Bahamas Vacation

Jason and I had a wonderful time in the Bahamas. We stayed at the Sandals Resort in Nassau for five days. It is an all inclusive resort, so we enjoyed the variety of restaurants, entertainment, and beach activities without opening our wallets. En route to the resort we drove past the church where Anna Nicole Smith's funeral was held and we saw the private island that David Copperfield recently bought.
The first day there Jason went with a few guys and played golf at the Cable Beach Golf Course. For the first time in his short golf career, he broke 100, shooting a 95!!!!!!! I stayed at the resort and got a manicure and pedicure at the spa.
The picture above is of Jason & me on Sandals Cay, which is a small island just off the coast from the main resort. We spent a very relaxing afternoon there swimming in the crystal clear water and reading and resting on the oversized, cushioned beach chairs in the midst of a lush tropical jungle. While there, Jason found a sand dollar in the ocean, he was very excited as he had never found one before and named it "Little Buddy". Jason brought it back to our room and was shocked the next morning when the sand dollar was very green. (I explained that the stores bleach them to get them white.) Hopefully we didn't violate any customs laws, but we brought Little Buddy home with us and plan to clean him up and keep him forever:)

The first few pics below are of the resort. It has a distinctive Caribbean feel and isn't on a lot of acreage, which meant all of the restaurants and activities were very close by. They have several restaurants, serving Japanese, French, Italian, and American food, plus they have an English Pub serving Shepherd's Pie and such if you're up for that. There are two huge pools, several whirlpools, tennis courts (we played one day in our bathing suits and flip flops!), shops, and of course lots of sandy beach.
The blond in the picture with Jason is Jennifer Lynn Dawson, nee Puckett. She is Larry Puckett's daughter and is the one who does all of the Larry Puckett Chevrolet commercials. If you're from the tri-county area you know her well, otherwise you might not be impressed. But, it was Jason's brush with fame so we wanted to capture it on film. We enjoyed meeting and hanging out with her and her husband.
Jason wore his Auburn visor and/or an Auburn t-shirt on several occasions and got lots of AU love. On the ferry back from Sandals Cay there were three AU grads, it didn't take long for them all to meet!
Every night there was entertainment at the resort, including bands, an illusionist, and kareoke. One night we came across the Piano Bar and had a lot of fun singing along with everyone there. As you can see from the picture, Jason and I joined right in on the singing. I led the crowd in a spirited version of Sweet Home Alabama and Jason turned out to be a crowd favorite, closing out the night at the piano. The guy playing and singing was fabulous, he knew the words and music to every song by heart!
We left Nassau at Noon on Sunday and should have been back home at 8:30PM that night. Instead, we got home at Noon on MONDAY! It was a long journey home and included an unscheduled overnighter in Miami. Our Delta flight out of Miami was canceled, so Delta put us up in a sketchy airport motel (thanks, Delta). I laid in the bed all night listening to the jets flying overhead, wondering what the winged creature banging into our door was, and waiting for the 4:00AM alarm. When we got up the next morning it was raining (perhaps the front end of tropical storm Noel) so we were cold and wet while waiting for the airport shuttle, which we shared with a very international group of folks who could not speak English, yet were able to convey their desire for us not to sit next to them all the same. BUT, the highlight of our stay in Miami was dinner. We got to the motel around 8:00PM and were directed to the only place to eat within walking distance. It was a Honduran restaurant about two blocks away from the motel. Our six white faces really stood out when we walked in, and we were quickly seated in the back. The Spanish kareoke was blaring and the place was packed. We only had a cell phone camera, so the pic of the restaurant (below) isn't that great, but maybe it'll give you a feel for it. I selected a standard meal of chicken soft tacos, and let me tell you it was one of the best meals I've ever had! The mix of spices was incredible, the cilantro and jalapenos were delicious and the grilled chicken was as good as any I've ever had. And they had a very unusual homemade pepper sauce on the table I can't explain what all was in it (and perhaps I don't want to know) but it was great, just the right amount of fire. So, our experience at the Patio Tipico was a nice oasis in an otherwise miserable layover.
We loved our vacation, but of course we were very glad to get home to our babies, Eli & Josey. Eli stayed with my folks and Josey stayed with her Uncle Darryl and Aunt Jesi. I think mother and daddy had it easier than Darryl and Jesi! Being an only puppy, Josey gets very excited to spend time with her sweet cousins Callie & Angel so I think she was pretty wired her whole stay. Eli did great and enjoyed getting the undivided attention of his grandparents.
Jason jumped back into the real world immediately, as he had to go straight to work when we got home. We decided we must take a nice vacation every year!