DAY 1- Miami
We got to Miami in the late afternoon and headed to our hotel. It was a really modern hotel called the SenSe on Ocean Drive in South Beach. It was very nice but way too modern! The chairs were see through plastic and there was chrome and glass and weird artwork everywhere! After checking out the room we decided to stroll Ocean Drive and find some food. We finally decided on Johnny Rockets and ate our lunch outside during a torrential downpour! I have never seen rain like that. It was so much fun! When the rain stopped we headed to the beach. We didn't get to hang out there very long before the rain started again. We walked across the street back to the hotel in the rain. We figured that we couldn't get any wetter. After getting back to the hotel and getting ready we headed to Chet's favorite seafood restaurant "A Fish Called Avalon". It was really yummy and a great way to end the first day of our vacation.
Our super modern room
Our super modern room
There was a roped off area on the beach. This is what we saw when we got closer. Cute!
Eating at "A Fish Called Avalon"
Day 2- The Boat
We spent the morning at the beach before we headed to the boat. When we got to our room on the boat we had to check out our balcony and then the rest of the boat. Pretty boring day.
The view from our balcony. Its not a very good picture because we took it with Chet's phone.
The Lobby of the boat.
Every night they would turn down the bed and make a "towel buddy'. (No Chels it wasn't us making them every night) Stop looking at me swan...
Day 3- "Fun Day at Sea"
Yep not as "fun" as it sounds. We spent the day laying out on the balcony and reading and of course eating. Not a bad thing but I wouldn't call it "fun".
Towel buddy of the Night, a scorpion.
Day 4- Turks and Cacios
What a beautiful place! This was our shortest dock. We were only there from 7-2 but we made the most of it by getting up early and heading out. Grand Turk is a very small island only 6 miles long and a mile wide. The west side is white soft sand and calm blue water the east side is very windy and super rocky. We walked down the west side of the beach to get away from the crowds and found a beautiful spot to spend the day. The sand was the texture of corn meal and the water was so blue it looked fake! We dropped our stuff and headed to the water. We had a great time snorkeling we saw tons of fish and even an eel and a starfish! After several hours snorkeling we decided to go for a hike and check out the other side of the island. The other side was so different! The water wasn't as blue and the beaches were all rocky and there were conch shells everywhere! Like a conch graveyard. We made it to the end of the east side and headed back right when it started to rain. Chet decided to snorkel back as I walked along the beach. He made it about half way before it got too rocky and the water too choppy to be safe. We said goodbye to an amazing island and headed back to the boat for dinner and a movie under the stars.
Chet snorkeling back after the hike.
On the beach in front of the boat.
The rocky side of the island.
In the amazingly blue water!
(Wall-E under the stars.)
Towel Buddy of the Night, a pig, I think...
Day 4- Half Moon Cay
Half Moon Cay is a private island owned by Carnival. WOW is all I can say about this island. It is so gorgeous! The water was even more blue than Grand Turk and the sand was so fine it was like flour! We immediately hit the water to do some snorkeling and were sorely disappointed when we only saw 1 fish! The water was so clean and clear there wasn't anything to see but water and sand! We were supposed to go on a snorkeling trip that day but the water was too choppy so it got cancelled. :( No biggie we decided to do our sting ray adventure today instead. When the time came we took the shuttle to the other side if the island to see the sting rays. We got all geared up listened to a short instructional and hit the water. Now I love the ocean and even sharks they fascinate me but I was way more scared then I though I would be! These giant things swimming silently around you and rubbing up against you like cats freaked me out! They have giant barbs that stick out of their tails that can kill you (like the Crocodile Hunter) and they are rubbing up against me because they want to be rubbed! It was a very neat experience. By the time we were done with the sting rays I was soooo fried (even with SPF 50!) I was done. When we got back to the boat we got ready and headed to dinner. After dinner Chet was thrilled to hear that they would be playing game 1 of the NBA finals on the giant outdoor screen. So we grabbed a drink and my book and headed to the Lido deck and enjoyed the game!
