Vacation

To celebrate our 10th anniversary, Alan and I went on a cruise to the Bahamas in January.  It was wonderful.  No cooking, no cleaning, no worrying about the kids. (Well, I think you always worry about the kids, but I didn't have to worry about what they were going to do or eat while we were there, I knew Grannie had it under control.)We left a day early so we could see the Everglades in Florida.  I had never flown before so that was a new experience. I was pretty nervous, especially about security, but it really wasn't bad at all.  

 There are alligators everywhere. It is strange to see them sunning themselves on the side of the road.

 The manatees were up in the channel so we were able to see them poke their noses out of the water and breath.  It was really hard to catch on camera. I tried and tried to video it, but I never was able to catch it.

 Miami is beautiful from the shores.  Downtown was a little creepy, but the view from our cruise ship was absolutely stunning. Here is sunset.

 All the people who lived in this area had a large boat or yacht or something in front of their house.  The houses were huge!

 Here is our crazy cruise buddies.  They are great people and it was fun to get to know everyone a little better.

 We stopped at Great Stirrup Cay first.  I couldn't believe how blue the water was.  It is so pretty!

 Our ship, Norwegian Sky

 The second day we were on Nassau. It was a little chilly and with wind was blowing so we took a taxi tour.  Our taxi driver, Jiggy, was slightly crazy and possible dealing drugs, but he took us around and showed us some neat things.

 This is how much they regard stop signs...

 These are some stairs and a walk way that was chiseled out by hand by slaves so the people could exit the fort out of sight.  It was really impressive.

 We stopped at some Lucayan Indian caves. It was Alan's birthday so he got the pleasure of dressing up.

Pretty Islands

We went snorkeling on Great Stirrup and Grand Bahama.  We didn't have an underwater camera, but these are some pictures Alan's sister took of the things we were seeing.  I am not sure I like snorkeling, but the fish and other see creatures really were amazing.  I would attempt to snorkel again to be able to see it all.

Stingray and other fish

 There were schools like this everywhere. I also saw a small reef shark and a sea turtle.  

 This is Grand Bahama island where we stopped the last day.  

 We swam all the way out to those rocks and to the back side of them.  It was really amazing how much sea life was in that area.

 Watch out! Pirate ship!

This was my favorite towel animal.

Alan likes this picture so I included it.

All-in-all we had a fabulous time and it was a little hard to come home to the cold and the snow.  I missed the kids, but they make sure we know they had a fabulous time here with Grannie and Grampa.