Atlantis Honeymoon Day 7

Did I mention I got a major sunburn on our speed boat adventure the other day? It was across my back, my shoulders, belly, and around my legs. It wasn't any deep burns, but it was intense. There was minor blistering that would appears in spots and heal up in a short time as the burns went through the healing process. Par for the course for my white ass. The only issue on this day was that as part of the healing process, a lot of my burns went through the itchy phase all at the same time. I feel like I had it mostly under control. I know not to scratch the itches with fingernails, but I still had to scratch by gently rubbing with fingers. I had to take a couple of cool showers to help too. Between all this, Allie and I did do some exploring around resort again. Some portion of the day was also occupied by applying aloe cream to the burns. In fact, this was also part of the fun from the previous day too.
Here's the amazing part. I wanted to get burned to some degree. I kinda like getting the freckles, especially across the back of my shoulders. It's kinda like a cheetah pattern. ::Growl:: hehehe
Allie, with her darker skin, went through the itchy stage of her burns on the previous day sooner, and I took care of her. So on this day, she took care of me.

Our plan for the evening was to rent a hotel movie that was recently in the theaters, and have a room service dinner. Well, room service fell through and blow the plan for the evening away. I was not happy. We ended up going to one of the rest'rants in the Marina (which is part of the resort). Having the evening plans blown, I later complained to the front desk. We ended up getting the Marina meal comp'd.
Did I mention that Atlantis kinda turned out to be a disappointment? It's a good place, but not nearly worth the money. I'm perfectly willing to pay for high end items and experiences, but when I do so, I will want to get my money's worth. I don't really feel Atlantis lives up to the hype or is worth the costs. The grounds of the resort are great, but do not come up to the level that even comes close to making the expense seem earned.

Atlantis Honeymoon Day 4

Thursday was the day I had planned to go to the main part of Nassau. The plan was to spend the afternoon and perhaps evening there. We took a small ferry across the channel from Paradise Island to Downtown Nassau. There was a tour guide of sorts on the ferry who talked about the Bahamas and Nassau and some of the mansions that were visible from the boat on Paradise Island throughout the ferry's 15 minute ride. Sarcasm may not be noted except by those who've taken the same ferry before, so I'll say directly that but I'm being sarcastic.
Once in Nassau's downtown we headed for a Starbucks to get some iced tea because it was hot. The Starbucks is right next to the ferry docking area. (I'd dare not actually call the point a dock. It is simply a spot where it looks like a good place for the boats to stop.) After Starbucks, we headed to Bay Street. Bay Street is the main tourist shopping spot in Nassau. As such, it was crammed with traffic, had very poor air quality, and felt as safe as a bad side of town in any large American city. After about an hour of this and some very minimal shopping, we decided to just head back to Atlantis.
On the ferry ride back, there was another supposed tour guide. The tour guides were entertaining. They worked for tips only. They were also completely unnecessary. Once back at Atlantis, we tried to spend the rest of the day at the pools, but the outdoor services all closed at 6pm (just as we got out there), so we decided finish exploring the Resort grounds, including having a rather expensive buffet dinner.

Atlantis Honeymoon Day 8

Allie really wanted to go to the pools today. She was afraid I was too burned to venture out. I just told her I'd cover up and have a lot of sun lotion on. We got to the pool area and got some extra towels. When I was relaxing in the patio chairs, I just had the towel over me. I did feel comfortable with going on short inner tube underwater slide a few times, and spend some time in the pool. Allie spent a lot of time in the pool. It very relaxing time. Not too much else happened this day. We did have dinner for too much money at one of the higher end buffets again. Mostly, I just wanted a chill day because the next day was going to be the long trip back home.

Overall, Atlantis turned out to not be worth the money. It was fun and all. It's just not as valuable as it costs. Plus, spending 8 days there is just too long. 4 days would've been better. But from California, travelling a whole day to go somewhere and a whole day back, 4 days isn't long enough. Given that, it's not worth going to Atlantis if coming all the way from California.

Atlantis Honeymoon Day 1

Allie and I had our Bahamian vacation at the Atlantis resort pretty much planned out even before we had our wedding plans ironed out. I've been looking forward to visiting Atlantis for a long time now.

