Atlantis in the Bahamas, Not Too Shabby

Back from the sun and fun. The trip was as much fun as we'd hoped and we were glad to be able to get there early and relax for a few days before all of the Silpada Barbies showed up. We stayed the first two days at the Cable Beach Resort Wyndham and just relaxed at the pool and took walks into the town for groceries and just spent time together. The weather was fantastic with highs in the 80's and lows in the upper sixties. It was 72 degrees at midnight, which is nirvana. It was nice to start the trip away from the Atlantis and to see some of Nassau before the influx of the Silpada gang hit. Darla and I had a great dinner Saturday night at the Steak and Seafood restaurant at the Wyndham and then went gambling at the Cable Beach casino on sight. We sat and listened to an excellent band in the nightclub above the casino and really enjoyed our time together. Darla and I managed to win $185 at the casino that night which made the trip that much more pleasant. The first picture in the list above is of the Cable Beach Resort taken at the pool.

Sunday we moved to the Atlantis Resort and were met by representatives from Silpada, who streamlined our check-in process. We checked into our room, which was nice, but faced the harbor instead of the ocean. We could see the cruise ships and the bridge from Paradise Island to Nassau. The resort is impressive, but (frankly) the $450 a night price tag is steep. Our time share in Nuevo Vallarta is a two bedroom suite and the resort is almost as nice. Atlantis has more aquarium features and includes several shark tanks, stingray ponds, a predator lagoon (the second picture above is of a hammerhead shark), a dolphin habitat that boasts 12 dolphin saved in Hurricane Katrina, and several fish tanks that you can access below the water level and watch the fish in their natural habitat. The Atlantis has aquarium features that are actually superior to that of the Monterey Aquarium. They are also well known for their water features that include several sheer drop slides, a mile long "lazy river" that splits off into current and rapids. Darla and I ended up on a river plunge that took us on our two person raft down a sheer drop through a dark tube and into a wall of water and rapids. It was great fun and the oceans of green and aquamarine are beautiful. The sand is white and wraps around the resort. The resort offers a "walk with the sharks" where you suit up in a metal helmet and wet suit and walk in the sharks' habitat. We passed. They also have a dolphin encounter where you can actually ride the dolphins in deep water or just swim with them in the shallower water. We skipped that and just went to the dolphin show one afternoon and watched them with their trainers. The Atlantis also has a casino that doesn't pay off. The casino was always quiet although crowded with people. There was no "buzz" in the casino, likely because everyone was losing money. We tried twice and finally licked our wounds and went back to our room.

We did venture out with the gang to a restaurant in Cable Beach called "The Poop Deck". I was concerned that it was a nickname for food poisoning, but the food was good, although expensive. I had a wonderful filet mignon and drank several Kalik beers, the local beer of the Bahamas. I figure that I had Red Stripe in Jamaica, so should indulge in Kalik in Nassau. Silpada put on two very nice events, the Welcome Reception on Sunday night on a beach at the Atlantis. The food was buffet style and okay, but nothing special. The drinks were great and we enjoyed a few Bahama Mamas and a Silpada Sling. We met the two founders of the company which is the 6th photo above and the famous arch between the Royal Towers is shown in the 5th photo. We stayed in the Royal Towers. Darla and I ate several breakfasts at Anthony's Grill in the Paradise Village shopping center and it was the most reasonable and best breakfast on the island. We also ate one night at Johnny Rockets, a 50's style diner in the Marina Village shopping Center.

The trip was very reasonable for us, as the airfare was paid for, the resort was paid for, our trips into Nassau were paid for and Silpada gave us $175 credit on our room that paid for most of our food while we were at the Atlantis. Next year the event will be held at the Mayan Riviera, which is an all inclusive resort. it is in Mexico and we will likely only go the length of the trip and not extend as we have a shorter flight.

