Hurricane Irma - September 10, 2017

Mr. Delancy agreed to pick us up and take us to the Hilton. He had been so helpful and accommodating the entire time. He was running late for church but he did let us take this photo really quickly. The first room we had was not agreeable. The window was too small and it was right next to the elevator. I talked my way to a much nicer room on the executive floor and an obstructed view of the ocean. Now that's a decent room!

We walk around looking for lunch and things to do but all the businesses are boarded up. It was Sunday and nobody was in a rush to get back to business. The cruise ships weren't going to come until later this week. We even tried Subway but they were closed. I brought some snacks from our hurricane food shopping trip but not lunch. We had sandwiches from the café at the hotel.

With a lot of facebooking, I found one bar open around us. We obviously had to go.

There were about 30 people there, which was probably all the tourists in the area as most had already evacuated.

These are $8 Guinness pints. Bahamian beer is modestly priced and we quickly switched. The rest of the night was more yahtzee and weather watching. Irma was hitting Florida this night and there were plenty of angles to watch the carnage.

The ocean was much calmer on this side of New Providence.

Hurricane Irma - September 9, 2017

The outer bands of Irma came through starting at 1am with wind, rain, and lightening. The storm was not outside of a typical storm in Oklahoma City. We were very lucky because we didn't take a direct hit like Hurricane Matthew the year before. Cuba and Puerto Rico took most of the force away from the Bahamas.

We were worried about storm surge and flooding. Mr. Delancy predicted correctly and none of that was an issue. We did lose power as the storm came through. And it came back on at 4 am briefly. By 11 am, we had our power back. We checked and the storm had fully passed the Bahamas. We were in the clear!

The airport announced that it will be open for limited operations on Sunday, which was the day we were supposed to leave. I called American and found out there were no flights that day. We decided to keep our Tuesday flight, as Monday would have been standby.

It was time to explore. The ocean was angry and the wind was whipping the sand all around us. A hat was no protection for the sand. We found one shell and headed back quickly. After much debate, we decided to head over to the other side of the island and stay at the British Colonial Hilton. There's more food options and we were hoping for some fun before it was time to leave. Surprisingly, the Hilton had space for us. Originally, we were going to stay there on September 9th but with the Hurricane, I decided to cancel that reservation.

The rest of the night, we ate, played yahtzee, watched the storm out to sea and watched tv. We never really unpacked, so we were ready to head to the Hilton the next day.  When we were packing for the trip, Ryan never thought that Hurricane Irma would come and mess up our trip. For a good amount of time, the storm was a category 5. An F5 tornado is the largest recorded tornado. His insight in packing was impressive.

Hurricane Irma - September 8, 2017

The morning before the storm, the ocean was calm. We did some walking today. We forgot salsa and dish soap, which prompted us to walk to the nearest food store. Several people stopped to see if we needed a ride and in the store we needed help finding salsa. Bahamians don't love salsa like I do. Everyone was friendly and helpful. Once again, the store had plenty of supplies and the salsa was tucked away in a corner.

We found lots of coral and chatted with Mr. Delancy as he was making preparations for all of his properties. The talk was all about the storm. Hurricane Matthew hit this area around the same time in 2016. Thirty foot Austrian pines were pulled from the ground but there was no flooding. We thought that was odd because the property is right up to a canal and the ocean is just across the street. Mr. Delancy said there were no flooding concerns and being on the second floor was not nearly as safe. The storm could have hit at any time after 6pm. It wasn't until 1 am the following morning that the storm made landfall.

Hurricane Irma - September 3, 2017

The views from Little Deadmans Cay to Long Island are stunning when the sun is out. Today, we had a kayak on rent and it was delivered. We enjoyed a short kayak to hunt for shells on another island. At this point, we still didn't realize the hurricane was on its way.



Sandals Emerald Bay, Bahamas

This is a basic review of Sandals Emerald Bay in the Bahamas. I plan to share more photos and stories of specific events later. 