I had the flight planned through Delta. Wow, that was a mistake. After spending over 5 hours on board the flight from San Jose, CA to Atlanta, GA, would have nearly a 5 hour lay over. We planned on this, so no big deal. It was planned this way because the flights to the Bahamas from Atlanta where so limited. So, when we go it to Atlanta's airport, we didn't even think twice about just going to get lunch in the terminal. After lunch, I noticed something that started to worry me. The afternoon flight to the Bahamas which was scheduled to leave at 2:50pm had not yet even arrived at 4:00pm. The flight should've been taking off just as our inbound flight was arriving. So that fact that it was over an hour late was a bad sign. I played with the idea of trying to get on to that flight via standby, but I thought better of it just in case there was a mix-up with our checked-in luggage. We waited for our flight. Waited. Waited. It was scheduled four about 7:30. Of course, 7:30pm came and went. Our flight's gate was moved. This was bad. Our flight finally got in but was held at the gate behind another plane that was stuck for another hour. We finally boarded around 9:00pm.

The next leg of the flight wasn't as long. We arrived on New Providence around 11:00pm and checked in to the hotel at almost 12:00am. The room was very disappointing. It was also a smoking room. However, we were too tired that night to deal with it, so we settled in and slept. We would change the room in the morning. The they put us in the first night left me with a some concern.

First #morning at #Atlantis in #Nassau on #ParadiseIsland - #tbt #2007 #bahamas #honeymoon #vacation #thebahamas #atlantic #atlanticocean #island #ocean #resort #atlantisbahamas #atlantis #atlantishotelandcasino #hotel

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Some of our Photos from Atlantis

Photobucket Album

This photo album spans the eight days we spent at the Atlantis Resort. I'll have more day by day journal entries in my blog about our honeymoon over the next two weeks.

Atlantis Honeymoon Day 2 (part 1)

After being a bit disappointed by the room they gave us late the previous night, I got up fairly early and went down to the front desk. They had put us into a smoking room, when I requested non-smoking. We had a great view of the Atlantis Royal Towers, but the our room just sucked. It was small with furnishings that appeared to be crammed in without any forth-thought. The TV cabinet and wet bar fridge where jammed next to each other, barely fitting between the bathroom door and the sliding door to the small balcony. One of the room's lamps was placed high on top of the TV cabinet and was butt up against a large framed painting, completely blocking it. Next to the bed, crammed between the balcony window was a chair. It was obvious that no placement consideration was done before the furniture was purchased. Based on the smoking issue alone, we got moved to another room in another tower. When we got to that room only to find we had a wonderful view of a big wall (the side of the tower we just got moved from). So, we went back down to request a room with a view that I literally paid for. Finally, we got a room with the proper view. The funny thing is, the rooms in this tower where twice the size of the rooms in the other tower with more furniture and amenities, yet the price for both rooms was the same (too much). This new room was more satisfying at least. After we settled into our new room, we slept some more, then got up in time for lunch and our Dolphin Cay experience.

Atlantis Honeymoon Day 2 (Part 3)

As night approached, Allie and I arrived at Fathoms. Allie kept calling it Phantoms. Fathoms is one of the high end rest'rants at the Atlantis Resort. After a short wait, we where seated. We were approached by one waiter. I ordered a sparkling water of a particular brand. I didn't realize that I had mispronounced it in a way that sounded like pinot grigio. The waiter asked if I wanted two glasses or a bottle. I was like, "A bottle." This excited him. As he walked away, his question confused me because the misunderstanding wasn't obvious to me yet.  

We where approached by two other waiters. All three waiters said the same thing when they came over, "I'm sorry that you've waited so long. May I get you a drink?" Well, we didn't really ever wait long at that point yet. :)
Anyway, Allie hear me misspeak, and we where both a bit puzzled, so it soon it me that he thought we ordered wine, instead of sparkling water. Fortunately, we got that fixed. Though it is ironic that I did end up ordering a glass of the pinot for myself with the meal.
Fathoms has a nice atmosphere. Two of the main walls are windows to The Dig Aquarium. They've got the most massive Sting Rays I've ever seen in the Aquarium.
The main courses where great, but the appetizer was surprisingly not so good. Lobster, crab, mussel and other critters where prepared local style. It really wasn't to our taste.
At the end, I was almost, but not quite hit with sticker shock with a nearly $300 bill. About 1/3 of these was the apetizer that we didn't enjoy much. Otherwise, the rest was worth it. We tried to take pictures of us within the dining area, but it was too dark. We ended up taking the above pic in the bar.

