Measi's Musings

Archive for the ‘Travels’ Category

*gasp* I know – I’m alive! Actually, just been very, very busy this summer. But yes, we’re both okay – and actually, we’re much better than we’ve been for a while.

I’ll write a catch-up post later – but just had to do some bouncing up and down. Our trip to the UK is now only about a month away, and we’ve finally finished our itinerary.

Erich and I sat down yesterday, figured out hotels and where we’re going, for how long, etc. We’ve had to sacrifice one leg of the trip (to Edinburgh), but it was the right one to make. We’re thinking we’ll plan another trip in the next couple years to do a full Celtic trip – Scotland and Ireland, and give both countries the attention they really deserve (and that we want to give them – rather than a stupid and honestly worthless overnight to Edinburgh that was the only possibility this round).

So… here’s the plan. If our paths meet and you want to get together, fantastic! Just drop me a line here or via email (measiwitch@gmail.com) and we can plan something, even if it’s just a pause for a cuppa somewhere.

Oct. 13th – arriving late into London. Staying overnight in the city.
Oct. 14th – train to Stratford in a.m., wander around town Hamlet @ 7:15
Oct. 15th – touring Stratford/Warwick Castle. Love’s Labour’s Lost @ 7:15
Oct. 16th – train to Cardiff, wandering city a bit once we get there.
Oct. 17th & 18th – Cardiff and day trip to Bath
Oct. 19th – train to London
Oct. 20th to 23rd – Touring London with a day trip up to York somewhere in there
Oct. 24th – home to Boston

If you’ve been to these places and would recommend we avoid something, please let me know. I’ve already heard some negative reviews on Shakespeare’s birthplace as being not quite worth the admission, for example.

We have definite plans for Warwick Castle, Cardiff Castle, all sorts of random Doctor Who/Torchwood related stuff, and history geeking in both Bath and York.

*squee*

The tickets to England have finally been booked thanks to the house selling. Our dates are Oct. 13-24th.

Now to start finding places to stay. We’re thinking of mixing hostels and B&Bs… any recommendations?

Riverhouse Backpackers in Cardiff looks quite nice. As is saving money in London by hostelling it.

Places we’d ideally like to go this trip are Stratford (definite), Cardiff (definite), London, and Edinburgh.

Mel and Erich (in newly purchased garb)
Originally uploaded by measi.

It was a lower-key trip to King Richard’s Faire this week. More people – Matt, Maria, Tricia, and Kevin joined Erich and me. The weather was beautiful. We had a great time – and seemed to spend a heck of a lot more time eating and drinking this time around.

Tricia and Kevin bought themselves full new outfits, so they are now officially well-garbed for the Faire and Halloween festivities. Erich bought a leather poncho (it’s beautiful!!!) that signifies the beginning of his new full Druid idea for the Faire.

I told him that the poncho made him look like a Moonkin from World of Warcraft. (and yes, I did the obligatory Owlbeast waddling run with my elbows slightly pointed out as I called him an Oomkin… fellow WoW players know exactly what I’m talking about… hee!)

But yes – the new garb I bought last weekend was quite comfortable. I kept getting asked by people around the Faire for shopkeep help… apparently I’m now dressed well enough that people think I work at KRF. *snicker*

The rest of the pictures from the two weekends are on my Flickr account (just click on the photo). A lot came out annoyingly dark, though… I need to figure out why I’m so crappy with my camera.

Since I’m now officially a year away from the Great British Expedition of ’08, I’m doing this week’s Thursday Thirteen on things I’d really like to do while I’m across the pond. I know we can’t do them all due to the distance between places. But that’s why there are additional trips in the future, right?

1) See Hamlet and Loves Labour Lost at the Royal Shakespeare Company. This is checked off the list. Tickets are bought and have arrived at our house, all shiny and glowing.

2) Go to Cardiff and take the obligatory geek shots in front of the water tower, the Millennium Centre overhang, the Torchwood door on the dock, and wherever else my geeky heart needs to do for Doctor Who and Torchwood-itis.

3) Ride the Tube. I have a weird fascination with subways and how I just sink into the crowd and into the population when I’m on a train. It’s stupid, I know – but it gives my heart a fun little flutter.

4) Do the Tower of London tour. I know… tourist-ey to hell, but SOME things just need to be done.

5) Go tour a castle outside of London. We’ll probably go to Warwick Castle, since we’ll be in Stratford-upon-Avon anyway.

6) Have a pint at a pub… and some proper British chips, too.

7) Take Erich up to Crouch End so he can do his fanboy enjoyment of Shaun of the Dead. (Shh… I promise not to be doing any Tennant scoping while we’re here. Promise. Well… okay, a little).