The entertainment was excellent with a Junkanoo band at multiple events. The staff were wonderful, friendly, helpful and took good care of us during the entire trip. (Even at the end, I was offered a moist towel to freshen up, which I thought was only for people arriving.) 

The food was so delicious and I am not sure how Sandals does it but its comfortable food. I know that  at all-inclusive resorts in Mexico the food is so different than what I'm used to. When I go to Sandals and eat, I actually do feel at home. (On every trip, we have been told "welcome home". Its a nice greeting to come to.) The beach was stunning and the ocean was an aquamarine that I know can't be captured by our camera. You have to see it for yourself. The pools (especially the loud pool) was a lot of fun. There is a quiet pool and its nice too but I prefer my tunes.

I would 100% recommend Sandals to anyone and when someone says its too expensive, I tell them that it is worth it. The hassle-free, do what you want, relaxing vacation for every couple. I was not compensated for this post in any way, but if Sandals would like to give me a free night or a luxury car ride towards my Christmas in Jamaica trip, I would happily accept.

Private Island Experience, Part III

This is the final installment of the private island experience. Are you thinking that you need your own private island? There are many to choose from and some are quite affordable for a week. Friday, we looked outside and at the ocean. We quickly decided that another long expedition out to the open ocean in the kayak was not feasible. So we kayaked to one of the neighboring islands to hunt for shells.

It was a rocky ride full of waves and wind, which made for difficult paddling. We had been to this island the year before but on the opposite end. This side had a shipwreck, which I thought looked cool. From this island, we carried the kayak across to the other side and continued our quest for shells. There was hardly any wind on this side and it was a much smoother paddle. 

On this island, I found tons of great shells to add to my collection. I did not find the elusive Bahamian sand dollar. I will find it some day though.

Saturday was our last full day and the most appropriate thing to do is nothing. We relaxed. We played Yahtzee at the gazebo, with wind whipping the dice and my hair. We BBQ'd the snapper and fed our leftovers to the fishes at the dock.

Sunday, we had to prepare to leave and a major storm was brewing. Our flight wasn't until 3:30 PM but Noel came to get us around noon. I actually saw a lightening bolt. Possibly because of the weather, our flight was delayed one hour. Besides the minor delay and stormy weather, we had a smooth day of travel. It was that evening that we experienced the moth.

We have decided that April is an excellent time to visit Little Deadman's Cay. The weather is quite warm, there is no chance for a hurricane and the bugs can't land (due to the windiness). While that is a good time to go, we will be back in September. There's a chance for a hurricane and the bugs are out in full force. The advantage is the labor day holiday, which saves me from using one day of vacation. The most efficient way to maximize vacation time is to use holidays. Next up on the blog will be my review of Sandals Emerald Bay in the Exumas. 

A Private Island Experience

We started our two week Bahamian adventure by our second visit to Little Deadman's Cay in Long Island Bahamas. Each time, we have learned how to do the trip better. Armed with tuna packets and snorkel gear, we were ready for a good time. We landed on a Sunday and most food stores are closed. Our host, Noel Turquist, talked one of his friends into opening just for us to get supplies. We were there from Sunday to Sunday. Monday, was our huge expedition day and we had plans of kayaking to the open ocean. This means kayaking around several small islands and then hiking across another island until we were met with the ocean.

As we began our arduous journey, we ran close to an angry fisherman. He was heckling and probably cursing at us but we kept on our quest to find the open ocean. We found a couple of good islands for exploring and we made slow progress. Utilizing our GPS, we found a very long island that couldn't be kayaked around easily. Hoping to find open ocean, by hiking across the island, we started trekking. Eventually, we were met with the beautiful open ocean, seen below.

Truly, a stunning view, unmatched by any other part of the Caribbean and we had it all to ourselves. Tuesday, we needed to get fresh fish for dinners and rented a car. We had no plans but to explore the northern end of the island. I came unprepared and ruined our opportunity to explore Adderly's Plantation. We will be back for that. We made it to the Christopher Columbus monument, constructed at the top of a hill on the northern tip of Long Island. The views were gorgeous on all sides.

