Nassau Part 2

We were supposed to go to Coco Cay today but the Captain decided to just stay at Nassau due to inclement weather.

E and I spent the whole day at the beach. We rented a couple of lounge chairs and had some coconut juice. I played in the water and when I got tired, I had the top of my hair braided. That was no joke, the lady really made sure my braids were tight and pulled my hair so hard I had to dug my hands and feet in the sand to keep from complaining too much. E never got up from his lounge chair for almost three hours. The beach was so nice I just wished we could have stayed there a little longer.

For our last night in the ship, there was a stand up comedian and he was hilarious. That was the best show ever. I heard that he's a regular at Jay Leno's show but since I'm more of David Letterman's person, I really don't know him. He made me laugh for an hour and got me thinking I should probably check out the comedy clubs in Sacramento, namely The Punchline.

There was also an excellent father and son balancing act. I sat on the edge of my seat and held my breath because the son was precariously perched way on top of his father and the boat was swaying! I really thought I was watching an accident waiting to happen but their performance was flawless and went without a hitch. Boy, I was never been so happy to be wrong. They bowed out to much applause from the crowd.

E and I went to the bar again lest our bartender friends miss us. Hehehe. We had a few drinks and they didn't even want to charge us at all! We insisted on paying but they wouldn't hear it. So, we resorted to leaving some cash instead. Whatever money we spent in the bar, we surely got double that amount in alcohol.

Awesome vacation, I tell ya'. Tons of food, good sights, pristine beach, warm locals, a broader perspective, new friends, and alcohol up the wazoo, what else could I ask for? I'm definitely taking another cruise.

Bahama Mama!

Nassau, the capital of Bahamas, is beautiful and very colorful. Most of their government buildings have this light pink color and it's gorgeous. I heard that the MMDA Chairman in the Philippines is "painting the town pink" and I'm wondering if he got the idea from the Bahamas?

The Bahamian people are very nice and the places we visited are very clean. We explored Nassau on foot and just off the docks, we found two Filipino restaurants! We're truly all over the world! We also checked out their stores and flea markets. I bought a blue bag with the word Bahamas embroidered on it. We also bought shirts as pasalubong and postcards to be sent to friends and family back home.

We went back to the ship for a quick lunch and to drop off our loot before heading back out for an organized Nassau/Paradise Island Tour. We checked out Ft. Charlotte, the Queen's Stairs, and another fort right next to the water tower. The aquarium inside the Atlantis hotel could very well rival those of Sea World. Our tour guide, Freddy, was really nice and knowledgable. He gave us a brief history of his country and pointed all the major buildings and landmarks. Never mind that he almost gave me a heart attack by his erratic driving.

Of course, no visit to the Bahamas is complete without tasting their famous conch (pronounced as konk) which is believed to be an aphrodisiac. It's the meat from the conch shell (duh?) that they cooked and put in the salad or deep fried. We had conch fritters and it was good, but I think the aprhodisiac claim is totally bogus. All it made us do was to run in the bathroom a couple of times. Enuff already, too much info.

We watched a show in the ship later that night before going to dinner. We skipped the formal dining night and went to the buffet instead. And as expected, we took our usual spot at the bar and drank so much, it was crazy. E had a cigar and our friendly bartender kababayans were quick to give him a shot of cognac to make the cigar even more flavorful daw.

There was an ice carving demonstration on the deck and tables upon tables of desserts and chocolates. Just looking at it made me feel full already. We totally ignored it and we kept on drinking instead. Later on, there was dancing and tons of people having a grand time. E and I had a great night and before we know it, the bar was closing already!

All aboard!

We drove to Miami to board our ship, Majesty of the Seas to the Bahamas! The ship's so nice and beautifully decorated for the holidays. We readily took advantage of their buffet since we were starving by the time we got there. The food was delicious and the desserts were heavenly. With our bellies full, we explored the boat and all its amenities. The deck is where all the action was, there was a band, a bar, the swimming pools, tons of people, and a lot of dancing. I was pleasantly surprised to see so many Filipinos working there.

Our cabin is small but very efficient. There was a small TV on the corner and they were even showing pay-per-view movies! The cabin attendant left some chocolates on our pillows which I thought was cool. It was a far cry from my childhood experience of travelling by ship to Negros.

