Bahamas - Day 2 : Snorkel & Sun Burn

The first day was such a busy day traveling, we all slept like babies; however we all woke up refreshed.  Expecting the weather to not be so great as the forcast was rain: Grace, Dan, and I decided to take a morning walk along the beach where we got some great pictures.  After our walk we discussed going to the beach to take advantage of the great weather while it lasted. After changing into our bathing suits, and applying sunscreen, we checked out some towels from the front desk and claimed our beach chairs on the beach.

Around 10, we started to feel a bit peckish so we headed to the resort restaurant called the Sea Grape for breakfast. There we ordered 2 eggs over easy 2 pancakes bacon & hashbrowns. After our delicious  breakfast, we head back down to the beach. It was during this time that Grace and I decided to go snorkeling again while Dan and Chris decided to stay on the beach to read and do some decompressing. 

After about an hour of snorkeling we returned to the beach to rejoin Dan and Chris. It was after a little bit of chit chat that we decided to head down to the Coconut Grill for a couple of libations. Dan got a classic mai tai, Grace got a classic margarita, and Chris and I got rum runners. The drinks were tasty but they were on the weak side and loaded with ice and juice. That experience was a bit of a let down on the part of the bar. 

 

Once our drinks were finished, we headed back down to the beach for a bit more R&R. After a bit of relaxing, Grace and I decided it was time to cool off in the water. While we were enjoying the bath-like water a small sea turtle swam by.  I managed to get a few pictures of the little guy, but sadly no great pictures. While much smaller than the turtles we saw in Hawaii, they were a very cool site to see right off the resort beach. 

We decided to head back to shore, where Grace and I went to investigate some of the suggested local activities. We learned that the horseback riding and jetski's were too expensive. However, we did learn that since we have a rental car, we could do most things with out paying for a resort-designed tour. 

We returned to our beach chairs to relax some more, and after about an hour of laying under a palm tree, we all decided too cool off with a refreshing dip in the ocean. It was during this dip that a sea turtle decided to come up to us again for a little visit. I did manage to get some real cool pictures of him this time. 

Leaving the ocean, we then headed to the pool area. It was here that we all noticed that we were starting to get some color. After spending all winter indoors we were all on the pale side, and the cool water of the pool gave us an indication that we were sunburnt. I personally believe it was the second time out in the water that finally caught up to us, as we all ended up getting a bit too much sun and thus ended up sunburnt. 

With our new rosy complexions, we decided to get out of the sun and head indoors to shower and get ready for dinner. At the suggestion of the resort activities director, we headed for Lucayan Harbour to Pier 1 to watch them feed the sharks. Unfortunately, we couldn't find it, and headed back to the Port Lucaya Marketplace for dinner instead. We decided on a pseudo-Mexican restaurant called Agave, where we all got the steak fajitas, cooked in a chipotle bbq sauce. Afterwards, we went for another ice cream cone at Frank's, where I indulged in a rich and creamy coconut pineapple cone.  

Tired and sunburnt, we headed back to the resort to relax and apply some aloe vera.  It was while putting the aloe on that we realized just how sunburnt we had gotten. Grace and I had the trademark 'T' shaped sunburn you encounter from a long day of snorkeling. Chris was burnt on the shoulders and forehead, while Dan's sunburn was mostly located on the backs of his legs.

Covered in aloe vera, we all went to bed. 

Bahamas - Day 1 : Travel Day

Located just 56 miles off the shores of the United States is the island of Grand Bahama. It is the 4th largest of over 700 islands and 2400 cay's that make up the Bahamas. Its capital is Freeport and is the second largest city in the Bahamas.  It is also our destination for this years group trip and will serve as our playground for over a week.  While visiting, we selected the Island Seas Resort as a place to call home.

Our trip started early in the morning with a 6:00 AM departure out of Bradley International Airport in Hartford, Ct via Delta aboard a MD-88 Mexico Air partner plane. That meant we left the house at 3:45 AM in the morning. Barely awake and sleepy eyed we made it on the plane and settled in for the 2 hours and 25 minute flight. Being the longest leg of our trip we all took a short cat nap. We arrived in a rainy Atlanta at terminal B and took the Plane Train to the international terminal E. Having arrived 25 minutes early we had just a little extra time to grab a bite to eat before our next flight. 

After that short layover we boarded our next Delta flight aboard a CRJ900 for the just over of 1 hour flight to Freeport. As we got close the Grand Bahamas we hit some turbulence but on the whole it was a smooth flight.  We arrived at 12:45 PM. After clearing customs and getting the first stamp in my new passport we headed to Hertz to pickup our rental car. 

