Grand Bahama

Grand Bahama trip report

So why Grand Bahama?  Well, for one, we had never been to the Bahamas, so we wanted to check out that area.  Dos, Grand Bahama is a little more mature and in general doesn't try as hard as it's neighbor Nassau (or so our research stated).  C. The highest concentration of tiger sharks in the world.  We all know how I feel about sharks, especially dangerous ones.

So off we went, a short 40 min. flight from Miami and we were there.  We stayed at The Grand Lucayan resort which was nice/fine.  It had great beaches and nice pools and gym.  The rooms were a little disappointing but there weren't a lot of hotel choices.  Not horrible just holiday innish.

The view from our room was amazing!!

We ate well for the most part.

Conch fritters, really not a lot of flavor from our friends, the conchs.  Mostly tasted of fried batter, which isn't a bad thing.

Too much boob compression from the life jacket

Fried whole fish, plantains and sweet potatoes

Lot's of relaxing and ipading around the pool and ocean. In this pic, a fine example of the female buttocks can be seen as luck would have it, right above Candice's butt. I'm not sure what this means butt I'm sure the universe is try to say something here.

Watercraft of all types are pretty much awesome.  I want to do this right now.

We rented a scooter and drove many hours around the island. We totally didn't get lost...Ok, so we got lost a lot. The locals are the nicest people on the planet. We would pull over to look at our map and 3-4 people would pull over to help us. There also wasn't any nagging sales people like you find in so many beach destinations. The Bahamians are the nicest people I've ever met in the world. Honest too.

Stone crab is the specialty in the area.  It was really good.

Finally it was time to go dive.

Several hours passed as our chartered boat took us to....TIGER BEACH!

Tiger beach is only 20' deep of crystal clear oceanic beauty.  The bottom is covered in fine white sand.  It was just the captain of our boat, our dive master and Candice and I.  When we arrived the captain started chumming the waters with a mixture of fish blood and guts.  It took maybe 30 minutes before the first lemon shark arrived.  The captains eyes were amazing, he would be like "there's a shark out, 75 feet."  I could almost never see what he was talking about but it was a little nerve wracking/exciting that there were sharks around us that I couldn't see.  Mostly I just get stoked though.  Candice was a little scared but as usual she pushes past it and then has the time of her life.  I love how tough she is. After maybe 45 minutes from our arrival we had about 18 lemon sharks 8-12' long circling the boat.  It was time to get in...

The sharks were beautiful, they are truly so misunderstood.  They moved slowly, just curious about us. They would get so close that they would bump into you.  It wasn't alarming but cool rather.

Remoras were all over, little suckery fish that hang out with the sharks, cleaning them.

The box hanging is full of fish guts, it keeps the sharks around.

Watch your toes!  

We dove all morning with the lemons.  We took a break, had some pb and j to keep it real.  After a little bit I hear the captain say "that's a tiger" while pointing out in the distance.  I looked into the drink and this time I could see something black and huge out in the distance.  We were all excited.  Unlike lemon sharks, tiger sharks are a little more cautious when investigating a potential meal.  Being that it's one of the few oceanic creatures that can bite right through a sea turtle shell, I'm not sure why there's so cautious.  Our dive master explained that sometimes they see them in the distance but they don't come in.  I was hopeful we would dive with one but was also happy to see it top side, even if it was a long ways out.  The dive master was already in the water, he came up and yelled "get in, it's a tiger!"  Usually, I like to enter the water right before Candice and be there for her as she enters, just to make sure things are ok.  I couldn't wait this time as I didn't know if we'd miss seeing the tiger.  I threw my gear on and plunged in.  Candice followed after a few minutes.  After waiting for what felt like forever, our dive master signaled us to look in his direction....

There she was, a 14' tiger, she had to weigh well over 1,000 lbs.  If I had to guess, I'd say 1,200-1,500 lbs.  Gorgeous!

 She would make a pass, checking us out and then disappear.  Then she would reappear in a totally different direction.  I know she could see or smell us way before we could see her.  It was one of the best experiences of my life.

 At one point, she starting coming straight at us.  Candice was right in front of her before she turned and moved off!  Biggest adrenalin rush I've ever had in the ocean.

