A Few Days in Paradise

So I'm totally going to have a brag moment here.  My husband pretty much rocks, and so he ended up last year in the top 5% of his company.  Yeah, kind of awesome.  I couldn't be more proud.

And I couldn't be happier too because that meant we got an all-expenses paid trip to the BAHAMAS!!!!  Sweet.

Well, almost all expenses.  Since we didn't want to take a red-eye, we decided to go a day early and get a cheap hotel on the other side of the island.  We got there when it was dark, and woke up the next morning to...

I seriously almost passed out it was so beautiful.  I've never had any desire to go to a relaxing tropical locale for vacation (I'm more of a Europe or American History vacation kind of girl), but one look out the window, and I was sold!

This beach the first day was gorgeous!  Sorry, these pictures aren't the best.  We just had our point-and-shoot and B's iPod.  I'm sure I could tweak them on the computer, but I'm just not that talented.

I loved going to downtown before meeting up with B's company because we got to get in some of those historical sites that I love and get the local vibe.  We hit up the local artisan market too and picked up some souvenirs for the kiddos.

Then we headed over to the Atlantis resort to meet up with B's peeps.

And if we thought our view the first night was good....

This room was seriously amazing. You could fit our entire room from the first night just in the bathroom! We even each had our own sink.

And our own living room.  Complete with over-priced mini bar.

This is the lobby of our hotel (and no, I didn't take this picture).  This is all actually outside, which makes it really cool.

The view from the elevator hallway.

After an afternoon relaxing at the above-pictured beach (which was private for our hotel!), we went to a dinner with all the other award winners and the big-shots from the company.  The best parts were the endless pineapple juice from the open bar and the chocolate parfaits.  I had three.

After dinner one of B's friends took us over to the aquarium in the big hotel on the resort.  It was AMAZING!  The best part was this giant stingray that B dubbed "Super Frank."  These pictures don't do him justice.  He was HUGE.

Stock picture from the resort.

Can you see him in the background?  So cool.

Day two we woke up and hit the waterslides!  Atlantis has some pretty amazing slides, including this heart-attack worthy beauty.  

It is SO incredibly steep.  And yes, those are sharks in the water.  But, we both did it.  I was happy just to be able to say I did it, even though I didn't really enjoy it at all.  But B loved it and went over and over again while I rode the tube slide next to it that also goes into the sharks. 

 The triumphant warriors after conquering the "Leap of Faith" waterslide.

That archway is actually a suite.  It's only $25,000 a night.  What a steal.  Apparently it's the most expensive hotel room in the world.  Hope they at least throw in free wi-fi.

We spent the afternoon unintentionally exploring the resort while trying to find a place that was actually open for lunch.  But we discovered some awesome stuff on the way.

Like the rest of the aquarium!

B holding a live conch.

The obligatory Nemo pictures for the kids.

Here's Super Frank again!

After lunch we made our way down to the marina to gawk at the incredibly lavish boats docked there.

After an evening of relaxing, watching TV, and skyping the kids, we finally made our way to dinner.

This was the most amazing buffet I'd ever seen.  Sushi, sushi rolls, stir fry, steak, lamb, chicken, massive shrimp, beautiful cheeses, mussels, calamari...seriously.  And dessert crepes and some of the best chocolate ice cream I've ever had.  I'm sure people had a good laugh watching us waddle out.

Day three was amazing.  We woke up early and went to the STINGRAY EXPERIENCE!  Wow.  Seriously the most incredible thing ever.  

There was a lake area that was just FULL of stingrays.  Probably about 75 of them.  And when you walked in the water they just started circling around you.  They knew food was coming.  

See the brown in the water?  Yeah, that's a solid wall of stingrays.  

Can you tell we're both still a little freaked out?

eventually we both warmed up the idea and started petting them.  They were absolutely beautiful and extremely friendly.  

Then it was on to the feeding.  B's face in this picture cracks me up.

Stingray's mouths are underneath, so you would hold some shrimp or fish in your hand and stick it under a ray as it glided next to you and it would suck the food out of your hand.  It felt like a vacuum! 

Then it was time to snorkel.  Once the rays were finished eating, they ventured out into their habitat, and we got to join them.  There were lots of other fish...and two sharks.  A hammerhead and another kind that I don't remember.  That had me a little freaked out.

They're so beautiful when they're swimming underwater.

Love this one.

Here's B.  Check out the shark down in the bottom right corner!

Had to get one last touch to say goodbye.  These guys felt like our friends by the time we left.  

After the stingrays, we headed over to the waterslides again and then made our way back to the beach for lunch and some relaxation.

This picture was right after a seagull swooped down and stole the top bun off my sandwich right out of my hands.  For rude.

It was a little chilly this day, so our beach relaxation required sweaters and shirts.  But it was still amazing.

Later that night we headed over to B's awards dinner.  

Here he is getting his award.

I made sure he thanked his wife.  :)

So proud.

With some of our friends we made while on the trip.

Congrats, Honey!  You deserve it.  And you deserve a better picture than this too, but what are you going to do?

After one final amazing breakfast of fresh fruit and coconut french toast, we boarded this tiny little plane and headed back to the US.  

Seriously awesome.  This trip will stay with us for a long time to come.  It was so wonderful to spend so much time with B, my very best friend in the whole world.  Thanks for being so amazing.  And while I will miss having meals cooked for me, showering daily, reading without interruption, and having my bed made (and turned down!) for me every day, it is SO wonderful to be back with E & B, those two little girls who make my life complete.