I made it up the hill in flip flops. Down near the ocean, I found a couple of cool shells and immediately lost them at the same beach. How did I do that? We continued back towards our side of the island, with a quick pit stop to Stella Maris. At Stella Maris, there are million dollar homes, with million dollar views. We also found a random cave, filled with bats. The bats did not appreciate our invasion of their privacy. 

We capped the day of adventure off with a good lunch at Max's Conch Bar and purchasing fresh fish: grouper and snapper, from the fisherman. I will be recapping this trip over many posts in the coming weeks. Please come back to see the next installment of this Bahamian Adventure.

Top Pic Tuesday: Egyptian Style

Cruising through Cairo is no small feat. There's no stop lights. Chaos rules the roads. Trying to get a simple bottle of water was a never ending adventure. Staying at the Hilton meant over priced water. We always chose to buy it elsewhere. Crossing the street required the assistance of at least one Egyptian. Thankfully, we were never hit by any cars. One day, we decided our adventure should be going to McDonald's. We love checking out the ethnic foods that makes McDonald's special in each country. Not more than twenty steps from the Hilton, an Egyptian stops us and begins a conversation. He explains that he works at the Hilton and is studying English at the American University. He continues to explain that we should not go to McDonald's because the president is over there and the crowds would be overwhelming. He offers to take us to a different place. We never knew how to say no the entire time we were in Egypt. So we follow this fellow across the Nile to another fellow's shop (complete opposite direction of McDonald's). Mohammed. The Hilton employee introduces us and leaves to go to work. Mohammed offers tea and has a little boy run to get us some food. Oh my that food was spicy and not good for my system! While we are sipping Coke from glass bottles, Mohammed describes all these wonderful trips he can take us on. R, my hubby, was quite interested in the Catacombs of Alexandria. Mohammed said, "no problem, I will take you," and we agreed on a fair price. Alexandria was gorgeous and I have already shared this photo but its worth another share. The seafood was the freshest of the fresh from the ocean and heavenly. Upon dropping us off at the hotel, Mohammed said, "I like you guys. Come with me to my uncle's house for a nice little party." His uncle is a bedoin and we sat around a bonfire. There were no girls around this bonfire but me. There were no English speakers around this bonfire but me, R, and Mohammed. Everyone was feeding R beer and hashish. I was concerned and held the same beer the entire night. Around 2am, Mohammed wanted to party some more and flagged us the cheapest cab back to the Hilton. No harm. No foul. Everyone was friendly, hospitable, and generous. I still don't want to be the only girl sitting around a bonfire with hardly any English speakers. That was a true adventure. Thanks to Sara at Life in a Break Down for letting me preview this story on her blog right here. Please stay tuned for Weight Loss Wednesday.

Thankful Thursday

Welcome to Thankful Thursday. I am thankful for the ocean. Whenever I think of it, I reminded of God's majesty. The crashing waves, the never ending horizon, the sand.  It's beautiful. What are you thankful for today? 

I really like Melissa of Grin and Barrett and her post was a very good thankful post today. I'd recommend you read it.

Ocean

The ocean is so vast and endless. I love staring out and looking for boats. The crashing waves are soothing and never ending.

Beautiful.

All of these photos are taken with my iPhone and instagrammed. E N D

Sail away

All stress floats away when on a sail boat cruising through the Greek islands. Its hard to believe I was there just a few short years ago.

I will be back on a yacht floating through fascinating places. This is the perfect life filled with relaxing naps, gentle waves, and time to do whatever puts me at ease.

Thank you Lord for creating the ocean, so I can relax on a yacht. Thank you Lord for the wind that takes the yacht from sweet island to sweet island. Thank you Lord.

Day at the beach

I miss the ocean, the waves, and everything about the beach. Sand can be a bit of hassle in between my toes but I enjoy listening to the gentle crash of the waves. Seagulls will call out to one another and some waves will be louder than others.

Imagine yourself at the beach and listening to the relaxing sounds. That’s a great way to let stress melt away from your mind, body, and soul. Here’s to a fresh week, full of promise, and moments of relaxation.