The Bahamas Debaucle
Oh, the Bahamas. Those enchanting islands have haunted this family.
First, this past spring, Ryan and Lew (with his wife Teresa, their son Jason, and Jason's wife Sarah) were crossing the Gulf Stream heading to the Bahamas when the propeller shaft (a steel rod) broke. That was a catastrophic failure for Southern Cross so the crew had to turn her around and limp back to Marathon. What was supposed to be a wonderful week in the Bahamas turned into a few days at an industrial marina in Marathon. I changed our tickets so Zachary and I flew to meet them in Key West and we salvaged the trip by sailing around the Keys for a few days. It was nice, but no Bahamas!
So Lew and Ryan conspired this trip to meet on their respective boats in the Bahamas and sail across the Grand Bank together. Since I now have two small children we thought it best for me and the kids to meet them in Marsh Harbour. So the kids and I were to fly the Saturday after Thanksgiving. So we did.
I woke the kids, with the amazing help of Denise, at 4:00 a.m. and got to our local airport to fly there. We flew through Atlanta, experiencing delays (of course) an on to West Palm where we missed our connection to Marsh Harbour. The Bahamas Air representative (who was SO unpleasant) told me she couldn't get me to Marsh Harbour, but might could get me to Nassau in 2 or 3 days. In tears, I called Ryan and explained the situation. Ryan promptly chartered a plane to come get me, my knight in shining armour! He then called back about 20 minutes later totally despondent. Our children, at ages 4 years and 4 months, both were required to have passports! We had no idea (ok, stupid now that I've become aware of it, but nonetheless we had no idea at the time). So I went back to Delta and got ticketed home. It would have been nice if our local person who checked me in at 5:00 a.m. would have mentioned this little detail. So, 18 hours after we left, we arrived back home. 18 hours of travel with a 4 year old and a 4 month old. It was horrific. So while Ryan and Southern Cross made it for a wonderful week sailing in the Bahamas, the kids and I didn't make it. Ryan came home the next day and we both spent last week in deep depression.
But now we're trying to get into the Christmas spirit, but it's still challenging! Zachary's had a runny nose for 2 months now, and now Evan and I are both sick with colds. Evan hasn't slept for more than an hour for the last 3 nights. I am a walking zombie and my eyeballs hurt. It's been brutal. And now it's storming like crazy outside. Loud, bright flashes of lightning followed by loud crashes of thunder remniscent of a horror flick. The power has flashed twice and the baby cannot seem to get to sleep in all this mayhem. It's the perfect setting for another difficult night! Oh, make that THREE flashes of the power. Geez. I'm getting under the bed. Do you think the kids will fit under there with me?
First, this past spring, Ryan and Lew (with his wife Teresa, their son Jason, and Jason's wife Sarah) were crossing the Gulf Stream heading to the Bahamas when the propeller shaft (a steel rod) broke. That was a catastrophic failure for Southern Cross so the crew had to turn her around and limp back to Marathon. What was supposed to be a wonderful week in the Bahamas turned into a few days at an industrial marina in Marathon. I changed our tickets so Zachary and I flew to meet them in Key West and we salvaged the trip by sailing around the Keys for a few days. It was nice, but no Bahamas!
So Lew and Ryan conspired this trip to meet on their respective boats in the Bahamas and sail across the Grand Bank together. Since I now have two small children we thought it best for me and the kids to meet them in Marsh Harbour. So the kids and I were to fly the Saturday after Thanksgiving. So we did.
I woke the kids, with the amazing help of Denise, at 4:00 a.m. and got to our local airport to fly there. We flew through Atlanta, experiencing delays (of course) an on to West Palm where we missed our connection to Marsh Harbour. The Bahamas Air representative (who was SO unpleasant) told me she couldn't get me to Marsh Harbour, but might could get me to Nassau in 2 or 3 days. In tears, I called Ryan and explained the situation. Ryan promptly chartered a plane to come get me, my knight in shining armour! He then called back about 20 minutes later totally despondent. Our children, at ages 4 years and 4 months, both were required to have passports! We had no idea (ok, stupid now that I've become aware of it, but nonetheless we had no idea at the time). So I went back to Delta and got ticketed home. It would have been nice if our local person who checked me in at 5:00 a.m. would have mentioned this little detail. So, 18 hours after we left, we arrived back home. 18 hours of travel with a 4 year old and a 4 month old. It was horrific. So while Ryan and Southern Cross made it for a wonderful week sailing in the Bahamas, the kids and I didn't make it. Ryan came home the next day and we both spent last week in deep depression.
But now we're trying to get into the Christmas spirit, but it's still challenging! Zachary's had a runny nose for 2 months now, and now Evan and I are both sick with colds. Evan hasn't slept for more than an hour for the last 3 nights. I am a walking zombie and my eyeballs hurt. It's been brutal. And now it's storming like crazy outside. Loud, bright flashes of lightning followed by loud crashes of thunder remniscent of a horror flick. The power has flashed twice and the baby cannot seem to get to sleep in all this mayhem. It's the perfect setting for another difficult night! Oh, make that THREE flashes of the power. Geez. I'm getting under the bed. Do you think the kids will fit under there with me?
posted by Melanie @ 8:25 PM
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