This year for Thanksgiving we spent a week in Nassau in the Bahamas. It was beautiful, warm, but perhaps my favorite part of all was seeing R get to enjoy so much free time with his dad. The Bahamas is a great destination from Minnesota: 2 short flights (broken up by a quick layover), with only an hour difference (which is great for keeping a toddler’s sleep schedule on track). And since it is still technically hurricane season until November 30, flights were cheap (even less expensive than going to Utah!) and we were able to use Cole’s Hilton Honor points for our hotel accommodations. We had good weather: 80 degrees everyday, sunshine every morning for the beach, and only a couple of instances of rain and wind which occurred during nap time anyway. We loved the crystal clear blue waters and white sandy beaches, and enjoyed the laid back friendly Bahamian culture. We decided we may have to make this a tradition every year!
R did awesome on his first international trip! He is old enough now that he is actually interested in watching movies, so that kept him occupied during the entire flight. He hardly made a peep! Thank goodness for electronic devices..
We stayed at the British Colonial Hilton in downtown Nassau and loved it. The hotel had its own private beach (which was perfect for a toddler), pool, fitness center, restaurants, and was walking distance to shopping, dining, and sightseeing. The hotel was also used as a filming location for the James Bond films Thunderball and Never Say Never Again starring Sean Connery.
Marching band parade at night through downtown Nassau – it was such a party!
On Sunday we attended the Nassau Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for a lovely sacrament meeting and we met some really nice people. Unfortunately Delta lost Riggs’ bag (but fortunately we still had all of his diapers and other necessities – just not his clothes) so he was going on Day 3 of wearing the same clothes all day and sleeping in them all night. He loved playing outside of the Nassau church meetinghouse in his sweatpants.
We also explored Junkanoo Beach:
Lunch and daiquiris at the Fish Fry. Cole’s whole fried snapper, mac and cheese, and peas and rice – real Bahamian cuisine!
Roadside coconuts!
Lots of places to eat at the Fish Fry:
Conch shells:
View of cruise ships from Junkanoo Beach:
Lots of places to buy drinks, BBQ and jerk chicken on the beach:
Our beautiful hotel lobby:
Delicious complimentary continental breakfast every morning (thanks to Cole’s Hilton Honors!)
On our way to the beach! Love this little man of mine! And his soon to arrive baby brother!
