Nassau, Bahamas

Tuesday, November 25

We went to bed Monday night in the middle of the ocean and woke up in the Bahamas. Tuesday was a port excursion day and we were headed into Nassau for a tour of the city and a visit to Ardastra Gardens and Zoo.This picture of Holden was from that morning on the ship. He was out on the veranda with his Mickey Mouse.

Our tour of the city was almost an hour long and the kids did fantastic. The boys were quiet and respectful despite the length of the tour and being stuck inside a small Bahamian van. It was interesting to see Nassau through the eyes of our tour guide. He was so proud of the places that he showed us. This was a statue of Christopher Columbus. Why did I take the picture? The tour guide told me to and I obeyed. 

Ardastra Gardens was a small zoo in the middle of the city. The boys had fun roaming around and looking at the attractions. There were hardly any people there so we enjoyed some quiet and the slow pace. The main attraction at Ardastra is the flamingos. They have a show where the birds come marching into the arena and then obey orders from their drill sergeant. She would say, "About face right, forward march" and the flamingos would all turn right and begin walking in that direction. Then she would tell them to, "Pick it up!" and they would take off running. It was hysterical. At the end of the show the kids could go get their pictures taken with the flamingos.

The zoo let the flamingos roam free and also had peacocks on the loose.

The other thing that the kids enjoyed was feeding the Lori parrots. You could enter the cage and feed the birds apple slices. Collins tried it, but did not like the birds landing on her body. She screamed loudly and immediately left the cage. 

Connor loves animals more than anyone else in our family so this was perfect for him.

Colton enjoyed it as well.

 Handsome Hunter and his mom.

 Oh look! This guy was our personal flamingo tour guide in Nassau.

We tried a Bahamian soda while we were at the zoo. It was soooo sweet to the taste.

Sweet Carter journaled about everything he saw and everything we did while on vacation.

When our time at Ardastra Gardens and Zoo was finished, we loaded into the van and thought we were headed back to the boat. But oh no! Our tour guide had more to show us and wanted to take us to a local spot where we could buy souvenirs. The merchants were ruthless and rude as they tried to convince us to buy their wares. That part was no fun. Once we did get back to the ship, it was nice to shower and get ready for dinner. I loved dressing up for dinner each evening.

There were lots of opportunities to meet characters on the boat so Collins got a chance to hug Mickey Mouse after dinner.

All of the boys in one of the windows on the Disney Dream.

And I had to include this picture even though I can't remember what night it is from. Hunter felt a little too old for the Oceaneer Club where his brothers liked to hang out, so one night he just went back to the room and ordered a cheese pizza for himself. Woo hoo for free room service!