Friday February 17th, 2023
Friday morning I didn’t sleep very well but woke up at 7am. It was Friday so I put on my shorts and shoes to go running in the morning but I didn’t have any meetings so dropped Niamh off at school and came home. Finished up some emails and went running around 10AM. It was a struggle to run 4 miles, but managed to complete the run. Came back and reviewed more emails then took a shower, packed, and read some more emails. Then pack some more. I think we got everything together for the trip?
Corey came up around 6 PM Friday night and Fiona and I argued about eating locally or driving up to San Francisco airport and eating at the airport. Turns out when we were trying to check in for the trip that we had entered in Lawson‘s birthday incorrectly and we’re not able to check in online so the decision was made for us and we drove up to the airport. We arrived at San Francisco airport at 8 PM. The ride up was not the best because the guy went between 70 and 90 mph in a Chrysler minivan. They’re not known for their great power or wind resistance.
We did got dropped off at the JetBlue counter and managed to fix the tickets and get through security. Corey dropped off his bag. We went to the Bourbon Bar for dinner. I had an apple salad with candied walnuts and some cheese. I also managed to have some chocolate mouse with more candied walnuts. The salad however was pretty weak but the beer was good. The plane left a little bit late but we did manage to get our seats. I was behind Fiona and the kids sitting with Corey. I was in the isle Corey was in the middle section
Saturday February 18th, 2023
There was free Wi-Fi so I managed to watch some HBO content, and The Woman King. It was much better that I thought! I stayed awake the entire flight and we arrived in the far corner of Fort Lauderdale airport. We trudged 25 minutes to the other corner of the airport. Bah! I got an iced mocha, a chocolate croissant and Niamh managed to find a bagel when we finally made it to gate G9. It was a hot mess getting on the plane at Fort Lauderdale to go to Nassau. The gate attendants called all the groups pretty much at the same time without letting each group finish boarding so it was just a big giant cluster trying to get onto the plane. We sat in the back of a plane in row 24 for our 35 minute flight. Whoopee!!!
We arrived in Nassau Bahamas and stood in line for a good 45 minutes to turn in our customs form. We got our one checked bag and made our way to our cool Hyundai SUV from Avis. And there’s a giant sticker in the front window that says ‘keep left’ but you’re driving on the left so it’s a little bit disconcerting because it’s like driving in England but the steering wheel of the car is an American car. It’s bit odd even for the great and mighty Fiona! I drove and Corey joked. AnyWho, I plugged in an address into Waze and navigated to an address. In about 20 minutes we arrived, but turns out I actually need to put in the right address. Our little detour through downtown Nassau was delightful. No really, no leg pulling, honest. After putting in the right address we managed to end up to the right place next to the Poop Deck! It is a great little location.
It was around 3 o’clock and we decided to put on some shorts and go explore. We wanted a bite to eat so went over to the ‘Poop De’ (someone had taken the c and k, eh) and they were open! I asked for a Samosa and they didn’t have a Samosa so I had another salad. I think this vacation is going to be for salads unfortunately. However, I did have three interesting beers. They reminded me of Mexican beers, and even a mango beer that was aptly made from mangoes; it was hilarious. It did take ages to get our food and drinks, but we made it.
After lunch our little troupe decided to walk to the general store so off we went! We started our adventure walking down the beach and Corey managed to get just the right amount of the sand on his sandals to start rubbing like sandpaper on the bottom of feet. He called it quits and came back to the condo and the kids who were also done at this time so they came back with him. This plan only came together after Fiona went through a gate covered in razor wire under a bridge trying and find away across a channel. Lol!
Fiona and I managed to go into SandyCove and find a supermarket. We picked up some food and beer. We managed to make it back and I took a shower. It is now it’s around 7:45pm. I’m exhausted so I think I’m gonna go to bed. Hopefully I can sleep for 16 hours? Who knows?
Sunday February 19th 2023
I’ve lost all feelings in my hands. Our bed is super hard. I’d roll over and lost feeling in my right hand, roll over on my left side and loose feeling, and then sleep on my back and loose feeling in both hands. Bah! Never thought I would find a mattress that is too hard for me but this one takes the cake. I’m might have to sleep on my stomach who knows? Getting soft in my old age . Get it. Lol. But did fall asleep about 8pm and woke up at 10am so that is a 14 hours, pretty good. Kids are now up eating the fruit loops. Man I had to carry that super market bag back to the villa which was a heavy.
