Bahamas Anniversary Vacation
August 25, 2005
This is the view from our balcony of Orange Hill Beach in Nassau, Bahamas. What made this view and beach better than perhaps a swanky resort like Atlantis? Look at the photo a little closer. No people! That’s right … I never saw more than 5 people on the beach at a time. No one trying to sell anything, no fear of being hit by a jet ski, and less odds of better looking beach bunnies catching your man’s eye! It was like having our own private beach for an entire week! =)
We stayed in this pink cottage at Orange Hill Inn. The cottage had a kitchenette and remote control A/C. If you really want to relax, I recommend staying at Orange Hill compared to the resorts. Bus service runs every 15 minutes if you want to go into town. Just plan to eat at Orange Hill … Yvonne is the best cook on the island for dinner!
Of course, the highlight of our trip was becoming certified for open water diving! Donald and I are posing for our instructor inside a James Bond shipwreck at Stuart Cove’s Dive Bahama. Our experience was truly out of this world. We swam with beautiful fish, large and small. One dive area was infested with baby jellyfish. I held a shrimp and a sea urchin in my hand and was also stung by fire coral while posing for a photo!
You guessed it … we were down there with sharks as well! I have to admit, it was a very humbling moment to be so close to such creatures. Honestly, the sharks just weren’t interested in snacking on us. I guess they don’t like the taste of chicken. LOL All of the sharks kept their distance, they definitely weren’t as friendly as the playful school of fish that will swim around you.
These fish were sweet enough to pose for the camera as we explored the reef on our first official solo dive with no instructor! The kids say this is a photo of Dori blowing them a kiss while searching for Nemo. For some reason the kids think we were on a mission to find and visit Nemo. We brought them back t-shirts and shark tooth necklaces. They were so happy “Nemo” sent them!
Donald and I took a day off from diving to visit Paradise Island. We stopped for lunch at Bimini Road Restaurant. The atmosphere was great and so was the decorating. After Donald returned from the restroom after an extremely long time, he said, “That was the coolest restroom I’ve ever seen!” So, I had to visit the ladies’ room with the camera. That’s an actual aquarium with live fish behind the sinks. I know, I’m wierd!
Since we ventured over to Paradise Island, we just had to visit Atlantis. We took a tour of the The Dig and I took a break while Donald snapped a photo. Even if you don’t stay there, I recommend visiting Paradise Island and Atlantis while you are there. The hotel is definitely gorgeous but has the draw back of tons of people - unless you like spending your relaxing vacation with others!
Ahhhhhh … love was in the air for our anniversary vacation. We had to try parasailing before leaving Paradise Island. It was a peaceful and interesting experience, but we both agree we’d rather spend the $100 on scuba diving next time!
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