Nassau, Bahamas

Winters in Boston can be great, but cold. It is always nice to get away, and I did as often as possible. Denise and I needed a break. I was having a relationship crisis, and Denise was working and going to school. We bought a package deal for a long weekend at Pirates Cove, Paradise Island.

The best part about a getaway is the outings. As soon as we got to the hotel I went straight to bed. Denise, bored, went down stairs to hang out with the concierge. She grabbed brochures and talked to people and planned out itinerary for the next few days. That is what good friends do, they balance out. I was thrilled to wake up and hear what we had planned for the next two days. A submarine trip, a Robinson Crusoe day on a remote island, a snorkeling trip, and a trip to the Casino.

Paradise Island is remote from Nassau, you either take a water taxi or a regular taxi. We took a water taxi to the market, did some shopping (the fish market is amazing), and I had the bright idea to get my very long hair braided. It took hours. I looked like a baked potato. My dark red hair hugging my scalp, my round pink face with no hair to frame it, and heavy beads rattling whenever I turned my head. WHAT was I thinking?

After a light lunch (and a light mocking from Denise) we took a taxi to the Submarine. It was a great exploration in the Nautilus. And Denise really hit it off with the Captain, he was a lovely, kind man. This was to be the first (but not the last) trip where shy, quiet Denise would have an adventure of the romantic sort. But those are her stories to tell. I would be back in the hotel room, writing in my diary or to that man back home, and Denise would be taken out to dinner. And people say I am the gregarious one...

The next day, after regaling me with stories of her date over breakfast, Denise and I headed off to our Robinson Crusoe day, which involved snorkeling for champagne bottles, and conch then rest and relaxation on a private island while a beach picnic sunset dinner was prepared. This is where I found out that if you lie down in a rope hammock with braided, beaded hair, you need help getting out, because the beads get caught in the knots of the hammock.

That night in the hotel room, the scissors came out and $40.00 was lost to silly notions, which was seconded that night when money flew out of my wallet and into the Casino - never to be seen again.

The next morning, we flew back to the frozen January that was Boston, with stories to tell, and a slight sunburn. Nassau is a great getaway.