Go up to Scotland – I’d love to do a tour of the hidden city in Edinburgh if it exists (the underground city that survived for decades). But honestly, I’ll just happily take going to Scotland, getting rained on… because it’s Scotland… and taking in some of the scenery.

9) Go around the Magical Roundabout.

10) Lose myself in something I would have never thought about before getting to Britain.

11) Meet one of the many Brits I’ve been in contact with via penpalling or the internet over the years. That may be for the obligatory pint in #6.

12) Meet the McNulty family that became so close to my grandfather during WWII when he was stationed there. My dad’s side of the family has essentially become extended family. This requires said trip to Scotland (and as such may be for another trip).

13) Take so many pictures and develop so many memories I’ll wear out both my camera and fill a journal of adventures!

Via Thursday Thirteen.

So… any Brits or those who have visited Great Britain – what would you recommend I do? Have any advice?

With the wedding insanity now over, the first true event to mark that our lives are returning to normal was our trip to King Richard’s Faire on Sunday. We went along with Maria and Matt, meeting up with Gina and Gabe, who are two of Erich’s college friends, at the faire.

Before the faire, I was dreading the weather report – it said it would be in the upper 70s and sunny. Great normal weather to go anywhere, but when you’re decked out in layers of Renaissance period garb? Eh, not so much.

It turned out to be a comfortable overcast day in the mid-60s, although Erich was a little chilly in his modern punk variant of his formal kilt in a t-shirt. (he looked fabulous though).

After last year’s trip to the faire, I was fully prepared to be seeking out a new bodice for my outfit. The one I’ve had for eight years is too small for me, and the boning that lines the row of grommits is beginning to poke through the top – so I just can’t wear it anymore. I absolutely adore it, too – it’s a rust and forest green tartan, with a red reversable lining (that I’ve never worn on top). Not easy to replace, but I decided that I’d got to my trustworthy Threads of Time, and finally get the bodice that matches what I have. Their prices are fantastic, and the clothes are wonderful and easy to wear. I’m good to go with ideas in hand.

That was before I realized that my overdress from Threads of Time had shrunk last time I washed it, too – and now was sitting a few inches too short in the back. Then again, it also is eight years old.

*sigh*

So now I’m thinking okay- new outfit. I can do this. I’ll work around it. I have a new underskirt in basic black that I bought at Threads last year. I just need a new overskirt, and the new bodice, and I’ll be set. And because this is the faire, being plus-sized isn’t quite as much of a detriment as it can be in other places. Being busty and curvy is a good thing at the faire.

So we go to the faire. And we’re looking around at the shops. Most of the same folks I recognize from last year, but a few new places. Beautiful things as always… most of which I can’t afford.

We head into Moresca, which is the shop that has oodles that I covet, but never can justify purchasing from. And everything always looks too small, so I haven’t bothered. Eh, moo.

And then my eyes fall on a particular bodice – deep blues with black accents in rich brocades. (sample of the style here). It’s an XL, but the shopkeep assures me that my normal 2X sizing on top will translate to this XL (which does look like it will fit me just fine – but I don’t want to deal with the 30 minutes of re-lacing my current bodice post fitting if I can help it). This bodice has lacings on both sides AND the back, so it’s quite flexible with sizing.

Have I mentioned how gorgeous this bodice is? Erich loves it too. But it’s a Moresca bodice, which means it’s about twice what I was planning on paying. I need to sit and think on it over lunch, even though I’m coveting it dearly.

Erich points out over lunch that we do have wedding money, and that I can indulge if I want to. It doesn’t take much to twist my arm at all.

Right after lunch, we head right back and I buy it.

We collect a couple other things along the way during the day – a new leather belt for me and a

Then I need new skirts to match the color scheme. I find lovely ones in the same deep blue and a pretty moss green (for a brighter top offset) in rough silk at Threads of Time that are just wonderful to the touch. I buy both of those. Nice offset texture, nice soothing colors that I prefer to wear.

And best of all? My outfit’s ready for this upcoming weekend’s return trip to the Faire.

Rock.

(and yes, there will be pics)

Oh. Yes.

Ordered.

10/14 for Hamlet
10/15 for LLL

And if I’m reading my seating chart of the Courtyard Theatre correctly – holy SHIT we have great seats for both.

I’M GOING TO ENGLAND NEXT AUTUMN!!!!!!!!

I’M GOING TO SEE DAVID TENNANT in BOTH PRODUCTIONS!!!

AND PATRICK STEWART IN HAMLET!!!

AHHHHH…. GEEK EXPLOSION!!!!!

(pop)

14 days. Eep!

The bachelor party was easily survived. I, as planned, spent most of my evening on the couch. I did not, as planned, get anything else done. My brain needed a complete break from all things wedding last night, and so that’s what I did. I just shut off the phone, took a break, and had a very needed evening to myself.