We had a nice, restful night in our new room.

Atlantis Honeymoon

 

October 8, 2007 to October 2007, Alice and I honeymooned at Atlantis Bahamas, visiting Nassau, New Providence, Powerboat Adventures and Compass Cay, Exuma Islands, Bahamas. (Original post/backup link)

Alice and I on our #honeymoon with some #dolphins at #Atlantis. - #dolphin #cay #dolphinexperience #atlantisbahamas #Nassau #bahamas #ParadiseIsland #island #atlantic #atlanticocean #ocean #atlantishotelandcasino #hotel #resort

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Atlantis Honeymoon Day 3

We headed to the pools. Actually, the main goal was to get on the river ride. I forget what it is called. It starts out high up in this tower. You get in your innertube and go down this long tubular water slide. Once you are through the slide, you can meander in your innertube along the river ride's many courses. Some points are kinda rapid, and other are chill. If you want, you don't have to get out of your innertube to start over at the top of the tower. There's a conveyor that takes you right back up for another drop. I would have pictures of Allie and mine adventure on this ride, sep we haven't taken the waterproof deposable camera in to have the water shots developed.

In the evening, we explored the Marina and had dinner at one of its rest'rants that supposedly offered local flavors. I know we didn't have much in the way of authentic local food, but what we did have didn't inspire. I believe I can safely say neither Allie or myself are going to go crazy over Bahamian cooking.

Atlantis Honeymoon Day 2 (Part 2)

Our walk to the Dolphin Cay was our first chance to see the main areas of the hotel. On the way from the Coral Towers to the Dolphin Cay, there's a small couture shopping plaza, a sizable casino floor (but still small by Vegas standards), Great Hall of Waters which serves as the reception for the Royal Towers, convention room area, an outdoor walk next to some of the many decorative ponds, and a glimpse of the inner tube water ride. At that end of resort grounds, where aren't many food options. We had to walk around the pool areas to the beach side in order to find a food stand for a quick lunch. Simple hot dogs and fries would hold us over till the evening.

Back at the Dolphin Cay, we checked in and walked into the private area. The Cay is man made, of course. I'm not even really sure if cay if the right word for it. Either way, there's a large salt water pool where many dolphins reside. These dolphins where rescued in the ocean after being sweep out to sea by Hurricane Katrina a couple years ago. They were originally part of a water park in the New Orleans area, which was destroyed.

The experience was fun. We got to get up close and personal with the dolphins. The trainers did use some of the usual tricks to make it seem as though the dolphins where interacting with the people more than what is really possible. It was all just trained tricks, of course, like the rest of the interaction. Sometimes the dolphins would go off and do tricks, and a couple times they did a trick or two without being asked. I like the spontaneous behavior prolly more than the instructed tricks just cuz it was the dolphins being themselves. We got to briefly handle the creatures, and feed them. Allie and I enjoyed our time there. We got a few photos to take back with us too. The photos where taken by the Dolphin Cay staff, and the cost to purchase printouts was a bit extreme, but supposedly a large portion of the proceeds go to wild dolphin and nature conservation, so I guess it was worth it.

Reno Trip II

 April 20, 2003 to April 21, 2003 

With David Erlichman and Miriam Erlichman, visited Atlantis Casino Hotel in Reno, NV.  It was a cool little trip covered by some timeshare promotion.  Original post/backup link.

Atlantis Honeymoon Day 6

The rain fell for much of the Saturday. We lounged around, and explored the resort. For the evening, we planned to go to the high end rest'rant in the Great Hall of Waters. The rest'rant was very nice. Surprisingly, the food was great. We've been a bit disappointed by Caribbean cuisine so far. Of course, this was likely the most expensive rest'rant on the island. We still had the issue of not really being able to tell who was assigned to wait our table. We settled in on making sure we got the attention of one particular assistance waiter. It's called the Great Hall of Waters because one side is the aquarium from The Dig. It is huge and beautiful. The night flew by quickly, so after dinner, we headed back up the room and called it a day.

