Monday, August 11, 2014

Honeymoon Day #10: July 10th

Yesterday was our last day on Long Island. Right now we're on a plane from Nassau to Charlotte.


Us in front of our plane on Long Island, getting ready to leave

Yesterday wasn't too exciting. We stayed in the room most of the day: packing, reading magazines, sleeping, etc. Mark was out in the lobby for a while using the wifi. We went to the 40th independence celebration at Salt Pond around 4. There was pretty much just a lot of food with drinking and music. 


Max, from the Conch Bar, came to talk to us for a while, which was nice, and then his wife did too. Turns out her name was Liz. We had been wondering. She was so nice. Everyone on the island was so nice. I mean, the idea that we could vacation somewhere for 10 days and already be friendly enough with people that they would come and talk to us is amazing.

Liz and Max (from the left) listening to the band

A little girl mistook me for her teacher, which was nice because she threw her arm around me from behind and said, "Hi Miss (So-and-so)!" all happy. I almost wished I was Miss So-and-so. I ate baked crab, some baked macaroni and cheese that came with Mark's ribs, and a guava cake thing. All were excellent. I was proud of myself for ordering the baked crab, especially because it turned out to be so good.

Me very happy with my baked crab - served right in the shell

There were two bands. We waited for the second one because Max and Liz said they were good, but they didn't come on until like 7:15 and then they managed one song and then appeared to have some sort of technical difficulty, so we finally left just before 8. Neither of us liked driving on that road at night.

The second band, for a hot second

When we got back I put Picture Perfect on the TV while I packed and then we went to bed. Neither of us slept very well. Our flight out of Nassau was delayed by 45 minutes so we're hoping we still make our connection in Charlotte.

I'm looking forward to writing reviews on TripAdvisor. Hance had a little dog that I never mentioned that Mark named Rowley St. Clair.

Rowley St. Clair

We learned that you should ask specific directions for anything that's not on the main road, and don't expect everything offered on a menu to be available. It also helps to call before going somewhere to find out if the place is still open or the event is still happening. A "yes, we're open" sign doesn't necessarily mean they're open, and people are going to wave at you while you're driving, so wave back. It's not necessary to tip gas station attendants. There are no radio stations, so either bring something to play music in the car, or get used to the (reggae?) CD that your rental agent might leave you. Good snorkeling requires boating off the island. To find Adderley's Plantation you have to walk down the beach to the right a bit. It might actually be easier to drive fast on the dirt tracks than slow. Keep reapplying sunscreen. :)


A year later, I've finally finished logging our honeymoon. At this point it's more for me than for anyone else, but I do hope that if anyone is looking for info about Long Island, somehow they'll find this. Now I want to go on vacation again :)





Honeymoon Day #9: July 9th

Yesterday we woke up and had a big breakfast. Mark tried to make an omelet but it stuck to the pan so it ended up being a scramble with green bell peppers from Leonard, tomato and summer sausage. And the yummy bread. :) Then we went to Galloway Landing, which became my favorite beach. 


Beautiful sand, cool water. It was pretty wavey. There were several big houses along the road - it looks like that's where some rich people hang out. They weren't all done being built though, and Mark said one of them had a smashed window even though it was all furnished inside.

We swam, then laid out, then went skinny dipping (there were some other people there but they were around the corner - they had actually been at the restaurant the night before too) - it was Mark's first time! Then laid out again while he explored, and then went back to take showers.




I finally found a small conch shell. I slowly discovered I'd gotten really sunburned on my legs because I forgot to put sunscreen on before laying out the first time. I'm really regretting that.

After showering we went back to Max's for food. He got jerk pork and rice and I got a cheeseburger and fries. We ended up buying a 2014 Bahamian calendar that I had resisted at the museum the day before. Again, really good food. I also had two rum punches. :)

We stopped at the two churches in Clarence Town on the way back. One was under renovation so not interesting on the inside, but the other was great. Hance had told us we could climb up one of the towers, so we did.

the one under construction


The one we got inside - we climbed up that left tower

Four ladders in a tiny little space! 


The view at the top was great though, even though it was a little scary getting up. We took lots of pictures.
The view of Clarence Town from the tower


The view of the other church from the tower we climbed up

We went back to the room and I was in a lot of pain so I covered my legs in a towel and put an ice pack and some frozen vegetables on them while we watched TV. We left for Earlie's, a bar, around 9, to hear some rake 'n' scrape music that Shavonne had told me about, but when we got there we found out they'd cancelled it because they weren't sure about the weather and it was going to be outside, and everyone was going to Salt Pond anyway for fireworks and stuff there. We didn't want to go that far so we just went back to the hotel and I put a wet towel on my legs and we watched Cabin in the Woods finally. :) It was interesting because I already kind of knew the story and Mark kept telling me when not to look, so it wasn't quite the same experience as if we'd both been seeing it for the first time. :) Then we put aloe on each other and went to sleep. 



You will be missed

 
 
"Robin Williams was an airman, a doctor, a genie, a nanny, a president, a professor, a bangarang Peter Pan, and everything in between. But he was one of a kind. He arrived in our lives as an alien – but he ended up touching every element of the human spirit. He made us laugh. He made us cry. He gave his immeasurable talent freely and generously to those who needed it most – from our troops stationed abroad to the marginalized on our own streets. The Obama family offers our condolences to Robin’s family, his friends, and everyone who found their voice and their verse thanks to Robin Williams."

—Barack Obama