bags, and some other souvenirs. Then, we move on throughout the other shops nearby. We discover that all of them have slightly better prices than the market and many more options. While Kristin goes into a shop, I see some musicians playing the steel drums. We walk next to a bar to get some Bahamian beers, then to a shop for some coozies. I decide to stop into a cigar and coffee shop to secure a Cuban cigar for later. Our bellies start to get hungry and Kristin suggests that we go to the Fish Fry area that we had passed from before. So, we pass through the street outside the Cigar shop and made our way there.
We walk up and someone calls over to us to buy some
coconuts. I am excited about coconuts because I have fond memories in Puerto
Rico, Chinatown, Mexico, and even Hawaii of drinking ice cold coconut water out
of the coconut. So I get to share the experience with her! We take some
pictures with them because he is persistent about it. I drink from my coconut. It is warm and not very good. She can’t stand it. Oh well, we got
some pics out of it… We walk to the local vendor selling fish, but they are a
bit overpriced. Kristin suggests walking around to see what our options are. So
we do.
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| Coconut fun |
We walk
along and see several places that peak our interest, but we begin to fall into
that familiar frustrating place where I am ready to settle but Kristin cannot
decide anything. She doesn't know what she wants, but she’s good at stating
what she doesn't want. So, we feel our way around until a man walks up to sway
us into his establishment. Apparently it’s so good that celebrities like
Cameron Diaz eat there. We follow the man in after he promises some conch
fritters and cold beer. He walks up to the bar and yells at them. We look at
the menu, then at each other, noting the prices are beyond what we wanted to
spend. We get up and walk out the door, back out into the hustle and bustle. I
hear him calling out to us, but we keep walking. Persistently, he follows us
and asks what we did not like. Awkwardly, we confess the prices were high. He
then demands the bartender outside to make us a drink sample. He tells us to
stay put and he will get our fritters. We down the drink and escape while we
can. Kristin notices a to-go meal from one of the locals and inquires about
where to get it. We learned where they got it and walked there. We enter and
order some Kalik beer and put our order in. It’s very tiny inside and a lot of
people. Kristin leaves across the street to use the restroom while I sit and
drink beer. After she get’s back, we wait until our fritters arrive. We are
starving. It is our first time to try conch fritters. To describe them, they
are the meat from the conch shell, and mixed with batter and fried to create
something like a hush puppy. Then dipped in whatever sauce this is. I ate as
slow as I could since I was sharing. In any normal situation I would eat more
than she does just by how quickly I devour. This time I tried to match speed so
that I was frittered out while I watch her continuing to eat. We wait now for
the main course for a very, very long time. So long in fact, that we opted to
leave. We leave money on the table and grab a bus home. Kristin is very tired
from walking around all day, but I drag her to get drinks and get dressed. We
go down and listen to the show for a bit, but nothing was going on. The rest of
the night Kristin saws logs while I watch some tv. Not without getting a
midnight snack though.
August 30th,
2014
Breakfast as usual this morning. Stuffing ourselves and
preparing for the day. After which, we book our snorkel trip, get packed, and
leave at noon. We take a packed bus that hops from hotel to hotel picking up
all interested parties. Then we arrive at the snorkel place. We did not eat
lunch yet. We did try to prepare earlier today. We ordered two hot dogs from
the grill that were ginormous, only to find out that we were not allowed to
leave with them in hand and had to throw them away. So we go out on empty
stomachs.
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| Leaving port...for adventure! |
After waiting, we boarded our vessel called “Lucas”. There were 3
different dive spots planned for the day. We arrive first at the reef. I definitely
have to get acquainted again with snorkeling. The sea life is gorgeous down
here despite the choppiness and the salt water already ingested.
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| First dive |
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| Kristin snorkeling |
We swim back
and forth, taking several shots with the underwater camera we brought. Then, we
got back on the boat. Suddenly, I feel sick. My world starts spinning from the
motion of the boat, the salt water I swallowed, and my empty stomach. I lay
down for a bit an try to shut the world out while we wait for "super dad" (from another group) to come
back from swimming out entirely too far. We move on after he returns and get to
the next spot.
