Nassau, Bahamas

The night before our Bahamian adventure the Kids Club hosted Pirate Night stolen treasure and all. While Chris and I dined on Parisian Fare the kids partied Pirates of the Caribbean Style. This little turtle was Ethan's prize from the treasure hunt.

The big excursion for this stop was swimming with the dolphins at the Atlantis hotel. Since we had already done that at the Atlantis in Dubai we opted for other destinations.

The first of which was the Pirates Nassau.....

where we were greeted by this Scurvy Pirate. He really played it up for the boys so much so that Ethan began to take it seriously- a bit too seriously. Not in an 'I'm scared,' way but an "I'm bigger, stronger, and stinkier than you," way so just watch it buddy.

I had done a little research on this place before going and it had really good reviews. As we walked through town I wasn't so sure. But this museum EXCEEDED OUR EXPECTATIONS. It was on the Smithsonian level of museums. We walked through a boat, saw surgery performed by the ships carpenter, and read every single sign answering True/False questions along the way.

There was no better way to spend the afternoon with our three little scalawags.

The exit a la Disney style is through the gift shop.

And boy did Ethan shop! We really tried to convince him not to spend it all in one spot because we would be in Orlando for our last week. So he didn't spend it all on a pirate bear, treasure chest, and semi precious gems (rock tumbler rocks) but he almost did.

We then walked on and up a hill to an old fortress on Bennet's Hill for some climbing and views.

To get back down we took the Queen's Staircase.

Nassau's most visited attraction is the Queen's Staircase. Climb the 65 steps, recently renovated, carved out of solid limestone by slaves in the late 18th century, between 1793 and 1794. It is reported that slaves were forced to cut through rocks with axes and other sharp hand tools.

This 102 foot staircase was named in honor of the 65 years of Queen's Victoria's reign. Construction of this monument is still regarded as remarkable.

Our walk back to the ship was a bit adventurous. Graham decided he no longer liked his stroller and learned to unlatch the seat belt himself. The sidewalks were too crazy, narrow, and in disrepair for his two year old gait so he was carried mostly by Chris. Ethan decided he did like the stroller and after one last purchase of a large sea shell he could hear the ocean in; Zach decided to send Ethan unaided back down a steep hill in reverse almost crashing into a vendor's stall full of goods. Luckily a lady ran out and stopped the stroller just in time or Zach's long saved spending money would have been spent on lots of broken tourist trinkets in payment.