We also went to a mandatory safety meeting with our life jackets which had a long white strap attached to it. I told E I don't need the meeting since I'm sure I'll strangle myself first with the straps before I could put the lifejacket on anyway.

When we bought our soda package at the bar, we saw more Filipino crew members. E left them a big fat tip and when we returned that night to have some drinks, they really hooked us up. Needless to say, my vacation turned into a booze cruise. We chatted and made friends with them. We even left our address and phone numbers just in case they find themselves somewhere around San Francisco in need of a place to stay or maybe just a tour guide.

Check out pictures of the ship here: http://www.expedia.com/pub/agent.dll?qscr=ksif&tovr=-1294797248 (may or may not work, Expedia's website is a little wacko).

Christmas picture

Happy Holidays!!!

Christmas in FL!

We finally made it in FL on the afternoon of 24th. Peachy was such a good girl throughout the whole plane ride. The only problem we had was fending away kids who wanted to touch her. Yup, my little baby was so popular at the airport. Everyone was oohhhing and aahhhing at her.

Seeing E's family, especially our godchild/niece, Eliza made our long and tiring trip worth it. Eliza has grown so much since we last saw her. She is an adorable and delightful little girl. Tita Flor's house is nice and comfortable. E's whole family was there and like any other family gatherings, it was a lot of chaos, fun, kwentos, and of course, food.

We had a gift exchange on the night of 24th and boy, we received so much gifts I was afraid I'd have to buy another luggage. My most favorite gift is the two-way radio that E's brother gave us. He said that we could use it when we go on our cruise. E also received his new toy from work, it's a Dell Pocket PC. It is sooo nice. And because he has new Pocket PC, I get to keep his old one. It's really not old, maybe just a few months, so I'm not complaining.

It was a totally different Christmas than last year when we were in New Jersey. I remember being bundled up and still being cold last year. This year, E and I were both feeling sticky because of the balmy FL weather. Wherever we celebrate Christmas though, as long as it is with family and close friends, it is always wonderful.

Worse than crappy day

We're suppose to fly out of Sac Airport tonight but our flight got cancelled because of some bad weather condition in Texas. We were told that there's ice on the runway. Ice??? in Texas??? When I think of Texas, I think of warm, humid nights, and of all the nights Texas will have a freaky weather, it has to be the night that we're supposed to have a lay over there. Some luck, huh?

So, we're not going to be able to leave to FL until the morning of 24th. Oh well, better than nothing, I guess.

Crappy day

I took Peachy and Shaggy today to the groomer. I was told that Shaggy MUST be shaved inspite of it being winter and all. I was told that his dread locks are bad for his skin and he is most likely in pain. I put up a weak resistance by saying he's going to get really cold but I quickly clammed up when the doggie barber, with her fierce blue eyes, told me to keep him inside or put a sweater over him but the hair MUST go. She was very firm and persistent. I could sense that she's not trying to make money off me or anything. She only wants what's good for my dog. I finally agreed and was told to come back in four hours.

When I came to pick them up, Shaggy looked like an emaciated rat or something. The grooming cost quite a bit too. Not only did I have to pay bucco money, I also got a very sad looking dog. What a crappy day.

Just getting ready

We're getting ready to leave for our two weeks trip to FL. I'm doing all the preparation since E is still working. I made an appointment for Peachy and Shaggy at the groomers for today. I was told they might have to shave Shaggy's hair off since his hair is all knotted/matted (parang dread locks).After thinking through it last night, I decided that I'm going to get his hair trimmed and not shaved since he loves to be outdoors with Tyler and without his coat, he's not going to survive this nasty winter. As for Peachy, she's going to need a trim, ear cleaning, and her nails cut.

Part of my "getting ready to leave" is to clean the garage. I broke down tons cardboard boxes and organized our stuff there a little bit. E and I have become the typical American family whose garage is so full of junk that we have to leave our cars, which are worth a heck a lot more than our junk, outside the house. It's really E's fault, he has way more stuff than me. Granted I have more shoes but what he lacks in shoes, he makes up in clothes big time. He occupies two big closets in our room while I only use one. His closets are busting out of clothes and is beginning to spill onto the closet in the guest room while mine is very roomy. While I was cleaning the garage, I also noticed he has two golf carts and two golf bags! This guy has two or more of everything. I'm seriously thinking of selling his stuff on eBay. Hehehe. I bet he won't notice.