I am dreading it, but I get out anyway and do my best to keep up
with Kristin, who seems pretty contented and mostly unbothered by the trip. Luckily, she did not fall to the same symptoms, at least not as harshly as I did. After we do more of the same, we get to
the spot that I had been anticipating the most: Sharks! This does me some good actually. On the journey to the sharks I had continued to shut everything out and the consistency of the motion of the speeding boat
helped me to recover a bit. However, when we arrive to the shark spot, the seas
were very choppy. That also means that we are not able to get in the water.
When it’s choppy, the little fish come up and so do the sharks. So, we got to
see them feed on top. This was a thrilling thing to see, however short lived.
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| Que Jaws Theme |
I was
happy to make port again and so was my stomach. Once back in the room, I jump
in the shower, relieved. After a shower, we decide to try some of the
restaurants on site. We eat first at the Japanese restaurant, only to discover
that they were very moderate portions. So, we have some soup, a small bit of
sushi, and some wine. Afterwards, we head to the French restaurant to try it as
well. We eat until we are stuffed and call it a night. The rest of the evening,
we watched the OSU game on TV.
August 31st, 2014
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| Fort Charlotte |
We got up super early today and set out to see Fort
Charlotte, a fort from the golden age of piracy. We took the bus and got off by
the fort. We hear some drums from somewhere as we make our way closer to the
top of the steps. We make our way to the front and pay our entry. We then got chauffeured
around the fort in an almost amateur way, learning bits and pieces. I loved it
though. It really made you step into the past. We examined each corridor and
tight quarter in the fort, each one giving a description of the time period in
which it was used. I find all of it very interesting. After we walk through it
all, including the really small gift shop, we decide to walk to the beach area.
There, we see a small hut advertising their “famous” Pina Colada in a coconut.
So, anxious to make a memory, we sit at the bar and order one.
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| In luv wit da coco |
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| *Smooch* |
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| Enjoying the view |
We
walk up to the same public restroom/changing room and are told by the
maintenance lady that we have to shower the sand off of us, Finding the small
shower, we obliged her. Dripping wet, I walk towards the changing room only to
be stopped. She informs me now that I can’t go in there dripping wet and I have
no towel. So, she tells me I have to change in the break room. She tells
everyone to get out of the break room and I step in and change. Humiliated, I
gather all my things, including a giant conch shell I found on the beach, and
we walk to the museum.
The Pirate Museum is one of the things I talked about before
we even left on this trip. I am really exited to get to see this. Outside there
is a young man and a stockade. We took some pictures there and asked where to
purchase entry tickets.
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| She's been a bad girl |
He directs us to the adjoining gift shop where we
moseyed around and eventually buy the tickets. We walk into the museum and the
first thing you see is the side of a galleon that had made port. This displayed
depicted the era during the golden age of piracy, complete with sounds and
mannequins dressed in garb. I immediately felt the tugging urge for rum.
Kristin was looking particularly beautiful as we went in to the entry of the
faux galleon. We read, as we meander through, all the plaques on the walls
until we reach the finale; a pirate battle with Blackbeard. We step out and use
the restroom and the tour leads us to an exit… into a bar. We get some beers
for walking the streets and then visit the gift shop once more for some
souvenirs. We decide then to take the bus to the bridge that will lead us to
Paradise Island.
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| Avast! |
 |
| Beers at the bar |
We get off the crowded bus and begin to walk on the bridge.
The bridge is very windy. Ahead of us, there is another group of people that
apparently had the same idea that we had. We decide to stop and fix my iPod up
with a speaker to play some Bob Marley. Kristin decides also to make a video
blog on the walk.