The unedited Graham Norton episode had me laughing so hard that I went into a coughing fit (and had to stop watching it for a while). Funny stuff. Sometime around 11:30 or so, I threw in my Blackpool DVD and settled down, fell asleep somewhere into episode 1, and woke up when the guys came home – right as the scene in Funny Girls starts.

Erich and the guys returned just a bit after 2 a.m., and amazingly, the party broke up immediately- apparently the guys were just exhausted on the bus on the way back from Foxwoods (and most had sobered up by that time). I guess this is the sign of a bachelor party when the guys are mostly in their 30s! Most of the guys went home. I ended up with only Matt, Jason, and Erich’s Dad crashing out at our house.

Got up this morning, had coffee and breakfast, and then just relaxed for a while. Some of the guys came back over to watch the Pats game, play board games, and just hang out and plan out characters for Erich’s new d20 game he’ll be kicking off at some point.

The last folks left around 7:30. Erich and I have just been relaxing since then – I have some laundry going, but otherwise, we’re chilling out. We got a LOT of housework done. Other than the kitchen, the entire downstairs is put together and ready for family to see it. The upstairs just needs some work done in my office, and then we’ll be good to go.

One very productive thing for today? We bought our full membership to the Royal Shakespeare Company. So as soon as tickets go on sale online? Oh yes, we shall purchase.

14 days. Eep!

The bachelor party was easily survived. I, as planned, spent most of my evening on the couch. I did not, as planned, get anything else done. My brain needed a complete break from all things wedding last night, and so that’s what I did. I just shut off the phone, took a break, and had a very needed evening to myself.

The unedited Graham Norton episode had me laughing so hard that I went into a coughing fit (and had to stop watching it for a while). Funny stuff. Sometime around 11:30 or so, I threw in my Blackpool DVD and settled down, fell asleep somewhere into episode 1, and woke up when the guys came home – right as the scene in Funny Girls starts.

Erich and the guys returned just a bit after 2 a.m., and amazingly, the party broke up immediately- apparently the guys were just exhausted on the bus on the way back from Foxwoods (and most had sobered up by that time). I guess this is the sign of a bachelor party when the guys are mostly in their 30s! Most of the guys went home. I ended up with only Matt, Jason, and Erich’s Dad crashing out at our house.

Got up this morning, had coffee and breakfast, and then just relaxed for a while. Some of the guys came back over to watch the Pats game, play board games, and just hang out and plan out characters for Erich’s new d20 game he’ll be kicking off at some point.

The last folks left around 7:30. Erich and I have just been relaxing since then – I have some laundry going, but otherwise, we’re chilling out. We got a LOT of housework done. Other than the kitchen, the entire downstairs is put together and ready for family to see it. The upstairs just needs some work done in my office, and then we’ll be good to go.

One very productive thing for today? We bought our full membership to the Royal Shakespeare Company. So as soon as tickets go on sale online for Hamlet? Oh yes, we shall purchase.

(backstory of me flailing fangirlishly in email, drooling over the Tennant announcement, yadda yadda yadda). Conversation has pulled back to just myself, my other-half (talonscar and masquedbunny), and then the convo goes to this…

masquedbunny asks how much the £65 full membership overseas translates to.

At almost the same time, Talonscar and I both answer $2 = £1, roughly. So about $130.

The discussion bounces back on how many tickets we could possibly order. We take other folks off the list so they don’t get spammed. Talonscar threatens to spam us with LOLcats if we’re keeping him on the thread. I accept his proposal to get spammed (he does every day to my email ANYWAY…)

And then things get interesting…

Me: What? You don’t want to go to the UK? We’d be doing more than just Tennant drooling, you know.

Masquedbunny: I really really really want to go … And there would be so much more than Tennant drooling going on–London is full of history and other cool stuff.

Talonscar: Like the British contribution to world cuisine… the Chip. Well then lets get tickets!

Pardon my little squeeage at this…

Me: Well, we really WILL have to get the RSC membership if we want to get tickets – because given it’s Tennant, just post- DW, and Hamlet on top of that – this thing’s going to sell out. FAST. The tickets will go on sale to RSC members on the 12th. So we have some time to talk about how to go about it this weekend. (and somehow, I get the feeling that Sister Behavior may be interested in this, too, given she really wants to go back to England…)

Masquedbunny: Oh, I think myownwench (aka Sister Behavior) could be talked into this.

My brain? Gone. Into Squee. I am officially worthless for the rest of the work day.

My accomplishments this weekend:

1) Wedding invites are DONE (save two that we need new addresses for). All addressed, all compiled, all stamped. They go out tomorrow.

