Bermuda: State-side

While Carrie and I were in Bermuda, Shane stayed state-side with Grandpa and Grandma.

Grandpa introduced him to fishing. They went every day of the week.

Grandpa took us, too, when we got back!

We played catch and release in a stocked retaining pond.

Shane loved his time with his grandparents.

Maybe I should buy a fishing pool.

Or maybe I should at least learn how to gut and clean a fish like a real man. At least I still know how to pull out fish lip piercings.

We went by the playground after fishing to get Shane's swing on.

I still need to get a copy of our yearly Christmas picture from Grandpa. It's Fall again and we're missing the newest one from our mantle. I wish I'd thought to make more of a point while we were there.

Oh well. We'll visit again! Shane's asked multiple times. I think he'd be a-ok with Mom and Dad going on another vacation again!

Bermuda: Day 5 - The Summary

Day 5 dawned and we had to pack.

We did take some time to go into St. George's to look for mementos and a few last memories. We visited the church, the coffee shop, and a few shops. Carrie ended up talking with a woman who made jewelry for a long while. I enjoyed listening in. We got to hear about the roads, the lion-fish invasion, and all sorts of other things from a local perspective. We ended up with a discount before we left! Carrie's worn her new necklace almost every day since.

The packing and cab ride to the airport were uneventful. We had cab cash from the day before. Our landlord had given it to us as a small apology for the internet being out all week. It was appreciated.

The airport was eventful in that it was uneventful. We were checked in with a small horde and moved quickly towards our gate without hassle. That's rare.

We got on the plane without much else to say. I talked with a Bermuda local the whole flight back. When I asked, "What do Bermudans do for fun?" he joked "They get on a plane!" Sing said he lived in Hamilton and he could walk to work, his kid's school, and home within a mile or two radius.

Carrie and I really enjoyed our vacation. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for taking care of Shane and making it all possible! For five days and four nights we got to be on summer together as a couple! I think a piece of my wife's heart is still there. If I found a job there she would have us on a plane posthaste.

F.A.Q.

What was your favorite memory of Bermuda?

Not dying in a fiery moped crash and explosion.

Seriously?

Yes.

I knew going in Carrie would want her own moped. I had the choice of insisting we rent two or to be willing to hold on. I went with the latter. I discovered Carrie wants to be a professional moped racer when she grows up.By the end up the trip she was keeping up with the locals and trying to touch my knee to the asphalt when going through roundabouts. She hit a top speed of 59 kph on the straight run near the airport (humming "Highway to the Danger Zone" and grinning like a madwoman the whole time).

For someone who's risk adverse she's really not on two wheels. She'd love a moped here in the land of SUVs going 70 mph, but I won't let her.

Would you go again?

If we went with more family and took Shane. I'd want to go out in the water and spear some lion-fish!

How would you describe the locals?

Extremely friendly and laid-back. You couldn't walk by people without them smiling and acknowledging you. Anyone would be willing to start up a conversation about anything.

Can you think of anymore questions for this FAQ?

Nope. I thought I had some good ones, but I guess not.

All done!

Cat-Sat

We cat sat for Kim and Ryan over the weekend. They went up to Happy Valley for Penn State's first 'real' home game (They played their first game of the year in Ireland).

The kind of fun only $2 at a garage sale can buy.

 The title says it all.

Community Yard Sale Extravaganza

Shane and I discovered the community yard sale next door was more epic than expected. There were balloons!

We also ran into, Ryan, from Carrie's new office. Shane met him at a pizza joint the week before!

Ryan gave us some toys and a toothbrush.

A rival dentist's office let Shane brush a giant tooth.

They, also, gave us a toothbrush.

When pediatric dentist offices battle every kid gets a toothbrush.

Day-care Boy

We've been blessed. We have not found a bad day-care yet!

Shane has been very happy every day I've picked him up. I did drop offs and pick-ups most of my teacher work week. When school started, Carrie took over drop offs and I'm assigned pick ups

I picked up Shane's stuff on Friday and found a homework packet. Homework! I don't want to do it! I'm a teacher! I assign that stuff! Ha ha!

Shane and I will do over the week....probably the night before it's due. I love irony.

1st Day of School

There was no blog post yesterday, because I was prepping like a crazy person. There were IEPs to read, presentations to build, and lessons to plan!

The day went fairly well. I used to have 8 periods per day. Now I have four, but they're twice as long. It felt much less hectic than constantly changing gears, but each class was more draining. It will take me a little bit to get used to the timing and feel of the longer periods. I think I will enjoy block scheduling, though.

Tomorrow is another day.

I'd write more, but Carrie is insisting it's Eureka time.

Bermuda: Day 4 - Island-Trekkin

Rain was predicted again for Day 4. We planned accordingly.

We got on a boat.

The rain hit while Carrie and I were riding the ferry from Hamilton to Dockyard.

I wanted to ride the ferry for two reasons: 1) I did not want to putter back and forth across the entire nation, and 2) you have to get on a boat at least once when you visit an island nation. Boats are a part of everyday life!

Despite the rain, the views were beautiful. Bermuda is very green and there are lots of small islands decorating the Great Sound.

Carrie got the most excited when she saw the cruise ships. She has a soft spot for Celebrity X ships.

I don't have a lot of pictures from the dockyard. We were too busy looking around! There was a glass making demonstration, rum cake samples, and a 1,000+ line of people waiting for a cab. Cruise ships carry a lot of people.

The dockyard was much changed from Carrie's last trip to Bermuda. It was swimming with tourists and tourist attractions. The beach was $5 admittance, stores were everywhere, and the National Museum charged an arm and a leg to visit. We declined.

The picture was free.

We enjoyed walking around the mall and looking at everything. The fort walls surrounded the area and lent a sense of history.

From dockyard, we began our trip to trace the island. Our first stop was the Pompano Beach club.

It was a trip down memory lane for Carrie. Her family stayed at the Pompano when she was a kid.

We went inside to eat lunch at the resort and hide me from the sun. My skin had begun to tighten and remind me clouds don't stop sunburns (we passed on paying $15 for lotion in dockyard...oops).

After lunch we climbed the lighthouse at Gibb's Hill.

I can't recommend our method for everyone.

Burns the calories, though.

We had some fun stopping for pictures to make up for the lack of digital memories from Dockyard.

In case you don't know me, I'm all about trying to turn something normal into something memorable.

It's more fun that way. Try it.

But don't do anything you wouldn't want to be caught doing. You never know who's watching.

Two-hundred steps later we hit the top.

Rule #1 if you don't like heights: Don't go onto any heights.

Rule #2: Don't look down.

If you're afraid you're going to drop your cell phone and it will smash into a million pieces or kill an innocent bystander: take a few quick picks and then pocket it in a hurry.

After the lighthouse, Carrie and I cruised along South Road. We diverted north to pass the hospital, the first (and only) dentist I saw on the island, and back into Hamilton. There was one stop I had asked to see since Day 1 that we kept missing.

The Blackwatch Well.

There was not much to see.

It was a small, capped and overgrown well in the middle of an intersection. We walked across the street to look. Carrie and I had to stand in the street to take the next picture.

The Black Watch was the first Independent Highland Company to be raised to join the regular British Army. It started as an irregular militia in the 18th century and served with distinction all around the globe. They dug a well in Bermuda, too.

I like history and I've been on a Scottish binge lately.

I would also be lying if I didn't add that the first time I heard about them was as a teenager in a science-fiction novel where the Black Watch was a name given to a battalion tasked with protecting the Star Lord before the collapse of the Star League.

After a day of riding all over the island, Carrie needed her ice cream fix.

I know she loves me, because she shared.