We catch up to the other group and offer to take their picture and discover that they had all met on this trip and come from all walks of life. Very interesting concept… We continued walking, directionless through shops, (looking for a cheap towel) and observing this side of the island, until we finally reach Cabbage Beach. Our feet are stinging and we are ready to get into the water. We notice that this beach, even though it’s public, was also part of a string of different hotels, including the famous “Atlantis”. We walk to the public restrooms to don our swimming attire. Kristin goes in with ease, while the men’s restroom’s door was locked due to it being out of order. We speak to some of the guards on duty to discover that there are no other public restrooms nearby. We then resolved to go through what they call “the cave”, which had the appearance of a manufactured cave with giant aquariums built in it. It creates a really cool feeling as you walk through, watching various fish, manta rays, sting rays, sharks, and sea turtles swimming around you. That is, if you are not daunted by the lack of a changing room. We came on a janky little turn, likely used for staff, within the cave. It led to a locked door. I quickly got naked while Kristin blocked the view with a hotel towel she had found on the beach, in case of oncoming vacationers. After I change, we find a vacated lounge chair that we really weren't allowed to use (because we were not staying at the hotel that they belonged to), and laid out our towel that we were not really allowed to use, and got in the crystal clear, yet choppy, water. There were people feeding bread to a bunch of angel fish and they offered some to Kristin and she fed them. They flittered and splashed around every time she threw a piece of bread. It was a beautiful thing to behold; the water, Kristin, and the fish.
However, I am ready to eat.
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| The bridge. Paradise Island is behind us. |
We catch up to the other group and offer to take their picture and discover that they had all met on this trip and come from all walks of life. Very interesting concept… We continued walking, directionless through shops, (looking for a cheap towel) and observing this side of the island, until we finally reach Cabbage Beach. Our feet are stinging and we are ready to get into the water. We notice that this beach, even though it’s public, was also part of a string of different hotels, including the famous “Atlantis”. We walk to the public restrooms to don our swimming attire. Kristin goes in with ease, while the men’s restroom’s door was locked due to it being out of order. We speak to some of the guards on duty to discover that there are no other public restrooms nearby. We then resolved to go through what they call “the cave”, which had the appearance of a manufactured cave with giant aquariums built in it. It creates a really cool feeling as you walk through, watching various fish, manta rays, sting rays, sharks, and sea turtles swimming around you. That is, if you are not daunted by the lack of a changing room. We came on a janky little turn, likely used for staff, within the cave. It led to a locked door. I quickly got naked while Kristin blocked the view with a hotel towel she had found on the beach, in case of oncoming vacationers. After I change, we find a vacated lounge chair that we really weren't allowed to use (because we were not staying at the hotel that they belonged to), and laid out our towel that we were not really allowed to use, and got in the crystal clear, yet choppy, water. There were people feeding bread to a bunch of angel fish and they offered some to Kristin and she fed them. They flittered and splashed around every time she threw a piece of bread. It was a beautiful thing to behold; the water, Kristin, and the fish.
However, I am ready to eat.
I face the challenge once more of getting dressed for a long
walk back to our resort, but this time we go back through “the cave” until we
reach the Atlantis Resort entrance. We feel nervous about being somewhere we
aren't supposed to be, but we try to be casual. We are directed to a
shower/locker room. I am excited because I am able to shower the sand off and
change comfortably for the first time since we left our room. We walk through
the really impressive hotel after getting dressed and begin our journey back. I
wasn't in the best of spirits because I was really hungry and dreading the walk
back over the bridge. As we arrive back to the familiar shops that we had
passed on the way in, we make a deal with a local cabby to take us back across the bridge. He is really friendly
and get’s us back over the bridge in walkable distance to a recommended place
to eat called “Imperial”. We got a well earned meal that truly fit the bill
(she got a delicious spicy chicken sandwich and I got a fish sandwich). We took
the bus back afterwards. This is our last full day in the Bahamas and we feel it looming over us. We finish it out by hanging at the pool with some Miami
Vice’s. We decide to finally change for the evening and are feeling pretty
tipsy. We decide to saunter down to listen to music. After a while, we go down
to “Club Hurricane”, a dance club in the resort, to see what’s going on. It’s
lame. So we decide to get some rest for tomorrow.
September 1st
, 2014
Homeward Bound…
There isn’t much to be said about this journey home. We miss
our kids. We ate some Ghengis Grill and got some very unimpressive Cinnabon. We
miss the blue waters of the Bahamas already and look forward to our future
trips, perhaps even as husband and wife…
Here is a video for the trip:
Here is a video for the trip:
