2/16 Bahamas (video)

2/16/08: Saturday
Today was our last full day on the island. And we intended to make it a relaxing day at the resort. No real agenda, just beach time and pool time. We accomplished just that! This was the best day we had weather-wise.

I noticed that the number of people at the affiliated resorts had also drastically increased. I learned that evening that Michael Jordan’s celebrity invitational golf tournament was starting up Monday. There did appear to be some basketball players roaming around with their families.

So what did we do… Beach, Kiddie Pool, and Lazy River. We decided to visit the one part of the resort that we hadn’t spent much time at. This is the original resort. Merv Griffin’s RIU (Resorts International) Coral Towers. The exterior architecture is dated, like that of the 70’s. And it’s not quite as nice as the newer facilities, but it’s still great. And the kiddie pool we found was perfect. It wasn’t crowded at all. A little sanctuary for us to hang out with the kids. For lunch we went to the Cave take-out. A little fast-food type restaurant situated inside a cave next to a pool. Finally, I tried my conch-fritters. I’m sure these are nowhere near as good as the one’s at the fish-fry place. But they were good. I’d definitely try them again.

Later that afternoon, Traci and I tried to head over to the big Kiddie pool by the Mayan tower, however, we found out that it was closed due to some kid pooping in the pool. That was very unfortunate. Though we found some small waterslides for Kylie try out. So we got some video of Kylie on her first waterslide. Initially she didn’t know what to make of it, she’d been on slides before, but not a waterslide. When she got off, her smile was ear to ear teeth chattering and all.

Later that evening, Heather came with me to pick up my Bahamas Starbucks mug. Those that know me well know that I collect Starbucks mugs from their city collection. On our way back to Johnny Rockets for a… you guessed it… Malted shake, there was some street dancers bringing the audience into the action. One girl was dancing with a young boy.. maybe 13? Maybe his dad pushed him out there. But she was shaking her hips to the music and the boy was embarrassed but enjoying himself. Shortly after I said to Heather, you should go out there (I was kidding), one of the shirtless male dancers came by and grabbed Heather. To his surprise she was mucho preggo, and I was able to capture the moment for posterity.

Again, sorry for the rotated pictures. Traci and Kylie in the sand.

wading in the surf.

Kylie likes it when we bob up and down with the incoming waves.

This is the kiddie pool area... Poseidon's pool.

Getting our feet wet.

Video clip of me taking Kylie through the water jets.

The floating lobster and crab are fun to sit and play on, plus they are very colorful.

Kylie and Melina sitting on the lobster.

We took a short field trip to the shark tunnel and aquarium. (there are lots of shark tanks at the Atlantis). This one is one is near the rope bridge. You don't get a sense of scale, but this fish was large... by the looks Kylie's head could probably fit in it's mouth.

Here we are looking at it... and it looking back at us trying to determine if it can eat us.

Kylie's first waterslide experience.

Heather dancing with the shirtless Bahamian dude mentioned above.

2/14 Bahamas

2/14/08: Thursday
Another beautiful day on Paradise Island, Bahamas. Again, we hopped on the shuttle bus for some fun in the sun. My one goal for today was to get some photos of Tony and I on the speed slide. That thing is tons of fun. Next time, Traci will get to try it when she’s not pregnant.

Traci and I offered to babysit Melina tonight so Heather and Tony could have a night out by themselves. They made the jaunt to the local Fish Fry on the main island. I don’t think they tried the Conch Fritters (that was one of my other objectives). They enjoyed themselves. The food off the resort island is cheap in comparison. Afterwards they spent some time in the casino (remember, gambling is for entertainment and not for investment purposes).

While at home, Traci made some Mac and cheese for dinner for the kids. And we watched Finding Nemo. Both Melina and Kylie did well watching the movie and made it most of the way through. When they get into something on TV they don’t blink.

Looking back at the Royal Towers from across the Lagoon.

Kylie having fun playing in the sand.

Sorry this picture is tilted. It is the famed Mayan temple speed slide aptly named "Leap of Faith." There is a very cool flash video on the Atlantis website that shows off their waterpark. http://www.atlantis.com/water/aquaventure.aspx

That's me making the plunge. In this case, I feel like you fly past the shark tube so fast that you don't even realize what happened.. other than the fact that it was exhilerating.

This is the slower paced Serpent innertube ride. I was able to get Traci to ride this one with me as a double. It's a meandering serpentine slide inside the tower that discharges you in this rectangular shark tube. Their is a viewing area here that you can watch the sharks and the passers by.

Here's a good shot of the Royal towers. We took a walk around the property with Kylie and Melina while Tony and Heather were out.

This is a shot of the Harborside resort by the pool. Despite it's contrast to the look of the rest of Atlantis. These timeshares are very nice, and the property has a nice feel to it.

Catching the sunset from the point.


"cheese everyone"