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.

Boston Bruins vs Anaheim Ducks

With 17,565 fans cheering on the players the Boston Bruins and the Anaheim Ducks battled it out. It was an exciting game as I watched from one of the Premium Suites high above the ice. I enjoyed cold beer, some of the best spare ribs ive had, and a platter of jumbo shrimp. While it was a full on luxury buffet in Ste 618 on the ice it was a much cooler reception for the Ducks.

It was the first night back for Bruins favorite David Krejci who returned after 15 games out with a knee injury. With no goals in the 1st quarter the 2nd boosted the crowd excitement and the score board with  the Ducks scoring first followed shortly by the Bruins. At the end of the 2nd and a tied 1:1 score it was up to the 3rd quarter to declare a winner. The Bruins came out strong and score after only 27 seconds on a power play.

Down 2-1 the Anaheim ducks pulled their goalie during the last minutes of regulation play and went on the offensive against the Bruins. With 38.5 seconds remaining the Anaheim Ducks scored tmaking it a tie and taking the game unexpectedly into overtime. With the crowds chanting loudly for the Bruins the Ducks scored the winning goal at 3:09. Defeated the crowds poured out onto the rainy streets of Boston.

While the home team and my favorite didn't win it was a great night out.