 Closer...

 And closer...

 You can see her stripes/dots really well in this pic.

 The lemons were so gentle that at one point, I just reached out and held on to it's dorsal fin.  The shark, just swam a little harder and I went for a ride, maybe 20-25 feet.  That's the second time I've been able to ride a shark!  The above pic is my hand lightly holding it's fin.

One huge highlight was the great hammerhead that we saw.  It's really rare to see them, there's really only 2 or 3 places in the world where their population numbers are high.  It came out of nowhere and swam right up to Candice.  Dangerous things seem to be attracted to her.

Check out the vid

Amazing time in the Bahamas.  We've been lucky enough to dive all over the world.  Tiger beach was the best day of diving I've ever had.  Check that off the bucket list.

Miami

Just got back from Miami and Grand Bahamas.  Awesome trip.  Here's miami.

 Rented the Jeep as usual.  Seriously thinking about a Jeep.  It's adventurous, open air awesome and it fits a kid plus the mastiff.

 Weird, hello kitty statues at the W hotel.  Candice loved them, especially because they are crying.

 Lobby of our hotel, Lords S. Beach.  The only gay hotel in miami.  Awesome.  The gays and I have a great relationship so it wasn't a big deal.  We weren't the only straight couple there either.

 Went to the glades

 Candice was moved upon by the spirit of the everglades.  

 Apparently, there are a lot of panthers in the area.  I liked this sign

 Had to stop at this farmers market place where they whip up fresh fruit milkshakes.  I got the keylime strawberry, Candice the banana passion fruit.  So good.

 Really?  Hard to believe.  None were dripping black juice so I couldn't buy one to try them out.

 Took an airboat ride which was really fun.  The ride itself is smooth and the driver started spinning us around.  You really should give it a go next time you're in the glades.

 I look awesome and swollen in this pic but it's the only one I have hanging with one of my best friends of all time, Kubs and his awesome girlfriend Karen (not pictured).  We had a lot of early mornings on this trip, hence the swollen/bloated appearance.

 Pic of the gay hotel.  Who matches their hotel room?  Mrs. Farrington, that's who.

 Amazing food at OLA in S. beach.

 Wolfsonian museum, okay museum but had one cool floor with old propaganda art.

 Room again.

 Bar at the Lord of the gays.

 Munchin' it up at Michelle Berstein's, Michy.  If you ever seen Top Chef, you know who she is.  The food was good but not nearly as good as OLA.

Awesome polar bear statue in the hotel lobby, those crazy gays are awesome with the decor.  

We hung out on the beach for a bit, walked checked out the shops on lincoln.  Admired the design district from afar (low on time) as well as little Havana.  The latter wasn't that awesome but the former left with with a great desire to return and get my gay on, in a design sort of way.

Next post Grand Bahama...

Happy New Year!

2012 was rung in - in a totally radical way! A bodacious '80's theme party was had at the Joneses.  Think neon, karaoke, laser tag, strawberry crush, hot pockets (the homemade gourmet variety), an '80's quiz... and much more.  As always, it was a super fun time and we had a blast being together.  

We weren't quite ready for the photo here...just thought everyone's faces were funny. 

Aren't Jeff & Christine's kids so cute!

Matt was killing everyone with that gorgeous outfit (yes those are my shorts).  We ended up taking a stroll through Target and to McDonald's to show of his stunning look.  We laughed until our bellies hurt.  Yes... that is a def leopard tank top, and no... we did not make any purchases for these costumes (we already had everything)

What a hunk

Cute little '80's fitness gal!

Greg's graduation robe has made an appearance to every costume party for the last ten or so years....
the versatility is amazing.  

Hot Pocket filled with sauteed onions, mushrooms, honey baked ham, a few types of cheeses, etc... delish

We had a blast with the karaoke - little Matt getting down to some salt n' pepa

Christine's white elephant gift was this unbelievable photo she had snapped of Ginger on the girls trip to Boston - complete with a noodle frame.  Yeah, she won the prize. 

Here's to an unbelievable 2012!  Here's to health, happiness, contentment and growth.