Bahama-rama

Well, we made it back from our lightning fast trip to The Bahamas. We took a three-day cruise from Port Canaveral on the east coast of Florida to Nassau.

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Now, while the cruising atmosphere, activities, lifestyle, entertainment, etc. are not really our thing, cruising does have its benefits. On a cruise, you get from your starting point to destination without even having to be directly involved in your travel. While you’re moving over those many miles, you eat, you sleep sprawled out in what’s basically a hotel room, work out, swim, or lounge in the sun reading a book. You can’t do that on an airplane or in a car. While it surely has its downsides, this is by far the easiest and laziest way to travel (at least for us working stiffs) and a good way to unwind since you can be as low-key as you like. It can also be an extremely cheap way to travel outside the country.

The purpose of the trip this weekend was to do something fun with B-rit during her summer vacation. This particular cruise was chosen solely because it fit into our schedule. The destination was really secondary and Kevin and I both had been here before.

Over the those three days, we ate, slept, swam, ate some more, slept some more, read, watched B-rit buy a few souvenirs, walked up and down stairs, swam some more, read some more, and went to dinner. Lazy good times.

I even worked out in the ship’s fitness center. It wasn’t huge by any means but it was more than adequate. This is the view from the treadmill I was on looking toward the port at Nassau.

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Here I am stuffing my face right before going over to spend some time on the treadmill and then lift weights. Not very smart.

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We visited Nassau but didn’t venture outside the tourist spots near the port. The next day we went to Little Stirrup Cay (C0c0 Cay is the cruise line’s name for it – it’s a leased island where they dump cruisers). Basically this place is a bunch of rock with palm trees, a beach, restrooms, and, of course, some picnic tables and facilities for yet another cruise buffet. And don’t forget, $4 bottles of water and lots o’ beer and drinks. Aside from all that, if you take it for what it is, it can be pretty fun and we had a grand time snorkeling and splashing around.

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Kevin and B-rit saw a sting ray and Kevin saved B-rit from a jellyfish. That was all while I had my back turned. All I saw were fish and a hermit crab.

I gave up trying to take pictures of all the food. There was just too much. Honestly, most of it wasn’t that good but a few things were. Usually the supplies of cheese and fresh pineapple don’t disappoint but this time they did. Here are some pictures I did remember to take food highlights:

{Sorry, there were going to be some food photos but I have been fighting this terrible Internet connection all night and I can’t upload any more photos at the moment. Don’t worry, you’re not missing much.}

I also had food photos from today which included mostly produce in various forms and a dinner of spaghetti squash with sauce and then some rotini noodles with sauce. I will try to do better with the photos tomorrow.

Have a happy Wednesday!

Comments (1)

‘yak/attack

I had a great day but I’m too tired right now for a lot of words. How about some photos instead?

(Kevin)

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Flagler Beach + testing new kayak = spills and some major fun. The thumbnails are me — had to use them small because photos are blurry. This baby camera is great for portability but not so good at photos from a distance.

We both got bonked on the head with the kayak a few times (this would typically happen near the shore where the water is shallow, which is why I went home with sand in my nose). Also, my skin is colored a lovely shade of ouch where I skidded to the shore on my hip/backside. Good times!

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Chillaxin’ …

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I was also attacked by a creature in the ocean a few minutes after I stepped in the water for the first time. I felt a sharp poke in my foot followed by a sharp pinching. I looked at my foot and it was actually bleeding. I suspect an evil crab did this.

Food highlights: Picnic with cheese, a bunch of crackers (Back to Nature whole wheat and flax — very good!), about two whole pineapples and some grapes.

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My happy picnic face.

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We agree there isn’t much that compares to fresh cold pineapple.

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When I got home I threw together and inhaled a big salad using mainly the same stuff as yesterday except today I had real sour cream. And I had two of these muffins (one this a.m. and one in the p.m.) and handfuls of a few dates with almond butter.

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Sunday thankfulness (trying to list different stuff from last week):

I am so thankful:

  • that all the crazy drivers we encountered today didn’t cause any serious problems and we got home safe
  • that the bumps to the noggin didn’t cause any serious problems (that we know of)
  • that nothing flew out of the bed of the truck today (that we know of)
  • for music
  • for pineapple
  • for beaches
  • for good timing
  • for three-day weekends

All in all a fun, fun, fun day.

I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend!

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a day at the beach

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We spent a lovely afternoon at Pass-a-Grille Beach, which is actually part of St. Pete Beach. It was warm and sunny, and there were quite a few people out. We had some snacks on the beach, did some work, and took a few photos.

More beach snacks …

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Some photos of the beach:

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The dark photo is one of my favorites from today. That pink building is the Don CeSar.

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Me working …

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We were famished after several hours on the beach, even though all we did was lay around and get up for some photos. The water was a little chilly, but it was hot outside so it would’ve been fine to swim. I was just feeling very lazy. We ended up at The Hurricane restaurant across from the beach. The food was OK. I was going to go light and get soup and salad but decided at the last minute to go with a burger. It was a good thing too because the food took forever and they kind of forgot to wait on us when we got there, so it was a long time before we ate and we were hungry. There were a few small mistakes with the order, and I didn’t eat the coleslaw that I ordered because it was warm. The mayo they brought out in a condiment cup didn’t look too fresh either, so I skipped it. The place had a fun atmosphere though and it was nice to just relax outside. The burgers were good, so overall it was a nice experience.

Here’re some photos of dinner: H20, burger, and evidence of the fight I had with the ketchup bottle (the ketchup won).

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On our way back to where we parked, we stopped in an ice cream shop called Paradise Sweets. I got something called a Pass-accino (I think that was it), a drink of blended ice, espresso, milk, and choice of ice cream flavor. I got pralines and cream. It was pretty good!

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We had a great day, and I’m sad to see the weekend come to an end!

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