Reading on the most beautiful beach ever.
One of the Sting Rays that we swam with.
Watching the game.
Towel Buddy of the Night-Aardvark???
Day 5-Paradise Island, Nassau Bahamas
Since our snorkeling trip on Half Moon Cay was cancelled we thought we would go today, but it was a two and a half hour ride on a catamaran and then only 40 minutes snorkeling! Umm, no. So we decided to spend the day at Atlantis. It is a resort on an island just off of Nassau and it is amazing. Since I was so fried from the previous days excursions we decided to go to all the different aquariums on the property. I love fish and anything that lives in the ocean so I was in heaven! There was a tank with manta rays that were the biggest things I've ever seen! They were close to 6 feet across! (That is actually quite small for a manta.) They, at one time, had one that was 18 feet across! She was so big she would scrape her fins on the sides of the aquarium! Awesome. After sufficiently fulfilling my fish watching need we decided to head to the beach. The beach was nice but not nearly as nice as the other two. We snorkeled up and down the beach and decided to head to the private lagoon that Nassau built just for snorkeling. I have to say that I was a little disappointed. The water was very dirty and it made it hard to see anything. We made the best of it and did get to see quite a few things so I guess it was worth it. We had a great time on the islands and were sad to say goodbye. When we got back to the boat we had dinner and then went back to our suite to get packed up and go to bed. In the middle of the night I woke up to lights flashing outside our window and thought "who is taking pictures in the middle of the night?!" but it wasn't a camera it was lightning! It was so scary! The lightning was right next to the boat flashing so bright I had to close my eyes. I could see it hitting the water and then the boom of the thunder was deafening! It was the scariest thing I have ever seen! I just knew we were going to die! (Chet slept through the whole thing.) Obviously we didn't die and made it back to Miami safely.
Looking at the Blacktip Caribbean Reef Sharks
The Flying Fish fountain
The awesome Mantas!
Chet snorkeling in the lagoon
Last "Towel Buddy of the Night" fittingly enough a Manta
Day 6- Miami
After successful debarkation we caught a cab and went straight to our hotel. The Marriott South Beach. Now that is my kind of hotel! So beautiful and right on the beach and since Chet is a Silver Elite Member our room was ready even though it was only 8 in the morning. We quickly got changed into our suits and hit the beach. It was a beautiful day to just hang out in the water which is exactly what we did until it started to rain. We figured that since it was raining we would grab some lunch. Chet decided that he wanted to go to "Joe's" (a seafood place) we walked over there and it was closed so we decided to just walk up Collins Ave and find a place. We ended up at the strangest little place called "Manolo's". Great, Italian we thought. We were kind of right. It was an Italian restaurant inside of a Cuban bakery served by Mexicans. We were confused but the pizza was awesome! After lunch the rain had stopped so we did a little shopping and walking. South Beach is a strange place, one street is slums and the next is millionaire mansions. Like the Versace Mansion which is right on Ocean Drive just up the street from our hotel. It was very cool to see it. They have a plaque on the stairs where he was shot. We wanted to take a tour of the mansion but it was 40 dollars a person! Rip off! So we headed back to the hotel for more beach time until dinner. For dinner we ate at the hotel restaurant which overlooks the ocean. It was such an amazing view and a wonderful way to end our fantastic vacation.
The hotel pool and beach
The Versace Mansion, the second most photographed house in the US.
I have to say that the best part of the vacation was the time I got to spend with Chet. Sitting on the balcony playing cards and watching the lightning, being able to walk down the beach holding hands without the interruption of kids and remembering why we are best friends. Life gets busy with work and kids and all of the other daily distractions and we forget how important time alone together is. I am so grateful for the wonderful memories and the laughs that we shared. I am looking forward to the next 10 wonderful years with my best friend! Always and Forever!!!