Speaking of the villa, the power room is useless unless you want to wash your hands or is a child who wants do tI do the business. Otherwise I would call it a pooping coffin. If you are cloister phobic this is not a room for you. If the door is open you can open the front door. We realized this when we returned home from the market. The good thing is the air conditioning works but they must run this thing 24/7 as it is dry in this place.
Lawson will be doing his PADI today so we all get to do help him. I’m not sure what else we r doing but we pushed back the scuba to tomorrow. We will see how this goes….
Corey picked a pub called ‘Swimming with Pigs’ and we made our way down 2 1/2 miles to the Hyatt through many roundabouts. KEEP LEFT!
We actually didn’t know that it was a Hyatt. We were driving towards the destination, but we pulled up and lo and behold it was a Hyatt. Who knew you could gamble there! It was really busy; full of Americans. We found our way to the gastropub and I had a quesadilla which was very good with three tasty beers while Lawson worked his way through the online PADI test. Niamh had a steak with Jalapeños speared to the top which she thought was bell pepper. The surprise on her face was priceless. Doh! Fiona and I found it ironic that you had a pub called the swimming pig next to Cartier. Lol.
Anywho, they let us walk through the casino where Niamh spied a game called ‘Glitter Kitty’. What a dumb name, but it appealed to a young teenager so ‘yeah’ I guess?
We finished the pub meal and explored the hotel. Lawson pulled an ELF and pushed a bunch of buttons on an elevator that went to the 20th floor. Luckily I caught him before he lit up the entire Christmas tree much to the delight of a lady who happened to be on the same elevator. Oh dear. There was a construction conference dinner in the 25th floor found another set of elevators destined for the 20th to the 28th floors. We didn’t take Lawson or the Fiona on that elevator ride. I went with Niamh and Uncle Corey. We found a window and saw people setting up for the dinner below us, so we popped down but I was the only one who went out to take some pictures. It was super nice.
Then we popped down and there was a Fiona but no Lawson. He decided to look for us, but Fiona mentioned we would be down as soon as he started looking… and guess what FIONA WAS RIGHT! OMG. Lol. Anywho, we collected our little exploratoration group and plodded our way to the sugar shack. Poor us. Lawson finished his PADI course in record time, about 7 hours while the big kids had wine and beer. Being the sugar shack we could not get a traditional lolly. Lol
We passed the sugar shack on the way in and they had a pink British phone box which was pretty amazing. The kids didn’t think so but Fiona and I being the cool people that we are took an ussy. Yippie!!!
Corey picked out another spot for dinner which happened to be 200 feet to our right which was an Asian Latin fusion place? I had guacamole with edamame beans? Sure I guess? Why not? It pairs with wonderfully with this beer don’t ya know. On the way to the dinner though tremendously impossible walk there was a musical water setup that played 80’s rock, sort of like the Bellagio in Vegas, but with colored lights? The kids got a kick out of it.
After the waterworks, we made our way back to the AirBNB place and took a small detour the grocery store. Damn they close at 8, but we rolled in at 8:30. Ah shucks. Anywho, it is now 11:30 and need to get up at 6:45 to make our dive boat. Here’s hoping no lost feeling in my hand’s tonight? Naw, they will be completely useless in the morning. Lol.
Monday February 20th 2023
Man, this bed sucks we had to get up super early to go diving this Monday. I did not sleep well. In fact, I was waiting to fall asleep and had to yell at the kids to go to bed at 1am, and I took Lawson’s phone away because he decided to sleep with it and then went back a second time because niamh had lost her stuffed whale. Geez. It is 6:30. Put in a swim suit, load stuff in a bag and make our way across the island to Stuart’s Dive Shop. We check in and sign our lives away. Get our gear and get on a boat at 8:40. We then proceeded to wait for an hour for people who didn’t show up on time. Today was going to be awesome. Not. The boat was made up of 16 people a bigger group which was not awesome.
We finally left at 9:50. Over an hour waiting. Some people on the boat even longer. We dove with Renee and Harold, and went out with captain Gabi. She was very good. We managed to get to our first dive spot by 10:30 the, ‘Viking Sea’. A tremendous sea wall and trench, one of the 3rd biggest in the world, and see a wreak dive. Niamh went down first and did see her go down as I waited for Corey. Oh look she is already down at 20 feet. Niamh ran out of air in the first 25 minutes since she couldn’t see and freaked out. So she didn’t have the best time. I tried to show her under water to swish some water around he mask to clear it out. I even took it off my mask to try and show her to put a some water in and swish it around. It didn’t work. Corey and Niamh did not get to see the wreck. Not the first best dive. Oh hum.