It was a painful process as it became very clear we were now on Island Time. Once the 45 minutes of paperwork was done we made our way to the car, a silver Nissan March. I had to google it too. We packed out bags in the tiny trunk and drove away heading for Island Seas Resort. Driving on the left side of the road, as is norm in the Bahamas, was a bit unnerving .  What struck us most was the obvious run down condition of most houses and buildings. Thankfully after passing through the gates of our resort we weren't disappointed. After a quick check in we settled into our room with a view for our weeks stay. 

 

Hot and sweaty from traveling we all decided to take a walk on the beach and perhaps a a dip in the pool. Once on the beach with our feet in the cool Caribbean waters we were all feeling refreshed. As we walked along the beach another resort guest began throwing bread in the water. It didn't take long to figure out why as tons of fish began circling around our feet. Having my Nikon AW110 with me it took its first dive in clear Caribbean waters to capture a picture of the translucent fish. 

I decided given the beautiful weather and the less then stellar forcast that I wasn't going to waste the opportunity to snorkel. While Chris relaxed on one of the many Beach chairs; Dan, Grace, and I grabbed our gear and mad our way into the waters in front of our resort. 

 

The water was clear and the bottom was a sandy with patches of sea grass providing homes to spiny sea urchins. We explored but saw few fish and decided maybe further down the beach near the rocky outcropping we might have more luck. As the three of us walked the beach we collected some sea shells, coral and natural sea sponges. With us all getting a bit pink we returned to our room to shower and relax before dinner. 

For dinner we headed down to the Port Lucayan Marketplace and picked Molly Malone's where we  enjoyed some frozen drinks and fish & chips. Afterwards we enjoyed ice cream at Santorini deli. I picked the coconut ice cream, Grace had espressos chip, while Dan and Chris had chocolate chip cookie dough. Having gotten up at 3:30 traveling 2 legs to get here and spent a few hours snorkeling. We were all tired and headed back to the resort and to bed to get some rest. 

Strand Theatre - Jim Spinnato, R-rated Hypnotist

Located in sleepy Central Massachusetts town of Clinton is the Historic Strand Theatre. Built in 1924, today it is one of the oldest existing and still operating movie theatres in the area. During the heydays of yesteryear it operated as a vaudeville theatre and movie house until the late 1970's. Able to seat over 1200 patrons when it was built it reopened in 1995 after a lengthy renovation and now seats 304.

In additions to their regular movie schedule they host special events such as comedy nights. New to the Strand Theatre calendar was Jim Spinnato and his r-rated hypnosis. Having performed in the New England area for years at big venues like Foxwoods, Mohegan Sun, Six Flags, and numerous colleges Jim brought his comedy, audience participation and hypnosis to Central MA 's Clinton for the first time at the Historic Strand Theatre.

After a brief introduction Jim Spinnato invited everyone in the audience to stand up and test their ability to be hypnotized by following a few specific instructions. Unfortunately I failed the test and would not be a good candidate.  The idea was to help the audience members who wanted to volunteer determine if they would be a good candidate as a participant for the show. 

Next he invited anyone who passed the first test and wanted to participate to come down to the front along the stage. Here he separated the girls and the guys and administered another test. This allowed him to identify 12 participants he felt would be great candidates and invited them on stage. 7 girls and 5 guys were selected.

Once all 12 were seated he asked the audience to be perfectly quiet as he slowly and methodically hypnotized the group of participants through a series of breathing and concentration while soothing music and his voice put them into a hypnotic state. Some it didn't work for and he sent them back to their seats to enjoy the show.

For those that did he become hypnotized the fun was just beginning. He created a key word chosen by the audience. Once that key word was said he told the participants that the closer they got to their fellow participants the better they smelled and the better they smelled the closer you should get.

Next he convinced them that they smelled terrible. The reactions from the participants was hysterical. After torturing them with the pleasant and foul smells he put them back to sleep. I wont ruin the whole experience by telling you everything but I will share a few more of the fun shenanigans

One of his gags was when that trigger word was said that the ladies would feel a tickle between their legs that felt amazingly good. One of the girls was very dramatic about her reaction. It looks almost like she was experiencing the most intense orgasm of her life.

During another At one point he convinced one of the older guys that he has lost his penis and that he could only ask Jim to help him find it. Jim suggested that a particular woman in the audience had it.. the very shy man tried to discretely ask for it back. Jim asked him to describe it and he did just that. The funniest part was Jim talking about how the honesty of the guy suggesting it was of just average size. Finally the guy gets his penis back while his entire family was laughing hysterically.

As a finally he picked one guy and one girl and made the others dance for them Even making the guys dance for the guy and the girls dance for the girl. It was a pretty outrageously funny evening full of giggles and outright laughter. Jim Spinnato is a class act and a spirited performer. His talent and personality made for an enjoyable evening filled with fun and excitement.