I was told that I MUST write a blog about our trip to Bermuda!
My response had something to do with lack of comic elements, but that notion has been nixed and now --
As for the title, continuing the now lengthy tradition of the Bob and Bing road movies, though indicating there was no Bing (so far less straight lines). It also assumes Bob ends up with Dorothy, which I don't think is how those movies turn out.
Opening joke: more than one person has had trouble with which Caribbean island we (or others) was going to "Bahamas, Barbados, Belize..." --
So, it might not have been all that funny, or maybe it was, that our cab driver greets us with "Welcome to Barbados." This was his idea of opening schtick. :)
This was our second trip to Bermuda -- the other also a long weekend in the late summer after I first became APSCUF president. There was disagreement on whether it was August or September -- since I never win one of these, but also don't concede, I think I know which it is -- but that doesn't matter.
We loved it.
We got in at 1:30 Bermuda time (which isn't the same as when they say "island time") -- and were able to get to the beach (yes air quotes here) nearest the apartment. You can see from this shot that it's a lovely *little* cove, but not much to it.
To know about the apartment -- it was more of a suite -- a bedroom, with a TV over the foot of the bed, the bed with one side against the wall (think crawling over someone in the middle of the night, if you are middle aged), a dresser, a comfy chair and stool, and a bathroom with a very nice, but only a, shower. Cozy. But comfortable. We, unlike every house shopper on HGTV, weren't preparing for company. We shared a patio with the other apartment in the house and a young couple from Italy -- she spoke maybe 3 words of English -- had just come in Friday morning.
For dinner we decided on the Italian place about three blocks from the apartment. The food porn is of Karen's HALF ORDER of carbonara:
We had taken the bus out to the cove on Friday, so knew where to go on Saturday when Karen decided to go to Horseshoe Bay, which regularly ranked in the best beaches in the world. It's on the south shore (the island tilt from northeast to southwest, so the south shore is the part most aimed to the open ocean) and was advertised as a 25 minute bus ride.
It wasn't so much the bus ride as the hike from the main road and bus stop down, DOWN, to the beach. More on that later (remember, what goes down, must come up...or something like that, right?)
We arrived at the beach at the same time, of course, as OUR bus colleagues, most of whom got off with us, and there were several smaller coaches passing us into the parking lot as we arrived! I don't know how long I waited in line -- the guy behind me, a New Yawker by accent, and I decided there was money in renting chairs and umbrellas (little did either of us know! see Sunday!) -- maybe 45 minutes. It was such a madhouse that I put our own umbrella in (fortunately I had to take no abuse because it stayed up the whole day -- the pros were using a battery-powered drill with a two foot long bit!).
And then we had drinks --
The pictures (Dorothy says) won't do Horseshoe Bay justice. Just so you know, all the professionals claim the sand is pink -- and explain why. If you get it from the pictures, good for you. It's nice, soft and effin' hot, but pink...not so much.
We found out that all the people on the beach were from a cruise ship --which explained why almost everyone around us had these blue-purple towels. About 3, they all left! Had to be back on ship by 4 to leave. A lot of ships come there, it seems.
Now, for the story of the weekend (maybe), on the way back from the walk, "Dorothy" says she's going in the water. She's gone a long time and I see her out with two other heads bobbing -- clearly talking. Well, she comes in and tells me about this couple, etc, etc. Those familiar with her will recognize this -- an exchange of life stories.
Did I mention the road down from the bus stop? Well, I drug her off the beach (she says her claw marks are still there -- did I mention the beauty, the warm water, the drinks?) about 4 and we began the long, hot climb up the hill. We weren't out of the parking lot (literally) when she stopped and told me to go on and she'd be there soon. Well, a car pulls over and says "want a ride?" It was that couple, who were the local minister and his wife. After 35 years of chatting people up, I finally see the upside.
They were very nice and drove us into Hamilton, avoiding the 25 minute bus ride (let alone the wait for the bus) back. Kudos to the Mrs. Oh, yes, I didn't mention this in all this, but this trip was for our anniversary. Since I stopped celebrating birthdays, we won't go into numbers. But this was "a lot" and a number divisible by 5.
Then to a place not two blocks from our apartment for dinner -- the Mad Hatter. Here's a decor shot --
To go along with the day, here's their version of the Rum Swizzle, which has a lot more coconut taste --
But we weren't.
We had no umbrella or chairs. So we walked onto the private beach, (there are pictures of the accoutrements) and I got out the Visa card and paid. It was many times what the umbrella and chairs were Saturday! Ouch! But we got a guy who came and brought us drinks, then dinner.
But it was beautiful, again!
Dinner was again at the Italian place -- which we liked and not many places were open -- did I mention, the Mad Hatter was tres expensive? -- and had excellent food.
Then back to the flat, avoiding the lizards (did I mention them? there's one photo of a small one, but one regularly attended our entrance to the apartment), or the frogs, which chirped loudly, but which I told her were big crickets. :)
We spent our last few ours having brunch (French place again), shopping -- you can see some of the things on t-shirts we didn't buy -- and then to the plane.
Worth noting: both children got Bermuda shorts for a gift. Since one has seen hers, she knows they are madras. We won't mention his until he receives them. Yes, they are a thing. The waiters at the Italian restaurant wore them, in various bright, pastel shades, with dress shirts. And we saw people going into work with that attire on, too. Into business offices.
So, that was our anniversary trip to Bermuda. If it weren't for the lizards, I'm not sure anything was funny. Right?
