I went to the Bahamas, and all I got was this blog post

FEELS SO GOOD TO BE BACK! I had an amazing vacation, but nothing beats that familiar feeling in the pit of your stomach when you come home.  Now that I’m back, it’s time to share details and vaycay pics.

Day 1: I woke up extremely early to get ready for the flight, even though everything was packed and ready to go. We arrived at the airport about an hour before the flight, making sure we had enough time to go through airport security. I had gone to the hair salon the night before, and still had the bobby pins in my hair from the wash & set. The pins set off the metal detectors, so I had to go through a vigourous pat down by a burly female security agent 0_0. After dealing with that, I literally ran down to the terminals, to get to our flight. The hour flew by, and soon I was in the air. Landed safe and sound in MIA, and headed to the hotel.

The hotel was nice, albeit creepy. This was our hallway…

Every picture came out this way...

I guess you get what you pay for, and this place was definitely cheap as hell.  On the positive side, it was safe and clean; plus had a pool which we were in ALL day, EVERY day.

Day 2: After sleeping in and swimming all day though, it was time to see what Miami night life had to offer. After hair and makeup were done, it was time to hop in a cab to Collins Ave and get some food and drinks in our system.

In Miami, the extravagant makeup gets all the attention

Being from Brooklyn, I’m used to expensive food and drinks. But I was still shocked at the South Beach menus. Dinner was easily $60-80! Every. Single. Night. There was a lot of food and libation consumed though, and some of the freshest seafood to ever cross my plate. I just smiled, indulged and chalked it all up to the price I paid for peace of mind

Day 3: What's a visit to Miami, without going to the beach? The sand and water were so clean and beautiful. I just sat back, tanned and enjoyed the sights.

Taken from my BlackBerry

I don't even like going to the beach (sand and salt-water are not too kind on a black girl's hair). But views like this, make you consider risking it anyway

Day 4: By this time, I had been through 6 bottles of the hotel's hair conditioner and 2 full sized bottles. Getting in and out of the chlorine everyday can be a disaster for someone with natural, curly hair. Add the drying effects of saltwater and it's done for. I knew what to expect though, and honestly didnt lose too much hair during the whole trip. Before I stepped into any water (pool, ocean, shower) I coated my hair in conditioner; pulled it back with a claw clip and went about my day. When we came back to the hotel room, I repeated the process. Doused my hair in a conditioner/water mix, parted it into 4-6 big braids (still with condish) and gently combed out any tangles. Then, when I got into the shower, I undid a braid at a time, put tons of conditioner on it, and braided it back up. Sounds like a lot of work, but I'm too obsessed with my hair to lose any because of a vacation.

Day 5: Back to the beach we go, and this time I stay on the sand to avoid getting my hair wet.

To keep me company, I had my food, some good music and my feathered friends trying to get some of my chicken samwich

Day 6: Our time in Miami was officially over, it was time to get on the cruise and sail out to the Bahamas. I sailed with Carnival cruises and LOVED it. Everything was beautiful: the food was great, the workers were friendly, and even the fellow passengers were cool. Even though our 'suite' was tiny as hell, the view from the 'balcony' made it all worth it

I think I was most excited about seeing all the brown faces on board. So many African American, Hispanic and Caribbean people were there. I was proud to see "us" being able to travel to other countries and enjoy vacations.

Day 7: This was the night I was most looking forward to; "Formal Night". The night that guests and employees alike break out their Sunday best and dress to impress. And somehow, I missed dinner that night! Ok, lemme tell you how it happened. That morning, we docked in the Bahamas, and we left the boat to do some sight-seeing and shopping. Beautiful colors, clean air and amazing shops.

Junkanoo is the Bahamas' version of Mardi Gras/Carnival

After getting my mother and grandmother's Christmas presents, we made our way back to the ship. There I was, on the deck playing mini golf and trying to scope out some cute guys. Then I went swimming in the pool, and got ogled by some teenage boys in the process. Finally, its time to get out of the pool, and head to the room to get ready. I was in a great mood, and came in to see this on my bed

Doggy made of towels

After 'ooh'-ing and 'aww'-ing for a bit, I jump in the shower to deep condition my hair and prepare to straighten it. Looking back, I don't know who I thought I was fooling. It takes me 4 hours to get my hair bone straight at home with all my tools. What did I think I was gonna achieve on a boat, with a $19.99 blow-dryer? I tried it though, and made good progress in 2 hours. But, looking at the itinerary for the dining rooms, I realized we may have missed dinner. So I send my friend in to go save us a seat while I slick my hair into a side bun and get into my dress. Simultaneously, I'm calling room service, guest services and the dining room; all to no avail. Finally, as I'm putting on my makeup, I get through to someone. He tells me that dinner had been over for a full hour by that time, and is pretty rude about it. At this point, I'm mad and only have myself to blame. So I just take off everything (makeup, hairpins, dress and heels) and go to bed at 10 pm.

Day 8: I wake up to Cher telling me that the dining room wasn't closed after all. She went in, and was among the last of the guests seated. She also said that she ordered for me, since she thought I was right behind her, and they forced her to eat both meals when I never showed. What was on the menu? Lobster and shrimp, some of my favorite seafood. I was really pissed about that, and even more angry when she told me I had missed the performance that all the waiters had put on. To make up for missing Formal night, I put on my heels, some make up and walked around the boat looking cute as I wanted to LOL

The prom-esque picture

Day 9: As the boat pulled back into Miami, I had a bittersweet feeling. Part of me wanted to stay in the sun, relaxing without a care in the world. The other part missed home, and missed working. As we debarked from the boat, there were excursions available, for people that had late flights. Our Delta flight didnt leave for 10 hours, so we went for an airboat ride in the Everglades.

It was... an experience, to say the very least. My camera battery was on it's last breathe, but I was able to capture these pictures:

Water Lily

Chameleon

Baby crocodile

And the last picture right before the camera conked out

After being dropped at the airport I still had HOURS to go before I made it back to NY. Cher and I made the most of it, she bought a deck of playing cards and taught me how to play blackjack sitting on the floor of Miami International Airport. I didn't get back to NY until 1 am, and the dramatic change in weather gave me a cold. It was all worth it though, because I had a beautiful experience. <3