2) The Linens ‘n Things portion of our wedding registry is populated. I feel like such a mooch. But I have to admit to being excited that I may actually get some of these things and finally break free of college decor-itis. Somewhat, anyway.

3) Laundry – ongoing. I’m on load 3. One more load of towels, and then a mini-load of delicates to go.

4) Erich and his dad put together our guest room bed (yes, … an actual bed. With a headboard and footboard and everything!). Unfortunately, the Queen-sized boxspring will NOT go up our stairs. We removed the back staircase pole. We removed the front staircase ceiling molding. Won’t happen. So… if you’re in the general southern New England area and need a Queen boxspring (now or in the near future), lemme know. We’re going to have to go purchase a split-style boxspring for the Queen bed. Depending on how that goes, we may have a mismatched mattress shortly, too. We can make arrangements somehow.

5) We narrowed our wedding ring decision down to five different bands. We’ve decided to get matching bands, rather than the newer trend of getting ones that each person likes. Thankfully, we both have similar tastes, so it’s been fairly easy. Choices we’re down to now are: A, B (possibly in the rose/white combo), C, D, or E (not bicolor).

6) Saw Harry Potter: OotP again today. It was Erich’s Dad’s 64th birthday today, so we treated him to a heavy breakfast at the Cracker Barrel, followed by the movie.

It was better on second viewing. Still not my favorite, but I did like it better this time around.

7) Attended the wedding of Erich’s cousin, Katy, and her (now) husband, David. It was at Sakonnet Vineyards in Little Compton, RI. Lovely place. Definitely a setting I’d recommend to anyone looking for peaceful New England space – near the water, surrounded by the vines. Although it was a bit buggy in the evening (welcome to July). Otherwise, weather was incredible for July – absolutely perfect. I can only hope we have such good weather in September.

Went a little snarky with Doctor Who fandom. But I’m better now and moving on.

Good weekend. Definitely can’t complain!

Anyone who has gone to Boston University in the last fifteen years probably has had at least one amusing encounter with some of the mainstays – but completely harmless – street folk around Harvard Avenue, Harvard Square, or Kenmore Square. Some of them are colorful characters that you forget about later, except when a college story of old comes up.

And now one of the better ones has died…

Street icon ‘Mr. Butch’ dies at 56
Scooter crash claims popular homeless man

By Bryan Marquard, Globe Staff | July 12, 2007

Dreadlocked, homeless, and usually cheerful, Mr. Butch was an iconic presence in Kenmore Square for years before moving his base of operations to Harvard Avenue in Allston a decade ago. Ranting in rhyme with a beer in hand — a tall boy, preferably — he would panhandle one minute and offer to share his take with a friend the next.

‘‘Mr. Butch,’’ whose name was Harold Madison Jr., died yesterday of injuries from an early morning crash when the motor scooter he was driving hit a pole, friends and family said.
The subject of YouTube videos, a MySpace tribute page, and a Wikipedia entry, Mr. Butch may have been the most famous street person in Boston. He was so popular that The Boston Phoenix wrote in April that it was considering changing the criteria of the ‘‘Readers’ Pick: Neighborhood Character’’ category because Mr. Butch won so regularly.
At 56, he had lived on Boston’s streets for about 30 years. In Kenmore Square and his Allston neighborhood — areas rife with college students and people who prefer less traditional approaches to life — some saw in Mr. Butch a latter-day Thoreau, a man who chose a path that didn’t involve taxes, rent, or office cubicles. Instead, he helped the elderly cross streets, joyously played air guitar, philosophized, and sang.
‘‘He’s been in so many local movies, videos, in the Phoenix — he’s like an icon of the neighborhood,’’ said Erin Scott, manager of New England Comics on Harvard Avenue in Allston.

