Well Friends...I promised I would report back with my verdict on what has better beaches. And the results.........I Can't decide! Sorry! Non-the-less, we had a wonderful vacation. Warm sun, sandy toes, salt water kisses, tanned bodies, and wonderful wonderful wonderful food.
We started our trip the night before our flight when we stayed with my AMAZING brother in law and sister in law (Brian's older brother). We got to go to our nephews high school baseball game that just happened to be the sectional finals. Sadly he has bone chips in his elbow so he was not able to play, but we still got to see him with his team. And in all honesty if I told Brian to plan a weeks vacation doing ANYTHING he wanted, it would be traveling from town to town watching nieces and nephews play sports. And eating at Wendy's. So this was a good start to his birthday trip.
We awoke at 4:45 a.m. the next morning and got ready to take off to the airport. We tip-toed around the house trying not to wake anyone that DIDN'T need to be up (since it was already summer break for the kids). And we did a pretty good job until Brian opened the front door to take luggage out to the Jeep. And forgetting that they had just installed a home security system. So, the whole house was soon awake from the ear piercing screech, phone ringing and feet pounding around trying to turn it off. I prayed this wasn't a sign to how the trip was going to be.
After all the excitement, we loaded up and we were off. We got checked in and through security with no problem and found our gate with no bumps. We grabbed a airport breakfast and waited for our turn to take off......I am going to pause her and fill you in on a little known fact about me. I LOVE vacations, but HATE pre-flight. NOT flying, but before. "Are we at the right gate? Are our seats together? Do we have all our paper-work? Is Daylen going to get sick? Will I hear our flight being announced? Will we make our connecting flight? Will they mis-place our reservations? Did I make the correct hotel reservations? ETC..."
But once we got in the air I was a little calmer and ready for a nap. Dayeln was excited to see the world below slowly disappear. It wasn't until the last fifteen minutes he started freaking out, maybe the ear pressure, maybe it was from waking up for the little cat nap and not realizing where he was, maybe it was his tummy... we are not too sure, but we were all ready to land. Brian and I looked at each other and we each knew that we too were not LOVING this flight. Our tummys were not liking us very much. Thankfully we had a good 2 hours to recoup before our next flight. Within 15 minutes of being on the ground Daylen and Brian were looking for lunch and were normal....me on the other hand....NOT SO MUCH!!! They grabbed onion rings and pizza slices....I grabbed a VERY dry granola bar and bottle of water.
I am happy to say that our next flight went smoother and we got to Nassau not as green.
Since The Bahamas is NOT America and they drive on the left side (and renting a car is almost triple the amount we would pay state side) we decided we would take advantage of their public transportation. As our bus driver drove us to our resort he joked about local custom and the reminded us of differences between The States and The Bahamas. But I will admit I didn't pay much attention as I gazed out onto their BEAUTIFUL CLEAR ocean and WHITE sand beaches. 15 minutes later we pulled up to our resort (Sheraton Nassau Beach Resort) and were thrilled with the beauty. If you are looking for a low key, friendly, comfortable, clean, family friendly resort....this is the place.
Our next days were filled with sight seeing, sand castle building, swimming pools, and connecting with friends......This is where I tell you about one of the highlights of the trip. Brian's college roommate/ fellow basketball player and another college friend are originally from Nassau. After college they returned and now have families of their own. So, after some phone tag we were able to finally meet up. It was such a joy for me to see Brian's excitement as he connected with these two guys after 15 years. We visited in the hotel lobby for a little bit, but then I took Daylen back to the room for bed and let the guys visit. When Brian returned at 2 a.m. (four hours after meeting) I knew he had a good time.
If you are still reading and I have not bored you out of your mind yet....I would like to tell you about another resort (just in case you are planning a trip and are curious)
Chevvy (one of Brian's friends) and his two boys (12 and 7) showed us around the island one day. And one of the things we did was visit "Atlantis". If you have looked at visiting Nassau you have heard of this place. It is a MASSIVE resort. The entire island is this resort (Paradise Island). You could go here for a week and NEVER have to leave the resort. Multiple hotels all styles and prices. Any type of food you could imagine. Stores grocery, high end clothing, low end clothing, jewelry, cigars, trinkets, toys, shoes...etc..., AND plenty plenty plenty to do, casino, pool, swim with sting rays, swim with dolphins, snorkel, aquatic museum, water slides, WATER SLIDES...the list goes on. We were there for a little over 2 hours and we walked the entire island...so it's not huge. This also means that it is packed in there. If you like to go on vacation and have everything at your finger tips and like to be around lots and lots of people...this place is for you. Or if you are taking kids Jr. high -High School....this also the place for you. If you are going to learn the culture and rather have a "relaxing" time....this is NOT for you. ALSO....if you like beaches over pools...this might not be the best. There is a beach, but it is filled with water activities jet skis, para-sailing, skiing...etc... This is, for sure, a pool resort.
All in All....we had an amazing vacation. We enjoyed our time as a family, and with our new friends. The Bahamas will be seeing us again.......Hopefully sooner than later! ;)