Back on the boat we made a new game plan and I put defogger stuff in Niamh and my mask. It worked much better and we did a 40 foot dive with sea life and another wreak. The site was called, ‘The Big Crab’. The was another wreck at 40 feet and sea life. Niamh saw a shark and b lined after it? She is like the dog that saw a squirrel. Luckily she circled back. She was very excited to see the wreak and wanted to go in? No Niamh. We saw a ray, lion fish, lobster, and sharks. It was very cool.
We got back and everyone was taking off their wetsuits and didn’t know or ask how to go on our full day of diving if we were going back to the dock? When we got back Fiona and Lawson were getting in a boat and leaving? Lawson didn’t look happy. Oh good. We we’re hungry and Niamh was done so we decided to to rush and just hang out. So Corey and Niamh had burgers, and confused them by asking for a grilled cheese. I did try 3 beers while we waited. Sands pink, Guinness smooth, and Guinness international. after the first beer we explored in the car for 40 minutes trying to find a grocery store. We found one and it was more like a convenience store so we kept on rolling. Back to the dive shop and was finishing my second beer around 3:45 when a drunk guy going from work from the defense force, e.g. police, who decided to smash his car to a palm tree outside the dive shop. DUI, Bummer.
Fiona and Lawson arrived back at 5:10 and we came back to villa to watch the sunset. We were not sure about dinner, but needed more groceries so went off to the store around 7:15. Finished our shopping and got a large pizza at 8pm, and rolled into a really fancy liquor store, liquid courage and bought two more beers. We finished the evening eating puzza and watching the most recent episodes of, ‘The last of us’. In bed by 11. I preemptively took Lawson’s phone away again since he again tried to squirrel it away in his bed again. Not sure when he needs to learn to not sleep with his phone and watch whatever until the wee morning?
Tuesday February 21st 2023
Up at 9 to write about yesterday. Not sure what we are doing today. But this bed still sucks but I sleep better on because I was exhausted. Lol. We finally got our butts moving by 12 and went into downtown for a romp around. Man there is a bunch of rum cake. Haahaa. Not literally every shop has rum cake in their window or on the self.
We bought Lawson a hat we were accosted by people selling beads and bracelets. We had lunch at the brewery pub, Pirate Republic Brewing, where I had 3 Pilsner beers. The service was beyond slow as it took 2 hours to get and leave. Niamh made a very Niamh comment in that she didn’t realize she was sitting in front of a giant cruise ship. We all got a good chuckle of of that realization.
I had a pretzel and Niamh’s loaded fries. After lunch we went to the Straw Market and found a shark towel for Lawson. He is making out pretty so far! We haggled and found other items but did not pull the trigger. We then walk over to the parliamentary square which was neat, and then walked 15 minutes to the Queen’s Stairs. There a man gave us bad information about the site and we ended up double tipping him. It was an interesting stairway.
We then walked back to the car. And drove to Atlantis. We could have parked and taken a bus for 10 bucks, or valet parked for 20. This was not before we paid a 2 dollar toll to get onto the island. We tried to park in the employee lot but they kindly asked us to leave. So valet parking it is!!! We parked at the aquarium hotel as that seemed like the best way to get directions as we had no idea where to go as there were no signs. then we walked the grounds through the aquarium which was pretty impressive. Then we found ourselves outside and things were closing since it was 5pm.
We found our way to the sea glass lounge which was very fancy. I switched it up and had a rum runner instead of beer. The winos stuck with wine. We left around 7pm and got back around 8pm. We watched our GoPro scuba videos and photos and critiqued diving and the filming process itself.
Wednesday February 22, 2023
Today is a lazy day. I had to separate the drama queen from her bed. So Niamh got to sleep with the Fiona and I got a twin bed with Lawson. She left since she was being a jerk. She would not leave the door open or leave the fan on since her brother ratted her out that she too had a device in her bed. Man these kids and there devices. Anywho, the twin bed in amazingly better than the primary bed or the bathroom off of it with the airline toilet. So to catch you up the primary room sucks. The only good thing is the view but you have to smell in sewer gases since the toilet does not fill with water and sleep in a bed whose cousin is the floor. Argh. Was up by 8 and did work email for 3 hours and managed to catch up so am not overwhelmed when I return. I think I’ll do that on the plane ride back too. It was a lazy day today. We walked over to the pool with steps into the ocean and the kids snorkeled, and I snorkeled. I found what looked like a artillery gun, but more than likely is a rusted sailing motor that uses a long axel to turn the propeller at the end of the boat. I went out once alone, then with kids, and for a third time after lunch but from a greater distance. I took the camera with me the third time so we could all see this thing. The consensus was it was a sailing motor. Around 1 we left the concrete shady lounge chairs area of our place and took the Fiona to the doctor. She got lasered and hopefully will feel better. While we waited for her went to eat at the Blue Sail. It was nice place with what looked like good food. However they ran out of the beer I wanted to try, and a handmade lentil burger. Lame. I opted for the four cheese pizza and Corey managed to score a Kalik Gold. My undercooked pizza will hopefully not come back to haunt me, but at least the beer was good. We regrouped and walk to the beach outside the Poop Deck. Where Corey was used like a jungle gym, and I made my final snorkel adventure to see my gun, I mean my boat motor.
