on vacation, i:

1.  Swam with fish.  I was way more into it than they were.

(not my photo.)

2.  Discovered that a chocolate cream frappucino with hazelnut (and no coffee) is my new favorite thing at Starbucks.  Yes, Nassau has Starbucks, and it's on every street corner, just like at home


3.  Ate Italian food, Greek food, and what Lucille Bluth would call "pool food," but surprisingly little Bahamian food (two bites of conch fritter was enough for me).


4.  Devoured Till We Have Faces by CS Lewis in less than three days.

5.  Got jabbed in the ribs by a rogue flamingo at the zoo.  No, I'm not kidding.


6.  Met my first serval, also at the zoo (is this thing a cat or a freaking deer?).

7.  Experienced "Sky juice," a Bahamian drink made from rum and coconut water.  Yum.


8.  Got a sunburn.  Of course.


9.  Watched the series finale of LOST on a tropical island.  That was pretty cool.  Naturally, I bawled.

(I suppose I could have used a more iconic image-- 

and you know the one I mean if you've seen it-- 

but I didn't want to give too much away, just in case.)

10.  Watched the series finale of 24, also on a tropical island.  Not that it held any significance in this case.


10.  Did not run at all.


11.  Went to a museum and learned about Caribbean pirates.  The moral of the story:  if you're lazy, like to drink, have flexible standards and know how to clean a gun, hop on board!  Oh, but you'll probably get hanged in a few years.  Just try to ignore that part.  "A short life, but a merry one," indeed.

(This is a display from the Pirates of Nassau museum.  

The creepy tour guide said this was supposed to be the real Jack Sparrow, after he was marooned.  

I kind of doubt that.  There were no labels that said so.  

Plus, Jack Sparrow was invented by Disney, I'm pretty sure.  

I will concede that it sure looks like him, though.)  

13.  Had a very strange, amusing experience which involved a busted pipe and trying to get out of an elevator without basically going under a waterfall.

14.  Spent a dollar on a slot machine and got a voucher for 46 cents back (which we never cashed in).

15.  Was asked repeatedly if I wanted my hair braided and said "No, thank you," every single time.  Can't you see I just came out of the ocean?  It would take you an hour just to untangle this mess.

(ouch.)

16.  Failed to post from the Bahamas because it always cost too much money to use the internet.  Hope I've made up for it now.