Bahamas Trip
March 12 - 15, 1999

I don't care who paid for it, it was a wonderful trip. We actually even left the country. LOL This was also Pat's first airplane ride. We didn't fly on a very good plane for her first trip. A 737. Almost like a cattle car. 6 seats wide, with every seat taken. Packed in there like sardines, but she did very well. Said the only thing she didn't care for was the takeoff and she might even consider taking another trip if we came up with enough money. ~grin~

Okay, we took off from Baltimore/Washington International Airport (BWI for short). Our first stop was Miami. Warm weather in March. We had left about a foot of snow behind and here were people dressed in short, bikinis and all kinds of warm weather clothing. We may have to move.

The first thing we did was grab our luggage and hop on a tour bus for our ride to the ship. Along the way, I was able to take a few pics out of the window. We passed the Orange Bowl, this nice little stand of palm trees and this marina, with the tall buildings of downtown Miami in the background.

Once we got to the ship, the Ecstasy, we turned over our luggage to a porter, signed in and went to find our stateroom. What did we find?? TWIN BEDS!!!!!! They don't think married people like to sleep together?? Or is it that they still think we all live like Lucy and Ricky??? Luckily, the beds weren't secured so we were able push them together. Just not the same though. ~grin~

Of course, we had to look out of our window to see what we could see. And I had to take a few pictures of the scenery. 1 - 2 - 3 . After we changed into shorts and light shirts, we headed for the deck to look around and take a few pictures. Off of one side, we had a wonderful view, but on the other side, all we could see was this. We did manage to find a nice place for Pat to stand and have her picture taken though. ~smile~ On the way out of Miami, we passed by this beautiful place. It was on an island, but we have no idea what or where it was.

Once we got underway, we started exploring the ship. What a big place. I don't think we ever did find everything, but we did find a few places. The pool on the Lido Deck was one of the first places we found. What a fabulous view. 1 - 2 - 3 ~grin~ After that, I just had to sit for a little while to recover. ~grin~ And I just have to throw in this gorgeous shot of the Grand Atrium.

After a late dinner (we had the 8:15 dinner time), we went to the casino and shoved a few quarters into the slots and then turned in early. We were really beat.

When we woke up in the morning, we were already docked in Nassau. What a shock. We would have thought we would have felt them pull in, but nothing. So, we got dressed, grabbed a quick breakfast off of the buffet and headed off of the ship. There were 5 other cruise ships in port that morning, including this one, with some guy hanging off the back. Looks like he is painting something. ~grin~

We hit a few of the closest shops for some quick souveniers. Along the way, I took a pic of the back of our ship so we could find our way back home. ~grin~ As soon as you leave the harbor area, the vendors hit you, offering everything from taxis to goods to tours. We avoided as many as we could because our time was short. Besides taxis and buses, here is another way to get around. Here is something we didn't expect to see. Nassau's own version of Planet Hollywood. After spending as much money as we thought we should, we headed back for the ship. At the entrance to the port, we found this little band, entertaining the people from the ships for donations. And if you wanted, you could donate a little more and sit with them. ~grin~ On the way back to the ship, I was able to get this shot of the Atlantis Resort from the pier and Pat posed for this pic just before we reboarded the ship to get ready for the tour we had signed up for.

We had signed up for a tour of, get this, Blue Lagoon Island. Yep, that is what they call it. Sounded pretty nice in the brochures, so we thought we would try it. On the way to the boat that was to take us there, I shot these additional pics of the Atlantis. 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 This is the resort that was featured on Oprah when she shot her show in front of it for a week.

On the way to the island, we took a few shots of the water. We had never seen water this color. Okay, so we have led sheltered lives. Shoot us. ~grin~ 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 They offered snorkling, a little dolphin show and a few other things at the island. There were a couple of souvenier shops, a bar and a little fast food joint. They also offered paddle boats, little canoes and other things to use on the water. We did a lot of walking around the island, snapping pics and just taking in the scenery. After a while, we got pretty tired, so Pat decided to just hang around for a while.

We stayed on the island for about 4 hours and then boarded the boat and headed back for Nassau. On the way back, I found my future house and boat. That is when I win the lotto. ~grin~ With my luck, all I will probably be able to afford is this little shack on the pier. LOL The boat that took us to and from the island was a party boat with a live calypso band and a very small dance floor where about 50 drunken college kids jammed themselves for the entire trip except for a short time on the return trip. During that time, the entertainment was a young man (the guy with the yellow pants, although I was actually taking a pic of the young lady in the bikini (bending over) ~grin~), 6' 1", who was able to do the limbo under a stick 8" off of the floor while the stick was burning. Never seen anything like it.

We only got to stay in port at Nassau for about 24 hours. Never did get to go back into town to do any sightseeing. Maybe the next time we go, we will stay in Nassau and not do any tours outside of the city. The next morning we got up in time to watch them cast off and I snapped a few pics of some houses on a peninsula on the way out of port. 1 - 2 - 3 - 4

We had heard about the things that the cabin stewards do with towels, but never seen them before. We had to take a couple of pics of the cute little animals they created for us. 1 - 2

The trip from Nassau back to Miami took about 24 hours, but before we knew it, we were back at the airport, waiting for our plane, which was over an hour late due to yet another snow storm in Baltimore. After fabulous weather for 3 days, we were going back to that nasty winter stuff. Actually, by the time we got back, most of the snow had melted away. I had a window seat on the way back, so I shot a few pics as we were descending. I think these were taken somewhere around Annapolis, Maryland. 1 - 2 - 3 - 4

We had a really wonderful time on this trip and hope to do it again very soon. At least within the next couple of years. Maybe we will even take Chris with us this time and make it a longer trip. ~smile~