How's married life treating me...

Same conversation over and over. I don't mind it. I can imagine the same basic conversation playing out over thousands of years, only with my slightly unique twist.

"Congratulations on your marriage!"
"Thank you!"
"How long has it been?" or "When was the wedding?"
"A couple of weeks ago."
"Do you feel any different?"
"No, but we've been practicing for about a year already, so there's not much difference between today and a month ago."

After this, the conversation can branch off into talking about how it is good to life with someone first, or that they are happy for both of us, or other such happiness. But then, the next question pops up eventually.

"Did you go on your honeymoon yet?" or "When's the honeymoon?" or something similar.
"We are going to Atlantis. We've planned our trip after the hurricane season is mostly done in the Caribbean area."
"That's a good idea."

In classic Groundhog day fashion, this conversation replies itself over and over since the big news broke. We didn't tell too many people, but once the wedding was about to happen, the news travelled fast. On reason it caught like wildfire is because we used to work together and a lot of people know us both from my company. (We didn't "meet" through the company per se, but knew each other through it.) So, this is a big positive gossip item. There's still some people that are finding out, so even two weeks later. I am still having this same conversation. However, why does anyone ask me if I feel any different? I don't think this question has ever even come into my mind when talking to a newlywed. This is just an observation of fact; I'm not complaining about this. It's actually kinda fun.

Atlantis Honeymoon Day 5

This is the day I had planned for awhile. We had a speed boat ride to a private island in The Exumas. The Exumas are a large group of tiny islands about an hours ride south of New Providence. The ride to the islands where fun. We made a quick 30 minute stop at a very small island with a rare and protected species of iguana. The staff gave us grapes and had everyone feed the iguanas by putting the grapes on sticks and holding them out. Those critters were everywhere. Supposedly the island had over a thousand iguana, but I my estimate is that no more than a hundred were on the tiny beach with us. It funny, in the U.S., a protected species means you steer clear, neither help nor hinder. I guess in the Bahamas, it means you keep the species alive by giving the critters a daily meal that in no way could be mistaken as part of their natural diet. :)

We then hopped back on the speed boat for a quick and thrilling ride to the main island where we'd be staying for the day. I had the impression that the island would be a bit bigger. Part of the trip was to provide snorkelling opportunities, but this turned out to be a 1/4 mile guided water tour that required everyone to walk back up to the beach to get back to the main area. I settled for some close to the beach snorkelling instead. The main problem is that the they operators tried to cram too much adventure into one location. See, they organized a stingray feeding (more feeding of wild animals. OK, stingrays aren't terribly dangerous. But they capped off the fun with a shark feeding. So, that was a thrill to watch too, but here's the rub. They where feeding the sharks on the same beach where we were relaxing and swimming. Hmmm. Well, Allie wasn't much up for snorkelling under those conditions. I spent some time in the water, but spent most of my time on the beach relaxing in the sun. I'll say it was great to be somewhere away from the crowds. It was not a relaxing as I had hoped for though.

The ride back was met with more aggressive driving of the speed boat by the staff. They took 1 hour to get to the private island, but shoot for 45 minutes on the return. The ride was wet and bumpy. It was fun for a little bit, but then got old quick. The speed boat adventure trip was fun, but didn't live up to expectations, as I was finding true for the Bahamas in general.

Honeymoon

Allie and I just returned from our honeymoon at Atlantis. More on this soon. For now, I'm enjoying the vacation from the vacation. :)

Hawaii Vacation

November 12, 2001 to November 17, 2001

Visited Honolulu, Hawaii, Poipu, Hawaii, Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve O'ahu, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Waikiki, Hawaii, Ono Hawaiian Foods (my impression of Anthony Bourdain's experience at the same location many years later), Atlantis Submarines Waikiki, Tree Tunnel, Arizona Memorial/Pearl Harbor, USS Bowfin Submarine Museum & Park, Kauai Island Helicopter Tours, Kauai Island and Mount Waialeale Kauai Hawaii.

Great trip! Enjoyed the islands by air, land, sea and under the sea.

Kauai Photos: http://fcsuper.blogspot.com/kauaii/index.htm

Details from the trip: http://fcsuper.blogspot.com/search?q=Big+2001+Vacation

Original post/backup link.