Bahama Bliss

In a weekend that proved miracles do happen and my mom will forever be my hero, Brad and I were able to go on a cruise to the Bahamas the first weekend in June. It was our first vacation alone since our honeymoon 13 years ago. To say it was long over due is an understatement. We took exactly one picture:

The entire four days was blissful. Flying with Brad is so lovely since he has such status. We landed in Miami and Ryan and Felicia picked us up at the airport and we met up for a lovely brunch at a very fun French restaurant. We took a scenic tour of half of Miami and eventually ended up at the port where we boarded the ship--and Brad and I settled in for a lovely nap. We had gotten up at three to catch our flight, and it felt so luxurious to just nap without keeping an ear out or being afraid of what creativity had ensued while we slept.

The first night was my birthday dinner in the ship's French restaurant, and it is certainly in my top five meals. I had a duck pairing that was seared breast and duck confit that was absolutely perfect. Pair that with the lovely cornets for appetizer, champagne, Bordeaux, and a cheese plate for dessert and my life couldn't have gotten any happier. We sipped nightcaps on the deck and watched the wake and the stars--perfection.

Saturday we woke up in time to watch the ship pull into Nassau. It was rainy all morning, but we did make it to the beach to stick our feet in the ocean. We also had lunch at a local place in Nassau--complete with conch fritters! We spent the afternoon napping and sitting on the deck watching the rain roll across the ocean and reading our books. It was so blissfully peaceful.

Sunday we watched the sunrise in Great Stirrup Cay and then went swimming with stingrays. In fact, I snuggled a stingray. They call them the puppies of the sea, and that is so true. They would come right up to rub against our legs and lean on us. We were able to feed them and spend nearly two hours with them. It was an experience I will never forget. We spent the rest of the day playing in the ocean and just enjoying the sun before having a final Italian dinner on board the ship.

It was so purely luxurious to have so much uninterrupted time with Brad. We don't get enough of that. We didn't even call the kids after Friday, which meant we weren't tied to schedules or thinking about bedtime. We both came back so relaxed. And the kids had a blast with Mom. In fact, they announced they didn't miss us at all!

We can't wait to do the whole thing again next year!