Sunday Funday

The north wind blew hard all night long, and with it came a chill in the air.  I know, I know...it's nothing compared to what some of you are dealing with up North, but for those of us who's blood has been thinned by the tropical heat, well, it was pretty dang cold yesterday.  Did that stop us from having a family adventure?  Heck no.

Scott and I bundled up little Isla (we even put SHOES on her) and took her to see a local sailing regatta.  We stumbled upon it during our early morning walk when the vendors were setting up.  "Are you setting up or breaking down?" I asked one sweet old Bahamian woman. "Settin' up"  she smiled, "Come back later.  I sell food here.  Lot's of food.  Conch salad.  Very good."  Well, conch salad just happens to be my weakness these days so return we did.  It's always great fun finding things that locals do and getting in the mix.  We had a great time sitting on a park bench and watching the world go by as we gorged ourselves on conch salad, Bahamian macaroni pie, coconut cake and ginger beer.  All that goodness for $9.  Not much in Nassau is cheap, but to us - that was a pretty good deal for a meal.  Isla even decided it was time to take ten steps unassisted.  I'm guessing we can say she's walking now?

Nap time beckoned and we returned to the boat.  But there was even more fun to be had...  Later that afternoon we packed Isla back into the Ergo carrier and walked over to Atlantis to check out the aquarium.  Say what you will about touristy, opulent, superstructures but I can see the appeal of a place like this if you are looking for a one-stop-shop family vacation.  They've got a water park, theaters, boutiques, five-star restaurants - even a little "nightclub" (aptly named "Crush") for the ornery we're too cool for parents teens that you wish you could leave home but can't.  And the aquarium?  Way cool.  It was made even cooler by the fact that we were let in for free*.  Traveling with a super cute baby has it's perks, that is for sure.

It was funny to walk through the casino and reflect on (what I can remember of) our last visit back in 2011.   We were traveling with a posse of young cruisers then and hit Atlantis hard by gambling on five cent slots while getting severely inebriated on mere pocket change.  Yikes.  That still goes down as one of the roughest "morning afters" in my entire life.  Man, things have changed.  For the record, this is a good thing.  Waking up fresh as a daisy has it's merits, take it from me.

It was a great day.  We're finishing up our business here and plan to be on our way tomorrow.  Exactly where we will go will depend on the weather.  We'll keep you posted.

*Before 5pm you either need a room card or a day pass to enter the aquarium (we were there at 4).  A day pass was something like $40.  After 5pm the security guards go home and you are free to roam...at no cost.