‘‘He was just the sweetest, nicest homeless person — he looked out for people,’’ said Toni Fanning, who owns the Ritual Arts store nearby. ‘‘I’ll tell you, this whole street is just miserable right now. Everybody just doesn’t want to believe it. It’s so hard to talk about Butch in any kind of past tense.’’
In a YouTube video posted on Mr. Butch’s MySpace page, he offered a buoyant view on how to live: ‘‘You got to be articulate every day and keep going on strong and straight and use your heart and all your might and all your weight and all your power. Do what you can, make it last for many hour, ’cause once you’re dead, you’re done, you don’t come back,’’ he rapped, pausing before adding, ‘‘Yeah.’’
Fanning’s favorite encounter with Mr. Butch was on Easter a few years ago. When she left home to visit a friend who was in bad straits, she was depressed about her friend, the day — just everything.
‘‘And I walked outside and there was Butch standing on the corner of Harvard and Comm. Ave. with a big sandwich board that said, ‘I need weed,’’’ Fanning said. ‘‘I started laughing so hard that it got me through that entire day.’’
Mr. Butch was not timid about his pastimes: drinking beer and smoking marijuana. And he could be irascible. He was a tall and slender man, and the stoop of his shoulders signaled his level of intoxication. Unwelcome as Kenmore Square began tidying up its act, Mr. Butch left, telling friends that encounters with police officers had become too frequent.
Allston proved more tolerant.
‘‘I’m just devastated,’’ said Jerry Katz, a lawyer whose offices are along Harvard Avenue. ‘‘Everyone loved Mr. Butch. I loved Mr. Butch.’’
Though thousands of passersby made his acquaintance through the years, few knew much about Mr. Butch’s background. Born in Worcester, he grew up in a large family. His father, Harold Sr., dubbed him Butch.
A talented drummer, he sat in with bands and played with a mentor in the local music scene, picking up the guitar in his midteens and filling a closet with percussion instruments he made from items he found. He did not finish high school and moved to Kenmore Square in the 1970s when Worcester became inhospitable to his frequent drinking.
‘‘I think he was just looking for someplace to be accepted,’’ said his sister Jeannette Madison of Worcester. ‘‘He told us that this was the life that he chose — a street person, happy-go-lucky, panhandler. I guess for him that was easier, and it didn’t take very long for people to understand what he was doing and just take it with a grain of salt.
‘‘People are who they choose to be.’’
In addition to Jeannette, he has four siblings in Worcester — Russell, Phillip, Jeffrey, and Sheila — and a brother, Alphonso Moore, of Henderson, Nev. His mother, Virginia, died in December; his father died in 1974.
Mr. Butch played on the fringe of Boston’s music scene for years. Friends tried to get him into subsidized housing, but he refused to go through the required detoxification treatments. Recently, he lived in a van friends helped him acquire.
Trusted friends became his ‘‘banks,’’ holding onto his money and storing his belongings. Mr. Butch’s thee-quarter-length leather coat, with his name in white and red letters on the back, was displayed last night in the window of Regeneration Tattoo on Harvard Avenue as a tribute.
‘‘It kind of blows my mind that he isn’t here,’’ Scott said. ‘‘I have his guitar in my back room. I have a buck in his bank.’’
Friends plan to meet Monday at 8 p.m. at Regeneration Tattoo and Ritual Arts for a memorial, said Sue Jeiven, owner of Regeneration Tattoo.
‘‘He always wanted a big blowout for his funeral. He said: ‘Blow a lot of money. I want a big party,’’’ she said.
A favorite among many students and professors, Mr. Butch was once asked to speak at Boston College. Proud of the moment, he sent his siblings a photo of himself lecturing in front of the classroom.
‘‘I feel like he had a lot to say and there were a lot of people who actually wanted to listen,’’ his sister said. ‘‘And I thank the Lord for that. And I thank the Lord that Butch is in his hands now.’’

I was so afraid of him for the better part of college – but one night junior year of college, I was storming around Kenmore in a rage one night sometime around 3 or 4 a.m. He followed me, wouldn’t let me keep storming around. I don’t even remember why I was so angry, but I remember sitting on the stoop at Planet Records with him as the sun came up, just talking with him. I guess he just had the knack to know who needed someone to talk to.

Oddly probably one of the biggest eye-opening nights I had in college about the world around me.

I definitely won’t forget him.

It’s coming right for us!
Originally uploaded by measi.

My computer has been annoying for the past two weeks, so photo uploads are slow. I’m not sure what the problem is, but every time I play World of Warcraft, my computer just shuts OFF suddenly. I can start it right back up, but it’ll shut off again if I play WoW. I imagine something’s overheating.

In any case, Erich and I have now moved my computer downstairs to the living room for the summer (with the AC), and I can actually sit here to write entries and do little projects without sweating to death.

So… the Bahamas… are you ready for an all-in-one recap? Looooong reading ahead….

We had a ton of fun. It was a very expensive week, which now Erich and I are seriously in the hole for until… well… at least October. But we had a blast.

The photos for this, by the way, are not at Flickr. I’ll be uploading some of my favorites of the trip to Flickr, but I wanted to make sure I didn’t use up my entire month’s uploading bandwidth right away. The entire set of all photos (that weren’t fuzzy) are uploaded on my website here with captions.

My overall feeling of the Bahamas are that they’re definitely working toward being a huge tourist spot, but they’re not quite there yet as far as the normal vacation services that most Americans expect. I enjoyed myself, but even being laid back about most things, I found restaurant service to be incredibly slow and most things frighteningly overpriced. There literally were no cheap eats places to go. Prices for food were comparable to Boston and NYC, but quality was spotty.

