Post Cruise

Well I can officially say I have been to the Bahamas! I just got back from a four night, five day cruise there and it was fabulous! I snorkeled, I sunbathed, I partied pretty darn hardy, I did just about everything I set out to do on my little cruise. I did not get sunburnt, which is a huge accomplishment considering I could be confused for Casper's second cousin. So all in all, good times.

I will say this, on the partying note: I am not a partier. I have lived past those days in my life. But on this cruise, I not only kept up with the pace, I sometimes set it, which I think rather surprised a few of my shipmates. I surprised myself anyway, which I've decided is a new goal for me, to continue to surprise myself. I don't do that enough and I like the feeling.

We left last Monday and even got to see the shuttle launch from the deck of the ship before the ship got underway. That was a pretty amazing start to out week. I mean I've seen a few on TV and all, but we were literally right across the water from the space center. It was really cool to watch it zoom up into the sky and then feel the shock wave hit us a few seconds afterwards. I always get a secret thrill when I get to experience something like that in person because it's like I'm living in the moment of science. I know, geeky. But it was cool.

The first place we stopped at was CoCo Cay, which is the island owned by the cruise company. It's kind of like the Disney version of the Bahamas. Everything is a little brighter and shinier there than when you get to Nassau. That's where we snorkeled. I got some great underwater shots when we went snorkeling, so I'll have to post some of them later when I get to my computer. We also saw some iguanas hanging out around the island, so that was pretty cool. The only obnoxious part about the whole thing was that they made you wear this inflatable vest thing to keep you from drowning, which made it almost impossible to dive down. Even with all the air pushed out of it, it made you so buoyant that you immediately flew right back to the surface. I understand why those vests really help for liability purposes and all, but it gave my some serious grief for the day.

Our second stop was at Nassau, which was pretty cool. We got hooked up with an awesome cab driver, Byron, who took us on a tour around the island to the local places. He also stopped by his friend's bar to give Georgia a birthday drink and let us taste conch salad. Conch is pretty good. The salad was done in a ceviche style, with chopped onions and loads of citrus juices. Byron said it was the local version of oysters. Told us the men there never stop having babies. We also stopped by an abandoned pirate cave, the straw market, and Senior Frogs that night. I wasn't really impressed by either the market or the bar, but the cave was pretty tight.

I'm definitely going back for another vacation someplace tropical. I have to admit, I never really pictured myself as the tropical vacation lover because of the risk of sunburn. I didn't think I'd be able to enjoy it. I have all these friends who keep going on tropical honeymoons and I always assumed I'd be the "Backpack through Europe" type. But now, perhaps not. Guess I should find a prospective husband...