We sat at the table digging into our overpriced burger, portabella mushroom sandwich, Caesar salad and sesame shrimp dinners. The high-end restaurants were basically unavoidable at the Atlantis Resort, and at this point my $22 burger seemed like a reward for my long morning of travel and my long day of aimless wandering around the island. Each turn, door, or staircase led us to a new building, pool, lagoon, bar or restaurant; it was clear this resort was an infinite complex big enough to sink the island itself. The Atlantis was just like my $22 burger—large, piled-high and, for the most part, well-done. But it wasn’t until five bites into that burger that I realized how over-the-top this place really was.
Before I knew it, our nice family dinner on the outside patio of an overpriced restaurant turned into a Bohemian Mardi Gras celebration large enough to blow an eardrum. With drums, whistles, and large music instruments I haven’t seen since my 5th grade holiday concert, the Atlantis staff took to the streets for a surprise Kamikaze-style attack on shoppers and dinner-eaters alike. Hidden behind their enormous masks and feathers that would put the NBC peacock to shame, the twenty or so performers somehow managed to pull everyone in a 1-mile radius onto the streets of Atlantis to dance, scream, and look like idiots. Thank goodness for Happy Hour, because the citizens of Atlantis were loving it. A non-stop party ensued—a message to the tourists of Paradise Island that this vacation would be an unforgettable one, even if it’s just to forget how much you paid for it all. The Atlantis, the unknown mythological lost-city was rebuilt in the Bahamas to never, ever be lost again.
The week shared by my mom, dad and Katie was just like our experience at that family dinner—completely unexpected, accidental and unanticipated. On Day 1, my dad sat at the bar next to Derek Jeter who was here to play in Michael Jordan’s Celebrity Invitational Golf Tournament (as was Mike Piazza, Mia Hamm, Nomar Garciapara, and a slew of others). We also went to Atlantis’ Dolphin Cay where we sat on the sand and watched Hurricane Katrina survivors (we’re still talking about Dolphins) flip, trick and make us laugh. And for the biggest surprise of Day 1: Mom, Dad and Katie did it all without any of their luggage! (Which the airline finally delivered at 10pm that night.)
Day 2 brought us a sunny morning for Atlantis’ main attraction, their pools and waterslides. With rain clouds approaching, that evening we found a great sports bar in the casino for drinks and the Patriots game. Later at night I went out to dinner with some SAS kids who were here a few days early.
We woke up for Day 3 with two surprises right outside our balcony. The fist surprise was that my home for the next 3.5 months, the MV Explorer, was in clear view right from our hotel room, docked right in downtown Nassau—an exciting yet annoying tease and distraction for the next few days. The second surprise was that it was still…somehow…. cloudy, windy and cold (for the Bahamas). But, being the hardcore family we are, Dad, Katie and I hit the pools until Mother Nature, in the form of torrential downpours, told us to go back inside. We then took the afternoon “over the bridge” to Nassau for some lunch and shopping, and a closer look at the MV.
Day 4 brought great weather and we hit the water park and beach all day.
Right now the hotel is full of SAS kids, I would say at least 400 of us at this point. Last night a TON of us gathered at the hotel lobby bar for a really fun time. I met tons of people and we completely took the place over. Later, a bunch ended up downtown at Senor Frogs but a few of us decided to keep it local and headed to a nightclub in the casino. Everyone is super nice and is just ready for a great time.
Tomorrow I board the ship at 8am. My parents are on board now for a parent’s party, and I can’t wait until they get back to tell me all about it.
We depart Nassau at 5pm which, from what I hear, is one of the more memorable and emotional parts of the trip. I can't believe I'm actually doing this. Wish me luck!
Before I knew it, our nice family dinner on the outside patio of an overpriced restaurant turned into a Bohemian Mardi Gras celebration large enough to blow an eardrum. With drums, whistles, and large music instruments I haven’t seen since my 5th grade holiday concert, the Atlantis staff took to the streets for a surprise Kamikaze-style attack on shoppers and dinner-eaters alike. Hidden behind their enormous masks and feathers that would put the NBC peacock to shame, the twenty or so performers somehow managed to pull everyone in a 1-mile radius onto the streets of Atlantis to dance, scream, and look like idiots. Thank goodness for Happy Hour, because the citizens of Atlantis were loving it. A non-stop party ensued—a message to the tourists of Paradise Island that this vacation would be an unforgettable one, even if it’s just to forget how much you paid for it all. The Atlantis, the unknown mythological lost-city was rebuilt in the Bahamas to never, ever be lost again.
The week shared by my mom, dad and Katie was just like our experience at that family dinner—completely unexpected, accidental and unanticipated. On Day 1, my dad sat at the bar next to Derek Jeter who was here to play in Michael Jordan’s Celebrity Invitational Golf Tournament (as was Mike Piazza, Mia Hamm, Nomar Garciapara, and a slew of others). We also went to Atlantis’ Dolphin Cay where we sat on the sand and watched Hurricane Katrina survivors (we’re still talking about Dolphins) flip, trick and make us laugh. And for the biggest surprise of Day 1: Mom, Dad and Katie did it all without any of their luggage! (Which the airline finally delivered at 10pm that night.)
Day 2 brought us a sunny morning for Atlantis’ main attraction, their pools and waterslides. With rain clouds approaching, that evening we found a great sports bar in the casino for drinks and the Patriots game. Later at night I went out to dinner with some SAS kids who were here a few days early.
We woke up for Day 3 with two surprises right outside our balcony. The fist surprise was that my home for the next 3.5 months, the MV Explorer, was in clear view right from our hotel room, docked right in downtown Nassau—an exciting yet annoying tease and distraction for the next few days. The second surprise was that it was still…somehow…. cloudy, windy and cold (for the Bahamas). But, being the hardcore family we are, Dad, Katie and I hit the pools until Mother Nature, in the form of torrential downpours, told us to go back inside. We then took the afternoon “over the bridge” to Nassau for some lunch and shopping, and a closer look at the MV.
Day 4 brought great weather and we hit the water park and beach all day.
Right now the hotel is full of SAS kids, I would say at least 400 of us at this point. Last night a TON of us gathered at the hotel lobby bar for a really fun time. I met tons of people and we completely took the place over. Later, a bunch ended up downtown at Senor Frogs but a few of us decided to keep it local and headed to a nightclub in the casino. Everyone is super nice and is just ready for a great time.
Tomorrow I board the ship at 8am. My parents are on board now for a parent’s party, and I can’t wait until they get back to tell me all about it.
We depart Nassau at 5pm which, from what I hear, is one of the more memorable and emotional parts of the trip. I can't believe I'm actually doing this. Wish me luck!
more pics from the Bahamas: http://quinnipiac.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2064914&l=2ced9&id=24205401
1 comment:
Love that picture! Sooooooooooooooooooo jelaous.
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