Oh yeah, we're also going on a cruise to the Carribean! It's only for three days and we're going to Nassau and Cococay in Bahamas but I'm sure it's going to be a lot of fun! We're leaving Miami on the 27th and we'll be back on the 30th. The schedule is so perfect such that we can celebrate Christmas and New Year with E's family. We want to go to Disneyland in Orlando too (E, as old and big as he is, still loves Mickey and Minnie) but we might not have enough time. We'll just wait and see.

Christmas shopping

Went to Nordstrom today to get gifts for E's family. Gosh, it was so freakin' crowded and the parking is crazy! If it was just up to me, I would go to Walmart or maybe Target where the prices are cheaper and there's ample parking. I'm a bonafide tightwad, that's for sure. It just that we have a gift card from Nordstrom and I'd rather use that than spend money out of my pocket.

I bought Calvin Klein perfume sets for his dad and two aunts. When I was rung up, I still had credits left in the card!!! So, I went and grab a lotion for myself. Hehehe. Oh, and they wrapped my gifts for free. Can't beat that, one less thing to worry about. The rest of my Christmas shopping has to wait til we get to FL because I'm afraid it won't fit in our luggage.

Sweet wake-up calls

I had two big tests early this morning. Since I'm known for being a sleepyhead, I was a little anxious about not waking up on time and missing the dang tests. As it turned out, I really didn't have to worry. I received not one, but three wake up calls this morning. E, who left the house early, called me around 6 AM. My friends, GK and MH also called me within 10 minutes of each other to make sure I'm actually awake and didn't fall back to sleep. E also set my cell to alarm (without me knowing) for good measure. Thank you guys for being so thoughtful and sweet.

As for my test, it went really well. I already got my score on one of the tests and I'm happy to say I got 100%. A is in the bag, baby!

Vet Day

No, not Veteran's Day, veterinarian day. E and I took Tyler and Peachy to the vet today for their annual PT and booster shots. When Tyler stepped on the scale, it read 134 lbs! WTF!?! My boy is 134 lbs???? And we thought he's losing weight already. Gosh, how did he get sooo big? And then they weighed Peachy who used to be 12 lbs. Now she's only 9 lbs. That's when it occured to me that Tyler must have been stealing Peachy's food. Thief!

Other than Ty's weight issue, they both passed with flying colors. Whew! I'm glad the doctor didn't find anything wrong with them or I'd be so broke. The visit alone cost us almost 200 bucks and we still have to get Peachy's teeth cleaned and bring Shaggy for his PT and booster shots next month. Oh yeah, we also have to pay for Tyler's kennel when we leave for FL, Peachy's plane ticket, and she and Shaggy need to be groomed soon. Dang! These dogs are expensive.

Peachy's timeout. 

Stuck inside the house

It's been raining the whole day and my dogs and I are stuck in the house doing nothing. Below are some cute/sweet pictures of Peachy that I took using my cell. It's grainy but it's still okay. I'm trying to clean my cell of pictures before our trip to FL. It's mostly pics of Peachy because of all three, she's the most photogenic. Tyler is black and his face almost always doesn't come out right on the picture. All I see is a silhouette and I could hardly make out his brown eyes. Shaggy is even worse, he's brown and he blends right in to our rug. I have pictures of him where I couldn't tell him apart from the rug. Afterall, I named him Shaggy for a reason: he looks like shag carpeting.

I didn't turn on our christmas lights tonight. I didn't want to go outside the house and have to plug in those electric cords when it's raining and risk electrocuting myself. Come to think of it, I didn't even check the mail today. Oh yeah, and I was supposed to pick up something from the Luggage Center today. Oh well. What can I say, I'm lazy. But I think it's the weather. Yeah, that's right. It's not me, it's the rain.

Yum, yum.  

Peachy and her doll 

Peachy giving Tyler a kiss 

E and Peachy  

Our house. I just love the luminaries!