3rd Day Nassau Bahamas

John signed up to take a wreck and sea wall dive, so while he was out, the grand plan was to take a taxi out to Paradise Island just over a bridge from Nassau, see the aquarium and pools of Atlantis Hotel and then play at the beach until about 1 pm, when we needed to head back and pick up tender tickets for the big concert at night. I'll be honest, I wanted to put on a good front, but I was pretty nervous throughout the day, not only about being out and about as tour guide for the day, but about the whole concert and logistics of meeting back up with John and our concert transportation.

We managed to negotiate our way into a taxi outside the gates of the ship terminal, and headed out for the hotel. I knew Bruce wanted to get a lay of the land, but the only scenes we saw on the way out were of the slums along the coast there. Once there, things changed. Yes, Atlantis is HUGE, and seems like a high class airport terminal when you're inside trying to find your way around. Many sections and long stretches of hallways later, we finally made our way to the aquarium portion of the hotel, only to realize Thomas could care less about watching the big fish and other sites, but instead wanted to play in the fountains throughout the lobby. So glad I didn't spent big bucks to take the real tour of the aquarium. Within minutes we'd picked up our bags and once again began our long trek back through the "terminal" and tried desperately to find an exit that would allow us "non guests" to find the beach access. Before, John and I had been able to tour around the gardens and watch all the wildlife and sea creatures throughout the property. I just knew Thomas would love it. However, they've now decided to capitalize on tourist dollars and charge to take a tour of what used to be free. Finally, we made our way outside and trekked, in the heat, through a wooded area and down a steep trail to Cabbage Beach. It was at this point that I seriously contemplated just heading back to the ship and calling it a wash. Maybe we should have paid the $78 to take the tour and sit on their beach for the day, except technically we'd be on their beach if we could only get to it, as it's a public beach anyway.

Cabbage Beach is the opposite of the beaches at Coco Cay. Where Coco Cay is calm and not a wave to be found, Cabbage Beach is highlighted by serious currents, big waves and extremely strong undertow once the waves crashes on the beach. It hits hard and fast, and Thomas could not be left alone, nor without a strong grip on his arms while here at the beach. He loved it, though, and him and Grandpa spent a lot of time waiting for the big waves to hit, then holding on while the waves pulled and pulled them out again. It was but a short time before we had to begin the trek out again, but this time I was able to cut our time short by getting a cab back that met us out by the beach instead of having to go all the way back to Atlantis. I'm not willing to say it was a wasted day because Thomas loved it all and knows nothing of time, but without him, I'd say it was not the best excursion I've been on. Too much time walking and trying to find the beach, and not enough time playing and relaxing.

When we got back, I was exhausted and the day was only beginning. I quickly headed down to get our tender tickets and then raced for the pool, where I told John we'd meet him once he arrived back at the ship. We played out at the pool and ate a light lunch until time to get ready to leave, then quickly changed and made our way to meet our transportation to the MAIN Concert. We were a little uncertain how to plan out our evening, whether Bruce and Lil should stay back with Thomas or if we should all go over and check things out. In the end, we chose to be adventurous and headed out as a family. The "secret" island turned out to be Paradise Island, and a spot we could have spotted from the boats had we looked. We quickly made our way off the big tranport ferry boat that got us over and scurried about to find a spot in the sand amidst the bodies already congregating and fighting to get a perfect spot in order to see Kenny best. We did find a spot and found Thomas fast asleep by the time we settled in. In the end, the music proved too loud for Thomas and he was uninterested in any of it anyway, so Bruce and Lil made their way back to the ship to watch the little guy while we stayed behind and enjoyed the show. It was a relief, because while there I could see things just disintegrating. Thomas not being interested, him being very clingy to me, and the situation with seating being chaotic. I had flashes of us all heading back and missing the show entirely, and tried to prepare myself for the disappointment. In the end, we really had a good time watching Dierks Bentley and Kenny Chesney. The drunks kept having to leave to use the bathroom, so we ended up getting better and better spots closer to the stage. It was a lot of fun to stand back, watch the swaying palm trees, feel the island breezes and listen to good music together. The bus ride back was a hoot, though, and again I wondered if we'd actually make it back to the ship. This driver of the bus had us flying down these tiny beat up streets of scary Nassau, and when the sign said 25 miles an hours, John estimated he was flying down the hills at 65. John was directly up front with the driver, while I was in the very back holding on for dear life in the fastest roller coaster I've been on in a while. Thomas was still awake when we arrived, and we headed up to the rock climbing wall to run around, eat pizza and drink lemonade while recapping the highlights of our night. Bruce said they had the run of the ship, and boy, did Thomas take advantage of his freedom. The waiters in the dining room pampered him like a prince and he was all over exploring and running wild. I think we all ended up having a great night together, each with our own adventures.