Trip to Nassau (part 1)

The past week has been full of adventure for our little family :) I've labeled this "Part 1" because I can't fit all the pictures I want to put on here on one post... so I'll finish the next half tomorrow! Last Saturday, the three of us, my mom & dad, and Bev & Kevin all loaded up in my parent's explorer and headed up to Tennessee for a wedding. We drove there and back on Saturday (which was a lot of time on the road--- but was actually a pretty nice trip).

On Sunday we heading to Auburn to pick up our friend Andrew S. and we all headed to Atlanta around 1:30 am on Monday to catch our flights. Before we even got on the interstate we had to change a flat tire. Of course our thoughts were "We're off to a 'great' start!" We managed to get to the airport without anymore problems and caught our flights and flew over top of some of the stormy weather from Tropical Storm Fay. Joss was AMAZING on the flights. He fussed for maybe a minute (prob not even that long) on one of them when his ears were popping...but other than that.. he was a great little traveler. It makes me sad when we walk on the airplane and you automatically see folks' expressions turn sour because they have to fly with an infant... so be concious of that the next time you fly! I just want to say-- "Just wait-- he's a good little guy, I promise!!" But oh well.... guess I shouldn't take it to heart.

We flew into Nassau early Monday morning and originally had planned to head to Exuma (northern Cays {pronounced keys}--not where we'll be living) on D & Muh's (Dallas' grandparents) boat. However, with the Tropical Storm/Hurricane just passing the area... the weather was pretty stormy that day. We got to take some nice long naps and recoop a little after the early morning, so that was nice. Tuesday we headed to Highbourne Cay!! A long awaited escape for Dallas (and Andy). It was the three of us, Andrew S., Andy & Nancy (Dallas' folks) and D & Muh (and of course their dog, Paddy).

Here's Joss and Dallas on the way up on the boat. It's about 4 hours from Nassau to Highbourne Cay on the boat we go on. It was a very rocky day... and the diesel smell was blowing right in our faces... so I didn't take that leg of the trip too well :oP Never have I been as sick as I was on this trip on a boat. Joss was sooo good though and let Dallas hold him a lot while mommy was sick. (Just for kicks-- notice the skin color now and then again at the end of the trip) :)

Grandpa Andy enjoyed some fun time with Joss on the way too! Andy just got back from Beijing and was ready for some down time too.
The traditional way to do this trip is to anchor right out in the water off of the beach of Long Cay (official name Spirit Cay), but this was a more luxurious trip :) We tied up at Highbourne Cay Marina where water and electricity is a little easier to come by. Tieing up at the marina also gave us the option to get out and walk around a lot easier than anchoring out off the beach. Joss and I enjoyed many strolls up and down the docks and along the one road on the island :) This was one on the first day. Nancy and I took Paddy with us to get him off the boat a bit for some exercise. He lasted about 10 minutes and then this is where he ended up :)
The "Bus Stop" on the island-- LOL (for those of you that may not know the Out-Island humor...this is a joke. This isn't real!) The next part of the trip is much more scenic :) I think you'll enjoy seeing one of the catches of the trip for sure :) I'll give you a hint.... it weighed about 300+ pounds!!!!! Tune in tomorrow for more.