A note before I start: I have no clue why my posts keep getting out of order! I post them in order! Anyone know? It annoys me!!
Now, back to the regularly scheduled blogging.
What is the most interesting vacation you have ever been on?
Well that one shouldn't be that hard, since I have never traveled much! I guess it would be between my trip to NYC and our honeymoon in the Bahamas, but I'm going to go with the latter.
My friend Gabby invited me and some of our friends to a Mary Kay make over thing. The sale lady presented us with a deal that if you bought this ENORMOUS bag of makeup in a pretty awesome case (for like $250) you got a FREE* cruise to the Bahamas. Well, I was newly engaged and we'd planned to get married in two years. But this sounded like a honeymoon to me! I called Adam up and we decided we would go for it! You notice I *'ed the FREE thing....well, it was a pretty amazing deal, covering the cruise TO the island and BACK, plus three nights in a hotel on the island and two in Fort Lauderdale, and food while you're on the boat (2 meals). The catch of course being that you have to provide your own transportation to Florida, as well as the rest of your meals and entertainment while on the island. We didn't have a lot of money of course, but we decided if we drove to Florida, we could probably afford it and it would be a nice trip than any alternative we could afford.
SO! The day after our wedding (Sunday), we headed for Florida in my father-in-laws car. At the time, we both owned older cars, not very reliable, so they let us borrow theirs. We drove, stopping outside of Atlanta (where we saw the water tower painted like a Georgia Peach and actually resembling a butt) to sleep for a few hours. Florida was rough on us. Outside of West Palm Beach, it started pouring and then the interstate came to a complete stop. Apparently, there was an accident up ahead. We got off the interstate, but since this was before GPS (2004--if they existed, we certainly didn't have one, nor a smartphone), we didn't really know where we were going! It was a pretty residential area, with brightly colored houses dotting the area. We drove around for over an hour, trying to get to a new on ramp, one that was past the accident. We ended up getting right back on where we'd gotten off. Fun times.
We finally made it to Fort Lauderdale and spent the night at the hotel where we would catch a bus to the dock. The next morning, we boarded the boat and sail to Freeport, Grand Bahamas. It was my first official view of the Ocean! SO PRETTY! The boat was nice, with shows in the ballroom, lunch, and a casino to pass the time when we weren't enjoying the views on the deck. We watched them play the newlywed game (Adam refused to volunteer) and I participated in an "Ugly Knees" contest. By afternoon, we were on the island! We checked into our hotel and wandered around the area. Across the street was an International Bazaar--shops, a casino, restaurants, etc, so we spent a lot of time over there. I got one little braid in my hair--they love to braid down there! The entire time I was there I was asked, even when my hair was in a bun covered in a hat! We also enjoyed the pool and hot tub in the courtyard.
Day two, we were headed to the beach! We got up early and had breakfast, then headed to the lobby to catch a shuttle to the beach. While we were waiting, it started to rain. The locals assured us rain doesn't last long, so we went back to our room, deciding to wait for the next shuttle. We took a nap! A little while later, we finally made it to the beach. It was GORGEOUS of course! There were little shops and a restaurant. The sand in the water hurt my feet and I really wished I had brought water shoes. Apparently this area of beach was just inside a reef, so lots of little shells and stuff were in the sand. We rented a jet ski for a little while, which was really fun! We were so far out, surrounded by just water! We at lunch on the beach and conversed with a mutt we dubbed "Beach Dog" who snacked on our leftovers and then ralphed on the dock. LOL
We headed back to our hotel for the evening and it wasn't long before we realized that we had either waited to long to slather on the sunscreen or it didn't work well. By morning, we were both LOBSTERS! I had never had a sunburn that bad! Our shoulders, backs, necks, and the tops of our legs had gotten the worst of it. We stayed close to the hotel that day! We found a drug store and bought some aloe lotion and went we actually went to the movie theater next door and saw a movie! Air conditioning was our friend! Our room was kept at like 60 degrees while we were there! LOL
The last day, still smarting, we went back to the Bazaar. I bought some souvenirs and we lost some money at the casino. Late in the day, we boarded our ship again an sailed (is it called sailing if there is no sail?) back to Florida. We watched the sun set over the ocean and it was so amazingly breathtaking.
We were staying the night in Fort Lauderdale, but we knew we had to switch hotels, because we hadn't been able to get a reservation at the same one as before. We had paid to leave my FILs car parked there in a designated spot. When we got there, we found a nice dent and a deep scratch in the back corner panel! We went inside, but of course it hadn't been reported! We decided it was best to file a police report, in case we needed to get it repaired. We made small talk with the police officer taking the report and she asked where we were staying that night. When we told her the name of the hotel we were headed to, she was quick to warn us, it was known for being a spot for prostitutes and johns!
At that point, I was sick of our trip! I was tired, sunburned, and hungry and I really just wanted to be home! I knew Adam needed some sleep so we bravely drove to our hotel, where he ran outside to the little window to check in. We literally ran to our room and locked the door like a couple of little kids home alone! He ventured out once for ice and then we got a few hours sleep. We got up early and drove straight through, not wanting to stop anywhere! Adam woke me up outside of Louisville to help him stay awake and we got home around 2:00 am on Sunday. WHEW!
All in all, it was an imperfect trip, but one I adored every bit of! It was so amazing to spend time with my new husband in such a beautiful place. I would never have imagined being able to go there and I hope we can go again someday, maybe with our kids!
This is part of a June blog challenge started by Mommy Someday at Waiting for Baby. Pop over there and join in so I can learn these things about you!
No comments:
Post a Comment