Darla had a "Darla" experience during the trip. Leave it to my wife, a conservative social worker from California to meet Joe Bob from Arkansas. She met a couple in line at dinner on Wednesday night and invited them to have dinner with us at our table. The woman is a rep from Arkansas and her husband, we'll call him Joe Bob, was on a roll. He was telling a story about being a friend of Barry Switzer and being invited to Dallas to see a Cowboy home game back in the day that Jerry Jones hired his coaches based on his affiliation with them from his home state of (you guessed it) Arkansas. Joe Bob and his wife were put up in the Cowboys local hotel room where they stay the night before home games. He was invited down on the field before the game and then sat in the owner's box during the game. He was explaining to Darla that while he was on the field, the team photographer approached him and asked if he wanted his picture taken with Emmitt Smith, now the all time rushing leader in the NFL. Joe Bob told Darla that he declined as he, you know, doesn't like rubbing elbows with them black folk. I watched Darla's face turn red and she dug her nails into my thigh. I was waiting for her to let him have it, when his wife shushed him and said, "Now don't start that talk, Joe Bob." She looked at Darla and said, "Where we come from the blacks all stay on their side of town and we just don't mix." It was quite amazing to meet some backward hicks from 1950 at the Bahamas in the year 2009. Old Joe Bob and his wife have quite a shock coming to them on Tuesday when Barack Hussein Obama is sworn into the White House. Darla couldn't wait for them to leave our table which they did right after dinner. This man sat in a country with a 90% black population and shared his bigoted views with us. We were truly shocked. I heard some similar things when I lived in Texas and it was one of the things that I truly disliked about Texas. In my opinion, if you want to appear truly stupid, share bigoted opinions in a crowded venue.

Darla took Airborne before our flights this year. It is a concoction of vitamins and amino acids designed by a school teacher to combat airborne illnesses. I've read several articles pooh poohing the effectiveness of the product and decided to take my chances. We were seated next to Jose Flu-bug Virus on the plane from Miami to Dallas on Thursday and we were sure that Darla would catch the bug as she was seated right next to him as he coughed and wheezed his way across the southeast. Well, Friday night I came home from work with a sore throat and runny nose and have suffered with chills and a stuffy sinus cavity all weekend. Darla has been fine and continued to take her Airborne to keep from catching what I have. So far, she is fine.

My sunburn has subsided and I ended up with a slight peel around the apex of the two moons. I continued to coat myself with the gel refrescante and it is all gone now except for a slight bronze glow. I'm done with tanning booths as well.

We were told that the Atlantis is the new Monte Carlo and that we would likely see celebrities galore. I never saw one until we were in the airport on the way home and Chris Evert was getting a yogurt at one of the airport shops. The Atlantis will be teeming with celebs starting Thursday of this week when Michael Jordan hosts a celebrity golf tournament on the island's golf club.

I missed my golf game over the weekend and came back to a rusty game. I couldn't get loosened up in spite of some unseasonable warm weather in Sacramento. We hit 70 degrees yesterday and the sky is a solid blue with not a cloud to spoil the canvas. I started out with THREE straight double-bogeys and limped to a 44+43=87 at Diamond Oaks yesterday. I need to hit the driving range this week to work on my short game. My drives were long and straight, but I was a spastic around the greens. I play in the two man qualifier for Spyglass with Steve Matthews next weekend on Saturday and Sunday.

I almost skipped church today, but having missed last week and facing perhaps missing next week due to golf, I got up at 8:30 and rushed a shower. The sermon was on "Are Christians homophobic?" and it was great. The tone of the sermon was on tolerance and what tolerance means. It isn't about embracing something and accepting it, but about being tolerant of people with SSA (Same Sex Attraction). It was about being loving people and realizing that all people were made in God's Image. It was an enlightening way to view the issue. That there are people with SSA and they struggle with issues as we do. Rick specifically said that nowhere in the Bible does it say "Love the sinner and hate the sin". That is a 21st century saying. It is Love everyone and concern yourself with your own sin. We all sin. I came away from the sermon with a whole new outlook on how Christians should act. Well worth getting out of bed.

Well, that's enough for now. We now set our sights on our trip to Las Vegas in early March to see Jennifer and Samantha. I hope you are all well. Ciao.