With the last light of day, we gassed up the moped and explored the Cooper's Island Nature Preserve past Clearwater Beach. St. David's used to be a US Military base. Carrie, being a Carrie and military brat, was able to point out different buildings from the old base that had been re-purposed. We saw some more derelict buildings while on the nature preserve. There's a lot of history on Bermuda for such a small island. 

We made some more memories and then returned to the cottage for our last night in Bermuda.

PS - I had my nerd moment in the morning. Carrie and I tracked down the island comic shop while we waited for the ferry.

Q'plah!

Bermuda: Day 3 - The Sunburn Begins

After breakfast, Carrie and I moped-ed in to Flatt's Village to the Bermuda Zoo, Museum and Aquarium. We parked across the street and headed over to start the adventure.

Flatt's Village

The entrance lead into the aquarium. The hallway was full of tanks of different atlantic fish found around Bermuda and/or the Caribbean. 

Carrie became very hungry when she saw the lobsters.

More rain was predicted, so we decided to move along and try the outdoor exhibits first. Carrie made friends with the peacock wandering about.

The rain caught us fairly quickly, though. We took shelter in a tunnel of the Madagascar exhibit.

Carrie hung out with the boa.

A Canadian family braved the drizzle while we were in shelter. Their passage helped me spur Carrie to move to our next bit of shelter.

After I read everything in the room (and Carrie had a power nap) we ran to the museum. Carrie immediately started to play "Look what Shane would like!"

Across from the museum was a hands-on but indoors exhibit. I held an urchin.

Carrie grabbed a sea pudding.

We learned that the weird mollusks we found at the beach on Day 2 were called suckrocks. Yes, there was a more scientific name. No, I don't care. Suckrock, suckrock, suckrock. The name is accurate and funny.

The rain was gone when we left the building. Carrie became the official animal ambassador. She greeted the wallaby.

She would have greeted the giant tortoises. They smelled to high heaven.

Carrie made great friends with the tree kangaroo. She spotted him pulling grass shoots through the cage and decided to help. If there wasn't a barrier I'd probably be stuck with a new pet.

The canopied room held sleeping bats...

..., and a pair of sleeping owls. Shane was not around and we saw owls everywhere. God loves irony.

Carrie's eagle eyes spotted lemurs running along the netting separating their enclosure from the one we were in.

On the way out, we caught the scent of a binturong. They really do smell like popcorn.

There were signs everywhere that said, "Don't touch the animals."

We didn't, but Carrie was clearly open to saying "Hi" if the animals offered.

I took pictures and read whatever I could.

We returned to the aquarium on our way out.

On the way home, we went to a supermarket for lunch.

I like to visit the non-tourist/normal places. I want to know what life is like for the locals. What would life be like if we lived there?

Our next stop was a return to Fort St. Catherine. This time, they were open. The fort has a small museum up top. Then you can descend into the tunnels below.

When the fort was operational soldiers operated by dim candlelight in the tunnels. They also had to change their clothes and remove all metal for fear of a spark near the gunpowder.

Times have changed.

There were some neat factoids hanging up all through the fort. It made me want to read through the Sharpe books again.

Fort St. Catherine is not a big place, but it was a fun stop for a history buff.

Carrie asked me to stop when the history buff took a backseat to the impulsive inner child. It's hard to see, but I found an unmanned cart that rolled very smoothly!

Carrie and I moved on to inspect the batteries.

Wait a minute....the Bofors was a placeholder while a period gun was being restored. I think that it may have been installed during WW2.

Carrie and I went home for dinner. We'd bought supplies at a grocery store in Hamilton the day before.

After eating, we went swimming.

There was a beach a short drive from the cottage on St. David's. We found something moving in the water. It looked like a snake. The local who shared the beach with us said Bermuda did not have snakes. Maybe it was an eel? It moved away when I inched closer to investigate.

Darkness was approaching, so we headed home shortly thereafter.

Top Gun was on. Carrie played "Danger Zone" in her head whenever we hopped on the moped, so it was the perfect movie to end the night on!