I see the area as definitely up and coming– it reminds me a lot of Hilton Head in the mid-80s as it was developing its timeshare communities for vacationers. For now, though, it’s a bit rough, a bit confusing, and there’s definitely a bit of a culture shock as far as attitudes despite only about 100 miles of distance from Miami. But there’s a ton of building going on, and it looks like the number of things for tourists to do are increasing.

Ultimately, this vacation was a destination wedding trip. Our friends Seth and Gina had decided to get married at the Sandals Royal Bahamian Resort, and had invited only family and close friends. The friends contingent is a mix of people I’ve mentioned over the years in some form in my journal as the Boston-turned-Providence crew. Although a few members of the group have sinced moved to other states, everyone else lives in Providence now and is either an alum of Boston University, or the significant other who was brought into the circle. We’ve all known each other for at least nine years.

To make life easier, the friends contingent decided to stay at the same hotel- the Nassau Beach Hotel. It was located on Cable Beach on the north central region of New Providence island, named for the first underwater communications cable connecting Nassau to Miami. It’s an older hotel, definitely dated in decor (it had a matching shell sink to the one in our house), and definitely worn around the edges. Apparently it used to be the swanky place when it was built in the late 60′s, but it hasn’t aged well. But for the obnoxiously cheap price, our room was clean and provided what it needed to- a place to sleep and a place to shower.

As the week went on, Nassau Beach was dubbed the Adventure Hotel by most of the members of our group of friends. Everyone had some sort of an issue– although the one Erich and I had was hotel-wide (a broken hot water main). Between obscene waits for check-in, missing towels, and a few room switches due to absolutely gross conditions, it was… an interesting stay. Not a place I’d recommend, even if the beach was fantastic. From what I’ve heard, though, the hotel is going to be torn down sometime in the next year along with all of the other hotels in that strip to start work on a new huge multi-hotel resort to compete with Atlantis. (more on that place later…)

Erich and I were the first of the crew to arrive, having decided to do a Friday to Thursday trip. We arrived in Nassau around three, got through customs with no trouble at all, and went straight to the hotel. Because we arrived late enough, we didn’t have much trouble checking in (although it took a while for them to find keys). We dropped our bags and immediately sought food, thanks to the stupid airline policies these days where if its a three or less hour flight, they don’t provide anything. With only thirty minute connections, we hadn’t eaten yet that day.

We were pleasantly surprised to find that we didn’t need to exchange our currency. Bahamians use their own currency and U.S. currency interchangeably. One US dollar = one Bahamian dollar. That helped tremendously.

We grabbed conch fritters (a local favorite… they taste like fishy hushpuppies) and burgers, our first alcoholic fruity drinks, and then went back to the room for a nap. In the evening, we went out for a swim in the man-made lagoon, where a small ray came swimming right up to us.

The next morning, we got up fairly early and decided to do a bit of area scoping while we waited for the others to start arriving. Rather than take a taxi, we took the local bus (they call it a jitney) downtown– the trip only took about 10 minutes, and cost a buck.

Almost immediately, we found a little mom-n-pop style breakfast cafe, which would prove to be our cheapest meals on the island. Erich went traditional with his food. I tried, and loved, one of the local favorites- corned beef and grits. The corned beef was chopped hash style, but mixed with tomatoes and onions, giving it almost a goulash type consistency. The grits were nice and thick with butter for flavor. Despite not growing up in the South, I did grow up with grits for breakfast in the instant Cream of Wheat variety. I’m picky- no soupy grits for me, thanks. Mixed with the corned beef, they were heaven.

After breakfast, we wandered downtown a while, looking at shops, popping into the duty free stores to check prices, grabbing hats and the toiletries I’d noticed we hadn’t brought enough of to last the week, etc. By 10:30, it was already scorching hot and too uncomfortable to walk around. We headed back to the hotel to beach bum it the rest fo the day.

The ocean water was heavenly. Low to mid 80′s in temperature- bath water. But compared to the sun’s heat, it was still wonderfully refreshing. Over the course of the day, people arrived and filtered onto the beach.

As a group, we decided to spend the evening at the Junkanoo festival, which was a mini version of Carnival, just down the road from us. The parade was fantastic- just a moving blur of sound, dance, and color. Unfortunately, we found THE wrong place to get food– it took forever (I think some people waited more than an hour after they’d ordered). But the company was good, and we kept drinking throughout the evening.

Sunday was the day of the Bachelor/-ette parties. We divided off early in the morning. The guys took a speedboat out to an island that apparently had a pack of wild boars on it (discussions of Lord of the Flies and the guys’ survival abilities ensued later among the women), and the girls headed off to a more family-style excursion to Rose Island, where we spent the day beaching, swimming, and snorkeling.

