Link to picture found hereBy Brian Jacobs
God, life in Virginia Beach can become so mundane! When I'm feeling like I have become entirely way to bored with everything around me, closing my eyes and retreating to my favorite place in the world always helps. It was the day after our wedding and my new wife Becky and I were ready for a vacation. Months and months of wedding planning had taken it's toll on the both of us. We had never really been anywhere together except for the occasional trip to visit our famlies and friends. Adventure is the name of our game. We will try anything once and usually fall in love with the kind of stuff that gets your heart pounding and your palms a little clammy so when it came down to our honeymoon we didn't want to spend it sitting around a resort doing what every other tourist is doing. A trip to Grand Bahamas, Bahamas is where we decided, it was the most non touristy place we could come up with. Bags are packed, house is locked, and away we go!
The day our "adventure" began was upon us. One final walk through of the house and we were on our way. After stopping at the local WaWa for some snacks and drinks we headed off on route 64 for a quick 3 hour drive to Dulles International Airport, located in northern Virginia. We would've rather flown out of Norfolk but as I said earlier, this was an adventure. We needed to stay the night at an airport hotel because or flight wasn't leaving till the next morning. After checking in and having dinner and a few drinks we were both ready to hit the hay. (It's funny, you never sleep as good as you do in some random hotel). Checkout was easy and after a short shuttle, we had finally made it to the airport, just a little longer and the troubles and stresses of our lives in Virginia were going to be underneath us and behind us as we flew away to paradise by way of Charlotte, North Carolina, our only hurdle between us and the white, sandy beaches of the Bahamas. Luckily, our layover in Charlotte was a breeze, we had plenty of time to walk all the way across the airport to make our connecting flight. As the plane took off over the Atlantic, we realized, no phones, no emails, and nobody could track us down, we were free!! The flight was short, so short I didn't even have time for a cocktail, which was fine since we were about to land in the land of rum. Our landing was smooth and before we knew it, we could feel a rush of hot air pass over us as the flight attendants opened the planes door. As we stepped onto the tarmac we could smell the salt in the air and were ready to get out and explore but... customs wanted something else for us. After that somewhat painless experience we were finally there.
Stopping immediately in the airports duty free store we got our hands on a few bottles of locally distilled Bahamian Rum. Hailing a taxi to get us to our condo was a breeze considering everytime an airplain lands, every taxi driver on the island comes running. It was a short drive to our temporary home which was right on the water with a full kitchen and a view of the Carribean Sea that would take your breath away. We spent the first night sitting on the beach, sipping rum, and listening to music (which seems to come from everywhere on that island). I could now see why pirates used to use this as a hideout, it was amazing. We attempted to keep an "island buzz" the rest of our trip so it was good we had already stocked up on "hooch". Renting a car was the best idea we had, it gave us so much more freedom, being able to go and do whatever we wanted. We hiked through the mangrove forests, we snorkeled in Deadman's Reef seeing fish in colors you didn't even knew existed, we ate local foods, and drove to just get lost but, the most amazing part of the trip was the local nightlife. Now, I'm not the kind of person that likes to go "clubbing", which is good because the bars we found were far from clubs. Instead of looking through Froders, we decided to ask the locals where they go at night. Bikini Bottom seemed to be the place everyone said they'd be after work. Once we got there we could see why. It was a bar built out of wooden pallets with a huge outdoor patio. There were swings instead of bar stools and live local music was played every night. It seemed like only "irie vibes were allowed". We had the time of our lives drinking and dancing with the locals that seemed to take us in like we were one of them. This is the life is all I could think. The love of my life, new friends, and music, it was all I needed.
Then it hit me, we're leaving tomorrow. Our departure went smooth, only long faces on the two of us though. Back to reality. The bad news was that the day after we got home was the first day of my fall semester in college. The good news was though that the memories I have of that trip will be mine forever. I can replay the whole thing over whenever I want, all I have to do is close my eyes!