I used the Apple oceanic+ app and the start and end points have much to be desired. The Garmin dive app and watch are much better. On the Garmin you can drop a point of interest so you can go back to it. The Apple Watch locks up and is a visual guide with no input as you are snorkeling or scuba diving.
The GPS locations are not even in the water. Lame. Fiona calls the dive shop and we can go back out on the afternoon boat! Yeah two more dives! Anywho we go back to the villa around 5:30 and shower. I have an awful beer that tastes like they didn’t clean the tanks out properly. It was dank. Like more like rank than dank. We gave two choices for dinner Italian or Mexican. They are next door to each other. We opt for the Meza Grill, which is a Greek restaurant? Huh? I get flaming cheese, lawson goes for the 8oz filet mignon, niamh a Caesar salad drowning in dressing, Fiona gets a ribeye, and Corey is so in love with his potatos that I forget his main. The smashed potato’s where very good. Loaded with salt, pepper, and crunchy with just the right amount of gooey potato in the middle. Lizette our server was all smiles and very friendly. We made it back to watch the Pirates of the Caribbean the Curse of the Black Pearl, aka the first Johnny Depp pirate movie. Then off to bed that flexes back and laughs at you in your dreams for being a stiff.
Thursday February 23, 2023
Yup. Stiff and creaky. I’m up at 9 and Fiona wants to walk to the store to get snacks. Sure. Today I get to compare the Apple Ultra dive watch vs the Garmin Descent Mk2. Yes the Garmin costs twice as much but the battery lasts weeks instead of days. The Ultra at least now lasts more than a day unlike the other Apple watches. We get to go on our 3 hour tour again, and hopefully get in the right boat to see some new sites!
The pancakes, strawberries, orange juice, and coffee for breakfast was pretty good. I wanted to use the garlic and herb butter for the pancakes but Fiona busted in with regular butter so switched. We left at 11:30 and arrived at noon. We waited for the ‘Black Coral’ boat to arrive so we could get our gear. We waited around 45 minutes and ate some Cheetos and Gatorade until the boat arrived. The funny thing is they tried to give us the same leaky regulator setup as the first day for Niamh which I declined. We then got into the boat and left at 1:40 ish. We drove out 5 miles and did 2 dives. We say a plane, or more like plane bits of a DC3 and a wreck, and then moved over to the Long Island Lady / 007 wreck for dive 2.
We left the dive sites around 4:45 and it was a great two dives as there were only 8 people on the boat. We squirted defog stuff and had the correct weights! Corey even saw a turtle, but Niamh had the other dive camera.
Took a shower when we got back at 5:30 and left for dinner at 6:45. We went to the Italian place and had to valet our car which was interesting. They would not let us park in the same lot as the Mede Grill. I had a yummy dish with an Italian beer! The cocktail was not as good. We sat inside as the air conditioner dropped on Lawson. we got back home and watched dive videos. In bed around 10:30 as needed to get up early.
Friday February 24th, 2023
Those stairs are loud. I woke up at 5:30 and then rolled around until 7. It is 7:30 so we are off to see the pigs. Driving into the sun was amazing in the morning. I made a nice smear on the windshield with the smallest amount of wiper fluid to make the biggest smear. Goodtimes. Thanks Avis! Bah! We paid our 2 dollar toll and rolled in at 8:05 just a few minutes late and checked in. I received an <insert color here> wrist band, and asked if they had a bathroom. They do but the person didn’t return the key. Super. Oh the boat is leaving so we get on sitting at the third of four rows.
There are 18 people on the boat. A family of 5 in row 1, 2 adults and 3 kids who are under 4 from New York. Germans (mother, daughter, father) who are near Düsseldorf, with Corey. Us four behind them, and then a couple from Texas who sat with two ladies and a 4 year old. Our captian Rico and guide master LJ from Aquashores merrily took us 1 hour and 15 minutes to an island of iguanas. We listened to tunes and I started the tour with a radler. We also gave Lawson a Dramamine so he got to sleep through the most boring part. The boat ride.