My one regret on this trip is not having bought an underwater camera– the snorkeling blew me away. Rose Island had a reef that was perhaps 50 feet from shore. The water was crystal clear, and the fish were amazing. I saw fish easily a foot across in colors that I couldn’t believe existed in nature. At times, I was surrounded by schools of fish. I saw eels and jellyfish. One of the girls in our group saw a small shark. Rose Island was definitely a highlight of the trip. And I’m now hooked on snorkeling. Next vacation to somewhere warm? I’m buying my own to bring along.

That night, the festivities continued, but as time went on, many of us started dropping out from suntime exhaustion. By the end of the night, some of the girls had gone dancing. The guys had ended up in the casino near the hotel, teaching Erich to play blackjack at the ten dollar tables.

Monday was the day of the rehearsal dinner. In the morning, Seth and Gina had to attend to the legal paperwork for their marriage, so we were all on our own until dinner at 6. We all headed back downtown to go shopping at the Straw Market for souvies and such.

The Straw Market was fun. It’s been around since after WWII, with numerous tight corridors packed high with just about everything. It reminded me of all of the middle eastern bazaars I always see on TV– vendors sitting on chairs in front of their wares, trying to entice tourists to buy. Haggling is encouraged. Much of it is actually straw items– hats, bags, fans, etc. But you can also find knockoff Coach and Kate Spade purses, t-shirts, sarongs, little wooden figurines, jewelry, and even Cuban cigars in there. I did get a bit claustrophobic– with the exception of one, the rows were tighter than the average supermarket with walls that were ten feet high– the vendors used poles to get higher stuff down. I walked away with a cute straw hat, two pretty batik sarongs for the beach, and a little Bahama style happy cat figurine for a total cost of $40.

After another ocean dip that day, we headed over to the rehearsal dinner at one of the all-inclusive resorts, Breezes. The food was very good– a big family-style Italian meal (what IS it with Italian food for rehearsal dinners?). Afterwards some people headed back to the hotel. I stayed with a few of the others, managed to get myself extremely hammered, and had a blast on the dance floor until about 2 a.m., ignoring the fact that other than Gina’s aunt, I was probably the oldest person out there. Since the legal age for drinking is 18 in the Bahamas, the nightclub was FULL of recent high school grads. One extremely drunk kid tried to pick me up, and his expression was priceless as I gave him a sarcastically sweet mile and tapped my engagement ring in time with the music.

Heh. It sent him running. Quick.

Anyway… I stumbled home with a couple others around 2. Erich was highly amused. In my now slightly sobering state, I realized that the girls had planned to head over to Sandals the next morning around 10 a.m., per Gina’s request. I quickly wrote a note to one of the other girls and walked up to slide it under her door to let them know not to be concerned if I wasn’t up on time.

But somehow, I was up– and sans hangover – with plenty of time to spare the next morning. Some amusement at “who the hell is DrunkenMe(!)? was commented on– my L wasn’t clear at the end of my signature, apparently. In one big pack, we headed over to Sandals.

Now, Sandals is one of those super-exclusive, all-inclusive resorts. If you’re not staying there, you can’t go in. But as part of their wedding arrangement package, they added day passes for all of us to be able to enjoy the resort for the day (so that we didn’t have to just come an hour before the wedding, and leave an hour after the reception ended). Once we were on the resort, purses and wallets went away– all food, all drinks… everything was included.

And everyone took full advantage of that. Particularly with drinks. The drinks started flowing around 11 a.m. as everyone – except Gina, who was getting a massage on the dock – plunked into the pool and made full use of the bar– that was in the pool (with underwater barstools).

Throughout the early afternoon, all of the girls filtered over to the resort spa for appointments that Gina had helped make. I got my first pedicure (which I loved and now will budget for each month). Afterward, we rushed to one of the empty rooms that Sandals ahd been kind enough to allow us to use to dress in. I was the last one in the shower, and wound up being THAT ONE who was late to the wedding.

As in– Gina was already standing at the end of the aisle when I arrived with Toni and Jen. For the next several minutes, I was fighting back tears of anger and embarrassment. I’m one of those people who HATES to be late. And to a wedding? Yeah… *sigh* Add to that the fact that my hair was still sopping wet and I just felt completely disheveled and ugly… my mood was NOT good.

Thankfully, the ceremony started nearly immediately, and it helped me calm down for the most part. It was a lovely, simple ceremony, followed by a rip-roaring party. Everyone was dancing. Most people abandoned shoes for the floor. It was a great time. Seth and Gina had not chosen to do a first dance song. That, of course, simply would not stand with the group of characters in the Providence crew– which happily surprised them with a special dedication… of “Let’s Get It On” by Marvin Gaye. (almost all of us were in tears from laughing.. including the newlyweds).

After the reception ended, Seth announced that the celebration would continue in the pool (which was celebrated by all of us– now extremely hot and sticky from dancing so much). And virtually everyone from the reception (with the exception of the kids, who were not allowed to stay on the grounds because it’s a couples-only resort) got in. It was heavenly. We stayed until around midnight, feasting on the romantic Midnight Buffet (which was entirely made of fruit and different styles of chocolate).

After that day, Erich and I agreed that some day, we’re saving our money for a couples trip to one of those places. It was incredibly over the top in the Mount Olympus fantasy-style resort. But wonderfully romantic.

Wednesday was our last full day there, and we wanted to see the Atlantis resort (which everyone on the island was talking about). We managed to meet up with everyone in the early afternoon, headed over to the resort by a ferry boat (or… the adventure boat. This thing should NOT have been used as a water taxi. We were very thankful to get over in one piece, and decided we’d skip the return ride and just get a real taxi to get home). Atlatnis was again, over the top. Very elegant, very expensive (they have a suite that runs $25,000 a night!!), but fun. We grabbed lunch in the marina village before going into the resort itself. One of the highlights we’d heard about was the aquarium, but it had a $30 entrance fee, and we got mixed reviews from some of the people we’d talked to. We were pleasantly surprised to find a free trail through what was called “The Dig” – a pseudo-archaeological underwater site that had what was considered a smaller collection of fish. But all of us had a blast in there– there were a bunch of different small display tanks, plus one ongoing portal-view of a huge tank with a variety of different fish. The photo of the manta ray is from that uber-tank. Erich took a ton of photos from the free walkthrough. All of us were impressed and satisfied with The Dig, so we didn’t even bother going into the pay aquarium.

The casino tables required a bit too high of a minimum bet for our tastes, so we stopped by the casino bar for a round of very yummy frozen drinks before heading back to our hotel. All in all, we thought Atlantis was quite nifty, but other than the free aquarium, a bit over-rated for the obscene nightly price they asked for rooms (I think the cheapest is around $400 a night– and not all-inclusive like Sandals was).

We spent the evening low-keying it between the hotel and the casino. Erich again played some blackjack. I had some fun at the slots. I didn’t win anything, but had fun being silly with playing one credit per game on the penny slots, and trying my luck at a quarter machine where I’d nearly broke even a couple nights before. An elderly British woman at the machine next to me won over $2,000 on a quarter machine pull.

As the evening went on, the group slowly filtered to bed– and we said our goodbyes. We finally wrapped things up around midnight, knowing we had to get up and pack to leave the next day.

Our travel back was relatively smooth– customs was a pain in the ass with about four layers of checking and rechecking before we got on the plane. Our connection was extremely tight in Charlotte, but we made our plane. But by 6 p.m. on Thursday, we were home. Our bags, not having made the connecting flight, arrived home around midnight.

All in all, we had a blast. We’re broke, but now know to better prepare for a Carribean trip with additional savings beforehand. It was a needed week off, and we made some wonderful new memories, both as a couple and as the larger group of friends.

Erich and I arrived home around 6 tonight. Our bags landed about an hour ago on the later flight, thanks to our need to haul ass to catch our connection in Charlotte.

We’re a bit sunburned, quite tired, extremely cat deprived, but we had a great time.

Stories and photos coming over the weekend, once I get through yet another round of unpacking my new cubicle space tomorrow.

- Mel.

Erich and I arrived home around 6 tonight. Our bags landed about an hour ago on the later flight, thanks to our need to haul ass to catch our connection in Charlotte.

We’re a bit sunburned, quite tired, extremely cat deprived, but we had a great time.

Stories and photos coming over the weekend, once I get through yet another round of unpacking my new cubicle space tomorrow.

- Mel.

And… we’re off again. To a wedding (that is not mine. *grin*)

(hey… I’ll get around to it. Really.)

Other than Canada, this will be my first time out of the U.S. I’m quite excited.

Nassau, here we come. One full week in paradise.

Erich and I leave tomorrow morning around 10, and get into the Bahamas around 3-ish. We’ll be there a full day earlier than anyone else from the Providence crew of friends (about 10 people total).

I have a new bathing suit– that actually fits! and looks good! and hides my icky spots (mostly!). For the $85 price tag, it damn well better.

Other than the wedding itself and the bachlorette party (a day long catamaran trip to an island for snorkeling, etc.) I have no schedule whatsoever. I plan to relax. A lot.

While I’m gone, however, I propose a challenge to you– give me topics and questions. I want to have some good mind-chewing fodder to write about next month. Anything. Seriously.

I don’t know how my access will be over the next week, but if I can’t log in while on the trip, I’ll see you all on June 30th.

Best,
Mel.