We got off and fed the hoard of iguanas lettuce leaves. Fiona hid her toes as she does not want her toes to be present in front of wild animals. The iguanas literally covered the small beach we pulled up to, it was nuts how many lizards there where in one place.
Then we boated more and saw Pablo Escobar’s plane in the water from the boat. We didn’t get into the water. Another boat did with 4 motors that our boat leapfrogged with throughout the day at different stops was in the water and we were very jealous. I helped myself to beer throughout the day very liberally. Off to another stop. We got to pet nurse sharks I feel that was better then the pigs. Got to hold them.
Then we made our way to to lunch and stopped at a great place exactly at noon at the Staniel Cay Yacht Club in Exumas, Bahamas. I had a pizza and part of Niamh’s Caesar salad. Since it was margarita day I had two margaritas.
Finally we saw the pigs. These guys were big and aggressive. One nipped Niamh in the butt? She must smell like carrots because that is what we feed them? There were are baby pigs which were nicer to handle. When we got back on the boat they followed us and were in fact swimming pigs! Ha!
Then it was a 1.5 hour boat ride back.
Hey look restrooms that don’t need a key? Wonder why lady didn’t say go fifty feet and you’ll see a sign in the morning? We poured extra water in the washer wiper reservoir. The wipers don’t wipe. Thanks Avis! Bah! We rolled into the villas at 6:30 and finished off our leaf overs and store bought items for dinner. I think I sunburned my forehead since I didn’t wear a hat all day with the whipping wind from the 35mph boat ride to and from the pigs! Bummer. We watched puss in boots and the terminator. In bed by 11.
Saturday February 25th, 2023
Last day today. We have a late checkout so are planning to go on a rum tour, get Lawson another hat, replace a missing beach towel, and have lunch. Stroll back and pack our stuff into the car, get gas, return car, and check into our flight that leaves around 5pm local time. Not sure if Fiona got a car service or we are risking an Uber at 2am? Anywho, it has been a hoot! Here’s hoping we make it 😂 We did find the rouge beach towel but not Lawson’s hat.
So we packed up as much as could and headed out on our final adventure. We left at around 10, and made it the the distillery with super parking. We took our 10 minutes tour and bought some amber rum. I had their sipping rum and it was ok, then I had the mixing rum and it was good as both a pina colada or as a daiquiri. The only had guava so it was good enough.
After rum we drove to the straw market, and after driving around for 2 times I dropped of the Fiona and kids. Corey and I went to find parking. We found it with a random dude asking us to come park this way. Will ok sure. Corey was not sure and figured the guy was running a scam and didn’t manage the lot. Well I parked and we walked to the straw market where the shopping was complete. We then went to the hat store and got lawson another hat. We also picked up a tiny thimble cup with ‘Kyle’ on it. As we were walking back to car Fiona and Niamh went into the Pandora store to get a charm for the ‘23 Bahamas location. While they did that I found a fancy place to eat, but mostly I had to pee. The Cafe Matisse was very good. I had a yellow bird and the gnocchi agli spinaci. There was too much to eat so shared with Fiona who shared her salad but ended up finishing Niamh’s tomato soup since it was too cheesy. Ironic right? Anywho Niamh polished off Fiona’s salad. Once we finished playing music eating we hustled back to the condo and got there at 2:10, and parked right in front. We made it to airport in 3.5 miles with 40 dollars worth of gas. All was good with getting to the gate except to Lawson who has so much fluffy items it gobbed up the X-ray machine.
Twice. he really needs to pack his fluffies in a bag. Oh well. Anywho our plane was late, like too late to make our connection kind of late. Bah! Oh wait we have 12 minutes to get to the gate. No problem we get to n at E2 and we go to E4. We finally board and as we are flying they change the gate to F9. Ok at least that is the same terminal, but we get the cabin crew to let us off first!!! Awesome! Fiona starts to follow a flight attendant but it is the wrong way! Quick call Lawson back. We make it to the gate and they start boarding 5 minutes after we arrive!!! We made the flight. We are in row 17, the one just before the exit row so our seats do not recline. That is ok for me but Corey is bummed as he was going to sleep. Also our bags do not freggin fit in the overheads bins because of the mechanics are taking up a quarter of the bin. Lame. I shoved the bags in row 22. Should have snuck a spot ahead versus behind us. Anywho we are on the plane set to arrive late. I’m gunna turn on the heat to the house now.
Made it home by 1:45, asleep by 2. The bags didn’t make the transfer so we talked to the baggage claim lady and hopefully it will arrive some time today with the rum and sun screen. Ha!